Dragonieth 9 The Sponsorship Ceremony

It was a known fact to a lot of the Lochlea locals that those who were born and lived in the Alaeg forest had their lùth bound to the magical forces of the forest.

In order for a Seriph to leave the forest and continue to exist they needed to feed off an unbound lùth (Iifeforce) during consensual copulation. Beings who resided within the forest for less than three days and nights were considered the Unbound. Hence, they could easily enter and leave without repercussions. For those reasons, the Seriph were friendly with their unbound neighbours in case they needed to leave.

Linking to an Unbound Lùth was called entering into a Sponsors.h.i.+p. It was akin to a marriage contract between two Staarkind, typically a human and seriph.

"I'm happy." Luca was beaming with joy at Darick being his sponsor.

He had loved the man ever since they had met as ten-year-old kids during a pretend hunt game. Darick had coolly relieved his foot from a bear trap and skilfully nursed him back to health. Their friends.h.i.+p was instant, but their love was declared more recently when Darick was confessed to by a beautiful woman. Instead of going out with her. He fled the confession to the forest and called out to Luca. It was their first night of revealing each other's love with tender touches.

It took all his will to stop him from skipping merrily down the white-stone corridor. His happiness was turning the clouds within the silver-gla.s.s walls a dusky shade of pink.

"Your lovestruck giddiness makes me want to vomit." Deign came up behind Luca.

"Don't blame your consequence of Mira's c.r.a.ppy cooking on me." Luca sn.i.g.g.e.red.

"Mira's a great cook. A fine woman." Deign defended his favourite mistress.

Luca bulked at the thought of that seriph harlot being any less shameless than what people thought about him. At least his heart was loyal to Darick. There was nothing loyal in that heart of Mira's other than power.

"Fine woman with sharpshooter eyes for sure." Luca answered with a subtle dig and knew Deign would take it as a compliment.

"You can learn something from her example of virtue and piety." Deign scoffed.

Luca stifled a groan at his eldest brother's idiocy.

"I'd rather prepare myself from my Sponsors.h.i.+p Ceremony." Luca brushed off Deign's dogmatic preaching and boasting of his woman.

He hurried away from him and entered a door that lead into a silver-stone hallway of moving white marble blocks. He skilfully a.s.sumed a block pattern of a path that would lead to the door of his room.

Inside his haven, he heaved a sigh of relief. His impatience was making his body twitchy. He desired for the ceremony to happen as soon as possible.

The ceremony had to take place when the moon was pa.s.sing over the sun at a time of dawn. Judging by his hourgla.s.s, he had something of three hours to wait around.

"Darick." Luca whispered his lover's name.

He removed most of his uniform and stretched out on his large-sized bed. He closed his eyes and pictured Darick's mouth teasing his pleasure spots. He moaned and arched his hips, his hands compensating for the lack of Darick's physical presence. He came to his image of Darick whispering his love for him into his ear.

"Ganzerasbu, sped up the time already." Luca groaned, not satisfied with just his image of love.

Frustrated, he closed his eyes to nap away the rest of the time. A banging noise jolted his mind back to consciousness. He woke up with a panic and fear he had missed the window of his ceremony. He checked his hourgla.s.s and sighed with relief when he noticed there was still an hour left on the clock.

He hastily dressed in his uniform and raced out of his room for the Dressroom of The Regia's Throne Room.

His heart raced at the site of Darick and Corin arriving to the white hall of the Dressroom at the same time. The sober expression on Darick's face made his heart continue to race with a different reason.

"What's wrong?" Luca gently asked.

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Darick's expression clouded. "Corin. Change your mind. Luca is my lover. Just as Hannah is yours. Accept that."

Corin's expression became tight with anger. "It's unthinkable! We'll find a woman for the union."

"Don't you dare dismiss Prince Luca so disrespectfully!" Darick punched his brother. "Know this Big Brother. Luca is mine!"

Corin's expression of anger became one of shock. It was the first time he saw his brother fight for anyone so strongly.

"But you're men?" His words come out of his mouth, not understanding how two men could be lovers.

"You thick-headed idiot. How much must I beat into that skull of yours!" Darick answered back.

"Calm down, my Lord Darick." Luca sighed.

He calmly approached Corin.

"My heart belongs to Lord Darick. As his spouse, my lùth I will give him as much as he will exchange. There is no possible way I could survive on the lùth of a stranger woman. Am I not worthy enough for your brother?" Luca pleaded before Corin.

Corin sighed, realizing his common sense on the matter wasn't going to sway the two pigheaded men before him.

"Your Highness did accept the condition. There is no time." Corin left his opinion at that and moved through the white hall and the gold gilded door at the far end.

Luca gave Darick a weak smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come to accept us in good time."

Darick lovingly kissed Luca's forehead. "I'm sorry."

Seriph handmaidens entered to prepare them in their flowing white robes for the ceremony.

A short while later they entered the Throne Room from separate doors. Darick entered from left door that represented the sponsor; Luca pa.s.sed through the right door for the spouse.

Luca did his best to hold in his happiness, keeping his best solemn expression as he and Darick converged to the same point before the king and queen.

They knelt before the thrones with their heads bowed low. Darick felt the atmosphere of the room heat his back. He held in his emotions with a determination that nothing was going to stop his union with his lover.

The Throne Room was crowded with official court members and affluent guests who knelt on glittery silk cus.h.i.+ons. Insect-sized Under Fairies whizzed about heads to create an impression of starlight within the room.

Malros approached the couple with a section of red silk rope in his hands. The whispering and buzz of the room fell to silence when Malros stood before the white robed couple.

He began to sing a traditional song, stirring emotions of union within the hearts of everyone in the room. His melodic, soothing voice sung over Darick and Luca's bowed heads.

On cue, Luca and Darick lifted their left and right hand towards Malros, keeping their heads bowed to the floor with an expression of humbleness and virtue.

Malros continued to sing as he wrapped the silk rope around Darick and Luca's wrists three times.

Each time sent a sensation of lightening to surge through Darick and Luca's body. They both held in the pain they felt from the stabbing jolts.

His singing reached a crescendo, which caused the rope to glow and vibrate around their wrists.

Darick gulped at the mad tickling to his skin. He was determined not to do something to disrupt the ceremony. This was his test he was going to pa.s.s.

When Malros's singing stopped, so did the pain and all those uncomfortable sensations.

Darick blinked with surprise when the rope faded into his skin and disappeared.

"Rise Lord Darick and Prince Luca de Lochlea O'Seriph." Malros's voice commanded presence.

Darick and Luca carefully rose to their feet. They held their sober expressions as they looked to the king and queen.

Queen Selma rose and joined her husband's side.

This prompted all the people in the room to rise to their feet. They joined their voices with the king and queen's; singing a song that showered the recent sponsors.h.i.+p with well wishes and blessings for a safe journey.

The ceremony came to a close when the song ended.