Disclaimer;
Please, remember that although this AU is based around Indian culture, it does NOT pretend to be a precise reflection of it. Ninjago is a fictional realm, and while I tried to keep some customs and mindset, I also allowed myself a lot of freedom. Do not take the following chapter as a precise representation of traditional Indian weddings, please.
Apologies if I offend/have already offended anyone, but like I said it was never my intention for this story to be a close representation of the Indian culture.
I encourage you all to search for more information about their traditions on the internet, especially wedding traditions! They're so interesting and different from the usual occidental ceremonies ^w^
CHAPTER 93:
His blue spouse
Beneath the bright colorful curtains of the mandap, Kai waited with his family for the appearance of the other groom. A lively buzzing could be heard among the guests that surrounded the ceremonial canopy. Not all of the workers around the palace could attend the ritual, for the royal residence had to be guarded at all times, but it was still a decent amount of people that were utterly happy to celebrate the union with him.
That was… if Jay showed up.
"Love…" Zane placed a hand on the Maharaja's knee, stopping the nervous bouncing of the limb. "Calm down."
Kai looked at him like a lost helpless animal.
"What if he changes his mind at the last minute?"
Cole was supposed to let the boy know that it was his turn to come down too. That shouldn't take too long, right? Why weren't they here yet?
Zane blinked surprised. "Why would Jay do that?"
"I don't know!" The monarch bent forward on the seat, hiding his face in his hands with a whine. "Maybe I'm rushing things... Maybe I should have waited some more time before proposing to him... Maybe-"
"Maybe you should shut up!" The princess yelled. She rose from her seat and walked up to her brother. With a serious face and a menacing finger waving in front of the king, she said "Kai, I swear if I hear one more nonsense come out of your mouth, I'm asking Edna to sew your lips together."
Lloyd laughed nearby at the princess threatening tone. Kai blushed deep and tried to mentally take a step back and think twice about what he'd just said.
Yeah, maybe he was acting a bit hysterical indeed.
"I doubt that would keep his blabber under control anyway." A familiar redhead peeked her head amidst the curtains.
Nya sighed and welcomed Skylor into the tent.
"You are probably right... unfortunately."
More cackles, and more blood gathering on Kai's cheeks.
"Do you have any piece of advice that could calm down this idiot?" Nya asked the other girl. "Nothing we say seems to get past that thick skull."
Skylor looked in Kai's direction, a pitiful smile on her face as she found a dose of amusement in the Maharaja's ridiculously nervous state, like everyone else. Kai eventually raised his gaze and met her. Skylor's grin evolved to a more relaxed look.
"Trust me," she offered with a wink.
The royal family shared a few looks, they didn't seem very pleased with Skylor's scarce speech. On the other hand, those simple words ticked something inside the Maharaja. The way the girl was smiling, that knowing wink… She knew something Kai did not, something that gave her the confidence the sovereign so desperately needed at these crucial moments. Kai tried to hold onto that. After all, when had Skylor ever deceived him?
"Uh… thanks, Sky. That was... enlightening…" Nya responded.
The other simply laughed in return, not giving away any bigger hints.
The murmur around the garden grew louder, some of the guests quickly went to their seats surrounding the stage, others rushed to pass messages and orders between the staff. Kai was about to inquire them when a certain black-haired came through the ceremonial archway several feet ahead.
"Is everyone ready for the party?!" Cole shouted with a happy grin.
"The party comes later, Cole. You can't stop thinking about cake for a while?" Lloyd joked.
"You know me," the boy responded when he arrived at the stage, not even trying to defend himself from the accusation.
Merriness came back to the tent as Cole took one of the side seats. His eyes swiftly found Kai's imploring ones.
"He's ready," Cole whispered.
"R-Really? You mean like already?!"
The priest appeared on the stairs of the stage and greeted everyone for the second time that day before walking up to the king and standing behind the couch.
"Really, really," Cole confirmed.
Effectively, the wedding was starting. Skylor retreated to the outer seats along with the rest of the guests. Zane, Lloyd, and Nya went back to their seats at the left of the Maharaja, opposite to Cole who had taken a spot on the right earlier.
The ruckus around the place quieted down little by little. When the musicians started to play the ceremonial song, Kai virtually felt his heart jump out of his chest. He kept his gaze down, fixed on the small altar before him that held all the offerings and amulets to grant this day with the most perfection, and silently he prayed one last time.
Gasps and 'oohs' were the first sign that something had changed, that someone relevant had made their appearance. The murmur came back, a lot softer this time, mixing with the melody that played all around. Out of the corner of his eye, the Maharaja noticed Lloyd squirming and lowkey clapping his hands a couple of times before Zane took them to keep him composed.
