Fandom I must make a choice.

[Yours Truly]

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I must make the choice.

1x1 w/ Yours Truly & Wet Noodle
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[Yours Truly]

Nocturne No. 2 in E flat - Chopin


Ether had asked for chamomile tea in hopes that he would fall asleep easier, or maybe at all. He should have known the moment he'd lain down and realized he was wide awake that sleep was going to be an elusive monster tonight. Beside him, the tea sat, nearly untouched until this moment. He brought the cup to his lips and had almost drained the entirety of the small cup's contents before he set it down once more and stared out the small window in front of him. The moon was still steadily climbing in the sky, not a whisper of noise passed him by as he sat there and wondered if anyone else was awake and gazing at the moon like he was.

Almost every night this week had ended up like this. Attempt to sleep. Get up. Ring for tea. Drink two cups, maybe four or five, lay back down and stare at the ceiling, get back up and look out the window. Attempt at sleep once more. Until eventually his body could no longer take it, and forced him to sleep in a mess of blankets and pillows. Sometimes he'd wake up in this exact chair, neck sore and uncomfortable from his sleeping position.

Ether liked to try and pretend that he didn't know the exact reason for all these sleepless nights. But it was obvious to him by now, there was no escaping the choice he must make. No escaping destiny. Every king before him had done it, every queen. He was not the only one. Ether knew this was coming the day he was old enough to understand. For a while he had been elated to think that thirty-five women would be in this castle, hoping to marry and woo him. That was younger Ether's take on all of this. Now that he was older though? It just seemed like too much already, and he was only choosing the thirty-five women, he wasn't even choosing the one. He still needed to finalize the selected.

And that was why he could not get any sleep.

He poured himself another cup of chamomile tea and held the small teacup for a long second before setting it down gently and deciding that if he could not sleep, then he would be productive instead. So with productivity in mind, he left the room, only to return a few moments later with a large stack of papers he really didn't want to look at for the millionth time, but had no choice. At some point in this process, all of them had started to look the same, but for some reason he had clear eyes tonight, and not wanting to light a candle he did the next best thing; the natural thing. It was slightly warm within his palm and just bright enough for him to see some of the small words written on the paper. The small orb floated just above his skin, moving ever so slightly as he wasn't too focused on keeping the small thing still. He could remember the first time he'd attempted to summon light in the early morning. What a failure that had been, he'd been so upset that his mother had to calm him down. Of course she had given him advice as well, saying, "It's not separate from you. You aren't searching for it or trying to force it into your hands. Just acknowledge it's presence within you, and it'll come." Obviously that had done nothing to help him. At least when he was a child, now though he could just reach within himself and pull it out as if it were as easy as breathing or blinking.

At the thought of his mother the light burned a little brighter, warming his hand significantly. Ether sometimes thought he was a little odd, because the moment it began to sting a little, he told the small orb to stop it. Then shook his head at himself, he was the one in control, not the light. Dimming it enough to no longer sting his hand, he focused his attention on the pages in front of him. He must get this done before tomorrow midday, for tomorrow night was Friday. Which meant they would be announcing all of the selected women. Which meant Ether could no longer procrastinate. So he forced himself to focus on the task of choosing.

Some were obviously not his type, or just didn't find interest in the things he liked, for he would prefer a women who held similar interests to him over what she looked like. He was steadily making piles; yes, maybe, and definitely not. There were more in the definitely not pile compared to yes. But the maybe pile was steadily growing. Ether didn't mind the fact that at the end of his sorting process, there were like two women in the yes pile.

He was determined to finish this now. Before the sun came up, he promised himself. Over the course of the nearly-endless night, more and more women made it into the yes pile, and the maybe pile dwindled by the hour. By the time the moon was creeping back into hiding, he'd at least figured out who was a yes, and who were definitely nots. By the time a servant came in to replace the tea, Ether was entirely focused on narrowing down his selected ladies.

