Now that the royal family of Solaris was revealed to the galaxy, there was an entire year of coronation ceremonies to be planned, each one set to occur on the royal family members' birthdays.
After Qui-Gon's, the next one to occur was Caroline's coronation, which was only two weeks away. And crazy as it was, Caroline took on being the party planner.
But even though Caroline was an excellent party planner, Carmine managed to get the others to pitch in to give her a surprise she wouldn't have expected.
"I think it's wonderful that you want to give Carmine such a special anniversary present." Padme said.
After Caroline's birthday came her and Carmine's wedding anniversary. So, on top of party planning, Caroline was making sure to find the perfect present for her husband on their special day.
Most probably didn't imagine they would get married by simply wearing prom clothes and going to a church with their love after graduating high school. But to Caroline and Carmine, it was still the happiest night of their lives, next to the day Lamenta was born.
"We didn't have much in the beginning." said Caroline, looking at a beautiful jacket she thought Carmine might like. "And he's worked very hard to give Lamenta and I everything he believed we deserved."
"Eloping the way you did," said Sapphire. "How romantic."
"It wasn't exactly my dream wedding. But it was a special night. The night he proposed with his grandmother's ring, and he looked me in the eyes and expressed his love for me at the altar."
"What was your dream wedding? How did you imagine it going?" Gabby asked curiously.
"Well... when I was a little girl, I used to have all these amazing ideas of what my dream wedding would be like. But my favorite was a fairytale garden themed wedding. I dreamed it would be in a beautiful garden with gardenias, white butterflies flying all around, and when I fell in love with Carmine, I dreamed our first dance would be to the song we first danced together to. I even sketched what my wedding dress would look like."
When Caroline wasn't looking, Gabby took notes of all of those things in her journal.
Carmine took a good look at the beautiful rings in the box he'd just gotten from the jewelry store.
"This will be an anniversary my Caroline will never forget." Carmine said.
"She's a very lucky woman." Anakin said, patting his brother on the back.
"And it was a good thing the rings didn't get mixed up this time." said Boba.
Boba remembered all too well that incident with his parents' wedding rings getting mixed up with a custom-made bracelet Chairman Papanoida had gotten made for his daughter's birthday present. How somebody could've mixed those two up, they may never know.
"Caroline deserves the galaxy." Carmine said. "I intend to give her an anniversary she'll never forget."
Anakin smiled at his twin. He knew exactly how he felt; the way Carmine spoke about Caroline, Anakin felt the same way about his beloved Padme.
"What better way to show her how much you love her than at her coronation." Anakin said.
Carmine looked at the rings again.
"Princess Caroline, you are in for the royal surprise of your life." He smiled.
Caroline's coronation night came rather quickly, and everything was looking perfect.
Caroline looked absolutely beautiful as she walked down the aisle in her lovely red coronation gown, her hair done up in a gorgeous side ponytail. Carmine held no other expression but love as he watched his wife walk down the aisle. He only hoped he'd get to see her do it again, but this time in a wedding dress.
As Solaris' king and her father-in-law, Qui-Gon took on placing the gold ruby tiara on Caroline's head.
"Presenting for the very first time," smiled Qui-Gon. "Princess Caroline Jinn of Solaris."
The people clapped, seeing how beautiful Caroline was tonight.
It was at the reception, however, where Carmine got truly nervous.
Carmine, naturally, accompanied Caroline for the first dance of the night. He held her dearly in his arms and spun her around, finishing off with a passionate kiss on her lips.
"Princess Caroline, you are and always will be the queen of my heart." Carmine said, kissing his wife's hand. "Happy birthday, Dear."
"I love you, Carmine." Caroline smiled lovingly.
Carmine decided it was now or never.
Carmine got everyone's attention and said he had an important announcement to make. He wrapped an arm around his wife and spoke.
"First, we in the royal family want to thank everyone who came to support and honor Caroline tonight. A wonderful mother, friend, and above all, the woman I am honored to call my wife."
Carmine looked at his wife, she blushed as her husband professed his love as passionately as he'd done when they first met.
"From the very beginning, something inside me just knew that Caroline Mitchell was the woman meant for me. I didn't believe it at first. A woman as amazing as her going for a guy like me? I didn't think it could be. But fate proved me wrong. And in the beginning, we didn't have much, but we were always rich in love. And Caroline has given me more gifts than I could've ever hoped for. Her love, her support, a wonderful wife, and a beautiful daughter. I only wish I could've given her more then."
