2 Fires of Aegir

2

Fires of Aegir

The altar of the ancient dragon Aegir is magnificent. Sileas heard stories about the all-powerful dragon’s nest that sits in the middle of the Imperial castle, and she wondered how that could supersede this altar. Her mind couldn’t think of anything more beautiful or as impressive as this. The blinding white marble floor and stairs that leads to the hearth fire of the eternal flame, where the both of them were told to stand.

Between them is the priest and the famous statue of Aegir. The elaborate and detailed statue of Aegir’s human form has his hand extended out and dressed in a simple robe that scantily covered his body. It was detailed enough to capture the God’s scales up and down his legs with sharp claws jutted straight out of his nailbed. There is incredible beauty to the statue and its beauty hallmarked the ideal for any Draconi with color as whoever made the statue was painted so well that anyone could have mistaken him for a real person.

Silver glittering hair against phantom air, and amethyst eyes that glowed like jewels. She woudn’t be surprised if it were actual jewels.

She stood beside it, but she quickly felt small from being close to the holy god of Dracone. Her grandparents had hoped that her smallness meant that she could be a rider instead of a shifter. She must at least inherit something from her Draconic side, but even that kind of talent was beyond her, her attempt to tame dragons ended with pain on her body and on her grandparent’s dignity.

And they had a lot of it, a lot of pride, a lot of wealth, and a lot of Draconian blood.

Her mother’s human blood had ruined our line! Her grandmother once scorned.

Sileas didn’t care whether she could shift or ride a dragon. Her parents never made her feel less than those who do. In that small villa in the countryside, they could ignore the social taboo it was to have a human mate or a hybrid daughter. Despite the reforms of the former Empress, who was also a hybrid, the nobles with pure Draconian bloodline still snubbed their noses on people like her.

The insistence of the royals to marry you is your only worth.

The priest in white and gold trimmed robes cleared his throat. He fidgets every time the prince breathed, and Sileas had to bite her tongue from laughing. His silver hair could mean he is Draconian, but the greenness of his eyes was left field. Muck blood perhaps, but not automatically. Not all Draconians have a shade of purple in eye color, but they definitely have silver or blonde hair.

“Welcome esteemed guests to the joining of these two fires together in the eyes of Aegir. Our great ancestor would be joyous to witness one of his children to be so committed to one another despite fate. Maybe even more so!” He chuckled along with the crowd. “now, your highness and Lady, please put your hands on Aegir’s palm.”

Sileas does what she’s told and met her soon-to-be husband gaze. His lilac eyes were cold and emotionless. His hand still remained on his side and made no movement. The crowd erupted in low murmurs as they watched the Crown Prince continue to ignore the priest.

Sileas forced herself to frown. Her laughter slowly and imperiously ready to burst out of her if she didn’t, everything was too comical to her, yet she can’t help but admire the prince and his stubbornness.

“Your highness,” The Priest lowered his head and inched closer to the prince’s line of sight. “You must do this or you won’t inhe—”

The prince snarled towards his direction. His eyes glowed in threat, and the priest cowered back. “I know” he murmured. Then he puts his paw on the palm of the statue, a measured distanced between their fingertips.

The ceremony proceeds without a hitch this time as most of it relied on the Priest. He blessed the both of them with Aegir’s symbolic white flame by pouring vodka on the statue’s palm and lit it with the eternal flames from the hearth.

It doesn’t seem to hurt the prince, but to Sileas, who was human in her mother’s side, she felt a tickling on her skin that wasn’t pleasant at all. There is a sharpness at times, but she held it in, and started to come back to her imagination.

Her mother’s singing voice while tickling the chords of the organ. Her father leaning towards her mother as if a flower facing the sun, his expression bright and honest. Free from all responsibilities of his titles. One he didn’t mention to her till it was too late.

“Please, start uttering the vow in front of Aegir and his eternal grace”

Eitr cleared his throat and stared at something behind Sileas instead of looking her in the eye. “I, Ravien en Eitr Resmond Massi, vow my life to you.

My fires and flight for you.

With s Promise to uphold this vow in Aegirs nest and fire.

You…Sileas Amertine, my promised and oath would be mine and I am yours.”

Sileas tried to hold her laugh at his lapse of memory for her full name, she admits that it was a long and silly name, but all nobles have long and silly names. Her mother, a commoner and human, had only two simple names before her last maiden name.

