As I'm getting dressed, I hear my sister's soft voice from the doorway, "The dress looks beautiful on you." I look back at her and I notice how she's studying the dress with a wistful smile.
Oh. It just hit me how she's the one that deserves to go. She's the one so passionate about Esterden, its customs, and its future yet I'm the one who just happened to be of the right age to attend the ceremony.
"It would've looked even better on you," I reply as I go over to envelop her in a smothering hug. It is objectively true, the purple hues of the dress would've beautifully brought out her violet eyes, unlike my gray ones.
"Memorize every single detail so that you can tell me all about what happened when you get back!" She beams once we break out of the hug and I notice the return of her typical sunny grin, "now sit down, I wanna do your hair myself!"
I take one final look in the mirror, appreciating the two small strands Kaia braided at the front of my hair which meet in a bun at the back, and patting down the skirt of the dress before going to the living room to see Griffin already here, waiting for me. As expected, I'm greeted with the sight of him, my dad, and Oliver sitting on the couch and discussing how the Northern team beat the Southern at last night's hoverball match.
"Wow," Griffin lets out once he sees me, "so, I'm finally seeing you in vibrant colors, huh?" He smirks as he scans my appearance, then stands up so we can head off.
Wow himself. If it wasn't for the fact that these are ceremonial clothes everyone's going to wear I would've thought that we look like a picture-perfect couple in our matching outfits, but instead of talking I just lean up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Even in my beige heels, I'm no match for his height.
"Woah not in front of the kid!" My dad shrieks, covering Oliver's eyes as if I just committed adultery in front of an eight-year-old, but Oliver groans, and I just playfully roll my eyes at him. Typical Calder Moon. "Alright, good luck Griffin, I really hope you end up being the Chief so you can make both our families proud. Freya, try to seem at least a little bit interested," he advises, gesturing to me while wearing a sarcastic smile once he says little. Yes, it runs in the family.
We exit the bungalow leaving my family with waves, and as we head onto the street, I notice that the gray cloudy sky begins to pour, instantly perking up my mood. I've thought of rain as my good luck charm ever since that one day in elementary school when I was accepted into the annual art exhibit and it was heavily showering that day, so maybe the good omen it's bringing today is Griffin really will become the Chief.
Of course, not having it be that kissass Emrys is good enough.
"Shoot, I didn't bring an umbrella," Griffin grunts, the wetness of the rain darkening his platinum hair, and I notice him mulling over his thoughts before he holds up his hand remembering a spell.
"Kuiva Kupla," he chants, and all of the sudden there's an invisible umbrella above us, letting rain everywhere except on us two. Griffin looks over to me with a proud smile and starts wiggling his eyebrows at me.
"Congratulations, do you want a cookie?" I pinch his cheeks with a laugh as we continue walking.
Before we know it, we cross the bridge into the center square where every citizen aged 16-20 is gathered, dressed in identical suits or dresses that are said to show off our bright spirits.
"You two! Over here," I hear someone calling to us, a security guard in a purple uniform. A+ to the Cultural Authority for consistency. We head over to the booth he's sitting at in front of the gated part of the square. "Names please."
"Freya Moon," I go first, and he starts typing my name into the data processor in front of him. Immediately, I notice the corners of his lips turning up into a smug, but subtle smile. He probably got to the point in my identification report that states my being a noncaster and he finds it amusing just like half the population here, and I give him an automatic glare.
I'm just as descended from Ester as you are. Plus, it's not like I invited myself. Griffin must have noticed my annoyance since I feel him squeezing my hand, the reminder of his comforting proximity slightly clearing my mood. Only slightly.
"Ms. Moon if you may please join the letter D to F group at the front of the square," he orders with a fake smile once he looks up from the data processor, and I respond with one of my own, except a much more scornful version.
Once I separate myself from Griffin, the spell he cast wears off of me and the clouds resume pouring on my head, not that I mind. It doesn't last long anyway, since once I pass through the gates into a square full of greenery, it stops raining again. I notice four men, one standing at each corner with their hands up, undoubtedly performing a more extreme version of the spell Ian cast previously. Those poor men and their cramped arms.
Walking past, I'm surrounded by the people that have already arrived, including the overhyped individuals who think that this is the perfect opportunity to show off their powers to their peers, like a girl standing barefoot on the slightly damp grass, telekinetically moving her shoes. Well, at least someone's having a good time.
Once I get to the front I recognize Emrys and Daphne standing in a cluster on the right side. Must be the D-F group, so I go there, standing near the end, and sending Daphne a soft smile which she returns.
It's nice to see a familiar face, especially a noncaster.
Looking around, I note that on each of the stage are three poles carrying our flag, a white base with purple-red-purple stripes near the bottom and at the top a large logo of a deer holding a purple crystal. Glancing to my right, I see Griffin in the nearby group, and he wiggles his eyebrows towards me in greeting, as if we haven't seen each other in a while. But it brings a smile to my face, nonetheless.
The booming sound of drums and trumpets pulls me out of my thoughts, and I turn to see a marching band, also in purple, slowly walking onto the stage. Looks like the ceremony is starting.
The music goes on for almost ten whole minutes, and as it dies down I hear a foghorn-like voice from the back of the square, "Make way! His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Zeo!" I wish I can see what's going on, but there are one too many heads blocking my view. Being shorter than average is my personal curse. What I do catch, though, is a head with a black top knot walking through the crowd, and some of the people in the crowd are gaping in awe at the said head.
