The palace buzzed with excitement, servants running this way and that in a rush to get everything done. Ovadia's private suite was no different, crowded with Queens in their finery, who turned to me as soon as I walked in, and dipped into curtseys with a chant of "Your majesty."

I made my way through the rustling gowns of the ladies in attendance, and knocked on Ovadia's bedroom door. It was opened by Nayibe, who waved me in and closed the door behind me. I recognized other ladies from the bachelorette party, and smiled as they greeted me.

"Get out." Ovadia said, from where she stood by her window, stopping the chatter in the room. "Everyone out so that I can talk to Rey."

They hesitantly moved to obey.

Ovadia's golden hair was curled around large rollers that were pinned to her head. She wore a long, white, silken robe, and when I went to her side, I saw that she held a mimosa that seemed to be more champagne than orange juice. She stared out the window to the silk tents being erected, the flowers being arranged.

"I'm sorry about last night." She said,

"I'm not sure what you have to be sorry about." I told her, turning and sitting on the seal.

"Kylo was really angry when we left."

I sighed. "He was more worried and scared than anything else. But, that wasn't your fault."

"If I hadn't suggested we go off palace grounds-"

"I should have insisted on taking Kuruk." I interrupted. "And, anyway, it's done now. Kylo and I were able to talk it out, so it's fine."

"My father is meeting with Kylo now to personally thank him for finding me." She scoffed. "They've probably already opened the good cognac."

"Well, today is a good cognac type of day."

She brought a hand up and nervously chewed on her thumb nail. "I'm frightened."

My eyebrows pulled together. "Of what?"

Her eyes came to me. "Does the examination hurt?"

Oh.

I shook my head. "No, it's just….unpleasant."

"And, after the ceremony?" She asked. "What will happen?"

"At our wedding, there was a reception with drinking and feasting."

"And, then?" She probed, anxiety creasing her forehead.

I took a breath. "Then, ladies come and help you out of your wedding dress, and take you to his bedroom."

She paled. "Is the priest right outside? Can he hear?"

"At our bedding ceremony, yes. He was right outside the door."

She let out a breath, tilting her head back. "Will it hurt?"

"I dont know." I told her, honestly. I froze, realizing what I'd said, my heart skipping several beats.

She gave me a questioning glare. "You don't know?"

"I don't know what you and Ardion have done, before." I said, trying to salvage as best I could. "So, I'm not sure."

She looked back to the window. "The ladies have told me such terrible things."

"I've learned that all of what they told me wasn't true." I folded my hands in my lap. "They said that Kylo would be violent, and that he would hold me down and if I tried to fight him, he would brutalize me, and take what he wanted anyway."

She gave me a horrified look.

"He hasn't done any of those things." I assured her. "And, if they'd known him, they would've known that. But, they don't know him, just like your ladies dont know Ardion. But, you do."

She looked away.

"You've known him for eight years." I reminded her. "And, you've done some intimate acts. What was he like during those?"

"Clumsy." She admitted with a smile. "And shy."

I shrugged. "Then, you get to learn together."

Her smile widened as she looked down at me. "Thank you."

I returned her smile. "You're welcome."

The makeup artist arrived, and began to set up their supplies. I took that as my que to leave, and walked back to my room, dreading the heavy tent of a dress I'd set aside for the actual wedding, but when I opened the door, I was greeted by a large white box on the bed.

I picked up the folded piece of cardstock that sat atop it and read: Maybe this will make up for how bad the cake will be. -K

I pulled the box open.

It was just a dress in the way that Michelangelo's David was just a statue.

It sparkled like moonlight dancing on a restless sea, even in the low light of our room, and when I pulled it out, the billowing skirts falling to the floor, I pressed it against my body, my eyes welling with tears at its loveliness.

The gown was starlight captured in silver gossamer. Soft, ethereal, and covered in thousands of sparkling jewels, woven into the sheer fabric like stardust in a celestial shroud. The long sleeves were tight, and the neckline grazed my collar bones before plunging into a low V in the back, leaving it bare. The sweeping skirt flowed behind me, twinkling and shimmering with every step.

My hair was up, curls cascading out of the jeweled silver clip.

