I slept sounder than I had in days, only realizing this when I woke to the sun streaming into my room. The down sheets felt different; my fingers grazed over the fabric, reminding myself where I was. Exhaustion had caught up to me; from the travels to Gwyniar, to seeing my injured father lying in his hospital bed. Raydir snored peacefully in bed next to me, and I smiled.

If we were really going to have a love ceremony, there would still be plenty of preparations to do.

Watching his chest rise and fall, I pressed a small kiss to his cheek. I stopped to gather my nightgown from the floor. I set it aside before picking out an outfit for the day: a blue and silver dress that would easily blend in with the atmosphere of Gwyniar. As I dressed, my fingers glided over the spot on my neck where Raydir had kissed me. Memories of the frenzy from last night flashed through my mind. I could still feel his lips against my skin. Still tender to the touch with a definite mark. I swept my hair over the tops of my shoulders and went to wake Raydir.

Since it was still early—I blamed the valley for messing with my ability to sleep late—I took a walk down the road and went to check in on my father at the hospital. He slept peacefully with my mother beside him. She didn’t even hear me come into the room. Her hand held tightly to his as if clutching for life support.

They have a love for the ages, I thought to myself. I hoped I would have the same with Raydir.

My mother’s eyes fluttered open and her gaze landed on me. “Arwyn, darling. You’re here.”

“Yes, I’m here.” I pulled up a seat next to her. “How is he doing?”

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “He’s stable. But the doctors don’t know what the long term effects could be.”

“What does this mean for the dukedoms?” I asked.

“We’re not sure yet. With your father incapacitated, Lord Byron is stepping up into the role of power as he is your father’s second-in-command, so we know the dukedom will be in good hands while he recovers.”

“Good.” I nodded. “Mother, can we talk in the hall? I don’t know exactly how to say this and I don’t really want to say it in front of Father.”

“Of course.”

We walked out into the hallway of the hospital and I took a deep breath.

“Ray and I have made a decision. And because this is our decision I want to preface by saying that we’re thinking about everyone’s best interests,” I said.

Worry lines creased between her eyebrows. “Go on.”

“Raydir and I love each other very much, but with everything going on we don’t want a wedding. You know how it is in Gwyniar. Weddings are extravagant, happy moments of the bond between two people professing their love and dedication to each other. And right now isn’t a happy time for us. With what happened to Father and everything…what we’re proposing instead is a love ceremony.”

“A love ceremony,” she repeated, pursing her lips in thought. “At the flos arcus? The Flower Arch?”

I smiled. “Yes. At the Flower Arch. But this will only be a small ceremony. We don’t want to put more stress on you to plan an extravagant wedding. What do you think?”

She inhaled slowly and took my hand. “I think it’s a marvelous idea.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and threw my arms around her neck. “Thank you, Mother. I’m sorry I can’t give you and Father the wedding you wanted for me but—”

“Arwyn.” She pulled back to wipe away the tears that had formed in my eyes. “You have grown so much in this last month out on your own with Raydir. I can see that now even though I haven’t been there to witness it. And I’m so proud of you. There is still much to be done because I know you and Raydir only have a few days here with us.”

I nodded. “Yes. I wanted to go to Runswick this morning but I can meet you at the dress shop later.”

My mother extended her hands to me. “Yes, that shall work. Come, darling. Let me walk with you out to the carriage. And Arwyn?”

“Yes, mother?” I asked. My heart thumped loudly against my chest.

“You’re not to blame for this attack. You couldn’t have known. We’ve tried to protect you your whole life and we ended up closing you off to a world of possibilities.”

I swallowed hard. “You didn’t know Bella was going to die.”

“No, but your Father and I could’ve prevented it.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “There are ways…never mind that. I’ll meet you at the dress shop in an hour.” She cleared her throat and walked away after instructing the driver to take me to Runswick.

The sun shone brightly once again on the cobblestones as the carriage let me off in Runswick. My head reeled at what my mother had said. There were ways. But ways to do what exactly? What had she meant that it could’ve been prevented? My fingers itched to get back at my bow and arrow, but this wasn’t the time to go off and practice my archery. The aromas of fresh baked bread and sweet citrus hit my nose the minute I stepped foot outside of the carriage, a sure testament that morning deliveries had already started.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

As usual, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and ran straight into someone’s back, letting out an “oomph” in the process.

“Pardon me,” I said, beginning to walk away.

“Oh, no, it’s my fau—Arwyn?”

I looked up, taking a step back. “Emilia? Wow, you look fantastic.” It had only been a month, but she had changed so much. She wore a dark red dress trimmed in gold. Her blonde hair was pulled back away from her face in a complicated twist.

She smiled and clasped her hands in front of her, a silver ring glinting on her finger. “Arwyn, it’s good to see you. I heard about what happened to your father. How is he?”

“He’s doing better, thank you. Mother is staying with him at the hospital until he recovers fully.”

“Do you have some time?” she asked. “I would love to catch up.”

I nodded. “I would love that.”

