On the fourth day of her captivity, Aurora's body and mind had already accustomed to the new reality. Once again, she had proven to be a quick study, although her mind was still torn on whether or not to take pride in this particular instance.

After a pleasant, almost normal morning, the seelie sisters forced a rematch between Ezekiel and Arakiel. Unlike earlier, Arakiel lost this one decisively, for he had next to no soul remaining while his opponent had.

When he had used all of it, she couldn’t say with certainty.

Now it was Aurora that had to endure Selene’s taunting gaze as Ezekiel led her away under Alanna’s careful supervision. The amethyst-eyed man seemed even more proud than Arakiel had been, taking great satisfaction in having beaten the person that must’ve humiliated him in the previous night.

Aurora was left to watch over her bleeding unconscious Lord and felt terrible, for she couldn’t help him. She had no soul to call upon.

The seelie, however, had – and she made sure that Aurora witnessed it, even going so far as to tease her initially by suggesting that Aurora better grovel and kiss her feet while begging for mercy.

Aurora had declined decisively which had the seelie offer her a knowing smile that Aurora couldn’t interpret still – but she refused to do such shameful, perhaps even sinful, actions; it’d besmirch not only her own honor, but that of her Lord as well.

The seelie’s rose-colored healing didn’t immediately close all the wounds he had suffered, but it caused his wounds to stop bleeding and a little later, he woke up, cursing his own weakness while vowing that the next battle would be different.

When Nyanna led Arakiel and Aurora inside, she ordered Mellia to heal him as well and to Aurora’s surprise, her Lord’s little sister affirmed in a happy, blissful voice that held none of her usual antics.

Aurora couldn’t stay around for further details as she had to prepare lunch which turned out fairly awkward as she heard Selene’s rather elated noises right above her.

Sometime later, when everyone but Ezekiel and Selene were having a rather savory lunch of bread, stew and some kind of hard cheese, Nyanna let Aurora’s know that she preferred the ‘little golden one’s’ moans which didn’t exactly help to lessen her embarrassment.

Her sentiment changed when Arakiel complimented it at which point she just felt embarrassed for a different reason. Mellia once again joined the conversation by calling Aurora a worthy adornment to her brother and this time, Aurora ended up inquiring about her in a careful and polite manner. She didn’t want to antagonize the seelie who seemed so very capricious in the way they acted.

She had not and the seelie sisters were actually quite happy to tell her that Mellia was on a good path to becoming a ‘proper seedbed’ that should hopefully grow many offspring which the seelie could then use to further their own power.

That admission immediately caused Arakiel to inquire whether his sister had a say in the matter and when Nyanna denied with a natural laugh, he jolted up and lunged at the seelie without any warning whatsoever. As he tackled Nyanna to the ground, he demanded that ‘his Lady’ uphold his sister’s honor lest she regret it.

Alanna and Aurora jumped up as well, with the seelie having immediately formed several sigils of pink flame in quick succession. Each caused an emerald-green vine to lash out which hit Arakiel with such force that he was thrown across the living room, where he crashed into the wall with a loud groan.

Aurora cried out to stop, but Nyanna had already moved over towards Arakiel with such speed that she had only seen a blurry outline of soft pink.

The seelie then put her palm on his face once again, harshly reprimanding him for his misbehavior with words first, and then with actions afterwards.

Aurora only lost her dress which the infuriated Nyanna slashed into ribbons with some kind of air sigil and even though she was forced to assist Alanna in the laboratory, she could eventually hear her Lord’s screams of pain that echoed all across the clearing.

And when she was so distraught from the background noises of Ezekiel, Selene and her beloved, she made a mistake in transcribing the numbers and letters that the other seelie dictated her.

For a brief moment, she considered concealing it, but she rapidly decided against it and although the seelie was certainly displeased with her mistake, she honored Aurora’s honesty by not punishing her right away. If she made a second mistake, however, then Arakiel would suffer for both.

She did not make a second mistake.

Come the onset of evening, Alanna sent her into the kitchen and on the way, Aurora met Selene who did not ridicule her even if she had every right to.

Instead, she offered to help Aurora in the kitchen and although the Selenyean was more a danger to herself than the vegetables she was supposed to peel, Aurora still appreciated the sentiment.

The two worked silently for a while until the silver seraphim suddenly moved over and began to carefully peel a new batch of potatoes next to Aurora who was currently slicing some cured ham into thin stripes… the two seelie had provisions for several months stored here.

