We paused at the entrance, while the steward of the dining room announced, "Their Majesties, King Victor and Joviana, Queen of Latveria." That was the correct way of announcing us -- Victor had 'King' in front of his name by right of birth and conquest, whereas I, who had married up, had the title after my name. The assembly applauded, and we swept in. As we made our way to the high table, I looked around at everyone and everything.
Some brides spent months deciding what their wedding colors would be. Some drove everyone around them to screaming frustration as they nit-picked every last little detail of their receptions.
I, on the other hand, just asked the castle staff, 'Well, what do we have on hand?' The result was a lot of white. White tablecloths, white napkins, white bunting, green and white tableware. The pavilion looked spectacular, as I knew it would. There were enormous urns of cymbidium orchids on each of the tables, their meter-long flower spikes curving gracefully under the weight of their flowers, dozens on each stalk. They were the colors of sherbet -- raspberry, orange, coconut, lemon, and lime.
At each place, there were the wedding favors -- one beautifully bound and illustrated copy of a Midsummer Night's Dream, and an Everyman Library collection of poems on the subject of marriage -- those were my idea. There was also an 18 karat gold -- not goldplated, but solid gold, commemorative medallion. The front of it showed Victor and me in profile, facing one another, with the date and the Latin phrase 'Quod Deus Iunxit' -- which translated as 'Whom God Has Joined.' The back simply had the Von Doom crest. That was Victor's idea, and it had come as a surprise to me. There were also sterling silver versions, one for each Latverian citizen. (The collectibles market was going to go wild over those.).
We sat down at our places at the high table, and on cue, the guests sat down too. Victor was seated on my right, and Boris on my left. My mother was on Victor's right. This was dining in state, in medieval fashion. I glanced at the menu card and read:
Cream of Carrot Soup with Lovage
Pheasant Consommé
(Etiquette dictated that one offer one's guests a choice between clear and thick soups.)
Green Apple Sorbet.
(It would just be a tablespoon or two, to cleanse the palate.)
Grilled Brook Trout on a Bed of Wilted Field Greens
Mamaglia With Herbs
(Mamaglia was cornmeal mush, also known as polenta, grits, or semolina.).
Lemon Sorbet.
(Again, just a thimbleful.).
Chicken Roulade with Apricots, Almonds, and Barley
Steamed Mélange of Fresh Vegetables
(It was a good thing the portions were small. This was quite a meal.).
Pear Sorbet.
Pork Loin with Lemon and Bay Leaves
Salad of Heirloom Beets with Walnuts in a Pomegranate-Citrus Vinaigrette
(The menu had been put together with an eye to showcasing the best of local produce and local cuisine. As Latveria had such a cold climate, root vegetables were bound to come into it somewhere. These beets weren't only the red kind -- there were orange, yellow and pink ones also.).
Rose Petal and Champagne Sorbet
(I was really looking forward to trying that.).
Wedding Cake
(I could only wonder what it would be -- or if there was one!).
First, however, Boris made a speech. "I have few words -- I'm only an old man with little education. I was at the wedding of Werner and Cynthia. I was there with Werner the hour his son was born. And now, I'm at his wedding. I hope -- I'm there for another hour in nine months or a year or so. To Victor and the lovely Joviana!" There was some laughing and clapping at that.
Boris sat back down, but that was not the end of the speeches. Doctor Strange rose to speak. "I hope you don't mind if I say a few words. There is a reason why the spell which transforms base metal into gold is referred to as 'The Mystic Marriage.' It is an acknowledgment of love's transformative power. Here, -- there is true gold. To Victor and Joviana!" He was applauded.
He was not the only surprise speaker. Reed Richards --, yes, Reed Richards stood, raised his glass, and said, "If anyone had told me, two weeks ago, that I would be here, at the wedding of Victor Von Doom, today, voluntarily, and in such a spirit of amity, I, well, I would've had a hard time believing them. This has come as one of the most significant and welcome surprises of my life. To Victor and Joviana Von Doom -- may you always be as happy as you are this hour, if not more so, and may your family and ours enjoy such amity!" Reed nearly brought down the house, there was such enthusiastic support for his speech.
I was amazed. If ever a man had sounded sincere, it was Reed Richards at that moment. What was going on? I resolved to try and corner Reed during one of the intermissions of the play.
The meal was exquisite, of course, and the time flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for the cake. Four footmen brought it out with great delicacy and care. It was five layers high, and built like a Mayan pyramid, with steps. Each layer was edged with vertical lady-finger sponge cakes, like rounded pickets for a fence, and heaped with strawberries, lots of strawberries, glistening red strawberries. As a decorative touch, Gustav had strewn all of it with sugared flowers -- violets, Johnny-jump-ups, and rose petals. There was a tremendous round of applause -- evidently the story of what happened to the cake had gotten around. Victor and I got up, and ceremonially cut the cake. There was no vulgar smashing of pieces into each other's faces -- although I thought it would have been very funny if I did. I don't think I would've enjoyed it very long, however!
The cake tasted even better than it looked. The whipped cream, the strawberries, the freshly baked sponge cake -- it was a dream.
Come to think of it, the whole day was a dream…