Any who remember chapter eleven of Ace's Journey will remember that Ace held his hand out to one girl, but I never did say who. Well, there is the choice of three. Nera Briscoletti, Deborah Briscoletti, and Bianca Whitaker are these three girls, and the game didn't change that much depending on which one you chose. But when writing, a lot can change with a different girl being chosen. So, I decided I'd write three different stories, each one with a different bride for Ace. Thanks to having the game, I am proud to say that I will be able to do enough research to handle this. And a reviewer from Ace's Journey 'N' wanted me to get the other brides in, probably because he isn't a fan of Nera. So here I give to you all Dragon Quest V: Ace's Journey 'B'.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. That right belongs to Square Enix, the makers of some of the greatest RPGs of all time.
…
Bianca stared as I held my right hand out to her. She blushed as Nera and Debora had opposite expressions. Nera had her hands held together in front of her with a small smile, and Debora scoffed and crossed her arms. Bianca slowly put her right hand in mine as she stared into my eyes.
"You, you're sure about this?" She asked. I nodded and she smiled.
"I knew it." Debora said. "You're just not man enough for me." She walked away while Nera smiled at us.
"I hope you both find happiness in each other." She said. We looked at her as she smiled.
"Thank you Nera." I said. Bianca nodded slowly. Nera simply smiled wider
"You're welcome." She said.
"I, thank you, for understanding Nera." Bianca said. Nera closed her eyes and sighed.
"I'm sad that I'm not getting married, but at least I know you'll both be happy." She said. Mr. Briscoletti walked over and smiled.
"It is good to see true love." He said. "I am sad to know that my daughter is not to be married, but I will pay for the wedding anyway." Bianca and I were about to speak when he held up his right hand. "I won't take no for an answer. You went through a lot of trouble to get the rings for Nera, and though you ended up falling for another, I cannot let your hard work go unrewarded." I smiled while Bianca gripped my hand a bit tighter. "Now, I have ordered a veil from a maestro of the town to the north. I need you to go pick it up as soon as you can." I nodded. A maid walked over to Bianca and bowed.
"If you'll come with me Miss Bianca, we'll need to get you into your wedding dress." She said. Bianca let go of my hand and nodded. They started walking and Nera walked up to them.
"I'll help if I can." She said. They walked out as Mr. Briscoletti smiled wider.
"I guess you and my little Nera just aren't meant to be." He said. "But at least you are marrying for love, and that is what counts."
"Thank you for understanding Mr. Briscoletti." I said. He nodded. "Before I leave, I want to talk about the shield you have."
"The shield?" He asked.
"Yes." I said. "I have reason to believe that it may be the legendary Zenithian Shield. I need it so that when the hero of legend arrives I can give it to him, along with the rest of the equipment." He nodded slowly. "I need to give the equipment to him because I need his help to find my mother."
"Perhaps it is." He said. "I will think about it. I had intentions to give the shield to the man that marries Nera, or perhaps Debora, but for such a reason, perhaps I will consider letting you have it." I nodded. "But for now, you must get the bridal veil for Bianca." He gestured to the door and laughed quietly. "Hurry now, the wedding is at sunset." I nodded and turned to the door. "And be careful of monsters out there." I nodded and walked out the door.
…
I jogged into the town general store and saw a dwarf polishing a glass case with a beautiful veil. I walked in and he looked at me.
"Hello there." He said. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm here to pick up the veil." I said.
"You're Mr. Gotha?" He asked. I nodded and he smiled. "Lucky you, I just got finished polishing the case." I smiled as he picked it up and walked over to me. I took it carefully as he smiled wider. "Good luck at your wedding. I hear they can be a bit nerve wracking." I nodded and put the case into my bag of holding. He bowed and went back to his job while I walked out.
I jogged to the entrance of the village and decided to use Zoom to return to the ship. I focused my mind and jumped up, the spell being easier each time to maintain. When I reached the high point I spotted Monstroferrato and the sun was getting lower in the sky. I suddenly stopped completely and I looked around.