The head, now the full-length body of a man rises to the stage while his guards, all in the same long leather coat and flat, brimless hats, remain at the bottom. The Prince is dressed in a long robe made of eggplant-colored lamé which is belted at the waist, with an all-black outfit underneath, and on his forehead there's a thick ribbon the same shade of dark purple as his robe with a symbol in the middle that I can't distinguish from where I'm standing, but I know it's a deer from the textbook pictures I've seen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome," he starts speaking into a microphone left by the marching band. "My name is Zeo and it is an honor for me to be the presenter of the semicentennial Appointment Ceremony within this lifetime. I am aware several of you must be feeling quite skittish, but if this brings any tranquility to your hearts, we are all peers here and whoever the Crystal appoints as the Chief, we will all consider the pride of our beloved land." Peers? With your princely vocabulary, I highly doubt it. "Before we get into anything, I would appreciate if all the attendees would drink the cup of lavender tea we'll be handing out shortly, as it will sharpen your powers to make the Appointment easier."
The number of servers apparently multiplied since I first got here, and there are people handing out cups of tea to every letter group. A middle-aged woman hands me a purple cup (I refuse to look at anything purple for the rest of my life as soon as this ceremony is over) and I take a second to inspect the mildly-colored tea before I put it in my mouth. Doesn't look too poisonous. Hmm, well it doesn't taste bad but it's too sour for my liking.
"It's so tasty and sweet, I wish they sold it at markets," I hear a voice murmuring to her friend behind me. I guess I stand corrected. Looks like I'm so unwanted in this ceremony that even the damn tea doesn't treat me like the rest. It is free, though, so I may as well finish it.
"I hope you all enjoyed it," Prince Zeo resumes a little while later, "onto the main event. You all know that the Chief is the singular spellcaster who will have access to the Divine, a special set of powers that can alter lives. I want you all to know that having access to this power is an ability you are born with, it just peaks at this particular age, and no amount of training could've increased the possibility of having the Crystal choose you. Thus, I hope there will be no bitterness towards whoever gets appointed, since it's purely by chance.
"The Appointment process itself is completely straightforward. All that will happen is that I, as the Crystal Bearer, will hold up the Crystal of Ester against the foreheads of the esteemed attendees, and once the Chief of Esterden for this lifetime is found, it will begin glowing. As simple as that." He finishes before getting down from the stage and receiving an asymmetric purple crystal the size of his hand from one of his guards.
The famous Crystal that's the source of every spellcaster's power. Kaia would flip if she was here. I glance at the people around me, catching Emrys ever so slightly levitating to get a better look at it.
Dude, you're embarrassing yourself, we can practically see the hearts in your eyes.
I can tell from over here that the Prince has an incredibly light grip over the Crystal, which I truly don't understand because what if he ends up dropping or losing something so precious? His grip does not increase in strength even when he heads to the first person in the letters A-C group to hold the Crystal up to his forehead.
Oh, I think that's Alistair, I remember him graduating from my school last year. Prince Zeo keeps the glorified rock against Alistair's forehead for a good ten seconds, but when he senses nothing happening, he moves onto a girl I've never seen before standing next to him. One down, so Griffin's chances of getting picked must have increased by a little bit.
The Prince reaches the last person in the first alphabetical grouping and at this point I'm certain that if the Chief ends up being someone with the letter Z I will genuinely riot, I don't want to stand here all day. I glance up at the sky which is back to its default shade of baby blue. Looks like even the sky is too bored to continue its showers, and the men performing the spell shielding us from the rain have left, a shame. Oh they reached the D-F group already and Daphne's next! Nothing happens to the Crystal though, as expected, and Daphne turns back to look at me with a shrug and a thin smirk which I reciprocate.
It's time for Emrys's turn, and I don't know whether I'm more curious to see if he actually gets picked or for his reaction, but I watch closely anyways. He puffs out his chest and puts on an arrogant smirk in preparation, but after ten seconds of nothing happening once His Highness holds up the Crystal to Emrys's forehead, he moves on, leaving behind an open-mouthed, teary-eyed boy. I really should try to stifle my snicker.
At this point, I can see the Prince more clearly and I see how his dark, thick eyebrows are furrowed, probably running out of patience, but otherwise, his straight face shows no emotion. I can also distinguish now that he does look like his sister, the Queen: the same angular eyes, and the same full lips, except I think that the Queen has lighter hair? I'm not sure, it might've just been the lighting used when they took that one photograph of her that's framed in all our classrooms.
It's almost my turn, and before the Prince finishes off with the girl standing next to me, I glance to where Griffin is standing to give him a small smile, then look back ahead. Prince Zeo steps over to stand in front of me, and the first thing I discern is how dark his eyes are, almost hollow—
Ouch, this glorified rock has a really rough texture, and I can't help but slightly wince, with my eyes involuntarily closing once I felt it. Couldn't His Princeliness hold it against my forehead more gently?
The sound of gasps echoes throughout the entire square, and the abrupt, unified sound causes me to open my eyes. I'm met with Prince Zeo's own wide ones, now brighter and almost shining, looking up at the Crystal on my forehead. I lift my eyes to see what's wrong with it but
It's glowing.