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Chapter Text

Citrine was dazing on a bench in his residence’s inner garden. He shifted the small pair of wings on his head that symbolized his godly heritage. Usually, they covered the lower half of his face from unworthy mortals’ gazes but now they served perfectly to protect his eyes from the sun. He enjoyed watching the feathers’ white-opalescent color shimmer in the natural light.

Kyrie, his personal assistant as well as one of his guards, stepped closer, put their hands on their chest and bowed their head. “Your Holiness, the daughter of Chaplain Tyr’el has come to find you. She is waiting in the drawing room.”

Citrine moved his wings down so he could see and sat up. “Chaplain Tyr’el’s daughter? Is she qualified to meet me eye to eye?”

Kyrie bowed, their garment’s veil that was covering their face swaying with the motion. “She has just returned from training in the main temple of Soleur’Ryn after reaching the rank of head-priestess, giving her full qualifications to meet Your Holiness without a curtain.”

With a sigh, Citrine got up and slowly stretched all six of the large, white-opalescent wings on his back, before ambling inside to the drawing room. He lay down on his chaise lounge chair, his head propped up with his left hand, and looked his visitor up and down. The shula kneeling in front of him was quite a sight to behold, he had to admit. He had heard before, that Chaplain Tyr’el’s daughter was praised all around Lucrir for her beauty, but it wasn’t common he agreed with such rumors. Smooth white hair that would surely reach down her entire back if she was standing reflected the six brilliantly golden wings on her back. As was the etiquette for meeting one of Zephyr’s Divine Children, she wore official garments as well as the fitting headdress, showing her status as a head priestess.

Lazily, Citrine waved at her with his right hand. “Raise your head.”

She lifted her head and her gaze met his. Eyes like the wide ocean, seemingly shifting between a deep green and blue, looked at him. “This humble head priestess of Zephyr, Lilia Tyr’el, daughter of Chaplain Micha Fouran Tyr’el greets the 6^th Divine Prince, His Holiness Rael Zyr.”

‘Rael’. It had been quite a while since anyone had referred to Citrine with that name. All current acolytes within his residence had been raised here with the sole purpose of serving and protecting him. They all called him ‘Your Holiness’ or ‘Master’ at the very least. All his divine siblings referred to him as Citrine, the divine name given to him by their godly parent. And… Well, he didn’t exactly talk to other people than that.

Even through his silent stare, she did not waver. Whatever she had come here for, Citrine was sure, she would do whatever she could to see it through. He waited another moment before speaking up again. “Well then, what has brought a humble head priestess like you to me of all people, Miss Lilia?”

She did not waste a second to answer. “I have come to Your Holiness Rael to propose a trade. Specifically, I am offering to better Your Holiness’ outward reputation by taking care of official business for Your Holiness while providing the public with reasonable explanations for Your Holiness’ absence.”

Miss Lilia halted her explanations, obviously waiting for how Citrine would respond. He closed his eyes. He was well known as a shutoff divine prince preferring to laze around than take part in official ceremonies or events. Every servant within his residence knew that Kyrie took care of almost all necessary organizational matters and paperwork for him – simply because Citrine didn’t bother. Citrine didn’t specifically dislike this reputation – he was the sole cause of it after all – but improving it wasn’t too bad an offer. The deciding factor was the price. He opened his eyes. “What do you plan to gain from this trade?”

“My goal is to become one of our Divine Lord Zephyr’s messengers. With a chaplain as the currently highest position in our household, my family is certainly not poor. However, their funds and influence are still too limited to have an open path to becoming a messenger. Your Holiness is different. Not only is Your Holiness practically untouchable and possesses grand riches; Your Holiness shares blood with our Divine Lord Zephyr. If I had Your Holiness Rael’s backing, the options to fulfill my goal would be plentiful.”

Citrine smirked, knowing fully well, that the wings on his head were blocking Miss Lilia’s view of his mouth. “My ‘backing’, huh? Now, how do you think that would look like, Miss Lilia?”

For the first time, his visitor showed a spur of hesitation and avoided his gaze for just a split second. When she looked back at him though, any sign of uncertainty was yet again replaced by unwavering determination. “This humble head priestess of Zephyr has come today to offer herself as His Holiness Rael’s future wife.”

Laughter escaped Citrine’s mouth. Just what he had expected. It was by far not the first marriage proposal he had received in his life but, so far it had been the most amusing. “And what makes this head priestess think this Divine Prince will agree to said offer?”

A soft smile appeared on her delicate face. “Naturally, the answer fully depends on Your Holiness’ whims. However, I believe there to be no real downside for Your Holiness. It’ll be a marriage in name only, the allowance I’ll receive will be more than enough, and as promised I will take care of Your Holiness’ reputation and official business.” She bowed her head slightly but her gaze stayed on Citrine. “Furthermore, this humble head priestess has heard rumors, that you are being pushed to find a partner either way.”

Citrine squinted. “Where have you heard such rumors?”

Miss Lilia bowed her head fully. “Anywhere I go. It is a rather prominent rumor though I do not know where it originated from. What I am sure of, is that soon there will be many more suitors to come.” She shook her head and raised it again. “Of course, this might just be nonsense. Your Holiness is known as our Divine Lord Zephyr’s favorite after all.”

Once more those sea-green eyes rested on Citrine. As annoying as those rumors were, the thing he disliked was that they were true – not that something like that alone would make him actually marry. Yes, his godly parent, Zephyr, loved to pester Citrine to finally find a wife, but in the end, Citrine was their favorite. A fact they didn’t even try to hide. And so, the plethora of requests to marry had fallen on deaf ears with Citrine.

Yet, he found himself intrigued to accept Miss Lilia’s offer. Not because of Zephyr’s nagging or the outlook on a better reputation and even less work. Not even due to curiosity or amusement. No, the thing drawing him closer and closer to agreeing were those same sea-green eyes. Sea-green eyes that seemed as deep and mysterious as the ocean and yet seemed to glow with determination.

When your golden child finds the jaded moon that shall make even the deepest of seas shine before him, a new Saintess will arrive to determine the future of Your faith.

Those had been the words the hags of fate had told Zephyr who, in turn, had told Citrine. Together they had mulled over them and come to a general interpretation.

