Edited by: ASaltedFish
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A week after Ellery and Akimitsu's wedding, the duo left for their honeymoon. They wanted to stay on Hezyria to spend time with the Ito family and the Aster family's nominal grandparents, who came to the wedding not only to see Orin and Darya but also to support Ellery.
As for Juniper and Edros, they spent time with the Caecius family until Ellery and Akimitsu boarded the spacecraft headed to their honeymoon destination.
Ellery and Akimitsu's honeymoon was three months long with two planet destinations. The first planet was a snowy wonderland where they could ski or snowboard, and afterwards, they could enjoy different hot springs and food specialties. Their plan was to stay for two weeks before taking a week-long voyage to the next planet. The next destination was MPE23, the aquatic resource planet that was trying to get into the tourism industry. There were many places Ellery and Akimitsu didn't get to go to previously, so they decided to go there for their honeymoon.
Even though they promised to take Edros and Juniper, Ellery thought it would be a good idea to visit first, so he could make a travel plan for Juniper that wouldn't overwhelm him.
He promised Juniper he would grab a crystal or rock at every place he went to, so when he came back, he could tell Juniper stories about the trip and what kind of environments he went to.
Juniper watched the spacecraft leave the docks, only looking away when he could no longer see Ellery and Akimitsu.
"Juniper, we should get going." Edros softly grabbed Juniper's hand and stood next to him patiently. "Didn't you want to see Hezyria's famous Crystal Palace?"
Juniper was reluctant to leave the dock at first, but hearing the name Crystal Palace, the reluctance left, and he was filled with excitement. "Yes, let's go!"
Earlier in the week, Edros and Juniper had a long talk about the future. Juniper was not opposed to getting married; while he felt nervous, he was also excited to start a new chapter in his life. Edros told him his plans to propose at the Crystal Palace, which Juniper gave his seal of approval.
Edros planned their itinerary for the day, even the time for when he would propose. The only thing he asked to keep secret was the ring. This was something that Juniper could compromise with. He also gave Edros a surprise before, so he thought Edros would keep the proposal a secret too. He once again felt that Edros was too doting and accommodating, which he always appreciated.
The ring was made after Juniper had confessed and given him the crystals made out of their quantum beasts. It was the gift Juniper paid one of his clients to make, who was a master sculptor who specialized in sculpting gem stones. The sculpture of Casir was created using an amethyst and the sculpture of Lune was made out of topaz. He loved them so much, he designed the ring himself based on his understanding of Juniper and the jewelry he liked to collect. Finally, the ring was ready just before he left for Hezyria.
To be honest, he wasn't expecting to propose so soon. He thought he might have to wait a couple more years, but Juniper's acceptance after watching Ellery and Akimitsu get married was the surprise they both didn't expect.
When they arrived at the Crystal Palace, Juniper thought he had stopped breathing while looking at the palace walls glistening under the moonlight and stars. Along the pathways, there were small lights and fences made of cloud diamonds to keep visitors from veering off into unknown places. In certain rooms, there were signs with text that was large and easy to read or a pre-recorded explanation of each room and the inspiration behind its creation.
The only time visitors could visit was between dusk and dawn because the sun reflected off the crystals, causing temporary blindness. It wasn't serious for a short period of time, but prolonged exposure caused eye damage. During the day, the Crystal Palace was covered with a metal dome.
The Crystal Palace usually had many visitors and staff, but because Edros and Juniper would be there, there were only a couple of managers and security guards to help with any of their needs. They were out of sight, so the two could comfortably walk around the Crystal Palace by themselves.
"Look, there's a sign at the entrance; let's go and see what it says." Edros held Juniper's hand and slowly walked beside him, letting him admire the entrance without feeling rushed.
Once they reached the sign, Edros pressed the on-screen button at the bottle of the tablet.
[Hello, Visitors, and welcome to the Crystal Palace.] The sound of a robotic woman spoke at a slow but steady pace. [The Crystal Palace was created 700 years ago when society oppressed Guides. The names of the creator and her lover have been lost in time, but we do know that a Sentinel woman created the Crystal Palace by herself.
