The last day of Mari's week off from training was the day she was to be given an important gift from the Duke of Fadeno. The sprawling mega-metropolis of Fadeno was large enough to be considered its own territory, but the Emperor did not want that much responsibility. He made his youngest brother the Duke of Fadeno, hoping it would keep him busy.

The Duke of Fadeno, Flama, more commonly known as Flama the Flamboyant, was excited to use any excuse possible to make any part of his city magnificent. Even though the terrorist attack happened in an entirely different town, and even though Mari had only lived in Fadeno for a month, Flama the Flamboyant said that this "event would be a royal decree, that he should do the honors".

Mari and her parents stood in front of a crowd of spectators at Brilanta Plaza. Her parents bought brand new clothes, all courtesy of Flama the Flamboyant. Mari was wearing a dress he gifted her as well. It was blue, and sheer, cascading down her body with jewels on the end of it, which Mari hoped were fake because she did not know how to wash a dress that fancy. She stood in heels for the first time in her life and regretted it because her legs were still recovering from her superhero attempt from six days before.

Flama wore what could only be described as a full-body suit that changed colors with his mood, a large, furry red jacket, and glittering boots. Mari found it odd that the wealthier the people of Centrum were, the more colorful they became, like birds trying to show how vibrant they were.

She figured it must be a mating ritual of the rich and famous.

Flama strode across the plaza with a Project-o hovering around him, and he broadcasted the entire ceremony across billboards, holo-screens and any projectable surface across all of Fadeno.

"Today we celebrate the heroics of this little...uh..."

He struggled to remember her name.

"Marceline! Come here Marceline!"

Mari was too stunned at the flashing of Utili-bot cameras, the cheers and clapping of the wealthy donors in front of her to tell Flama that he had gotten her name wrong. She sheepishly walked closer to Flama but kept a safe distance from him. She never looked up the entire time, and instead gave him the highest honor she could give someone of his standing: to fall to her knees.

The crowd was even more enamored with Mari's display of fealty to the kingdom, and Flama was soaking in the most attention he had gotten since his father's funeral.

"Stand up," he commanded her. "You don't have to do that anymore. Stand up."

She wobbled upwards and was about to fall over when Flama rushed over and caught her. She turned red all over and shook in fear of what would happen if she were to ever anger him. Instead, he smiled and helped her stand upright.

He held her hand and looked into her eyes when he spoke to her.

"You are free. You are pardoned."

Everyone in the audience was confused. Pardoned? For what? Mari's family had committed no crime, and all the Reza and Kuraga that attended the event were sure that she was here to be given an amazing gift by the Duke.

Mari tried asking him a question, but she was so quiet, that even the Duke could not hear her. He leaned in but she leaned away, and he chuckled.

"It's fine. You may speak, I permit it," he said, waving his hand flippantly

"W-what...w-what did I d-d-do?"

He laughed, and the crowd laughed because he laughed, and then Mari nervously laughed because she did not want to die.

"Oh you silly thing," he said.

Mari flinched at the word thing and he changed his tone.

"I have pardoned you and your family, and all your ancestors of the crimes you have all committed! That is why you are Undesirbles, yes?"

Everyone in the audience gasped, and more pictures were taken. Mari was attempting to hold back tears because the entire time she was at boot camp she kept it a secret that she was an Undesirable and now the entirety of Fadeno knew that she was filthy. The Duke confused her distress as tears of joy and to everyone's shock and awe, he brought her in for a hug.

When he let go, he patted her on the back and assured her that her future was now bright!

"I do not know what horrible atrocities your ancestors committed to make you and your family forced to live among...the things....," Flama said in disgust. "A person such as yourself, raised by such fine people deserves to live among people!"

"As of today, your family and ancestors are not only pardoned but are Kuraga," he continued. "You can look upon my glow just as all the other Kuraga and Reza in the plaza are free to do so!"

"Even my siblings? They are off-worlders."

"Yes, even them," he assured her.

Everyone gave a roaring applause, a standing ovation for Flama's royal decree, his progressive tolerance, and his trend-setting fashion sense. Mari's mother cried as her husband held her and Mari stood in the center of it all, her hands clasped close to her heart. She searched the crowd for a familiar face and saw one.

It was Eric.

His family was allowed to come to the ceremony because they were all Kuraga. They were all so proud of Mari, but Eric sat in his chair, stone-faced, until his aunt smacked him in the back of the head and forced him to clap along with everyone else.

"That is not all," Flama shouted. "I have one last gift for you, Marceline!"

A woman in a long white dress, with creme hair came to the stage. Everyone was quiet as she walked because everywhere she stepped little patches of flowers were left in her wake. She walked barefoot, her feet dirty and calloused but was unbothered by it as she never wore shoes. She curtsied to Mari and Mari awkwardly did so back.

"Are you a Weaver," Mari asked.

"Yes. Only fitting that one should give a gift to another," the woman replied.

"Who are you?"

Laughs came from the crowd and Flama hushed with a singular snap of his fingers.

"Do not laugh at the ignorant. They ask questions when we lose our curiosity about the beauty around us," Flama told the crowd.

Mari did not seem to think he was so bad after all. She just wished he would remember her name.

"Those in high society may know me, but most of Centrum does not. I am Princess Rhiannon Valeborn."

Her eyes turned grey, and as she saw into the aether, Princess Valeborn clenched her fist as tight as possible, then opened it. A giant blue gem floated in the palm of her hand. She smiled, and when Mari approached her she thought that Princess Valeborn smelled like petriochor.

"My husband is not ashamed of me, even though I am a Weaver. I am not ashamed of myself. Yet others continue to shame me for the way I was born. Even though I am of good stock, it is never enough."

Princess Valeborn was furious. The tone went from jovial and lighthearted to terrifying and sullen.

"You must take this gift, from my ancestor, The Stormweaver, and hold it close to your heart. Carry it inside of you. Do not believe that you have to change yourself to please others, or else you will never please anyone, even yourself."

Mari reluctantly took the gem from Princess Valeborn and clutched it close to her chest. A bright blue light shone and enveloped her as it sunk inside of her. Mari flailed her hands in confusion, the crowd ooh'ed and aah'ed. All except for Eric's family and Princess Valeborn, who looked upon her in fear.

When the light show had ended, Princess Valeborn fell to her knees and the entire audience started screaming. The natural order had been broken! They could not comprehend what was happening. Her husband grabbed her by the arm and begged her to stand, but she would not budge.

"Flama, let go," she shouted. "Leave me be. I bow in reverence of the end of us all."

"I didn't do anything," Mari shouted. "I just stood here!"

"You are The Stormweaver," Princess Valeborn said. "I will serve you forever and always."

Princess Valeborn bowed even lower, her head touching the ground. A woman in the audience fainted from the indecency of it all, and Flama cut the live feed stream of his wife prostrating herself to a skinny teenager. He was unsure if he was upset about his wife upstaging him or his wife trying to upend the natural balance.

When Princess Valeborn gazed up with only complete adoration and devotion, Mari felt compelled to speak. She did not know what to say. She prepared a short speech assuming she would be given a key to the city of Fadeno as a small gesture, but that rehearsed speech now seemed inappropriate.

She tried her hardest.

"Uhm. Uh. Thanks, I guess," she said. "Thank you."

She ran off the stage and her family ran with her.

The only aspect of being an Undesirable Mari wanted to keep was being invisible, but that would never be possible for the rest of her life.