When Ether finally finished narrowing down and double-- no triple checking his choices, the sun was up and there was fruit on a tray with plenty of other foods to choose from sitting right beside him. He'd not even noticed anyone stepping foot into the room. The sleepless night was quickly catching up on him, but he had things he needed to get done before he could return to the comfort of his own bed. The hall was empty when he decided to finally leave his room, tray untouched. Unceremoniously he walked right into his mother's rooms and dropped the stack of papers on a desk.

She had been staring out the window, the garden just below. When he entered she turned and smiled at him, then immediately frowned. "Did you sleep at all?" She asked, seeming to already know the answer by a small disapproving shake of her head. Dark brown hair immaculately pinned up did not move an inch as she did so.

"I've chosen them." Ether stated without acknowledging the question of his sleeping habits. His mother might be regent, but he was still a prince, he could choose what he wanted to answer to, and today he just wasn't going to disclose his lack of sleep though it was painfully obvious.

At the good news, her face lit up and she quickly shoved him aside with an excited, "Let me see them!" To which Ether rolled his eyes to the ceiling, his mother had always wanted a daughter, but the king had died far too early on in their marriage, forcing her to become regent since Ether was only four at the time. She pointed at one, saying, "Oh I knew you'd choose her!" There were a few she didn't seem to approve of, or maybe she just didn't have an opinion on them, but there were some she smiled widely at their pictures with an approving nod, "You chose well, my son."

"I hope so." He mumbled, and before he could say anything else, his mother interrupted his outward thought process.

"Don't doubt yourself. You've never made a wrong choice, Ether. So why would this time be any different?"

"Well maybe because one of them will be my wife, a queen." She just shook her head at him, saying something along the lines of, you can never make the wrong choice when it comes to finding a wife. She also said something about taking his time, but Ether was too focused on not dropping any of the pages as she handed them back to him. He hoped she was right, that he'd never make the wrong choice. But who knew? Ether probably already had, and he wouldn't know until he met them. He hoped that he'd find at least one that he liked enough to spend the rest of his life with.

"Now go back to sleep-" Ether opened his mouth to say that he had things to do, but his mother would have none of it. "You can't look like that when we announce the girls." She stated, arms crossed. She was the reigning queen after all, and he couldn't really argue with her logic. So he did as he was told, Ether returned to his room, and fell into a deep, restful sleep for the first time in weeks.

 

[Wet Noodle]

Vittora seemed to be able to form the clouds as easily as sand slipped through her fingers. A hand stretched upward to the dimming sky, staring at the clouds lazily drifting across her vision. Some contorted to her will, some not. While she liked to leave little things like this, clouds and their shapes, up to fate, she couldn't help but enjoy the art of it all.


Her hand rested at her side as she stared, two younger sisters on either side of her. One of them pointed to the sky,


"What's that one mean? The one that looks kind of like. . . what's that one flower you really like?"


"The lily of the valley?" Vittora asked with a curious raise of her brow, looking to the sky once again and slightly tilting her head, squinting slightly to get the image, "I think I can see it. The lily of the valley stands for great luck. I might need to go into town and play the cards then." She said with a weak chuckle.


A bug flew over and landed upon the other sister's nose, of which she frantically tried to get off.


"Calm down, Eve. It's just a ladybug." It then struck Vittora that a ladybug was also a sign of good luck. Any normal person would just brush this occurrence off, but her? She heavily believed in fate, in luck. This had to mean something, but what?


Nothing came to mind.


"Kids, come inside, dinners ready!" Their mother shouted from their home. What was for dinner? Rabbit stew. Rabbit. Another sign of luck. What bothered her the most; she had no idea what those signs were leading to.


Perhaps she was just overthrowing it! Yes, if anyone would, it would be her. Just to be sure though, she thought to ask her mother - maybe there was just a certain event she was forgetting.


"Mother?" Vittora asked, a typical curious air to her voice as she sat at the table with a bowl of stew and some wild vegetables she herself had foraged that very morning. "Is there something. . . important going on soon?"


Her mother paused, and with a raised brow, she slowly nodded toward Vittora.


