Ch 24: The Fantasy's End

Time moves on. No matter the magic one possesses, or the desires or wishes for it to stop. It is of a singular mindset; to continue forward despite all obstacles or pleads. And thus, the sun rose.

Light crept through the little window above Astasha's workshop, and despite her and Calder's desperate wishes for it to crawl back behind the world, it smiled its bright face and called to them of the future they did not wish to come.

As slivers of daylight crept into the room, Astasha buried herself in Calder's arms. She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck and pleaded with the earth to grant them more time.

His fingers slowly trailed along her back, his lips pressed into her hair.

There was a nervous anticipation, not of excitement, but of dread, that flowed between them. Neither knew what to say, or do, but it felt as though a part of them was slowly being hewn away.

As much as she wanted to be completely in the moment with Calder, she couldn’t help but to send her energy out into the hall to sense for anyone approaching her room. Because of this, she felt the presence of someone outside before the quiet but obvious knock at the door broke the silence.

And so the dream ended. Their last night together was officially over, and she was no closer to making peace with what had to happen than she had been before it had begun.

Astasha dug her face deeper into Cal's chest as his grasp tightened around her.

“Prince Calder, the King has requested your presence in the War Room immediately, my lord.” The voice was soft and apologetic, no doubt a servant sent by Calder's father to rouse them from their sweet escape and remind them of his bargain.

Neither moved, as if by holding still they could prolong the inevitable.

There was silence for a moment before the knocking sounded again. "My Lord?"

Astasha's heart began to splinter. Damn that servant to hell. "You have to go." She whispered.

Calder kissed her hair. "I know."

“This isn’t fair.”

“No, no it’s not.” Sighing loudly, he released Astasha from his grasp and slipped out of the bed. Pulling his trousers on, he went to the door and opened it just enough to address the small servant standing outside. “Tell the King I will be there shortly."

The young boy looked shocked to actually see the Prince, shirtless, in the bed-chamber of a member of the Royal Magic Advisory at first light, almost as if he believed the whole thing to be some kind of a prank. He knew better than to make remarks on whatever it was he saw though, so he simply bowed his head.

"Y-yes your highness."

The servant scurried away and Calder shut the door.

Astasha sat up, hugging her knees, a sheet wrapped around her. "I know we don't have a choice, but I don't know how to let you walk out that door." She looked defeated. More so, he could feel defeat within himself that he knew was coming from her.

Cal crossed the room and sat next to her, running his hand down her cheek. Lifting her chin with his fingers he looked into her eyes. "We simply pretend that I'll be back here with you again tonight. We tell ourselves that I'm going off to take care of my duties for the day, and that I'll be back in time to kiss you goodnight and hold you in my arms as you sleep."

If only that were true. Tasha knew she had to be strong, not just for herself, but for him. She knew this was just as hard for Cal, so she tried to convince herself of the lie, but it didn’t make the truth hurt any less. Still, she forced a weak smile and a small nod.

They stared into each other's eyes, neither of them wanting to break the moment. She would take every second she could get with him. But another knock on the door made Astasha cringe and forced a sigh from Calder's lips.

"Sorceress Astasha? Do you mind if I speak with you?" It was Helia.

Astasha closed her eyes. It had to be Errant sending someone to make sure the King’s deal was followed. There was no way he would give them more time together than he had to.

Life was cruel.

Cal brushed a strand of hair from her face, and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"I love you more than the moon loves the stars in the night sky." He said and he leaned forward to kiss her. It was gentle and soft but filled with all the things he couldn't say, all the things he wanted her to know. She wanted it to last forever.

But he pulled away and stood. She watched as he put his shirt on and a part of her wanted to grab him and pull him back onto the bed, to refuse to let him leave. Nothing good would come from that though, so she forced herself to get up and find a gown, slipping it on as she fought back the tears she so desperately wanted to weep.

Once she was done, Cal took her hand in his, and together they approached the door, stopping to face each other one last time.

"We will find a way to be together again my love." He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I'll always be with you." She whispered back, touching his wrist where the tethering spell was tied.

They kissed a slow deep kiss and then Calder opened the door.

Helia stood behind it, a look of pity appearing on her face. "Your majesty." She said, bowing her head slightly.

"Sorceress." He responded. His hand was still linked with Tasha's and he turned to look at her, raising it to his lips. "I love you." He kissed her hand, his icy blue eyes looking deep into her soul, and then his hand slipped from hers and he turned and walked away before she could muster the breath to respond.

“I love you too.” She whispered. And with that, he was gone, and the fantasy was over.


**Author's Note:** *Sorry for the lack of updates the last couple days! The good news is, you're getting two for one now! This and the next chapter were originally one but as I worked on some edits and rewrites, it kept getting longer and longer and feeling more and more like it needed to be broken up so I ended up spending the last day reworking it into two different chapters. I think some of my favorite nuances of Astasha and Calder's relationship are in this chapter. I love writing little human moments. Let me know in the comments what you think so far! Love and light lovelies!*