The closer it got to the party, the more nervous I became. I totally forgot to head to Helioborg after work to see Jude. He laughed it off and said it was fine. He knew that I was nervous, but I couldn't help feeling bad. I charged into the apartment, accidentally leaving the door wide open and not even greeting Alvin. I slammed the door to the bedroom and started getting ready.

"Shit, shit," I mumbled as I pulled on my dress.

My hands were shaking. I could barely zip up and do the hook on my dress. How was I going to do my hair? Uh, maybe I'll just put it up in a nice, clean bun. I don't know. I'll just do that unless Alvin says to do something else. I had to re-do my bun at least three times until I got it the way I wanted it to look. There were several knocks on the door, but I couldn't even speak. I couldn't put in my earrings, which were just hoops for crying out loud.

"Achlys?" Alvin knocked on the door again. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" That lie was not convincing at all.

"Can I come in?"

"N-No, I'm fine! I'll be out in a second!" Another unconvincing lie.

"I'm coming in," Before I could say no, Alvin opened the door and stood in the doorway, practically mesmerized.

"I can't... put in my earrings," I whispered, looking down at the floor, but he didn't say anything and just stood there. I looked up and tilted my head to the side. "What? Is my hair okay?"

Showing off his signature smirk, Alvin waltzed up to me in his suit and tie, and helped me with my earrings. "You're making me not want to go."

"That's fine with me," I muttered, rubbing my arm to the point where it started to turn red.

"Hey now, don't be nervous," He smiled. "They'll like you."

"And what if they don't?" I asked, now scratching at the redness on my arm.

Alvin swatted at my hand to stop me from scratching. "If they don't, they don't. I really don't expect us to interact with them much, except Balan, after the wedding anyway. So, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" I was obviously a little offended. "How can I not be worried? Everywhere I went this past week, they all knew your family's name! Your family is obviously a big thing and I'm sure they're expecting big things from me. I just-"

"Knock it off," His growl caught me a bit off guard. His frustrated face relaxed into a gentle sigh and his hands cupped my face. "I'm sorry. I know you're nervous and I know my family is now kind of famous everywhere, but you have nothing to worry about. If you want, you can stay with me the whole night, although, our friends will be there too, who I'm sure will keep you company."

"Alright, alright," I whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now, is my hair okay? Should I put it up another way?"

"Your hair is fine. However," Alvin picked up my chin and licked his lips. "You should put some makeup on."

"Huh?" I scrunched my nose up, making a face. "What's that?"

Alvin put his hand on his head and laughed. "I guess you've never put on makeup before, huh?"

"I don't even know what it is...," I muttered, slipping on my heels.

Taking out his GHS, Alvin dialed a number and waited for the person to pick up. "Hey Gina, it's Alfred. Would you be able to help out my fiancé with makeup?" A few nods went by and finally a smile. "Great! Thanks," Alvin hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Wait!" I exclaimed as Alvin took my hand and pulled me out of the apartment. "Who's Gina? What is makeup? I still don't understand!"

"Gina is one of my cousins," Alvin explained. "Makeup is a cosmetic that's used to enhance features of your face."

"You think I need to enhance my face?" I huffed, puffing up my cheeks. "Don't you think I'm-"

"I definitely believe you are gorgeous just the way you are," Alvin winked. "However, makeup is just a little enhancer and normally, women use it when they go to extravagant parties."

"So, your family is expecting me to use makeup," I mumbled.

Alvin sighed, covering his face with a hand. "Just go with it."

"Oh! I'm sorry if I'm annoying you about this," I lamented, fumbling around with my bun.

"No, no! It's fine," Alvin smiled. "Sometimes I forget that you are still learning how to be human."

He forgets or he just doesn't want to think and remember that I'm a spirit? No, no. Get these thoughts out of my head. We walked out of the apartment complex and down the sidewalk to find a horse and carriage. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely something. I pointed at the carriage and glanced at Alvin. "This for us?"

"Oh Lord Maxwell," Alvin grunted. "I told them that we would get there ourselves."

