It was a busy morning in the Lilino estate that day. The servants were rushing around finding him the most elegant of royal purple silks, his nicest outfit being wrapped about him so that he could be put on display as the child of prophecy he was. Cirrus’ fiftieth birthday had passed not too long ago, so his parents had decided it was about time he met the woman he was engaged with.
Although, no one knew too much about princess Arcadia. Which made sense, as she was still young. No one knew much about Cirrus, either. This would essentially be both of their debuts to the planets within their alliance, so it was imperative that they made a good impression on each other. Not that it should matter if there were a few slipups, as the prophecy did guarantee they would fall in love with each other as time passed. So there shouldn’t be too much to worry about…
The one thing he did know about her was her age, the princess being thirty-nine years old, which was eleven years younger than him. That could be a bit troublesome when both of them were still below the age of thirty, but as they progressed past those years, it wasn’t all that big of an age gap. Of course, people below the age of one hundred were all still children, so it was important to mind the ages of those you courted when you were so young, but his mother and father were over a hundred years apart in age, yet since they’d met each other after they were both over five hundred, it wasn’t deemed concerning. That was just what happened when everyone was immortal, and dying was no longer an issue. In fact, his age gap with Arcadia was deemed rather small in the grand scheme of things. They were essentially the same age. The only concern he had about this whole meeting with his fiancée was that Arcadia’s mother, Queen Lydia, had died only five years ago when the young princess had only been thirty-four…
“You know not to mention it, don’t you?” his mother quipped as the servants brushed his neat bangs with a comb, both his eyes visible with their amber hues vibrant as he gave a small nod.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Good. You’re not your brother, so I trust that you’ll be respectful towards her.”
“Aw c’mon!” Nefion jeered, his short hair tied up in a ponytail as he shoved his fist to protest. “I’m super respectful! I’m always nice to everyone! Name one time I’ve been mean!”
“Now’s not the time. Cirrus, I’ll be teleporting you over in just a moment, alright?” Nadia soothed, taking his face gently within her hands before she tilted their foreheads together. “Remember, this is destiny. Just let fate take its course and do whatever you feel is necessary. You’ll do splendidly.”
“I bet he’s gonna fail at everything and she’ll hate him,” his brother cooed from the side, Nadia immediately turning around to swat him off.
“Begone with you, Nefion!”
“Wahh, fine then, guess everybody hates me! I’ll just leave and go… heh, have some fun without you,” he smirked, Cirrus looking up towards his mother with clear eyes at his brother’s disappearance. Nefion’s words sounded concerning, like he was about to get up to something he shouldn’t, but with a wave of his mother’s hand, his older brother’s attendant and personal guard was following him and would hopefully keep him out of trouble.
“Shouldn’t we be trying to use they/them pronouns for them? He said he wanted to try it,” Cirrus spoke up once Nefion was completely gone and out of earshot, Nadia squeezing his cheeks tight before she pressed a kiss to the top of his hair.
“Once he makes that decision for himself, I’ll transition to whatever pronouns he wants. Right now he’s still being indecisive. So until he decides, I will carry on with what I’m used to. But enough about your brother, today is about you, Cirrus. How are you feeling? Are you ready?” Nadia smoothed over his hair, the servants hovering around him as she moved to take a look at the long, thin ponytail that ran down his back. “You look simple but elegant. A perfect look that women like. Fate is indeed on your side.”
“Okay, that’s good… and I’m fine, I’m sure everything will go well,” Cirrus smiled, doing his best to comfort his mother’s anxieties as Nadia grabbed hold of his hand. He was nervous too, of course, and he’d never stepped foot on the planet of Salaven before, but he didn’t think he appeared that way. He’d tried numbing down his nerves as best he could, so even though he felt a little jittery, his head was level.
And Nadia gave him one last careful look, before she nodded her head and relented, moving herself backwards to open a smooth portal in his wake. “Then you may take your first steps. Remember to respect her, and while this may seem rather old fashioned, you should approach your relationship as the other person always being right. That won’t always work, so don’t adopt this mindset always, but for your first meeting, I think it’s a good view to have so that things go well and you can’t be villainized by anything that may happen. Not that I think anything bad will happen, and I’m sure Arcadia will be lovely, but you never know who may be watching.”
“Ah, that’s alright, mom. I got it, thank you,” Cirrus smiled, hesitating to go through the portal until she was finished talking so that he didn’t upset her.
