SwanDestiny: You will never know how long this took to edit this chapter. Heed my words! I needed 100 days for this! Of course, I'm just kidding... But acknowledge my work and part of this! ~From the hard working editor of Imperfect Queen.
Bandidaciega: Just like it took a lot of hard work to edit, it took a lot of work to write. But, we made it to the wedding! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It is the longest chapter ever: Over 6,000 words.
Enjoy!
Agatha had never been so nervous in her life. It was a bubbling feeling in her chest, like as soon as it pops, the world will come crashing down. More than butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach - it felt like a whole zoo was crammed in there. And her heart seemed to pump as loud as the drums in the band, and was trying to break through her chest. So this was what it was like when you're going to be married to a person you don't want to be married to, and being introduced to a royal life that wasn't meant for you at the same time. This is what it felt like.
As soon as she stepped into the church, everybody stood. All faced her: Some smiled, some were expressionless, and some were just intently staring, which made Agatha really nervous. Nobles, royals, whatever they were, were everywhere, and Agatha had never seen any of them in her life. She just walked, slowly and carefully, her back straight, with her arm around Stefan's. Suddenly, all her lessons of Ediquette and manners came crashing down like a rocket in her head, whispering the rules of a royal, Agatha blinked, mustering up all her happiness into one bright and brilliant smile. She could feel the joy radiating from the people, all of them were happy. They would finally have a princess, a queen, a ruler to stand by the king of Camelot.
The thought made Agatha feel even more anxious.
Yet, Agatha kept on smiling, the corner of her lips staying uplifted and never faltering. Agatha silently prayed she didn't look stupid smiling, but apparenlty she didn't. The crowd seemed to beam at her, whispering among themselves about the beautiful new Queen.
She had been so busy looking at the crowd, she hadn't even looked ahead, to see the altar where Tedros was standing. He and Charles stood there, with two totally different faces. The priest looked as happy as everybody in the crowd, with his white robes the dangling cross he always had. Tedros stood at his side, he had a white shirt, with a navy blue jacket over it, which had at least a dozen of golden buttons, and he wore the typical black breeches, with black boots.
And unlike a lot of people, he wasn't smiling, his expression was more like…disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Shockingly, he did give Agatha a weak smile, as if it took all of his energy to do that. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Agatha took her eyes off of Tedros.
She searched among the crowd for any familiar face, Sophie, her mother, Arietta, Nerida... Even Arthur could work, but she couldn't see them. Not until she approached the front. Sophie was the first familiar face she spotted, smiling so much, it looked like it hurt. Right next to her, Callis was tearing up, and when Agatha saw her, she could've started sobbing as well. Her mother probably was still in shock, just like Agatha was. She didn't get to see Arietta and Nerida - the amount of people was too overwhelming.
At last, she reached the altar. She couldn't believe she was here, standing in front of Tedros, about to marry him. Agatha wanted to close her eyes. This was happening. This was finally happening. This was the moment. She couldn't do anything but wait to see what happened.
Of course, Agatha couldn't squeeze her eyes tight and run away. There was a crowd waiting for her. As hard as it was to believe, people were counting on her. She couldn't quit now. The marriage deal was seale.
Stefan kissed her cheek and then let go of her arm. Agatha almost wobbled at the lost of Stephan's arm acting as her anchor to the world. Stefan seemed to notice and gave her a last smile before he took his seat. Now, it was just the two of them, facing the other. Agatha needed to remind herself to look at Tedros, but it seemed as if he needed to remind himself to stop. The verb Agatha could use with the way Tedros was acting towards her was... Staring. Yes, Tedros was staring at Agatha, as if he had just noticed her for the first time. It was as if he was paying attention to every single detail on Agatha's pale face, from her big eyes, to her currently red lips, all the way to her crown atop her head.
Agatha slightly squinted as she looked into Tedros's eyes, like his blue eyes were too blinding to keep looking at. Tedros's eyes were still pinned on her, examining her, sucking in every single feature of her priceless face, her glossy hair, and her perfect figure. It must've been like a dream to him. In fact, the way Agatha looked was still a dream to her too.
