Weddings in this world were, generally, private affairs done at home or within the family. They did not happen at the Church, although the married couple were supposed to update their official identification with the new details when possible.
As such, the royal wedding was not going to be at the capital’s Church, but at the palace. The main event was fairly private and was going to take place in the throne room, including the unveiling of the queen’s throne and new crowns. Various important people would be in attendance, but it was surprisingly still a simple and relatively private affair.
The announcement to the public which followed was not going to be private whatsoever. Like my coronation, there would be a public announcement and then celebration for the crowning of the new queen, and then basically a parade which led through the capital. In the past, the royal couple would have been carried in a palanquin-style sedan, and carried by soldiers.
Fortunately, having revolutionized wagon technology and integrated tarand use into the public consciousness, I no longer needed a constantly rotating staff of soldiers to lug us through all the streets of the capital. I had commissioned a custom, stunning carriage which was going to be drawn by my mystic tarand Horsey.
Of course, I was also trying to popularize carriages to create sales for the local Tamers Guild, so my motivations were not entirely pure.
The throne room, normally overly ornate and verging on garish, was now filled with seating, bundles of flowers, and draped soft fabrics which warmed the space and gave it much more of a wedding venue feel, in part at my suggestions based on weddings I had attended on Earth. I had no problem borrowing from traditional Earth wedding ceremonies for my own, especially absent any religious overtones. Seranedra had been happy to agree to a slightly more elaborate wedding for the private portion, and had really taken to the decor during the set-up.
“It’s so lovely,” she said, studying the throne room as it was nearly ready for the wedding on the next day. “Oh, your throne is gone.”
“Yeah. I never liked that throne, so I’m repurposing the gold and having a nicer pair of matching thrones made for us.”
Seranedra gave me a small smile, some nerves about becoming queen still visible on her face, so I took her hand and gave it a small squeeze.
“It’ll be fine. We’ve got great people helping us at every step, and with no war on the horizon, all we need to focus on is building up the Kingdom and the people who live in it.”
I got a small nod in response, and Seranedra sighed as she turned her attention back to the decor. “I really need to thank Nodel again for all this.”
Once Nodel had accepted my courtship with Seranedra, she did a full turnaround and became our greatest supporter, pouring her attention into organizing the capital’s celebrations and doing everything needed to ensure the private ceremony would be superb. She had leapt at the opportunity to turn some of my absent-minded thoughts about weddings into a reality, and the throne room’s current state was largely thanks to her.
I kissed Seranedra on the cheek and nodded. “Actually, you should go speak to her now. She should have a few last surprises for you,” I said, thinking about the conversation we had last week about a bridal gown. Nodel should be ready to arrange the final fitting for that and surprise my soon to be wife.
Curious and excited, she ran to find my lead advisor, and I smiled as I watched her rush off.
“Nodel really outdid herself,” Atlessoa said, appearing beside me.
“She sure did. How’s it going on your end?”
“We stopped a small group that might have attacked the wedding procession in the south part of the city, and have our eyes on a few other rabble rousers who have only spoken out but not actually taken any actions. We also have eyes on one priest from the local Church who is in love with Seranedra, and had hoped her marriage would fall through after Rugnor’s death, who seems to despise you for taking her from him, but he seems harmless.”
“Thanks. You’ll keep to the roofs along the way, looking for marksmen?”
“Already told you three times that I would, Pilus.”
I winced. “Sorry. I know. Just worried.”
Atlessoa gave me a sisterly hug, patting me on the back. “Don’t be. You’ll be inside the carriage, you’re going to have a barrier up anyway, and short of an instant kill–”
“Don’t even joke.”
“I’m not. Nothing’s going to happen, but even if it did, you’ll heal her and it will be fine.”
My mind flickered back to Damir, the young soldier who might have disagreed, if he was still alive to do so.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
I sighed. “I’ll still feel better when it’s all over.”
Atlessoa released me and stepped back, grinning. “I’ve got you covered. Try to enjoy yourself.”
Slinking back into the shadows and disappearing, my spymaster left me alone in the throne room turned wedding venue. I took one more look around the room, nodded, and headed out the door to find something to do until the following day finally arrived.
* * *
Standing at the front of the throne room before an elaborate curtain, eagerly waiting for the door to open and reveal my bride, I looked out at the friends and family gathered to celebrate our day with us.
On one side of the throne room, I saw Horg and Sharma, smiling and also trying to keep my siblings Mari and Varus from wiggling in their chairs too much. Opposite the aisle, Seranedra’s parents sat, with the kindly old man who I knew to be Seranedra’s grandfather, having met with him a few times in our work to improve the Churches across the Kingdom. Seranedra’s younger brother, a man closer to my biological age, glared at me from beside his mother. I had learned he was a bit protective and was not thrilled at our marriage, particularly with all the fuss around Rugnor, but I knew it was mostly because he worried for his older sister, so I did not hold it against him.
