The guards came forward and took Valeria up by the arms, as if she would break. As they began to lead her off, she cried piteously "Grandfather! Don't do this! You have always taken his side, always! Grandfather!"
I looked at Boris. He had his head averted, so he could not see her as she was removed from the castle yard. I put a hand on his arm, and whispered, "I'm sorry."
I saw tears on his face. "There's nothing to be done," he said. "I made my choice a long time ago and when I did it, I knew it would hurt her. There's nothing to be done." He repeated.
Once Valeria was out of sight and earshot, Victor turned back to the Bishop, and nodded.
He recovered himself, and began to chant Psalm 128, "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and walks in his ways. "
I should have been contemplating the marriage ceremony, but instead I was thinking about Valeria. Why would she have wanted such a constricted life? With all the opportunities available to her, why had she deliberately chosen to shut and lock the doors to so many of them?
Perhaps because she was afraid. Leading a life where one must ask one' s husband's permission to leave the house means that one never has to deal with such things as résumés and job interviews. Life was difficult, sometimes terrifying, no matter who you were. I realized that I felt quite sorry for her.
The Bishop concluded the Psalm and turned to Boris. "The candles," he commanded.
Boris produced two long white beeswax tapers. The Bishop than blessed the candles three times, before lighting them. He first handed one to Victor, and then handed one to me, saying, "Let this light be unto you the light of truth. Although the time these tapers can burn is but brief, even as our time in this world is but brief, let the light they shed be immortal in your lives, even as your souls are immortal.
"Remember the example of the virgins who waited for the bridegroom with their lamps, the seven foolish virgins, who brought no more oil than their lamps would hold, and the seven wise virgins, who came provided with enough oil that they could welcome the bridegroom and join the feast. Keep in your hearts, such store as will last, through this life and into the next."
We continued down the aisle -- I had given Galina my bouquet to carry for me, since I was still holding Victor's hand and was now managing a lighted candle -- as Tori continued her song, and we managed to get inside, up the stairs and out onto the balcony without any further incident. That was a minor miracle, since we were holding right hands and holding our candles with our left ones -- I was afraid I was going to set fire to Victor's cape, or at the very least, drip wax on his armor.
The moment we stepped out onto the balcony, I suffered something like a brain hiccup. It was the altar table -- or more specifically, what was on it. It had an ornate cloth, naturally and various pieces of ecclesiastical silver, such as candlesticks, the large and elaborate wedding chalice from the Doomstadt Cathedral, the flagons of wine to fill it, a cross in the center, and in front of it, on two red velvet pillows -- the crowns.
They were not the ceremonial crowns from the Doomstadt Cathedral -- not that I was that familiar with those crowns, because I wasn't, but because I was very familiar with these two crowns. They were the Latverian royal crowns -- the king.' s and the queen' s. That was what brought on the brain hiccup.
He never said --.
I never asked --.
I assumed I wasn't -- that he didn't --.
Surely this isn't --.
I didn't think he was going to make me queen!
Many people assumed that a king's wife is automatically Queen, but I knew enough history to know better. It depended on a lot of things -- how wellborn she was, whether they were already married when he became king, whether she had produced an heir to the throne -- but most of all, it depended upon whether or not he wanted to.
Maybe I was reading too much into this.
The Bishop cleared his throat and began, "Oh, Lord, God the Father, since You have ordained that this Your son, Victor Von Doom should have the governance not only of a household, but of a nation, and that this Your daughter, Joviana Ilys Florescu, shall be unto him his wife, his helpmeet and his companion in this world and the next, we ask that You shall triply bless these crowns and bless those who shall wear them.
"Crown them with wisdom and benevolence." He made the sign of the Cross over them
He then requested the blessings of the Son and the Holy Spirit in turn, asking for the gifts of mercy and temperance, of love and steadfastness, and made the sign of the Cross over them each time. Then he picked up the King's Crown, and made as if to place it on Victor's head.
But Victor intercepted him, taking the crown from the Bishop's hands, and setting it on his own head. The symbolism was quite clear -- the hand of God might offer the crown to Victor, but it was Victor's own initiative that made him king. The Bishop wavered only a moment, and took up the queen's crown.
Again, Victor took it, and turned to me. I hesitated a moment. Ought I kneel? I was remembering the painting that showed Josephine being crowned by Napoleon. She knelt. I did not like the symbolism, however.
Victor set the crown on my head, just as I was, standing up, as he was. Equals.
My first thought was, 'Damn, this is heavy.' I was glad I hadn't knelt -- standing up again would have been a challenge. It'd been a long time since I'd practiced walking with a dictionary on my head, to improve my posture.
