As the party goes on in full swing and melodious, soulful music plays in background, Albatross pulls Avni closer to himself, as they begin swaying in each other's arms. With Avni's hands on his shoulders and his own on the small of her back, the distance between them slowly melts away, leaving them in a closer proximity than they ever found themselves before.

They dance in comfortable silence, brown caramel eyes lost in deep, warm ambers, trying to decipher the emotions swirling in the enigma of the alien man before her. His face scintillates ever so slightly every few minutes, the constellations on the expanse of the sky mapped on his skin fascinating her beyond reason. His strong build and broad shoulders are a stark contrast to her own gentler curves, the muscle she gained from over one month of hard physical training no match to his spectacular physique.

As Albatross twirls them around, still lost in each other's eyes, and basking in the warmth of their proximity, he cannot help but see the beautiful woman in his arms for the kind, brave and indomitable soul she is. While he has seen prettier faces and sexier bodies of many Volzite women in his life, none ever captured his both his mind and heart like her. She is unafraid to show him the mirror when his judgements are wrong, and yet she is compassionate enough to forgive him for the wrongdoings he keeps inflicting upon her unintentionally. She both subdues his anger and flames his ire, and yet he feels driven to her like a moth to a flame.  She is a paradox, the personification of everything he could never be. She has somehow become his archenemy, when all he can think about lately is how qualified she is to be his best companion.

The silence stretches for several minutes while their eyes do all the talking. Their moment of sweet truce and silent intrigue for each other is, however, disturbed by a bouncing Precious who tugs at both their clothes to capture their attention.

"Brother, it's time for the ceremony. They are all waiting for you near the ritual circle", she points to the middle of the ball room where the new couple, a priest and Everly's family are waiting for Albatross.

As they step back from each other and look around, all eyes are focused on them, some with a speculative gaze, others with disgust, especially some noble Volzite women who are looking at Avni like she did some grave crime by dancing with their King. 

Albatross nods at Avni silently, his lips quirked upwards at one corner in the beginnings of a smile she has never before seen in his eyes. He holds Precious' hand and begins to walk away, while Avni silently retires to a corner of the ballroom away from prying eyes, so she watch the ceremony peacefully.

Albatross reaches the middle of the ritual circle, blatantly ignoring the crowd's inquisitive eyes, along with the new couple's strangely knowing ones. He gets rid of his gloves and hands them to a helper outside the circle, and motions for Precious and the new couple to enter the circle beside him. Everly and Vadarius stand across from each other, while Vadarius stands between them on one side and Precious on the other.

"My beloved Volzites, as you all know, we're here to celebrate the eternal union of two beautiful souls, my noble and kind brother, your Army Chief, Vadarius Vrokzad King, with his soulmate, the sweet and gorgeous, Everly Leonard Orion. With the blessings of Goddess Selene, I, Albatross Vrokzad King, in my capacity as the ruler of Volzolks, commence the ritual for their bonding."

Albatross draws the ritual dagger from his waist and unsheathes it. Then, in a swift motion, he slashes his right palm, and allows the dark glittering red of his blood to pour in the center of the circle, at the space between Everly and Vadarius. 

"I accept Everly as Vadarius' life partner, and my younger sister and promise to protect her and care for her as I do for the rest of my family."

A glowing red and golden light emanates from his blood on the ground, and encircles the new couple brightly for a few seconds, swirling around them in beautiful intricate patterns, before it fades away.

Albatross motions to Precious for her palm, and with a brave smile, she removes her gloves and offers her right hand to her eldest brother. He slashes her palm in a similar fashion and allows a few drops of her blood to fall to the ground and mix with his own.

"I accept the union of Everly and Vadarius and promise to love her like I love both my brothers."

An even brighter light illuminates the new couple, swirling around them with the combined warmth of the young girl's innocent love and her eldest brother's care and protection.

"The bride and groom may join their hands", the priest says with a warm smile from outside the circle.

Both of them get rid of their respective gloves, and with shining eyes and bright smiles, they entwine their hands together.

"You may exchange your vows," the priest adds again.

