"This wedding has been held off for long enough, hasn't it?"

The bride-to-be took her fiancee's hands and smiled, a smile etched into his mind since they first met. "Please be patient, Shintaro. Under normal circumstances it would be easier, but…"

"Mm, I know, it's your duty, Ayano. I have no right to interfere with it, however," Shintaro gestured to the royal guards surrounding the chapel, "I can't get used to all the attention." That was his sister's burden, after all.

Ayano giggled softly - in the past, he would have been annoyed by this, but as time went on, he found he couldn't live without hearing the sound - before looking over to the doors the guards had now opened. "Shintaro, the priest is here. Time to behave."

"Practice what you preach." To that, Shintaro earned a hard pinch to the cheek, and before either of them could say anything, the priest took his place on stage. He was a slender man with an appearance similar to Ayano's father, the King, which made Shintaro a bit uneasy. He always had a strange feeling around the man when he simply heard about him (perhaps the fact his sister studied under him made it worse), and meeting him only helped to increase his agitation. He was extremely protective of his daughter, that was probably why, but most parents were… though Ayano had assured him time and time again that this wasn't her father, he was the priest at her parents' wedding (and her mother mysteriously died, but Shintaro didn't mention it - he had a little tact), so it would be fine. Shintaro really had to keep his negativity in check.

"Are the both of you ready?" The priest prompted, gaining a quick nod from Shintaro and a verbal affirmation from Ayano. "We've been through this quite a few times, but since the wedding is coming up in four days, it will not hurt us to review what to expect. This is a royal wedding, so it is a very public affair. You both will ride through the kingdom in a straight line on a horse-drawn carriage provided by his majesty. When you get to the chapel, Sir Kisaragi will take his place at the altar, then his majesty will walk the princess to the altar. Then we will begin. Princess, I assume you've written your vows?"

"Yes, sir!"

The priest smiled - Ayano had everyone wrapped around her finger without even meaning to - and faced the other, "Have you, Sir Kisaragi?"

"Yes, sir."

"We will wait for the wedding to officially address those. Then we will move on to putting on the wedding bands, you two will kiss, and exit the chapel to the public party in the town square. His majesty's horse-drawn carriage will escort you there as well. Your… sister, the minstrel-"

"Momo."

"Yes, she will speak a few words about you two there, and the princess' siblings will speak as well. By now, you should all be fine. Don't worry about it."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Shintaro, however…" Ayano smirked, "he's afraid of crowds."

Shintaro simply grunted in exasperation, he didn't want to seem too obnoxious in front of royalty. He wasn't the prince yet, he wasn't really anything, his young sister was even a, get this, well-liked minstrel. Usually they were low class, but for some reason, everyone was strangely attracted to her. It wasn't that she was bad, she was really good, it was simply their monetary status that made them outliers in the "fame" category.

"Remember that this is just a formality, you two can choose to have a more private wedding afterwards if you so wish."

Shintaro, surprisingly, was the first to speak up. "Whatever the princess desires, I'll follow blindly." (The truth of the matter was he was a closet romantic, but too socially inept to act upon it. However, he wasn't one for extravagant affairs, yet Ayano was. He loved Ayano too much to deny her anything.)

"You certainly made quite the turnaround, dear," Ayano replied, a lilt in her voice. "We still have to finalize the setup and decorations with the financial… er,"

"No, we're to tell the secretary, who will then forward it to the treasurers. I believe your father is actually covering the costs."

"Wow, Shintaro! I knew I was getting married to you for some reason!" Watching Shintaro roll his eyes, Ayano gave another blinding smile as they made their walk to the business offices.