Outside, autumn was in full bloom and the sun was about to set.

“Aurora,” Selene said quietly without looking sideways.

Aurora briefly considered some snarky comment but instead opted for silence. She hadn’t forgotten Selene’s initial behavior and still felt fairly resentful about it… especially right now, since she was sick with worry about Arakiel whose voice she hadn’t heard for a while.

“Listen, I won’t bore you with justifications because I’m right – but if we want to get out of this, we need to not be enemies.” Selene continued in a low voice.

“I don’t consider you an enemy,” Aurora returned, unable to hide the anger in her voice. “I just think you’re selfish and arrogant when you didn’t earn it.”

“And I despise your smug vanity,” Selene countered in a much calmer tone, adding. “But that’s not important.”

“Then enlighten me.”

“They’re training us, these… seelie.”

“Oh now you realize?” Aurora returned while slicing that piece of ham with a special kind of irritation. Just how blind or maybe stupid was this stuck-up girl?

“Don’t act so smug!” Selene warned, showing irritation of her own. “You’re the one that’s turned into a servile–”

“Don’t you dare lecture me, Selene.” Aurora interrupted angrily and stopped. She turned sideways and looked straight into the silver seraphim’s eyes. “You know what happens if I don’t… and unlike you, I care about what happens to Arakiel!” She exclaimed, having trouble keeping her voice low.

The princess stopped as well and turned her way, eyes widened with a whole array of emotions. “I may not care about Arakiel as much as you do, you selfish idiot… but I care about Ezekiel and I forbid you from even suggesting anything else!”

“As if you can care about anything other than…!” Aurora began, but she realized that she was not only being childish, she was actually being unfair. So instead, she just mumbled with suppressed anger. “You wouldn’t understand…”

“Right back at you, Aurora… right back at you.” Selene answered, stating in an irritated manner. “You have no idea about me, none.”

In a way, it was true. Aurora knew precious little about Selene other than her being an arrogant, haughty Selenyean princess that liked to spread her legs for Ezekiel while failing at every task, no matter how easy it was.

Her opposite’s silver eyes bored into Aurora. “Stop assuming,” she said in a surprisingly calm tone, one that must’ve cost her quite a bit of restraint. “We are alike, but different. Let me serve my Dominant in my own fashion.”

There were many things Aurora wanted to point out, so many flaws and little things that irritated her about the woman’s behavior… but it was kind of irrelevant right now, wasn’t it?

Aurora let out a sigh and turned back to the last remaining piece of ham that needed to be prepared for the frying pan. “Fine… a truce, then.”

“Good,” Selene responded contently, beginning to continue her own work.

“Now… what do you propose?” Aurora queried, only for a third voice to respond, one that came from the kitchen’s entrance.

“I propose that you two seraphim follow me,” Alanna’s interrupted in a sardonic tone. “You can continue your little conspiracy later. For now, we need to see which one of you will entertain us tonight.”

“Of course, Lady Alanna,” both Aurora and Selene replied right away.

In this matter, they thoughts were aligned on the same axis.

One did not defy a direct order.

As they followed the seelie outside onto the autumnal meadow that started to become shrouded in twilight, Alanna went on, saying. “Today’s match should be quite interesting as both Ascendants have little soul to use. It’ll be a good, intense brawl.”

“Why are you doing this, Lady Alanna?” Selene queried carefully, causing the seelie to chuckle.

“Trying to gleam some information from me all of a sudden, little silver one?” Alanna asked without turning around. “Don’t worry, we will tell you in time. For now, all you need to do is submit and obediently bend over when your mortal men tell you to.”

Selene recoiled briefly, but then replied in a meek tone. “As you wish… Lady Alanna.”

The silver seraphim had brought up an important point though – why were the seelie so fixated on them having so many intimate physical encounters. It wasn’t as though Aurora minded it too much, for they certainly made everything else much more bearable… but that could hardly be the reason.

She didn’t have a lot of time to ponder the issue, though. Ezekiel and Arakiel were already standing beneath the massive tree whose leaves had turned yellow, red and auburn while the grass and flowers beneath had regained some of their bloom, having partially recovered from the summer.

The scent of blooming meadows lingered in the air while a soft wind brushed past her bare skin. But it still was neither cold nor warm – even now, the last few wisps of golden flame shielded her from the elements.