"Everly, we met just yesterday but when I saw you, I already knew you were the missing piece of my soul. The one made for me, my chance at true happiness. Your presence in my life has already illuminated my soul, and I promise I will spend the rest of my life loving you, cherishing you and caring for you. I'll be by your side through thick and thin, always supporting and protecting you, trying to keep you happy and healthy, until my last breath. I love you."

Everly blinks away a stray tear, "Vadarius, when I'm with you, time seems immaterial and nothing seems impossible. You make me smile effortlessly, just your presence is enough to lift my spirits. Goddess has blessed me with the gift of your lifetime companionship, and I promise  to treasure you till my heart beats. Your family is now my family and I'll always love them and care for them. I'll be your support system, your best friend, your worst critic, your confidant and your companion till I breathe. I love you too."

Albatross turns their intertwined hands and slashes both their right palms one by one. A blinding red and golden beam of light swirls around the whole circle and binds the whole King family in a sacred bond of togetherness. The glow reduces its perimeter then, and encircles the couple, before reducing just to their conjoined hands. The light continues to swirl until the two hues melt into a stark white light on their left hands, before disappearing into their skin, leaving behind their soul marks in bright red on their ring fingers.

"In my capacity as the royal Volzite priest, I now announce Vadarius and Everly as officially bonded for life. Congratulations to the new couple!"

The crowd erupts in an applause around them, the sounds echoing in the ballroom as the new couple shares a tight embrace, followed by a short, sweet kiss.

"Thank you everyone. We'll now proceed to the oath ceremony. But before that, I'd like to congratulate my brother and sister-in-law and wish them a lifetime of happiness."

Albatross hugs both of them one by one, before placing a small kiss on Everly's forehead. Then, he signals both Precious and Vadarius to leave the ritual circle, to allow Everly to stand in the middle, beside him.

"Everly Vrokzad King, in your capacity as the soulmate and bonded of the Army Chief of Volzolks, and successor of the throne, do you promise to stay loyal to the crown, fight all its enemies and assist your bonded in any needed capacity in fulfilling his duty to Volzolks?"

"I do."

"Do you promise to keep the interests of your people before the interests of your new and existing family, and always prioritize your duty to your personal beliefs?" 

"I promise."

"Do you swear to protect the crown and the royal family with your life, and help to flourish and nurture the future and existing heirs to the best of your ability?"

"I swear."

"Then, with the grace of Goddess Selene, I accept you as the esteemed member of the royal family and the Lady Army Chief of Volzolks. Your training for the position will begin next full moon onwards. Congratulations!"

The crowd cheers again and as Vadarius embraces Everly, and lifts and twirls her around, Albatross cannot prevent the wide grin that spreads on his face for the first time since his parent's demise. His heart fills with happiness for his brother and he cannot wait for them to start their happy ever after, and their own small family.

Albatross' thoughts drift towards the other part of his own small family - Precious, but she isn't where he last saw her beside Vadarius at the front of the crowd. He remembers she still has a cut on her palm, just like one on his own, and it might st ill be bleeding and hurting her, so he must find her quickly to dress the wound, if Haile hasn't already done it.

He scans the crowd for his little princess, but since everyone is busy congratulating him or trying to talk to him, it takes him forever to cross the sea of his people and reach the other end of the ballroom, where he had last seen Haile with her sister and newborn niece. Albatross doesn't find them there, so he turns around to scan the crowds again, when he notices people have already begun another round of dancing. 

He walks purposefully towards the entrance to ask guards to look for Precious, but just when he reaches the staircase that leads up to the door, he hears a gentle voice coaxing and soothing a little one he knows all too well. He walks slowly towards the voice and notices Precious is scooped up lovingly into Avni's arms, who is trying and failing to quieten her sniffles to cheer her up. Precious' right hand is already bandaged and she is holding Avni's ball gown with a death grip using her left, her face tucked into the crook of Avni's neck. Avni looks frustrated and troubled at her failure to calm down the little girl, who is clearly in pain and Albatross knows just the medicine to take all her hurt away.

"Precious, sweetie, please don't cry,  it's just a small cut, you're a brave girl, aren't you?" Avni hushes in a soft voice to Precious, who nods but doesn't respond otherwise. 

