Chapter 541

541 Ceremony Of Honor(Part Four)

Skye and Tidas held their heads high as they practically glided into the room. Everyone in attendance had stopped talking, and were staring at the Alconian Royals with awe. The air was so still that the sounds of their footsteps echoed within the banquet hall.

Tidas looked like the pinnacle of nobility as he kept his face forward, and his gaze piercing. The fitted suit that he wore was tailor-made in Alcon. He didn’t care for how constrictive it was, but Skye thought that he looked very handsome in it, so he wore it on special occasions.

Skye’s dress looked like she had to be sewn into it as she gracefully strode towards the main table. She thought that it would be too tight to move in properly, but the fabric stretched and molded to the whims of her curves. The deep red flared within the glossy black whenever she stepped, making the dragon pattern on her side appear alive.

Her arm still looped within her husband’s, Skye looked like a sensual goddess. Several men made sexual comments that most usually wouldn’t hear at a distance, but Tidas had. As he glared in their direction, Skye lightly squeezed his arm, then whispered to him so low that it looked like her mouth hadn’t moved at all..

“Calm yer self, love. They can stare all they like, but yer the only one that gets ta have me. Ignore ’em, and let’s have a good time.”

Tidas had to stop a grin from creeping up onto his face at his wife’s comment. She didn’t realize how enticing she looked in her dress, and he knew it would cause several problems whenever the dancing began. As he gritted his teeth through the scandalous commentary, his eyes fell on an amused-looking Genie.

If he could’ve done it without causing a scene, Tidas would’ve smacked him in the back of his head. Genie had warned him that Saianese men regarded commenting on a woman’s beauty as complimentary, but Tidas didn’t see it that way. Especially since they were discussing certain parts, rather than simply complimenting her looks.

By the time they had reached the table, Tidas was already exhausted. Fighting the urge to slump down into his chair, he sat straight as a board as a procession of women wearing incredibly ornate qun kwa dresses entered the room. Each wore a different color, and each dress had a dragon as the main part of the design.

The women were Priestesses that followed the traditional Saianese beliefs, and devoted themselves wholly to the ceremony that they were about to preform..

.....

First, they did a dance that both welcomed Skye as the Guardian of Dragons, and offered her and Zazzy their undying loyalty. Many of the Senators brushed it off as simply part of the tradition, but Senator Tokuga seethed. The ritual had been strictly reserved for the Tokuga Clan for more generations than what was publicly recorded, and yet he was forced to watch it being preformed for a foreigner.

As they started the second part of the ceremony, Senator Tokuga and his cronies watched on with growing hostility..

Tidas didn’t need any special form of detection to be able to tell that the Senators surrounding Tokuga were irate. Genie had mentioned to him while he’d helped with organizing the paperwork that the ceremony was the highest honor to receive in Sai. Only the Tokuga Clan and their guests had experienced it before tonight, and the Senators’ indignation was obvious.

The Priestesses did a beautifully artful type of dance closely related to a Kagura dance that depicted Sai’s most treasured story..

According to the tomes and oral history of Sai, the lands and ancient people were protected by dragons when the Great Shift had occurred. The oral histories said that heaven and earth had collided after mankind had transgressed within the gods’ domain. And that the dragons descended from the heavens right before the catastrophe destroyed the planet.

Six dragons in total spread out across the world, and protected populated areas. These places were marked with the bones of dragons, and that they were the new birth places of humanity. The graceful movements and unique combination of instruments elicited intense emotions from the spectators, as made evident by their ‘Ooo’s and ‘Aww’s.

As far as the Republic of Sai was concerned, it had been the dragons’ magic alone that had preserved both the planet, and humanity. The bones that made up the walls of Sai’s capital similarly to Dragonhorn were proof that the heavenly creatures existed. And it was hailed as the Guardian of Sai, even to this day.

Skye knew that the dragon skeleton that encircled Dragonhorn was from Lazarus, Zazzy’s birth mother..

‘But I dinna ken where Sai’s dragon came from. It’s bones are a red color, and tis a wee bit smaller than Lazarus.. But I can feel something’s different about’em.. They be much older fer sure, but the dawn of our time? I dinna ken.. Maybe..’

Skye’s thoughts ran amuck as she watched the dance. According to the story, the Red Dragon worked with the other dragons, and sacrificed themselves to give the planet a second chance. Their energy breathed new life into the world, and brought about the unification of this one and theirs so that the life on both could live on.

