So much fuzzing and buzzing and all the other words with a ‘zz’ in the middle. Seriously, the moment I was forced to stand up by Mary, it all started. At first, I needed to get clean as fast as possible. Yeah, these unholy maids tried to bathe me! And at least Mary stepped in, I could only tremble in fear as they dragged me to the bathroom.
Afterwards, though, I was allowed to do it myself, which was a lot easier. I only had to dip my hair into water, shake myself like a dog, and wipe my body once and then, I was clean. Satisfied, I stepped into the anteroom afterwards as I was presented with another problem. To run, or not to run?
I knew the maids waited outside for me, but if I could time it correctly … no, I needed a diversion. Maybe I could break the little window in the bathroom and hide under the small bench afterwards to escape while they entered the bathroom … I wouldn’t come far.
In horror, I looked at the corset which I knew would feel uncomfortable. Still, I made the decision to marry myself into the royal family, and a pitiful corset wouldn’t stop me!
Knocking against the door, I let the maids inside and regretted my decision immediately. Three maids stepped into the room and eyed everything closely, suspicious if I went into the bathtub in the first place.
“Please, this is a bit embarrassing. If we could get over it fast …” That seemed to do the trick as the three maids helped me get into the corset which felt really restrictive. Sure, somehow I could manage to fight in this thing, but still. I just couldn’t understand how I needed to look a bit thinner if my dress would hide most in the first place. As they finished robbing me of my breath, they simply put a large night gown on me and let me escape towards my bedroom where I directly hid under the sheets.
“Honey, are you here?” Mary asked after several minutes of silence.
“No.” I muttered under the sheets.
“I see.” She said shortly afterwards. I could hear her steps getting closer until she sat down on the edge of the bed. “Why are hiding?”
“This is the last day we can spend together and I am wasting it …”
“Honey, I am sure we have time after you …” turn Tom into a vampire? Yeah, that would be nice, but I honestly doubted it.
“I don’t think the gods are so friendly to let me have that.”
“Hmm … how about this? Well, do every bit of preparation together?”
“That would be … better.” It was certainly not great, but still miles better than having a thousand maids fuss around me. And so, I didn´t resist as she gently pulled the blanket off me and took my hand to make me sit upright. “When do we need to start?” Please, not too early.
“We have twelve o´clock … so now?” I exhaled loudly but stood up from the bed nonetheless. Shortly afterwards, we were already in a room with a few dressing tables. Sitting down in front of one, two maids started to make my nails all glittery … I hated it. At least I could argue for my feet to be saved from the same trauma, which made it slightly more bearable. Afterwards, they did my hair similarly to the party before, but they somehow made it even more blonde than it was that day.
And the makeup wasn’t any better. For starters, they just applied it on my neckline which would be visible beneath the dress.
Afterwards came the completely white socks, my undergarments and then … the shoes. The goddamn shoes I chose for myself to make certain parts less awkward, which meant a seven-centimetre heel and a not so small platform either.
“Thanks, I hate it.” I said as the maids left the room to get the next pieces for me and Mary while walking around the room slowly. Unsurprisingly, walking in these things was difficult, but I had time practising in the past.
I was just walking back towards the door as it opened, revealing this monstrosity of a wedding dress.
White. That was probably the worst thing, but the silvery yarn sowed into it wasn’t much better. At least the blue hue in certain parts wasn’t as bad as I expected, especially because it had the potential to distract everyone from the whiteness.
It didn´t start off great as I stared at that thing, and it went downhill from there. Getting into it was a mystery in itself. It took us two hours to make it fit properly in which my patience was running thinner and thinner, especially after Mary already finished with hers and helped fuss around me.
At last, though, I finally managed to wear it a second time in two days, even though I was much more depressed than the first time. Looking into the mirror, I saw me … or whatever was left of me. The dress went onto the ground at the front, was ornamented with barely visible symbols of peace and whatnot. At least it went up to my throat, covering most of my neckline completely, if not for the little gaps in the silk showing my skin.
Sighing, I looked further down and even though the seamstress used the finest yarn there was, I couldn´t look at it any differently than worthless, smooth, trash.
“Okay, okay. Lucy, calm down. We are barely done…” I muttered and looked behind me. This dress was way too long. It reached to the ground and had a further metre to spare. I knew it looked like I was dragging a shitty circular carpet behind me, no matter what others would claim. “how long?” I asked Mary, my breath accelerating quite a bit.