The ‘golden child’ was without a doubt Citrine. Not only was he Zephyr’s favorite, but he was also the only one among the Divine Princes and Princesses with orangey-yellow eyes – the very golden color that had gotten him his divine name, Citrine, after a similar colored gem. The ‘jaded moon’ that was usually Zephyr’s symbol most likely meant they were a treasure for both him and Zephyr. Naturally, that would also fit the entire ‘Saintess’ thing. The only unclear part, was ‘shall make even the deepest of seas shine before him’. After some thought, they had concluded that whoever Citrine would fall in love with would most likely be the next saintess.

This had been the start of Zephyr’s nagging for Citrine to find a partner.

But now, looking at Miss Lilia, Citrine was questioning if maybe the prophecy had nothing to do with his love at all. Instead, perhaps it had referred to someone intertwined with Zephyr already, who simply had shimmering seas. Specifically, two eyes whose color seemed to constantly shift between a jade green and a deep sea-blue.

Citrine got up and immediately Miss Lilia touched her forehead to the ground. He stepped in front of her and with a flick of his fingers, divine winds raised her upper body until he could easily hold her head up with his hand. Her reasoning had been sound. No matter his own feelings or the prophecy, he had already made up his mind when he had asked her the price of this trade.

“Get up. My reputation is bad enough as is, I don’t need any stories added about how I’m making my fiancé grovel before me.”

Her eyes grew wide as she slowly stood up. “Thank you, Your –”

Citrine stopped her with a finger on her mouth. “It’s ‘Rael’ from now on, Lilia. I can’t have my future wife call me by something as impersonal as a title.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Lo–”

Once again Citrine shushed her. “Just ‘Rael’.”

Lilia took a deep breath and nodded a second time. “Alright, then. Thank you… Rael. I look forward to our future together.”

Chapter Text

The last words had just left Lilia’s mouth when Citrine turned to one end of the room. Kneeling at the wall were a handful of acolytes ready to cater to his every need at as little as a snap of his fingers. They all wore the same flowing uniform with heavy veils covering their faces, so their only distinguishing features were their hair and stature. Still, Citrine could tell each and every one of them apart, as they all had served him for their entire lives. He let his gaze wander across them until it settled on one of them.

“Elei,” he said and the acolyte he was looking at stood up.

“At your service.”

Citrine gestured to Lilia. “From this moment on you will accompany my fiancé as her attendant and personal guard.” He waved for them to come closer and continued. “Her wellbeing is your top priority. When she calls, you will answer; when she is attacked, you will be her sword and shield; when she makes a decision, you will support her no matter what. Understood?”

Elei lowered themself on one knee. “Your Holiness’ wish is my command.”

With a satisfied nod, Citrine turned back to the wall, his gaze fixated on the acolyte closest to his chaise lounge chair. “Kyrie. Assist my fiancé until she has adjusted to her tasks within the residence.” Without waiting for a response, he shifted his attention to Lilia. “As my fiancé, it would only be right for you to move into my residence. The western building, Mistral Hall, is currently empty and should suit your needs.” He shrugged. “If not, simply have a new place built that does.”

Lilia bowed her head slightly. “Mistral Hall will be more than enough. I will have everything arranged for the move within the next two days.”

“Perfect.”

Citrine had already set his mind on heading back to the garden, but Lilia interrupted his doing. “Just one more thing, Lo… Rael.” He turned back. “While our deal has me taking over all official business in your stead, I’m afraid, there will be one event in the near future you will have to attend personally.”

For a moment Citrine’s eyes narrowed but then the answer hit him. “The engagement ceremony. Of course. Just organize everything and I will be there.”

Her face lit up with a warm smile and Lilia nodded. “Rest assured, I will fulfill my end of the deal.”

And fulfill her end of the deal she did.

Exactly two days later she was fully moved into Mistral Hall, and only a week later the engagement ceremony happened. Everything had been planned perfectly. The ceremony was no larger than necessary and Citrine did not have to lift a single finger – even the traditional four-sentence-promise they had to exchange had been written for him.

Two months later their engagement ceremony was still the main topic of the capital. Since then, Citrine and Lilia had been heeded as the ‘pair of rising suns’. Citrine’s reputation as ‘Zephyr’s laidback favorite’ slowly but surely faded into the background with every new step Lilia took.

Her first big move was a charity event she hosted together with a local high priest, a few months after the engagement ceremony. They offered healing, food and clothes to people in need around the capital and in close by settlements. While not an original idea per se, the event was very well received both by the commoners and nobility.

Lilia’s next big move followed just another two months after and was currently being shoved in Citrine’s face.

“Isn’t this amazing, Brother?!” Carmite, the 8^th Divine Princess repeated for what felt like the billionth time. She was the daughter of the 3^rd Divine Prince and currently Citrine’s youngest sibling, since all Divine Princes and Princesses considered each other siblings. After all, even if they shared no actual blood relations they were all connected through Zephyr’s blood – and how could mortal blood relations be more important than their common godly parent?

Carmite’s pinkish-red eyes sparkled as she held the book in her hands even closer to Citrine’s face. Smiling, Citrine moved the leather-bound work a bit further away from his nose. “It definitely is, Carmite.” His words’ main intention might’ve been to calm his little sister but he couldn’t help but feel a warm sensation filling his chest when looking at the detailed cover art. Lilia had mentioned to him before in passing that she planned on publishing a children’s book but this result far exceeded Citrine’s expectations.

He took the book, opened it and carefully stroked across the pages. They told the story of Zephyr’s birth, the founding of the country of Lucion and the general workings of Zephyr’s faith – all in a child-friendly way with lots of intricate illustrations in a style reminiscent of stained-glass windows.

Citrine closed the book again and handed it back to Carmite. “I’m glad you enjoy this book. I will make sure to relay to Lilia how much you love it.”

Carmite nodded and pressed the book to her chest. “Please do, Brother! It’s my absolute favorite!” The white-opalescent wings on her head, that all Divine Children of Zephyr shared, shifted to hide her face. “While you’re at it, Citrine… Could you also ask, if she could maybe ask the Signatus Lucis if he would paint me a portrait in this illustration style? I truly love the artworks he created for the book but I heard he doesn’t usually take commissions, so…”

“So, you hoped it would be different if Lilia asked him?” Carmite nodded, her face still covered by her wings. Chuckling, Citrine patted her head. “I’ll make sure to ask her.”