The two men wore their full set of armor alongside helmets, with Ezekiel having equipped both halberd and longsword while Arakiel wore his scimitar and dagger.

Nyanna and Mellia stood in some distance and Alanna led them over there, right after which the seelie announced the start together, their voice speaking in nigh-perfect unity.

Neither combatant held back; they went all out right from the get-go, with Ezekiel and Arakiel even exchanging the occasional taunt in between flurries of slashes and thrusts which were usually but not always deflected or parried.

Both men gave each other little quarter, but even Aurora could see that her Lord not only had the worse weapons for such an engagement, he was also far lighter armored – and while he landed several blows against Ezekiel, he also got hit several times since Ezekiel could win most trades either by range or armor.

Next to her, Selene clearly rooted for Ezekiel and even when he drew first blood did she not relent. Quite the opposite, for she began to excitedly cheer her ‘master’ on, wings flapping around with anticipation.

Aurora felt betrayed – again. Hadn’t they just decided to make some sort of peace?

This feeling intensified massively when Ezekiel’s halberd eventually found a lapse in Arakiel’s footing, causing him to be thrown off of his feet. He landed on his back – and when Selene’s Dominant should’ve stopped, he thrust the halberd deep into Arakiel’s side with a triumphant roar.

The silver seraphim’s cheer began to sound more like mockery than anything else and if that’s how the damned brat wanted to play, then so be it.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Aurora began to call out and cheer for her own Lord as well, but where Selene put only some effort in, Aurora went all out, uncaring for the gazes she drew. Not only did she call on Arakiel to persist and fight through the pain, but she also promised him a truly special reward if he put that upstart in place!

After all, Arakiel was evidently superior to Ezekiel just like Aurora was definitely more dutiful and powerful than that immature, undisciplined and instinct-driven excuse of a seraphim.

And through her words and the spark that she formed inside her, her Monarch-to-be found his will reignited, as he should!

Ezekiel, having already declared himself the victor, was surprised by Arakiel suddenly taking on Aurora’s aspect and before he could act, a sigil had already formed that Arakiel more or less scattered into Ezekiel’s direction.

The swathe of golden flame that followed forced the other man to retreat, allowing Arakiel to pull the halberd out of his body, after which he jumped up with renewed vigor and determination.

As he got up, he created and slammed two more sigils into himself and from then on, the fight began anew. Ezekiel did not manage to form his own spells in time, for he and his sorry excuse of an overgrown child were nothing compared to the bond that Aurora shared with her Lord.

The two seraphim rooted for their men to hurt each other and the longer the fight went on, the more the two put their all into it. When their men fought in a competition over there, the two tried to one-up the other with derogatory comments.

Aurora saw Selene for the venomous snake that she was – a woman who had offered peace only to back stab her at the earliest opportune moment. Why should she consider the two when they didn’t consider her, didn’t consider Arakiel or Mellia?

Aurora quite literally cheered herself into a frenzy, one whose passion and pride the silver seraphim could never match for her covenant wasn’t even remotely comparable – she was an utter failure, after all.

Not like Aurora.

Although Arakiel had already been injured previously, his own alterations and Aurora’s cheers allowed him to not only compete evenly with the better fighter, but it was him putting on the hurt and pressure.

Every strike he made, Aurora lauded in the highest terms she could express and when he eventually drew Ezekiel’s blood, she held nothing back and as her beloved’s curved dagger buried deep into the right lower shoulder first, she cried and clapped ecstatically as her own spark ignited into a flame.

And when her Monarch-to-be disabled his opponent’s other shoulder as well, the feeble and impotent Ezekiel had to give up and surrender.

Aurora gave the other seraphim not another glance as she hurried over towards Arakiel whose few snippets of exposed skin laid her soul bare to the world.

It became undeniable as he took off his helmet. He turned around to face her, his reddish eyes’ edges glowing with a golden halo… eyes that looked her over with the gaze of someone that had just achieved a truly momentous and hard-fought victory.

The rest of his utmost handsome face might as well have been carved from perfect marble in that moment.

Its sight left her dazed and enamored, so much so that stopped right where she stood, watching his lips curl to a slight smirk as he freed himself from the bloody doublet. It revealed a thoroughly bloodied and half-torn shirt underneath.

