39 - Noble Reveal (Patreon)

“You know, I should have thought about this before I said ‘yes’, but do you think people are going to wonder if I’m a parent now that I have the mark of the Parent added to this?” Phoenix asked Dazien as she borrowed the large mirror in his room to double-check her appearance and gestured to her Soul Mark on display.

They would be going down to the small staging area Patricia had set up for them to start at soon. She would try her best to smile and not throw up from nerves, while Dazien would sparkle and dazzle the nobles. Many nobles in Tulimeir had opted to make the journey to the World Tree assisted by one of the new voxen portalists that had been helping Patricia get back and forth –in addition to transporting the supplies and personnel needed for upgrading the two locations.

“Doubtful,” Dazien responded as he pulled on the new gloves that went with his new suit that had a long brocade jacket that was such a dark purple it almost seemed black with golden filigree decorating it. “Though they may give Presley a double take if they’ve seen that mark. She looks a lot like you when she wears that dress instead. Luckily, no small children are allowed at Noble Reveals, so that’s a worry for another day.”

Her own dress was a lighter shade of purple but also had the gold filigree to match her new brother and show support for him. It also clearly showed off her divine Soul Mark, much to her dismay and Patricia’s delight. 

The fact that it was in the middle of her chest with barely any cleavage made her self-conscious in a very confusing way. On one hand, she didn’t really like showing off skin. On the other hand, she wanted to feel like she had something worth showing off in the first place. Her tiny chest was more than she had back on Earth, and she was grateful for it, but it did little to make her really feel… womanly. 

She kept reminding herself that large chests were not a requirement for being a woman… but still, it was something she found herself wishing silently for. Perhaps simply because it was something she thought she could never have.

Phoenix pushed away the thoughts and refocused back on the conversation, “I still think Presley looks a bit more like Paul with those eyes and complexion. More like his actual daughter than I do.”

“Speaking of Paul,” the gemite segued, “I don’t think you were near enough to hear at the time, but Pati mentioned Orebela and Kara managed to finish moving him over here into a room near ours.”

“How did they manage that?”

“Orebela carried him out of the barrier, which ended the spell. Then Kara set it up again on this end. They believe it will be safer and allow Bela to act as a more permanent Ruby Caste guard of sorts for our area of the vessel.”

She made a little pout at the mirror, “I wish I had known earlier so I could have gone to visit.”

Dazien appeared in the mirror behind her, golden antlers catching the light and matching the rest of his ensemble as he grinned, “We can visit together after the party.”

The Wayfarer tilted her head slightly as she noticed his hair falling to his shoulders and asked, “Are you planning to wear it down?”

His smile softened as he said, “I thought more about what Pati said and about what I want. Paul didn’t ask me to change who I was. He didn’t want me because I was a gemite but for who I am. I want to show that I’m not ashamed of that. I think embracing my heritage in this regard will show that I intend to stay true to who I am, Wayland or not.”

Phoenix smiled, “Well, in that case, want to go all the way?”

“What do you mean?” he replied hesitantly.

She gave a mischievous grin and, with a shimmer of silver starlight, conjured her Prism Brush into her hand, “Let’s show it off a bit more. We can surprise everyone with just how shiny you are.”

Dazien laughed and clarified, “Make it as long as yours?”

She gestured to her dress and the purple curl in her hair, “I’m obviously trying to match already.”

“Alright then,” he agreed with a grin, “I’m sure Uriel will love it later.”

“Just breathe, Princess,” Dazien whispered to his new sister as she practically hyperventilated beside him. Patricia was talking to the crowd gathered behind a curtain and was about to introduce them.

“It’s not fair that you don’t have to breathe to survive,” Phoenix muttered, gripping his arm as though she would drown without it.

“Just focus on the goal and ignore the crowd. They’re not there. Just like when we practiced. We’re just walking across the room to the table we reserved for dinner. Saiya and Rayna will meet us there shortly.”

“I know,” she huffed, “Sorry. I don’t want to ruin your special moment.”

He chuckled, “This isn’t as special anymore, and it’s not any fault of your own. There are too many people I care about missing for this to be anything more than what Pati said: politics. I’m much more looking forward to the after-party now.”

“You and me both,” she replied with a pained smile, “You’re not gonna get mad if I try to sneak out early, are you? I’m not sure I can handle a bunch of nobles trying to… talk politics.”

“I think you’re making it seem worse than it’s going to be,” the gemite pointed out, “You did fine at yours from what Rayna told me.”

“So Saiya didn’t mention the silent panic attack then?”

“She may have mentioned you doing well despite it,” he replied with a grin. Then added, “You know we’ll have to attend one of these again in a few months, right?”

“What? Why?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Camrin will be turning sixteen. He’ll be presented by his new father, Pavel. We won’t be in the spotlight like this, but we’ll be expected to attend.”

“I guess that’s not as bad…”

“Now,” Pati said from the other side of the curtain, which caused Dazien to wince slightly at the word, “I’m pleased to introduce the newest member of House Wayland.”

Phoenix looked at him curiously and asked, “Is something wrong?”

He shook his head, knowing now wasn’t the time to explain, so he said, “Remind me to tell you about certain words that Uriel reacts negatively to. I’ve learned to avoid them over the years but I keep forgetting the rest of you don’t know them.”

Patricia’s announcement continued, “The son of Lord Paul Wayland, presented by his daughter, Regent Phoenix Wayland, our newest scion, Noble Dazien Wayland.”

“Showtime,” he whispered as the curtain opened and he began the walk toward his new future with Phoenix by his side.

The evening dragged on, much to Phoenix’s dismay. Even Dazien seemed to be getting tired of the event as noble after noble visited their table on the raised dais overlooking the rest of the visitors. The conversation was filled with awkward pleasantries and borderline inappropriate comments and questions. These were mostly centered around the pair not being cinderen or runeforged and their other shared trait of being orphans.

“I swear, if another person asks to touch my hair, I’m going to find out where they live and hire the orphans to visit every day for a month in an attempt to raise donations for the temple,” Dazien said to her in an aside as the most recent visitors were returning to their original table.

“Wow, way to weaponize cuteness,” she retorted with a laugh.

“I thought these nobles would have more tact than this. It’s just creepy to touch a relative stranger’s hair like that. It either comes off too intimate or like they’re testing how high of quality the product is… me being the product here.”

“They’re just human… wait, I mean people. You know, limited mortals with all those flaws and such,” she corrected, then added, “Actually, I think I’ve only met a total of like three humans since coming to this world, which feels a bit weird.”

“There’s more in the nation’s capital. That’s where most of the local humans originated from,” he noted then smiled as Pati made a gesture toward them, “Oh good, the interrogations are over and it’s time to mingle. This should go a bit better I hope.”

“You mind if I duck out? I don’t do the mingling well. Last time, I just tried hiding out on the balcony. I’d rather snag some cookies from the kitchen and take them up to Uriel while we wait for you to finish.”

He chuckled, “I’m honestly jealous of that idea right now. Go ahead, though. It’ll probably still be a couple more hours of talking and drinking before I can escape, but I’ll do my best to find an opening.”

Phoenix gave him a bright smile, “Thanks, Daze.”

As Phoenix made her way to the kitchen, Dazien made his way toward the table that held someone he actually did want to talk to. Ethan and Icarius Teras had come up to talk briefly with him and Phoenix, mainly as a show of support for House Wayland who had allied with them during the battle for Tulisuda against House Ruwena. Their daughter and only heir, however, had remained seated at their original table.

Polissa Teras seemed different in a subtle way. Her appearance hadn’t changed at all, but the way she carried herself and the spark of life that had once burned brightly within her seemed to have died with her brother.

“It’s good to see you again, Po,” he greeted the cinderen woman softly, “We missed seeing you at the memorial, though we were able to speak with your father.”

She gave him a sad smile, “Yeah, Papa mentioned that King’s Dream visited Simmon’s life-marker. Dad didn’t want me to go, though. He thought it would be too dangerous with so many bitter people there.”

“We did have a run-in with Tanner’s mother,” he said with a pained smile, “I can understand why your Dad thought it best.”

“I can’t,” she retorted, “I know I messed up out there. That Simmon’s death–”

“Wasn’t your fault,” Dazien interjected, “Mohala told us what happened. None of that was a failure on your part, Polissa.”

The summoner gave a slight scoff as she turned to follow Phoenix’s departure across the room and noted, “You both seem well, at least.”

“We are. We’ve been busy, but the good kind. Making progress in our abilities and lives.”

