“Selina, the Goddess of the Sun, is worshipped by the Humans and a small population of High Elves. Many believe that the Gods and Goddesses are the ones that give magical powers to mortal beings, but some research has shown that knowledge of magic precedes the worship of the Pantheon. Correlation, or causation, it is up to an individual’s preference.
…
Nevertheless, the Human marriage ceremonies are often conducted in places of worship, where future spouses vow for loyalty towards one another. The exact vows differ between the Kingdoms, and the social circles, but apparently “until Death do us part” is a common occurrence.”
–Races of our World, multiple authors, 560 AS
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“He is late.” My words echoed around the room I’m sitting in, surrounded by a small entourage of ladies-in-waiting. The ceremony should have started an hour ago already. I simply sat there all dressed up, everyone around me running in circles trying to make everything on me perfect, and my future husband was late.
“Have you expected anything different from a Demon, milady? You can’t possibly think that savages they are would have a way to keep time correctly?” I was inclined to agree with Melinda’s words. This wedding should have never even happened, but alas, now we were at the Great Church of Light, where every royal wedding in the past century, or even more, was performed, waiting on my Demon husband to come and 'grace us with his presence' as his pompous self would probably put it. 'UGH! Fucking Demons! Rot in the Underworld all of you!'
The door to the bride’s chambers opens and a guard announces, “Your grace, His Highness has sent for you, it seems the Demon has arrived.”
'So now they even expect me to wait for him at the Altar? This is ridiculous!' I had tried to think of something to say, stop everything, but was left with nothing in particular. I had to go to the wedding eventually, but I'd be damned if I waited for him.
“We will be coming down after my future husband has announced himself.” The guard nodded, well, as much as you could nod below a full armour and a helmet, and left the four of us in the room. The sullen atmosphere quickly returned.
“What do you think he’ll look like, milady? Everybody has said he’s older than you are, but nobody mentioned exactly how much.” My ladies had got chatty these past few days, with rumours going around the Palace of how my future husband looked like. It only hammered in the realisation that all of this was actually going to happen and that I hadn't been dreaming for the past few months.
“Why does it ever matter? I have to marry him whether he’s twenty or sixty, it doesn’t make a difference, and I’ll hate him and his kind either way.” I honestly hoped he was at least not an old man. There was only so much malice I could take from all of them, my family and the Demons. I did try to picture him at least. I imagined him as one of those Human-like Demons whose pictures we’ve seen from soldiers who had lived through battles. I had shuddered at the mere thought of having to stand next to some three-headed terror some other people have told stories about. 'That would be dreadful. And Selina help me, I hope he doesn’t stink. I’ve heard that all Demons stink. Why do they have to stink? Is it the smell of blood, magic, or do they just simply, stink?'
As soon as I delved deeper in thoughts, the murmur on the outside of my room, or possibly in the entire Church, went silent. It would appear something really good, or something really bad has happened. 'I guess my wedding is about to begin.'
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About 1 hour earlier
“You have told me to dress formal, Human. This is formal attire. Ceremonial armour, the Cup of Blood, and the Sword of Offering." I traced my hands across my body in an almost futile attempt to show these Humans of my civility in these matters. I cared little for what they thought I was to wear at a wedding, some traditions had to be taken seriously.
"This is how we do our weddings, if you wanted something different, someone should’ve said so in one of many letters exchanged in the recent months.” I probably wouldn't have listened even if they had sent a list. They had no right to change any of these customs, and they had to know it. We had already given them much leeway in these matters.
“My… Lord, it is not customary for the groom to wield his sword at a wedding. The armour will have to pass, but we must ask for the sword to stay with your carriage.” The tiny Human in front of me tried to persuade me to leave the sword behind, a couple of times already at that matter. It was seriously rather concerning as to how their weddings went about. It would seem they had no fun or manners at all.