The wings moved back to her head’s sides, giving way to a bright smile. “Thank you so much, Brother Citrine!” A chime sounded as the 3^rd Divine Prince, Voiral, stepped through the glittering curtains covering the entrance to Citrine’s tea room. As soon as Carmite saw him, she jumped from her seat and rushed over to hug him. “Welcome back, Father!”

A soft smile on his face, Voiral returned the hug before turning to Citrine. “Thank you for having tea with her in my stead, Citrine.”

With a wave of his hand, Citrine dismissed his brother’s thanks. “Seeing Carmite is hardly a task.” He nodded to the deep violet gem adorning Voiral’s robe. “Did you see Zephyr or why are you wearing a brooch made of your namesake jewel?”

Voiral huffed and hid his facial features behind the wings on his head. “Do I have to have a reason to wear a voiral?”

Citrine shrugged. “Of course not, Brother, though I was under the impression you disliked wearing jewelry.”

Carmite snickered and pointed at the brooch. “He did go to see Zephyr and Mother complained until he at least put on this brooch before heading out.”

A deep sigh escaped Voiral as he moved his wings out of his face again. “Yeah… She said the high priest would complain again if I didn’t at least wear a single voiral when seeing our godly parent…” He shook his head. “If only the priests knew how little Zephyr cared about any jewel that isn’t a citrine, I’m sure they’d leave me be.”

A voice as light as a breeze and yet as unyielding as a gale rang out. “You make me sound like an awful parent, Voiral.”

Floating next to the table of refreshments Carmite and Citrine had eaten earlier, a tart in hand, was Zephyr. As always, their entire form was as translucent as air, only discernable through the soft iridescent shimmer of their surface. Their vaguely humanoid shape was completely covered by what seemed like layers of long garments and a myriad of wings. On Zephyr’s head alone sat 8 pairs of small wings, leaving not a single spot uncovered. Even though they were transparent, the only actually humanoid feature visible was a pair of teal, glowing eyes shining through the feathers in front of their face.

Citrine smirked and turned to them. “So, you’re saying I’m not your favorite anymore? After getting a fiancé as you wanted me to?”

In the blink of an eye, Zephyr moved to him, and translucent arms with robes flowing in an everlasting wind wrapped around Citrine. “Not at all, my beloved golden son! If anything, your engagement makes me love you even more.” They turned their wing-covered face to Voiral and Carmite. “Not to say that I don’t love the rest of my children too, naturally. Though – speaking of your fiancé, Citrine – I have yet to meet her in person, don’t I?” Zephyr lay down in midair, their glowing eyes set on Citrine.

Sighing, Citrine waved his hand. “And how exactly is that my fault? You’re the god of wind. If you haven’t been able to look at one of your own head priestesses, that’s certainly not my fault.”

Zephyr’s eyes squinted and the divine winds streaming through their robes and feathers intensified. “I have looked at her! But I want to talk to her too and I can’t do that right now if I’m not channeled by one of you!” They moved back to the refreshments and helped themselves to another tart. “Oh well, I suppose I can wait a bit longer.”

Carmite stepped closer to Zephyr and held out the picture book. “Have you held one of the books she made yet?”

The winds surrounding them stopped for a split second, and they took the book from Carmite’s hands with a flick of their fingers. The pages of the book moved and Zephyr’s eyes grew wider the more they looked. They let the book fly back to Carmite and turned back to Citrine. “I had not, because the son that would’ve had the best chance to give me one, hasn’t visited me in months.”

Their glowing eyes seemed to pierce Citrine but he just shrugged and hid his smirk behind his head’s wings. “Maybe I would visit you myself if you didn’t show up unannounced in my home every other day.”

Zephyr rolled their eyes. “I don’t even show up here that often…”

Voiral laughed under his breath. “While you two discuss that, Carmite and I’ll head home. My wife is waiting for us.” They both waved at Citrine and Zephyr, and headed out of the room.

Just a moment after they left, Carmite popped her head back around the corner. “Don’t forget to ask Miss Lilia for me, Citrine!” she called, waved again, and actually disappeared around the corner this time.

Zephyr sat down in midair and tilted their head. “Ignoring what we discussed earlier, what are your honest thoughts about your fiancé? Could she be the one we were hoping for?”

Shrugging, Citrine leaned back in his seat. “Who knows? She’s certainly… Intriguing.”

“How so?”

Citrine snorted and started counting on his fingers. “The engagement ceremony she planned had more impact than Carmite’s birth. It took her less than two weeks to not only win over Elei and Kyrie but to have over half of the acolytes sing her praises. Her charity event was the most well-received in years. And now she published a children’s book illustrated by the Signatus Lucis that broke selling records within Lucion even compared to your scriptures.” He shook his head and almost against his will, a smile appeared on Citrine’s lips. “If such brilliance in combination with her looks and warm personality isn’t intriguing, I don’t know what would be.”

Zephyr floated in front of Citrine and touched his forehead with their pointer finger. “So, you do like her.” If they had had a mouth, Citrine was sure their face would show a wry smirk.

He used a bit of divine wind to move Zephyr’s finger away and attempted to hide the slight heat creeping into his cheeks behind a veil of feathers. “T-that is not what I said,” he mumbled, more to himself than to Zephyr.

Laughter as clear as a mountain breeze echoed through the room. “Whatever you say, my dearest Citrine.” Zephyr’s winds carefully blew away the wings in front of Citrine’s face as they cupped his face with their hands. “Just remember to be honest with yourself, at the very least.”

With these words Zephyr’s figure slowly dissipated, becoming one with the air around them, and left Citrine alone in his tea room. He thought about Zephyr’s words. Did he really like Lilia? Sure, her presence didn’t bother him, but neither did any of the acolytes’.

He filed through his memories with her. How she had appeared in front of him for the first time over half a year ago; how she seemed to exude determination and energy whenever she told him about her next plans during their meals together; how she sometimes got so lost in all the paperwork that Citrine would find her asleep at her desk just to complain when he moved her to her room to sleep there…

Slowly a realization formed in Citrine’s head. He looked forward to seeing her. Be it during mealtimes she specifically had to make time for in her schedule or him seeking out her office in the middle of the night with the slightest hope that she would be there. He wasn’t sure what he felt was something as grand as love but he certainly did like Lilia – probably just as much as some of his divine siblings.

