"Onaeni, please," I whined.
"Hush, child. You need to look good for Akira's celebration. There will be lots of important people there," my nursemaid said as he fussed over my outfit.
Looking into the mirror made me scrunch my nose. My hair, long and silky black, was tied up the way I hated it. The robes Onaeni was helping me into were heavy and far too fancy. I just wanted to shrug them off and go play until Akira showed off their dragon form.
A knock at the door caused me to turn my head. Yuki stood in her outfit, looking as beautiful as ever. She was always really pretty. She suited the fancy robes and hairstyles and I didn't. Yuki grinned when she saw how uncomfortable I looked. "Onaeni, Akira needs your help with his ceremonial robes," Yuki announced.
"Oh, that dear child," Onaeni sighed. He glanced at me, giving me a silent warning to stay still and wait for him, before leaving my room.
Yuki giggled, walking further into my room to stand in front of me. "You look so nice in fancy clothes. I don't know why you don't wear them more often."
"Because they're uncomfortable. I don't like how heavy they feel," I explained.
She shrugged. "If you say so, Bug."
We went silent for a bit before Onaeni returned. He finished getting me dressed and ready, then led us both to our parents who were waiting with Akira. Onaeni slipped away as Nobi looked at us. "You two look wonderful. Now, let's make our way to the temple."
Noni, Akira, and Yuki walked ahead, but I dragged along behind them. Parties were fun, but we couldn't party until the ritual was done, which was at the temple. The only fun part would be when Akira transformed for the first time and presented their dragon to the guests. Then, they would be presented with a mate. I always hated that part when our parents or our instructor talked about it. Dragons had destined mates, but they rarely met. Because our lifespans were so long, we often settled for pairing with someone that was matched with us by the local temple. I thought it was dumb. There was a fated match right there and all we had to do was look. But, dragons didn't leave our realm and our mates could be any creature, dragon or not. Plus, the dragon realm was vast and expansive. They were just lazy. That's what I always thought. I certainly wouldn't mind going on a journey to find my destined mate.
"You should be smiling for your brother," Nobi spoke up softly.
I didn't realize she was walking beside me. "What's there to smile about? They're going to be busy doing adult things now," I answered.
"But, he'll still make time to play with you and Yuki. You should be happy for him. As his sibling, you should support him."
I remained silent. Nobi sighed, reaching out to offer her hand. I took it, allowing her to guide me to the temple. Maybe she didn't get it because Noni was someone she loved. They were matched, too, but they instantly fell in love.
It was a quiet walk to the temple after that. It was near our estate, but far enough away that we had to take a small trail to it from our property. Once we arrived, I could see the crowds of people outside the temple. It was shaped like a crescent moon. There was a grand entrance on the largest outer curve, and once inside there was a stretch of open hallway from one end to the other. There were a few smaller buildings attached to the temple's crescent, but the biggest part was the amphitheater. The hallway, with arches making up the inner "walls," opened up into circular, tiered seating that slowly sunk level by level. At the center was a circular pit with a large holy fire surrounded by a platform big enough to fit a dragon. That's where Akira would go, and Yuki and I when we came of age. Scattered within the general seating were small booths for nobility and other important people. We went to the one closest to the pit, but Akira didn't follow us.
I watched as my brother walked down to the pit where an elegant chair waited for them. They sat down, their ceremonial robes seeming to swallow them up. Nobi tugged on my hand gently, making me realize I hadn't sat down yet. I sat down in a chair next to Yuki, letting Nobi let go of my hand so she could sit next to Noni. Soon enough, people began filing in from the crescent and making their way to open seats. The seats were more like long, circular benches that stretched around each tier, so people crowded in. All to get a look at Akira's dragon form.
I noticed another family dressed in fancy robes make their way to a booth of their own nearby: two adults, a dragon about Akira's age, and someone who looked like mine and Yuki's age. The kid was really pretty, I found myself noting. Fluffy, white hair framed a young face and bright, blue eyes. I must've been staring too much because the kid turned and looked at me. But, instead of being angry, they flashed a wide smile and waved. Flustered, I looked away, my ears burning. I heard Yuki giggle from beside me. "Oo, Rin's got a crush~" she sang.
"Shut up," I grumbled, pushing her not-so-lightly.
"Hey!" She protested, pushing me back.
"Children," Nobi said. "Behave. We are here for Akira. Present your best selves so as not to dishonor him."
"Yes, Nobi," we both mumbled, going quiet.
I looked back to Akira down below and caught their eye. They smiled, waving to me. I waved back enthusiastically, a smile on my face mirroring theirs. Their attention got pulled away, however, a tall woman with dark skin and long, curly hair that was piled high on her head walked across the stage to them. Gold ink swirled across her skin and seemed to move as if it were alive. She was our high priestess, Ifema. I didn't know much about her except that she wasn't from our land. She came from across the sea, sent by the grand priesthood to bless our land. I didn't care about her status, but I was always fascinated by her and how she conducted ceremonies.