“But how will I kill the Sacrificial Hellboar? Let me speak to whoever is in charge of this charade and we’ll reach a conclusion, I will not be held back by simple servants.” I wondered if I could’ve made him piss himself with a bit of magic in my voice. That would be a nice experiment to conduct for the future unless I forget to take it up to Kozzok. He always managed daily affairs; I don’t know how I’d live without him. The servant went into an adjacent room and I could hear some rustle and murmur. Whatever happened in there, someone was not happy as the servant came back out.
“Follow me, please. His Highness is eager to meet you.” Well, I got the point across; the old man himself wanted to meet the lowly me.'What did they call him, the Great Lion of the West or something? It wouldn’t be a surprise if he named himself just to boost his ego. Great Lion. Heh.'
I had to admit, I did not expect them to have such a good sense of architecture. Their forts seemed malleable, ugly, and weak, but the ‘Great Church’, if that was the correct name for this establishment, looked decent, even the lighting throughout the building was gentle on the eyes.
“Is the warding charm working well, Kozzok?” I’ve had to make him a Ward. Shadowlings did not handle light magic well, and this place appeared to ooze it in excess. Even I was a bit flabbergasted when I learned of this fact. 'What can generate so much light magic? They could’ve used this in the War.'
“Yes, my Lord, thank you for making it for this lowly servant.” Kozzok always used the formal tone in front of strangers, it made me uncomfortable at times. We both knew that this wasn't the exact nature of our mutual relationship, but Humans probably couldn't come to terms with that anyway.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Nonsense, if anyone were to be at my wedding, it would be you. Besides, you probably know more about Humans than I have learned; I can use the guidance as usual.” That part was true, his knowledge at times seemed to go well above and beyond what I could grasp. Him being at my side for a good portion of his life, and also mostly shadowing me during my daily affairs, had left him with what I would guess to be a decent understanding of how Humans worked.
"Very well, my Lord.” With that short exchange, we reached a heavily guarded room.
'The King must be the other side. Well, time to meet my father-in-law.'
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'This fool thinks he can play with us in the centre of our own Kingdom? He comes here and demands to wield a sword at a wedding! Ever since the first Kings, the royal weddings have been conducted with the groom wielding no weapons, and this pompous prick comes and tries to go against everything we have done so far? He’s even talking about killing something! What kind of savages are they?'
I had to calm down, he’s probably trying to rile us up and break us apart, something typical of a Demon to attempt. It would seem warfare seeped into every corner of their barbaric 'culture' if they had any. I was giving my sister away to one of them, and a wedding was a day for everyone to remember, for better or worse. It would've been best if certain appearances were kept.
“The Demon is coming with a single servant.” I nodded at that and proceeded to tell the guards to let them in. The guards were hardly necessary; I’ve fought Demons before and won, so if anything should happen, I still had the upper hand. I did not think it would actually come to that, but it was easier to just be prepared for it than not be prepared at all.
The doors opened and the entire room heated up as they entered. I had to admit, he did look menacing, for a lack of a better word. None of the words I had in mind implied anything good, and that did not console me in the slightest. Although that could just be the armour. Two large horns, a tail, and what looked like hooves adorned my future brother-in-law. The only features the helmet revealed were the red skin and two completely black eyes, like all the light in the world is not enough to fill them. They gave me the creeps. The red armour and the sword look ready for combat, the heavy plating on all possible sides clattering as he walked. The sword was adorned with magic gems. 'Did he call this ceremonial?'
The Demon behind him was similar, but only with a sullen and old but dignified look, with no visible armour, wearing simple black clothes instead. He looked almost identical to what our old head butler Kraig looked like, Demonic addons notwithstanding. Even the skin colour was not that far off, with only a hint of grey. His hooves were cloven, his gait noticeably quieter.
“Greetings, I am Renald Leonia, the First Prince of the Kingdom of Leonia. As we’re both royalty let us put our servants aside for now and converse between each other. We’ve been expecting you, Lord… Cerolus, I presume?” I started the introductions, although he was our guest. Hopefully, I threw him off with my ‘humility’, but I doubted they knew of the concept in the first place.