"Wait, something doesn't feel right." I said. I looked ahead and moved forward slightly. I leaned back and floated back a bit. "Am I flying?" I leaned toward the ground and took off, pulling up just before what would have been a painful landing. I flew over the ship and just dodged the mast and moved to stand up straight. "Whoa, what a rush." I looked up and flew so that I could see for miles. I smiled widely and pointed back at the ground, my arms outstretched as I began flying at the ground. I felt my magical energy being taxed somewhat, but I felt like I had a lot in reserve. I flew over the ship and saw the captain staring at me. "Captain, I'll be returning to town this way. The ship is yours to command again." He nodded slowly as I took off to the town. I saw a small wagon caravan entering the town and I saw that it was nearly sunset. I floated a bit before landing outside the gate where nobody could see me and I walked forward. I stopped when I saw Harry and Maria talking to Mr. Briscoletti. I walked over quietly as Mr. Briscoletti turned to talk to one of the guards and I snuck up to Harry and tapped his right shoulder, moving quickly to the left with a big smile. He turned as expected and Maria looked over at him while I moved to their left.
"What is it Harry?" She asked.
"I thought someone touched my right shoulder." He said. He turned his head to look at her while I leaned to my right on the staff. "Hey, Ace old buddy!" Maria and Mr. Briscoletti looked at me as I smiled wider.
"Hey Harry." I said. I bowed and heard everyone laugh quietly. "Maria, you're looking lovely as usual." She giggled as I stood up and leaned again on the staff. "Surprised to see me so soon?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Mr. Briscoletti said. "I heard that the river was a little tough to navigate, and I thought we would have to reschedule the wedding for tomorrow." I shook my head.
"I know a little spell to make things easy." I said. He nodded. "I revived the old spell Zoom, and I just found out a few minutes ago I can use it to fly, free as a bird." He laughed as I stood up and put the staff on my back. "I had no idea you two would be here though. It's great to see you."
"Well, you couldn't make our wedding, though there was no way you could have." Harry said. "I heard that you were going to get married and I knew we had to do everything in our power to make it." Maria nodded with a smile. "Though the rumors were a little, squiffy, concerning your bride. We heard you were marrying Mr. Briscoletti's daughter Nera."
"Well, I was, but I met up with my old friend Bianca Whitaker." I said. "And it really did a number on my heart. I felt so many different things, and I kept going back and forth in my head whether or not to marry Nera, Bianca, or Nera's sister Debora." I sighed. "I thought I'd never be able to choose. But after a few hours of talking to the folks in town, Nera, Bianca, and Debora, I realized that I was making a huge mistake."
"What kind of mistake?" Maria asked.
"I was letting my head get in the way of my heart." I said. "I was thinking way too hard, and after talking to the girls, I came to the conclusion that my heart would tell me when the time was right. And it did."
"So you're marrying Bianca." Harry said. I nodded.
"And you came back with the veil of course." Mr. Briscoletti said. I nodded and pulled it out of the bag. "Oh, it is as beautiful as he said it would be." He looked at me. "Bianca is at the guest house waiting. You should give her the veil and bring her to the church. Everything is ready, and we just need you to bring your bride." I nodded and looked over at the guest house.
…
I walked into the building and saw Bianca once more at the upper floor looking out the window. I walked up the stairs and she sighed.
"I can't believe I'm marrying my best friend." She said. "I hope I make a good wife." I walked up to the top of the steps as she sighed again.
"And I hope I make a good husband." I said. She turned quickly and looked at me with a blush.
"Oh, I, I was, uh, just." She stammered. I smiled and she sighed. "I'm nervous. I never thought I'd get married, least of all to my best friend." I laughed quietly.
"I know exactly how you feel there." I said. She smiled and stopped blushing as I pulled out the veil. I walked over to her and set it on the window sill by her and removed the lid. "But I'm glad we'll be together." I carefully picked up the veil and she lowered her head and I carefully put it on her. "There we go." She raised her head and the veil covered her face.
"How do I look?" She asked.
"You look beautiful." I said. She smiled and I knew I'd made the right choice. The feeling in my heart was proof of that. I held out my right arm and half turned. "So, we've got a wedding to get to." She nodded and looped her left arm through mine and placed her right hand on mine.
…
We walked into the church together and everyone watched as we walked up the aisle toward the priest. Everyone was congratulating or praising us. A few commented on how beautiful Bianca was, and I couldn't help but agree with those people. We stopped in front of the priest and took our spots before him. He had a kind smile, as all priests did.
"Dear sons and daughters of the benevolent Goddess." He said. "We are here to bear witness to the union of Bianca Whitaker." He gestured to her. "And Milliardo Gotha." He gestured to me. "If there are any that would oppose this union, speak now, or forever hold your peace." He waited while I looked at Bianca out of the corner of my eye. She was doing the same, looking over at me with a smile. I returned her smile and we returned to looking at the priest. He smiled as he looked at us. "Then if there are no objections." He looked to me with his kind smile. "Milliardo Gotha, do you take Bianca Whitaker as your wife, to care for and to love, so long as you both shall be resurrected by the Goddess?"
