Ascension of the last Celestial

Valerian didn’t look away, he couldn’t.

Those twin orbs that shone like the sun on a beautiful summer day had him completely entranced. There was an irresistible pull forcing his eyes to meet those golden ones. And the girl whom those golden eyes belonged to seemed to have the same feeling, since both couldn’t break the eye contact.

The parents of both youths noticed how she just stood there at the entrance to the room and stared into the eyes of Valerian.

The silence that took over the room was broken by the elven empress. "Cough, cough, sweetie, why don’t you come and sit down with us?"

Finally broken out of the lock the purple eyes had on her, by the obviously fake coughing of her mother, Seraphine walked to the sofa her family was sitting on. During her walk to the sofa, she couldn’t help herself from stealing looks at the boy sitting across from her parents. Her eyes moved from his eyes to the onyx horns sitting on his head, and a realization came to her.

’So he isn’t human! And the maid was right, he does look pretty good...’

After she sat down next to her mother, Avelia began to speak again. "Let me introduce you to our wonderful daughter, Seraphine."

"It is a pleasure meeting you, Princess Seraphine," Helias began.

"It really is. You are even more beautiful than the rumors say," followed Freya with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Highness, Queen Freya," Seraphine answered, clearly showing that even if she’s a "shut-in", she is still the princess of the elven empire and trained in formal etiquette. After that, she turned to Valerian. "Excuse me, but I don’t remember reading that the Solaria Kingdom has a prince?"

Valerian looked at her, and before they could get lost again in their eyes, he quickly answered. "My name is Valerian von Astrea, and I was adopted by King Helias and Queen Freya when I was a child. It’s no surprise you haven’t read of me before, because I never left the castle before."

"Well, Prince Valerian, it seems like we are the same age. Would you like me to give you a tour of the palace?"

Taken back by the forwardness of their daughter, who normally didn’t care about interacting with others—but the interaction at the entrance was still fresh in their minds—Seraphine’s mother said with a smile, "That is a wonderful idea!"

"What do you say, lets get these two to know each other?" Alderon addressed Helias.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea."

Seraphine looked at Valerian, seemingly waiting for him to agree. Even though their parents already said yes, which would normally be enough for them to go, for some reason she wanted him to agree and not be forced to do it. Valerian looked at Seraphine with a soft smile that made something in her heart move.

"I would like that."

Hearing his consent, they both stood up and walked out of the tearoom together. Their parents, meanwhile, looked at their backs with a knowing look.

"Well, that was weird," a voice chimed in from the side. It was the crown prince, who was watching the entire exchange from the side without making himself known. He was so silent that Helias and Freya forgot for a second that he was even there in the first place.

As Valerian and Seraphine walked through the marble hallway, they didn’t talk, but the silence between them wasn’t awkward the way it was supposed to be for two people who just met.

"I will show you the garden first," Seraphine announced, which caused Valerian to look at her from the side without turning his head.

’The garden? Aren’t we on a tree? Maybe it’s a pocket dimension like back home,’ Valerian speculated internally.

"Lead the way, Princess."

Their walk continued in silence, but they couldn’t help themselves from stealing glances at the other from the side. Valerian noticed that Seraphine was lightly fiddling with the fabric of her dress, like she wanted to say something but held herself back.

’She really is beautiful, like a fairy.’

When they finally reached the entrance to the garden, Valerian fully expected there to be a transition between dimensions like he felt every time he stepped into the garden at home, but to his surprise, there was none. The garden was really on the tree.

It was a large field of green grass with paved ways made out of stone. It wasn’t as big as the one at the Solaria castle, since that one was built inside a pocket dimension. This one was way more... real.

There were flowerbeds with flowers that bloomed in a dozen different colors, some big, reaching even beyond Valerian’s head, and some just barely making it to his ankle. And when he looked up, he could see the branches of the world tree the elves built their empire on. It didn’t just have green leaves; there were red leaves, golden leaves, and even some purple ones. Past the branches, he could make out a clear blue sky.

"Amazing." Valerian couldn’t help himself but say that word. Hearing his astonishment at the garden, Seraphine had a soft smile on her face.

"Come, let’s sit down."

She began walking ahead. Valerian followed closely behind her and looked around, marveling at the flowers growing here. Soon they reached a pavilion that was made from the same white marble as the rest of the buildings. It had soft silver booths on the outside and a silver table in the middle.

When they sat down across from each other, Seraphine couldn’t stop herself anymore. Like a dam was broken, her voice streamed out of her mouth.

"You’re not human, are you? What race are you, and how are you able to use space magic at your rank? On the topic of magic, what is your favorite kind of magic, and what affinities do you have? I was told you are a genius, what rank are you? If you tell me yours, I will tell you mine. What do you think about runes and their application? What kind of spells did you create, want to exchange some spells? I have created a lot, maybe they could help you out somehow, wha—"

"Okay, okay, stop, please. If you calm down, we can have a discussion about magic."

Valerian had to make her stop, or else she would barrage him with questions until the party starts in the evening.

Hearing him interrupt her, Seraphine stiffened as she realized what she had just done, turning her face bright red. He hadn’t even sat down fully, and she just started to ask him a dozen questions without even waiting for an answer. Ashamed, she turned her head down and looked at her hands.

Seeing her react so shyly now after being so forward before, Valerian burst into laughter. It was a carefree laugh he normally would only share with his family, yet this girl he had only met minutes ago managed to bring it out of him.

Seraphine looked up at him, and when she saw him laugh so genuinely, her heart skipped a beat and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Gathering her thoughts, she took a deep breath and started again, this time much more calm. "You are not human, right? Do you mind telling me what race you are?"

Valerian already kind of expected this question, considering he has horns and slitted eyes—not exactly a human look. He shrugged his shoulders. "I’m something beyond simply human, that’s all you get for now. Maybe I will tell you more later, when we know each other better."

Seraphine didn’t like that answer. She was a researcher at heart, and getting such an open answer only made her have more questions. "Then your magic. I was told you can use space magic. Can you show me?"

On the topic of magic, her eyes started to shine with undisguised interest and anticipation, like a child on Christmas.

"Sure, I do have a space affinity. Is there anything you want to see?"

"Can you teleport me? I always wanted to experience teleportation from someone that is skilled in it."

That caused him to raise his eyebrow. "Doesn’t your father know space magic? He clearly teleported us earlier."

Seraphine let out a sigh. "Haa, yes, he can use it. He learned it a few years ago when I showed an interest in it, but he doesn’t have an affinity, so it was never that powerful. And to be honest, it made me nauseous when he teleported me."

Nodding at the explanation, Valerian began to channel his mana, and the space folded around her.

The next moment, she disappeared from her seat across from him and reappeared directly beside him, so close that their shoulders were touching.

"Like that?" Valerian said with a smirk.