The wedding.
The fanfares rang through the hallways, and she knew it was her signal to meet him in the throne room. All the women and men, dignitaries and guards from the Ice and Fire Tribe, who formed her wedding procession, stood in front of Yan Da's room door. Everything was ready, except she wasn't. Her heart fluttered like a bird. She stroked her dress with trembling hands. Xing Gui and Yue Shen had once again proven how well they knew Yan Da. They had edged the hem of the Fire Queen's long, flowing wedding dress with a burgundy ribbon, and dyed the many layers of her transparent petticoats in light to dark tones of burgundy red. The transition of colours was delicate, like a red flower covered with white frost. Yan Da loved the transformation very much. She as well as Yue Shen and Xing Gui were excited to see the guests' reactions, and of course Ying Kong Shi's. But they hadn't made any compromises with her jewellery and the tiara. It was all made of bright silver decorated with bluish gems, as befitted for an Ice Queen. Yan Da swallowed hard. Her reflection was breathtakingly beautiful, no question. But she suddenly felt small compared to the imposing woman who was looking at her from the mirror. "It is time, Queen Yan Da."
Yue She took Yan Da's hand and helped her into the palanquin. Yan Da had never understood why brides were carried to their wedding. But now she knew. The dress was heavy, and her legs were soft as butter, not to mention her heart, which seemed to be ready to jump out of her chest. She had never had a problem with being in the spotlight as a princess and a leader of whole battalions of soldiers. But now, every look that rested on her made her even more nervous. When she was finally seated and carried through the hallways, her mind seemed to withdraw. Everything became a little more quiet, and she was grateful for the delicate veil that hid her face.
Delung Rong, Piang Feng and Huang Tuo looked at the Ice Prince's hands. Ying Kong Shi had his fists clenched. A few minutes ago the leader of the Bear Tribes had offered him a glass of liquor, which Ying Kong Shi had refused. He would not bare and kiss his wife at the wedding ceremony with the taste of alcohol on his lips. When the fanfare sounded, his friends nodded to each other, took the heavy royal cloak from a chair and placed it over Ying Kong Shi's shoulders. He looked handsome. It wasn't the first time they'd seen him like this. He had been crowned the Ice King once before, but it hadn't turned out well. A whole life later, the last descendant of the Ice Fire Tribe stood once again before them to lead them into a new future. It was the same young man, and yet he was completely different, with more life experience and a purified heart. Piang Feng put his hand on his shoulders as if he sensed the nervousness of his friend. Ying Kong Shi looked at him with blinking eyes, breathing in heavily with open mouth.
"Ying Kong Shi, we are all proud and grateful that you have become the man who will lead us wisely and protect us well. Remember that we are not only your subjects, we are your friends, too. Friends care for each other, and they know one's strengths and weaknesses. Whatever troubles you in the future, remember that we are there to support you. Your brothers and sisters are dead, but you now have us. We will be like family to you. We cannot replace Ka Suo, but we, each and every one of us, can be a brother to you with our own strengths and weaknesses. As a symbol of our bond with you, we have made something for you."
With these words he stepped aside, revealing an elongated object wrapped in linen that Delung Rong offered to the Ice Prince with raised hands. Ying Kong Shi turned the cloth to one side, and froze. He couldn't believe his eyes. He reverently raised a shimmering sword, which was similar in length and type to the Soul Devouring Sword, except that pommel, hilt and crossguard were no longer decorated with the insignia of death, but with the symbols of his friends' clans. It was a sword that befitted the leader of all three kingdoms. The pommel was a silver dragon that rolled protectively around a ball made half of ruby and half of sapphire. Ying Kong Shi testily glided it through the air, and the blade obeyed him precisely, like it weighed nothing. The new leader of the Bear Clan smiled proudly. "I knew it would be a good match for you." Ying Kong Shi put the blade right in front of his eyes and stared at the metal in amazement. It was smooth but wavy, a glistening blue at its core surrounded by a yellow and red shimmer. When he let a little magic flow in, the metal got blindingly light and cold, no, hot. Confused, he looked at Delung Rong. "Amazing, isn't it? On Yan Da's advice, I left the forging of the blade to her general Gao Yuqing. His family has been making the best swords of the Fire Clan for generations. Due to their high level of skill as blacksmiths, they were allowed to use the flames of the sacred Fire Cave. Those flames burn so hot in their core that they shine blue like ice. At this temperature, a body can no longer distinguish whether it feels heat or cold. The boundaries between ice and fire melt and meet in the metal." Ying Kong Shi remembered those words again, that one day had suddenly been there in his head.