Before the dragons gave up their lives, they had entrusted their offspring to six human families, and named them the guardians of the new world. The Tokuga was the family from Sai, and usually the ones mentioned within the dance. But because of who the named guardian was this time, a new part of the dance was done that had never been preformed before..

From what Senator Tokuga recalled, the dance was supposed to tapper off now, but instead the Priestesses kicked it up into a joyous chorus. The lyrics were completely different, the same as the tempo of their instruments. As the women began to spin and shift in sync, their words rang out within the banquet hall clear as day..

“The wrong made right..

The dark shown light..

Beside the water’s edge, you’ll see..

The choice to be made, turn the key..

Faded with time, dulled with pain..

Only If the memories remain..

Call with your soul, and see the light..

Only if you can sustain the fight..

A dragon’s heart never forgets..

The love they shared, or their debts..

If the Bond is strong, then go to your place..

To where hearts reach through time and space..”

Skye, along with many others, were in tears by the time the ceremony had concluded. The song was beautiful, yet full of sorrow at the same time. The different flutes combined with the horagai and the shamisen had harmonized in a way that filled Skye with duality.

“Why are you smiling with tears in your eyes?” Tidas asked, his voice edged with concern.

Skye shook her head lightly; “Tis nothin’, love. Just the song made me feel...a lot more than I thought. Twas truly touching.. I gotta thank those priestesses, and ask about their instruments.”

“That may prove difficult,” Genie stated from her right side; “They’re heading back to their temple right now, but I can take you there in a few days if you’d like?”

Skye beamed at him as she grabbed his hand; “That would be amazin’! Thank ya, Genie. I look forward to our wee outin’.”

Skye had lifted her hand off of Genie’s when she’d finished speaking, but Genie allowed his to linger a moment before flashing a half-smile absentmindedly, then returned it to his side. Tidas had caught it, and wondered why he’d made such a satisfied expression once Skye had taken her hand away. It was an odd thing to focus on, let alone notice.

But something about Genie’s reaction chafed at Tidas’ heart in a way that made his head hurt..

A suspicion that Genie had romantic feelings for Skye had always lingered in his heart, but it had never had any creedence to surface before. Since they had all reunited in Alcon, however, Tidas could sense that Genie’s regard towards Skye had changed. He no longer looked at her like a sweet wee sister, but as a fully-grown woman.

Shaking his head, Tidas tried to refocus on something else. Like the heavens had answered his prayers; servants started to file out of the kitchen doors with tray after tray of food. Seafood, poultry, and beef dishes were taken from guest to guest, and served until the tray went empty.

Tidas ate like a starving man while Skye restrained herself enough not to shovel. Their dining habits were still rough for royalty, but thankfully, eating with gusto in Sai was seen as a compliment to the cooks. The servants grinned proudly as they unloaded plateful after plateful onto their honored guests’ dinnerware.

Skye ate small portions of almost everything so she could taste it all, but Tidas had stuck to dishes that resembled what he was used to back in Alcon. She was in the middle of chiding him for limiting his palate when Mei walked over to her with Rukia and Hang in tow. They were seated at the head table, but towards the end of the right side, so Mei would’ve had to yell if she hadn’t gotten up.

Mei looked stiff, but beautiful in her dress. It was a lavish hanfu with an intricate design of a Phoenix stitched in silver thread. Her hair was neatly tied up in a chignon, and Hang’s hanfu matched hers, but slightly darker. Rukia beamed as she held both of her parent’s hands, and wore a light blue hanfu that looked similar to her mother’s.

They looked like the perfect family, but Mei’s eyes betrayed the scene. They were puffed and tinted pink, like she had been crying. The free hand that she had showed white knuckles, like she was barely keeping it together. Anger began to bubble below her surface as Skye’s eyes fell on Hang Zhao..

His expression was almost bored-looking, and his body was rigid as he stood holding his daughter’s hand. The contrast between their emotions only infuriated Skye more.. ‘How can he be so apathetic towards his wife’s Obvious distress?! Or is Mei not lettin’ him see her like this? But she be right in front of him! I gotta find a quiet place ta ask-‘

“Why does my niece look so distraught, Senator Zhao? I hope that you are treating her with dignity, and showing her the respect that she deserves..”

Skye turned to look at Genie only to find the other side of him peeking out through his barely-concealed rage. He was no longer the easy-going teacher that had taught her the values, and dangers of the world..

He was now Jin Laos: the World’s Former Greatest Assassin. And he looked ready to kill..