The longer he thought the clearer one thing became: He wanted to keep her brilliance at his side for all the world to see.

Chapter Text

“I have a favor to ask, Rael.”

Lilia’s words made Citrine look up from his food. Her eyes were wavering ever so slightly and he raised an eyebrow. “One that makes you nervous?”

Lilia blushed and nodded slowly. “A bit… During my proposal I said, the allowance I would receive from you would be enough but…” She trailed off and poked around in her food.

“How much do you need?”

Slowly her eyes searched for Citrine once more. “At least two million gold pieces.”

Without blinking, Citrine shrugged. “Sure, I’ll tell Kyrie to give you an additional three million gold pieces to spend this month then.”

Across the table, Lilia almost dropped her fork. “Two million should be enough, you don’t need to add a whole additional million gold pieces on top!”

With a huff, Citrine shrugged again. “Two million, three million… Who cares? Just take the extra million as a backup in case something goes wrong with the first two. Besides: If you don’t need it for whatever you have planned next, just use it on yourself.” He let his eyes rest on her for a bit. “Was that all?”

Slowly, Lilia nodded. “Y-yes… That was all. I… wasn’t aware this would be such a small matter to you.”

A chuckle escaped Citrine. “You’ve seen my finances and yet you weren’t aware two million gold pieces would not be a big deal to me?”

Lilia scrunched her face just slightly, to what Citrine had gotten to recognize as her pouting expression. “Well, just because you have the ability to spend it doesn’t make it any less money.” She shook her head and her usual smile returned. “Either way, thank you. This will simplify my current endeavors by a large margin.”

Citrine pushed his empty plate away and leaned back in his chair, his head tilted slightly. “What are you working on?”

Finishing up her plate as well, Lilia let him wait for her answer for a moment. “That will be my secret until it is ready to show off.”

In the following months, Lilia was even busier than before. She still shared meals with Citrine every once in a while but he barely caught a glimpse of her otherwise. Whenever Citrine asked what she was working on she either avoided the topic or told him to be patient a bit longer. Close to the end of the year his waiting came to an end.

“Citrine!” The shout like a gale racing across open plains awoke Citrine from his nap.

Still half asleep, he glared at Zephyr whose glowing, teal eyes were staring at him from right next to his face. “What?” he grumbled.

“Lilia just blessed a new altar!”

Blinking, Citrine sat up. “Huh?”

Divine winds pulled Citrine to his feet as Zephyr draped the veil Citrine wore in public over him and pushed him toward the stables. “Do you remember that old temple on that hill south of Lucrir? The one abandoned after the Soul War? Well, she had it restored! And she just finished and blessed the altar – all on her own too!” This short explanation was followed by a hurricane of words about how great this development was.

Their endless gusts of words lasted right until they stood before the stables where Citrine finally decided to cut them off. “Alright, alright, I got it! If you keep on rambling my ears will fall off.”

Zephyr halted their escapades just to fly right in front of Citrine, their hands on his shoulders. “Hold up, I don’t want you to go there to simply take a look at the beauty she created. I want you to make this temple a sanctum.”

Citrine raised his brows. “Why?”

Zephyr took their hands off Citrine’s shoulders and avoided his gaze. “Because I like it!” they exclaimed and turned back to Citrine. “Now, now, stop worrying your pretty little head about all the details and be on your way, my wonderful golden son.”

Before Citrine could ask any more questions about Zephyr’s more than suspicious reaction and sudden change of topic, their form had already disappeared. With a sigh, Citrine shook his head and looked across the magically created grassland that functioned as his residence’s stables. He whistled for his mount to come and she ran over to him as soon as the sound of his whistling reached her ears.

Ilya was an alicorn mare who Zephyr had gifted to Citrine on his sixth birthday. Her deep black fur – that was the rarer of the two colors for her species – shimmered in the magically simulated sunlight of the stables as she stopped right in front of Citrine, stretched her wings and snorted softly.

A warm smile on his lips, Citrine reached out his hand and patted her neck. “Let’s get your saddle and go on a small flight.”

He spread his wings and took to the air to reach the floating cleaning area where all saddles, bridles and other equine accessories for both Ilya and all the pegasi were being kept. Ilya followed close behind him and patiently waited for him to groom and saddle her. A usual, he left the bridle off – he didn’t need it for her anyway, so why bother?

Ilya was fast and only a few minutes later they landed in front of the small temple. When Zephyr had gone on and on how fantastically Lilia had revitalized the temple, Citrine had thought they were exaggerating. Now, in front of the temple, he realized it had been the opposite. Nothing Zephyr could’ve said would’ve ever even come close to what Lilia had done to the place. He remembered the dirty gray walls with cracks that had been overgrown with plants the last time he had seen the temple. It hadn’t just been restored or rebuilt, it was an entirely new temple.

Brilliantly white marble that didn’t show even the slightest imperfections held up the structure. The actual size hadn’t been changed and yet the new architecture made it seem much grander than before. Pillars, arches, reliefs, statues and golden ornamentations made its style comparable to the main temple in Lucrir.

Where overgrown grass, weeds and dead plants once piled on top of each other, now stood well tended hedges, small trees and beautifully arranged flowers. They further enhanced the almost fantastical grace of the temple they surrounded.

Not a single person was visible. Citrine got off of Ilya, created a stand made of divine wind that would last for a day unless dispelled and placed Ilya’s saddle on it. He gestured to the grass next to it. “Stay here, Ilya. There’s nothing inside you will find interesting.”

With a soft snort, Ilya walked off to graze and left Citrine to enter the temple by himself. As soon as he let the temple doors shut behind him he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Air filled his lungs and with it came the almost warm sensation of divine power. Someone unfamiliar with it might think it unsettling but to Citrine the feeling gave him more comfort than anything else.

Smiling, he opened his eyes. It was impressive as is that Lilia managed to rebuild this temple to such glory but the clarity of the divine power flowing inside it was proof of even more. Not every divine blessing was the same. Depending on how skilled the person giving the blessing was, the resulting divine power exuded varied.

As a head priestess, Lilia had not reached a rank worthy of a personal mark by Zephyr. This meant that all the control over divine power she had was entirely due to her own strength – and she had done an impeccable job. In fact, Citrine doubted a better result would be possible unless the blessing’s caster bore Zephyr’s mark or had divine power of their own.