The way he stared at her unnerved Agatha. Of course, this whole thing unnerved her. But what unnerved her the most was the light feeling on Agatha's chest, and the way her heart seemed to be fluttering. Yes, fluttering. It was definitely unnerving.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to unite Agatha and Tedros in holy matrimony," Charles announced solemnly. Agatha's heart sped up at that sentence.
"Now, I ask in the name of God, for this union to be blessed, for this love to bloom, and for it to be everlasting," Charles then went on to the Liturgy of the word, he read a passage from the Bible, then gave a short sermon about marriage. Agatha had never been at a marriage ceremony, but she knew they were usually long. Boy, was she right.
She could only hear the distant hum of what Charles is saying. With every passing word, the vows and the kiss came one step closer, slowly, one by one, but it came closer. There was only the way the sun shined on the crowd, the blue skies, and two people - a girl and a boy, nothing simpler.
"Now, the couple will share their vows, if you could all stand, please." Everybody stood at that moment, Agatha was sure that she couldn't go first, luckily, Tedros spoke at that moment:
"Agatha, I know that we didn't exactly fall in love the moment we met, but I assure you, I'll always respect you, I will always protect you, and I vow to do my best to love you everlastingly." His voice cracked at the end, and Agatha's eyes widened at his speech, her heart furiously pounding at her chest. Surely, he was only saying that.
"I promise that I will always be there for you, I promise to respect and support you. And most importantly, I promise to love you , no matter what happens," Agatha's voice cracked at the end as well. She felt like a liar when she said the last part, but that was all her brain could think of. Could they even fall in love? Agatha ignored the beat of her increasing heart rate at the thought of Tedros and her falling in love.
Oh no. They almost gotten to the kiss. Oh, no. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, and no.
Of course, Agatha's imagination decided to be a bit devious at that point. What would it feel like, feeling Tedros's lips on her own. To be in a corner, kissing to their hearts contempt? Agatha suddenly stopped herself. What did she just say? She blushed, though nobody could really tell since she already had blush on. What was she thinking?
"Now, the part we've all been waiting for. Tedros, if you could repeat after me, 'I, Tedros,'" Charles said. The couple then held hands, much to Agatha's dismay and embarrasment.
"I, Tedros," He repeated.
"Take thee, Agatha," Charles said.
"Take thee, Agatha," Tedros echoed again.
"To be my wife,"
"To be my, wife," Even Tedros choked up at that part.
"In sickness and in health,"
"In sickness and in health,"
"I will love and honor you all days of my life,"
"I will love and honor you all days of my life," Tedros concluded. Charles then turned to Agatha.
'I, Agatha,"
"I, Agatha," Agatha said, slightly struggling to even say her name.
"Take thee, Tedros,"
"Take thee…Tedros,"
"To be my husband,"
"To be my…husband," By every single sentence, the pauses became longer.
"In sickness and in health,"
"In sickness and in health,"
"I will love and honor you all days of my life,"
"I will… love and… honor you all days of my life," By the time Agatha had to say this, she was tearing up, and she didn't know exactly why. Maybe because this was it, because she would be considered a princess after this, maybe after all this lessons all she just wanted to run away. Her fear was gnawing on the doubt in her heart.
"Do you take Agatha as your lawful wife , to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?" Charles asked Tedros, he paused for a second, but he replied:
"I do," He said, his blue eyes unwavering.
"Do you take Tedros as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?" Charles repeated, and Agatha teared up even more, she felt Tedros running his fingers over hers. Agatha nearly froze. Was he doing that becauase of reassurance, or something else? After a relatively long pause, she answered.
"I do," She replied, holding in tears.
So this is what people crying at wedding were like, except Agatha had no good reason for it.
"Now, if I could get the ring," Charles requested, and to no one's surprise, Tristan stood in that moment, handed one to Charles, who blessed it at the moment. He then gave it to Tedros.
Agatha got a glimpse of the ring and bit back a gasp. Gold gleamed in the sun, shining brightly more than anything else in the wedding. It was all gold! Gold that Agatha never dreamed of seeing, being near to, or wearing!
"If you could say: 'I take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.'"
Tedros seemed to stumble with the ring as Agatha watched intently. Tedros was mouthing words that Agatha couldn't decipher, and he stumbled even more as he slipped the ring on Agatha's finger.
"I take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Agatha said.
One step closer to the kiss. One. Step. Closer.
