The Fire Under the Stars: Chapter 11

Cepheus must make a decision that will forever change his life, and ultimately, Stardust and her kingdom. What will the outcome be?
==Included Characters==
Stardust the Cat
Cepheus the Cat
==Story==
Stardust stared out at the moon from her balcony. It wasn't usually this pretty. She couldn't decide if it was because it was a fulll moon, or she was in love. Either way, she was anxious, excited, and scared at the same time. She was about to either have Cepheus in her life forever, or about to watch him leave for good. She would be trapped in the kingdom either way, but she would rather enjoy it if she had Cepheus with her. 
She heard someone enter the room and turned around. It was Cepheus. She smiled brightly, and went over to Cepheus. 
"Hi Cepheus."
Cepheus looked at the moon from the balcony. 
"Is it... is it always this dark here?
Stardust smiled and nodded. 
"Well, there isn't exactly a sun here. It's close enough to keep us warm, but not enough to give us light. Or... so I've read as a little girl."
Cepheus nodded, and looked around her room.
"... This is where you grew up?"
She nodded again, and sat on her bed. 
"Yeah... It's alright, I guess."
Cepheus sat down next to her.
"I think it's great. I mean... you're surrounded by people who adore you and pretty much love you. I... never had any of that. I was just... hated."
Stardust smiled playfully.
"Well... it's not that easy."
Cepheus questioned her curiously.
"Really? How? You've got the life here!"
Stardust shrugged and explained.
"Well... you have all these responsibilities, and you have to be perfect. I mean, you're a symbol for the entire kingdom! And you can't have fun, or play outside, or make friends, or.... or...."
Stardust suddenly looked sad. Cepheus quickly noticed and tried to cheer her up.
"Or what? What's wrong?"
She sighed, and hugged Cepheus a little.
"... you're always alone....  Cepheus.... I just don't wanna see you go. I'm going to miss you when you leave..."
Cepheus stood up in front of Stardust.
"Yeah, I know... It'll be lonely up here all by yourself, without anyone to really talk to."
She nodded, sadly knowing where this was going.
"And, I don't really want to stay up here with you. I have my entire life ahead of me. I don't belong here... But I'm going to stay, Stardust. I'll make myself belong here, even if I don't really like it up here -- because I love you, Stardust. And I'm not just gonna abandon you here."
Stardust blinked back tears as she realized what Cepheus was doing. She watched him kneel down in front of her with wide eyes. 
"Stardust... will you marry me?"
He held out a small box with a ring inside of it. Cepheus recognized the ring as a diamond. Stardust immediately hugged Cepheus tightly and started crying again.
"Yes, yes! Of course I'd marry you!"
Cepheus beamed at her happily, and slipped the ring around her finger. 
"It's settled then. Let's go tell your father."
Stardust nodded, and let out a little squeak of surprise as Cepheus picked her up and twirled her around. Then they raced down the hall and into the king's study. Both the king and the queen were there.
"Father! Mother!"
King Jupiter and Queen Galaxina stood up and looked at them both.
"What is it? Is it urgent?"
Stardust hopped up and down a little happily.
"We'd like to annouce our marriage!"
The king and queen looked at them, bewildered, and then smiled warmly at Cepheus.
"I knew you'd do the right thing, even if you didn't like this kingdom much. Thank-you, my boy."
Cepheus nodded, and hugged Stardust again. Stardust began to hop over to her parents, but due to her mother's presence, settled for walking over like a lady.
"Mother, can I invite some friends of mine? They are from this kingdom."
Galaxina laughed gently, and smiled warmly.
"You can have anything you want, Stardust. Your marriage to this young man should be one of the greatest days of your life."
Almost squealing in delight, she raced back over to Cepheus and kissed him on the cheek. He laughed a little and hugged her tightly. Stardust was genuinely excited.
"Can the wedding be held tomorrow?"
Galaxina and Jupiter both looked at each other in bewilderment, then back at the soon-to-be married couple. 
"Oh, no, of course not! It's much too early to even think about the wedding! Remember, you're not just going to be married -- you're going to be the king and queen of this kingdom! You and Cepheus have a lot of work to do..."
Next: Chapter Twelve 
Category:Fanfiction
Category:Future Kings
Category:Kingdoms
Category:Cats
Category:Characters