Kylo was waiting for me when I walked out of our room, and smiled when he saw me, the hunger in his eyes making heat pool in my core. He held out a hand, and I took it, letting him spin me around to see the dress at all angles.

"I have great taste." He said, pulling me to him.

I wanted to have a smart reply, to play as we always did, but I just smiled up at him. "It's so beautiful. Thank you."

He gave me a crooked grin. "You're welcome."

He was impeccably dressed in his usual black waist coat and pants. His shirt, tie, and jacket were also black, and finely made. If he was night incarnate, I was the star that was only viable because of his darkness.

We walked, fingers laces between us, to the ballroom where the other kings and queens waited to be announced.

I felt the pop, heard the dull snap as the clip in my hair broke. My hands flew up to keep it from falling, some of the curls still held in place with bobby pins.

"What is it?" Kylo asked.

I pulled the pieces of the clip out and held them up for him to see, my mess of hair awkwardly hanging around my head, and looked around for a mirror.

"I can fix it." He offered. "If you want."

I stopped, and looked up at him. "You can fix the clip?"

"Oh, right, because I totally moonlight as a silversmith." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let me heat up my forge."

"Yeah, just have Ushar teleport it in with my tea."

He pursed his lips. "Fucking touche." And I giggled. "I can fix your hair." He clarified.

I straightened. "You can?"

He nodded and brought a hand up. "May i?"

"Are you really asking for my consent to touch my hair?" I asked, dryly.

"Indeed I am."

He'd done this before, i remembered. After my lesson with Ushar, he'd asked to touch my hair. Id been too exhausted to learn the reasoning then. I nodded my permission, and he reached up to start pulling the pins free.

"Why?" I asked, my voice low. "Do you need my consent?"

"Hair is sacred in my mother's culture." He motioned toward a nearby chair and I sat down. As his fingers tenderly worked through my hair, he told me, "She was from Alderaan. And, there, it is considered...inappropriate for a man to touch a woman's hair without her consent. It's even impolite to ask for such a thing, unless they're-"

"Married?" I guessed.

"Acquainted." He corrected. "I was going to say acquainted."

"Then how do you know how to do it?"

"My mother taught me." He said. "Hair braiding is common between parents and children, or grandparents and children, and yes, between married couples. It was a part of her culture that she wanted to pass on, so she would braid my hair every night but made sure I took them out before he could see in the morning."

He. Snoke. He didn't like saying his name, or hearing it, I'd noticed, so I chose to move on. "She wouldn't take out your braids?"

"No, and she never let me take hers out, either."

"Why?" I asked, feeling him slide a pin in place.

"Because having someone else take your braids out is only something that is done between married couples." He said, pining another section in place. "In fact, in Alderaanian culture, that act is so intimate, it is first done on a couples wedding night."

"Supreme Leader." The herald called. Apparently, all the other Kings had been announced and gone in.

Kylo slid in the final pin, and took my hand, pulling me up, and down the hall with him.

I caught a glimpse of myself in an ancient mirror hanging on a nearby wall. The braid was impressive, considering he'd done it in a hallway without so much as a comb. It coiled around my head, and twisted into an elaborate knot. A few stray curls hung around my face.

"Kylo." I called, as we stopped in front of the closed doors, awaiting announcement.

He looked over at me, his gaze meeting mine.

"I love you." I told him.

His brow furrowed as his eyes widened.

"I know you can't say it back, or won't say it back. And, I realized that I don't need to hear it. I love you." And then I was talking too fast, babbling. "I've loved you for a while, I just didn't want to admit it, or I was waiting on you to admit it, or something, I don't know what I was waiting on. But, I knew that first night on Bespin, when you told me what losing me would do to you, because it would do the same to me. And, I always thought that a loving marriage wasn't something I could have, it wasn't something I even wished for because I knew it was impossible, but you, you are so much more than I ever hoped for, you're more than I dreamed about, even. And, Kylo, I'm here, with you, I want to be your wife, because I love you." I shook my head. "You don't have to say it back."

He was staring at me in silent alarm, his breathing uneven.

The doors in front of us opened to the ballroom full of four hundred guests.

"The King and Queen of Mustafar." The herald announced.

Kylo swallowed hard, and tore his gaze from mine, looking at the open doors, gripping my hand tightly as we stepped forward.