I was sure that bracelets, even ones that symbolized friendship, were items that would be considered pretty. Still, even after I figured out that most men don’t take an interest in jewelry, Michael continued to wear the bracelet of friendship I gave to him on the day I gave him his secondary birthday. I tried to be thoughtful in the gift I created. It was made of a golden chain because of his favorite color. It had a heart charm to remind him that he was the most loving person I had ever known. The charm was also made of seamless white pearl to symbolize that he was pure in heart, even for an angel.

I knew he didn’t want to hurt my feelings and that might have been why he seemed to appreciate it so much. Years later, I figured he would eventually stop wearing it since it was not very masculine looking. I thought he was just waiting for me to be old enough to understand, without being hurt. For some reason, not only did he continue to wear the bracelet, but he often had it showing on the outside of his long white sleeves.

“Princess!” Michael called to me in excitement. The bracelet I gave him exactly seven years ago glinted as he waved a scarlet envelop in the air. He handed it to me with a smile. “Open it.”

The front of the envelop read “Princess Crystal Selena Soleil” in beautiful handwritten letters. The words were scripted with care, appearing graceful and elongated. They even had curling tails at the ends. I wondered if the archangel had delivered a letter from my betrothed fiancé or if it was from someone else. I didn’t recognize the handwriting, but in any case, I only knew the writing styles of Lucifer and myself. Lucifer's wrote haphazrdly in school, with rushed letters that seemed to run and collapse into each other. My own handwriting varied from neat, rushed, or creatively curled and styled, depending on how I felt while writing.

The back of the envelop had a blue seal that shaped like a swan. The inside revealed an invitation. It read in gleaming bold letters:

Princess Selena,

You are cordially invited to the Winter Ball at the Blue Moon Palace. We have arranged for you to meet our son, Prince Sapphire, to whom you are betrothed. Please do not bring your brother.

Sincerely,

King Chaune and Queen Celene of the Blue Moon Heavens

I stood staring at the last part of the letter that read, “Please do not bring your brother,” wondering what Lucifer had done in the other worlds to recieve such a dismissal. I thought he was just rude at home. I turned to the archangel, “It’s an invitation to a ball. They want me to meet Prince Sapphire.” It's scheduled for about a year from now.

“Wonderful,” Michael responded. “I’ll get to work in getting you the perfect gown.”

“But wait,” I said. “Aren’t I too young to have a boyfriend? I mean, I’m only sixteen.”

“Sixteen is the perfect age for a boyfriend if he so happens to be the right person,” the archangel said, smiling slyly. “And if you have a chaperone, of course. Besides, you haven’t even seen the picture they enclosed of him.”

“What? But there’s no…” suddenly a photograph fell out of the folded invitation. Michael caught it before it could hit the floor, but I was sure it wasn’t there a minute ago.

“They never show you the picture before you see the invitation. They wanted you to read it first. Your reaction was priceless, by the way.” He handed the picture to me, chuckling.

I inhaled at the image of what must have been the most beautiful person in the world besides the archangel. He had lovely, almost shimmery cerulean hair. Cerulean was always my favorite shade of blue ever. His eyes had a unique, almost sparkling, starlit quality, catching light in more places than usual. They were full of color in shades bright of indigo, royal blue, and sapphire. And he was a unicorn like me. His long silver horn twirled from the center of the crown of his head. Around it was what I could only describe as a double halo. Two white rings, one was directly above the other. I had never seen anything like it. His wings were lovely and swan-like with long graceful feathers.

“He’s cute,” I exclaimed. “He’s the cutest boy I’ve ever seen!”

Michael broke out laughing. “Yeah, I thought you would react that way.”

“Oh, good!” Lucifer’s voice echoed from nearby. “The sooner you marry him, the sooner you can leave.”

I wondered why I was so naïve as to be shocked he would say that. It’s not like Lucifer had ever been kind to me, but I had never done anything to deserve his constant animostiy. He treated me like I was the worse thing that ever happened to him.

“Lucifer, apologize to your sister,” the archangel said quickly. “That was uncalled for.”

“Make me,” he responded.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The room grew cold as tears welled in my eyes. I realized I was losing control of my elemental abilities again. I ran toward the hallway to be alone. I didn’t want anyone to see me crying like this, especially the archangel.

“Can’t you take a joke?” Lucifer chided.

“Just leave me alone,” I yelled back between tearful sniffles. It was too late to hide the fact that I was crying now.

“Selena, wait!” Michael called back.

I stopped where I was with my back still turned. “I’ll be okay,” I tried to sound calm, but my voice was still betraying me. “I want to go to my room.”

“Look at me, Selena.” I didn’t want to, but I obeyed the archangel’s command. He went on. “Why are you crying? Don't you know your worth isn’t determined by Lucifer.” I tried to hide my face in my hands, but he suddenly was in front of me, lifting my chin. "Nevertheless, your brother should treat you better than this.” He turned back towards Lucifer. “Apologize, now!”

Lucifer crossed his arms and grinned. “Make me.”

Michael sighed. “Do you know why you are not the King of Solaria?”

Lucifer’s grin became a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m the crown prince. I’m supposed to inherit this planet. No one else and….”

Michael became agitated, massaging his temple. He waved his arm for Lucifer to stop before interrupting. “Yes, you were the crown prince. And from the very day you’ve been born, you've shirked your responsibilities, you were disrespectful to your elders, the Lord your God, your Father, your birth parental, Swarovsky, and now, your vulnerable, child-like, younger sister. From this day forward, you are demoted from Solaria’s crown prince to a prince of Solaria. If you cannot prove that you can run the kingdom in a responsible fashion, respecting your elders and showing kindness to your peers and subordinates, then Selena will become the Queen of Solaria and her descendants, not yours, will inherit this world.”

I wrung my hands together with anxiety as a cold feeling washed over my stomach. No doubt, this would make Lucifer hate me or hate me more if he already did. I had no interest in taking Lucifer’s inheritance away from him. My betrothed, Prince Sapphire, was already a crown prince and I would become the Queen of the Blue Moon heavens eventually, anyway. But in any case, I was happy as I was. I had no interest in seeking more power or glory than I already had.

I watched for Lucifer’s reaction, bracing myself for an emotional overload of his many voices screaming at me all at once. I tried to look at him with an apologetic expression. I wanted to let him know I wasn’t happy that he got in trouble. Before I could say anything, he vanished into the air.

Michael let out a long sigh of frustration, putting his hand on his forehead.

“Did he just teleport?” I asked.

“Yes,” Michael said. “Like I once told you, it’s very dangerous. In his case, he won’t die eternally, but he will pay a heavy price for disobeying my orders.”