F E S T I V I T I E S

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THE NEXT MORNING, Lucius woke up with the most disorientated train of thought. In his mind, the events of last night were continuously playing like a sort of sick joke. He had thought that he was finally beginning to crack open Adelia's hard outer shell, at long last prying into the softest part of her personality to gain her friendship and trust. However, in just a second and like a flick of a switch, they were back where they once were.

"When did this get so complicated?" Lucius groaned softly to himself, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes.

It was just before dawn, the same time in which he would wake up every day to start his job. Today, however, he wanted none of it. To put it simply, he wasn't in the mood to do anything rather than mope around.

Unfortunately, he wasn't given a chance. A few minutes after he had first awoken, a knock came from the door to his hut, effectively gaining Lucius's attention as he sat up quickly. The sudden motion made his brain feel like a slurry and he winced at the sensation. However, it did not slow him down. Instead, Lucius quickly threw his covers off of him before gently padding over to the door, cracking it open only to see two familiar faces greeting him.

"You are late, Lucius." His good friend, Gabriel, stared at him with hardly any emotion in his voice. His eyes, bright cobalt blue irises that must have been colored by the sky, did not leak away Gabriel's inner most thoughts either. "And you are still undressed?"

"Since when did you two bother me during the very start of the day?" Lucius asked, turning around to walk into the hut.

His two friends followed him in, Cassiel gently shutting the door behind him. As quickly as he could, Lucius scurried over to his wash basin so that he could freshen up before throwing on his usual wear— a fresh white cotton shirt and a pair of brown pants.

"Since you slept in, you must have missed the announcement. The archangels had just passed on a message about a festival in which we have to prepare for. And you, oh great light angel, will have to start adding in the decorations. The festival starts from noon to midnight and everyone is said to be attending."

Plucking a ripe ruby apple from the dining table's fruit basket, Cassiel casually wiped the apple clean on the fabric of his shirt before chewing a large chunk of the fruit off.

"Picture it, Lucius! Drinks and food for everybody, music and laughter that will ring for hours and dancing that will last through the night! I am already salivating at the thought. When was the last time we had a proper festival?" Cassiel near sighed, his eyes glazing in a far-off dreamy expression as he handed the half-eaten apple to Gabriel who took it with a roll of his eyes.

"Indulgence is a sin, Cassiel. Do not think of everything as a lighthearted fun fair. If I didn't know better, I might even say that it is a test that is set by the archangels to assess our behavior." Gabriel warned, eyebrows furrowed as he bit down on the apple as well. Chewing slowly, he said, "good things do not come without a price."

"This is Heaven, Gabe!" With a cheeky smile, Cassiel dropped himself onto the nearby chairs. "Everything is good here."

"Too good." Gabriel shook his head. "Something bad is bound to happen soon. It is only the matter of time."

"Bah, nonsense! What can possibly go wrong? You are too pessimistic, dear friend."

"And you too optimistic." Gabriel frowned when Lucius plucked the apple from his hands but made no action to stop him.

The blond quickly finished up the fruit in silence, watching his friends in the suddenly over-heated conversation. Once he was done, he tossed the core into the trash easily, wiping his mouth down with the long flowing sleeves of his shirt.

"No need for such an argument, dear friends. Like Cassiel said, it has been too long since we last had our fun. Let us go prepare for it."

With a pat on each of his friends' shoulders, Lucius casually strolled out of the door, a sudden lightness in his steps. His friends had properly distracted him enough and the thought of Adelia was far in the back of his mind. All that he needed to think about now was bring the most glorious light show to the festival and ensure that the gleam of the sun was unbeatable.

A smile on his face and golden light forming at the top of his fingers, Lucius was ready to get to work.

———

The festivities started at exactly noon time where the sun was highest in the sky. Lucius had worked hard that morning, ensuring that the golden sunlight was nothing short of phenomenal. Not that he had not displayed his very best every single day but rather that he made extra effort to perfect the glow down to the last detail. He was almost done with his work when a voice suddenly pulled him out of his daydream, causing him to jump a little where he stood before spinning around to face the speaker.

"You are really milking every last drop of gold, are you not?" Dimitri humored from behind him. The tall angel had his arms folded across his chest, wings folded behind him and dark hair a mess. With silver eyes sparkling in mischief, Lucius quickly recognized him as the angel he had met at the North Garden.

"Why do something unless you're ensuring its perfection?" Lucius replied in good humor, nodding as a sign of his acknowledgment. "Are you here for the festivities as well?"

It was a useless question, Lucius knew very well. However, he wanted to create small talk to fuel the conversation's fire.

"Not yet. I still have a job to do. A few friends and I are in charge of the flowers and the rest of the plant life. For this festival, Lucifer demanded nothing short of perfection and he made it very clear this morning during the announcement that you had skipped." With a shrug, Dimitri flexed his wings a little, black, white, and gray feathers extending before contracting again.

Lucius wrinkled his nose. "I did not know that everyone had been on the lookout for me this morning."

"Oh, no one other than Lucifer was. But he quickly announced your absence to the entirety of the angelic population so, in other words, every soul knew you were not there at this morning's gathering."

"Good gracious." Biting his bottom lip, Lucius looked downright embarrassed. Almost instantly, he could suddenly feel the scrutinizing glares of the people around him when they were non-existent before Dimitri's revelation.