“And now your turn, your grace” The Priest smiled kindly towards her, and she replied with her own benevolent smile.

“I, Malia Erymethia Sileas Amertine, vow my life to you.

My service and skill to you.

With a promise to uphold this voy in Aegir’s nest and fire.

You, Ravien en Eitr Resmond Massi, my promised and oath would be mine and I am yours” Sileas finished the words despite the hushed confusion in the crowd. Even her husband to be stared down at her with even more suspicion at her changing the words.

The vow had two variants depending what kind of Draconi you are, but Sileas always saw herself as human. An odd human, but human, nonetheless. She didn’t think anyone would mind her changing the vows as her grandparents would see it as an afront if she use either of the Draconi vows.

The Priest looked unsure for a second, but he seemed to want this ceremony to be over fast as he forged on. Ignoring the slight debacle.

“This union is done in front of the eternal flame. All hopes and faith are expected for your union to last till death do you part. Aegir is pleased for any union made under his home” He finally snuffed the flames with a flame-resistant blanket and covered both their hands and entwined it using the cloth. “I wish you all the hopes and joy marriage have—”

Sileas burst out in laughter. Earning strange looks and the outward incredulous look from the Priest. Her husband stared at her as if she has grown a second head. She sucked in a breath and lowered her head apologetically. “Forgive me, continue”

The Priest with his brows knit continued. “…have to offer for the both of you” he recovered with a placating smile.

With their hands still bound in cloth, he easily shook it from his end and it became undone. A horrible omen, but Sileas didn’t mind. She neatly folded the cloth and met everyone’s shocked gazes with the same benevolent smile and walked behind her husband outside the altar of Aegir.

That was the end of the ceremony and she’s sure that a lot of rumors and stories would come out of it, but none that would truly matter to her, she’s not a bright eyed naïve noblewoman. She’s Sileas. A halfbreed with silver measly streaks in her dark hair that is often commented by her grandmother as dirty and in disarray. A half breed in the middle of pureblooded Draconi family with a long lineage to boot.

But her father was pulled by fate to her mother. his Fyre. A fated mate has been rare this day and age. So rare that no one believed a Draconian and human mating was possible to be fated, unless forced. A lot believed her mother forced his father by declaring her pregnancy, but they don’t see the glow in both of her parents eyes whenever they’re together, they don’t see their pure emotion and love that is raw and overwhelming.

Sileas knows from a young age that that won’t ever happen to her as she doesn’t believe that she’s that lucky. She never was lucky, but she didn’t need luck.

Her husband took a left turn. A horse ready with a squire holding its tethers. He doesn’t even glance at her direction as he easily pulled himself on the dark steed and galloped towards another direction.

The squire gave her a sympathetic look

She chuckled at that too. Because she is happy.

A happy person that she always promised to her mother.

The ceremonial wedding carriage sits on the curb. Ready for the occupants. It would be such a waste if no one would use it, so she took the steps down the altar on her own. The carriage driver helped he on the steps of the box and sat alone.

Her dress was plump and long enough that it doesn’t look like it would fit another person anyway.

“Where…to your highness?” The carriage driver looks uncomfortably at her from the window. Traditionally he would go straight to the palace, but he watched the events unfold and didn’t know what conspired inside the altar.

“The reception would be okay” She answered.

“Will do, your highness”

On her own, she slumped back and kicked her heels off. Pulling her legs through the thick turmoil of her dress to lay on the space beside her, she wouldn’t have been able to do this in front of him.

The few minutes to reach the reception in the palace is a welcome rest to her, everything tense in her body relaxed and she finally breathed with an ease foreign to her outside of her office or her room.

She watched the scene from her window. Saw the people lined up and cheering for the royal carriage as they think they know who is inside. They don’t know that it was only her in the carriage but it wouldn’t look as if it is, the seat in front of her had its curtain drawn and hid the empty space in front of her.

She waved and smiled in his stead. She has to admit that she loves this aspect. Seeing people and different smiling faces for a change. So many children lined the front and waved with toothy smiles that often missed a few teeth.

Sileas laughed when she saw a kid make funny faces and couldn’t help to stick her tongue out in reply and the child laughed. The people saw this and laughed with them, but saw a few who was turned off by it, but she didn’t dwell too much as the carriage swiftly passed everyone by. Happily cheering and chanting for a person who wasn’t even there.

Still she smiled and did his job for him, a fact of life she easily would accept.

A fact of life she he hopes for