The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"HEY, Mom," Astrid greeted.

"Hey, honey," her mother greeted back. "Wait- here comes your father."

As soon as his mother said that, his father's face appeared on the virtual screen. He sat down beside his mother.

"Aster, how was your first day there? Did anyone bully you? Don't hesitate to tell it to Dad, okay?" his father quickly said.

Astrid chuckled hearing his father's consecutive questions. Seeing the grim expression on his face, it seemed like if he said 'yes', the other would immediately ride the latest flight to the capital and then avenge him. 

"I'm fine, Dad. The filming went great. No one bullied me. Everyone was very kind. I had a lot of fun."

Emmy observed her son's expression. She wanted to be sure that Astrid was saying what he really felt and not just things that would make them worry less. Seeing the natural curve of his lips and the bright light in his dark eyes, she could see that he was indeed telling the truth. Her hanging heart finally came down.

She and Gage were both not familiar with the entertainment industry. Chasing stars was not really a thing for proper noble ladies. So, she had never really became interested in movies and things like that. Gage, on the other hand, was busy preparing for his revenge that he didn't have time to be interested in other things. 

Once they left their former lives, they became busy with their newly built family. Their time were all dedicated to earning money and being parents to twin boys. Why would they even use their precious time for other miscellaneous things?

But even with the lack of knowledge, Emmy knew that letting a teenager, who hadn't yet lived past his second decade, go and film alone alongside adults who had long been a part of that industry was not the best of idea. She tried to dissuade Astrid. But at the end she was the one who ended up convinced.

With the way Astrid tried to convince her and Gage that accepting the role in this movie was not dangerous in any way, the both of them just didn't have the heart to reject him. Especially since they saw just how much he wanted to do it. As parents, should they hinder his path just because they were worried?

Emmy had already learned her lesson during that talk she and Gage had with their sons when the two asked their permission to attend college at the capital. She would never again get in the way of her children's dreams. But that didn't mean that she would no longer worry. She was sure that her husband also felt the same. 

It had only been a week since her two sons arrived at the capital. And yet Astrid had already scored himself a role in some movie. Although her son said that it was a very, very small role, she firmly believed that offers like that would just keep on coming. Astrid was the best after all.

But that also meant that her son was in badly need of an entertainment company to represent him. Yes, she had been doing her research since Astrid told them he wanted to be an actor. But with such a short time, she had only been able to search about the most basic of things.

She even thought that maybe she and Gage should establish an entertainment company for Astrid. But then she quickly realized that it wouldn't work even if they did. In that kind of industry, connections were very important. A newly-found entertainment company would only pull-down Astrid instead of helping him. 

"That's good," Gage said who was also obviously relieved by their son's answer. "Where is your brother?"

"Here," Reas said, he just got out of the bathroom when he heard their father's question.

He walked to the bed and sat beside Astrid, showing his face to their parents. 

"Reas, protect your brother, okay? Both of you only have each other there."

"Dad, I know. I'll make sure that nothing bad will happen to Aster."

Astrid could only look helplessly at his father and twin brother. 

"Astrid, if you encountered any problems, call us immediately, okay?" Emmy could only say at the end.

"Yes, Mom," Astrid said. "But you don't have to worry too much. After all, I'm not truly alone here. Reas is here with me. We can face whatever may happen together."

But even though he agreed to immediately call them if he encountered a problem, he probably wouldn't. How could he when he knew how dangerous it would be if someone found about them being still alive? 

Besides, with the cast and crew of this movie, he felt like there wouldn't be any major problems. At least none that he couldn't handle himself.

His mother appeared to be comforted by his answer. 

They continued to talk for the next half hour before their parents ended the call so that he and Reas could go and sleep.

Astrid turned off the Terminal and stood up from the bed to wash up. As he did so, he thought of the filming tomorrow and hoped that it would be as smooth as today.

---------

Astrid and Reas were the first one to arrive at the set. It was a different one from yesterday. The set was on a cliff overlooking the wide blue sea. This was the scene that would happen after the cave scene. 

Aether disappeared after that short conversation he had with the four people who woke him up. Then he appeared here.

Astrid greeted the crew on the set and they greeted him back with much more enthusiasm than yesterday. Most likely because they saw his potential.

"Aren't you going to do that make-up thing?" Reas asked.

Astrid chuckled when he heard his brother refer to the styling as the 'make-up thing'. "I will. I'm just looking for the dressing room."

Because this location was much further from the cave, he was told yesterday that the dressing rooms would also be moved to an area closer to this cliff. Soon, he saw the familiar structure. 

The two walked towards that direction. He picked the smaller dressing room because he knew that the bigger ones were for the main casts. He was about to knock on the door when someone just walked to the dressing room next to the one where he was standing in front of.

He inadvertently glanced at the person and saw a young man with dark blond hair. It happened that the other also glanced at him.

The young man's light brown eyes widened when he saw him before it was filled with unabashed admiration. Then he stretched out his hand and grasped Astrid's hand.

"You're so pretty!" said Lauren Watts.