DAY 31

WING CEREMONY

From the moment he’d woken in the hospital room of Haven Coliseum to the moment he’d returned to his dorm, Seiji couldn’t find a single moment of peace. Every second there was either a butler getting his measurements for some outfit or another, an interviewer attempting to speak to him about his plans with Cora, or a Royal Guard commending him on his victory. He’d answered all of them dutifully and diligently, but he’d been disappointed to learn that Cora was too busy to speak with him. Seiji knew that her crowds were likely far more voracious than his, but he still wanted to speak to her privately.

As he sat in the plush red chair of the Royal Balcony, he did his best not to think about how desperately he wanted to speak to Cora.

“That looks like something Akio wears in his kingdom! I’m surprised you managed to get one here,” Endora called. She sat beside him on the Royal Balcony, looking down at the empty stage and shouting over the loud chattering audience.

“It’s comfortable! Isn’t that right, Servant Otsuki?”

Seiji smiled and nodded at them. The butlers had given him a lavish set of armor for the occasion similar to the silver and gold Endora and Akio wore, but he didn’t want to wear it just yet. The white and black hakama he’d ordered back on the first day had been staring at him from the moment he got it. It was foreign, but the timing seemed right to wear it.

“You know, now that we’re all here I can’t help but wonder why I’m not down there,” Seiji said.

Akio laughed as Endora gave him a mocking look. “You’re not getting Winged, are you?”

“Well no, but…” Seiji shrugged. “I’m still her Servant.”

“If you haven’t picked up on the fact that Haven is a matriarchal society by now, you might not be as intelligent as I pegged you to be.”

Seiji slumped. He hadn’t considered himself one to enjoy the limelight, and he still didn’t. But the more he thought about not getting acknowledged for all of his hard work, the more it… stung.

Endora clapped him on the shoulder. “Look at it like this. As soon as the Wing Ceremony ends, the Valkyrie Festival begins! You’ll be the most popular man in Haven for a week!” She jabbed him with an elbow. “And the most eligible bachelor.”

“I have no interest in anyone other than Cora,” Seiji said immediately.

“Does Cora know that?” Akio asked from Endora’s right. Endora nodded her curiosity.

Seiji gave them an awkward smile. “I mean… I kinda said it before the fight.”

“Kinda doesn’t count,” Endora sighed. “Did you tell her how you feel about her or not?”

“I mean… I told her dad.”

They both gave Seiji a look of utter bewilderment at the same time the audience began to silence. Endora jabbed him with a finger and whispered.

“Work on that before the Valkyrie Festival ends. You’re too old and too strong to be so timid.”

Seiji rolled his eyes and grumbled. “I’m not timid.”

***

Every eye in the Coliseum focused on the white stage of the Coliseum. Queen Eir and King Vassilis stood wearing golden armor and no crowns before their kneeling daughter. Cora wore a simple white dress with two long parallel slits on her back and plain white flats. The videoboards both focused on Seiji’s left focused on Cora’s shut eyes while the one to his right focused on the hardened expressions on her parents’ faces.

Queen Eir raised a hand into the air and every member of the crowd rose to their feet. Seiji followed the gesture at the same time Akio and Endora did. As soon as everyone was standing, the Queen spoke.

“As is tradition with each Valkyrie Exam, I am honored to reveal that the Royal Family is obligated to honor a single request from the female victor of the Valkyrie Exam.”

Seiji felt his heart tighten at those words. He’d forgotten about his deal with Cora following the craziness of the past few days. He knew she wouldn’t use this wish to send Seiji back to The Ardor, but knowing that it’d been her intention, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of dread as he waited for her to speak.

“Queen Eir. I am honored by the generosity of the Royal Family,” Cora announced, raising her head to her mother.

The queen nodded. “The Royal Family is humbled by your gratitude. Cora Lambros, what is your request?”

