A/N: I own nothing but the plot. Enjoy!
Percy sighed, straightening out his tie. Done dealing with the dratted thing, he patted his pockets to make sure the hidden dagger was still sewn into the seams.
"You know, weapons are usually banned from weddings. Why is it on my wedding, there seems to the most inordinate number of knives, swords, spears and daggers?" Percy wondered.
Prince Jason shrugged. "Don't glare at me like that. Do feel free to direct your annoyance at those who caused it though."
Percy sighed. He knew it was no use blaming Jason, who proclaimed he was there to fulfill his duties as a cousin and to look over the wedding proceedings. In truth, Percy knew the Couran prince was just there to hide from the aristocratic faction who was demanding why he wasn't willing to usurp the throne from his older sister, the crown princess. A few of the most insane noblemen still wanted Jason to take in Princess Medea as a concubine on the pretense of keeping the peace with the Colchis nation. As far as Percy could tell, the Colchis kingdom had done enough damage, sending in a princess who had tried to poison Cuora from the inside.
"Ah yes, you remind me that I should rip those rats apart with my bare hands," Percy muttered. "You do know that you owe me a luxurious wedding and honeymoon after this, Your Highness. Or you might just find your own wedding sabotaged."
"It's treason to threaten a prince, you know," Jason snorted.
"And when have you ever bothered with that stuff? My head should have been separated from my shoulders a long time ago if you were ever serious."
Percy peered out the window where a fancy white carriage decorated with blue roses was waiting. A procession of knights in white uniforms was in neat columns, awaiting for the bride and groom to alight.
"Well, I do believe Princess Piper and Lady Annabeth would probably give me a piece of their minds long before you could do anything," Jason remarked.
"I suppose so." Percy grinned. "You sure you don't want to consider Princess Medea as wife? This whole troublesome affair would be so easily taken care of." He teased.
Jason shook his head and gave the groom a look. "You're lucky that today is your wedding or else I'd challenge you to a duel."
"I will second that statement."
Both men turned to see Crown Princess Thalia standing in the doorway.
"Besides, if my little brother marries the Colchis princess, I would throw him in the dungeons for treason myself."
The black haired princess grinned. Unlike the majority of the people attending the wedding, she was dressed in full armor, as though prepared for war.
"Now come on. I hope you're ready."
Percy looked back at the carriage outside. The blue roses reminded him of the night at the greenhouse. Despite the tenseness of the air, a soft smile appeared on his face. He recalled how bright Annabeth's face had been and of the warmth that she exuded when she flung her arms around him.
He unknowingly clenched his fist, as though still feeling the warm traces of her fingers laced with his. Yes, he would fight for this. To keep that smile on her face, her eyes burning with passion and love turned towards his.
"Let's go."
The wedding of Duke Perseus Jackson and Lady Annabeth Chase was to be held shortly after the conclusion of the winter ball. Many people were gossiping about the infamous scandal of Lady Kelli Chase of the winter ball, as well as the circumstances that Lady Kelli was almost killed. Much of the rumors were left concluding that the Duke's wedding was held on such short notice in order to distract from the bad publicity for the royal Cuoran family.
"You're going to have to tell your future husband to compensate me for a proper wedding," Annabeth told Piper sternly. But a smile on her lips revealed that Annabeth was joking.
Piper laughed as she helped the ladies-in-waiting place a delicate hairpiece made of gold and sapphires onto Annabeth's hair. "It hasn't been announced officially that I have been chosen as Prince Jason's bride."
The conferment ceremony was supposed to be held in two weeks after Annabeth's wedding in order to not take away the limelight. But it was already well known that Princess Piper was going to be chosen as the official wife of Prince Jason. Prince Jason had elected to not take the other two princesses as concubines as past princes usually had. It had caused quite a stir among the nobility, who compared their love story to that of Duke Jackson and the future Duchess. It was rare that nobles married each other for love, much less royalty.
"Seeing your smiling face, you must truly love him," Piper commented. "I hope that I, too, could be happy like you when the day comes."
Annabeth glanced at herself in the mirror. Since the morning when she had been woken up at the crack of dawn to undergo a beauty regimen, she couldn't stop a smile from forming on her face. It was a far difference from the first wedding with Luke.
Back then, she had thought that to love someone was to completely devote herself to her partner. What she hadn't realized was that way of thinking had blinded her to Luke's greed and caused her to lose a part of herself. She had lost her independence, bowing to every of Luke's needs.
Now, she had someone whom she could share her troubles. Someone who respected her opinions and valued her as an equal. Someone who loved her and whom she could trust and love wholeheartedly back.
Annabeth twirled the blue diamond ring on her finger. She had heard from her fawning maids that the Duke had sought many weeks for the perfect gem to be used for his proposal, as well as hired the royal family's jeweler to create the ring. But Annabeth didn't care about the extravagant price that Percy had spent.
That night at the greenhouse, Annabeth had discovered an inscription in the underside of the ring. Holding the ring to the light, she had seen in perfect tiny writing the words, "To my love, Annabeth." Even if the blue diamond were to somehow be lost, she would treasure the platinum band and its promise of forever as though it was written in her own heart.
"Yes," Annabeth murmured softly. "I love him."
The ladies-in-waiting pinned the last jewel into her hair and flipped over the lace veil. "There you are, Madam. All done."
Gathering together with the Cytheran princess, the ladies cooed over the bride.
"It's time," Piper reminded them soon.