"If we could get the other ring as well," Agatha didn't know why Tristan didn't have Tedros' ring, but then, Sophie stood, and Agatha understood. They asked each of their friends to have it.
She handed it to Charles, flashed a smile to the couple, and then returned to her seat. Charles also gave a smile blessing to the ring, then giving it to Agatha.
Agatha nearly screamed from the anxiety she was feeling.
Agatha took the finger with two unsure, trembling, pale fingers, afraid that she was going to drop it. "Please," Agatha prayed. "Don't let me make a fool out of myself." Agatha managed to move her two fingers holding the ring towards Tedros. Agatha squeezed shut her eyes. "Please, please, please, let this work." And somehow, she managed to insert the ring onto Tedros's finger. Agatha almost let out a sigh of relief.
Oh wait. They were offically married now. Rings and everything. Wow. Just wow.
"I take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Agatha found herself miraculously saying.
Charles smiled at the couple before saying:
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,"
Agatha's eyes widened after Charles spoken that line.
This was it, the part Agatha had dreaded the most. She immediately shut her eyes. She suddenly imagined a clock ticking, one hand following the other, minutes, hours, days passing. This was the moment everybody was waiting for. It finally arrived. Finally.
Agatha felt something - somebody lean towards her, as if they were hesitant as well. She felt Tedros's rough hands from sword play slowly cup her cheeks. Agatha blushed as if it was a natural reaction, and her body started quivering. She opened her eyes, only to see Tedros staring back at her with his own sky blue eyes.
Somehow, she relaxed. Her knees no longer felt like jello, and her hands no longer felt like they were frozen. It was as if Tedros felt her shaking. Did he meant to soothe her?
And then, as quick as the moment came, it ended.
Tedros then closed the gap between them and kissed her. Agatha's blush intensified by a thousand, though nobody could tell because they were kissing. "Oh my gosh!" Agatha realized. "We're kissing!" She suddenly felt light, as if her feet had lifted up from the air and she was floating, floating away. She saw light bubbles, feeling just like one, and then they popped, like bursts of joy. She slowly pulled herself back to reality. Why was this kiss... Feeling so good?
Even though it felt like hours to Agatha, the kiss was only ten seconds long and merely a brush of the lips. Yet, it felt like a complete kiss to Agatha. "This..." Realization dawned on her, "Is... My first kiss."
The kiss ended with the sounds of cheers from the crowd. Agatha looked down, even after all her effort of looking straight ahead, and for the one hundreth time... Blushed.
The ceremony concluded with nuptial blessings for the couple, and a little prayer from Charles.
"I present to you our prince and princess, and future King and Queen of Camelot," Charles announced. Tedros gave his arm to Agatha as they stepped down and they walked down the aisle. People were cheering like crazy: they clapped, they shouted, and they yelped. Agatha saw Arietta and Nerida, both crying messes, but both smiled at the sight of the couple walking until they exited the church, as husband and wife. For the very first time.
Agatha's heart could have exploded. She couldn't believe what just happened. She was married. To a prince. Which made her a princess. And she had been kissed. She tried to register all that, but failed. Yet here she was, walking arm in arm with her…husband.
"Can we let go of each other's arm?" Agatha asked Tedros.
"Not until we get to the carriage," Tedros replied.
Agatha looked up and squeezed her eyes shut. How stupid did she just sound?
They walked a little bit more, until they saw a white carriage, waiting for them. Tedros helped Agatha to get in, and then he got in. They sat in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes, until Tedros broke it.
"Well…that was…surprisingly better, actually," He confessed, Agatha raised her now perfectly pluckered eyebrows. Not that bad? Agatha thought that was one of the most terrifying moments in her whole life.
"You think?" Agatha asked, disbelief dripping from her voice.
"Well, I mean, I pictured it more awkward, but it wasn't." Tedros admitted, Agatha's incredulous state got worse. It had been so awkward for her!
"Oh,"
"...Okay," He replied, sounding unsure of what to say.
"It doesn't matter, it's over…but now we need to..dance," Agatha remembered, it was like never ending torture.
"Right. You aren't too bad at dancing though," Tedros added as Agatha hastily looked away,""At least we have done that before, unlike saying vows, our looking at each other's eyes," Tedros said.
"Our holding each other's hands, or…" Agatha thought about the kiss, and she wanted to pull her veil over her face. Her first kiss had been at the altar, which was so weird. It was so uncomfortable to think about it, about Tedros kissing her, yet she couldn't stop. She was just expecting a peck, but that wasn't a peck. She blushed bright red just thinking about it.
"What were you about to say?" Tedros asked, bringing Agatha back to reality.
"N-nothing," She stammered lamely. 'Way to go, Agatha,' she thought to herself.
"Can I ask you something?" Agatha inquired, suddenly remembering something. Tedros nodded.
"Were your vows…true? Like, that loving everlastingly part?" Agatha asked. Now it was Tedros's turn to blush, which surprised Agatha.
"Well…I, I mean…I needed to say something, and I-I thought it worked…I don't love you, that sounds terrible, geez…What I'm trying to say is that…If we were to…you know…then, yes, I would. And I would be faithful, even if we didn't…fall in love," Tedros replied.
Agatha's eyebrows shot up again. Had he been considering that possibility? Was he starting to… like her? Agatha's features softened, seems she needed to evaluate that possible outcome.
"Oh…" She said lamely again. Now she felt like she had said the stupidest thing ever at the altar.
"You never mentioned your father would be coming," Tedros observed. Agatha's face slightly darkened as she lowered her head.
"He is my best friend's father, not mine. He just offered to take me down the aisle," Agatha admitted, she never liked talking about the whole father thing, especially with people she barely knew. What made her confess to Tedros? Well, he was going to be her husband...
"Oh, I'm sorry I asked," Tedros said, suddenly ashamed.
"It's alright, you didn't know." Agatha replied softly. It did affect her sometimes, not having a father and everything, but Stefan had always been so nice to her, and he didn't even need to. Agatha felt a pang of sadness in that moment.
They didn't speak much after that: just small talk about guests and the reception. Things that really didn't matter.
The carriage seemed to take longer this time, for it took them a good hour and a half to get to the castle. Agatha was really annoyed at that fact, but at the same time, it meant that by every minute passing, she was closer to be in the reception of her wedding. She didn't know what was worse.
After they finally arrived, the carriage was stationed at the same spot where Agatha had arrived: The drawbridge. Their guard opened the carriage's door for them. Tedros descended first, then he helped Agatha get down. The guard led them to the Inner Court, then, after they walked the small plaza, they reached the door that led them to the keep. At the keep, they went up the same stairs Agatha had walked a month ago. It was hard to fathom that she had a month here, especially at moments like this.
They walked the same dim corridors Agatha started knowing so well, but the only difference was they went left instead of right. They walked for a good twenty minutes, trying to get them to the ballroom was taking longer than the wedding ceremony. Agatha's feet ached. She had gotten heels again, and they were starting to create a blister. The guard took them through corridors with blue tapestry and paintings. Then, they reached a pair of golden doors, which had carvings at the sides. Agatha knew they had arrived. She was told the plan for the entrance: They would go down the stairs, then they would dance.
"Now, I need to check if you can go, give me five minutes," The guard said. He entered the doors, leaving the two of them alone.
In a matter of minutes, Agatha and Tedros would be entering the ballroom, they would face hundreds of faces while they waltzed down the ballroom. The thought made Agatha's skin crawl, she still wasn't used to all the royalty stuff. They waited quietly, both unsure of what to say. Luckily, the guard returned quickly, announcing they could enter.
Agatha took in a deep breath, as if to calm herself. She failed miserably.
"Prepare your best smile," Tedros muttered.
She gave her arm to Tedros, they both looked at each other nervously, knowing what laid behind those doors.
"Ready?" Tedros asked her, an unusual nervousness to his tone.
"Not really. Are you?" Agatha asked, Tedros shook his head violently.
"Heavens, no," And out of nowhere, he shot Agatha a nervous smile, in which she quickly looked away.
"Let's do this then," She said, they started walking, they opened the doors for them.
The view was overwhelming.
And so they started their act. They put on their happiest faces, their teeth dazzling and their figures looking perfect and stunning. This was the marriage act.
Agatha saw the mahogany stairs in front of her, then, she saw the huge crowd of people in front of her. They all cheered for them. The ballroom was adorned beautifully, but it all seemed a blur. Agatha just focused on walking without falling. Tedros and her walked down the stairs, both smiling lightly, just as they had been told to do. As they walked, the crowd started clapping for them, Agatha tightened her grip around Tedros' arm, as a sign of astounded by the sights.
