Chapter 1

Carved into the base of a mountain, seamlessly integrated with the earth around it, the Belmonte castle is known across universes to be one of the most splendid creations in the realms. When natural light cannot find it's way through the windows or mirrored tunnel the way they harness the mountains volcanic core for the lights and energy is considered a miracle by most. For these reasons, and many more, the Belmonte family has been revered by the other celestial households as the wisest, at least until last quarter when the eldest son, Kaj, allowed his star to go out.

As Everest Belmonte walked through the halls of her castle, double checking that everything was in order, she was not surprised to find her youngest son standing in front of the large wooden doors that led down The Halls of Isolation with his forehead pressed to one of the doors, some of his brown hair hiding most of strong features. "Eban, our guests will be arriving soon. Why don't you clean up and be ready for them… Or perhaps you could go take care of your mind space. When I walked by earlier I saw a lot of struggling saplings and far too many leaves on the ground."

Eban sighs, his fingers press into the door and curl into a fist. When he speaks his voice is a whisper. "Why would he do this to me?"

Everest places a hand to her son's shoulder. "Maybe this quarter we will find out what happened to lead him down the path he chose…"

Eban turns to his mother with angry tears loaded and ready to drop. "Why does he have to stay in there for so long?!" He cries out and the first tears fall.

His mother pulls him to her, resting his ear to her chest where he can hear the steadying heartbeat. "Now that you are in his position you should know as well…" Eban pulls away and wipes his tears away with the sleeve of his grey jacket and looks to his mother as she continues. As she speaks she takes his hand and they slowly begin to walk away from the hallway where her eldest son will remain for the next one hundred years. "I am fully aware that you and the rest of the children of the celestial families are not naive about each other's bodies…" Eban's face begins to redden as he realizes that his mother is referencing the massive amount of sex that happens between the children every quarter, something he hadn't participated in, and to his knowledge neither has Kaj. Everest presses on in a removed tone. "Have you ever wondered why none of you end up with child?" She peers to her son to see that he hadn't wondered until just now and continues. "You need a heart to reproduce… actually you need two hearts, joined together, in agreement, to create a new life."

Eban clears his throat before speaking. "So, when the other kids are-- having sex— they don't conceive a new life because it's not consensual?"

Everest smiles gently. "No. I think most of the sex that occurs is consensual… It just doesn't involve binding each other's hearts together in agreement."

Eban stops and looks at his mother. "So you and father's hearts are—"

She smiles brighter. "Unified. Our hearts are one."

He takes his mother's arm and is now leading the walk. "So, how does someone join their heart with another?"

She laughs at his eagerness to learn. "First, you must be in love with someone. You'll know when that happens because you will want their happiness above your own, and you'll be able to access your heart. Joining your heart with another's can be very risky..." Her green eyes darken and become muddied with brown around the edges seeping in as they lower to the ground.

"Why?" Eban asks with concerned emerald eyes.

She can't bring herself to smile as she thinks of her eldest son. "Once you can access your heart, you can offer it to the person you love. If they don't feel the same way and cannot offer their heart in return… then you risk your heart breaking…" She watches out of the corner of her eye as understanding washes through her child.

Understanding of what must have happened to his brother turns into resolve as they arrive at the front doors. "Then Kaj didn't end up in there because of fear… he ended up in there because of courage…"

His mother smiles as a tear threatens to form in the outer corner of her eye. "I choose to believe that is the case as well…"

Eban grabs his mother's hands, his face becomes full of concern. "Does it really take a century to heal from a broken heart mother?"

Everest's tear falls as she puts on a brave face. "Yes… And if I am being honest— after seeing the state of your brother's heart before his isolations started-- I wonder if it will be long enough."

Eban took in a sharp inhale. "I don't care who I upset this quarter mother, I will find out who did this to his heart and I know right where to start looking."

Everest smiles and cups her son's cheek just as her husband, Aaron Belmonte, enters at the top of the stairs and speaks in his steady and commanding voice. "Let's welcome our guests with the famous Beaumonte hospitality and kindness shall we?" When he reaches his wife he kisses her temple, Eban outwardly groans and inwardly feels comforted knowing about his parent's bond.

Everest slightly blushes before her husband straightens back up and speaks a bit more privately to his family despite the presence of some staff flitting about to welcome guests. "We are still grieving, and there are still a lot of questions surrounding last quarter. Let's do our best to stay well mannered and gracious to our guests." When Ebon lightly scoffs his father snaps his attention to him. "Even the Ayers…" The three of them nod, their dark brown hair bouncing in unison as they did, and straighten their posture before signaling the staff to open the doors.