Chapter 8
Rukia was waiting nervously in front of the door. The servant opened the door and bowed. She entered slowly, afraid of what was going to happen. When the door closed behind her back, Byakuya moved forward with a calm expression.
"You wanted to talk, Rukia. Now I am giving you a chance."
She looked into his eyes.
"I did not want to hurt and embarrass you, your Majesty! But I preferred to die than marry Gin. And I did not think you would let me marry Renji."
Byakuya was quiet and that made her doubt the effect her words had.
"I love Renji. I know that in your eyes this is not appropriate, but these are my feelings. So I am begging you, please, don't kill him. Do whatever you want with me, but don't hurt him. I am the one who suggested we run away."
There was a long pause and Rukia was hoping she won't faint in front of her brother right now. Then Byakuya spoke.
"So what I understood from your words is that you know what I think, which is impressive."
Rukia was getting paler.
"In that case, you probably don't need to hear what I have decided."
"Please, forgive me, brother!" She bowed down, hoping he will continue.
In the next moment the door to the attached room opened and Renji came in. Rukia's eyes widened with surprise, but she was unable to speak. Renji looked clean and healthy and that was more than she could ask for.
"Rukia, the wedding is in a month, so you have to prepare, both physically and mentally. I will not delay it."
Byakuya's cold words took her back to reality. She was engaged to Gin. Was it possible that he kept Renji alive so could torture them both?
"Since you chose your husband, I don't take no for an answer. No matter what happens, you will get married."
Rukia was dumbfounded.
"What does this mean?"
"This means that once you marry Abarai Renji, it will be for life. You can't back out now."
"So this means…?" Rukia looked at both Renji and her brother. Renji had the same shocked expression, while Byakuya was as calm as ever. "I will get married to Renji?"
"Indeed."
She saw Byakuya's lips form the word, but then it all became black.
The night before:
Byakuya entered Renji's cell and made a sign to the guards to leave them alone.
"Renji"
Renji stood up and looked bravely into Byakuya's eyes.
"Tomorrow you will receive your punishment." Byakuya said calmly. "Do you have anything to say in your defence? Do you feel I am being unfair to you?"
Renji tried to remain calm but his temperament did not allow it.
"Yes, I do. Listen, your Majesty…I am guilty, ok? I ran away with your sister, but she has done nothing wrong. So how could you lock her in her room and marry her against her will?"
"Do you think you have the right to lecture me about my relationship with my sister?"
Renji spoke slowly.
"I should have confessed to you, I know that. I won't ask for forgiveness, because I know my fault. But I would do this again, if it means Rukia will lead a happier life. So, when you execute me tomorrow, please, take it as my final wish not to force Rukia to marry Ichimaru!"
Byakuya nodded.
"I will consider it."
The announcement of the new royal wedding left many deeply surprised. A lowly man, grown up in Rukongai was marrying the Emperor's sister – news like that was seldom. And to think that Byakuya was the one to allow it was even more confusing.
Aizen suffered his first defeat.
"Captain, I believe that both Byakuya and Abarai were more intelligent than we thought." Gin spoke, while Aizen was pretending to be calm but his hands were clutched into fists on the desk.
"This is just a small defeat, Gin. But I will win this war!" This was one of the rare moments when the real dark Aizen was seen under his mask.
On the other hand, when she recovered from the shock, Rukia could hardly hide her happiness. She was enthusiastic to participate in the wedding arrangements. Matsumoto was the one who took the job to prepare the wedding dress and send invitations and she did it with joy. She was happy for the young lovers, but even happier when she thought that Gin was still free.
Two weeks later she accidentally ran into Gin in the market.
"Gin! I am surprised to find you here." Matsumoto cheerfully exclaimed.
"As you know, Rangiku, I am full of surprises." He smiled.
"I am sorry for your ruined wedding. You must be disappointed." She was carefully looking at his face.
"I am not so disappointed." He said while gently caressing her arm.
She moved away and past him, winking.
"Maybe you should be. The years are going by and you are growing old."
He looked at her figure while she walked full of confidence, but when he turned his smile was gone.
The girls were busy looking at all the samples that the royal tailor had brought for them. Rangiku immediately liked the red fabric, but decided against it, when she remembered it was traditional for the bride to be dressed in red and white.
"I will take the golden one. It will really suit me." She giggled while spinning around with the fabric.
Kiyone was also pretty enthusiastic, but she chose a simple green color. Isane was shy as usual but both her sister and Rangiku made her take the light blue fabric, while secretly telling the tailor to make it more exposing in the chest area. Hinamori was looking with a smiling face, but was reluctant to touch anything.
"Hinamoriii!" Rangiku exclaimed and grabbed her friend's hand. "Look! Pink is your color. The sakura are blooming too. You will be mesmerizing!"
"I don't really know." Hinamori smiled shyly.
"But I do. His highness will confirm too, right?"
She looked at Toushiro who had appeared at the entrance of the hall but he looked away.
"I am not into any of these things."
Rangiku sighed.
"Come on. It's a royal wedding. Yours will come soon too, so you have to be prepared."
„I won't get married!"