She took my hand, and we wandered into a small cafe that was just opening its doors. “A table for two, by the window please.”

The server nodded and led us through the cafe to a vacant spot. I smoothed down my skirt as I sat down. Even dressed to blend in, I still felt out of place here in Gwyniar.

“So, the ring,” I blurted out when we were seated. “You’re engaged?”

Emilia blushed. “Yes. I had my ceremony sooner after yours. Duke Castor. Do you remember him from school? It has been truly magical, just the two of us. And since he’s a duke, I’m no longer a countess.”

“That is amazing, Em. I really am so proud of you. You were always so much better at this than me and Ray.”

The waiter came by to take our order before hurrying away.

She laughed. “How is that going, anyway? Still in the magic of the honeymoon phase?”

I gave her a small smile. “We’re doing about as well as we can given the current circumstances. My father wants us to get married in case something happens to him.”

Emilia raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to reply, waiting instead until after our server had set down matching cups of ginger chai tea in front of each of us. “So you came back to Gwyniar to get married?”

I shook my head. “I came back to Gwyniar to make sure my father was safe. But Ray and I are going to have a love ceremony before we go back.”

“So you’re not staying.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Em, you know very well that I can’t stay. Raydir and I are outcasts, we risked a lot coming back.”

“And yet you have time to plan a wedding.” Bitterness and disbelief crept into her voice.

“It’s not a wedding it’s—”

“A love ceremony, yes.” She rested her spoon on the saucer and dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “And the only reason you’re not marrying him is, why?”

“Because it’s not the time. I’m doing this to make my father happy and because I love Raydir.” The tea warmed my throat but the sentimental moment melted away with Emilia’s questions. “I have to go. I’m meeting my mother for a dress fitting.”

She stood up as I pushed my chair back from the table. “I really do wish you all the best, Arwyn. You and Raydir. I hope you’re able to have the future you truly want with him.”

“Thank you.” I hugged her. “Take care.”

***

A while later, I stood in front of a triple-panel mirror in the middle of the dress shop and stared at my reflection.

This was happening. This was real. But it somehow felt too good to be true.

“Arwyn, you look absolutely beautiful,” my mother gushed, pressing her hands over her heart.

I smiled. “Thank you. I think this is the one.”

She reached up to take my hand and help me down off of the pedestal. “I agree. Arwyn, I meant what I said earlier. I am so very proud of you.”

“Even though I left our family behind?” I asked. “Even though your only living heir to the dukedom went against your wishes?”

“There is something I never told you or your sister about my own ceremony. When I was your age, I almost ran away,” my mother said.

My eyes widened. “You did?”

She laughed. “I did. You and your sister definitely got your stubbornness from me. But yes, I considered it right up until the moment I drew your father’s name from the cauldron. And the moment I saw him, I knew I didn’t want to be with anyone else. I imagine that’s how you feel about Raydir and how Arabella felt about Bennett.”

“It is. It’s how I’ve always felt about him.”

She squeezed my hand. “Which is why, although I knew it would be hard on all of us, I am glad you made the choice you did. You followed your heart because you have a fiery spirit. You get that from me and your grandmother. And you deserve every happiness. For yourself and with Raydir.”

I slipped out of the gown and back into my own clothes. My mother never talked about my grandmother. She’d died before I was born, but the stories my mother told me as a child filled me with awe. When I emerged from behind the dividers, my mother was waiting at the doors.

“Do you have some time to walk with me around the square?” she asked.

“I-I should probably get back to the palace. Raydir was still asleep when I left this morning and he—”

“I saw him at the palace this morning,” she informed me. “He was in the studio and looked right at home.”

“Oh. Good.” I tucked my hair behind my ears and followed her back into the afternoon light.

My mother walked with grace and elegance along the cobblestones. She stopped in front of one of the street carts and I couldn’t help but smile. The sweet aroma of cinnamon and chocolate wafted to my nostrils.

“Pastry?” she offered after handing over a few coins to the vendor. “This used to be your favorite when you were little.”

I laughed. “You never let us have them. Said they would spoil our dinner.”

“And then your father would go behind my back and buy them for you anyway.” The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile. “You have his sense of humor, you know. And his kindness. His heart.”

“I wish we could stay,” I said. The wax paper around the pastry crinkled as my fingers tightened around it. “There’s so much I wish I could’ve done before I left.”

“But you’ve started to build your own life out there. You would’ve done the same had you stayed, only it would’ve been with someone you didn’t want to be with.” She sighed and took my hand as we sat down on a bench. “Fate is a funny thing. We think it’s something that chooses our own path for us, but in some ways, it helps us forge our own path.”

“How do you mean?”

“Fate is what brought Raydir into your life. Fate allowed that friendship to blossom into a romance.” She rested her hand on mine. “And fate is what gave you the courage to make your own choices.”

I looked out into the distance. She made a good point. Our society had relied on the power of the fates for so long we hadn’t realized that it no longer was the fates making the decisions.

Or was it ever?