And when it should’ve caused her to worry, it only made her prouder of him, it only furthered the other kind of fire that had begun to put her to the torch. It made her want to be close to him, made her want to reward him with the thing that she knew he loved and cherished the most… herself.

With the bloody dagger still in hand, he called her over in a tone that brooked no disobedience, not that she had ever intended such a notion, much less entertained the thought.

As soon as she arrived, he kissed her in the most intense way yet. and while she sought to undo his trousers that proved far too resilient for her trembling hands, he briefly assessed her body and undoubtedly found it agreeable.

Her Lord and Conqueror then picked her up, holding her close. She barely even took note of all the blood, uncaring for whether it was his or his opponent’s.

With longing eyes, she looked up to him while her arms coiled around the slick body as the scent of blood and sweat invaded her mind, but she only really perceived his scent in it.

Again, he had worn her soul to best his opponent – again, he had made use of her to overcome a challenge that seemed insurmountable… again he had conquered her heart, body and soul.

She wanted to be his so badly in this moment because it once again proved that none was a worthier monarch for her than him, than Arakiel il Kalanaar, scion and Ascendant of the House of Alexandrite.

Tonight, she knew – tonight it would happen.

Finally, she would finally find a monarch worth serving and through him, she would be protected against any and all that would do her harm.

Through him, she would live a life worth living.

Through Arakiel, Aurora would find her purpose, for she was nothing but an Aspect.

Through her monarch, she would be complete, would be whole again.

And tonight… he would commit to the covenant.

Arakiel carried her not inside, but towards the little pond by the cottage. The sun had set and the last fading remnants of twilight were about to plunge the entire clearing into darkness… but not yet.

He gently put her down and they wasted no time picking up where they had left off and this time, she found the irritating cord that had kept his trousers in place and a little later, Aurora fulfilled the first part of her reward, for it was time.

For the night, he would have the Aspect of the Seraphim of Dawn however he desired. Right now, with her access revoked, her flame and even her soul called out to her. Aurora’s very being demanded it, demanded that come the next morrow, he would make the decision – whatever it was.

In the beginning, she was the fickle flame that he could shape as he desired – and he desired her very much as he should, for she was one of a kind.

In the night when only the moon watched over them, they went for a little stroll, went swimming, went playing – all manner of things that eventually led them back to that little pond.

Intimacies, caresses, subtle whispers and teasing comments – they reminisced about the time they had spent with one another.

Over four and a half years, yet it was everything to her and through it, she recalled.

Before that, she had been Aurora the Evermaiden.

Now, she had grown into Aurora the Seraphim, Aurora the Aurea.

Yet none of these titles held any meaning to her, for they were superfluous.

Only one yet unspoken title would eventually matter.

She was an Aspect of the Seraphim of Dawn, one of three thirds.

The covenant demanded she choose a suitable candidate, a champion that would one day wield her power to become a monarch and stand by her side for all eternity, so that she would never be alone again.

It was the promise given – and she would not be denied.

Aurora had found him, but he was not quite himself.

A foreign influence addled his mind, clouded his vision.

This would not do.

A covenant had to be signed by two consenting entities.

In light of this development, Aurora lay with him all the way until the morning, until the first light of dawn.

And then, as soon as the first ray of sunlight reached onto the clearing, Aurora freed herself from his intimate embrace and bid him to wait just a little longer.

She got up and, gazing to the oddly perfect spotless sky, found it wanting, found it shallow, found it insufficient.

Aurora went into a crouching position as her wings began to tense up and with a mighty flap, she launched herself into the sky and found a little current that she could ride until more mighty beats of her wings brought her higher, and then higher once more.

She broke through the fake ceiling as a storm of snow greeted her and over there in the east, the sun rose behind mighty grey-white clouds.

Below her, she saw the Seelenforst covered in snow but she cared little, for she instead called out to the sun to heed her call – and it answered.

It had to.

Or – to be more precise – its rays did and she channeled these rays into herself, causing her meager wisp of a soul to rush out and consume the sunlight in an eager, almost desperate attempt to regain the strength which it had been denied for the past five days.

As her own soul’s fire grew the more light she pulled into herself, the clearer her mind became and the more her own irritation grew alongside it.

To be subjected to such degrading behavior by some obscure forest fae… it bordered on blasphemy.

But it was not her call to make that judgment.

Only one person could – the person of her choosing.

Ablaze in golden fire, Aurora dove towards the ground and above her, the sky remained in grey turbulence.