“Good, this portal will take you directly to the nice venue me and King Cadence planned for the two of you to spend time in within Salaven’s royal grounds. Remember that Princess Arcadia is very sick, so for your first meeting, you are not permitted to touch her in any way, no matter how much you may want to. I know you’re young and she’s a pretty girl, and a prophecy even says you’ll fall in love, but you must not touch a single hair on her head until you have met several times and you have a better understanding of the physical illness that ails her. Remember that her mother just passed from perceivably the same illness, so if she’s a bit spooked, you shouldn’t judge her for it.”
“I understand, mom. Don’t worry, I won’t touch or judge her.”
“Of course you won’t, I know… you’re a good kid, Cirrus,” Nadia sighed, moving her hands to rub her temples in front of her silky black hair. “I’m just worried. This is what could be considered your first political meeting, even if it might feel like just a romantic first date between you and your betrothed. But let's not forget that people will surely be watching, so you must act princely and upright at all times—”
Yet, before she could keep spiraling and ramble ever further, Cirrus watched as his father moved a careful hand against Nadia’s back, Didimitri’s calm smile catching her attention. He was perhaps the only person she truly listened to, and it was because Cirrus’ father only spoke up very rarely when he thought she needed to hear something. More often than not, he was compared to his father in many ways. “Dear. We should let him go now, or else he’ll be late,” Didimitri reminded gently, his voice low and soothing, and Nadia’s brow furrowed as they met gazes. If his parents could be considered a ship, then his mother was the wheel that controlled their direction while his father was the anchor that grounded them in place whenever it was needed. More often than not, Cirrus felt like people were always expecting him to somehow be both, which left him feeling like he was juggling a workload of different personality traits that the people around him expected him to have.
But Nadia listened to her husband, and moved to give Cirrus one last nod of farewell with a determined smile, as if it were her own debut she was worried about, and not his. “Then be on your way now. Good luck, and I will expect a detailed report of how things went when you return. Do you understand me, Cirrus?”
“Yes, of course, mama. I’ll be going now,” he smiled dutifully, giving them one final wave as he stepped through the portal that had been standing there for about four or five minutes. He could only imagine what those on the other side must be thinking, seeing that a portal had appeared with no one immediately walking through it, but Cirrus hoped it wouldn’t be a big deal. And when he stepped through, he realized he didn’t see anyone else around, as he appeared in a vast stretch of greenland with only a large, white castle in the background.
Was this… Salaven? Lilino, his own home planet, was very rocky and filled with vast seas and tall mountains. The palace of Lilino was even built on a mountain near the edge of a tall cliff above a roaring river, meaning he wasn’t surrounded by flat land very often, much less flat grassland that stretched for miles upon miles of fresh green with soft pastels dotting the landscape in the shapes of flowers and colorful weeds.
If he remembered correctly, he had a few guards already here and in place, just out of view… Jayce would have to be among them, as the man who was training to be his personal guard and attendant in the future. And Jayce was also his best friend, so Cirrus found himself subconsciously looking around to see if he could spot him. Though he didn’t have any luck with that, so he eventually had to stop, especially when he laid eyes on a tiny round tea table set in the distance, with a small, petite young girl sitting calmly on one of its chairs, staring at her cup with a blank expression.
Ah, oh no, how long had he kept her waiting? He had to be more than fifteen minutes early himself, but Cirrus didn’t want to risk it and quickly walked forward so that he could lay eyes on his fiancée for the first time in his life. They’d been engaged ever since the moment she’d been born with her prophecy that tagged along with her birth, stating that this very princess would be by his side when he needed her most, would guide him when he was lost, and would help him stop the apocalypse that was sure to come. Cirrus didn’t exactly know what apocalypse the prophecy was talking about, as nothing had happened yet, though it did scare him to know it was coming, and that it’d be his responsibility to stop it. That was why he felt so relieved, and why it was nice to know he had a companion who would be in it with him. And she…
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Well, the first thing Cirrus really took in was that Arcadia looked exactly like a living doll. If she hadn’t moved ever so slightly to lift her gaze from her tea to his face, he might have believed she was really just a beautifully carved doll made of fine porcelain. She had lovely fair skin with soft pink cheeks and shiny glossed lips, with waves upon waves of platinum blond curls cascading down her shoulders like curtains of immaculate silk. She had shiny blue eyes the color of a midday sky that seemed to glare into him, with a soft white dress and blush pink corset winding its way around her small body. But the biggest thing he noticed was that she was very, very small. The flowy wide dress and all the blue bows she was wearing hid some of her tiny features, like her thin legs and flat chest, but she still didn’t look very healthy… she almost looked malnourished. It seemed to be true that she was very sick.
“Ah, hello, I’m Prince Cirrus Aixon, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he smiled politely, carefully taking the chair and moving it from under the table for himself so that he could sit down. “This is a really pretty place. Did you pick it yourself?”
