The Tianci Dominion provided the rings.

Afterall, all parties in an exchange had to provide something.

From within the small, bone white plaster case the size of Prince Zai’s palm comes just a small pair of shapes. Deep black, darker than night and deeper than the depths of a vast ocean; the two tiny monsters were anathema to existence itself.

No precious jewels or gems, no silver or platinum from a land once cursed. From Tianci, comes the most dangerous and powerful substance known to all humanity. A single gram capable of unthinkable atrocities, yet here the solidified lifeblood of the ancient ones were folded, carefully shaped into these tiny little trinkets.

The Fourth Princess watched as the Prince carefully removed the pair of arcanite rings, holding her breath as he gently took her left hand into his grasp (there she was, Sophia the deflowered); and slid onto her ring finger perhaps the most expensive piece of jewelry ever worn by a heir of the Silver Throne.

Loose fitting and freezing cold, like placing ice on bare skin Sophia almost recoils at the feeling. Like some awful thing trapped within trying to grasp onto her, she tries not to yelp as all of a sudden it takes shape with a heart stopping snap.

And just as some parasitic animal to a new host it flushes with her skin, matching her temperature with imperceptible perfection. A part of her body as if it never existed yet was still subtly there. Its black shape glanced in the peripheries of vision, pseudo metal digging into her flesh as she moves; a constant reminder to both the world and herself that she was now part of a union of two.

There’s a longing look in the Prince’s face as Sopha takes the other ring from the box, quietly slipping it onto his ring finger. Something breaking within him; like an awry iceberg, parts of him slowly were drifting into unsalvageable pieces.

Hatred? No, that would be too obvious, and he couldn’t bring himself to it.

Sophia reads that emotion as they make that subtle eye contact, just beneath the surface of his face was brewing something more than a simple foil:

Defeat.

In the moment that ring was placed on his finger it was over; Prince Zai had lost.

That same expression as every guest came forth to list their gifts to the new couple, each one standing at the foot of the ceremonial stand like worshippers to a demanding god.

Naomi bows as she gives hers, unsheathing the lethal curved blade with both her hands. Bone white and thin to cut through gaps in ceramic armor; the treated edge catching the sun shifting through stained glass. “I present to you, Sophia Elise, a Cavalry Sword from ceramo-smith Master Centralan of Nova, Quadruple treated. May this weapon forged for battle be used for peace; may it symbolize the unity and strength of your bond -- to our Imperium and Dominion.”

Typical of her, everything came down to either cutting or shooting things.

Natan carefully opens his offering, the bulky string instrument held with its case revealed like some sort of artifact from ages prior. Bowed with four beautiful strings, its luxurious cedar wood was varnished with wax that seemed to blend into the light. “I present to you, Sophia Elise, a Barchmein Cello. May it give you your rhythm that defines your journey together, and may the music remind you of better times.”

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At least he remembered the only instrument she liked to play… sometimes.

Beatrice lugs the heavy case with such casualness the entire cathedral echoes with the clinking of glass bottles, enough of a weight that a few gasps are made as she accidentally drops the thing on the ground. “To my dearest Sophia; I give you the perfumes and scents from across the Imperium. May its fragrances carry the essence of home, to remind all surrounding you of where you came from.”

Assuming she even had a chance to wear any of it, though certainly if it includes a few sets of lavender or camellia she’d be quite happy.

Alice, the smallest and most timid now, holds back tears as she stands in front of the two completely empty handed. “Sophia, I wanna give you something very special…”

A small silence as she points over to the far rear corner of the cathedral, all guests and participants immediately spotting the strange, camouflage netting covered crate currently sitting out of place like a circus clown in the middle of a formal ball. A square coffin of pine planks, the thing was palletized in the Imperial Military Standard measurements; unadorned in a shroud of mystery to its official contents.

They all exchange worried glances.

The youngest sister quickly takes out a strip of paper from one of her dresses’ shallow pockets, coughing as she lets a few tears drip from her eyes. She reads from the text. “Sophia, I’m giving you a Type Six, Hundred Watt Modification Control Point Command Radio Transceiver Kit. So you can call us whenever you miss us.”

[In a popular survey done thirty three years later for Noé Tianci’s wedding, this present given by Alice Elise the Third was rated the best item ever gifted in the history of royal weddings by a staggering 75% majority.]

Sophia watched as Prince Zai’s own collection of two items were presented solemnly, like some half-hearted funeral procession. A tattered holy book from his Father, nothing from the Guardsman, and a small gold pocket watch from the Ambassador.

How in his silent contemplation and grace, he let no expression cross his already stricken face. How that singular, wordless glance towards her, Sophia felt the strangest bequest come from his soul.

Sophia, I ask just one thing from you. Please don’t kill me.

Strange, that she felt that from him.

And now, from the soft blue glow coming from the far window of her room, she stared at the ring upon the fourth finger of her left hand; contemplating the path her life would take.

Tomorrow, she would leave for Tianci as part of this emergency measure. Tomorrow, she and this prince would whisked away upon an aerostatic flight to a country she knew nothing about; whose language she could not read, whose beds she had never slept on, and whose food she only tasted on inauthentic occasions.

Tomorrow, everything would change.

But tonight, she was alone in her room; with nothing but the light of Unudo and piles upon piles of half-read penny novels.

She couldn’t take all of them with her, not with the restrictions and tight deadline of cargo inspections (no doubt implemented after prior events).

How tragic to leave them all here, their stories unfinished. She thought to herself, wondering if ever she could return and finally consume these towering stacks of smut and cheap romance to completion. Well… make the most of it anyway Sophia. This could be your last chance to do this.

And so, the fourth princess of the Ensolian Imperium stops; taking a secret stash of stale donuts from a drawer and a capped glass bottle of seltzer soda to her bed, opens a half-unread novel with a drawn cover of some bare, muscular chested, half naked couple covered by satin sheeting, and reads.

And reads.

And reads until the suns rise from the horizon.