*... Present day ...*

The water of the bath was lukewarm, neither too hot nor too cold.
Ben allowed Armand to help him slip into the liquid embrace of the tub without resisting and without complaining, unlike what he had done the first day of his arrival in the capital.

Of course, the fact of being seen naked and washed by an alien still made him feel a little uncomfortable but the talk of the conductoid managed to distract him long enough to overcome the embarrassment.

Armand poured some scented oils into the tub, which in contact with the water raised a lavender fog, after which he took care of rubbing his back well.
Ben took care of the front, mostly to prevent the other from thinking about it.
His chatter didn't have the power to distract him SO much, and despite the knowledge that the conductoid wouldn't have trouble touching him in certain areas, the boy had no intention of allowing him.

"You look great!" Armand concluded, visibly satisfied once he helped him get dressed after the bath "I knew I was right to ask the tailors to add green to the formal dress, it's really your color"

The human looked in the mirror.

He wore a ceremonial asymmetric black outfit, with purple details, similar to those used by the peoples of Southeast Asia on his planet, composed of some kind of jacket made of black light silk, more or less long up to the hips and pants of the same color held by a tight green cloth belt.
Then he wore a green shawl around his right shoulder, above the jacket, that came down wrapping around his arm.

Black and purple were the colors of the empire so they had to be present by force, but Ben was pleased to find some green here and there.

The two days that separated him from that moment had passed quickly, too quickly for Ben's tastes.
"… Yeah, I guess, thanks Armand" the boy replied, smiling faintly.

"Hey, everything will be fine" Armand encouraged him, giving him comforting taps on the shoulder "You'll see, you're Ben 10 after all"

Knock, knock!

"Uh, sorry" Jades' face timidly peeked out from behind the door "My lord, the time has come"

"Yeah, sure …"

It was incredible how with the hair gathered in a simple high and fluffy tail, of which some curls were currently resting on one of her shoulders, Lady Neptune managed to have an even more regal appearance than she already had.
"Are you ready?" the Atlantean asked kindly, distracting him from that thought.

Ben glanced uncertainly at the thick dark purple curtain closed in front of him.

It almost looked like that of a theater curtain.

"I … I thought I was, now I'm not really sure" he admitted sincerely.
"Neither was I, when I got married to Milleous" Neptune said with a bitter smile "Every step I took along the central nave, however short, was exhausting, as if I carried a huge weight on my shoulders"

"Where did you find the strength?" the seventeen-year-old murmured.

He had never felt so small and impotent as at that moment.

"From the awareness that my sacrifice would have made the difference between the life and death of my people" Neptune answered "It's the price we pay for power, I suppose, for me it was being the hereditary princess on my planet, for you it's to be the hero of yours, the serenity lies in believing that it was worth it"

"... All right, I'm ready" Ben took a deep breath "Let's do it"

"Do you remember what you have to do?"

Ben nodded.
"Incursean are really sadistic warmongers" he snorted.

"To each his own" Neptune smiled sadly, showing him the palm of her hand.
A thin scar ran diagonally across the blue skin.

"Don't worry, you don't have to cut so deep" she assured.

Ben nibbled his lip nervously "Then how did you …?"

"My kind's skin is very delicate, at least outside of our natural element"
"The water"
"Yes …"

They were both silent for a few moments.

"Thank you" Ben said "I mean … for helping me, you, Jades and Armand … I guess you are my only friends here"
"You are actually less lonely than you think, you just have to learn how to play your cards …" the woman said with an enigmatic smile before accompanying him to the hall.

Tribal style music, mainly given by percussion instruments, filled the immense ceremonial hall, along with the chatter of the many guests.
Most of them were Incursean, but there were also other types of aliens.
Usually Ben liked to have people's attention on him, yet this time he found himself doing his best trying to ignore everything and everyone while Neptune accompanied him to the short staircase where two thrones headed.
One was larger and more decorated, while the other was smaller and simpler.

Well, if nothing else, he wouldn't have confused which of the two was his place.

Attea appeared a few minutes later.

The Incursean princess wore an elegant long, black, purple-beaded dress, without sleeves but with a very high collar that covered her entire chest and neck, leaving only the shoulders uncovered, around the waist stood out a purple decoration similar to an inverted water lily flower from which the skirt came out.
A transparent purple veil, tied to the gold tiara studded with small amethysts and rubies that she wore over her head, completed the whole.

She was beautiful, Ben couldn't deny that.

Perhaps it was just because it was the first time he had seen her dressed elegantly, but still …
The total absence of hair, as typical of her species, didn't affect at her all, accomplice also the fact that she actually had beautiful features, full lips and big eyes.

The dress wrapped her like a glove, highlighting the shapes of her body and enhancing them.

Seen in this way she really looked like a princess.

"Do you like what you're seeing, Tennyson?" the princess mockingly asked, since she hadn't missed the amazed expression of the human "Ready for the show?"

"Let's end this quickly" Ben hissed, looking away.

Attea just smiled.
In another moment she would have enjoyed making fun of him, but now that she was so close to finally fulfilling her purposes, now that she was about to be crowned empress ...

... she was simply too happy to be malicious.

"… You look good with that outfit anyway" she commented without thinking.
And she was actually sincere.

Of course, Ben looked at her in surprise, but he didn't answer cause he couldn't tell if it was a joke or a real compliment.

It was not at all like an earthly wedding, or at least it didn't look like any ceremony, of any culture of his planet that Ben knew.
To officiate the ceremony was Raff, former Emperor Milleous' right-hand man, a guy that Ben hadn't seen for some time.

"Hello Ben Tennyson, it's been a long time since we last met …" he greeted him.

"Ehy, Raff" Ben replied without particular enthusiasm.

"Don't waste time and let's start!" Attea ordered, rolling her eyes.

"Of course, your majesty" Raff nodded.

Ben took one last look at the closed doors of the living room, he didn't know why exactly.
Perhaps he hoped that someone would break in there at any moment, or simply that something, ANYTHING, would stop the ceremony.
Nothing happened, nobody showed up ...

... He was alone.

A cough brought his attention back.
"Tennyson ..." said Raff, handing him a dagger with a thin silver blade.

Oh yeah, just like Neptune said.

He took the dagger and made a thin cut on the palm of his right hand.
Attea had already done the same.

"In the Incursean Empire, bonds are formed in blood" Raff declared, as Ben and Attea braided their injured hands, so that the cuts fit together "Now your lives are linked by blood …"
Raff tied a dark red ribbon around their joined hands.
"… Before mortals and gods, do you swear to serve each other in your campaign, against any enemy?"

"I swear it, until I am dead or you have victory" Attea said.
"I … I swear it, until I am dead or you have victory …" Ben answered, after a brief moment of hesitation.

"UNTIL DEATH OR VICTORY!" some of the spectators shouted.

So it was done.

He and Attea were officially husband and wife.

And so the marriage took plase, simple, immediate and definitive.
If anyone hoped for some last second rescue I'm afraid he will be disappointed ^^' Just like Ben,
however, as you have seen the previous chapters were all like a one, big, flashback.

Here we are in the present.
Next chapter we'll see some old acquaintances among the guests.

See you!

P.S.

In describing Ben's outfits I had something like this in mind new-arrivals/charming-black-color-indo-western-17021 but with all the small differences and colors I have named.