“We need to get going in around an hour.” So I had to wear this thing for … at least an hour? And we weren’t even done yet. As I sat on the chair again, the ‘carpet’ laying down to my side, the maids were fussing around again. First my hair once more, then they applied makeup to my whole face, reducing my skin tone from deathly pale, to pale.
Last but not least was the veil … I really abhorred that day. It was secured to my hair and extended even further than the carpet behind me as I stood up and walked a few steps.
“How do I look, mum?” I asked as she kept staring and staring.
“Beautiful. So the next half an hour, you will need to wait.” Wait for what? Couldn’t we just play a few games again?
“Wait?” I asked, hoping it was for an entirely different reason than expected.
“Yeah, don’t move.” She said, destroying every hope I had. She just didn´t want the dress to be messed up by me. And so I stood there, counting numbers in my head for every second. Around the time the bells began to ring rhythmically, Mary took my hand and guided me out of the room while the maids lifted up the carpet and the veil.
As a group, we walked down the stairs while all the servants waited in the foyer, staring at me. I knew I was ugly in this, but they had to make it obvious. Gritting my teeth, but also smiling brightly, we strode past them out into the front yard, only to board the carriage waiting there. The maids lifting up the carpet would stay behind and … I don’t know, drink alcohol? I really wished I had alcohol at that moment.
“Are you alright?” Mary asked, slightly concerned about my expression.
“Yeah … I can wear something else after the ceremony, right?” I asked hopefully.
“Surely.” It seems I lucked out there. It wouldn’t be much longer, and I could wear something less … carpet-like. Looking out of the window, I noticed how the forest turned into an endless stream of noble houses. We didn´t talk much during our travel, mostly because I was not really in any condition to hold a nice conversation. Our destination was naturally the largest cathedral in the capital city, built by most of the churches together as a place for really important events. And one of them was naturally my wedding. I mean, I was there, so it could only be important.
Stepping out of the carriage right in front of this massive cathedral onto a red carpet, I followed after Mary who hurried up ahead, only to nod towards the king who stood in front of the tall, doors that closed behind Mary.
“Greetings.” I said and looked at Alphonso in envy. His clothing was mostly black with a lot of golden stripes, but he also had a ceremonial sword at his hips. Why couldn’t I have a sword? I would love to carry a broadsword into that church!
“My dear, you look stunning.” He said, even though I could see he felt absolutely no love towards me. He saw me as a tool, but so did I see him.
“You don’t look half bad either, my beloved fiancé.” I said and smiled wryly.
“Thank you … can I ask you a question? Why are you marrying me?”
“If I can save the life of one person with an action, I will always do it.” I said quietly and took the bouquet of flowers he handed me. It was made largely out of blue flowers which looked similar to roses. And their scent … they smelled like the forest as I held them close to my nose.
“That would explain why you want to be the first queen as well … you know my other wives won´t like this development?” I knew it. I just didn´t give a fuck.
“I know.” I stated and noticed how the bells stopped ringing. “Shall we?” I asked and listened to the chorus inside. They were singing a song about the gods, which made me wonder how much worse this day could get. Holding the flower bouquet in front of me, we followed Pope Dustin who waited in the middle of the nave. Together, we walked past rows of peasants at first who excelled at reconstructing the eastern slums of helped me in other ways, then citizens, especially those who worked close to the orphanage and then rows and rows of nobles.
Even though he tried to hide it as much as possible, I noticed his displeasure about my invitations to this ceremony immediately. It was truly beneath him to walk beside me into a cathedral filled with anything but nobles. Still, I had my fun as I saw familiar faces who smiled back at me. And even the nobles struggled to put my ugliness into words and rather stared at me with an open mouth.
I stepped onto the last few stairs forwards Mary and the prime minister who was apparently a close friend of the king and stopped only close to the altar while turning towards the king.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered today to celebrate the marriage between our king and the saint. Marriage is a gift from the gods, given to us so that we might experience the joys of unconditional love with a lifelong partner. The gods designed marriage to be an intimate relationship between a man and a woman.” Even though I really tried to listen to Pope Dusting, I really couldn’t. It was just a bit too full of praising the gods that I feared I would puke on my dress. From time to time though, I still listened in, regretting my decision instantly. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Love means war. That was the only quote about love I really liked. “Who gives Lucy White to be married to Alphonso Worchester?” Give me away? Where was my price tag? I wanted to cost 2 gold coins at least!