High Priestess Ifema suddenly turned to face the crowds, smiling. The dragons in the temple silenced themselves immediately. "Welcome, everyone. Today, we are gathered to witness the coming of age of Kamihara Akira, descendent of Kamihara Aiku and Kamihara Hibiki. May the great god Ryūjin give Akira his blessings."
Akira stood up from their chair, looking calm and collected as usual. Ifema put a hand over her elegant robes and drew it away, her golden flame following. "With this flame, I shall awaken your dragon. Are you ready?" She announced, directing the question at Akira.
They nodded firmly. "Yes, I am ready."
Akira closed their eyes as Ifeme began to chant, her voice powerful and laced with a lovely melody. Drums began to accompany her as the air seemed to heat. I wiggled around in my seat excitedly, watching intently as the high priestess began to draw symbols in the air with her flame. The golden symbols shimmered in the air, drawing soft gasps from the crowd. The drums intensified, quickening along with the beat of my heart. Then, they stopped.
The silence that followed was almost enough to kill me, but then a golden circle etched its way into the ground at Akira's feet, circling them fully. Then, light shot up into the sky from the stage and my brother's body fell to the stage.
"He's okay," Nobi whispered to me, sensing that I wanted to get up. "Just watch."
Akira remained hunched over on the stage before their body began to glow with a deep cerulean blue light that I recognized as their flame's color. Then, their body began to change. Slowly, it morphed into that of a water dragon, known for its sleek body, fins, and long torso like that of a sea serpent. Akira must've taken after our noni, who was a water dragon, too. The dragon was beautiful, though, as the light faded away and I could get a full look at my brother's new form. Their scales were a deep blue that glimmered in the light, shifting to a deeper purple as they moved. A roar shook the temple as Akira spread their magnificent wings made to float elegantly in water and took off into the sky.
The temple erupted in cheers. My family and I stood up to clap, though I wanted to exclaim and whoop like everyone else. But, that was against noble etiquette. Akira flew around the temple, getting the hang of their new form as we all watched.
It was beautiful and caused a giddy feeling to bubble inside my stomach. I wanted to do that. I wanted to know what it felt like to fly in the sky like that. Sure, I'd flown before, but only on the backs of other dragons. I wanted to know what it felt like for myself. I wanted to know what having a flame felt like. The eagerness that overtook me had me jittery in my seat for the rest of the ceremony after we sat down.
Akira landed and Ifema gave them time to shift before robing them again. "It is now time for Akira to find their mate. Because Akira has not met their destined mate, wherever they may be, the temple has selected a dragon of notable standing and compatibility." She aimed her next question at my brother. "Do you wish to accept them?"
"I do," Akira said, though I could tell they weren't as confident this time around.
I knew they were nervous. Akira was an awesome big brother, but they lacked romantic experience. I wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. Maybe they were just too nerdy, like Yuki. It seemed to run in the family. But, I knew Akira was worried about being a good mate. They'd talked about it before with Noni and Nobi. I of course knew they'd make an amazing mate, just like they were an amazing brother.
The sound of gentle music brought me back to the ceremony as Akira and Ifema turned to face our section. Someone standing out of the corner of my eye drew my attention back to the family I'd noticed before. The dragon Akira's age stood up. Tall and graceful, they were breathtaking. Long, white hair with tiny braids intermingled among the locks trailed down their back. Their skin was fair and covered in what looked to be freckles. With a slight shift of their weight, they began to make their way down to the platform, walking carefully as the crowds watched.
My eyes made their way over to Akira and I noticed the change in their demeanor. They looked...sad. Akira stood tall, but their face didn't glow like it did when their dragon was awakened. No, this time, my brother seemed to be putting on a brave face. That worried me. They'd seemed nervous before, but what had changed? It seemed that something was wrong. I glanced over at my family to see if they noticed too, but they weren't paying attention. All eyes were on the fair beauty walking down to the platform to meet with Ifeme and Akira.
Once they made it to the platform, Ifeme smiled. She gently guided the two to stand, facing each other, before her. "The god of love, Amias, has smiled upon these two young dragons. For though they are not destined mates, their bond will still be strong. They will strengthen their families, and bless this land," she announced to the crowd.
Ifeme drew another flame from her chest, grabbing Akira's hands to form them into a cup, palm up. Then, she grabbed the white-haired dragon's hands and placed them over Akira's. Ifeme began to chant again as she twined her flame around their conjoined hands. Once it was done, she turned to my brother. "Do you accept Mizuki of the Nitsa Clan to be your mate?"
