I know it's already past midnight here (almost 2AM to be exact), but I just have to put this chapter up here right now! At first I was going to completely rewrite this chapter from scratch, but I guess not, only a few additions inspired by a comment I found. Anyways, I hope the long scene isn't boring to be read!
Rune Factory – Wishes, Dreams, and Memories
Chapter 10 – The Big Day
That special day had finally arrived, dated on the twenty ninth day of summer. Colorful flowers had decorated the town of Selphia, bathing the streets with the scent of flowers and flower petals. The castle standing in the middle of the town was the place where the lucky groom had come out of, along with his older butler trailing behind him. The way how the butler had been sniffling and wiping the tears from his eyes would make people think that the groom would be leaving the castle after spending a long time in it, though it wasn't the case.
"You can stop crying now, Volkanon," Lest laughed at the crying butler, who ended up crying even louder, "I-It's not like I'm leaving you or the others here."
"Sir Lest…" Volkanon said between his sniffles, "Forgive me, but this is such a beautiful occasion… I cannot express how happy I am to see you marry!"
"Thank you, Volkanon," Lest smiled and slightly bowed in respect.
"I shall be waiting in the dragon room," Volkanon wiped his last tears before giving the young prince a big smile, "Now, go on the first day of the rest of your life!"
"Yes, thank you," Lest saw the butler leaving before walking towards the stairs leading to the east side of the town, where his soon-to-be wife had already been coming from.
"Lest…" Dolce looked at Lest, who had already dressed in his white tuxedo.
Looking at her nervous fiancé, Lest gave her a warm smile, "Your dress suits you well, Dolce. You look amazing."
"O-Okay…" A shade of pink appeared across her face.
Pico suddenly appeared next to Dolce, looking at the couple while feeling a mix of happiness and jealousy, "You two look so excited that it makes me jealous!"
"Pico…" Dolce turned to the ghost with a low growl, but Pico responded with a laugh.
"Now, now, calm down. I just want to make sure everything is okay, I'm not going to bother you," