-1-

A hushed silence was floating in the air of Raymond's clothing store. The female attendants were busy gawking at the handsome stranger who stood before a mirror. His light brown hair matched his twinkling hazel eyes and the other men in the shop envied his height of 6'2. He wore a plain set of stylish glasses along with the cross hanging around his neck. A knowing smirk continued to tug at his lips.

One of the attendants let out a deep sigh as she wondered whether he was single. She nudged her coworker and asked, "Who is he? Never seen him around here. Do you think he is available?"

"He is a Greek God. Look at him! He is too good to be real!"

"I must be dreaming too."

"Oh my God! He lifted his shirt! Eeek! I can see his abs.. "

The teenage girl's neck twisted in one eighty degrees as she tried to catch a glimpse of their new found idol. Her star-struck eyes glazed over his bare waist while he tried to adjust his black shirt. She could even see his navel and was almost drooling at the sight of his semi-naked upper body.

"Come on.. Take it off.. Take it off completely.. Let's see what else you got!", the girl muttered in a sing-song voice. Her friend was nodding her head in agreement. They were even counting the inches..

But Rigel was aware of the attention he was drawing to himself. In fact, he had been conscious of their piercing stares for the past one hour. The hormone-driven girls of the earth amused him. It had been a while since he had last visited. Three hundred years was indeed a long time. He glanced at his reflection and began pulling the shirt down (much to the disappointment of the girls). Their sighs grew louder as he began straightening his brown hair. It wasn't as long as Mirfak's. But still, it was long enough to trickle down his neck in style.

Rigel pushed his glasses up his nose while smiling in satisfaction. He looked perfect. The tight black pants fitted him well and showed his lean figure. His smirk changed into a crooked smile. But his moment of self-reflection was short-lived. A series of dry coughs in the vicinity tore him away from his world of self-worship.

He turned around to find his aid looking at him eagerly. Rigel's eyes narrowed at the sight of the short, squeaky dwarf. He didn't have long ears but he did have large eyes that bulged out of their sockets. Dressed in a brown robe, his aid seemed reluctant to change into earthly clothes.

The dwarf cleared his throat and began, "Lord Rigel. Can I ask you one question?"

"Yes, you may."

"What are you doing here, my lord?"

Rigel chuckled at the question. "Have you forgotten the prophecy, Doran?"

Doran's large eyes widened to the size of saucers. (If that was even possible.) His hands became shaky as he suddenly, whipped out a large leather bound book in his hand. He began flipping through the pages until he came across a particular one. He ran a finger across the wordings and his eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration.

"Oh I see now. The girl, Halley.. You have come to meet her, haven't you?"

"Hmm. Do you think this shirt is a bit too loose for me, Doran?", Rigel asked his aid as if the dwarf could supply him with good fashion advice.

"You look very handsome. But I think black doesn't suit you, my lord. White has always been your color. But then again, black will contrast your wings.. It's a hard decision to make. Hmm, perhaps I should ask the council... But then again, everything suits you, Lord Rigel. You are the brightest star. Miss. Halley will fall for you, the moment she sees you. The other four don't stand a chance when compared to your benevolent, kind, warm and magnetic personality.. You are-"

Rigel sighed. All he had asked was a simple question.

"Doran, I am not going to raise your post. So stop flattering me."

The dwarf's face became red in embarrassment. "But sir.. I deserve a halo. I have been your faithful, sincere and hardworking secretary for three centuries. Don't I deserve to have a halo hanging above my head? "

Rigel shook his head as he began making his way to the billing counter. His aid followed him in hot pursuit. Finally, he turned back and glared at his 'secretary'.

"Doran, stop sucking upto me. You will be haloed after five decade's service. Not now. "

The dwarf brought a kerchief and sniffed into it, melodramatically. False tears began running down his tanned cheeks. "How about two?"

"Three. Last offer!!", Rigel bargained.

The dwarf nodded with his head eagerly. He clung to Rigel's pants in happiness but his lord wasn't happy with his exuberant gesture.

"Thank you.. so much. You are indeed the brightest of all stars. The most benevolent, warm, kind-hearted-"

Rigel sighed and glared at the short man. "Yeah, yeah, I get the point. Now let go of me!"

When he was finally free, he went to the counter and waited patiently to pay for his clothes. Each one of the female attendants dashed to his service, like bulls running after the red flag. Some of them were even ready to trip the other to get to him first. Rigel was amused by their catfights.

"Hey Katrina! Get out of the way! I am talking to him first!", one of the girls shoved a brunette in front.

"Shut up and move it, sister!"

"Why you!!"

"OUCH! You tripped me!"

"You are the clumsy one!"

Rigel watched the mortal girls with hidden interest. Their meaningless squabbles were pitiful. He wondered whether all earthly females were the same. He knew that Halley wasn't.

..--..

They finally managed to come out of the shop after an hour more. The sky was dark and embedded with numerous stars. Rigel studied them curiously, watching their positions. His constellation seemed to be lurking to the northeast. He turned his attention back to his surroundings and found himself on a busy street. The cars roared down the narrow lanes before the mall but the pedestrians seemed to have stopped in their tracks. They were staring at him with wide eyes. Most of them were females whose eyes had never seen a better male specimen. But for the rest..

Rigel muttered, "Why do they stare at me?"

Doran chirped enthusiastically, "You are very charming, my lord. Your beauty surpasses earthly realms and mesmerizes the seer-"

" Doran?"

“Yes, my lord?”

“Shut up!”

An eight-year-old girl was staring at the two of them. She tugged at the hem of her mother's dress and asked, "Mommy. What is that th-thing?"

"Honey. Don't go calling people as things. It's not polite."

"Alright, mommy. Is that a hobbit?", the girl asked innocently.

Her mother sighed while pulling her daughter towards their car. "I should have never taken you to Lord of The Rings.."

Doran scratched his head while musing over the conversation. Finally, when he was unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked Rigel, "My Lord, what's a hobbit?"

The young angel chuckled out aloud while walking towards the park. "You need to stay in tune with the events of this world, Doran. Even the council's angels have seen the movie. Liz Tyler is on the top of our poll list.. Now, let's go."

..--..

"Lord Rigel! Wait for me!!", the dwarf squeaked as he tried to keep up with the tall boy. Dressed in completely black, Rigel knew he didn't look like an angel. White robes were quite boring and he liked dark colors. Being on Earth was an adventure to him- an adventure he would have liked to undertake alone. He stopped in his tracks to allow his aid to catch up with him. The dwarf had been more annoying than usual.

"Doran, stop following me around. I would like to be on my own."

The short man panted, being out of breath. When he finally regained his energy to speak, he whipped out his leather bound book again. He flipped through the pages until coming across a particular page.

The dwarf said sternly, "Sire, it says here on page 176... An aid must, at all times, be at your service. Not even for a single moment, are we allowed to leave you alone! That is the duty of a faithful and sincere aid-"

Rigel sighed. "Yeah. Yeah. Will you leave me alone if I reward you with a halo at the end of this decade?"

The dwarf's eyes brightened. "So soon? Why YES! But isn't that bribery?"

Rigel grinned evilly. "Not necessarily.. After all, I am the benevolent lord who is pleased with the services of his faithful, sincere uh-whatever aid. So, how about the deal?"

The dwarf vanished within the next second. Rigel whistled in joy. Yes, today had to be his lucky day. All he needed to do now was to make Halley fall in love with him. His pleasant dreams were broken when he spotted a familiar boy leaning across the trunk of a tree. Rigel walked faster towards the guy and soon, realized who he was.

The boy was looking at the sky, lost in deep thought. Black bangs scattered across his face, he had never cared about his appearance. His mind was distracted when he heard footsteps approaching him. Turning his head around, he wasn't pleased to see the man who had intruded upon his solitude.

