Bound by Betrothal? | Rumor Has It…

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Welcome, darlings, to our first weekly installment of “Rumor Has It…”! Today, we’ll be discussing a rumor that I heard back on the 22nd of March–our first night at the academy. A lot occurred that night, but I’d like to shed a little light on an unlikely–yet possible–couple. The original source was less than credible, if I’m being honest, but after some digging there has been some significant information to back up this claim.

Citizens, I’m here to ask: are Gerardo Serafim and Galiana Franco engaged?

Editor’s Note: all views expressed in this post are purely speculative, and any “evidence” provided is coincidental. Arion Floros’ Rumor Has It… series is meant to shed light on rumors and discuss them openly. The Arcane Citizen is not making any claims in favor of or against the individuals mentioned below. All comments were shared with consent.

Let’s get the ugly bit of it out into the open: the source of this claim was Lenora Hollingsworth, head of the Hollingsworth Coven. One could speculate for days as to her reason for making up such a claim–jealousy and boredom come to mind, among other things–but perhaps the Enchanter student body president genuinely wished to share a juicy tidbit with me. However, she would give nothing else, so that was when I, your favorite gossip king, started digging.

First, I decided to ask our resident coven expert, Professor Penn, how marriages work in the Serafim Coven.

“Normally, unions are made solely for the sake of procreation,” the professor explained. “I’m sure you’ve heard how conception in witch covens is commonly the result of a witch marking and mating with a mortal of the opposite biological sex. They give the coven a witch child, and the mortal dies either due to complications or as a result of an accident. While this is still true for many covens, this is not the case for the Serafim Coven. They acquired so many witch families that their numbers rival the De Ardos and the Quercinis. In a coven that large, there’s no need to create more half-mortal children when you can arrange a marriage between two strong witches–and, unfortunately, such a mindset leads well-intentioned parents to arrange a marriage between their child and a suitor.”

While interviewing Galiana for another article you may have read, I slipped in some questions for this one.

“My parents?” she began, only a little flustered. “They’re not married. They never were–my dad is gay, and my mom is grey-ace, so they made a pact and used a surrogate. They’re, like, best friends, though, so both families get together for holidays.”

When asked about her relationship with Gerardo, Galiana turned red in the face. “Well, our families have always been close, so we were raised together. We’ve grown apart as we’ve gotten older–it’s not exactly cool for a teenage heir to hang out with a kid a couple years younger than him.”

Notice, Citizens, how the sophomore in question did not deny that she and the heir were in a relationship. That could just be more speculation on my part, but if the two aren’t in a relationship, then why not say so?

“It’s simple,” offered Arabela Luna. She heard about the rumor and reached out to discuss the Serafim couple. “If the two are the subject of a pact between their parents, then odds are that one or maybe both of them aren’t happy about it. I mean, as heirs, our lives are almost entirely run by our parents, so I can see why Gerardo would want to rebel. No one wants their love life controlled by their parents.”

Arabela poses an interesting theory: what if Gerardo and Gal are betrothed, but have decided to keep their pact a secret since one or both are against it? That would mean that Gerardo, the witch with more pull in this scenario, would have to find a suitable heir among the other female members of the coven in order to satisfy his parents. That leaves Michele Calixto and Sofia de Paz–and that’s if Gerardo lives by his parents’ standard instead of selecting a different mate altogether.

There is something else I find interesting, readers: what if Lenora purposely revealed this secret–or made up this rumor–in order to pressure Gerardo into creating a pact with her? By doing so, both heirs would be combining their families and magick to create powerful witch offspring. While there’s no ordinance in place preventing such a union, it is worth noting that pacts between strong parties tend to be investigated by L.O.R.E.

I reached out to Gerardo regarding the rumor, but he declined to comment.

So, what do you think, Citizens? Do you think Gerardo and Gal are engaged against their will? Do you believe they might actually be dating in secret? Or is Lenora simply blowing smoke? Only time will tell.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Rumor Has It…! Make sure to like this post, leave a comment down below, and share it with your besties. Until next time, lovelies! Kisses~