"This is so sad, Shiro-chan!" Hinamori looked truly concerned, while Toushiro blushed at the mention of the nickname.
"Hinamori, I am the prince, if you have forgotten." He nervously replied. "Why don't you take the pink one, it will really suit your romantic illusions!"
With that said, he disappeared leaving Hinamori with a sad expression.
One afternoon when Byakuya was working alone in his chambers, Ginpei walked in and asked for a private conversation. Byakuya told him to take a seat and speak.
"Your Majesty, we are very worried about your sister. Her marriage is a disgrace to the family. She is getting married to a peasant."
Byakuya was listening calmly.
"Who are you, Ginpei?"
"We – your advisors, the elders in this family." He proudly exclaimed.
"Since when do you go against the decisions of your Emperor?" Byakuya asked without changing his intonation.
"Never, your Majesty! We are just worried for the consequences. Remember what happened when you married Hisana. I promised your family this will never happen again."
This time Byakuya lost his composure and stood up. Ginpei followed shortly after.
"Listen carefully, Ginpei! Abarai Renji is not a peasant – he is my lieutenant. And for you Hisana is "Her Majesty". Do you remember who you were before my grandfather took you in? You were the son of a fisherman. Take one advice from me, dear advisor – never forget where you started from. Otherwise you may lose what you've gained. All of you should remember that I am the Emperor! I take all decisions and my word is final!"
With that said Byakuya made a sign to the servants to open the door. Ginpei did not dare to say anything more but his eyes were sparkling with anger.
Byakuya made sure that all the wedding preparations were going on as planned, as sure as the traditions were being strictly followed. That meant that Rukia and Renji could not see each other before the wedding.
On the 24th of May the whole palace was celebrating the big event. The ceremony was not open for commoners but there were thousands waiting outside as they knew that later the bride and groom will show up on the big balcony to receive congratulations.
Rukia was waiting in her room in front of the mirror with only Kiyone and Soifon by her side. She was absolutely gorgeous in her white long lace dress with red contours and belt. Her red wedding veil was held by a beautiful diamond tiara.
As per the tradition Byakuya entered shortly after and moved closer to the bride.
"Rukia" He spoke and she looked up. "Today you get married, but you will always be part of the family. You will always be a princess, so whatever you do, keep that in mind."
"Yes, your Majesty!"
He took one small red box from his servant and opened it in front of Rukia. Inside laid a beautiful diamond necklace. Rukia was deeply moved.
"This is for you, Rukia. May your union be as strong as this necklace." He moved to put it on her neck.
Rukia was close to tears so she just whispered.
"Thank you…brother"
Byakuya quickly put on her veil over her face and she was glad he did it, so she could hide the tears. But Soifon thought that he was this quick to in order to hide his own emotions from her aunt. This was surely one unexpected side of Byakuya.
The ceremony went on as planned – Kyoraku asked Byakuya for Rukia's hand in marriage to his brave son Abarai Renji and Byakuya agreed and gave his sister. Everything was strictly documented and Rukia became a married woman.
Byakuya announced that the new family was to live in the Marble Palace, which was an impressive building barely an hour away by horse. This got Rukia teary-eyed again and even Renji was getting emotional.
Then, the couple went to the balcony to be introduced to the crowd. There were so many people, that Renji truly felt like a prince. Most of them approved of him because they felt he was part of the ordinary people. Others liked Rukia because of her acts of charity. For some of the people they were just a beautiful young couple. The encouraging words like "Be happy!" "May God bless you!" "Live a long life together!" gave additional strength to the couple.
The royal family had a celebratory lunch together. Then, the young couple headed to their new home, while the palace was full of celebrations and dances. Rangiku was the center of attention and Hisagi was trying to dance with her, while there was always someone to overtake him. Ikkaku was throwing drunken glances at Isane much to her embarrassment. Kiyone was dancing with Sentaro while they were fighting who to lead the dance. Yumichika was busy enjoying the sight of beautiful decorations and beautiful dresses. Kira found the courage to ask Hinamori to dance and she happily accepted much to Toushiro's annoyance. He was watching the celebrations from upstairs, his big ego preventing him from going down with the others.
In her new bedroom Rukia was waiting for the groom to enter. Her heartbeat was getting quicker and she jumped at the slightest noise. When Renji truly entered she was quick to stand up and he felt uncomfortable. There was a weird silence, when Renji was wondering what to do first as Rukia was waiting, impatient to get rid of the veil covering her face.
"Renji?"
"Yes, Rukia." He spoke with a trembling voice.
"Forget about the stupid protocol. It's just the two of us, now." She smiled from under the veil, as he moved barely a step away from her.
Renji carefully removed the veil from her face. Underneath was Rukia, smiling and blushing.
"You are so beautiful!" He whispered, before bending down to kiss her.
Rukia carefully removed her tiara.
"Thank God! My head was hurting from that!"
Both of them kissed passionately and embraced each other. Renji undid her dress and it fell from her shoulders, leaving her in her long undergarments. Then, he quickly picked her up bridal style and moved to the king-sized bed.
Finally, some happiness for Renji and Rukia! :) Now it is time for HitsuHina to take over.
