Chapter 23: Marriage ritual

The box was placed in front of Helen and Théoden. He looked at Marrianne to find out what it was. She nodded and Théoden touched the box which opened automatically. Gray smoke-like fog flowed out of the box. It was cold but dissipated soon enough. It looked like a haunted house magic box.

'Is this safe? Mother wouldn't have lied...'

Théoden shook away the distracting thoughts. He needed to perform the ritual perfectly. The contents of the wooden box came into view.

'Activate mind's eye.'

[Type: Marriage contract. Grade: Heroic. Description: Forms a two-way bond per the vows of each partner. The contract lasts a lifetime and cannot be broken unless equally agreed on. Termination of the contract has no downsides, however, the other party will know of it.]

'This is more extreme than marriage itself. Oh…This is how I am getting married.' Théoden chuckled inside at his thoughts.

In the box was an aged paper similar to fabric, a tiny red magic stone, and a quill with red ink at the tip. The ink was generated by inserting the magic stone in a small compartment in the quill and writing with it. The red ink was the activation of the seal that engraved the contract.

Théoden was aware of the marriage contract and had gotten enough education about it. It was a way the royal family did marriages. It was not exclusive to only royalty. The royalty got the benefit of receiving marriage contracts for free from the Magic Tower. If one had enough money to buy one from the magic tower no one stopped them from doing so. The contract itself was not something like a dream marriage. There were more downsides than benefits.

The room was silent and all eyes were on the couple. Théoden could feel their piercing gazes. Their role from the start was to act as witnesses to the marriage. If it was not going to be a public marriage then it needed a fair amount of influential people to consider it official. There was more deal to this marriage since it was the marriage between the heir and a princess.

The entire marriage ceremony or rather, ritual was something to be done by the couple.

Helen went ahead and touched the paper. Her eyes closed while writing started forming on the paper. These were Helen's clauses and vows to the marriage.

'I will vow to be faithful to my husband. Both heart and body, shall I be devoted to him and only him. For better or worse, I shall stand beside my husband and face it together. I will trust him when no one else does. I shall never cheat or betray him. I shall vow this for the rest of my life.'

Helen lifted her hand. Reading the text, Théoden smiled. He went ahead and placed his hand on the paper. Théoden did the same.

'I promise to cherish and care, to protect and provide. I shall never betray her trust nor cheat on my wife. She shall and will always be my equal in rise and downfall. I shall strive to be the best husband but more than that, an anchor to rely on. I will be her home and family to come back to. I promise to spend my life with her till death do us part.'

' Phew~ I feel proud having read all that cliché stuff. But…'

They both read the paper again and since there was no issue, Helen went ahead to sign the paper. Théoden repeated that with his name. They held the paper on either edge and nodded in agreement. The paper tore in half.

What happened next was phenomenal. The paper contract dissipated and all that was left was their vows hanging in words. The words glowed of a silver-white light.

'Have they fallen in love?'

The thought went through the audience's minds. Since they too could see the vows. Helen and Théoden had only met for a short time. It could be estimated that they were both virgins so the possibility of being physically compatible was out of the question. The contract only glowed white if both parties were pure.

The vows they made on the other hand indicated that they were in love or had similar feelings. The vows were not made by writing but by the genuine feeling within the heart. The truthful feeling was written in words on the paper. Thus the misunderstanding the couple was in love was formed. A legendary romance story would be born from the rumors.

Helen took on Théoden's last name while his name remained the same. Their names were now like so:

Helen Priscila Andras

Théoden Andras

That was not how the contract was supposed to work. Théoden should have adopted the royal name but he didn't. It was not a flaw since the contract glowed and the red ink turned golden.

All the letters glowed a brighter silver-white light and golden shimmer. It was worth mentioning that it was the brightest such a contract had glowed so intensely. It was defective, but it glowed so it could only be passed that it glowed so much because it was defective.

The words shattered into gold and silver glitters. They mixed and then patted like a mixture equally divided. The fragments moved into the couple via their chest leaving a warm feeling.

'It tingles.'

The final step was to accept it with a symbol of the contract. The kiss.

There was no need to be told about it. Helen who was about to turn away in shame remembering the earlier activity was stunned in place when the familiar cold touch was on her hand. It was gentle touch but it sent shivers down her body.

'Maybe it is due to the contract.'

She convinced herself and turned to look at Théoden. She spotted a pink hue in his eyes. She stared at them almost getting lost in their wonder when she noticed the desire behind them. The almost unnoticeable pink hue glowed in Théoden's eyes making them seem to be pink rubies instead.

"May I?" Théoden was polite even then.

"Yes."

There was no use being embarrassed when it had happened once. Helen resolved to have courage. She closed her eyes and left it to Théoden. Her veil was pushed back and her hair tucked behind her ear.

'What is taking so long?'

Helen had her eyes closed so she did not see the smirk of a naughty smile as he eyed the greedy eyes he spotted earlier. He touched her cheek and planted a short kiss on her lips. It didn't last as long as Helen would think.

The still glow dimmed and settled and Théoden felt a grip in his chest. His trance-like stupor stopped and he finally came fully to his senses.

When it was done Théoden and Helen both sat down. Their marriage was done but it was not official. One of the main reasons they needed witnesses to their marriage. The King who had been silent the entire time spoke up.

"I will officially declare Théoden and Helen husband and wife. I hope all those here have witnessed and seen the proof of their marriage."

When everyone thought all was over, the King brought up a topic many were curious about.

"Child, Is your name only so?"

"Yes. My name is Théoden Andras, your majesty."

"Hmm…"

It felt like something was wrong or rather, out of place. Normally, nobles had more than two names. It was not out of custom to have only two but it was only natural since their names had many significances.

First, was the name given at birth by parents, the next was the blessing from the spirits or temple, and the last was the family title.