Slowly, Citrine strolled through the empty halls taking in the awe-inspiring architecture and decorations that mirrored the outside’s. The entire temple felt elegant and magnificent without feeling too glamorous or flashy. Every now and then, Citrine let his fingers slide across a particularly impressive statue or relief that caught his attention. He got so lost in the attention to detail that the temple was exuding that he only fully noticed he had reached the main prayer hall with the altar when Lilia’s voice rang out.

“Rael?”

Citrine spun around to look at her. She was standing next to the altar, a few offerings in her hand, and was looking at him with her eyes wide. He flicked his finger and divine winds removed the veil from his face. “Yes. I’m sorry for showing up so suddenly.”

She shook her head and shot him a smile. “Don’t be, it’s a welcome surprise. Is there a special reason for it?”

Huffing, Citrine nodded. “There is. Zephyr hurried me over here after you blessed the altar.”

Awe glistened in her eyes. “Our Divine Lord Zephyr themself?”

“Yes. They were all over how well you did with rebuilding this place and the blessing – which I agree with, by the way, you’ve done an incredible job.” He gestured to the altar. “In fact, they liked what you did so much, they wanted me to increase the altar’s blessing to that of a sanctum.”

“A… a sanctum…?” Lilia trailed off, seemingly unable to process Citrine’s words, silently watching Citrine.

Without further ado, Citrine stepped closer to the altar and lifted his hands. He let his divine power surge, interlacing it into the divine power already radiating from the blessed altar. Wind rose around him, engulfing Citrine in streams of air shimmering in iridescent colors. With each passing second that he fed his divine power into the temple’s weave, the jaded moon that hung over the altar glowed stronger. When the crescent moon shone in a light bright enough to bathe the whole room in a jade green light and every breath Citrine took was saturated with divine power he stopped.

He turned to Lilia and attempted to speak, but before a single syllable could leave his mouth, his world turned dark.

When Citrine regained consciousness, he was sitting on top of the altar with his legs crossed, looking down at Lilia who was standing before him as a subject before their master.

He blinked before the sudden realization of what had just happened hit him. He jumped off the altar and clicked his tongue. “So that’s why you really wanted me to make this place a sanctum…” he muttered under his breath and a gust of wind passed by him as if stroking his cheek. With another click of his tongue, Citrine waved his hand at the wind as if chasing away an annoying insect. Immediately the wind tousled through his hair and feathers, pushing some strands in front of his eyes, before streaming through the room filling it with a howl akin to laughter.

Citrine sighed and moved his hair out of his eyes. “How long did Zephyr invite themself into my body for?”

“A bit over ten minutes,” Lilia responded. The offerings she had been holding weren’t in her hands anymore – Zephyr had probably taken them during their conversation. She tilted her head. “I wasn’t aware the Divine Lord Zephyr could channel themself through their children.”

“They can’t. Unless that child is in a sanctum of Zephyr’s faith and has just used a decent amount of divine power.” He rolled his eyes. “You know, something like creating a sanctum.”

“Oh.” Lilia looked from Citrine to the altar and back. “Sooo, basically, they made you come here and make this a sanctuary so they could take over your body without your approval?”

“That makes it sound like a bigger deal than I think it is, but yes.”

“Wait, you don’t think it’s an issue? At all?”

Citrine shrugged. “Well, it’s an annoyance but nothing more. Zephyr can’t leave the sanctum with my body like this or use divine power so they can’t really do much but talk directly to people their pure presence would otherwise burn from the insides.”

Lilia’s eyes grew wide. “That would mean… they made you channel them so they could talk to me in person? Since I wouldn’t be able to withstand their divinity directly?”

“Seems like it.” Nodding, Citrine pulled the veil over his head again. “You have Elei with you, right?” He scanned the room until he caught a glimpse of Elei, keeping to the shadows, bowing to him. “Good. I’ll head back home then.”

On the way out, Citrine ran into a cardinal who was heading toward the main prayer hall. Assuming he was here to meet Lilia, Citrine quickly waved his hand for the cardinal to be at ease when he lowered himself to kneel. Without a second thought, Citrine passed him and continued to leave. Outside, he took the saddle off the stand he had created and whistled for Ilya to come over. He had just fastened the saddle belts when the rustling of clothes made him turn around.

Just before the temple’s stairs was Elei, kneeling but with their head held high. As soon as Citrine looked at them, they began to speak. “Your Holiness, please pardon me for speaking on my own accord but I can’t think of another way.” Citrine waved for them to go on. “For the sake of Lady Lilia, I ask Your Holiness to reprimand Cardinal Varoun for his behavior.” They lowered their head slightly. “I am aware that this request is rather insolent but I simply can’t stand to watch Lady Lilia continue to endure this humiliation.”

“Take off Ilya’s saddle before you follow me inside. I will go and get myself a picture of the situation personally.”

He didn’t wait for Elei’s response and headed back inside the temple. Since the temple wasn’t very large, Citrine arrived at the doors to the main hall quickly. He couldn’t hear anything but a muffled voice through the thick oak doors so he decided to just enter. After all, why shouldn’t he be able to freely enter a sanctum of his godly parent whenever he pleased? One he had just made a sanctum, no less.

His divine winds pushed the doors open while he lowered his veil and stepped into the prayer hall. Just two steps into the hall, Citrine understood what Elei had meant. Cardinal Varoun stood in the center of the room. Lilia knelt in front of him, her forehead on the ground. Burning rage bubbled inside Citrine’s guts, threatening to boil over the longer he looked at the scene before him.

With quick movements he closed the distance between him and Lilia, lifted her head with his winds and held out a hand to her. “Get up.” While Lilia hesitantly took Citrine’s hand and rose to her feet, Citrine whipped his head around to Cardinal Varoun. He was not only still standing but stared at Citrine as if he had seen a ghost. “How come you’re still standing while I’m right in front of you, Cardinal?” Citrine snarled.

The cardinal flinched and dropped to the ground, his head bowed deeply.

By now, Lilia had stood up completely and Citrine turned his full attention to Cardinal Varoun. “What’s this? My fiancé had her head on the ground just now yet there is still some space between your forehead and the cold, hard stone-tiles, isn’t there?” Not waiting for a reaction, Citrine pointed his finger at the cardinal and moved it toward the ground. Divine winds took a hold of Cardinal Varoun’s head and pressed it to the floor. “There we go. That’s better.”

