TBATE - Fated To Rule Together

Chapter 31 - Always and Forever

(Arthur Leywin POV)

The entire manor was lavishly decorated with multi-coloured lights adorned with golden and red strips of fabric hanging loosely as the cool winds from the floating city of Xyrus ran past them. The courtyard and backyard were laced with white ribbons and confetti, whilst balloons of all shapes and colour filled the evenly sown grass. This would serve as the main stage to hold the events of today's auspicious event. My lovely wife's birthday party, the first one she will properly celebrate, as she likes to put it. The inside of the manor was ruled out for hosting this event due to the sheer number of guests expected.

Jewls had always thrown extravagant parties for special occasions back in the day, mostly to build connections to her overwhelming network, and I was somehow always dragged into them. So, you can imagine my surprise when she told me that she hadn't thrown any major parties before my arrival. When I confronted her about it, she meekly said that it didn't feel right and that it wouldn't be the same without me by her side. Well now that I was here, one thing was for sure now, there would be more parties like this in the near future. I shuddered to think about all the pain and suffering I would have to endure.

The streets in front of the manor started getting crowded as more and more guests poured in, eager to see and congratulate the goddess on another year of life. Of course, by this point in time, news that Vincent Helstea had a daughter whose beauty could even rival the princess of Sapin had spread throughout the floating city of Xyrus like wildfire. People would sometimes walk by the manor to catch a glimpse of Amber, yet their actions only resulted in failure. Either she wasn't home, or the guards stationed at the front gates would prevent them from advancing further.

On one occasion, a few adolescent boys managed to evade the guards in the dead of night and tried to play Romeo by climbing to one of the windows in hopes of catching a glimpse of her and burning the image into their craniums. Sadly, they were met with the unholy scenery of a butt-naked Elijah bathing and singing 'Roar' by Katy Perry. Surprised and aghast by the obscene view, they all lost their footing and fell to the ground, landing on their asses; and to add insult to injury, I conjured static clouds that shot lightning at their behinds as they ran away in an attempt to keep their dignity. Seeing such a cartoonish event play out, caused me and my wife to double over laughing, as we used the edge of the window to keep us upright. If this was what people would do to even get a glimpse of her, I dread to think what would happen when they actually saw her.

As more and more people entered the grounds, the courtyard became increasingly boisterous as guests got acquainted over food and beverages. A few familiar faces could be seen, like Gloria, Emily, Victoria, Fabian and even Gideon. Actually, it would have been more surprising if the old inventor didn't attend this party, seeing as he would always use any opportunity he got to try and have a chat with me. Unlike Eleanor's birthday party, the Twin Horns were able to make it this time, having recently come back from a successful dungeon dive. Lilia was also here, and it seemed like she brought some of her friends from Xyrus Academy with her. It was nice to see the quiet and shy girl had turned into someone elegant and refined.

I'd known she had a crush on me for a time, as any other female would when someone altered their life for the better. Her feelings towards me weren't love or anything of that sort, it was more akin to gratitude, like a damsel would feel towards a hero. Fortunately for me, it seemed like Amber had also caught wind of her sister's feelings for me and had gently talked things out with her. I was grateful to her; it meant that I wouldn't need to let her down myself. Hopefully now she could find someone to be with who could genuinely make her happy. As her future brother-in-law, I sincerely wanted that for her!

Elijah and I were currently together, careful not to get separated from the sea of people. Apparently, Lilia and her friends saw us because the next thing we knew, they were walking towards us, pushing past everyone in their way. "Arthur! Elijah!" She yelled and waved towards us to get our attention; her mouth curved into a large cheery smile. We waved back to her and her entourage of friends.