Of course, they were still getting used to... touching each other, so everything like this ends up with blushes and looking away.
And finally, they reached the ballroom. Oh crap. This was it.
They assumed the position they always had to, and the music started. Oh, what a beautiful sight it was for the guests. Tedros led Agatha across the dancefloor, it was as if they were just gliding across the floor. Guests looked on intently, thinking that the pair were born to dance. In the midst of all her anxiety, Agatha couldn't help but feel…relieved. She had made it this far, which meant she hadn't failed. The thought made Agatha happy, and she even felt proud of herself. At this point, waltzing was not her favorite thing, but she managed not to step on Tedros's feet, and that was pretty good.
When they finished, they gave the crowd a small bow and curtsy, which according to Sader, was the appropriate thing to do at weddings. The crowd of guests clapped, and finally, Agatha noticed the venue. The round tables all had a white linen tablecloth over them, and the chairs also had a sort of covering cloth over them, which had a navy blue and golden bow at the back.
Agatha and Tedros then were allowed to take a seat. They sat at a rectangular table, which followed the same arrangements of any other table. She also noticed it had a centerpiece which consisted of a vase with some blue flowers in them. They did look really nice. Agatha never reall noticed them. And in front of them, laid two glasses of champagne, most likely for a toast.
Agatha wasn't too sure of what would happen next: Did they stay here? Were they waiting for something to happen? Then, she saw Arthur go to the middle of the ballroom, most of the people were already paying attention to him, seeing as not only he was the King but also the father of the groom. Agatha saw some sort of speech coming.
Oh joy. Wasn't life wonderful?
"Before I begin, I want to thank all of you for coming, especially all of the foreigners that are sitting here, because this is a really special moment. Now, I want to take a moment to congratulate our newlyweds. They have come a very long way, especially our dear bride," Agatha smiled at that comment, "I know that you probably don't want to take marriage advice from me, but I will give it to you anyway. Marriage is hard, and it takes a lot of work to have a functional relationship. It takes respect, it takes honesty. I have no doubt you two will have a wonderful life together, and I wish you the best. I know it will be hard, but I believe you can be happy. You already look better than just a couple of days ago. So I say want to make a toast, in the name of my son and my new daughter-in-law. For Tedros and Agatha, that God may bless this union. Cheers!" Everybody raised their glass in that moment and cheered for their new Prince and Princess. Agatha and Tedros joined as well, raising their glass of champagne. Agatha imagined there would be a toast, because every wedding has one, from what she had heard at least.
After that, the night progressed rather nicely. Shortly after the toast, a lot of people were in the dancefloor, not necessarily dancing, but they were mingling with people. Agatha and Tedros stood almost immediately after the toast, after all, this was a ball dedicated to them, so they should at least try and enjoy it. And nearly a second after they were standing, Sophie was already there. The first thing she did was hug Agatha, saying how happy she was for her. Then, came the somewhat awkward introductions.
"Agatha, aren't you going to introduce me?" Sophie asked, Agatha had completely forgotten Tedros didn't even know who Sophie was. It almost felt like Tedros was a complete part of her life now, and that Sophie knows Tedros.
"Oh, right. Tedros, this is Sophie, my best friend, and you obviously know who he is already," Agatha said, Tedros and Sophie shook hands, Tedros putting up an act about how he was so happy to finally meet his beloved's best friend (he doesn't know Sophie knows the truth about their relationship) and Sophie sending dazzling smiles everywhere.
"Well, how does it feel to be married?" Sophie asked, both of them were completely blank at that moment.
"….Strange" Tedros finally said, Sophie laughed at that, while Agatha silently agreed with him.
Sophie went on to ask other questions about the reception, and then she also congratulated them and wished them a happy life. She then left to mingle.
"You know, I may meet a prince in this place!" She exclaimed, Agatha laughed at that. She still thought sometimes they should've taken Sophie instead of her.
"At least she's happy." Agatha thought. Then, Arthur came to talk to them.
"As I said before, I really am happy for both of you. At least you can stand next to each other without feeling annoyed, at least I hope." He said, Agatha and Tedros nodded at that comment.