His eyes narrowed, Citrine glared at him from above. This sort of position was meant to show intense respect. The sort of respect you want to show when asking a favor or for forgiveness from someone way above your level. It wasn’t a pose Lilia should have to be in ever again. Especially not for a mere cardinal. He clicked his tongue. “Elei, drag this sad excuse of a cardinal to Cloud Palace, in front of my first brother. Tell him, he dared to disrespect me and my beloved fiancé within the halls of Zephyr’s new sanctum and that I demand him to receive judgement for it. Lilia and I will follow you separately.”

He had more guessed than known, that Elei had already returned to the hall but the rustling of clothes and steps getting closer proved his assumption correct. “Immediately, Your Holiness.”

Just as Citrine had ordered, they stepped next to Cardinal Varoun, grabbed two of his wings and began dragging him towards the temple exit. The cardinal scurried to get up on his feet to make the transport more bearable. He most likely knew that Elei would continue pulling them along to the palace no matter what – because as one of Citrine’s acolytes, to them, Citrine’s word was law.

“Is this really necessary, Rael?” Lilia asked quietly. She reached out and touched Citrine’s arm, making him turn to her. “Judgement from His Majesty for something like this?”

The image of Lilia groveling before the cardinal returned and with it came the same rage Citrine had felt after entering. “Of course it is! How dare he make you kneel before him?! Who does he think he is?!”

“A cardinal?”

“Exactly! He is just a cardinal!”

Lilia huffed. “And I’m just a head priestess, Rael. Of course he can make me kneel – not that I think it’s very noble or polite, but still. He simply holds a higher rank than me.”

Citrine couldn’t believe his ears. “A higher rank than you? Just a head priestess? I don’t think you understand, Lilia. He did not have ‘Head Priestess Lilia Tyr’el’ kneel before him; he had ‘Head Priestess Lilia Tyr’el, future consort of the 6^th Divine Prince Citrine Rael Zyr’ kneel before him.” He shook his head and took a deep breath. “Seriously, you lower your head to others way too quickly. You’re not just a head priestess anymore. The moment you got engaged to me, my title became yours. That was literally one of the main reasons why you wanted to marry me to begin with – my position.” He took another deep breath and put his hands on Lilia’s shoulders. “Except for Zephyr or a different god there is not a single person in existence who has a right to make you kneel like that. None. Not even my first brother, Paraiba, can justify that. If you’re ever unsure if you should bow or kneel before someone just consider what I would do. Whatever that reaction is, is just as appropriate for you as it is for me.”

Slowly, Lilia nodded. “I… honestly didn’t think this was a large issue. I mean, sure, I know that he was purposely humiliating me but… Well, I didn’t think too much of it.”

Citrine took his hands off her shoulders and snorted. “Just remember this for the future.” He glanced to the oak doors that had closed behind Elei and the cardinal. “We should head to Cloud Palace ourselves now. How did you get here?”

“By carriage.”

“Hm, I’m too impatient to wait for a carriage now. We’ll just both ride Ilya. Pegasus saddles are longer anyway to be able to buckle them around the wings.” He opened the doors for her and led her to Ilya. “You haven’t met yet, but this is Ilya. She’s been with me since I was a kid,” Citrine explained while getting her saddle. It had been propped up neatly through some light magic so saddling her again did not take long. He helped Lilia up before getting on himself and they headed off to the palace.

Alicorns had more magic than pegasi which made them even faster in flight. This way they reached the palace gates in just the blink of an eye where Citrine left Ilya to one of the palace attendants and headed straight inside with Lilia. No-one would ever dare to stop him in here and so they soon stepped into the audience hall, in whose center Elei knelt next to the cardinal who groveled before the figure on the throne.

There sat Paraiba, the 1^st Divine Prince and both king and religious leader of Lucion. The six white-opalescent wings on his back were fanned out behind him while the two smaller ones on his head, poking out through his teal hair, hid his mouth and nose just like the ones on Citrine’s head did for him. His piercing, teal eyes were set on the cardinal but shifted to Citrine and Lilia as soon as he noticed them.

“Your acolyte has already explained the situation so there is no need for you or your fiancé to waste your breath, Citrine.” His gaze shifted back to Cardinal Varoun. “Now that every involved party is present, we shall begin the judgement. As this directly affects one of Zephyr’s children, the only suitable judge for this matter is, naturally, Zephyr themself.”

The cardinal let out a whimper as Paraiba stood up and called upon his divine power to channel Zephyr. Not a heartbeat later a divine wind brushed through his robes and hair, his already teal eyes began to glow and three additional pairs of translucent wings appeared on his head. With a gaze as cold as the icy winds in the land of snow, Geluon, Zephyr tilted their head and looked down at Cardinal Varoun.

Though Paraiba’s mouth would move while Zephyr spoke, their voice was the same as always. More winds than words and yet clearly understandable. “What a pity to have to meet again like this, Alisto Gabri Varoun. For all our sakes, let’s make this quick.” They walked down the three steps on which the throne sat and stepped right before the cardinal. “For purposely humiliating my son’s fiancé on multiple occasions and disrespecting my son himself in my new favorite sanctum of all places, I hereby excommunicate you from my faith. The cardinal’s mark you’ve received will disappear as will all your command over divine power. No wind shall blow in your favor ever again.” A small, teal cyclone swirled around Alisto Varoun. As it slowly dissipated, his body cramped and he gasped for air. “Take him away.” Zephyr turned around and two guards closed in to take Varoun away.

He was now not just a regular shul but one sensitive to Zephyr’s divine power in a manner that could almost be considered an allergy. In the presence of multiple people with large amounts of divine power and even Zephyr themself – be it channeled by one of their children – he would not be able to survive for more than a few hours. This was exactly why excommunication from Zephyr’s faith meant more than just being unable to call upon them. For shula, especially those living in Lucion, excommunication meant isolation from society since so many had at least some amount of command over divine power.

Citrine did not bother to watch him get dragged out of the room. Instead, he stepped closer to Zephyr. “On the occasion, I believe you owe me favor, Zephyr.”

Zephyr halted in their tracks and slowly turned around. “I suppose I did force my channeling on you earlier. What do you wish for, my dearest Citrine?”

