Please note: there won't be any updates for at least a week. Still, hope you enjoy this chapter! :-)
"Shit!" she hissed and pulled her head out from under the table, got onto her feet and pulled her dress back in place. Where could it be? She must have searched everywhere. Twice. And it was almost eight o'clock... "Lucius!"
A mere five seconds later, her most loyal servant stood in front of her and bowed his head. "At your service, Your Majesty."
He could see that she was deeply concerned and in distress.
"My ring", she said, "My wedding ring... I took it of before taking a shower, as always. But then... I must have forgotten to put it back on. And now I can't find it anymore! It's just disappeared. I searched under the bed, my whole room, every room. I searched everywhere. I need it back! Immediately. Otherwise..."
She took a deep breath. In a few minutes she was supposed to meet her husband in the gardens. How could she possibly, without wearing her wedding ring? For sure, he would believe her that she had lost it and not suspect her to leave it off on purpose. But what kind of omen would that be for their future together? Right at this important time in their relationship? She never had to search for this ring ever before. Now was just the worst possible moment when it meant more to her than ever.
Anxiously, she was pacing up and down the dining room, rather talking to herself than to Lucius. "Could someone have taken it? My daughter maybe... She seems so upset with me lately. Oh well, what else is new... No, Eleanor wouldn't steal from me, ever. Or maybe... it was Cyrus!"
"What did I do this time?"
She gasped and turned around when she heard his voice. With his usual mildly annoyed look but somehow amused of other people's misfortune at the same time, he was standing in the door, one hand holding a glass of whisky, the other buried in his pocket.
"My wedding ring!" she replied with a firm voice, "It's missing. Did you take it?"
Cyrus looked as if he was unsure of whether to feel offended or rather laugh at the fact that she actually seemed to accuse him of such a childish thing that was way below his standards.
"Of course I did!" he answered sarcastically, "I always dreamed of being married to my brother. And I'm sure that he'll never notice the difference anyway."
She tilted her head and gave him a disapproving look. "Fine then... Have you at least seen it somewhere?"
"I have not. God knows, you probably lost it somewhere down his pants."
"Cyrus, I'm being serious!"
He rolled his eyes and left without further comment. She turned back to Lucius who had been quietly standing there waiting for his orders.
"I want the whole palace searched again. And again... No one will stop or leave tonight before my wedding ring is found. Understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will inform the staff right away."
"Good. Once you have it, bring it to me as fast as possible. I'll meet the king in..." She raised her arm to look at her watch. Then her eyes widened. She was already late. She'd have to go without the ring.
"FML!" she murmured as she hurried out the door.
The sun was setting and bathed the world in gold. In the east, the sky was turning into a deep blue, already displaying a few first hasty stars. It was luxuriously peaceful and the air smelled of summer. It was still warm, but would get fresh very soon, so she had put a woolen cardigan over her dress against the light wind caressing the grass. How she loved to walk the gardens this time of day, this time of year...
Now, however, she was walking much faster than usual. She was following the gentle stream and was almost at the bridge. Then she stopped abruptly. Flickering torches appeared left and right of the path. She continued and her heart was beating faster. Was this the surprise Simon had talked about? And then she saw him. Standing on top of the bridge, wearing an elegant black suit, smiling at her and looking absolutely gorgeous. He was framed by more torches that led up to where he was standing, beneath an arch of red roses in full bloom. It was mystical, magical, and so romantic. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes filled with tears. When had he last done something like this for her? Or had he ever?
She couldn't believe how lucky she was. This was her husband. He was hers. And she was his. Forever.
Slowly she walked up to him, her eyes never leaving his, her smile shining even brighter than the flames all around her. He reached out for her hand. She wanted to kiss him, but he gently put a finger on her lips and shook his head.
"Not yet", he whispered. Then he took both of her hands in his and cleared his throat. "I've been wanting to do this for a long, long time. You know how... as beautiful and glorious as it was, dissatisfied I've always been with our wedding somehow. It was staged for the public. Not for us. Every step, every breath we took was meticulously planned and scheduled. Instead, I always wished our wedding should have been more quiet, intimate... honest. Just the two of us. Because after all, what else do we really need?"
