~Celestial Realm~
~Golden Castle~
Reqiel lay awake in his bed, aching all over. The past couple of days had been hellish and if he hadn't been looking forward to leaving the Royal Mount so much, he would have given up on going at all a long time ago.
Sarell hadn't cut him even a little bit of slack and the only time he had ever gotten some respite was when he slept, every one of his waking hours was spent in preparations. Well, most of the time it was just him leaving his wings out constantly but that alone was so draining.
Now it was the night before and although he was exhausted he couldn't fall asleep, it was really no surprise considering how long he anticipated this. He had seen paintings of the city below before but there was no comparing that to the real thing.
He would be up at the first crack of dawn tomorrow and afterward, he would get dressed up and make his way down to the King's Castle, the Royal procession would begin from there.
Thanks to Sarell's hard work, he could now manageably pass off a noble stance while riding a horse with his wings out and that was the most important part.
They would all go down the Royal Mount together, in the company of the Archangels and High-Born members of the High Council in carriages. Then the procession would begin proper, the King leading it through the crowd of people clamoring to get a glimpse of the Royal family which consisted of the King and his sons.
Rolling over on his far too large bed, Reqiel thought deeply about if the civilians even knew about him. If they hoped and clamored to finally see him among the King's sons in the procession. He supposed that he would find out tomorrow if he could just manage to fall asleep.
When his train of thought finally slowed down, it didn't take long for him to start to feel drowsy, and was soon fast asleep. Despite the fact that Reqiel had slept late, he was up bright and early the next day, the anticipation not fading.
Sarell was meticulous about all the preparations because as early as it was permitted, Reqiel's carriage was already pulling up to the King's Castle. He sat stiffly in the carriage, although it was quite spacy within, it felt like a little box because he had his wings out.
Fortunately, he didn't have to remain in that cramped position for very long because other carriages started to show up immediately. They all had to get down from their carriages to bow down when the King made an appearance.
Reqiel caught Velia's eyes staring at him and he also saw Archangel Ethrond who steadfastly avoided looking at him.
Just what had Prince Velia done to him?
He wasn't really curious, occupied with far more important things at the moment.
After the King got into his carriage, everyone else started to get into theirs so that they could follow behind. Naturally, the Princes would follow, then the Archangels before the rest of the High-Borns.
Reqiel muttered an inaudible thanks to Sarell who was kind enough to help him to his feet. The last thing he needed was falling flat on his face in front of the entire occupants of the Royal Mount. He would have been more self-conscious about how many people had their eyes on him but he was too busy trying not to bruise his wings on the edges of the carriage to pay attention.
They would all ride their grand carriages down the Palatial Bridge that connected the Royal Mount to the rest of the capital. This meant that Sarell was permitted to join him in his carriage and that was comforting because then he would have someone familiar with him.
After getting in and getting comfortable in the lavish interior of his carriage that was done in shades of dark blue, plush cushions with gold tassels all around, Sarell got in after him with far more grace than Reqiel could ever dream of achieving.
"Are you alright?" He found himself asking his personal attendant.
Sarell had also dressed up for the occasion, in the formal robes that personal attendants to Royalty wore, his dark red hair bound above his head in a high ponytail.
Sarell shook out of his thoughts at this question, looking at a loss for a brief moment. "I should be asking you that, your Grace." He replied in a formal tone, his hands clasped in front of him.
"You can drop the formality when it's just the two of us, Sarell." He reminded his personal attendant sheepishly.
"I'll drop it when we both survive today, your Grace," Sarell said bluntly, bowing this time from his seat opposite him.
Reqiel winced, he should have expected that. Sarell was even more stressed out than he was. All that would happen to him if something went wrong would be the King and his brothers fussing over him and the embarrassment he would feel in the moment. He doubted that the members of the High Council would even be surprised, he stumbled every time he walked whenever he was around them.
But Sarell would get the wrath of the King, he didn't want that for his best friend.
He would do this, not just because he wanted to get more freedom for himself but also for Sarell's sake. He would have to do everything perfectly and not make even one slip up. He wanted to look out the windows badly but he knew that would only get him a reprimand from his strung-up personal attendant, he would do that on their way back.
The carriage procession had begun in earnest, Reqiel sitting stiffly in his bulky clothes and wings.
When he wasn't looking, Sarell gave him concerned looks. He alone knew how hard this was on the young Prince but Reqiel bore through it bravely, he was quite proud of him but he didn't let it show because if he did, it would only make Reqiel let down his guard.
"You didn't say, are you alright?" Sarell prodded, unable to hide the concern in his eyes.
Reqiel gave him a small smile. "Of course, don't worry too much about me now." He reassured him.
Sarell wished it could be that easy.