“Give Lilia a higher rank within your faith. One that won’t let people use it as an excuse for openly looking down on her.” He gestured to the door. “For example, I believe there currently is an open position for a cardinal.”

“Give her a cardinal’s mark?” Zephyr walked over to Lilia and lifted her chin slightly with one hand. “I’m afraid this is one favor I can’t grant you.”

Citrine whirled around and opened his mouth to interject but Zephyr raised a hand for him to stay silent.

“She will never have the title of cardinal – it’s simply not part of her fate. However, I can still give her something to consolidate her position. Something I had wanted to give to her anyway and have received the ability to give it to her just a few moments ago.” Lilia looked so tense, Citrine was worried she was holding her breath, but even he wouldn’t dare to actively hinder Zephyr in whatever they were doing. Citrine’s eyes widened when they let go of Lilia’s chin and instead placed their pointer finger on her forehead. The soft breeze surrounding Zephyr enclosed Lilia with them, and a jade-green glow appeared where Zephyr’s finger met her face. As Zephyr lifted their finger a jade-green crescent moon became visible and a transparent pair of small wings, shimmering iridescent in the light, sprouted from her head.

Zephyr moved Paraiba’s small wings away so Lilia could see the entire face and smiled. “From this moment on you shall be known as Melocent Lilia Tyr’el, the 9^th Saintess of my faith.”

Chapter Text

A stream of divine wind rushed straight toward Citrine and forced him to block it with his own. Sighing, he raised an eyebrow. “That’s the seventh time in a row that your out-of-control winds have come right at my face. It’s starting to feel like you’re doing this on purpose, Melocent.”

The golden wings on Melocent’s back twitched as she crossed her arms. “I’m not!” She looked away from Citrine. “This just isn’t even close to as easy as you make it out to be. Isn’t that right, Carmite?”

Without missing a beat Carmite nodded along. “Yeah, that’s right! Brother Citrine is just giving us really hard tasks!”

Citrine let himself fall into the armchair behind him and shrugged. “You’re the ones who wanted me to teach you about using divine power – so if you have any complaints, you have only yourselves to blame.” A week after Melocent had been granted her divine name she had come to Citrine for help with her divine powers. Having gone from all divine powers she could use being directly sent and granted by Zephyr to having stronger inherent divine powers than regular high priests posed quite a challenge for her to control.

A snap from Carmite’s fingers made a breeze push Citrine’s hair in his face. She was pouting and Citrine grinned. “Not bad but your finetuning still needs heaps of work.”

He leaned to the side and rested his head on his left hand while making a small movement with his right pointer finger. A soft flurry blew through Carmite’s hair. She let out a tiny squeal as it twirled her red locks around but she quieted down as soon as she noticed the movements were anything but random. Just moments later, two neat braids were hanging down over each of her shoulders and she drooped her head.

“How did you do that…? You always make these hard things look way too easy, Brother.”

“Don’t say that, Carmite.” Citrine got up, walked over to Carmite, and lowered himself until he was on her level. He slowly reached out and petted her head. “I didn’t get this good at using my divine powers overnight. It has taken me years and years to reach the point I’m at now.” Carmite lifted her head but there was still an ounce of disappointment within her eyes. With a warm smile on his lips, Citrine got back up. “Let’s take a short break from the practical parts and go over some theory – I haven’t actually done that with Melocent yet.” He turned to his fiancé. “Let’s start with what you already know. How does magic work?”

Melocent blinked. “Well, magic is realized by using our bodies as catalysts to move or modify the magic particles in our environment that make up our world’s reality.”

Citrine nodded. “Exactly. What about divine power?”

She tilted her head. “Is it not just magic catalyzed by a deity?”

“No, it isn’t.” He nodded to Carmite. “You know what it is, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Carmite’s eyes sparkled as she answered. “Divine power does not use preexisting particles. Instead, it creates or removes magic particles when used. This of course causes an imbalance that the world’s reality reinstates by causing the opposite phenomenon to occur in an unobserved space between the layers of reality.” She looked at Citrine with large, round eyes, waiting for his praise.

Slowly, Citrine blinked a couple of times. “C-correct. … Did you just quote one of Voiral’s books?”

“That’s right, Brother Citrine! Before joining Melocent’s lessons I used my father’s books whenever I didn’t understand something. Though…” She fiddled around with one of her sleeves. “Don’t tell Father, but your explanations are way easier to understand than his writing.”

Citrine got up and put a hand on Carmite’s shoulder. “You won’t have to worry about that, Carmite. I’ve told him many times before that all his non-fiction books are near impossible to comprehend.”

Next to them, Melocent laughed quietly. “Does that mean you’ve read them all, Citrine?”

He turned to her, his face an expression he was sure would only read as existential dread. “Voiral made me read through them when he taught me the basics of divine power during my childhood. Through all 217 of them, to be precise.” Citrine shook his head and returned to his seat. “I’m not sure I fear anything more than a repeat of that time,” he muttered but only earned more soft giggles from Melocent and Carmite. He sighed theatrically. “Well, now that Melocent has a new perspective on divine power, she should try again. We’re looking for a light breeze going in a circle between the three of us. Go.”

Melocent took a few quick breaths to regain her composure and channeled her divine power. Citrine’s eyes grew wider as divine winds began to blow between them. He swallowed as he watched them grow into a tornado and glanced at Melocent who was fixated on the tornado she had created. For just a split second, her eyes darted to him. “Help…?” she let out quietly.

With a deep breath, Citrine shook his head, lifted his hand to the storm and closed his eyes. Carefully he surrounded Melocent’s winds with his own until he could guide them to die down. He opened his eyes again and raised his brows. “I should’ve put more emphasis on the ‘light breeze’ part, it seems,” he mumbled. Louder, he continued. “Anyway, Melocent, we should probably fit some additional training sessions in your schedule. Solo ones. Potentially even at one of Zephyr’s sanctuaries or something.”

The transparent wings on her head began to flutter. “So, you’re saying you’ll use even more of your leisure time for me?”

“I should do at least that much for my future wife, shouldn’t I?” He shrugged. “Besides, in contrast to official business, spending time with you has not once felt like a chore or hassle.” Instead of risking another tornado actually breaking something, Citrine decided to center the rest of their training session around Carmite’s control and some tries for more basic uses by Melocent – all closely supervised and reigned in through Citrine’s winds.