Helena was barely breathing and her heart was pounding in her chest. What was going on? What was he going for? He wouldn't... or would he? Right here? Right now?
Slowly he went down on one knee, still looking her deep in the eyes as she began to shiver slightly.
"It wasn't always easy. There were good times and bad. But I know now more than ever that you're the one for me, the only one. And that I cannot live without you. I love you! I adore you. Helena Henstridge, do you want to marry me... again? Right here and now?"
Only when she started feeling dizzy did she notice that she must have stopped breathing quite a while ago. It was as if time was standing still. She also didn't notice the tear of happiness running down her cheek. She sniffed and nodded. "Yes!"
He could barely hear it, but he could see it. Almost relieved, even though he never really doubted that she would say yes – they were already married after all – he got up and pulled her into his arms to hold her for a while. Then he let go of her, looked at her and smiled, again taking her hands into his. Her tears had taken their toll on her mascara, her hair was messed up by the summer breeze and her eyes were glowing with love and anticipation. In this moment, she was more beautiful than ever. She looked exactly as he'd always wanted her to look like during their wedding vows.
"Alright then... Since we don't have a registrar or priest, I'll need to improvise a bit," he took another deep breath and solemnly started to declare, "I, Simon Peter Henry William, will have you to my wedded wife, to live together according to God's law in holy estate of matrimony. I will love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, in sickness and in health. And, forsaking all other, keep me only unto you, so long as we both shall live. I will."
Helena bit her lower lip and gently squeezed his hands. Unlike during their real wedding all those years ago, she finally allowed herself to feel all the emotions rushing over her right now and gave in to her tears. It felt cleansing. And she could see his eyes welling up as well, she could feel his heartbeat in his hands.
"Helena Elizabeth, will you have me to your wedded husband, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love me, comfort me, honor and keep me, in sickness and in health. And, forsaking all other, keep you only unto me, so long as we both shall live?"
Was he really shaking? He seemed a bit nervous. But why? How could she not say yes? Yes. Yes! For as long as they lived, she wanted to love him and only him. She had already promised him before and broken it so many times, but this time she meant it.
"I will!" she said and was surprised herself about the strength in her voice, despite all the tears.
Could she kiss him now? He seemed to be wondering the same and finally decided that there was no moment more perfect than now. He pulled her close, placed his lips on hers and kissed her, gently at first, then more deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to get lost in this kiss. Whatever happened, her husband was going to be there for her to hold her and protect her.
It was really funny... It wasn't even a real wedding, but their bond felt stronger now than it ever had. She had thought it so many times already and she was thinking it again: God bless this man! Her man...
After a small eternity has passed and their lips had finally parted, he placed another kiss on her forehead, then he reached into his pocket and revealed... her ring!
She had totally forgotten about it. It was her ring he was holding, the one she had been searching for hours! Her astonishment must have shown on her face, as he started to grin like a little school boy whose prank setup had gone unnoticed by the teacher, truly amused by her perplexity.
"That is..." she stumbled, "But I've been looking for... And I told Lucius..."
He shook his head. "Shhh! Don't worry, he knows."
Before he placed the ring on her finger, back to where it belonged, he showed her the engraving on the inside. The gold almost seemed to be alive in the light of the flames. "H & S" it said, along with their wedding date, as it always had. But now it was also showing the date of today.
Only they would know. It would be their little secret.
She couldn't believe that he had arranged all of this in just a few hours. For her.
"Oh baby... You're unbelievable, do you know that?"
He shrugged, still grinning. "I'm just a king who's madly in love with his queen."
Then he finally slipped the ring on her finger, her hands were sweaty and truly shaking now. But she felt whole again.
It was only then that she realized he wasn't wearing his ring either. He reached into his pocket once more and handed her his wedding ring. She took one more glance at the numbers that were now adorning also his piece and sighed happily, then she managed to put it on him despite her shaking hands and within one blink of an eye was kissing him again to seal their union once and for all.