Annabeth took one last glance at the mirror. A woman stood looking back at her, her face lightly made up. Despite the many jewels adorning her, the brightest thing that stood out was her shining eyes and the unmistakable vivid smile on her face. This would be the last time she saw herself as Lady Annabeth Chase, and of as the former Countess Annabeth Castellan. Shedding the layers of the past, she would be the Duchess Annabeth Chase Jackson.
A white carriage ran smoothly down the road. In preparation for the wedding of Duke Perseus Jackson and Lady Annabeth Chase, the roads leading to the wedding hall were specially shoveled free of snow and salted down. Those who had come to watch the procession of white uniformed knights on matching white horses cheered as the little parade went by.
But not everyone was celebrating. Hidden deep in the trees alongside the forest were soldiers dressed for stealth. Many lay concealed in the treetops, bows and arrows prepared. The carriage and the knights were easy targets but not a single arrow was released. The signal had not appeared yet.
Near the royal Cuoran castle, many knights of the White Knights Order were gathered inside the castle. White Knights were not an uncommon sight in the royal castle, but there seemed to be an increased number of knights stationed within or near the castle. The head of the White Knights, Count Castellan, watched the skies from within his office in the castle. Though his expression was calm, there was a stiffness in his shoulders.
Meanwhile, the commander of the hidden soldiers in the forest, Marquis Ares, watched from within the shadows. He had been an excellent knight in the past, and he took great pleasure in personally leading his troops.
"Let the pair be married first," the marquis sneered. "Let it be my last show of kindness to you."
Everything was in place and ready for the bride to enter the hall. Despite the late winter, there were plenty of flowers decorating the pillars and in vases, a testament to the wealth in the union of the couple.
But Percy noticed none of the details of his wedding. Once the door opened and Annabeth entered, it was as if his vision only noticed the woman clad in white entering. His eyes didn't see the attendees, nor did they notice the poor officiant standing right by his side.
Soon, Annabeth was standing before him, holding a rose bouquet. His hands lifted up the veil, and her beaming face was revealed.
Anyone looking at the pair could see they were in their own little world, unknowing of what was outside.
Piper felt a squeeze on her hand as Prince Jason slipped by her side. It was as if knowing that she, too, wished for a smooth relationship where each partner were the other's halves. Generally unbelieving of love, even Crown Princess Thalia felt herself softening her stance before grimacing on the thought she, too, would have to find someone to rule by her side.
The official wedding proceedings went without a hitch. To Percy, the officiant's words were more like a blur that went in one air and out the other. Nothing seemed clearer than Annabeth standing before him. Somehow, she was even more beautiful than ever.
Percy held her hands, his fingers playing with hers. She was wearing the engagement ring he had given her, along with a matching pair of blue diamond earrings that he had made from the same gem. And before he knew it, her arms were around his shoulders and neck, and he was kissing her. The attendees cheered, throwing rice and flower petals in the air.
Marquis Ares frowned as his attendant brought him another cup of warmed tea. Only he had this luxury. The rest of his soldiers under his command, a mixture of his own troops and foreign soldiers, still lay quietly concealed in the woods lining the road leading to the marriage hall. Snow had begun to fall again, bringing on a new chill as the weak sunlight bid good bye to the land and night crept in. However, no fire could be built for they would alert the wedding attendees that something peculiar was occurring.
"Those bastards are taking an inordinate amount of time." Marquis Ares muttered, not caring too much for the cold weather that had only began to get even colder.
He had thought that the official wedding proceeding would only take less than an hour or so, before the procession would take the new ducal couple throughout the city on a parade that celebrated their marriage, with the path ending at the royal castle for the wedding reception. It was Marquis Ares' job to make sure that the couple never made it to the royal castle while the White Knights Order overtook the royal castle.
Marquis Ares tapped his fingers impatiently. It was now nearly two hours and not a soul had emerged from the wedding hall.
"Shall we send someone to check?" One of his generals asked.
They had not sent a scout earlier in fear that the scout would be discovered spying so close to the wedding hall.
Before Marquis Ares could make his decision, people began to emerge from the wedding hall. The hidden soldiers watched as a coachman led the wedding carriage to the front door, awaiting the newly wedded couple.
"On my word," he commanded.
The soldier beside him imitated the sound of a winter owl cooing for the hunt, alerting the hidden soldiers to take up their arms. The time had come.
From the wedding hall, the bride appeared, her white wedding gown nearly blending in with the snow. The groom waved off the coachman's efforts to help his bride into the carriage, offering his own hand instead.
Marquis Ares grinned. It was a shame that he was too far to see up closely, thus eliminating the chance to see the horror on Duke Jackson's face as he saw the life of his bride slipping away before his eyes. Yes, he had to curb his sadistic tendencies in order for the plan to work.
A final owl's call, and a single firework was released into the sky, illuminating the night sky in a flurry of bright red and orange. From this distance, those soldiers at the royal castle would also be alerted at the signal and launch their attack. Perhaps those dim-witted wedding members or commoner folks would think that the fireworks were to celebrate the wedding, and not a harbinger of the bloodshed to come.
"Now!" Marquis Ares roared.
Troops yelled their battle cries, piercing the silence of the evening as they surged from the woods. But faster still than the soldiers was one arrow, its point heading directly for the bride's heart.
A/N: I see there's a couple of webtoon readers out there. I, too, am patiently waiting for the divorce to happen in Remarried Empress. I think it happens around chapter 70? Still a little further ways to go...
Anyways, see ya'll next chapter! Please don't kill me for another cliffhanger. I mean, I usually end with these, lol. I'll make it up to you all, I promise!