"You really have made me proud in this month, son. And we finally married you too!" He laughed, even Agatha let out a small, quiet laugh.
"Seems we accomplished impossible." Tedros said, Arthur agreed with him.
"Yes, and you look lovely, Agatha. Those maids did a good job," Agatha blushed and thanked him. He then hugged both of them and proceeded to go and talk to other guests.
Agatha and Tedros stood there for a minute, not knowing what to do. Apparently, nobody took the time to tell them what to do at their wedding, besides dance.
"Are we supposed to dance?" Agatha asked Tedros, he shrugged.
"We could, or we could just keep talking to guests. I'm sure they will keep coming to congratulate us," Tedros replied, Agatha simply nodded at that, she then started wondering: where was her mother? She remembered seeing her at the church, but that had been it.
"I think I will go and try to find my mother. If I can even see her," Agatha said to Tedros, but before she could start walking, he stopped her.
For a moment, Agatha remembered every single time Sophie babbled to her about the romantic books she read and how there was always a moment when the boy would stop the girl from doing something and then they'd share a passionate kiss. Agatha rolled her eyes at Sophie back then, but-
"Wait, shouldn't I go and meet your mother? I mean, I don't even know how she looks," Tedros said, and Agatha felt her heart drop. Shouldn't she be relieved? Then why did she feel slight disappointment?
"Ignore it," Agatha told herself.
"I suppose you are right," Agatha thought out loud, "She looks just like me, so that's a pretty good description."
Tedros seemed to plaster a smile on his face. "You don't look... bad... You look... Nice."
Of course, Tedros was just lowering down what Agatha looked like. Honestly, he couldn't blurt out about how ravishing Agatha actually looked to him, after being used to seeing Agatha look only slightly attractive - which was after a nice and long bath.
Both set out to look for said woman, which turned out to be harder than it looked like. Agatha thought she would stand out in the crowd, but the nobles and royals were all over the place. Literally. It took them a while, but Agatha managed to spot her.
It seemed Callis was also looking for Agatha, so when mother and daughter found each other, it was success for both. As expected, both hugged each other. It was a rather emotional moment for both, Callis said she was very proud of her, Agatha just remained quiet and hugged her mother.
Then, awkward introductions came. Introducing anybody was strange for Agatha, but this one was particularly strange.
"Uh, mother, this is Tedros, as you already know. Tedros, this is my mother," Agatha verbalized, Tedros shook Callis bony hand.
"Pleasure to meet you ma'am," Tedros said politely, and Agatha spared a quick glance at him.
"It is nice finally meeting my daughter's husband, after nearly two months and not even knowing what he looks like," Callis replied, in a sort of dry tone
"I imagine," Tedros mumbled in a hushed tone, releasing his hand from Callis's grip.
"I might go ahead and say: treat her fairly, please, she is the best thing that I have," Callis said softly, looking at Agatha.
Agatha had to admit: She teared up at that part.
"Of course, I will do my best," Tedros replied, while smiling brightly.
The three talked for a little bit longer, the conversation followed the usual congratulations, and it also included some of Callis's questions for Agatha.
As the evening progressed, Agatha encountered even more guests. She talked with a princess by the name of Kiko, who said to be from Neverland. She happily congratulated Agatha, even though she had no idea who this Kiko was, she turned out to be nice though.
"Hey!" Kiko said as she clumsily made her way to Agatha. "Congratulations!"
Next, She talked to Arietta and Nerida, both rushed to her and bombarded her with question, well, mostly Arietta.
"I am so, so, so, happy for you, Agatha. And you look so beautiful!" Nerida exclaimed happily.
"Me too! You are a princess, can you believe it? Okay, but I need to ask something really important," Arietta said, while bouncing on her feet.
"Arietta, don't do it," Nerida asked, a stern edge to her voice, Agatha looked at them puzzled.
"Oh come on! I will ask it: how was the kiss at the altar?" Arietta asked, suddenly extremely curious, while Agatha's mind was blown away. Was she entitled to ask such question?
"Uh…" Agatha said stupidly, Arietta was inching closer, her hands both together, having an excited look on her face. Even Nerida raised her eyebrows.
"It was…alright, I guess. I don't know," Agatha replied earnestly, it wasn't that…horrible. Of course, that was the understatement of the year.