"You have given me all that I need, Carmine." Caroline said. "Times were tough in the beginning, but you gave me the most perfect gifts. You gave me a child, a loving home, and you've been the man I always dreamed of calling my husband."
Carmine smiled and felt happy tears come to his eyes as his wife said that. Even though she didn't need all the fancy stuff, that didn't stop him from wanting to always do more to show her how much he loved her. And that included what he was about to do next.
"And soon will mark the day we made those vows to each other. Which is why I asked everyone to pitch in for this important gift." Carmine said.
And that was when Carmine got down on one knee and pulled out a charm bracelet that made Caroline gasp. Since Caroline already had Miranda's ring, Carmine just didn't have the heart to replace it with a different engagement ring. So, he instead decided to get her a bracelet. He recalled back in high school; Caroline had a special charm bracelet she'd received from her mother before she and her father died in a hit-and-run with a drunk pilot. But after she got pregnant with Lamenta and they graduated, money was very tight, and Carmine worked himself to the bone to help them pay rent. And one day, when they were really struggling because they'd also needed baby supplies, Caroline sold her silver bracelet to get the money they needed.
But after he became famous, Carmine spent years looking for Caroline's bracelet. Caroline wore that bracelet the day he told her he loved her, and he remembered exactly what it looked like. A silver chain with five charms on it. A ballet slipper, a silver swan, a treble clef, a violin, and a heart.
Sure, Carmine could've just bought a bracelet that looked like it, but that bracelet was very special to Caroline. It was the only thing she had left after her parents died. For a while, she and Carmine lived in her parents' home until there was an infestation and they were forced to move out. Luckily, the money left in her father's will was just enough for them to get a year in a decent apartment and to cover Caroline's medical bills while she was pregnant and eventually gave birth to Lamenta. But then they had to resort to selling most of the Mitchells' stuff to be able to afford rent and food. And Caroline's bracelet was the last thing she had of them.
And how did Carmine find this bracelet? One important detail Caroline mentioned to Carmine once was that on the heart charm was an engraved message: Free Spirit is your dance.
Caroline's name literally meant 'Free woman,' and her parents knew she was a free spirit from the beginning, and she demonstrated that in every step of her dance, which got her accepted into the prestigious music school where she would meet the love of her life.
Carmine scoured the holo-net, garage sales, and every pawn shop he came across on every single tour he did as Count Crescendo, trying to find his wife's beloved bracelet. And with a little help from livestreaming as Count Crescendo, Carmine asked all his fans at home to search for this bracelet, and whoever sent in the real one would be rewarded with a private concert, but he left out the detail of the engraving to ensure no one would trick him.
As expected, he received a bunch of bracelets in the mail. But only one had the engraved message on it. and when he found the date on the heart underneath the message, he knew for sure it was Caroline's bracelet. And he intended to keep his end of the bargain and do a private concert for the one who sent it to him. But more importantly, it was now serving as a symbol of his love for Caroline.
"Caroline, the day we declared our love for one another, you wore this bracelet. And you gave up this piece of jewelry to help our family get by. You said to me that a bracelet can be replaced, but your memory of your parents couldn't. I saw it in your eyes that you were heartbroken, so I went on an endless search for it, and at last it's back with its rightful owner. I'm presenting it to you in this way because it is a symbol of memories. And the day we got married is one of the happiest memories of my life. But this time, I want to do it right. After all you've done for me and our daughter, you deserve to have your dream wedding. So, Princess Caroline... would you make me the happiest man in the galaxy and re-marry me?"
Caroline was absolutely speechless. She'd dreamed of a moment like this, but didn't believe it would actually happen, especially since the simpler ways she'd gotten to meet her true love and married him served as a reminder of what was really important. Not the fancy rings, cake, or venue, but the profession of their sincere, devoted love for one another.
And yet here he was, the same man who'd captured her heart all those years ago, worked three jobs to provide for her and their daughter, hid his identity as a famous singer to protect them from the tabloids, and continued to take care of them and find new ways to prove his love for both of them, proposing to her in front of their family and friends and this time promising her the wedding of her dreams. How he managed to do this without her knowing, she had no clue.
"Carmine..." Caroline gasped. "Yes!"
Carmine wrapped the bracelet around his wife's wrist as people cheered.
Caroline gave a big smile as she looked at her special bracelet for the first time in years, still unable to believe she actually had it again. And the bracelet sparkled as though her parents' spirits were right there, giving their blessing to their only daughter.
Caroline wrapped her arms around Carmine and pulled him into the most passionate kiss they'd ever had.