"I can't believe you'd forget, my dear. The Selection - the selected 35 will be announced tomorrow. You turned in the papers, don't you remember?" Her mother asked, taking small spoons of the stew.


The realization hit her, and her mother was completely right, how could she forget? This was a once in a generation event, and she had completely forgotten about it. This wasn't like her at all.


While the signs pointed to it, she ignored the thought, while in the back of her mind she figured what it just might mean.


Dinner was finished, and her little sisters were chatting about, and Vittora listened, chiming in every once and a while. Even if she didn't want to admit it - the signs were there, and she knew that meant she'd be separated from her family, at least for a time. So she thought to make each moment count.


Night grew darker, and Vittora laid on her side, staring out her window into the sea of stars beyond. The Castle's windows looked on to the same stars, and that ounce of familiarity managed to lull her to sleep.

 

[Yours Truly]

Ether woke to his mother bursting into his room with quick movements. Already she was speaking, and already he felt as if he’d died in his sleep and been resurrected by some mad scientist. “Do you know what you’re going to wear during the broadcast?” She was asking, throwing open two doors leading to an unnecessarily massive collection of clothes in all colors.

Most of which he’d rather die than wear any day, sitting up he didn’t understand why she was in here. Ether was perfectly capable of dressing himself and she’d never fussed over anything, so why? He knew tonight was important but was it really so important that he should be overly concerned about what he was going to wear?

“Mother, is this all necessary?” He asked, genuinely wishing she would leave him so he could decide on what to wear in peace and solitude, without her watchful eyes.

“Yes.” She stated, already walking into the space that muffled her voice slightly. She turned to him with clothes in her hands, many in fact. “You must look perfect tonight.” Then her eyes lit up, “Especially tomorrow, we both must look our best for all of the Lady’s arrival.”

There was nothing to say to that. Ether knew his mother was just trying to be helpful, and this was the only way she knew how. Unfortunately he could not bring himself to dismiss her. So he subjected himself to her narrowing eyes and many glances. Eventually he stood and followed her deeper into the closet as she effortlessly stored away anything she deemed unfit.

Maybe he should be of some sort of help? He grabbed one of his favorites and showed it to her without any words, just raised eyebrows.

Her discerning eye looked it over. Once. And then a second time where a slow, accepting smile formed. “Perfect. Black always suited you.”

“Probably why I wear it most often—“

“I have noticed that.” She commented, her dress brushing against the clothes as she began her exit from the closet. “But don’t forget, red suits you just as well.”

And with that comment as her last words she left his room. Silence rushed in quickly within the absence of her gentle presence. In it, Ether dressed quickly and had to run his fingers through his hair many times to make it look less crazed from sleeping. Ether felt that he’d barely had any time to himself when he stepped out of his rooms, just to almost run right into his mother who had obviously been lingering.

“Are you ready?” She asked almost sounding nervous herself. As if she had anything to be nervous about.

Ether settled on a mere nod to answer her question. He was sure if he spoke any words aloud that his mother would be able to hear his uncertainty within his tone. She could always hear it no matter how hard he tried to hide any of his emotions. She was just intuitive enough to know.

But before she could ask him again, or call him out on his obvious avoidance, they were ushered into a decently sized room. He had many memories of this room, none of them included his father. Ether had been much too young to remember anything of his time with him. So he was used to sitting beside his mother, on her right. The left chair was open and never used. One day he would sit there.

But not today, not until he’d chosen his wife, his queen, and his mother abdicated the throne to him. Ether wasn’t sure how he felt about all of that so he focused on the clear chime that made every person aware of the fact that they were now broadcasting live.

The usual went by, announcements, news, and more that he ended up not listening to.

Nothing was new for him, he was well aware of the unrest within the castes, especially with the mid-leveled ones— whose powers were useful enough for the people to upset over their standing. He was well aware, and busy with meetings about it. Meetings he’d slept through today, apparently. There were promises of a re-evaluation for those who felt deserving of a higher ranking. It was his mother’s idea, that she’d pushed for a long while. Just a simple test of power to determine if one would climb the latter, or stay stationary.

