"The Lonely Queen's Wedding"

…

The long-awaited day of the royal wedding came. King Seiro arranged for a wedding to be held inside the hall, contrary to the discontinued wedding between Maro and Ely, because he didn't want her to remember that day. During the preparations, he found time to personally visit the several corners of the palace, wanting to get involved in almost everything, to oversee the quality of the goods that would be used. He only let Ely rest in her room to prevent her from being sick, since he observed that she often did not feel well. He wanted her to be in full health for their wedding.

Guests twice as many as the postponed royal wedding a month ago came. Aside from the foreign royalties, the nation's officials, Clan Leaders, and Ministers, Prince Kaio's allies from the neighboring regions were also invited. Dressed in their fanciest clothing of velvet robes, gowns with intricate designs, and eye-catching headdresses, they all proceeded to the spacious hall, and a herald announced their arrival, mentioning their name and clan name, rank, and place of origin.

Two hours before the marriage ritual, Ely was made to bathe in lavender-scented water. The maidservants made sure to wash her platinum blonde hair thoroughly with the most fragrant hair soap. Afterwards, she sat in front of the dresser on her cotton robe, and the ladies wiped her hair repeatedly with a dry towel to lessen its wetness. A maidservant combed her hair, and Ely requested it not to be tied up. 

Ely looked at herself in the mirror. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but she could not smile at all. Ironic it was, that she would be wed to the same person who was the reason why she was very happy during her first wedding in her world, but even though the two of them were going to be wed once again, she felt strongly disappointed.

Because currently in her heart, there's only one man, and she had no plan to replace him with anyone else.

"Everything's ready, my Queen," the head maid called her, and she changed into her wedding gown, assisted by the maidservants.

Traditional, romantic background music was played by an orchestra made mostly of lute and harp players, and three people played gigantic percussion instruments that seemed like war drums. Ely peeked at the musicians but did not see her old bandmates. They had already gone to the Old Palace in Leoniva City where they were reassigned.

The herald then announced upon seeing Ely by the double doors,  "Her Highness, the Queen of Ballad, Elizabeth of the Berry Clan!" 

Everyone turned their heads to her, and they were mesmerized by her beauty and elegance. 

Wearing an ivory-colored mermaid gown made from the finest satin cloth, Ely entered the hall slowly. The intricate lace design on her tube hovered above her chest, and her diamond dangling earrings added to her elegant aura. She only had minimal makeup on - her face was lightly powdered, and her lips only had little reddish dye just enough for her not to look pale. Even with little makeup, she was the most beautiful in the room. And as she requested, she let her platinum blonde hair hang behind her back, and it moved gracefully in her every step.

Ely couldn't look the guests in the eyes. She only stared straight ahead in a neutral expression as if there was no one else in the room but herself. She gave up on everything - her freedom, her happiness, and her beloved Maro. 

As she walked forward on the red carpet, King Seiro couldn't hide the excitement he felt, and his face brightened with a smile. In his mind, he was thankful that his wish to marry the woman he cherished would finally come true.

The Queen of Ballad was halfway towards the front, when suddenly, there was a loud explosion outside, great enough to cause tremors inside the hall.

The guests panicked, making most of them hurry to leave the hall, and the mercenaries quickly took a look at what happened outside. They examined the people through the balcony, and they had confirmed that rebels and bandits had attacked the palace. 

Because the crowd was in a panic to go out, Ely was stuck in the middle of it, but when the worried King was about to go to her, she disappeared in his sight!

In the last minute, Ely changed her mind about the wedding. She viewed the commotion as a sign for her not to give up, so she used this opportunity to hide herself in the panicking crowd. She grabbed and forcibly pulled a random cloak from one of the guests to cover herself while she ran out with them. Since there was a panic, the guest did not notice it.

Then, Ely heard King Seiro say, "Find Elizabeth! Now!" but she never looked back. She would do everything to get out of there and do what she had to do.

Besides, there was something very important that she didn't tell anyone.

Two months ago, Ely had a deal with the Priestess of the Temple of Destiny. She agreed to return to her world willingly as soon as she passed the Holy Priestess position to her apprentice. The old woman told Ely to spend her remaining months with Seiro because he's her dead husband Adam, but as the days went by, her muddled feelings had become clearer that it was Maro whom she would like to spend it with. 

She knew that the estimated day of her return would be exactly on their wedding day.

There wasn't a day that Ely didn't count her days in the world she currently lived in. It's because she knew very well that she might not stay there forever, yet she hoped for a future for her and Maro. She had not forgotten her deal with the priestess, nevertheless, she decided to fight fate before because Maro had encouraged her.

Unfortunately, Maro already shoved her away, so she thought there's only one path for her: to go back to her world.

She prayed silently, 'Priestess of the Temple of Destiny… Please take me back to my world now, if you can hear me… And please stop this war!' then, she ran towards the beach. 

But Ely stopped her tracks when she saw someone very familiar, and took a second look when she thought she was seeing things.