That was a rather nice starter question, wasn’t it? Complimenting the space around him, hopefully sparking her to talk about her interests… girls liked to talk about their interests, didn’t they? And if she really had picked this place, it must be an interest, right? That’s what Cirrus had been hoping for, at least. He barely expected the way her face shifted into one of utter contempt, sitting back in her chair as she picked up her teacup. “It’s nothing but a sheet of grass. Hardly anything worth looking at.”
“Oh… I see. Do you prefer any other landscapes, then?” he tried, brain working fast as Arcadia turned her gaze to look at him directly, as if she were studying him.
It was a bit weird, to feel her staring at him so intensely behind her teacup that she wasn’t even drinking out of anymore, merely keeping it pressed right under her lip as she analyzed him. Though he certainly hadn’t expected her to come out and say all too bluntly, “You’re oddly talkative, aren’t you? What’s with all these foolish questions right off that bat? You’ll bore me to death.”
“Oh… um, my apologies,” Cirrus blinked, not even sure how he was supposed to take that. Granted, it didn’t really make him mad… he never really did get mad, ever. But it confused him. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react, or what Arcadia was wanting from him. So he opened his mouth again, smile still soft on his face as he suggested, “Then, do you want to ask me any questions? I’ll try my best to answer anything.”
“Hm,” Arcadia stared, and Cirrus desperately wished he knew what she was thinking. Though things only got more confusing from there. “Fine. What year was Lilino founded and what do you know about it?”
“Huh? Oh, ah, the year zero… Lilino’s founding is known as the central year where everything starts being counted. If you want to mention anything before Lilino’s founding, which is nearly all lost history at this point, you refer to it as a negative number,” Cirrus responded automatically, Arcadia’s cold stare not shifting as she lifted her chin a bit higher, setting her teacup back down against her small plate.
“When was Salaven founded and who was the founder in relation to myself and my lineage?”
“Oh, I know that one, as well,” Cirrus smiled a bit, absolutely confused but very intrigued. “Salaven was founded in the year three hundred by the Grand Priestess’ trusted companion, King Fillian Canasettia. He would be your direct ancestor, your great grandfather by, hm… five greats, I think. Is that right?” he smiled, waiting to see if Arcadia would double check his knowledge of history and if he’d counted the leaders of Salaven correctly or not.
But Arcadia merely sighed, nodding along as she began staring off into the distance. “Give me a fun fact you know about Salaven.”
“Ah, okay… let me think,” Cirrus nodded, happily going along with this so long as he wasn’t getting called foolish. “One that I personally find really interesting is how it’s tradition to give all of your royalty feminine names no matter their gender. For example, your father is named Cadence, which is a traditionally female name, but that’s just how it goes for Salaven royalty. The reason for this can be dated all the way back to the first reigning King, King Fillian, where he displayed a love for feminine things and took part in many hobbies others would consider to be more feminine, and so his daughter ended up naming her son a feminine name to honor him. His descendants never stopped this tradition, and since Salaven is the planet within the big planetary six alliance to have had the least amount of rulers by far since each of your kings and queens has always had remarkably long reigns, the tradition has never faded out. I find that really interesting,” he smiled, Arcadia taking her small spoon as she mindlessly stirred her tea, blue eyes looking at her castle that stood high in the distance.
“Why is that so interesting to you? Do you just find it silly that boys are being called by the names of women?” Arcadia grimaced, her frown making him a bit panicked as he shook his head.
“No, no… that’s not why. I find it cool that you’re going against normal gender conformities, that’s all. Your first King seems like a really amazing man, too, and I enjoyed reading about his legend. And it’s also why your planet’s population primarily uses female names, right? Which in turn means that the names lose their gender. I think that’s the fascinating part,” Cirrus explained, watching nervously as Arcadia turned back to face him again.
It felt like she was challenging him, but Cirrus wasn’t good at challenging people back. Everyone always accused him of being a pushover, and they were right. He didn’t like fighting. He was bad at it and it scared him. He had an ice concept in the making that was going somewhat well, and everyone called him a natural prodigy when it came to using it, but in his own humble opinion, he was still an amateur in every sense of the word. Cirrus was nowhere close to reaching his mother’s level of strength, and he had no clue how he was going to stop the apocalypse with his avoidant mentality. It wasn’t until Arcadia reached under her chair and pulled out a carved wooden box and placed it right in the center of the table did he realize he wasn’t exactly being challenged… rather, he was being tested.