"Are you really going to miss the views?" Cole whispered to the Maharaja.
Kai could feel the smugness in his husband's voice. He swallowed with difficulty and took a few more breaths before he managed to gather the strength to move his face up and look ahead.
Something surged through his entrails and shot up his torso, wrapped around his heart so tight the king thought his time had come to move to the next life. That power transformed immediately after though, turning into a wave of ecstasy and serenity all at the same time that spread back through his body the same way it had started.
Jay walked down the aisle, slow but steady, with Ed and Edna next to him. Even from his spot, Kai could already tell the boy looked amazing, which he only confirmed the more and more that Jay approached.
His make-up was on point, just like Kai liked it; minimal, enough to enhance Jay's natural rosiness, and soft around the eyes to not rob any attention to those sparkling sapphires. The bronze locks, now a lot longer than when Kai had first brushed them, had been expertly rearranged with ornamented pins, flowers, and even a cute braid on the side. But what stunned Kai the most was the outfit.
It consisted of a long tunic. The line of front buttons ended around the waistline, splitting the remaining fabric into two to recreate the illusion of a frock coat. Its tips went down to the ground, becoming a sort of train as Jay moved forward. The fabric displayed a beautiful and radiant royal blue with golden patterns and small red accents on some of the drawings and jewels attached.
Just like Kai's but the colors were inverted.
Good Brahma! They had all done an amazing job at fooling him! Besides a few small differences in the decorations and overall cut that Kai couldn't be bothered about right now, their outfits were exactly the same, just reversed palettes. He'd supposed that the little blue in his own clothes held some sort of symbolism around Jay, but Kai had never expected this splendid surprise.
Dareth would be receiving a generous extra pay after this.
When the Walkers finally arrived on the stage, everyone in the royal family stood up —the Maharaja with a bit more of struggle, of course. Cole made himself aside and guided the newcomers around the altar.
At last, Kai could take a close look at the groom. His knees wobbled when Jay stood next to him. The boy looked utterly beautiful, so much that it should have been considered a crime! And the way he smiled… shy, surely from knowing himself the center of attention, yet proud to be there.
"Hi," Jay murmured.
Kai blinked several times before regaining a small ounce of control over his senses.
"H-Hi…" He mumbled back.
Jay simply stared, beaming while he blushed deeper.
"You look amazing…" He said.
Kai took pride in being an outspoken and brave sovereign of these lands. But he genuinely panicked when Jay praised him like that.
"Y-You too!" He sputtered. "You- You're so… Uh- Gorgeous! Beautiful! So… So..." Kai tried to rescue all the vast and refined vocabulary he'd been learning throughout his life but to no avail. His mind had stopped functioning.
Instinctively, he reached up to his head to play with his hair, once again forgetting about the damn turban.
"Kai! Your headdress!" Nya yelled, and jumped towards her brother to stop him from making a bigger mess. A collective lighthearted chuckle rose over the place while the princess fixed the king's hairdo to the best of her abilities.
"Why don't you all take a seat?" The priest suggested, amused by the show as well.
Kai took the man's advice and sat back down on the couch, making sure to leave enough room for Jay. Ed and Edna sat on the right side with Cole, close to their son.
"If Your Majesty is okay with it, we can start the ceremony," the priest said.
Kai looked at Jay again. His nerves were still on fire, but now that his fiancé was there next to him, sitting in that carefully decorated pavilion, surrounded by their loving families, Kai relaxed a fraction. Jay's unwavering smile helped a lot as well.
"Yes, please," Kai whispered, allowing himself to smile without worries for the first time on that day.
"Very well."
The priest then demanded a bit of silence from everyone as he proceeded with his initial speech, introducing the about-to-be couple to all of the attendees, purely for traditional purposes.
"Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of our beloved monarch, Mr. Kai, and one of his most recent close friendships, Mr. Jay, in marriage. Today they build together the foundation of their new life, in the presence of the sacred fire and the radiant sun, among those who cherish them the most…"
That was it. The wedding was set in motion. Kai was getting married again!
The priest's surely eloquent introduction turned into background noise for the Maharaja, he couldn't keep his eyes away from the beautiful boy that sat next to him. A boy that he'd once thought he'd lost forever. A boy that had shaken Kai's world out of his axis.
His blue spouse, finally.
Author's Note:
Hope you liked today's chapter!
While I was writing it I also worked on some drawings, mostly to help myself figure out what I wanted for their outfits and so I could describe them more easily. I can't find a way to add images here but if you're curious you can find them on my AO3 and Wattpad accounts, at the bottom of this same chapter.