"I do." I said with a smile. He looked at Bianca.
"Bianca." He said. "Do you take Milliardo Gotha as you husband, to care for and to love, so long as you both shall be resurrected by the Goddess?" She I looked to see her smiling wide and blushing deeply.
"I do." She said happily.
"Then you may place the rings on each other's hands." He said. Mr. Briscoletti had given me the Circle of Water before I'd given Bianca the veil, and he'd given her the Circle of Fire while I was away. I turned to Bianca as she held out her right hand. I pulled the ring out of my left wristband and carefully placed it on her finger. She pulled the other ring out of her left glove and placed it on my finger with a smile. "By the power vested in me by the almighty Goddess, I pronounce you husband and wife. Milliardo, you may now kiss your bride." I stepped closer to Bianca and lifted the veil from her face and she was smiling wider. We leaned closer and shared a tender kiss as the crowd cheered. When we pulled away from each other nearly a minute later, the organist began playing a march as we turned to the doors.
…
I sat quietly on the bed while Bianca was trying to get out of the wedding dress. It took a long time for her to get it on with help, and now she was fighting to remove it alone. I heard the fabric rustling and I wondered if she'd ask for help.
"Um, Milliardo?" She asked from upstairs. I looked up to her and saw her blushing, still trapped in the garment. "I hate to be a bother, but can I have a hand here?" She walked down the stairs with an annoyed look. "It took Nera and Ally forty minutes to get this thing on me, and I've been trying to get out of it for an hour." I nodded and stood up. She walked over and turned. "I got the zipper halfway down, but I can't get the rest of it off." I took the zipper and carefully moved it down. She sighed. "Thanks."
"No problem." I said. I took the shoulders and she pulled her arms out and the front fell forward. She quickly covered her chest and looked back as the rest of the dress fell to the ground. I turned to look away as she looked at me. "I won't peek." She giggled.
"Thanks." She said. "I'd rather save this for our honeymoon." I heard her bare feet running up the steps and I looked at the dress. I picked it up off of the floor and looked at a stand and walked over. I put it on it carefully and looked at it. It was nice, but it wasn't nearly as beautiful without Bianca inside of it. I heard her walking down the stairs and I looked to see her looking around. She spotted me as I walked over to her. "So, what's next on our agenda?" We were in the guest house, and we were allowed to stay as long as we wanted, but I wanted to get going toward the next piece of the Zenithian Equipment. "I think we should keep going. I'd like to meet your mum as soon as possible. After all, she's sorta my mum now, right?" We laughed quietly as I nodded.
"Well, I don't think it would be polite to leave right now." I said. "We do have to thank Mr. Briscoletti for letting us stay, for paying for our wedding, and, I have to see about the shield. I need to know that he'll either allow us to have it, or that he'll keep it safe." She nodded. "I'd rather wait until morning though. It would be kind of rude if we just walked into the house and asked for the shield right now, especially after he told me that he wanted to think about it before making his decision."
"So, we're staying in the guest house then." She said with a smile. "I'm not about to complain about that. This may be the guest room, but it's a hundred times nicer than my house." She put her right hand to her mouth. "Oh, we'd better go see my dad before we head out. I'm pretty sure he'll want to know about this." I smiled and nodded.
"We'll talk to him tomorrow." I said. She smiled.
"Well, what do we do until then?" She asked. I sat on the bed and she followed to sit beside me, to my right. She moved her hands to her lap and I saw her blushing slightly, but she was still smiling. "So, is this how you pictured marriage?"
"Well, not really." I said. "Mostly because I never tried to picture it before. I always thought I'd end up alone and dead before twenty, not married to my best friend." She laughed quietly. "But, I like this. It's a lot better than I could have hoped for. After all, I have you." I moved my right arm around her shoulders and she laughed as I rubbed her arm. "My best friend, who I hadn't seen in ten long years. My best friend who is now my wife." She set her head against me and she leaned on me slightly. "All things considered, this is infinitely better than how I thought my life would have been by now. I don't think I could have asked for a better turn of events."
"Thanks Ace." She said quietly. "I'll try to be as good a wife as I can." I rubbed her arm again and she sighed.
"And I'll try to be a good husband, I promise." I said. "And one thing I know, above all else, I love you."
"And I love you." She said happily.