"The flame has more colours than just red. In the hot interior it burns blue as ice and leaves the same scars as its counterpart. Only between the blue and red does the flame burn yellow, in equilibrium..." His friends looked astonished at each other, when they heard Ying Kong Shi speak those words of wisdom. "Strange… we know these words, too, in our tribe." "And in ours, too." "Same with us." Now all four of them looked at each other in wonder. "Could it be… that these words were hidden at the core of all tribes, passed down through the generations, to this day?" None of them could quite put into words what they were feeling. A small sentence created a bond in them, a feeling of peace like no other words before. Ying Kong Shi took a deep breath, removed his old sword and slid the new Sword of Peace into the sheath on his belt. „Thank you, my new brothers, for this precious and overwhelming gift, and for your kind words. Right now, I have to hurry to my wedding. But we should hold on to this thought. I think we just discovered the key words to our future. We should discuss their potential in our first official counsil after the celebration." The men nodded in agreement. "Now go, Ying Kong Shi, and meet your wife." Huang Tuo waved his hands and shooed Ying Kong Shi and the others forward. They left the adjoining room to the throne room and took their place at the head of Ying Kong Shi's honour guard. Ying Kong Shi nodded one last time to Huang Tuo before they started moving. The fanfare rang out as he entered the great ice hall. Tall and beaming, he walked along the reverent crowd and climbed the stairs to the throne. When he turned around, the crowd cheered, and he answered the cheers of joy from his subjects with a smile. He sat on the throne, flanked by his friends and loyal advisers. He took a deep breath as the fanfare started playing and he waited for Yan Da.
Soft harp music began when the double doors opened. He stared at the palanquin, behind its delicate curtains he could make out a figure. When the palanquin was deposed on the steps of his throne, his heart skipped a beat. Yue Shen and Xing Gui pulled back the curtains, and a fine white hand with a ring on its finger grabbed the women's hand. He swallowed hard. The beauty that was brought upon him was Yan Da. He knew it in his heart, but his head was overwhelmed by her royal splendor. When she finally sank before him he acted without thinking. He got down quickly, pulled her up, and hugged her. An amused murmur of approval emanated from the crowd. But neither Yan Da nor Ying Kong Shi noticed the noises around them. Slowly he pulled the veil back over her face. It became quiet in the room when he thoughtfully looked at the face of the woman who had found her way back to him again and again. Then Ying Kong Shi's body jerked as he quickly took a step forward and tenderly took Yan Da's face in his hands to place a deep kiss on her purple lips.
The wedding guests burst out cheering. Never had it needed fewer words, never had a wedding been less dependent on customs and rites than this union of fire and ice. When they finally let go of each other breathlessly, a big smile spread over the couple's faces. Ying Kong Shi's arm made a semicircular gesture that provoked a turquoise spell from his upward hand. Light filled the hall dome, which was broken into thousands of small red and blue sparks of light. Soon everyone present bathed in a warm play of colors. The old magic didn't fail to work, and there was an awed silence when Ying Kong Shi began to speak. "Yan Da ... I love you with my heart, mind and soul. I give you everything I am and will ever be. Your love has been with me for so long. It fills and heals me, your beauty beguiles me, and your wisdom teaches me reverence for you. Therefore I want to connect with you today and take you as my wife. Tell me, Yan Da, will you take me as your husband?" The crowd waited breathlessly for the answer from the woman who had brought peace to all the tribes. "Ying Kong Shi. I have loved you since the moment I first saw you. I have sworn to myself to honor and hold my love for you highly. For countless years my feelings for you have made it possible for me to hope for this day despite all the suffering. Today my greatest wish comes true to be united with you forever. So I will accept your marriage vows and take you to be my husband." Thousands of sparks glowed as Yan Da and Ying Kong Shi kissed. The Ice Fantasy World took part in the unification of fire and ice when the sparks of the Ice Fire Rock lit up around the globe and witnessed the first moment of their marital bond.