The Darkest Souls

Four- The Pairing Ceremony

"It is my sincerest pleasure to welcome all of you young Saviors today to this incredibly special gathering. Today, you all have made a large step in becoming full-fledged Saviors, but I will warn you, this step is the most difficult..."

As Armand spoke, Nova stifled a yawn. The Pairing Ceremony had been going on for what seemed like days, and the initial excitement of the "incredibly special gathering" has worn off quickly. It didn't help that, hours before, Nova's mother, Leandra, had forced the young Savior into one of her fancy dresses. Nova felt like one of the porcelain dolls she'd played with when she was younger; her face had been meticulously painted until it looked just right, her long blond hair piled on top her head, falling only in certain places to frame her face.

Because she was Armand's adopted daughter, she had been seated behind him, on top of the raised platform of the large Great Hall. Her mother sat to her left and occasionally cast her proud, approving glances. Nova tried her best to appear as un-bored as possible, but as Armand's speech continued, she found it became harder and harder to remain focused. She found her eyes wandering around the massive hall, at the Saviors seated in front of her, at the stained glass windows that lined the Hall, depicting Saviors' greatest moments.

"And now," Armand continued. "Before the Pairing Ceremony commences, I'd like make a very special announcement." At this, the entire room seemed to charge with energy; every Savior wiggled in their seats and sat up. Nova's eyes snapped back to her father. "I know that everyone has been waiting very eagerly for this, and who am I to delay this any further?" Armand smiled, his eyes glinting with joy and mischief.

At this, Nova remembered back to two weeks ago, when she had returned from her mission. She'd barged into her father's office, eager to report her victory. Armand had, of course, congratulated her and given her a smile similar to the one he was making now. Nova remembered wiggling in her seat, excited for what was to come. Instead of the reward she'd expected, however, she had been gifted with something else entirely: the honor of participating in the Pairing Ceremony two whole years early.

Nova's disappointment was immediately replaced with excitement and elation. The Pairing Ceremony was a huge honor only bestowed upon those who had trained under the Saviors for at least fifteen years, and only a select group of about one-hundred were chosen every year. Despite this, Nova felt a nagging sense of guilt in the back of her mind. He's only doing this because your his daughter... Everyone will hate you for this... They'll be so jealous! They must hate you!

Nova had done her best to ignore it, but the voices seemed to be resurfacing, especially with the announcement she knew Armand was about to make... The Grandmaster of the Saviors cleared his throat. "Your two valedictorians have been chosen!" The crowd erupted into cheers that were quickly silenced by a wave of Armand's hand. Saviors-in-training were split into two classes, and one valedictorian would be chosen from each.

"As most of you may know," Armand continued. "These two prestigious Saviors-in-training will be paired together in the first Pairing. So without further ado... allow me to introduce your valedictorians..." Nova felt her stomach drop. She knew what was coming, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

Eli watched from his front row seat with bated breath. He had made considerable progress during his training, especially in his last few years. He could beat his classmates most of the time, not easily, of course, but he still won a considerable amount of times. He grinned as he wondered if he had been chosen.

Unfortunately, Eli's closest friend, Danny, hadn't been selected to participate in the Ceremony. It was to be expected, while Danny was excellent at what he did, he still needed some work. Plus, he hadn't been a Savior for as long as Eli had. ELi had been sad when he'd heard, and it had definitely put a damper on the joy of the moment. But Danny had only smiled and said, "It's not like we'll never see each other again! Besides, I'll make sure to catch you with you next year." Danny's smile and good mood were infectious, and soon Eli was smiling and laughing along with him.

The girl up on stage caught his eye as she fidgeted in her seat. She looked incredibly worried about something, making Eli wonder if here was something he should be worrying about too. He vaguely remembered having some conversations with her, but since she was from the other class they hadn't really interacted. The most he knew about her was that she was Armand's adopted daughter.

"Now without further ado," Armand spoke, and Eli tore his eyes away from the girl. "Allow me to introduce your valedictorians... From Class One, myself, my wife and your teacher have selected... my very own daughter, or, as she so often points out, my adopted daughter, Novellia Young!" Cheers erupted from the gathered Saviors, and Eli eagerly joined in. Novellia nervously stood up and moved to stand next to her father, who smiled and muttered something at her. She looked at him and smiled.

Armand waved his hand again, and the Saviors silenced. "And now, for Class Two. As before, this person has been selected by me, my wife, and your teachers. The Class Two valedictorian is... Elijah Aybar!" The Saviors closest to Eli cheered and jostled him playfully. The huge smile that appeared on Eli's cheeks hurt, but he couldn't stop ginning. His long years of training had more than paid off. All he could think about as he climbed onto the stage was the hours upon hours of training he'd done with Danny, of all the bruises and cuts and broken bones, of all the times he'd given up personal time to train.

As he stood on the other side of Armand, he got a better look at Novellia. The very first thing he noticed was her startling silver eyes, and the fact that they must've garnered a lot of strange looks and jeers. Eli himself was familiar with his eyes being stared at; they were a bright, blood-colored red. Fortunately for him, he wasn't the only one with bright red eyes, but this was the first time he'd ever seen anyone with silver irises.

"Congratulations to the both of you," Armand said, addressing them directly. "You have both worked incredibly hard over the years, and you fully deserve this. Nova, Eli...We will now commence your Pairing. If you could face each other, please." The crowd of Saviors was deathly silent as Eli and Nova turned to face each other. Eli saw Nova swallow hard as her eyes darted about nervously. She cast him shy glances, but would never meet his eyes longer than a second or two.

"Take each others' hands, and hold them up." They did so, making a sort of pointed "roof" with their joined arms. Armand gestured for Leandra. She came up to the two younger Saviors, holding in her hand two lengths of red ribbon. She handed them to Armand, a pleasant smile on her face. Armand carefully began to wind the first ribbon around Eli's arm, the worked his way toward his wrist, where he wrapped Nova's and Eli's hands together. He then worked the ribbon down Nova's arm until he ran out of the red fabric.

"With this ribbon, you shall be bound to one another, a permanent bond shall be forged. With this ribbon, you shall swear to never betray the other. You shall swear to protect the other with your life. You shall swear o care for the other, to the best of your ability. You shall swear to help the other in their times of need. Do you accept this ribbon?"

To his surprise, Nova spoke first. "I trust your judgment to be absolute. I trust you to have paired me with someone I can trust. I accept this ribbon." Her words sounded monotone and bored, as though she had repeated them a thousand times before. She looked at him expectantly.

Nova seemed nice enough, and she was skilled enough to be valedictorian. Eli took a deep breath, and repeated the words exactly as Nova had spoken them. She smiled in approval. "You are now bound in body," pronounced Armand. "Now, for the mind." He took the second ribbon and did the same thing he did with the other ribbon, only on the opposite arm, starting with Nova this time. As the ribbon made contact with Eli's skin, a sudden jolt of magic shot through him; the ribbon was enchanted with some sort of magic.

"With this ribbon, you are bound in mind. With this ribbon, you will feel everything your partner feels. With this ribbon, you swear to share in your partner's pain, their joy, their grief, and their hope. With this ribbon, you swear to become close to your partner in a way no one else is. Do you accept this ribbon?"

Nova didn't speak immediately this time, instead, she looked at Eli, a question on her nervous features. Are you sure? Eli thought for a moment, then nodded deeply . "We accept the ribbon."

This instant Nova topped talking, a jolt traveled through Eli's body, and the world went dark.