"Well, I don't want to get on your family's bad side already, so let's get on," I gestured for him to follow me into the carriage. "Besides, I've never been in a horse and carriage before."

Alvin laughed, shaking his head and stepped into the carriage after me, closing the door. I hadn't thought that the estate was too far, but I've never actually been there before. I guess they didn't want us to get dirty. Oh! We are the bride and groom. So that was probably why. I still didn't understand what the big deal was about.

"Why is marriage this big thing to humans? Why is it so important?" I asked Alvin, breaking the silence.

"Well," Alvin started. "It's when humans legally unionize their relationship and it shows that you really love someone so much that you are willing to spend the rest of your life with the other."

"So, it is like being soulmates," I hummed. "Well, without the legalizing part."

"Heh, soulmates? I thought that that was just a fantasy," He chuckled.

"No, spirits have soulmates sometimes. Well, that's what we call them anyway," I informed him. "But, there are different kinds of soulmates as well. For example, you and I would be soulmates in the... I guess sexual kind of way."

"The sexual kind of way?" He perplexed. "Not in the loving kind of way?"

"All soulmate types revolve around love," I giggled."While me and my brother...," I trailed off not wanting to finish the sentence. I got real quiet real fast and looked down at my feet. I shook my head and smiled at Alvin. I wouldn't let the thought of him ruin anything. "Anyway, that's a soulmate."

"Then, I guess we are soulmates," Alvin smirked and planted a kiss on my forehead.

We strolled up to this big mansion. It kind of looked like the Mansion of the Sharil's but in a wasteland instead. It was still nice though. The carriage came to a stop and Alvin helped me out. I didn't feel any nervousness on the way here, but now my stomach dropped walking up to the door. I felt pretty sick like, I was going to vomit type of sick. I clung on to Alvin's arm and glanced back at the carriage. Maybe it wasn't too late to run back.

"Ah! Alfred!" And yes, it was too late.

"Aunt Carol! Long time no see!" Alvin smiled and hugged the lady.

"And this must be your fiancé. Achlys, was it?" Aunt Carol was a very thin woman with a black, elegant dress on. She had long, dangling, diamond earrings with a matching necklace on. Wow, was I underdressed.

"Yes. It's very nice to meet you," I stuck my hand out and shook her hand.

"And it's very nice to meet you! Come in! The waiters are almost finished setting up," Aunt Carol gestured us in.

Just as we walked in, a young woman, around twenty, came rushing up to us and bowed. "Alfred! It's so good to see you!"

"Achlys, this is Gina," Alvin pushed me towards the girl. "She'll be doing your makeup."

"Hm," She grabbed my face and brought it towards hers, examining it thoroughly. "You have amazing eyebrows."

"Eyebrows?" I blinked at her.

"Come!" She then grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs.

"What do my eyebrows have to do with this?" I asked, frantically trying to keep up with her. "I can't run in a dress!"

"You can run in five inch heels, but not in a dress?" Alvin yelled after me.

I didn't have time to answer him as I was pulled into a bathroom and seated in front of a mirror. Gina hummed, examining my face in the mirror once more and then proceeded to take things out of multiple drawers. I couldn't read what the small, pencil shaped things were, but one of the things she pulled out said 'eyeshadow palette'. What the hell was that? She then proceeded to take out a comb, a standard brush and what Leia calls, a curling iron.

"First, we need to do something with your hair," Gina told me, pulling out the tie that kept my bun in place. "I was thinking I could curl the bottom of your hair, tie it at the side and put a band in your hair."

"Uh, okay... that sounds good," I had no idea what she was talking about. All I knew how to do was put my hair in a bun, braids, or 'Alvin style'. Nothing more. Gina proceeded to do what she wished and put a sparkling headband in my hair when done. I didn't like it, but if this was what everyone was expecting of me, then I'll play along. It was only for one night after all.

"You can give me the headband back tomorrow or something," Gina winked and turned me around. "Now, what to do for your makeup?"