"I can live happy now. See Nerida, nothing bad happened," Arietta said brightly, Nerida sighed at Arietta's happiness.
"Anyways, but he was sort of shocked with how you look, so that goes to tell us, we did a fine job," Nerida said, an air of victory to her voice, Agatha raised her eyebrows at them.
"I'll just agree with you, because everybody is saying I look great," Agatha replied, smiling at the maids.
"Even Tedros?" Arietta asked hopefully, Agatha shot her a look.
"He barely said anything," Agatha replied brusquely, Arietta giggled.
As the night progressed, Agatha ate, danced and talked with more people. In the midst of all, she had to admit she was having fun. People were being very nice to her, even though it was tedious to talk to so many strangers. For once, she felt like she belonged there. Not even dancing was that bad, now she felt giddy when dancing, not as if she was punished. Tedros actually asked her to dance a second time, which took Agatha by surprise, but she complied.
"Um... Will you dance with me?" Tedros asked while eyeing some of the nobles who didn't hide their interest for Agatha.
At the end of the night, she realized something: There was no cake. Strange, even Gavaldon's weddings had cake, they should have one. She asked Tedros, thinking he probably knew, then he answered her.
"That means they're doing something different," Tedros said, which left Agatha unsatisfied.
"What do you mean?" She asked again.
"Many guests have a little cake or sweet. They are gonna pile them and we need to go on opposite sides of the pile, then, we kiss, without making the pile fall," He replied nonchalantly, while Agatha was having a mini heart attack: kiss? Again? Agatha nearly fainted for the first time ever.
"How can you say that so calmly?" Agatha asked, her tone edged with disbelief. Tedros shrugged.
"I've always known I would need to do it," He replied passively, much to Agatha's annoyance.
And indeed, the pile of sweets was so tall, it was tumbling, so they were ordered to stop piling them. Agatha and Tedros were called to do this, but the pile was so high, they needed to get up on a chair. Sader helped Agatha get on the chair. Even though it seemed mortifying at first, it ended up being slightly humorous. For neither knew how to avoid touching the last pastry. Agatha blushed a dark shade of red, here she was, about to kiss Tedros, again. He leaned in forward a planted a peck on her lips. The pile didn't fall, it just tumbled a little bit. The crowd cheered loudly.
"Oh c'mon Tedros! Give her a real kiss!" Chaddick shouted from the audience, even Agatha giggled, still blushing. They got down from the chairs, and eventually, they actually were able to eat the pastries.
"Finally!" Agatha said, (elegantly, from ediquette lessons) eating a small chocolate brownie.
When the reception finally came to an end, all the guests left for their chambers, or their homes. Sophie, Callis and Stefan all bid their goodbyes, and then they eventually left. Arietta and Nerida stayed, because they're maids, and they were assigned to clean up. Nerida asked if they needed to be escorted. Tedros said he knew where they were headed, so he would just lead Agatha.
And so at 9, Agatha and Tedros finally left their reception, and off they went.
They were all alone. How awkward could this be?
Then, Agatha suddenly remembered something. Oh gosh. She would be sharing a chamber with Tedros. Forever. And that also meant sharing a bed.
The awkward meter just raised by a huge amount.
Agatha shuddered. Forever was a long time.
Yet, the shuddering also left tingles running across her body.
She was sure of one thing: This wouldn't be a typical wedding night.
When they finally reached their chamber, they stood awkwardly by the door. Tedros broke the silence.
"Well, the wedding is over. Wow. That's really hard to believe," Agatha nodded in reply.
"You know, we're not going to….you know," Agatha said awkwardly. Tedros suddenly blushed.
"No, no, no, of course not," He stammered, blushing wildly. Agatha found herself looking at his eyes, and then looked down, blushing as well.
Tedros cleared his throat before he opened the doors.
'Welcome to your married life,' Agatha thought cynically, as a room was revealed to her.
And that was it! The wedding is finally over, I can't believe that myself...Anyway, next chapter will probably be up by next week.
We'll see how it goes for these two...
Also, the toppling of the cake was an actual tradition, back in Medieval times, so I decided to include it. I thought I was going to include a part in which a group of girls want to rip off a part of Agatha's dress (Another Medieval tradition) but I decided against it.
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