~.Black Mist.~

I wake up with Nova by my side for once. I smile. He's still sleeping with those wounds all bandaged and healing. He looks so relaxed. I don't bother to wake him up for now. He's had a hard life; he deserves this rest at least.

I slither out of bed and walk to the dresser, which is a table with a mirror on it. Two drawers are to hold the capes of ours. On a small rack is my headdress and Nova's newly polished headdress. I open my drawer and slip on my cape. I reach the rack and clip on my headdress. I exit the room, heading to the kitchen.

The head chef rushes over to me with a hige grin on his face. "Good morning, my prince!" he exclaims. "I have had a wonderful idea!"

"What is it?" I use my tentacles to lift me up to his level so that I don't have to look up at him.

"What if we throw a banquet for your brother to welcome him home?"

I grin. "And we invite the villagers?"

"Of course! Everyone in the village shall be invited! Otherwise, it would not be a proper celebration!"

The chefs behind him cheer in pure joy. They love it when they get to cook for many, many people. It presents a challenge for them, and they love challenges as all Numbers do!

"Alright! In the meantime, I'll make sure he doesn't go into the dining hall. I'll give him a tour of the village!" I suggest.

He nods. "Good idea. It will be done by dinnertime, so we'll send in the breakfast and lunch to your room so that you do not starve. Please, wait for him there."

I scoff and say jokingly, "You don't tell me what to do!"

The head chef laughs. "I believe we can make an exception here, my prince!"

With a laugh, I set myself down and scurry off back to my room. I'm glad to see that they've fixes Nova's earrings and set them on the table! I sit at my desk and busy myself with reading the books Father left for us. I remember that he used to read them to us when we were just toddlers.

~.Astral/Nova.~

I yawn, stretching and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I know, I just know, that today's going to be another bad day with Momma, Amber, and Bura.

Then, I feel the soft material under and on top of me. This was never here before. I open my eyes only to see that the room's different. I'm on a black and white bed with a translucent curtain covering the bed from others. Through the curtain, I can see a small and tall figure setting something up. I sit up and open the curtain.

Blackie looks over to me with a smile. "Good morning, sleepy head!" he greets cheerfully.

"Good morning," I say softly, taking in the entire room.

A delicious scent hits my nose. I look over to see them setting two plates on a table by the wall of the room. It smells better than anything Momma ever made. I'm suddenly reluctant to go there when they're done.

Blackie sees this and walks over to me. "Come on, Nova!" he exclaims with a smile, gripping my still-red hands. "No need to be shy!"

"A-are you sure?" I stammer as he leads me to the table.

"Of course! What makes you think you can't? Everyone here wants to make each other happy in any way possible!"

"It's just...Momma never let me have any of this, and I think I've gotten used to just getting the scraps..."

"Oh, now don't think like that! Hey, how about I show you around after we eat?"

I nod and let him lead me to the table, where we sit next to each other. In front of me is a white, thick porridge with brown powder on top of a fragile-looking bowl with blue on the rim. Beside the bowls are spoons with delicate blue designs. Blackie catches me looking at what's in front of me and giggles.

"Eat up!"

~.~.~

Before we go outside, Blackie grabs a white cape with gold trimming and a headdress with the number 100 from the table with a mirror on it. He starts putting the cape on me.

"What's this for, Blackie?" I ask, holding the headdress while he snaps the clip in front of my cape to keep it on me.

"This marks your royal lineage," he explains, clipping the headdress on and finally my earrings, which look brand new.

I notice his headdress is different. Unlike mine, his has a golden sun and a silver moon on it. The sun and moon are separated by a platinum bar, and the whole thing is encased in a platinum circle.

"Why is yours different?" I point to his headdress so that he knows what I'm talking about.

"This? It's to be worn by the one in charge of the kingdom. It's different from the king's, but the sun and the moon design is the same. Yours is for the prince!" He pokes my nose playfully.

I smile and giggle. "Okay!"

We exit the room hand in hand and walk around the town. Everyone greets us with smiles. Everyone greets me with bows, curtsies, and "welcome back"s. I smile back at their kindness. They're definitely much better than the people I met where I used to live! They even express worry when they see my wounds and when I tell them that Momma has been ignoring those wounds.

After a while, we stop. Blackie grips my hands tightly with excitement in his eyes.

"Nova, isn't this great?" he exclaims. "We can live here together now! You don't have to live like you're less than everyone now!" He laughs with pure joy and relief.

I smile and laugh with him. "Yeah! This is great!"

We embrace tightly, me burying my face in his cape. The scent of what I can only guess is the moon embraces me, and I sigh in relief.

~.Black Mist.~

After walking around for a few more hours and even being invited for lunch, the head chef informs everyone, except Nova since this is a surprise, that there's a banquet to be held through mental communications. He tells them to keep it a secret from Nova since it's a surprise.

"Nova, let's go home now," I tell my younger brother.

Nova nods. We walk back to the castle with an excited buzz all around us. Nova notices that everyone's now in a hustle, and I can tell he's wondering why. I just giggle and move on.

By the time we get back, the town is in a sort of organized chaos. I get Nova safely inside, where a surprise waits for the both of us.

In the huge space, many tables form a ring around the center, where I assume is the dance floor. The lights are low with harmless flames all around illuminating the space beautifully. The table cloths have ice designs on some and lightning bolts in their intricate designs on others. They've set up an elevated platform. A table for two sits there. It has lightning anf icicles decorating it beautifully, and this table is clearly for me and Nova.

Nova looks around the hall in awe with his mouth slightly open. He's most likely never seen anything like this. I giggle at his expression.

The head waiter comes in with a flamboyant bow. "Good afternoon, my young princes," he greets, straightening from his bow. "Shall I escort you to your table?"

Laughing, I nod. I pull Nova along by the hand since he's still overwhelmed by all this. We sit, and every Number in the town comes in with their children.

~.Astral/Nova.~

I watch with a confused gaze as everyone is escorted to one of the many tables. This is all so sudden. I don't even know what's going on!

When everyone's all settled, a man dressed like a chef walks out of the kitchen. "Fellow Numbers of this town," he starts, "this feast we have prepared is in honor of our long lost prince returning to us the night before! We welcome our prince, Number 100 Red Nova Sorcerer!"

Blackie stands me up while everyone cheers and smiles. I just look at them with wide eyes and a confused stare. Then, I smile. It feels good to be smiled at for once instead of being avoided.

When the noise dies down, the man goes back into the double doors to get something. Blackie smiles at me.

"I bet this is your first banquet," he giggles.

"This is the first social event that I've been invited to," I sigh.

"Invited to? You're not invited to this one!" He grips my hands with a huge grin. "You're the guest of honor, silly! You're not just invited!"

I smile back. Then, the doors open to reveal cart after cart rushing out with platters of food. Their delicious scents waft all over the room, making my mouth water.

The chefs lay a platter of meats, vegetables, and an assortment of berries they must have picked themselves. When the food is set before us, Blackie signals me to wait. Not that I would even touch this food yet; this is all like a dream!

When everyone has their food, we get to eat. I dig in to my food with a smile. I just know I'm going to have a better life here!

TO BE CONTINUED IN NUMBER 100 RED NOVA SORCERER...

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!! :D