Then, it was time. He didn’t have much to say about the selected, and wasn’t sure of what he’d be asked. His throat was a little dry as the announcer made his way over. With a swallow he listened intently to their questions. “Good evening Your Majesties.” A short yet respectful bow. Ether forced a smile in return. “My Queen, how do you feel about those selected?”

His mother smiled serenely, “All of the women are very beautiful, we are both eagerly anticipating their arrival, Sebastian.”

The man nodded at her answer, seemingly satisfied with it, and then turned to Ether. He hoped he would accept his answers just as easily.

“And how about you, Your Majesty?” He looked excited for his response. “How are you feeling?”

Ether decided to be honest. “A little nervous to have thirty-five young Ladies in these halls. But… excited nonetheless.”

“Now I do have to ask only because I myself am curious. Did you choose all the Ladies yourself?”

“Yes, I did.” He stated clearly.

“And did you find it difficult?” Ether hoped he’d stop asking so many questions, it was hard to keep looking happy instead of uncertain.

“Well, of course.” Should he be smiling more? No, Ether thought, if he did that he would most likely look overly eager. “I felt bad I couldn’t choose everyone who’d applied.” He was lying of course but no one else would know that.

“I see. How many women applied?”

Ether wasn’t entirely sure. He looked to his mother with pleading eyes, who immediately understood. She answered with a light tone, though the number was absolutely insane. “Over a thousand, we didn’t get an official account.”

Sebastian looked absolutely shocked, but recovered quickly. “Well then, that is a lot of young ladies!” Then he turned toward the little camera following in around. “I shall keep them waiting no longer!” He announced, being handed a stack of thirty-five names, and began to list them off with an excited appearance.

 

[Wet Noodle]

Vittora awoke the next day by her sisters leaping onto her bed, sending her into a bit of a fright before she realized it was just her little siblings.

"Clem! Get up, the announcements today!" One chimed, hitting her across the face with a pillow, being met with a rough 'ow'. "Get ready! He might say your name!" Another one grabbed her hand and yanked her from her bed, causing a tumble of siblings to end up on the floor in a heap of sheets and bodies.

"Fine, fine. Go feed yourselves, I doubt you've done so already." Vittora said, pulling herself to her feet, grabbing a limb of a sister to pull her up, helping the other two to their feet and arranging her sheets back on her bed in a messy manner. She would make her bed later.

Vittora sat at a desk, a small vanity mirror looking back at her. Thoughtfully, she ran a brush through her hair, pinning back some strands to keep it all pulled back. She stared at her reflection in deep thought, perhaps she was overthinking. She did that an awful lot. Perhaps mother was getting a work bonus or something, and this had nothing to do with the selection. She had signed up, yes. But so did everyone else her age. She hadn't considered that. . . she might actually be one of the selected few.

Rummaging through her wardrobe, she picked out something nice, something to please her sisters, and perhaps even her mother. Mother had always been doting, and even mildly concerned about how much her darling Clementine had missed out on because of her thirst for the mystical and strange. If she could make them happy, even if she didn't get picked and this little fantasy was only for the duration of the broadcast until her name didn't get called, she would entertain it.

A few minutes passed, and Vittora was putting on the finishing touches, when one of her sisters barged into her room once again.

"Clemclemclemclem! It's starting, come on!" Her youngest sister grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out to her family, where they all waited to hear the announcement.

"I shall keep them waiting no longer!" Said this Sebastian character, and began the list of the names. One sister gripped on her shoulders, each other one holding on to a hand, their grip tightening and softening with every name read from the list.

It got to number thirty three, when Vittora thought she had truly been wrong. The grip on her hands and shoulders disappointedly loosened, and their faces saddened for a moment until. . .

"Vittora Clementé Belgamit."

The house went silent. It was first broken by her mother of all people, then each of her sisters cheering and screaming in excitement. Vittora was tackled into a massive hug by her family, the broadcast now forgotten about now that the important part was over.