Gina was wearing a gorgeous, sparkling, white dress that barely covered her upper thighs and her breasts. She was wearing dangling, black diamond earrings, a matching necklace, and bracelet. She was really pretty. Drop dead gorgeous. Although, she was dainty, like she didn't really do anything other than walk around and flaunt what she had. Meaning, she didn't have any muscles. I glanced at my arms that were a little more than half the size of Alvin's. If I compared my arms to hers, she would be a twig.

"Now, I need you to keep your eyes shut and don't move," Gina interrupted my examination of her. I did what I was told and she started to put some kind of liquid just above where my eyelash line was. It felt... gross. She put a line across both eyes and blew gently on them to dry the liquid. "Keep your eyes closed. I have to put on the eyeshadow," I felt a brush pat my inner eyelid and then the other. Then, the brush patted the middle of my eyelids and then finally the outer part of my lids. Then, a fluffier brush went to town, brushing all of my eyelid at once. "There!"

I opened my eyes and looked into the mirror. "I like it, actually," It was a nice smokey brown color. Almost like coffee!

"Good! Now, I need to do your mascara," Gina pulled my face to her and opened another container. "I need you to look up with your eyes and don't flinch."

"O-Okay," I gulped and did what I was told. Putting this 'mascara' on actually tickled a bit, but I was able to suppress my will to move out of the way. The application was quite quick and she blew gently again to dry my lashes.

"Okay," She breathed, putting things back in their place. "I don't know what to do about your lips. I'm sure you're going to kiss Alfred on multiple occasions tonight. Even kiss some people on the cheeks...," She trailed off and rummaged through the draws. "Ah-ha!" She turned to me, wiggling a little container in her hand. "Long lasting lipstick! I knew I had some! This stuff doesn't come off until you really scrub at it! Now, make a kissy face!" Again, I did what I was told and she smeared the lipstick on my lips. "Now, make a popping sound," I mashed my lips together to create the popping sound and then looked into the mirror.

The lipstick was a mild pink color. I didn't care for it, but it certainly matched my dress and my eyes. "I like it."

"We can go downstairs now," She gestured to the door. "I would normally do some skin touch ups, but your skin and eyebrows are perfect! You have to tell me your secret!"

"Uh, I don't really do anything," I shrugged, getting the door. "I just make sure to wash my face. It doesn't hurt to be older as well."

"You're so lucky! I have a routine I have to do every morning and night!" Gina babbled as we walked down the stairs together. "I bet you do nothing about your eyebrows either."

"Nope. Nothing," I shook my head in agreement.

There were already a bunch of people downstairs. I couldn't even spot Alvin as I walked down. Oh boy. I wanted to hide. I never thought this would be so nerve wrecking. I've never felt this nervous with meeting new people. Maybe it was because I knew that they were all judging me. Making sure that I was the right fit to be considered a Svent. Gina winded away into the sea of people while I slowly made my way through everyone, trying to find my fiancé.

"Hey!" Someone pulled at my arm and I whipped around, relieved to find that it was Alvin. "Gina did a good job."

I blushed and turned my head away. "I like it."

"I want you to meet some people," Alvin pulled me into a group with five others and started with the person closest to him. "This is my cousin, Aaron. My cousin, Ava. My Uncle Bain, Aunt Calista, and my Aunt Sandra."

"It's very nice to meet you all," I bowed my head out of respect. The women were all just like Gina. Dainty with little to no muscle. I was the odd duck out.

"So, you're a Great Spirit," Uncle Bain spoke.

"Yes, I am," I answered, trying not to stutter.

"I take it you can use calculatrics without spyrix then?" Aunt Calista asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yes, that's correct," I nodded.

"How does it feel to be able to control spirits?" Aunt Sandra asked.

"Well, it has its ups and downs," I laughed weakly. "If you mess up on the chant, you can really hurt yourself."

"I see," Uncle Bain mumbled, shaking his glass gently. "That doesn't happen with spyrix."

"So, how did you two meet?" Ava asked, trying to break the tension.

"Well, that's quite the story," Alvin laughed. "In short, she saved me and my group of friends back when the schism was still in place."

"I see," Aunt Calista finished her glass and nodded to us. "So, you two want kids, right?"

"What?" My eyes widened.

"Well, I mean you have to keep the Svent family going," Aunt Calista rolled her eyes.