Melocent was a fast learner, so just four weeks later, her level of control had exceeded Carmite’s by far. In fact, Citrine would’ve guessed, she could now keep up with all of Zephyr’s children except for Paraiba or himself. Because of that, their planned solo sessions had now been swapped to just spending time together, as they were currently doing in their residence’s inner garden.

“I’m glad you agreed to keep the timeslot from my extra lessons to spend some more time together, Citrine,” Melocent said, letting her feet dangle into the inner garden’s pond.

“Of course.” Citrine sat down on the ground next to her, making sure his feet stayed dry. “Honestly, if you hadn’t asked, I would’ve.”

She pushed some hair strands behind her ear and turned to him. “Oh? Is that your roundabout way of saying that you like me?”

Her tone clearly indicated she was trying to tease Citrine but he just smiled at her and shrugged. “I can repeat it in a more straightforward fashion if you prefer.”

For a moment, Melocent stared at him blankly. Slowly, her eyes grew wider and a soft pinkish hue tinted her cheeks. She used the small, transparent wings on her head to fan her face with some air though the blush didn’t die down. “Y-you would?” she murmured, slightly stumbling over her words.

Citrine nodded. “Yes. A few months ago, I thought I just liked you but at this point…” Heat crept into his cheeks but he didn’t bother to try and hide it behind his head’s wings. “At this point, I don’t think ‘like’ captures my feelings for you anymore.”

“You mean…?”

He nodded again and gently lifted her hand. “I love you, Melocent.” Softly, he placed his lips on the back of her hand before letting go of it. “Don’t worry, though, nothing’s going to change unless you want it to.”

A bright smile appeared on Melocent’s still-reddened face. “But if I – let’s say – felt the same way and would love to marry you next summer?”

Citrine got up and held out his hand to help her up as well. “In that case, I would ask if you needed any help with planning and would provide you with anything you required.”

With a smirk, Melocent took his hand, let him help her to her feet and sighed. “And I had just gotten all my new duties as Saintess sorted out but well… I guess it’s worth it for you to become my husband.”

“I meant it when I said you could ask me for help. I may not enjoy planning and organizing but I’m not particularly bad at it either.”

She made a step towards him and cupped his face with her hands, her sea-green eyes looking straight into his own golden eyes. “I’m sure you’re actually quite proficient but don’t worry, I love organizing these kinds of things.”

He tilted his head. “Are you sure you’re alright on your own? Considering our positions we’ll need the celebrations before the ceremony to last at least an entire week.”

A soft breeze of Melocent’s divine wind stroked through his hair and wings. “Yes, I am. Elei and Kyrie will help me too. Besides…” She blushed more and avoided Citrine’s gaze. “I may or may not have made a couple of potential plans for the celebration and ceremony already.”

Laughing quietly, Citrine caressed one of her hands on his cheek. “You’ve planned ahead once more, it seems.”

She let go of him and shrugged. “I just wanted to play through some possible scenarios and got carried away. Ah! I just remembered. There is one part I was never sure about that I’d love for you to take care of.”

“Just say the word and I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

“Please take care of our attire – I’m really not knowledgeable when it comes to fashion.”

Blinking, Citrine looked her up and down. She was currently wearing a light blue garment layered with satin shawls and outer robes that flattered her natural beauty with its simple elegance. In the past almost two years he could not remember a single day he had thought of Melocent’s choice of clothes as strange or unfitting. “Are you sure? As far as I remember, you’ve always looked well-dressed.”

Clear laughter escaped Melocent and she covered her mouth with one hand. “I’m glad you think that way, Citrine, but attendants have always been the ones to pick out my dresses and robes.”

“Oh. Of course. That… makes sense.” He nodded slowly. “Either way, I’d be glad to choose our outfits for you. Do you have any wishes for them at all? Like a color or a general style of dress?”

She shook her head. “Not at all, just choose whatever you think would look best.”

Six months later at the start of the new year’s summer, their week-long wedding celebrations began. As was the custom for noble Shula’s weddings, the celebrations happened before the actual marriage ceremony. These celebrations happened more or less publicly depending on the wedding parties’ ranks. In the case of the Saintess and a Divine Prince, they took the form of a capital-wide festival sporting stands for food and accessories, public dances, and times each day to congratulate the marrying couple – through a curtain veil to shield off divine powers for most people, of course.

After the week had passed, the day of the ceremony came. It was held in a rather small circle, with only close family members of Melocent and all divine children of Zephyr present. Specifically, everyone there was able to withstand even Zephyr’s direct presence – something they had almost begged Citrine and Melocent for. In the end, they had not just complied with their request but asked them to officiate the wedding. Well, Citrine had, though more in jest originally but Zephyr had decided on the spot to take him up on the offer.

Now, Citrine and Melocent were standing across from each other in front of their closest family members with the god of wind, healing and life directly next to them.

Zephyr lifted their hands and their divine winds connected the bride’s and groom’s hands with each other. A warm breeze floated through the room. “Today, we shall all witness a bond that has never been seen before. Not only has my blessed, golden son found a suitable partner but the one who shall take him as a husband is no other than my 9^th Saintess. A pairing prophesized by the hags of fate and heeded as a pair as grandiose as two suns.” They searched for Citrine’s and Melocent’s gazes. “The time has come, for you to set up a promise and respond in kind to empower my blessing that shall last for eternity if possible but as long as your relationship at the very least.”

Citrine nodded. “We may have talked about this before but please answer me again as you stand before me and everyone here now.” He let his own divine power flow into the band of wind between him and Melocent. He took a deep breath and took in the image of Melocent in the wedding garments, he had picked out for her. They were mostly white and gold, blending in with her hair and wings, but had some light pink detailing. Some people may have considered the robes as too simple but in Citrine’s eyes someone as gorgeous as Melocent needed no intricacies to shine brightly. He glanced into the deep seas that were her eyes and continued speaking. “Gilded feathers, as radiant as your brilliance, with this transparent veil of feathers upon your head, be my jaded moon.”

A smile on her face so bright it made even Zephyr fade into the background of Citrine’s perception, Melocent fed her divine power into their bond. While her divine power flowed, the seal between them activated Zephyr’s promised blessing as she spoke the final word of their ceremony. “Forevermore.”