“I feel like I’ve been frozen in time. A forgotten character in a tale of heroes. Dad’s too afraid of losing me to allow me to move forward. At this rate, I’m going to have to wait till I’m thirty or leave my family for a chance to live again.”

“I’m sorry,” Dazien said, “I don’t know what words to offer aside from that. It’s not fair but just knowing that fact won’t change it. Perhaps you can try convincing your Dad to visit a mind mender? I know grief can be hard to process alone.”

She gave a heavy sigh but smiled up at him, “I’ll try. I’m glad to see you and Phoenix aren’t caged by your own loss.”

“It helps that we’re trying to focus on running towards the future now instead of away from the past.”

Phoenix slid through the door and down a hall to the kitchens to find both House staff and a few Fae helping out with the cooking. She hadn’t gotten a real close look at the aloof species yet. She agreed with the general assessment of “beautiful,” but it was in a more wild and ethereal style than she would normally think of.

They were smaller than an average human but much larger than Earth would usually depict in fairy tales. About four feet tall and dressed in light wispy clothing that seemed to sway in a non-existent breeze, many reflected various Elemental affinities, but they all had wings, ranging from butterfly to dragonfly to bird types. 

No matter the type of wings, though, they all had glittery dust falling off of them before quickly disappearing like monster ash being reabsorbed into the ambient magic at a hyper-accelerated rate.

The other thing that made the Fae very different from the other people she had met on Makera before was that they weren’t a species that could become Casters; they were like avals. Like Dragons or Kitsune, they were sapient magical creatures who naturally cultivated their Caste over time. 

She had heard the term “Vanhin” used to describe these more advanced types of magical creatures, which roughly translated to “Old Ones.” They were more ancient than the species that could become Casters, which were collectively referred to as “Vauva, and were originally where Casters even derived from. The history surrounding the evolution of Vanhin into Vauva was a shrouded and confusing one to her and she hadn’t had time to research further.

Currently, there was one Fae in particular with large blue butterfly wings fluttering near the end of a counter. She was murmuring sweet words at the small black kitten wearing a beautiful large ribbon tied into a bow around her neck while perched atop the counter and happily chowing down a plate of cookies.

“Who’s a good hungry little kitty? Yes, you are,” whispered the cute Fae girl as she gently patted the head of what Phoenix knew to be a merciless chimera that would make the Trickster proud.

“Is Bliss eating all the good cookies?” she asked cheerfully as she sidled up beside the pair. She contemplated attempting to sneak a cookie for herself but thought that might result in losing a hand.

The Fae gave a startled squeak, covering her mouth in surprise before asking with wide blue eyes, “You speak Faelese?”

The Wayfarer grinned, “I speak everything. My name’s Phoenix, and this little black hole is Bliss.”

The girl smiled back with a mouth full of sharpened teeth, “I’m Coronata.”

“I’m just here to steal some cookies to take back to my friend,” she explained quickly, “Do you know if there’s any not covered in cat drool?”

Coronata’s laugh was like wind chimes as she said, “Yes. Plenty to have over here. We have been doing well with cultivating the area for growing foods. The tree is very good for this.”

“Awesome,” Phoenix replied happily, “Bliss, you wanna come with me to see Uriel? Or you good with devouring the rest of Coronata’s cookies?”

“Oh, not my cookies,” the pretty Fae said with another laugh, “Familiar Fen let me feed the Bliss. He has been helping Chef Emilia with making desserts.”

Phoenix followed the gesture the girl made further down the counter to see a tall wood elf elbow-deep in flour and kneading dough. 

Greatest Aunt Pualani had one of the oddest Familiars in her opinion –even odder than the android-like Orebela– since Fen had just been a regular wood elf at one point before taking the option of becoming a Familiar. She had wondered what his story might be but felt like asking would be rude somehow. 

She redirected her focus back to the task at hand as Coronata prepared a whole plate of soft cookies filled with a berry jelly for her. Bliss gave a small burp when not even crumbs remained on the first plate, and the small kitten hopped up onto her shoulders before becoming a liquid scarf around her neck. The silky blue ribbon the chimera wore tickled against her skin and she could vaguely sense some kind of magic from it.

Phoenix chuckled when the soft snoring started up, “I envy how you can instantly fall asleep like that. Now don’t eat all of these cookies too when we get there. Uriel would be sad to miss out.”

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