chapter 85: thread cutter :conflicted hearts
Many royal weddings were lavish occasions with full traditional regalia, including gold and ermine, gifts, and feasting. But most of these marriages were usually dynastic arrangements, just like this one. Neither Prince Bai nor Princess Theodora had feelings for each other, but for the sake of the alliance between their two kingdoms, they had to marry. Driven into the amphitheater by a coach made of gold and kol, another rare material only found in the deep, this was to showcase their wealth and power.
The wedding was being held in District 8 because a certain someone had refused to attend the wedding in District Piho, saying that the citizens had to witness their princess's marriage live and not on some artifacts. So the amphitheater was wildly packed, and because some citizens came from the other districts, even outside the amphitheater was full of people surrounding it, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess. The coach made its way surrounded from every angle by the royal Guards trying to protect the coaches from the crowd. The four royal guards of the Nesa'i kingdom were closely guarding the coach their king and prince were in. King Baichun smiled lightly staring at his son, he spoke, "This is it son, this is where we start our rise up, and no one shall stop-..." The king stopped midway though his sentence noticing that his son's mind was not with him, wryly smiling he asked:
"You are still thinking about that palace maiden? Well, let me let you in on a secret son, I had her disposed off a week just after we left. I could not have anything distracting you. Your marriage to Princess Theodora Amadeus is of utmost importance; therefore, I had to neutralize any future threats. Be grateful you have such a thoughtful father, other fathers would not care about your future....but I do, huh? Why are you crying? Wipe off those tears from your face and fix your posture; we can't have our hosts thinking that you are too emotionally weak to marry their daughter." King Baichun spoke and instructed his son to wipe his tears after he had just shared these heartbreaking news with his son who immediately started weeping for the woman he truly loved. Glaring at him his son spoke, "you are a monster and one day I will kill-..." Before the prince could finish, the king's grip tightened around his throat. Prince Bai's eyes widened, his breath caught in his chest. The king's voice, low and menacing, slithered into his ear, 'Be mindful of your words, boy.' Bai's trembling hand reached instinctively for his throat as he gasped for air, his eyes revealing a mixture of shock and pain. The king's words echoed, 'Hate me all you want, but I'm just doing what is best for your future.' Bai, still reeling from the revelation, struggled to compose himself, his eyes reflecting a tumultuous storm of emotions.
"So hate me all you want but I'm just doing what is best in order to ensure that we will survive this war. No one has ever survived rebelling against the gods, so it is best if we follow their instructions. War has started, who shall stand against the ancient prophecy? Hentesa will fall just like Zebha, but we will do it in a very careful manner; otherwise, we will incur the wrath of the deep. One day when you are king, you will finally understand that a king does everything for his people, and more so for his family's future. Remember that, now get yourself together and put a smile on your face; we have a wedding ceremony to attend." Letting him go King Baichun laughed staring outside of the carriage window:
"Look at them all cheering for their doom." The prince glared at his father viciously but in the end he could only do as he was instructed, smiling he opened the carriage window and started waving at the citizens. King Baichun stole a glance at his son and smiled nodding in approval: That's it my boy, smile and wave. When you are older and wiser you will realize. The king thought to himself as the coach made its way into the amphitheater.
On the platform where the wedding was to commence was the sacred preachers of the Hentesean kingdom, Romano. Sporting a neatly trimmed beard with beautiful black eyes and a diamond-shaped face with golden brown hair tied in a ponytail and a blue ferrioli over his blue preacher attire, he looked handsome and elegant. Romano stood there staring at the masses with half a smile gracing his lips; he spoke: "citizens of Hentesa, devoted children of the calm waters and the raging sea, you have gathered here to witness the marriage of our graceful princess to the crown prince of Nesa'i. I, your sacred preacher, have been tasked with the glorious task of joining the two together, and sealing the alliance between our kingdom and Nesa'i. Let me not waste any time and let the royal wedding ceremony begin!" After his words, a loud horn resounded, and the people cheered like a bunch of maniacs.