The Bishop then began: "The Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians. May his blessings be with us all, Amen.
"Ephesians 5:22-6:3. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.
"Therefore, as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.
"That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.
"That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
"So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
"This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself: and the wife, see that she reverences her husband.
"The grace of God The Father be with us all. Amen."
The guests echoed him, "Amen."
Then the Bishop turned to us and began the Instructions on Marriage:
"My blessed son," he said to Victor, "May the grace of the Holy Spirit strengthen you to take unto yourself your wife, in purity of heart and in sincerity. Do all that is good for her. Have compassion on her and always hasten to do that which will gladden her heart.
"Take care of her as her parents did in love and in humility, remembering that you have been crowned with heavenly crowns and confirmed by the grace of God. If it must be that she shall need correction, do so gently and lovingly that she shall not fear you nor be afraid of you. Remember that if you fulfill the divine commandments which urge you to look after your wife, the Lord will bless you in all you do, because His blessing is enjoyed by those who live in harmony: He will grant you blessed children and a long peaceful life; He will bless You in this life and the hereafter."
Then it was my turn:
"Listen, O bride and lend your ear, forsake your people and your father's home, for your chastity has appealed in the bridegroom, and he is your husband and to him you will submit.
"You, blessed daughter, and happy bride, you have heard what was commanded of your husband. So you must honor and respect him, do not disagree with him but increase your
obedience to him over what was commanded many times. For you are now alone with him and he is responsible for you instead of your parents. So you must receive him with joy and cheer, do not frown in his face, observe all your obligations to him, and fear God in all you do. Because God the most high instructed you to submit to him and commanded you to obey him as you obey your parents. So if you observe what we instruct you to do, and followed all the commandments, the Lord will support you and provide for your livelihood, the blessings will descend upon your house, and He will grant you blessed children who will fill your heart with joy."
He turned to the altar table, and took up the two flagons of wine, intoning, "When a man and a woman are joined in holy matrimony, they become as one, even as these two vessels contain wine, separate from one another. When I pour from them into the chalice of marriage, the wine mingles in the cup and becomes as one. The wine cannot be separated out into the two vessels unmixed once more, and neither can this man and this woman be separated. Two wines are become one wine.
"The two vessels that held wine are become three vessels that hold wine -- yet the substance that all three contain is identical. Even so is the Holy Trinity, and even so is marriage, for you waited not only one another, but also God, who is with you and around you. When you shall offend against your spouse, you offend also God, and when you make your spouse glad, you also gladden the heart of God. Drink, and be filled with the love of God, and the love of one another."
Victor and I each sipped from the chalice three times, in turn. I took delicate sips, mindful of our embryo, not that this tiny little amount was going to hurt our baby any.
"As you share this cup, so from this day forth shall so you share all: Joy and sorrow, poverty and wealth, health and illness, hope and fear, success and failure."
He said the Lord's Prayer, and then led us around the altar table three times, in what was called the Dance of Isaiah. By that time, the crown had grown extremely uncomfortable, and I was feeling a bit faint from low blood sugar. (My breakfast had been a nice cup of cold water, as per the Bishop's instructions.) However, I made it without stumbling, losing the crown, or setting fire to anyone or anything.
The Bishop removed our crowns -- Victor permitted him to do that -- and raising them high in the air, each in turn, saying "We ask that You shall receive these crowns into Your Kingdom. The kingdom Your son and daughter have entered on this day is not complete and shall not be completed on this earth, but in Heaven, when You shall receive them there. Until that time, let them create Your Kingdom on this earth while they may live upon it."
He turned to us. "Exchange now the kiss of peace, for you are married. Husband receive your wife, and wife, your husband."
In other words, 'You may now kiss the bride.' I had tried to look solemn through the ceremony, but now a wide smile was back on my face. As we faced each other, I could see that Victor was smiling, too, with his eyes and with his mouth. He was beaming.
Before the eyes of half the costumed adventurers and the dignitaries of a hundred nations, Victor and I stepped to close the gap between us, and -- kissed. The bells rang out. Everyone cheered. Victor and I were well and truly married.
A/N: In case anyone was wondering, their wedding ceremony is a combination of several Eastern Orthodox ceremonies, together with some details of my own devising.
Okay, I have a question or two for you, my faithful readers.
Would you pay to read this? I am thinking of making some changes and seeing if I can sell it as a romance novel. Do you think a publisher would buy it?
What, other than names and certain details, should I change, in that case?