Albatross decides to step in to put both of them out of their pain.

"Come here, my li'l precious. Your brother will help you get rid of the pain."

Avni turns towards his voice, her eyes wide and pleading. "Oh thank God, you're here. She's crying so much, I got her hand bandaged but I don't know what else to do."

Albatross smiles despite himself, "Thank you for that, I was caught up in oath ceremony and have been looking for her since then. I'll take it from here."

He tries to pluck Precious from Avni's arms, but she clings to Avni desperately. Despite Albatross' repeated coaxing she refuses to leave her arms, and starts crying harder. Albatross decides to take a harder approach, so he pulls Precious' towards his own torso with his left arm, scooping her close to himself while trying to disentangle her left hand's death grip from the intricate embellished neckline of Avni's ballgown with his bare right one, which is still bleeding a bit from the cut earlier. In the struggle to get her hand free from Avni's dress, Albatross' fingers brush against the birthmark peeking from Avni's neckline unintentionally, jolting them both with a wave of electricity. 

A soft golden glow releases from the point of contact, encompassing both of them. along with Precious, whose hand is finally disentangled from Avni's ballgown, so she nuzzles Albatross's neck and tucks herself in the crook of his shoulder, sniffling loudly. Neither Avni nor Albatross notice her though, because the soft golden glow has put them in a trance, where both of them are lost in a vision only both of them can see.

Avni is sitting on a large rock at the shore of a large, lilac lake, a gentle smile on her face as she notices the ripple in the water caused by the strange, red rocks she is throwing into it one by one. It's a serene view, and her heart feels content and at ease, a feeling unlike any she has ever experienced in her lifetime. The cool breeze blows away her luscious, black locks of hair, which keep falling into her eyes repeatedly.

"Here, let me help you", a lovely, deep voice says from behind her as two familiar, strong hands pull her hair into a messy bun, pulling out a soft sigh from her lips. She turns around to thank him, and the warm amber eyes swirling with beautiful reds takes her breath away.

"Thanks, love."

He waves his hand in dismissal and points to the finished sand castle nearby, a taller than usual Precious standing beside it proudly, her gloved hands covered with sand from the lake shore.

"It's beautiful sweetie, I believe it's time for me to fulfill my end of the bargain."

Precious' face breaks into a breathtaking grin, her usually curious blue eyes now a soft warm shade of red.

Avni walks towards Precious and scoops her up in her arms tightly, swirling her round and round and round, until they both break out in giggles. 

"Ready for greeting the fishes in the lake?" Avni asks with a smile, which Precious returns with a huge grin and multiple excited nods of her head.

"Be careful, love. There are crabs in there too", Albatross warns them from behind loudly, to which both Avni and Precious roll their eyes and share a knowing smile. As if it's their first time doing this. Volzite men will never stop being overprotective, after all.

Avni is abruptly pulled out of the trance to find Albatross' warm demeanor from before missing, and his amber eyes back to icy grey. He isn't looking at her at all, and trying to calm and soothe Precious who is sniffling loudly in his embrace.

"What the hell was that vision? What does it mean?" Avni asks Albatross in a loud whisper, she is not sure what happened or how it happened, but whatever that was, it brought back the heartless facade the King of Volzites wears daily, shutting out the amiable man behind the mask.

"What vision? Don't tell me you're daydreaming now, peacemaker? I'm sure you must have a vivid imagination", he says nonchalantly, his eyes scanning the crowds while trying to soothe Precious simultaneously.

"Oh, so I'm peacemaker again, is it Mr. King? I should have known you're not trustworthy with your fickle words. Why do you have to be so confusing?" She shakes her head and sighs, "I think I need a break."

She turns away from the brother-sister duo, towards the staircase, and ascends the stairs, disappearing into a balcony adjacent to the exit from the ballroom.

Albatross sighs deeply and leans against the staircase, shutting his eyes hard as the glimpses of the vision assault his mind. He raises his hand to run it through his hair, but opens his eyes last minute to notice it is still bare and bleeding. With Precious in his arms, he ascends the staircase to get his wounds dressed, but before he can exit the ballroom, his eyes find an exhausted Avni leaning against the railing in the balcony, looking lost and confused.

