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It was an ordinary day in the Crystarium, and the Crystal Exarch walked along the balcony, putting leisurely one sandal before the other, scuffing along as he hummed an old Eorzean tune to himself. As he came upon the markets, his quiet humming was replaced by the bustling of commerce below. He stopped a moment there to take in the sight of his people, busy and happy and unburdened now that they were safe.
Leaning his crystal hand on the railing, the sky above cast sparkling rays through the ceiling dome that shone brightly on his arm, almost like a prism. The thing he normally would have felt disheartened for in the past—where he would have clapped his hand over and run his fingers along the uneven surface in solemn thought about his mission—now instilled him with a sense of fulfillment. He was fulfilled. And thus, the corners of his lips turned up as he looked at himself. Looked down on the people of the Crystarium and breathed a sigh of contentment. He would daresay he felt proud.
He moved on and his walk carried him toward the garden. He batted his eyelashes for a moment at the sudden burst of light as he took the first step outside. Though it was nothing like that blinding light that had plagued the skies of Norvrandt for a hundred years. As his crimson eyes adjusted, the Exarch looked up at the blue skies above, filled with white, puffy clouds like the ones he gazed upon in his youth. That was the Warrior of Light’s doing.
As he began to think fondly of her once more, his ear flicked and the sound of high-pitched giggling soon attracted his attention. Playing in the grass were three children; three little girls; one Mystel, one Drahn, and a Hume. He wondered what type of game they were playing. The Exarch could not help but swivel an ear and observe them from a distance.
“No, no! You have to repeat what I say or else it doesn’t count!”
The Hume girl lectured to her two shorter companions who were turned to face each other and were holding one another’s tiny hands. One of which also clutched a single flower in her hand—upon closer inspection: a weed.
‘Curious.’ The Exarch thought to himself, unable to discern what the game was. He smiled to himself nonetheless, their innocence charming as they prattled on to one another for a few more moments.
Eventually, one of the children noticed him there and immediately lit up, getting the attention of the other two before running across the lawn to greet him. He knelt down on one knee as what appeared to be the youngest came to him, the other two more slowly in tow.
“My Lord!” She shouted excitedly, bouncing and throwing her hands into the air. He couldn’t help but grin wider as he regarded each of them.
“Well, well, that is a very exuberant welcome! Good Afternoon, young ones.” He paused as the more outgoing of the group echoed the greeting, the shy one simply giving a wave and then tucking her arms behind her back.
“I like that you’re not wearing your hood anymore. You look pretty!”
The compliment took him by surprise. ‘These children… Such purity. That they continue to find my appearance so pleasing…’ He could not help but be amused.
“M-my, thank you! Would you care to tell me what game you all were playing, just now? Make-believe, perhaps?”
The Mystel girl nodded. “We were playing pretend wedding! I was marrying my friend, Lyn.” She pointed at the Drahn girl, who had crossed her arms and looked up from her feet. Then the third chimed in.
“And I was marrying them!”
He chuckled to himself. “Marriage, hmm? Don’t you children think you might be a little too young to get married?”
“Yeah, but Lyn says she wants to marry you when she grows up!”
“Do not!” The initially quiet girl interjected. “B-besides, he has to marry the Warrior of Darkness. She’s pretty, too!”
The Exarch’s mouth fell agape, the flush steadily overtaking him at the mere idea of being the one to wed her. How she was indeed “pretty.” Beyond words. And oh, how beautiful she would look in one of the wedding gowns that were fashioned there in the Crystarium...
Coming out of it, he finally spoke up. “I-I ah… Marry the Warrior of Darkness, you say? I’m afraid… that’s not—“
“Oh! There she is!”
As if he couldn’t have gotten redder, he was left to weather the somersaults in his stomach at the sight of the woman in question indeed passing into the scene, to the tune of children yelping happily around her legs. His ears lopped back, and he could do naught but offer her an apologetic smile as their eyes locked. She was equipped and was properly dressed for the hunt, possibly having been en route to take her mark before being interrupted. Regardless, she didn’t seem to mind and the smile he received in return from the Warrior filled him with a familiar warmth. With a grunt, he stood as the children led her to him.
“Well, hello Exarch.” She chuckled breathily. He did his best to shake off his blush. It was better that she only used his name in private or among the other Scions who knew it, or else he wasn’t sure if he could’ve contained it.
“Hello, my friend.”
The Mystel looked from her, then back to the Exarch. “Now that the Warrior of Darkness is here, we can have the wedding!”
“Ah, h-hang on—!” As his plea went ignored to a chorus of excited sounds, the Warrior indulged, much to his dismay.
“Oh, a wedding? Who’s getting married?”
A few moments ago, she would have been correct to look to the pair who were wearing the flower crowns, but now…
“You and the Exarch, silly!” The Hume answered.
It had to have been the quickest snap of heads—and equally the longest stare of its kind ever exchanged between himself and the Warrior, for which he bit his lower lip throughout. If he wasn’t wrong, even her cheeks had grown a few shades pinker.
“O-oh.Is that so?” She looked to the children, and then again to him. His shoulders gradually rose to a shrug, his face doing its best to spell out, ‘Don’t look at me.’
“Ah, ahem—“ The Exarch cleared his throat into his crystal hand. He refined his wording in his head, trying to find the most suitable way to release the Warrior from the embarrassing situation with minimal hurts.
“You see, the first thing about marriage is that both parties must first agree to be wed. It would not be very nice to assume that (Name) wants to be married without asking her first, would it?”
His eyes moved to the Mystel; the one who had originally approached him. She in turn only stared back up at him with wide, hopeful eyes and a wider smile.
“Of course, you have to ask her first, My Lord!”
“You have to propose!”