There were some other members of the Church as well as people from the palace, Kingdom officials and other important people involved in the work done in the capital. I noticed Nodel sitting with Morgun, the advisor who was helping with the Adventurers Guild, and spotted Leiren, who was curiously sitting with Regan, who had done phenomenal work with the army so far adapting his swordsmanship for tarandback use. Gorban and Shirel were present, and of course so were all my friends who had traveled from Freehold. Atlessoa, in rare form, was also visible and dressed up, instead of hiding in illusion and shadows. I grinned at her, and she gave me a wide grin in return.
My attention was pulled to the throne room doors as they opened, and revealed the form of Seranedra as she began walking down the aisle.
Everything else in the room melted away. She was a vision of loveliness, and the dress that Nodel had arranged was perfect, beautifully tailored with white lace and sheer gossamer. Unlike the first time we met, when she was wearing a veil, Seranedra’s face was uncovered, the bridal veil symbolism having no particular place in this world. Instead she wore a big smile, her eyes shimmering with the threat of spilling tears of joy.
Joining me at the front of the room, I took her hands in mine. It was just the two of us standing up there. There was no priest officiating and no rings to exchange, though she wore the one I had gifted her to begin our formal courtship. All a wedding required was a public commitment and declaration to those in our lives.
“Seranedra, be my wife,” I spoke to her, giving her hands a gentle squeeze.
“Pilus, be my husband,” she replied, looking up at me.
I lowered my head as she lifted hers, and we shared a kiss to signify the bond before our friends and family, who began to clap and cheer.
The way I understand it, in a normal marriage, I would then announce her to be Seranedra Piluswif, and we would have a simple celebration, but given the position I held, we had some slight variance from the norm.
Two soldiers selected for the role—one of which was Ben, who had continued to serve the Kingdom well since witnessing my takeover—stepped forward, and removed the curtain behind us, revealing our new thrones.
Unlike the garish, golden seat I had needed to sit on when I first took the role, our new thrones were much more refined. They were both dark stained polished hardwood, with some complex gold patterns inlaid in the wood. I had done the goldwork myself, allowing for an incredibly detailed and delicate inlay, as my magic allowed me to work with the perfectly malleable gold without rendering it molten and burning the wood, or hammering it in and damaging the expert woodworking.
The real highlight of the new thrones was that the seat and back were upholstered with incredibly expensive fabric, the closest thing I could find to velvet in this world. The upholstered parts were cushioned, stuffed with down from the evolved form of the waterfowl the Tamers Guild kept for eggs, longneck blueflits, so the thrones would be comfortable as well as beautiful.
Sitting between the thrones was a small table with our two crowns. Seranedra’s was a delicate construction of yellow gold, like her ring, studded with matching green garnets. My crown was a bit more pronounced, made of yellow gold to match—though I would have preferred a whiter metal otherwise—and inset with sapphires, a blue which matched my own eyes.
I picked up my new crown, and set it on my own head, and then crowned Seranedra with hers, before we sat in our thrones. The crier selected to have the honor stepped forward from the side of the room to declare us.
“I give you: King Pilus Horuth and Queen Seranedra Horuth!”
Our audience stood and applauded us once more, and I looked over to see Seranedra smiling back at me. I reached over and squeezed her hand.
After the private ceremony, we left our friends and family to celebrate and eat while we were announced to the public in the same place I had been publicly crowned the year before. Cheers and celebration began throughout the capital, and we moved from that to the carriage I had prepared for us to be paraded through the city. Horsey drew us along the streets, where we waved out to the capital citizens who were out in the streets enjoying the new holiday.
As Atlessoa had promised would be the case, nothing bad happened. If her spies had even needed to step in and stop anything, I never noticed. The parade was slow and took much of the day, but as leaders of the Kingdom, our wedding was as much for the people as for ourselves. By the time we finally returned to the castle, the private celebrations had wound down as well.
With the busy wedding day coming to an end, we finally got a chance to sit down and eat something. We chatted a bit with the few friends and family members who stayed behind until night fell and the last people departed, leaving just the two of us. Through a haze of nervous excitement, we made our way from the throne room to the royal bedroom.
The door clicked shut behind us. I turned to look at Seranedra, who was blushing furiously as she looked up at me with half-lidded eyes. Butterflies exploded in my stomach from her gaze, and I took a breath as I stepped towards her and took her into my arms. My heart thudded as she squeezed me back, and we kissed as we stumbled our way further into the room.
“I love you, Sera.”
“I love you too.”