To Fly With Destiny

A Grand Event

Gabriel watched as servants ran around putting finishing touches on the banquet hall. To him, this was nothing more than another elaborate party that he was forced to attend. His mother had high hopes that tonight he would meet his other half, the woman of his dreams and they would fly off into the sunset forevermore. Barf, he could feel the bile rising up his throat at the unrealistic vision in his mind.

To him, any woman that approached him only wanted one thing, his power. One day he would be king and the woman by his side would share the burden and the pleasure that came with that crown. Ever since Alaric and Jasmine got together his parents had put even more pressure on him to find a partner. Gabriel had never thought of marrying anyone but Morgianna, thinking that he had time to win her heart.

He frowned as he thought of the raven-haired girl, her petite face always set in a look that screamed strength. He was not even sure what he had felt for her could be considered love, he cared about her but to what capacity? Now he could never even explore that route.

He was pulled from his thoughts before he could go any further down that trail. "Stop your sulking, with a face like that you will scare off the girls."

Turning to his left he saw Thadeous leaning against the wall, Alistar standing beside him. The two had become much closer after working at the guild together the past couple of years.

"I see you are as carefree as always, I guess being a demon spawn and tree hugger has some perks." Gabriel gave a half-hearted sneer. Sure they were closer than they once were but each of the princes had their own they preferred being around.

He had been closer to Felix, Morgianna's brother before the war and now after he found he liked the quiet werewolf prince Kieran and the Merman Caspian. To him, Alistar and Thadeous were too loud, too easygoing despite what they had lived through. Alaric was like a big brother to them all but he knew even he had his preferences.

Thadeous clapped his hands together a huge grin on his face. "Word is that tonight you will find yourself a bride, there are even girls from our kingdoms who have begged and bought their way into this fancy party. Do you have a type, maybe red hair? Ohhh I know you are more partial to dark hair but I have this cousin..."

"I am gonna stop you right there." Gabriel pinched between his eyes. He knew Thadeous wasn't even being serious. Knowing the Fae prince he probably didn't even have a cousin who was of age, let alone who would marry outside of their race. They tried to keep their females and had only agreed to let Thadeous join in the proposal to Morgianna those years ago to stop the fighting between the kingdoms.

Thadeous chuckled and elbowed Alistar. "Hmm what a shame, well Alistar and I will be inside keeping an eye out for you. Who knows maybe I will see a cute girl for myself." He gave one more wink before the two left Gabriel once again alone in the hall.

Technically the party would not start for at least another hour so he did not know why those two had arrived so early. He had a feeling it was to check on him but he wouldn't let any emotions show. He would do this because it was required of him, nothing more. Love was not something he could imagine in his future.

...

The party was full swing and he could hardly take a step in any direction without a swarm of young women surrounding him. The smells of their perfumes mixing together made him feel nauseous and he would give his right wing if his mother would tell everyone to just leave, but she would never do that.

He had been slowly inching his way towards the door that would lead him outside all night. Each time he got within 10 feet of it though his mother would make him dance with some other nobleman's daughter. His head was pounding and he wanted nothing more than to fly into the sky away from everyone.

Glancing back towards his parents he saw them deep in conversation with Thadeous. The latter gave him a stealthy wink and it was then that Gabriel knew he was purposefully distracting them. He was thankful, not that he would ever tell him. Without a moment to spare, he slipped through the doors and out into the night.

...
Destiny felt the cool air on her exposed skin but she didn't care. Out in the garden alone, there was nobody to laugh at her or criticize her outfit. She knew her stepmother and sister had no choice but to let her come, but still, she did not think they would be so vicious in public. When she had received the white dress she currently wore she was shocked that it was beautiful. She was sure they would order her something gaudy and unattractive, which should have been the first red flag. They had even been nice to her, sending maids to help with hair and makeup.. She had let her guard down and it almost costed her.

They had wanted eyes on her so that when the wine which would so conveniently be poured down the front of her by a passing waiter would create a scene. What they did not expect was that the wine would miss her when she tripped over her own dress. She saw the malice in their eyes as they watched the whole thing happen.

They wouldn't stop at one try though so she decided to escape the room. Maybe if she wasn't there she wouldn't have to hear about how she was in the way of Bianca's future, or that her mere presence had made them sick again. She sighed as a sound behind her made her stiffen.

Gabriel had been meandering around aimlessly when he came upon a visage that stopped him in his tracks. Her back was to him, her dark hair hanging loosely at her back, the white dress she wore seeming brighter in the moonlight. From behind she reminded him of Morgianna but the hair was more brown than the black that he had grown accustomed to.

He saw the moment she realized she was no longer alone as her body stiffened. Still, she didn't turn around to face him. He prowled closer but kept a respectable distance, he was curious as to why she would be here instead of inside where everyone else was. He was not vain by any means but he did know that the women here came to fight for his hand, like he was a trophy to be won.

Deciding to test the waters before introducing himself he sat with his back to her. "The moon is beautiful tonight." The words did not have any real meaning, only meant to get her speaking but still, she shocked him.

"The moon is always beautiful. Sometimes we only see a part of what is there, but that does not make it less." Destiny caught herself before she spoke more, remembering the words her mother would tell her. She always preached of inner beauty and how you could not judge a person just from what you saw because that was usually only a small percentage of who they were. She would tell her to look at the moon when it was full and tell her that it was still only half of the full picture.

Alaric found himself intrigued. "That is a wonderful way to look at things, but still I wonder if it applies to other things..." He found himself thinking of all the narcissistic women he had left in the ballroom. He couldn't imagine there were too many layers of their personality he didn't see as most puddles were less shallow than them.

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I feel like I need to remind people of ages. Morgianna was 17 when she passed at the end of DOATV and Gabriel was only a year older than her. About two years have passed though since Jasmine and Alaric had time to meet, spend months getting to know each other and then marry and have children. So now Gabriel is 20, Thadeous is 20, Kieran is 21, Alistar is 21 and Caspian is 21. Alaric being the oldest is 22.

Also I'm breaking this up into two pieces. I know this is an awkward place to end this chapter but ill release the other one when I can :)