Chapter 9: Chapter 9
~Celestial Realm~
~Golden Castle~
Reqiel wasn't satisfied with his nap but considering how his day had gone, he could have slept for days and it still wouldn't be enough. He couldn't keep sleeping though, it was almost time for dinner and worse still, Ethrond's arrival.
He let himself be dressed up, yawning occasionally as an attendant ran a comb through his pale blonde locks, wanting nothing more than to curl up on his lavish bed for a couple more hours.
That was exactly what he would do after dinner, he would hurry to his bed and when the next day came, he would be on his best behavior so that the King didn't change his mind about letting him come along for the Ceremony of the Warrior Maidens.
He went down for dinner and settled down at the table, the table already laid with steaming, appetizing food. He waited patiently because it was polite to when you had a guest coming over but after a while, it seemed like Ethrond wouldn't show up.
Now that was a surprising turn of events because the Archangel was always on time, sometimes showing up before Reqiel could even make it down to the dining room but now he wasn't here and it didn't seem like he would be coming at all.
Sarell hurried over to his side to whisper in his ear. "I can't stand you waiting for that tardy creep to show up before you eat." He muttered spitefully.
Reqiel bit his lip. "What if he shows up eventually?" He asked nervously.
"I'll turn him away at the door for sure." His red-haired, personal attendant muttered darkly.
"Sarell!" Reqiel exclaimed in a scolding hush.
His response was cut off by the doors of the dining room swinging open, a commotion starting up as the attendants present immediately dropped into deep bows.
He rose from his seat, shock evident on his face as he caught sight of who had shown up instead. Sarell immediately bent in half beside him, leaving him the only one standing upright and staring at the new addition to the dining room.
"Your Highness?" He blankly said in disbelief, unsure if he was supposed to bow or not.
Velia just strode forward, an expressionless mask on his face as he looked around. "Why haven't you started eating? The table is set to eat, is it not?" He asked bluntly, settling on the dining chair that had been set out for Ethrond.
Reqiel blinked, taken aback by this. "I was expecting someone actually." He said hesitantly, at a loss.
It was far easier to talk to Calas than the Velia, as a matter of fact, it was much easier to hold a conversation with the King than the Crown Prince.
"Rise," Velia said shortly to the attendants who had bowed to him, to which they rose to their feet and retreated to the edges of the room, their wings being released.
To Reqiel, he placed a hand on the table and said bluntly. "Let me make a guess, this someone is Ethrond?"
His reaction gave everything away. "How do you know that?"
Velia shrugged, making no move to eat even though he had sat down like he planned to do just that. "You don't need to worry about that but don't hesitate to tell your brothers or father if someone comes over." He said in a serious tone, pushing himself to his feet. "No one comes here without permission." He added coldly.
Before Reqiel could even get a word in, Velia offered him a strained smile, the first he had ever seen. "My apologies for interrupting your meal, eat up now, I'll be on my way." He added stiffly, bowing politely and turning around to take his leave.
Reqiel just stared open-mouthed as Prince Velia disappeared through the same doors he had come through, realizing for the first time since his older brother came in, that he had his sword unsheathed the whole time.
What had that been about? What did he mean by no one came here without permission?
Sarell hurried over when the Crown Prince was gone. "Did you know that Crown Prince Velia was coming over?" He asked with wide eyes, looking a little out of breath, his wings still out.
"And you think I wouldn't say?!" He fired back.
"Then why?" He mused more to himself, unconsciously straightening his disarranged hair. "And why did he look like he just finished sparring?"
Reqiel had a look of confusion at all the questions Sarell kept throwing his way. "He looked like that?" He asked in surprise.
"Of course, you wouldn't notice." Sarell scoffed. "I bet he smacked Ethrond around." He said proudly.
"Archangel Ethrond." Reqiel immediately corrected him. "Why am I the only one that cares about your safety?"
Sarell wasn't even listening. "I'd like to see that." He sighed blissfully without thinking.
"And I'll pretend to not hear that, go do something useful and let me eat." He shooed his personal attendant who immediately caught himself and retracted his wings before hurrying up to his feet and out of the dining room, a telltale red color on his cheeks.
Well, that was interesting, he had found a perfect weapon against Sarell.
But that was not even among the top five things occupying his thoughts at the moment. Slowly, he started on his meal, going through all the events that had just occurred.
What was going on? His brothers had never come to see him in his castle, whenever they met, it was always at their father's castle.
And if Sarell was right about Prince Velia's appearance when he came in, it could only mean that he had somehow gotten wind of the fact that Ethrond was coming over for dinner and that was the reason why the Archangel hadn't shown up.
He was relieved but also slightly worried about the Archangel because other than being a creep, he hadn't done anything grievous. Reqiel would feel a little bad if he came to find out that the Archangel had ended up with a sword in his side because of him.
Honestly, it didn't surprise him much that the King had put out a decree that no one came to his castle without permission, it seemed exactly like what his father would do.
He would never understand the King treating him differently but he was thankful enough that the King had chosen to adopt him and make him a part of the Royal Family, he knew when to accept defeat and just go with the flow of things.
Besides he was looking forward to the Ceremony of the Warrior Maidens, it would take a catastrophe to ruin his excitement for the ceremony which was coming up in a week.
Hopefully, this would spell the end of Ethrond's strange actions and maybe, if the ceremony procession went well enough, he could manage to convince his father to let him leave the Royal Mount more often.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone