"I want to offer my sincere congratulations on the success of the royal wedding. It was without a doubt one of the most elegant and elaborate weddings I've ever seen," Crown Prince Reagan greeted the Queen and King of Polivia.
"Thank you for your kind words, Crown Prince Reagan. We truly couldn't have achieved this without help from our spectacular wedding planner on whose behalf we have been receiving compliments all afternoon," the Queen replied.
"They must be very talented. I would love for the opportunity to meet them and ask if they could plan my wedding as well."
"I would make sure to relay your thoughts to them as soon as I see them."
"Are they not present here?"
"Unfortunately, they had somewhere else to be after the exchange of vows ended so I cannot introduce them to you as of now. But please, enjoy the reception, your Imperial highness."
"Of course, your majesty," Reagan bowed, leaving the Royal couple alone after he was politely dismissed. He scanned around for someone interesting to talk to and his eyes landed on Duchess Everon who was drinking by herself on a couch at a corner of the reception hall while everyone was socializing and dancing. He looked around for the woman in the large white hat but she was nowhere to be found in the reception hall. Intrigued, he walked over to the Duchess.
"Are the wines in Polivia as good as they say they are?"
"They're an acquired taste. If you don't have the stomach for them, I would suggest not drinking them," she replied without looking up.
"Is that why they're easy to spit out?"
She finally looked up and saw the Crown Prince. She stood up and made a clumsy curtsey greeting, almost falling over.
"I apologize for my impudence, your Imperial highness," she said with her head low.
"Please rise. You are Duchess Vera Everon, right?"
"Yes, your imperial highness."
"My eyes happened to catch an elaborately dressed person beside you earlier during the exchange of vows. Do you happen to know where that person is right now?"
"The lady wasn't feeling well so she had to return home."
"By chance, is she the wedding planner?"
".....yes, your imperial highness."
"My, that's such a shame. They have been working so hard to achieve something this spectacular so it seems inevitable that they would definitely fall ill. I wanted a chance to speak with them. Could you perhaps introduce me to them, your grace?"
"That might be a little difficult….."
"I'll be staying in Polivia for a few more days to discuss some diplomatic relations with the royal family. I'm sure that is more than enough time. Isn't that right, your grace?"
While virtually everyone was talking about Natalia, she was seated in the middle of the magic circle, breathing in and out steadily. She was being supervised by Madaline while Marvis lay on her bed in his wolf form. All her fatigue seemed to go away as mana moved in visible blue lines along her skin. The lines ran from her forehead down her neck on either sides, down her arms to her hips and finally to the sole of her legs. There was a slight change in her head as the roots turned white.
She exhaled and opened her eyes. Raising a finger, she drew a magic circle on the air, her finger digging into intangible air. Once formed, the magic circle expanded until it could no longer be seen. The blue lines on her body disappeared and she fell to the ground, exhausted.
{How do you feel?}
"I increasingly feel lighter. The flow of mana in my body becomes easier with each absorption and my mind feels clearer. Is this the stage of true magician you were talking about?"
{Yes. Since you're taking in pure mana and world order, you're disassociating yourself from the tangible world and integrating yourself in the intangible therefore taking your body, spirit and soul to another dimension. You have finally become a true magician. You will start to comprehend laws that were otherwise ordinary or incomprehensible to you before}
"How long until I can become a semi-transcedental like Fredrich?"
{Normally, in the old world, it would take you a few decades. For a talented magician, it would take them a few years. Even the geniuses among geniuses, it would take them at least a year until you can reach that level}
"I don't think I have that much time. Duchess Everon was right. I can't keep hiding, especially now that the conference is drawing closer. What else can I do, Madaline?"
{Do you know what a god's trial is, Natalia?}
"What is that?"
{It's something akin to heavenly tribulation that one experiences when one wants to ascend. It's a traditional ritual where you go through one of the hardest tests in the world to receive a fraction of a god's power}
"What kinds of test?"
{Honestly, I don't know because the tests aren't set by the god themselves. Another dangerous part of the god trial is that they're decided by other gods. In most cases, the gods would try to kill the person that's going through the trial. It's very dangerous}
"How long would it take?"
{Depends on how fast you can finish the test. Or if time is being controlled, the time frame would be set to a month and you can spend as much time as you wish in the mini-realm. Should I set it up?}
"Yes. I'll do the god trial."
{Alright. If anything happens to you, I'm fairly certain you'll just create another timeline. As always, call me when you need me, Natalia}
The fairy mother disappeared again. Natalia pulled herself up on the bed, resting comfortably on the huge blue wolf. His cold nose nuzzled her face as she leaned in further.
"If I happen to die and go back to when I had to marry Fredrich once more, I wouldn't do it. I'd run away with you. You might refuse since you wouldn't know me, again," she whispered to him.
(You say strange things sometimes)
"I thought you were sleeping. It's quite a scare when you talk to me like that."
(I apologize. It's a nice feeling to finally be conscious when I transform)
"Well, at least you're back to normal. It's funny since we're both hiding away from the world. I meant it when I said I wanted to run away with you and experience the world. I don't want to be weighed down by responsibilities anymore."
(You have the option of refusing the title of Duke of Graviscera. You can simply live off your brother in the palace or you could leave the explore the continent or even the world. The truth is you're someone who feels uncomfortable without responsibilities or in plain words, value)
"Since when did you start saying profound words?"
(If you listen properly, I'm always saying profound words. You should sleep now, Lia. Don't worry, I'll be here to protect us both from the world we're hiding from)
"Hmm…." She replied, closing her eyes. In a short period of time, she had already fallen asleep. Soon after, Marvis closed his eyes to join her. The two had become quite close despite their circumstances and differences. They were nothing compared to the new couple or perhaps victims of the newly completed political marriage.
The room they had been provided with was one they were meant to spent their rest time and wedding night in. Sebastian had taken off his shirt and lay on the couch with his eyes closed. The princess was on the bed, sleeping soundly. They were both tired but the princess was more tired than he was, having been awake since midnight. Sebastian's eyes suddenly opened as he watched her. The beautiful woman laying on the bed was his wife. In his heart, he didn't feel anything for her, except for respect and mutual understanding. In time, he was meant to come to love her but he didn't know how exactly that was going to work.
"Did I….make a mistake?" He mumbled to himself, standing up. The taste of the wine he had to drink was still on his lips. It was very sour, almost scalding to put in his mouth. The king and Queen were impressed that he took it without flinching when he wanted to vomit immediately after he drank it. Everything else felt tasteless on his tongue after then. He was hungry but because of his lack of taste, he was unwilling to eat.
He finally settled for taking the food they left for them, eating it slowly. In the process of doing so, he walked over to the side of the bed where the princess took thenwater jug. As he was about to take a sip, he felt his trousers being pulled.
He landed on the bed and saw the fully clothed princess hovering above him, her hands pinning his hands above his head.
"Hello princess. Did you sleep well?"
Her response was her lips pressed on his.