"I accept," Akira answered.
"And do you, Mizuki of the Nitsa Clan, accept Akira of the Kamihara Clan?"
"I accept," they answered in a voice as delicate as their appearance.
Once the words were spoken, the flame wrapped around their hands began to glow. I watched my brother's face as this happened. Their face was smooth except for the slight twitch of their lips when the flame became even brighter. Ifeme then spoke again, "Under the light of Amias and with my authority as High Priestess, I now pronounce you mated in the eyes of the grand priesthood."
After that, the flame fell away from Akira and the dragon's hands. The crowd erupted into cheers once more. Nobi and Noni stood up to clap, followed by Yuki. After a moment, I stood up, too, though I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as I was when Akira presented their dragon. How could I be when my brother didn't seem as enthusiastic as they should be?
I was startled out of my thoughts when a hand landed on my head to ruffle my hair. My noni smiled cheekily at me, knowing how much I hated it when she does that to my hair, especially when it was all fancy like it was. "Noni!" I whined, fixing my hair quickly.
"Hush, child! It's time for us to greet your brother's new family," she said.
New family? It took all of my willpower not to grimace. Akira didn't need a new family. He had us. Noni grabbed my hand to lead me to where Nobi and Yuki were already greeting the family of...Akira's new mate. Ew. Noni guided us over, and she immediately bowed her head in respect. "It is a great honor to join our families together, Nitsa Clan."
"The honor is all ours, Hibiki," one of the adults said.
I didn't pay attention to the rest of their conversation as Noni let go of my hand and I found myself looking at where Yuki and that kid were talking. Deciding they were likely more interesting than my parents talking to other adults, I walked over.
"Your hair is so pretty!" The kid was telling my sister.
Yuki giggled, a blush covering her cheeks. "Thank you. I love yours, too. It looks so soft."
I almost rolled my eyes. What was going on with my family today? It was like we were joining families with the Royal family or something. Which, by the way, we weren't. I may not pay much attention in school, but I knew what the Royal family looked like.
Yuki noticed me walk over and turned to face me, a smile on her face. "Bug! This is Haru. He's Mizuki's younger brother," she introduced.
"Who?" I asked, earning a slap on the arm from my sister. "Ow?!"
"You need to pay more attention. Mizuki is Akira's mate, duh," she exclaimed.
The kid she introduced smiled at me widely, showing off a small gap in their teeth. "Hi, Bug," he said teasingly.
"That's not my name," I grumbled, crossing my arms and looking away.
What a weirdo. Who's name was actually Bug? And why are they so happy? That caught me off guard when I first noticed the kid. This is all just so fake. Akira should've been able to find his real mate. Not whatever this was. It wasn't real. And now I was stuck with this weird kid whom my sister was fawning over like another weirdo. I was surrounded by them apparently.
"Oh, sorry. It's Rin. I call them Bug because it's...well, I've always called them Bug," Yuki explained hurriedly, giggling after.
"Well, hi, Rin. What a pretty name. It suits you," Haru said.
Ugh. Just compliments all around, huh? What was the kid trying to compensate for? I don't know why, but I didn't like him. There was no way someone was this happy to meet the siblings of their sibling's mate. It just felt so forced. And Yuki was falling for it! She loved to parade around how much smarter she was than me, but here she was falling for such an obvious trick. Well, as Yuki's sibling, it was my duty to protect her, and that meant pulling her away from this charming little devil.
"Yuki, I think Noni wanted to talk to us," I said, reaching out to grab her hand.
"What? But Noni's talking to Haru and Mizuki's parents right now," she pointed out with a frown.
I briefly peeked over at the adults. They really were still talking! "Well, we should go see what she wanted anyway," I insisted, pulling Yuki's arm a bit.
My sister smiled apologetically at the little devil in front of us. "I'm sorry. Our noni needs us for something. We can talk more at the celebration, though!"
Celebration? No! No more stupid parties with stupid guests and stupid, heavy clothes! I wanted to party before, but not now! Not with these people. The charming little devil smiled back, though, despite my glares. "It's alright, Yuki. We can talk more later! I'd love to get to know you both better," he said as his eyes shifted to look at me.
With a huff, I pulled Yuki away with me, trying to contain my annoyance. This day should be about Akira. Akira! Yes, this is about celebrating my brother. Who cares about his stupid mate's family? I knew the party planned for Akira was going to be amazing, so hopefully, I could enjoy it. If I could get through tonight, then all will go back to normal.
Definitely.
~~~
I'M ALIVE! This chapter was a nightmare for me. I'm sorry if it's low-quality. I also attached an idea of what I imagined the temple to look like for anyone curious.
Hopefully, chapter 4 will be out sometime in February.
Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!
Please vote, share, and comment if you like it :)