The plan proceeded with both Rigel and Aldebaran making their way back to their rightful places in the sky. They took the time to speak with the others in their constellations of their plan during the long hours of the night. 

When court resumed and the other Stars were jockeying to catch Endymion's attention, Rigel sidled up next to Polaris.

"Do you think that silly smile is from our antics or because of something else?" he asked curiously, causing the North Star to snort with surprised laughter.

"My hope is that he took my advice and it has led to the smile. But if that is the case, I don't think it has turned out as I hoped," Polaris answered, eyes still fixed on the throne holding Endymion.

"Advice? What advice?" Rigel asked curiously, mind working furiously to decide whether this was good news or not.

"That answer would be best given in private," Polaris admitted, finally turning his full attention to the friend at his side. "If you're interested, we can always find one of the conference rooms. Our presence won't be missed. It has been far too long since we spoke of anything truly important, old friend."

"A conference room it is then. There are many things we should speak of and all of much import," Rigel agreed as he started toward the door, assuming his companion would follow him. 

It didn't take long to find a secluded room. From the fine film of dust on all the surfaces, it was clear the room was seldom used, but it was filled with the same delicate finery as the more used portions of the palace.

The Power that it took to maintain such a luxurious home had to be enormous, though Rigel doubted it was a conscious effort on Endymion's part. That was one reason he would feel better about the plan if Polaris joined them. None of them knew the true extent of Endymion's power for it had never been tested.

"What advice was it that you gave Endymion?" he asked as soon as the door closed, his gaze intense. If the advice had anything to do with the same subject he was about to bring up, maybe they would all be in luck after all.

"I am sure you've noticed the mood Endymion has been in recently. After all, I'm not the only one of us with eyes, and we've been around each other long enough to see the signs of his boredom," Polaris began, keeping a close eye on the other Star and waiting to continue until he saw a nod of understanding. 

"I advised he take advantage of his Power to make an appearance on the surface. I thought perhaps feeling a connection to the people of the surface would pull him from the doldrums. Or that it would increase the attention he gives his responsibilities, or return him to his normal off duty pursuits. 

"Unfortunately, it seems that even though his spirits have been lifted, his attention is still on other matters. I'll think of some other idea to bring him back."

"That is actually similar to what I was hoping we could speak of," Rigel said smoothly, gesturing to the chairs in the room for them to both take a seat. Serious conversations with Polaris were always better undertaken seated, or so he had always believed. 

He had yet to have this belief be proven wrong. 

"We have been watching his habits for a long time and have seen the same signs as you. Aldebaran and I met yesterday to speak on the matter and made our way to a partial solution that sounds as though it might complement the advice you already gave him."

Polaris slowly sank down into one of the other chairs, eyes now full of wary suspicion. "I am listening. When you are finished, I will make my own opinion on the matter."

Rigel took this as his opening, giving a serious nod. 

"Right. So, we were discussing the fact that if Endymion continues like he did today, there will be disaster. If it were not so close to the New Moon, the Sun would have been swallowed this noon. It would have been too late for any of us to prevent anything. It seems that no matter what we do while we are here at his court, nothing is actually helping. 

"So we thought, if all of us Stars band together, we would be able to bind his powers."

Polaris's silver eyes flared brightly with a flash of anger at that statement. He looked ready to strike down his friend immediately. "Treason!"

"No! No, listen to me. Not a banishing. That would do no one any good," Rigel continued frantically, wanting to finish his thoughts before he found himself in chains.

"Then speak fast, or we will be finding someone new to lead Orion's constellation," Polaris ground out, voice becoming a very uncharacteristic growl.

"We do not want to cast him down in any way that would be permanent," Rigel began again, his words still frantic as he tried to save himself and Aldebaran from negative consequences. 

"We were just concerned. Not only is he bored now, but the time between these bouts of boredom grows shorter each time. So we were trying to come up with any ideas that could give us peace of mind he isn't going to just fall back into this mood the week after he cheers. 