Down there, on the slowly turning meadow, she saw her beloved sitting, looking upwards.

And just in some distance, there were two immortals ablaze in rose-colored flames, their expressions one of wariness.

Aurora spread her wings wide as she wished for her light to restore some of her dignity while her air was to cushion her landing. Inside, her soul reacted in an instant, veiling her in a gown of ethereal gold while gilded winds swirled beneath her, enabling her to land on soft treads.

Around her neck, she felt foreign metal press against her flesh. It irritated her, reminded her of something that shouldn't be, but it paled in light of what she beheld.

The sight of her champion – of the scars that hadn’t yet dissipated, of the way his gaze lacked that certain spark of light… it annoyed her and with a light flick of her hand, a sigil formed and dissipated, wreathing him in golden fire as a means to burn away all his impurities, to cleanse him from any and all influences.

When she looked to the side, the two seelie tensed up while each held a hand of the other.

Aurora envied them, for they would never be alone as long as they had each other.

“Do not interfere,” she ordered in a serenely melodious yet authoritative tone. Both nodded silently and the Aspect paid the two other immortals no further mind.

Turning towards her champion, Aurora saw the spark of true life return and as it did, she knelt down in front of him while taking his left hand.

He looked her over confused, perplexed – but it did not matter.

The time had come and she would not be able to keep this form for long, for she was but an Aspect, a third of what should be a whole.

She longed to be complete and right now, he was the only one that might evetually achieve that.

“Arakiel, Lord of mine,” she began as the last remaining bits of her soul inside him rushed back to her. His soul was strong now, it should be able to endure the brief moment of separation.

He staggered, recoiled, but he kept his eyes on her, his hand squeezing hers.

“Aurora… what happened?” He asked in a feeble voice, one that would not remain feeble much longer.

Aurora’s gaze fell onto the small black dagger at the side. With a mere though, she had her winds bring it over, right into Arakiel’s hand.

“The time has come to take the first step together. I have judged your soul, your nature and your actions and found them… adequate. The covenant demands to be deepened… none is worthier of me than you, my love.”

He looked into her eyes, its lush-yet-soft emerald green trying to discern her meaning. Not once did he look to the side, which meant that he understood just how important this was to her… and to him.

“What should I do?” He asked, his voice having notable trouble in staying steady.

Aurora’s heart bled for him, but he had to endure a little longer.

Both parties had to consent freely to this – and for that, even her own soul needed to be gone.

“The covenant must be sealed in blood.” Aurora explained.

“I don’t want to slice you, or hurt you.” Arakiel objected firmly. Again, his determined gaze softened her heart, but she had to endure just a little longer.

“Then bite me or think of something else. Without blood, the covenant will not accept you.”

He smile hushed across his face. He chuckled and exclaimed somewhat impishly, “I can get behind that!” Then, he took her hand and gently bit her pointing finger until he drew blood. The way he did it was enough to warm Aurora’s cheeks and cause a soft, gentle feeling of warmth inside her belly.

Nonetheless, she kept staring into his eyes as he performed the first part of the ceremony.

The second part, he had to figure out himself.

She had given him enough hints.

As expected, her love instinctively and immediately drew in her soul and as her own fire waned, his waxed in kind.

He freed her hand but didn’t let go as he got up and when nearly all her fire had gone over to him, his green irises began to gleam in a soft golden color. This time, it didn’t only cover the edges, although the sheen lessened the closer it got towards the pupils.

Aurora had trouble remaining on her knees, but it was fine.

This was how it was supposed to be.

She had apparently guided him adequately.

But then he suddenly and silently pulled her up and in her yelp of surprise, he planted yet another kiss – only that this one carried blood… and it wasn’t just her blood.

Aurora tried to resist at first as she didn’t know what would happen, but Arakiel only let go of her when she swallowed a part of it, after which he took in the rest.

The Aspect inside her was content and as the warm feeling spread throughout Aurora, she was too.

“I love you, my little dawn.” Her beloved whispered and then teasingly kissed her lips once more. “And I promised that you remain by my side – and I won’t even allow you to sway me.”

“W-what are you saying…?”

He gave her a genuine, caring smile. “I own you, my little seraphim… and I won’t allow you to give yourself up for me.”

Arakiel's gaze turned sideways while his expression darkened. “Nor will I allow anyone to disrespect you in such a fashion!”