"We haven't really talked about it yet," Alvin interjected. "We're just taking it one step at a time."

"I think Aunt Calista has had a little too much to drink already," Aaron chuckled and took Calista's hand. "We should get you a glass of water, Aunt Calista."

The group walked away together and Alvin sighed. "Don't mind my Aunt."

"Is everybody expecting us to have kids? Already?" I asked, biting my lip.

Alvin put his arm around me and leaned in. "Don't worry about it. I think I see the others!" He pointed towards where the bar was and he was right. Leia, Jude, Rowen, Elize, Ludger, and even Elle were in their fancy clothes, just hanging around at the bar talking with each other.

This perked me up and I pulled Alvin over to them. "Hey! You made it!"

"Of course we did!" Leia jumped off the stool and hugged me. "You look beautiful!"

"You're looking sharp as well, Alvin," Jude smiled.

"Well, thank you. Although, I think I look sharp everyday," Alvin winked and fiddled with his tie.

"Speaking of looking sharp. Achlys, I've been meaning to ask you," Rowen pointed to Alvin's face. "Do you like Alvin's beard?"

"Like it? I think it's fantastic," I giggled, scratching gently at his beard. "I love it so much. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wondering," Rowen returned the laugh.

"Oh! There's Yurgen and Isla!" Elize exclaimed, pointing to the couple who were talking to a few of the Svent's. They were actually looking pretty nervous. Especially Yurgen. His glass was shaking violently.

"I'll take care of this," Alvin kissed me on the temple. "My Uncle is probably heckling him about our business. You just, stay here."

Alvin rushed away towards his partner, leaving me with the Reize Maxians and two Elympions. I felt a bit more comfortable being around my friends although, I still felt like I was being judged. I could feel eyes just glaring at my back. The thought made me shudder. I didn't think that a group of humans this big could hate me already. I mean, Gina seemed like she liked me. However, the older the family member, the more judging the look.

"This is a really big place," Leia broke the silence.

"It is," I hummed, looking around.

"Are you having a good time, Miss. Achlys?" Rowen asked.

"Well..."

"Did you meet Alfred's bride yet?" We could hear Aunt Calista talking to some others.

"No, not yet," Someone else replied. "How is she?"

"She's not a noble," Aunt Calista huffed.

"Isn't she a great spirit?" Someone else asked.

"Doesn't make her noble," Aunt Calista snarled. "She's just like those Reize Maxians too. Have you seen her muscles? Not very lady like."

"Why are they getting married so quickly?" Someone asked.

"I'm betting that Alfred got her pregnant and he's just marrying her because he feels guilty," Someone reasoned.

"Exactly what I'm thinking," Aunt Calista agreed.

"And that's the time I'm having," I mumbled, rubbing my arm. "All of the women here are dainty and thin. I'm... not."

"Don't listen to them," Ludger told me. "With Elympions, you just have to get used to ignoring them."

"Right," Leia nodded.

"Oh! Where's Driselle?" I asked Elize.

"She's talking with Gaius," The girl replied, looking around for her friend.

"Oh! Gaius came?" I marveled.

"He wasn't going to at first, which is understandable," Rowen declared. "However, I nudged him a bit and he finally agreed to come with me."

"Oh! That's great!" I clapped my hands together. "How's he doing trying to blend in with civilians?"

"Well, he's trying," Rowen laughed at the thought.

My ears started ringing suddenly. It wasn't loud, but it was annoying. I shook my head to try and get the ringing to stop, but it didn't. I was sensing a Great Spirit in the area, however, I didn't care at the moment. I had to keep my wits about me. I was being judged after all. My ears suddenly stopped ringing and there were twangs in my head. It wasn't anything that really hurt, but something was wrong. Something was wrong with one of the Great Spirits. Normally, I would rush out to see what was wrong, but I knew Maxwell had everything covered.

"Hey," A hand slipped on to my waist and a glass of champagne was placed in my hand. "It's time for Balan's speech."