"What we were thinking was perhaps to bind his powers and make him live on the surface until he has learned to respect the people's rights to live their lives in peace. We would need to decide what condition he must fulfill to break the the binding to return to the heavens." 

Rigel flattened his hands against the table, fighting the urge to raise his voice. "This is not treason, it is us wanting to protect humanity against his whims by helping to make him a better person from the ordeal as well."

The fire in Polaris's eyes dimmed slightly as he listened to his friend's words. 

Rigel had a point. It would not truly be treason, at least when you took into account that there would be a way for Endymion to return to his home. The only problem would be how to fulfill the plan. 

How would one put that specific of a limitation in a power binding? How could they have it be productive without a way for Endymion having a way to get around the set limitation?

"We would have to be very careful," he observed slowly. "When did you have in mind for completing this plan?"

"We believed the night of the New Moon would be best, as then he would have the least amount of power to bind. We all know that is when he goes into a deep sleep to prepare for the stresses of the next cycle of his power," Rigel answered seriously, daring to feel a bit of hope.

"That holds promise," Polaris mused before obviously sinking into his own thoughts.

A few minutes of silence passed heavily between them. "I believe the best way to do this is for us to do a temporary binding, but let him think it is complete. Instead of an emotional condition, it would be based on time. We could enchant his necklace with a tracing spell so we can keep an eye on what and how he is doing. That gives us time to decide on what exactly we want to see him learn. 

"That is unless you have an idea of the experience you wish him to have?"

""If he thinks he cannot return to the heavens, perhaps we should look for acceptance of the situation?" Rigel offered, looking truly relieved he had not been banished at once.

"That could be a portion," Polaris mused. He sank back into his seat to rest his chin upon steepled fingers. 

"But I think we need something else, something deeper. Perhaps, along with the acceptance, we should encourage him to find love. Who among us can honestly say that there has not been a time that we saw someone on the surface and gone down to woo them?"

"You wish to leave him down there long enough to find love?"

"Maybe not in the sense of the 'true love' sentiment mortals speak of. I was thinking more of an attachment to someone. That would give Endymion an incentive for him to not do anything that could harm them," Polaris elaborated, waving his hands a bit to illustrate the ambiguity of his words. 

"I know that you were wanting something a bit more concrete than that, but look at him. He doesn't truly have friends. He may call me friend, but will only actually hold a conversation with me if I approach him first. He will ask me for advice on and off, but it is never consistent. 

"Endymion tries to take on the entire world! Perhaps creating attachments is the best we can do. But I do not want to go the other direction and make him want to never return home either. We need to find some sort of balance."

"Then I agree with using time as the condition of the binding. And if he remains on the surface too long, we can inform him that he can come home," Rigel said reasonably, nodding with satisfaction. 

"I suggest we make it last at least a full cycle with the full binding, and his powers returning slowly after that."

"I can agree to that. But we should agree not to offer him guidance while he is there. This is something he needed to learn long ago, and nothing that I have said to him seems to helped him in any way," Polaris said, intoning the words somberly. After another breath, he raised his eyes again. "Thank you."

"For what?" Rigel asked curiously.

"For pointing out what I have been denying. I will take care of the binding and casting. You can set the other Stars at ease. I will speak to Helia when she arrives, because she will. We can only hope she will see reason in our actions. It is only common sense, and she honors that most days."

With that, Polaris left, looking deep in thought, the worries and cares from the topic they had discussed had appeared on his features. His face was haggard, making him look far older than he had when entering the room. 

For a moment, Rigel felt nothing, no success, no worry, just nothing. 

And then worry at Polaris's aging hit him accompanied by worry for the whole situation. There would be some sort of fallout when Endymion returned to the heavens. But that would be something they would deal with when it happened.

First he would have to deal with the apprehension over how easily his victory had come. Surely something about their plan would not work as expected.