He sighs and leans against the wall outside the balcony, as he ponders on the answer he now undoubtedly has, to why he feels a strong pull to this breathtaking, brave human. She looks so beautiful, so innocent, it is getting impossible to ignore the bond with her every passing day. She is everything he wanted and more, but he can never have her. He has ruined his chance at happiness with his own two hands, but there isn't anything much he can do about it.

A strong hand holds and squeezes his shoulder where Precious isn't tucked in, and he involuntary shuts his eyes hard at the contact. He curses himself internally at his own ill fate, and turns around to see the person he never wanted to be aware about this.

"How long have you known?" Vadarius asks in a gentle whisper, which Albatross ignores with a shake of his head.

Vadarius sighs, "I saw her mark as soon as she entered the party, but I couldn't be sure. But, your reaction to the golden light and the trance just proved that I was right. You knew, didn't you? How long have you known Albatross?"

"I saw it on the first day I started training her. I brushed it off as a coincidence. She is a human, it is unheard of. I checked all the soul-mark books in our royal library, I spent days researching this. I never found anything."

"So you ignored it? Why? You're a fool Albatross. She's your better half, your key to eternal happiness. No wonder we all feel a special bond to her already, both Precious and I treat her like family. She is Goddess' gift to you, to our family, to Volzolks. Why are you doing this brother? Who are you running from? Your fate will lead you to her, no matter how far you run. How long will you ignore it, you feel the pull don't you? It led you all the way to Earth, just to bring her home. Your union is destined already. Just tell her, brother. She deserves to know." 

"She will never know, Vadarius. I won't tell her, and neither will you."

"Oh I won't. It's not my place to tell anyway. I'll wait till you realize the error in your ways and tell her yourself. I just hope it won't be too late."

"Do you think she has a chance to win tomorrow?"

"I don't know, brother. I don't know how I will ever live with the burden of the fight tomorrow if I win though. Aiming to kill my queen on the orders of my king, I don't even know where treason begins and ends there. No matter who wins between the two of you, my vows will be broken nonetheless."

"You have no queen, Vadarius. I don't remember any coronation ceremony, do you?"

Vadarius shakes his head, "You're still in denial. She represents the future of the throne, the royal family will be born and nurtured through her person. Precious is already flourishing in her care, Everly adores her, she's my best friend and all the Volzites respect her courage and strength. She may be human, but that doesn't challenge my loyalties towards her. I don't need a decoration piece made of metal and stones to know that I must worship the ground she walks on. Just as you should, but your pride and arrogance won't let you. I'm not sworn to protect her officially yet, but harming her is the biggest treason I could commit. I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, Albatross, if you don't give up your stubbornness. One of us can possibly die, and you will have to live with that pain all your life. Are you ready for that?"

"This isn't about you or her. It's about humanity and their erroneous ways on Earth. My personal happiness or gain won't stop me from pursuing my ultimate goal. If I have to lead a life of misery as a result, then so be it."

"And you call me a noble fool?" Vadarius chuckles bitterly. "Fine, I won't try to convince you to give up anymore. I realize it's useless."

Albatross huffs in amusement and turns back to watch Avni sitting on a reclining chair in the balcony and gazing at the stars, "Took you long enough, brother."

"Here, give Precious to me, she already fell asleep. I'll ask Haile to take care of her and give her a painkiller, if needed. You should go and join her." Vadarius takes Precious from his unresisting embrace and pats his shoulder to encourage him to join Avni.

"Go seize at least one night of happiness, if you are resolute to live a life of misery after tomorrow. Spend time with her, you both deserve at least one genuine sliver of joy in your lives. I'll see you tomorrow."

He turns and walks away silently, exiting from the ballroom. Behind him, Albatross notices his beautiful soulmate sitting gloomily in the darkness, her face illuminated in the shadows by the shimmery moonlight.

He knows he shouldn't. But his feet move towards her anyway.

The stupid heart wants what it wants. And tonight, it wants to see her smile.