Cora took a deep, shuttering breath. “Queen Eir, King Vassilis, I would like to request for my Servant, Seiji Otsuki, to be joined by Selene Andris of Lower Haven and Lirio Silva of Tierroeste, granting me a total of three Servants.”

Mutters and gasps filled the audience as they registered Cora’s response. Seiji, for one, was filled with so much relief he could’ve cried.

Queen Eir’s own eyes widened for just a moment, but she recovered immediately. “The Royal Family accepts your request.”

The audience roared as the videoboards cut to scenes from their fights against Selene and Lirio. To Seiji’s shock, Endora scoffed beside him. He turned to her, who’d been looking down at the stage with crossed arms and a look of what Seiji could only call bitterness.

“Are you seriously telling me I could’ve been a Servant? If I knew this was a possibility, I would’ve made Thea my Servant.” She sighed and shrugged. “I suppose everything happens for a reason. I would’ve never met you if I’d stayed here. Besides, I’d rather die than be a Servant.”

Seiji and Akio both gave Endora a look of incredulity. Endora stiffened, clearly surprised that her thoughts had been out of her head.

“Ah!” She said immediately. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a Servant!” She looked around as if for help. She sighed when none came. “It’s just… I’m a Valkyrie, you know?”

Akio flicked her on the head. Seiji glared at her. Endora sank deep into her seat.

Following the roaring of the applause, the King and Queen both announced the beginning of the actual Winging process. The audience silenced as they described what it entailed. First, they’d envelop Cora in a field of ‘Dream Aura’. Following that, she’d be instructed to think over her experience in the Valkyrie Exam and how it's changed her. Once complete, she’d begin her transformation into a white-winged Valkyrie of Haven. For some reason, Endora was convinced that Cora wouldn’t have white wings, but was still confident that Cora would successfully advance. Seiji had asked for clarification, but Endora told him she’d explain after the Valkyrie Festival ended.

“Cora Lambros,” the king and queen said in unison. “Prepare yourself.”

Cora stood to her feet with hands at her sides. She closed her eyes.

The king and queen extended their arms and enveloped Cora in a pearlescent light similar to that of the Silent Antichamber. Seiji watched as Cora’s face shifted from calm, to pained, to elated, to saddened over and over at an unnatural speed. Her facial shifts quickened before finally settling back to neutral. With a blinding flash, Cora was enveloped in a ball of yellow light.

Seiji’s heart began to beat hard. This was it. When that ball burst, Cora would be a Valkyrie. He leaned forward over the balcony to get a better look. Queen Eir was doing her best to remain neutral, but he could see the rapid rising and falling of her chest mirrored that of his own. King Vassilis fared no better. The man was constantly wiping beads of sweat with his right hand, and only then did Seiji notice that the king was holding the queen’s hand with his left.

She’s lucky to have them.

Just as the thought occurred to them, the yellow ball burst like glass, shards of yellow aura scattering across the arena and fading to essence. The audience’s stunned gasps weren’t the first thing that Seiji noticed, though. He turned to Endora, whose silent sobs were enough to bring forth the emotion he’d been holding back for so long.

“They’re blue. I knew it. I knew it!” Endora whispered. “Oh, Cora. You’re a natural Blue-Winged Valkyrie! I knew it!”

Endora continued to weep as Akio pulled her into a tight side hug. Seiji continued to wipe newly forming tears from his eyes as he looked down at Cora. She looked beautiful. She floated on blue butterfly wings spotted with flecks of black and observed herself as if for the first time.

“Oh, my beautiful daughter,” Queen Eir called with a shaky voice. “We are so very proud of you!”

Cora flew into her mother and the two cried in each other’s arms. King Vassilis joined them, the man’s hardened visage falling as he held his wife and daughter.

Seiji looked over the audience and wasn’t surprised to find many of them just as sentimental as the Royal Family. Many of them wiped tears from their eyes or hugged their neighbors, but all of them, every single one, cheered for the newest Valkyrie of Haven – Valkyrie Cora.