Even with some professional direction on how to handle them, Rene still had migraines. Granted, they weren’t as frequent and they were easier to work through now—she only had one or two each month that she had to rest for—so it mostly helped. She still didn’t know if her mixed blood was really the full reason, but if nothing else it negated the side effects somewhat. Made it easier to forget she ever left San Asari—and honestly, if it wasn’t for the cut, she probably would have forgotten by now.
True to his word, Rene didn’t even see Lord Dazuz during the arts festival in October or the new year celebration. She noticed Elina and Leo at the former, but if they saw her they chose not to interact for once. She didn’t bother sending any kind of announcement on the wedding date or an invitation—Adelinde didn’t even ask her to, considering the circumstances. She looked forward to being officially done with the Dazuz family as a whole.
She couldn’t tell if the wedding day came too quickly or too slowly—it almost depended on the day. Still, just waking up that morning and remembering the date was enough to encourage or to sit up and get ready. She didn’t have a migraine, either, to her relief.
They had a plan thought out prior—basically, everyone would eat breakfast as per usual, then go back to their respective rooms to change into whatever they were wearing before heading to the conservatory. Mark and Matteo left first to start setting up, while Rene joined them after making sure she looked more presentable than usual and helped. Most of the guests made small adjustments or suggestions—a majority of them being Mark or Adelinde’s friends, with three being coworkers Rene managed to befriend despite irregular work schedules—up until one announced that Adelinde was ready and everyone took their respective places.
The ceremony itself—short and sweet by both women’s request—went well, and following that was lunch. Most of the conversation centered around Rene and Adelinde—if they had any plans to travel away for a bit, how they settled things with Matteo, a few praising Adelinde for taking that step and musing on how much she’s changed since meeting Rene. The people were nothing if not friendly; Rene didn’t think that would have happened if she had invited the Dazuz family and they came.
…
They had enough time after coming back to the palace to move Rene’s things into Adelinde’s room, but ultimately they laid down on her bed and just…talked.
“I still don’t think I can thank you enough.”
Rene laughed and leaned over to offer a kiss.
“You keep taking my line.”
Adelinde smiled. “Sorry. It’s just…very easy to call you one of the most influential people in my life, especially considering how much change I’ve gone through in these past three years.”
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“I can say the same for you,” Rene reasoned. “I never thought a second love would be an option for me; in the worst case scenario and everything involving the Dazuz family went to hell, I’d see if Hannah still happened to be around Sólstaður. I don’t know if she’d have been okay with me showing up—if she would’ve moved on to the point of being with someone else—but I would’ve tried.”
“My alternative wouldn’t even have that possibility,” Adelinde mused. She moved a bit closer, letting her head rest near Rene’s. “I’d have kept the door locked; I would’ve gone outside with Matteo just to feign normalcy, for the most part. I’d talk to Matteo, maybe Mark, and that’s it; I wouldn’t have really been there for him at all, just pretending to be. With some extra motivation I might have improved, but it would have taken longer.”
“I’m glad to have helped you, at least. Neither of us have to worry about the ‘what ifs’ or backup plans anymore.”
“True. With any amount of luck, we never will.”
They fell into silence for a little bit, Rene appreciated how close Adelinde was to her. She didn’t think either one could have imagined being in such a relationship again. That earliest feeling of joy and her stupid smile were still there. She loved having that chance to just…have her own space, even if she shared it with someone else—she enjoyed knowing where her place was and happily taking it.
Adelinde spoke up after a minute or two.
“There are still some things we need to get out of the way,” she said. “Moving some of your stuff around, for one.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” Rene replied. A bit jokingly, she added, “I’m going to have a hard time getting up for dinner at this point.”
“The room in general is likely due to be rearranged again,” Adelinde mused, slightly looking around without actually moving much. “It wouldn’t hurt to clean through some of my older things as well; we could just set aside a morning or afternoon.”
She pause for a moment, then cast Rene a smile.
“Or maybe we could spend that time wandering around San Asari. Mark is officially king now; as long as we’re within an hour or so of the city for when Matteo needs to be here, we don’t have to stay at the palace.”
“Would you be comfortable with that?” Rene asked. She hadn’t really thought of the idea—then again, for the past few months she’s been working on a policy of ‘wedding first, everything else later.’
“I wouldn’t suggest it if I wasn’t,” Adelinde pointed out lightly. “If nothing else it can give us more privacy; we could reasonably send Matteo to spend a few days with Mark every now and then, then we won’t have to rely on the conservatory always being empty. It’s something to consider, if nothing else.”
“It is,” Rene agreed.
Another few moments of silence fell before another conversation came up, partly pointless and partly flirting with a small portion of looking towards the future. That lasted until dinner, after which Matteo requested that all four of them go out to the look at the sakura trees. No one protested, and they stayed out until Matteo drifted off into sleep.
That first official night with Adelinde made her realize and be grateful for that early feeling of euphoria still being there.