The dark-haired angel nodded. "This will really be bad publicity for you, eh?"

"All publicity is good publicity, Dimitri."

The sound of beating wings brought Lucius to attention, his eyes zeroing down on the three new angels that had suddenly flown down from the skies to join in the conversation. The blond haired angel quickly recognized them to be the three angels that were in companion to Dimitri. The one with hair as red as fire was the one that had spoken, his lips quirked into half a laugh.

"Every angel will not be flocking over to see the only other angel of light now. Lucifer had always been the only one before your creation." Calvin seconded, the corners of his lips risking.

"But the lack of solitude would also equate to a downgrade in the quality of his task," Dimitri observed. "And judging by today's borderline ravaging heat, our friend here is ensuring that the quality of his work is supreme."

"Have a rest, Lucius." Wilhelm grinned broadly, patting Lucius's shoulders firmly. Lucius almost thought that the red-haired man's freckles had caught the shimmer of the sunlight, forming constellations on his face but he quickly realized that it was a trick of the light; or at least that was what Lucius tried to convince himself. "It has been a few decades since the last festival. Now that the archangels have decided to allow us our fun, we should cherish it before the time is gone. Besides, everyone here can agree that you have already done enough."

Just like how he had lived most of his life, Lucius took Wilhelm's advice to drop the load of his work and embrace the festivities.

The party was in full swing. There were angels crowded around the main central garden, beautiful music being played by those of talent. Lucius had thought that he had never heard such a melodious symphony before. It was the sort of rhythm that bled through one's bones, making him or her wish to dance until the end of forever. He dared not indulge in that wish, however, as Lucius had never learned to dance. He had enough spotlight on him already given the fact that Lucifer had publicly announced his absence in the morning assembly. Instead, Lucius chose to lean against the nearest oak tree, a nice cup of refreshing fruit juice in hand and a smile hanging from his face.

He could not remember the last time he had heard so much laughter. Although the world of Heaven was a blessed one and most of the angels spent their days basking in both the golden glow of the sun or the silver wisps from the moon, the festivities brought out a much more vivacious side to the angels. They danced, chortling with laughter that resembled the voices of sirens and moving with the grace of swans. And even as dusk approached, not a single soul showed signs of tire.

"One would think, at the sight of such a scene, that angels knew only of fine wine and good music for all of their days."

Lucius would recognize that voice anywhere. It had a slight alto drawl, one filled with a hidden mischief or meaning. It always seemed as though the speaker thought of themselves better and higher in ranks. The angel of light turned, a handsome smile shaping the corners of his lips.

"Life in Heaven had always been as blissful as this scene. It is just the matter of different causes for this said jubilance."

Adelia's eyes shimmered like crystals of a chandelier, dazzling and bright as she stood a contrast to the bright lights that erupted from the setting sun. The sky behind her was an array of pinks and purples, most likely due to the fact that the sun was already almost gone. The night angel's hair fell in rambunctious curls that framed her face and she calmly combed a section behind her ear.

"Maybe for you day angels. We night angels adore our peace and quietness. Time to reflect is always spent alone and not with a rowdy crowd."

"Laughter is the song of angels," Lucius pointed out. "Surely you won't deny our people their anthem?"

Adelia scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully as she folded her arms across her chest. It was then had Lucius noted that Adelia was dressed a little differently today. She was wearing an ivory colored gown that contrasted almost ravishingly with her skin tone, the sleeves short and placed off-shoulders. It emphasized the indents and protrusion of her collarbones. The dress itself came down to her mid-calves, showing a little more skin than usual but still enough to protect her modesty.

"Call me delusional but I have missed your company, Lucius. You are certainly much more entertaining than conversing with myself."

At her words, Lucius felt his chest give a flutter. He felt dizzy in the head, as though the entire world was thrown off its axis and spun wildly and without reason. With his breath clogged painfully in his throat, Lucius beamed more brightly than the moon that was currently high in the sky, his own brightness radiating from within, unlike the moon's stolen glow.

"I know a place that is more beautiful than Heaven. Would you like to see it?" He asked, cocking his head over to the direction north of Heaven's Falls.

"I sincerely doubt there will be one so try your best." For once, there was a new sort of challenging glint in Adelia's eyes. It was as if she was daring Lucius to spend more time with her, a silent request to cure her disease of boredom and loneliness.

Lucius took her response with much more delight than he initially dared to show, his wings expanding to its full span as he walked out of the shelter that the great oak tree provided. "I will race you to the North Garden."

Adelia grinned. "Bring it on."

[A/N]:

I am planning on making another prequel after I am done with writing [Lucius]. I just feel like there is so much more that can be expanded on the [Kisses From Death] universe, you know? Any guesses on who this book will be about?

So sorry for the belated update. Some of you might know that I have recently posted the last chapter of [Courting Death] onto Radish Fiction. I have an update schedule made available on the Wattpad version of [Courting Death] that will state when I will update the book here. As for [Lucius], I don't have one yet. This is a side project and now that I am done with [Courting Death], I want to focus on re-writing [Pretty Girls]. But no worries, I already have a rough outline of what I want to happen in this book so hopefully the next update won't take too long.

xx aurora