Leo Gale woke up exhausted, pulling the cosmic colored blanket over his face to block out the sunlight shining through the red velvet curtains. 'I hate Mondays. . .' Leo thought to himself as he slowly sat up and got out of bed. 'I was up all night reading, Cova's gonna lecture me again.'
Leo slowly got up and stumbled to his wardrobe. He pulled out a lavender desert style binding silk, and matching desert style pants that showed off his legs, along with a see-through pink top and half skirt before heading to the connected bathroom as he undressed. He then filled up the white and gold tub with warm water and a lavender scented potion, the scent filling the bathroom almost instantly.
Once Leo finished his bath, he used a quick incantation to dry off before slipping into his attire. Once he stepped back into his room, he grabbed his brown leather satchel, filled with potions, charms, and assorted items before heading out of his room and into the shiny and bright castle hallway.
As Leo walked, he gazed over the glistening halls, not yet used to the bright colorful castle. The halls were adorned with rose quartz walls, golden pillars and marble flooring. Light green curtains blocked out all but a few streaks of the morning sun.
'So Shiny, then again, it was made out of crystals' Leo thought as he tied up their dark red hair with a gold silk ribbon.
Leo soon turned to a large brass door lined with silver. He knocked on the door as he walked in, being met by a cold dark study, ivy vines crept down the ceilings and walls, and pothos vines lined the many shelves that were filled with assorted potions and books.
"Morning Cova, how's Nalini?" Leo asked, getting the attention of the tall well-dressed witch. He wore a red and black cape topped with a brown and black suit. Amber eyes matched his short neat brown hair, and were enhanced by his tan skin.
The witch didn't look up from his work, simply asking, "how much sleep did you get?" Leo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he dragged a chair to Cova's desk. "Let's not unpack that" he said, sitting down. Cova rolled his eyes at this, sighing as he muttered, "I knew I shouldn't have told you about that library."
The two began their lessons. Cova asked Leo many questions and had him mix potions and read complicated spells. This allowed Leo to learn from his process of witchcraft without exhausting himself. As Leo read aloud a spell written in Latin, a knock was heard, making the two witches look up.
"Keep reading, it's only the crow keeper." Cova ordered, opening the door and speaking with a gloomy looking yokai as Leo continued reading. While the yokai handed Cova a bundle of letters and had him sign a parchment, the two made small talk that made Cova pray to the deities for him to disappear.
Once the two finished their conversation, the yokai glanced at Leo, blushing slightly. Cova noticed this and quickly closed the door, sighing heavily, "That man needs a life." Leo laughed at this and replied, "cut him some slack, he's actually really nice."
Cova scoffed as he looked through the letters given to him, seeing one that wasn't addressed to him. "Yeah, such a nice guy he even gave me your fiance's mail" he said, handing Leo the letter.
Leo took the letter from Cova, surprised as he looked it over, seeing the red stamp with a royal seal on the Human Kingdom. "I-I'll take this to Celi later. . ." Leo mumbled, tucking the letter in his satchel and going back to the lesson. Cova looked down at Leo with concern, watching him tug at his hair.. . .
As Leo walked to his fiance's study, he recalled the day court leader Celi Ryu had proposed to him. It was obviously an arranged marriage. There was no formal proposal, just a family meeting where Celi introduced himself and stated that he and Leo were now betrothed.
Leo and his father argued for hours about this marriage, but Celi had blackmailed the Gale family. Leo finally agreed to marry Celi, which has yet to be announced.
In fact, the two haven't even started planning yet. Of course, Leo has tried to get to know Celi, or at least spend time with him for it to be easier to marry Celi. Every time he tired, Celi would brush him off or ignore him, claiming to be busy.
Soon, Leo was standing in front of a dark blue door with a silver frame. 'Please don't let him be in here. . .' Leo pleaded to himself as he opened the door and walked in, taking in the familiar scenery.
The room was filled with old magical artifacts, most confiscated by Celi from illegal magic users. Celi liked to display them in his study. There were also bookshelves lined with newer books. Though they had a beautiful gleam to them, the contents were boring and dull, unlike the older and dusty books Leo enjoyed.
Beside the shelves were tables, displaying jars of petrified creatures, such as pixies and gnomes. Leo thought this was disturbing, but knows telling Celi this wouldn't solve anything.
To Leo's relief, Celi was nowhere to be seen, so, not wanting to stay longer than needed, he searched his satchel for the letter before placing it on a desk that sat in front of a single window, currently closed and hidden behind a dark blue curtain.
Leo sighed to himself as he turned and walked out of the study, relieved he didn't have to see his fiance, yet, that relief was short lived once he opened the door to come face to face with none other than. . .
Celi Ryu. . .