Rigel wasn't happy to see him either.

"Well, well, well.. If it isn't Sirius. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

“Always the broody one. Your attitude never changes, dog star.”

Sirius didn’t turn to face him. He was used to Rigel’s remarks and though, they annoyed him, they did hold a trace of truth. He ruffled his hair while letting out a deep sigh.

“She is mine, Rigel. Stay away from her.”

Rigel didn't say a word in reply. Digging his hands into his pockets, he turned around to walk away. But he knew that the tension was still there between them. They would meet again. He was sure of that.

..--..

Somewhere near the outskirts of the city, a seventeen year old, lay asleep on her bed. Her house was two floored and since her bedroom was on the second, she kept the door of her balcony open. The view of the night sky always relaxed her and she loved the gentle breezes of the dark.

As her breath flowed in and out gently, she was unaware of a pair of green eyes staring at her. The eyes belonged to one of her guardian angels; who was perched on the branches of an oak tree. The tree grew from her backyard and one of its branches reached her window.

Castor sighed as his eyes lingered on the girl who slept so peacefully. Watching her wasn't something new. He had always watched her since she had been a little baby. But then of course, he had been many light years away. He had never seen her so close and now he had to admit. The girl was astonishingly pretty.

She was only a year younger than him and hence, it made logical sense that she should be wed to him. Of course, he had to woo her before the other four got the chance.

He began practicing his proposal. "Halley, I am Castor. Uh-Will you marry me?.. Nah, that sounds too abrupt! Hmm, how about ‘Will you be my wife, Halley? I promise to be a good husband’... Man, that's plain dumb too.. "

He stopped musing when he saw her toss around a little. Her black hair was spread across the pillow while her eyebrows were drawn in a faint crease. She looked very innocent and reminded Castor of her mother, Diana. He wanted to have a closer look at her. So, he began climbing the branch that reached her window. He almost sneezed out aloud when some leaves rubbed his nose. When he finally reached the sill, he held the edges and hopped in. His boots hit the ground and created a rather loud noise. But surprisingly, Halley was still asleep.

He took off his boots and held them in his hand. Castor slowly tiptoed to her bed. His grey cargo pants allowed him to blend with the grey colored walls of the room. They were covered with old pictures of her family.

When he reached her bedside, he crouched next to her. He could even hear her breathing. Leaning close to her, he slid a hand along her forehead to remove the wisps of hair shadowing her face. His own breathing staggered as he studied her features. She was indeed beautiful.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, leaving a wet mark.

"Hmm.. Huh?"

"Darn!", Castor panicked when he saw her stirring. He rushed to the window, hastily and jumped. His white wings spread out and allowed him to fly to the top of the house. He decided to crouch low and avoid drawing attention to himself.

The lights of the room quickly turned on. He could hear a shuffle of feet as Halley made her way to the balcony. She looked around but couldn't find anyone. She rubbed her forehead, right on the spot where Castor had kissed her. It felt warm and soothing. She smiled.

I swear I saw a boy in my room seconds ago. Must have been a dream. I am so silly. A boy? In my room? Jeez.

Shaking her head to get rid of the weird thoughts, Halley went back into her bedroom. She was about to get back in her bed when she noticed something lying on the floor. She picked it up and her eyes widened in surprise.

Unknown to her, her guardian angel sat on top of the house. He scratched his bleached hair in puzzlement.

"Oh shoot! I forgot the red rose!", Castor cursed himself.

..--..

Castor KASS-ter Alpha Geminorum -mortal twin, horseman

Dubhe DUE-be Alpha Ursae Majoris - back of the bear

Mirfak MIRR-fak Alpha Persei - the elbow of Pleiades

Rigel RYE-gel Beta Orionis- left foot

Sirius SEER-ee-us Alpha Canis Major- the scorching one.

courtesy- Star Gazetteer.

Strange. I was pronouncing 'Rigel' differently. Oh well. I know it's a short chapter. Next one will be longer. ;