[Before the Guide Revolution, a noble Sentinel woman fell in love with a commoner Guide. They hid their love for years, only meeting up at dusk and leaving each other at dawn. One day, the Sentinel woman ran away from home because her parents tried to force her into an arranged marriage. When she finally decided to elope with her lover, they were detained by her family, and she watched her lover die in front of her. After that, she killed everyone related to the death of her lover and created the Crystal Palace to immortalize their love. Now, many couples come to the Crystal Palace to immortalize their love using Cloud Diamonds.]
Edros and Juniper stood at the entrance of the Crystal Palace, stunned. They had no idea that the Crystal Palace had such a heartbreaking story to it.
"This is so sad but breathtaking at the same time." Edros felt he should have done more research on the Crystal Palace before deciding to propose to Juniper here! Still, it did say many couples came to the Crystal Palace to immortalize their love, so it should be fine…
Juniper didn't say much, but Edros could tell he was really sad. "It's unfortunate that the guide ended up dying in front of her lover and was unable to see her partner's devotion to her. I hope they reincarnated into a safer era and were able to fall in love and be together…"
"I hope so as well."
The two calmed down a bit and then continued their tour through the crystal palace.
To be honest, it was called a palace, but it wasn't very large. It just looked like a castle from the outside. Inside, there was a large primary bedroom equipped with a walk-in closet and a bathroom that wasn't equipped with any modern technology. There was also no running water. As for the other rooms, there was a guest room, an office, a paint studio, and finally a solarium filled with the guide's favorite flowers made out of Cloud Diamonds. The dining room had a dining table that was long enough for 6 people. The castle did have bathrooms that were usable for visitors, but most areas, like the kitchen, had no running water or electricity.
The most special part of the Crystal Palace was the central courtyard. It was spacious and had a large gazebo in the middle, perfect for dancing under the moonlight.
Juniper and Edros took their time exploring each room, stopping for a while at a tablet sign so they could reflect on each room's information.
The first room they visited was the primary bedroom because they wanted to go from the second floor to the first floor. The tablet was next to the bed on the nightstand. They could not sit on any of the furniture because it was all made of Cloud Diamonds. It was hard and uncomfortable, plus, it smudged easily, so the staff had to constantly clean the palace.
This time, Juniper pressed the button, and they listened to the robotic voice once more.
[Our records show the Sentinel creator of the Crystal Palace created each room, especially the primary bedroom, with the thoughts of what-if. In her words: "What if they survived and lived in a place like this? What kind of furniture would my lover like? How would she arrange their bedroom? What side of the bed would she sleep on?"
[In the end, she didn't know what her Guide lover would like, so she created the most basic furniture for the primary bedroom.]
Juniper almost wanted to cry. "Why is this place so sad?"
Edros agreed, "Yeah, it's sad, but her love and dedication to her partner are inspiring and heartwarming."
Juniper thought what Edros said made sense. He just felt horrible for the couple that were separated so cruelly just because they loved each other.
On the same floor, they visited the guest room and the office, but there was no tablet for them to listen to. It seemed that these places were created to make rooms, but because they had nothing to do with the Sentinel's partner, she didn't care too much about them.
They then went to the first floor to visit the paint studio. Inside the room, preserved paintings hung on the walls, different from all the items made of cloud diamonds. The paintings were mostly of landscapes, but there was one of a woman, which many theorized was the sentinel woman that the guide woman loved very much.
In the painting, the woman had her eyes closed, and her hair was put up so the viewer could see her face. The woman was facing the painter, but her head was slightly tilted, so it looked like the woman was using her hands to hold her head up. Finally, there was a ray of light that hit her face, making the viewers think that she closed her eyes because it was too bright. To many, she looked like she was peacefully sleeping, but because of the soft brush strokes and the gentle light depicted in the painting, many people could see that the woman was loved by the painter.
According to their dates, the painting of the woman was the last one the person had created.
Juniper and Edros took their time looking at each painting, marveling at the skill and beauty of each one. When they were finally done looking, they went to the center of the room where the tablet stood by the easel stand made of cloud diamonds.
Edros pressed the button on the tablet so they could listen to the records about the painting studio, which seemed quite different from the other rooms.