King Aerem and King Baichun sat next to each other on the platform; the rest of the king's council sat on their flanks, and both kings had their royal guards standing behind them. In King Aerem's case, only two guards stood behind him, while Baichun had his four guards present on the platform. In front of them stood Romano and two teenage maidens who were each carrying a basket of turquoise flowers called the moondart that was only found in the deep. The flowers had a magic glow to them, and it was rumored that they represented purity. If the moondart were to dry and wither, then the marriage was doomed and it had to be canceled. Prince Bai made his way up the platform, a soft smile gracing his lips; he arrived before the sacred preacher and bowed before the sacred preacher and the two kings along with the rest of the king's council; the crowd cheered in approval of the young prince's display of respect and his seemingly good temperance, not knowing that beneath the smile was a grieving heart. After the crowd's cheers died down, a group of people wearing hooded white cloaks, some with instruments in hand, made their way up the platform, taking off their hoods revealing their old wrinkly faces. They sat down on the floor, and the one with the harp started playing, followed by the pan flutes, straight trumpets, wooden flutes, cane reed instruments, finger symbols, skin drums, bagpipe-like instrument, lyres, shepherds pipes, the bucina (G-shaped brass instrument), and shell trumpets, bone flutes, and bronze horns. The melody created was otherworldly, and the elder with the harp started singing:
"Holy union, two souls are merged The love of royals ordained by the gods For in sickness or health, their love will grow strong Strong enough to please the gods So let us rejoice and sing a song in celebration of love, the love of royals The love of Hentesa, the love of Nesa'i, the love of the gods of our lands Everyone is welcome to witness the bonding, destiny conjoins Hentesa and Nesa'i Two become one, and one becomes two Let the gods and ancestors light up the path, the path to prosperity The path to love. So let us rejoice and sing a song A song of joy, in Celebration of two." His matured voice resounded throughout the masses; after the song, the group of elderly moved away, and the wedding. Princess Theodora made her way up the platform with her mother trailing behind her. The whole amphitheater went quiet, and the citizens had their eyes fixed on their princess. As the princess was slowly making her way to her soon-to-be husband, her eye caught sight of someone she had not seen in a while, tilting her head a bit. Her eyes met Lenard's cold gaze that briefly turned soft the moment their eyes met, but then Lenard gestured at someone on his side with his head, shifting her eyes from Lenard and past the handsome Mesa boy standing next to him. Theo's eyes landed on a particular person, the one whom she had last seen a decade ago.
Finn had his gaze plastered on the princess as she made her way to her groom, but then the princess stole a glance at them, only to fully look at them. Her eyes went from Lenard to him. Their gazes crossed, and Finn quickly looked past her.
The princess couldn't look away from Finn, and it felt like something heavy dropped in her stomach. Her steps, which were once confident, slowed down a lot. She squinted, trying to match the person in front of her with the boy she knew years ago. Theodora's forehead wrinkled as she tried to find something familiar in his face. Out of nowhere, she stopped moving, like some invisible hand held her back. The whole crowd went silent, surprised to see their princess suddenly stopping in the middle of the wedding parade.. Their eyes looked in the direction where the princess was looking at and they were met with an odd group of people, two breathtakingly handsome men, and one beautiful woman, and nine children with the Mesa, the Tif'er, and the girl with runic markings on her face standing out the most. But the princess's eyes were on a particular man, the one with long hair.
Lenard couldn't help but grin as he noticed Princess Theodora's sudden stop. His eyes showed a sneaky kind of enjoyment. He held back a laugh, feeling a bit giddy inside. Even his gloved fingers seemed to wiggle with held-back excitement. Lenard's look had a playful gleam, like someone who's pleased with how things are going, just like when you're playing a game and everything falls into place. A little laugh slipped out quietly, making him seem even more mysterious.
Theo was suddenly pushed forward gently by her mother, the princess took back her gaze, and she slowly proceeded to her groom. There were whispers among the crowd, but the wedding was resuming nonetheless. Theo stood in front of Prince Bai, whose eyes seemed lifeless, but she could not care less about him; her mind was a mess. Why is he here? Why today of all days? Do I look beautiful? I probably looked like an idiot.