“I do.” Mary said loudly for everyone to hear.
“Will you, Lucy White, have this man as your wedded husband, to live together after the god´s ordinance? Will you obey him, serve him, love, honour and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other, to keep you only for him, as long as you both shall live?” No? I mean, okay, he would die earlier than me anyway…
“I will.” I stated simply.
“Will you, Alphonso Worchester, take Lucy White as your wife?” Why were there no conditions on him? How unfair … okay, after several occasions where girls fainted and couldn’t recite their vows, it was decided that the priest would do it for them, but still.
“I, Alphonso Worchester, take thee, Lucy White to be my wife, to share the good times and hard times side by side. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as I pledge my faith and love to you. Just as this ring I give you today is a circle without end, my love for you is eternal. Just as it is made of incorruptible substance, my commitment to you will never fail.” Alphonso stated, conjuring a bright smile on my face.
Alphonso turned around to his prime minister while I did the same, even though it was a lot more awkward because of the carpet behind me.
Quietly, I took Alphonso´s ring out of Mary´s hands and eyed the S tier magical artefact. It was one of a kind, clearly identifying the king wherever he went. It also had quite a few other features for example that he could not lose it and in extension, it couldn’t be stolen, completely unlike his crown.
After switching the bouquet for the ring, I turned around and noticed how he had a similar artefact in his hand, one of ten rings the queens were given.
“This ring I give in token and pledge is a sign of my love and devotion. If the gods object to this marriage, may they interfere now. With this ring, I wed thee.” I said and gently pushed the ring in my hands on the king´s ring finger.
“This ring I give in token and pledge is a sign of my love and devotion. If the gods object to this marriage, may they interfere now. With this ring, I wed thee.” He said and pushed the ring on my own ring finger. At first, nothing happened, but then the way too large ring shrunk in size and glowed blue. Luckily, I didn´t need any magical attribute for this ring … after feeling a little ticking in my hands, I noticed how my dress started to glow a little while the Pope continued the ceremony.
“Oh gods, you guided them to each other, now guide them in this new journey as husband and wife. As they walk down this path, light their way so they may keep their eyes focused on Your wills, their hands holding fast to Your truths, their feet firmly planted in Your Words, and their hearts bound together by Your love. This we pray in Your names.”
Blue, gently blowing bubbles started to float up into the air, a bit like soap bubbles. The silvery yarn on my dress started to glow in a gentle light as the magical circles woven onto the inside of my dress began their work.
“Alphonso Worchester and Lucy Worchester, since you have consented together in holy matrimony, and have pledged yourselves to each other by your solemn vows and by the giving of rings, and have declared your commitment of love before God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife in the name of the gods. Alphonso, you may kiss your Bride.” The pope said, while I looked upwards to the king. He bent downwards and reached around me as he brought his mouth towards mine.
What can I say? Even though we both made a show out of it by kissing a bit longer than usual, it felt so boring. There was no love involved in this kiss at all, and especially not the heat I felt with Jacob. It was just … dry. And yet, the audience clapped loudly as we stopped kissing, signalling the end of this ceremony.
Shortly afterwards, I already went on my knees and looked up towards Alphonso who picked up the crown on the altar. Slowly, he placed it on my head, making me queen once and for all.
Seriously, I didn´t even know why they were all clapping like crazy, but whatever. Alphonso would hang those who refused to clap … probably. Once again, I took the bouquet out of Mary´s hands and gave the king my other hand. Together, we walked down the aisle once more, as wife and … husband.
One by one, the rows behind us stood up, led by the Pope himself and followed us on the large plaza as the sun was slowly setting. The woman who wasn’t wed gathered behind me and shrugging my shoulders, I followed this old ritual. I threw the bouquet over my shoulder with my pitiful strength and it landed … did Mary have secrets from me, or why did she catch it? Well, I wouldn’t mind if she remarried on her own conditions.
She even acted as if she was happy, even though she felt really conflicted about it. Anyways, that was a thing for her to deal with in the future. Smiling brightly, I followed my … husband into a royal carriage and was helped into it by him. A few butlers made sure that the carpet followed suit and then, they closed the doors.