“Here. If you can beat me in chess while we’re here today, I’ll permit you to come again soon. If you cannot, I refuse to spend my days acting like I intend to marry a fool, and you will not be permitted to meet with me again until I turn fifty. I don’t care if you agree to this sentiment or not, for I have already decided this is how things will go, and I will not have it any other way. Here, I’ll even let you go first,” Arcadia instructed, Cirrus paling as he watched her set things up with the white chess pieces facing his side.
This, uh… were things not going well? He certainly hadn’t known what to expect when she suddenly made him play trivia, but testing him through chess, as well? And if he couldn’t win any matches during their time today, he wouldn’t be able to see her until she turned fifty, which was in another eleven years? But he couldn’t exactly refuse her, she’d already made it clear she wasn’t having that… and his mother had said to treat her as if she were always right, so…
“Um, okay,” he nodded, his anxiety having increased tenfold as he stared at the board and all the pawns she was placing on their squares. Ah, he could surely win one of these, couldn’t he? Statistically speaking, they had a whole day in front of them, so surely he could win at least one game, right? “Then… let’s both do our best…”
But Arcadia didn’t even deign him with a response, and merely leaned back in her chair to watch as he made the first move. Though Cirrus didn’t play chess very often… he knew Nefion was good at it, and they’d taught him the rules a few decades ago, so he remembered the gist of things… but he figured Arcadia wouldn’t be challenging him to this game if she didn’t excel at it herself. And sure enough, during the six hours they spent there in that grassy courtyard, they played fourteen different matches, and he lost every single one. When he looked back in the distance and saw that his mother’s portal had returned and he was being expected to return home, all he could see was Arcadia’s disappointed expression, and he would never forget her words to him that day.
“I can’t believe my father expects me to marry a spineless halfwit… be on your way now, I expect not to see you again for another eleven years. Improve your intelligence during that time frame, why don’t you…”
That was how they met. And now, four-hundred eighty-six years later, he was facing the same person again, except this time as a chaotic man he’d somehow fallen head over heels for. And they were the same person. Cirrus could barely process it as Feather teleported them both as well as their guards and companions all the way to a town he’d never stepped foot in on what he assumed was the planet Buma, the name that this chaotic miracle man had mentioned earlier. But he was barely able to wrap that sudden revelation around his mind, the two different personalities struggling to merge in his memory, even if he’d been the one to ask about Feather’s identity in the first place.
“What… you’re really Arcadia?” he couldn’t help but blurt as Feather let go of his throbbing hand that had been twisted and squeezed so painfully, the tall blond with his lean and slender figure and perfectly healthy body turning to give him a haughty grin.
“Sure am, you little pushover prince. And I see you’re still a spineless halfwit, aren’t you?” he laughed, loud and rude as ever while Jayce and Achitha both gawked at him, understandably not able to reconcile the two images together, either. But well, they were both very rude… that aspect was the same, at least.
Princess Arcadia, versus Feather… there was no denying they were the same person at this point. And yet again he was being called a spineless halfwit. Perhaps that’s what he’d always look like in this man’s eyes. But because he remembered that insult from so long ago, it didn’t catch him off guard when he heard it now. Though he wasn’t the same boy he’d been when he was only fifty. He had grown, and he had hardened. He held more responsibility now than he’d ever imagined he could hold back then.
“Fine then… Feather. I’m assuming that’s the name you prefer, since you’ve been going by it for the past four-hundred and thirteen years,” he sighed, continuing to follow the blond and his frustratingly smug grin outside of the edge of the forest they’d arrived at, and the group was able to look down at a large town below the hill they were standing on.
Well, no matter how long it took, he’d prove to this chaotic miracle worker that he was most definitely not a spineless halfwit, and that he could make his own decisions. Cirrus hadn’t had the best showing so far, and he’d needed Feather to knock some sense into him multiple times, but he was determined to pull his own weight. He would make himself an indispensable member of this team, as that was his goal. He would be worthy of standing next to this powerful man who had forsaken his royal title to chase his freedom. He would not be a pushover prince standing beside a miracle worker. No, he would work to make sure that his prophecy would come true, and instead of waiting complacently for fate to grab him, he would chase it and make it happen, instead. He would earn his place by Feather’s side… that is what he promised himself on this very day, the day he learned of Feather’s true past as Arcadia.
when translated to our world's ages, Cirrus would be around fourteen and Arcadia would be around thirteen. Just so you know! Keep in mind that since they live for so long, in order to adapt to this, their brains began to develop and age much, much slower than ours do.
both of them act more mature than their ages, even in the context of Death Card's universe, simply because of their circumstances and places in society. Neither of them had really been given the chance to just be a kid.
What do you think of baby Cirrus and Feather?