“Ah, yes, my name is Cerolus Kreshorok, currently tenth in line to the throne of Dralarag. I have accepted for the ceremony to be held at your Church by your tradition and will remove my helmet after we approach the Altar, however, I must ask that I keep my sword and conduct the Sacrifice myself, as is our tradition.” His pearl-white teeth contrasted the black eyes, only adding to the eerie of his appearance.
'What is this sacrifice he’s talking about? I haven’t heard anything about that in any of the reports coming. This should’ve been mentioned.' He appeared to wander at my confused look but didn’t look fazed. It was hard to determine what he was thinking by looking at his face. The helmet covered most of it, and the Demon himself seemed well poised in muting his expressions. At that moment his servant whispered something to the Demon, after which he gained an almost humane look.
“It would seem you don’t conduct the Sacrifice in your culture. It is understandable. Allow me to explain it then.” With those words, he took the sword from the sheath. My guards immediately responded with theirs, a completely unnecessary action on their part; if he was actually trying to kill me, he’d be a lot more direct and vocal about it.
“…Easy there, boys. I don’t bear ill intent. The sword is used to kill a sacrificial Hellboar, one of our delicacies back home. The beast is completely restrained, and once beheaded the groom will pull its heart out and fill the Cup of Blood. The bride then drinks from the Cup, ensuring a long-lasting marriage. From what we’ve seen, there is no danger to a Human drinking Hellboar blood so there is no need to be alarmed.”
'He seriously expects us to comply with THAT? Animal sacrifice? Drinking blood? Ceremonial swords? What kind of madness do they do in their Gods-forsaken country?' I was awed by the simple fact that my father actually agreed to all of this nonsense.
“I seem to notice a bit of apprehension on your face." The Demon loosened his grip on the sword, the slab of metal now resting on the floor, adding small cuts to the marble. He spoke almost softly, his pronunciation of our language mostly on point, but some words were intoned incorrectly, adding a roughness to them. "Some disgust, too. You must think of us as savage with our ceremony. Well, we are perplexed with you in some areas as well. We have upheld our end of the bargain, and have agreed to hold the ceremony here. I only ask for this in return. The Sacrifice will, of course, be prepared for the meal after the ceremony. It is a delicacy, and you will surely enjoy tasting it.”
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'They didn’t even send the King to meet me. Oh well.' I didn't let this small insult go far. Maybe they didn't even consider it an insult at all. It was amusing to think of the possibilities, being on a political battlefield rather than a weaponised one.
The first Prince did seem to be an intelligent man, and capable enough to possibly lead a country in the future. The Young Lion was what they called him if I recalled correctly. His hair did have the appearance of a golden-brown mane, I could attest to that much. His blue eyes were attractive, and his sharp facial features greatly helped. A young man in his twenties, I could almost bet he got a lot of company at night. 'It’s been way too long since I’ve had the company of a man.' I had realised I digressed a lot with the latest thoughts, and needed to get back to our current business.
“What do you say, Your Highness? Will you appease our act of selfishness this once and allow us to give you a glimpse of our ‘savage’ culture?” I could hear his teeth grind at the remark. At times, a peer into a mind of a lesser being was a wonderful talent I was given. I was usually against using it, as those more trained and inclined to such measures could easily detect my tampering, but what one doesn’t know cannot hurt him. 'Well, that is completely wrong, but the saying is quite amusing to hear.'
“Very well, we will allow you to keep the weapon and do the… Sacrifice. I am looking forward to seeing it. Now, shall we go? Everybody’s eager to finally meet you, especially my dear sister.” A badly crafted lie at best, but it would have to do. There wasn't really a way around that, I certainly wouldn't give in to the demands, and they needed to have the wedding go without a hitch.
In the end, everybody would stay alive and well. Well, except for the Hellboar. I adored eating Hellboar.