“I—” He stammered. ‘That is not what I meant.’ Of course it was not what he meant. He felt so warm. And the Warrior… she wore a sheepish grin, putting her fingers to her own lips in embarrassment. There was no chance of not dashing the children’s hopes now, if he were not to oblige.
“Well, go on.” The Warrior broke the silence, earning raised brows and perked ears. She leaned slightly forward, muttering to him. “They want to see it. Let’s just… make them happy?” The Exarch took a deep inhale, then nodded.
Holding his cowl with one hand, he knelt down on one knee before her while the little girls made noises of utter delight. He tried not to make the slight trembling of his hands noticeable, but there was something about it, looking up at her like that. He had done this once before, after she had bested the first Lightwarden. But now, with his face completely unconcealed to the light of day, and the symbolism of the act...
‘Calm your nerves, you old fool. ‘Tis not a real proposal.’
“Uhm. (Name), would you do me the honor of giving me your hand in marriage?” He said the words quickly enough as to not put too much meaning into them, but not so quick that it was like he were ripping off a bandage. He was met with a nod.
“Yes.”
“Does that satisfy you?” From his perch on the ground, he looked to the audience for their approval.
“Absolutely!” The Hume was the one to respond. Then, as the acting ‘officiant,’ she took one of the crowns from her friends’ heads and placed the first atop the Exarch’s, the other atop the Warrior’s as she knelt down to receive it. Once he rose again, the girl took her place onlooking the both of them.
“Now, it’s time for the wedding.”
“So soon?” He half-jested, making his bride-to-be chuckle. Though in fact, it had been a common practice ever since The Flood for partners to marry near-immediately, with the time and place being ever uncertain. It occurred to him that it might not have been so strange a thing to emulate… Or perhaps they were just playing. They were kids, after all.
The Exarch furled his brow at the Warrior, then. “I’m afraid I do not have a band to give you, my friend. I hope you will find this acceptable given the abruptness of our ceremony.”
“Unacceptable.” She pulled a fake offended tone, smiling all the while and making the children laugh in the process.
Even he. He had always had a love for her sense of humor. He had always a love for her.
“Take her hands.”
The Warrior held out her hands just so, and with a bashful and big-eyed look that he wished she hadn’t been giving him right now, he gently took her hands and cradled them in front of him. He had a genuine curiosity as to how this was going to play out, wondering if any of these children had ever even been present for an actual wedding, or only heard stories from their parents.
The Hume then proudly flicked her hair back and cleared her throat, primed to begin the vows.
“Today is a momentous occasion! Today, our Lord Exarch is gonna marry the Warrior of Darkness.”
He chanced a turn of the head and caught her in her amused grin. It was one they couldn’t help but share looking at one another, giving the hint of another emotion hidden behind the layer of amusement. He couldn’t help but concentrate on the radiating warmth of her hands in his.
“Once you have said these vows, you will be inseparable, never to be apart ever again.”
The Exarch furled his eyebrows again in a way that was almost apologetic, stealing another glance at his inspiration whose fingers, for a moment, seemed to twitch and tighten with a similar sentiment.
‘Would that I could make it so...’
“Does the couple truly want that?” The girl questioned, met with a pause following an affirmation made in unison that was enough to make them both blush. Next, the girl looked to her Drahn and Mystel companions and asked, “Are there any objections?” Then, to a resounding “No!!”
“Good!” She hesitated, then seeming suddenly less sure of herself, the Hume pushed her hair behind her ear once more. “Um, I guess I’ll do this the easy way then… My Lord, do you love the Warrior of Darkness more than anything else in the whole world? Will you protect her and take care of her, always believe in her, and hold her whenever she’s sad?”
“Yes…” He found himself giving her hands a gentle squeeze back for emphasis; there was a truth in his answer. Though it was light enough that he wondered if she’d registered it as anything more than the regular tensing and untensing of his form.
“And Warrior of Darkness… Do you love the Exarch more than anything else in the whole world? Will you protect him, and uh…” She trailed off, seemingly forgetting what she had said prior. “You know, all that other stuff?”
Her giggle made his ear twitch as she replied, “Yes.”
“So do you take each other to be husband and wife, then?”
“Certainly.”
“Of course.”
The girl grinned wide. “I pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!” As cheers erupted and the strange sense of euphoria broke through to awkwardness, the Exarch looked to the Warrior sheepishly. He had forgotten about that part. And judging by the chanting of the children to “Kiss, kiss!,” he could presume that they wouldn’t be getting out of this one so easily.
Having let go of one of her hands, his crystal hand still clung loosely to the edge of her fingers. His vision darted there before he raised the Warrior’s hand halfway to his lips, making his intentions known.
“Pray… This will have to do.” He placed a quick peck just above her knuckles, making his apologies with his brow, yet unable to stop the smile from breaking through as he carried it out. It certainly did not help that she still had that look on her face. All this, making his heart flutter more than it had in years and years, and yet the children couldn’t seem to get enough satisfaction.
“You have to kiss the Exarch back!” The little Mystel added.
“Now children, that is simply not necessary. You have had your fun, and now it is time to let (Name) get back to her—”
He missed the pair of lips coming to peck his cheek until they were there, his hand flying up afterward to ghost over the tingling warmth left behind by the kiss. With his ears pinned back he watched the Warrior back off a few steps at a time, lips curling up impishly as she went.
“Yes, I must needs get on with my errands now. No one else will do them for me, after all…” She removed the crown from her head, handing it over to the Drahn she had borrowed it from. The little one looked at it now like she regarded it a treasure. Another few steps back were made. Eyes still locked in ridiculous giddiness, girls happy and content and dancing around the Exarch.
“But… I presume I’ll see you soon. Being inseparable and all.”