We said goodbye to our friends for now and made our way through the crowd to the front where Balan stood on a platform with a glass in his hand. Judging eyes glared at me with every step I took. I just wanted to go home. But, I would stay for Alvin. Balan was wearing a suit with his normal scarf that he loved. He looked around and waited for everyone to turn their attention to him.

"Hello," Balan began. "For the people who don't know, I'm Balan, Alfred's best man. Welcome and thank you for coming to this wonderful party celebrating the future unionizing of two very special people; Alfred and Achlys. Alfred and I have spent most of our childhood together and I have to admit, no one is more suited to marry Alfred than Achlys. She's sincere, forgiving and especially patient. I remember, when they first started living together, it was maybe a month in, Achlys came up to my apartment and sat on my couch with a confused look on her face. When I asked what was wrong, she said that Alfred had burned dinner. Now, knowing that Alfred had never really been a good cook, I told her that I wasn't surprised. She then looks at me and goes how do you burn soup though?" Everyone laughed, including me. Alvin blushed and shook his head. "Ah well, I could always tell that they were meant for each other. Just the way that they look at each other, you could see that they love each other very much. They support each other through and through, no one can ever take that away from them. If you could raise your glasses in joining me in toasting to Alfred and Achlys! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"


"That was... something," I sighed, walking into our apartment. "I never thought that I would get tired of wearing heels."

Alvin suddenly spun me around and pinned me up against the wall. His breath was hot against my skin as he went down and picked up the end of my dress, pushing it up to my stomach. He then proceeded to pick me up with his hands grabbing my ass. His kissing rough and passionate, biting at my lower lip and our tongues intertwining.

"I've wanted you the whole night," He breathed into my mouth. "Now, I get to have you all to myself."

I wrapped my legs around his waist and he pushed me harder against the wall so that he could free his cock from his pants. His pants fell around his ankles and his hands returned to their rightful place around my ass. A few fingers found their way under my panties and started to tease me a bit, separating my lips and sticking his tip right at the entrance. I groaned at his teasing and gently bit into his neck.

"Are you ready?" Alvin asked, inching his way into me bit by bit.

I was already panting. I wanted him badly. Funny how the human body has multiple feelings of want. I could want a piece of chocolate, but not like how I wanted Alvin right now. It was also funny how human emotion could go from being wildly nervous to confident, wanting sex. My lips brushed against his neck up to his ear. "Yes."

He was ready to give it to me. His thrusts were intense and fast. My breasts bounced up and down with every thrust he gave. I could feel what little nails Alvin had dig into my thighs and ass. I couldn't differentiate between my moans and his as we both got louder and louder. I put my forehead to his and my eyes locked with his dark brown ones that I loved so much. We were both panting, sweating, trying not to give in so quickly.

"Can you... fuck Achlys," Alvin grunted, barely able to get a full sentence out. "Can you... make it darker?"

"Darker?" I raised my eyebrows at him. A black mist formed and enveloped us into complete darkness. "Like this?"

"Y-Yes," With a husky, panting voice, he confirmed. "I want to feel you. I want... you to feel me."

His thrusts grew more intense, pumping faster. I could feel his legs start to shake and I wanted to ask if he was okay, but words escaped me. His fingers fumbled around, eventually find my clit and formed slow circles around it. I laced my fingers into his hair, being careful not to grip to tightly as to not hurt him. His lips brushed against my neck, his tongue flicking in and out.

"Alvin," I moaned, as his bucks slowed but their power grew. "Spirits, fuck! Alvin!"

My back arched and my grip tightened around the gathered hair in my hands. As I felt myself pulse around him, his bucks grew in strength. Alvin shuddered, his grip on my ass tightened and he let go. I loved the way his cock felt pulsating inside me. As we panted in unison, I let the dark mist around us disappear to reveal a flush red, sweaty Alvin who's hair was more of a mess than usual. Realizing my fingers were still grasping his hair, I untangled my fingers and caressed his cheeks with both hands.

"Shower and then bed?" I suggested to the still panting Alvin.

He nodded and took a breath. "That sounds good."


So, I just realized that I've been spelling Rowen's name wrong the whole time. I'll try to change what I can and remember to spell it correctly. *Shamed*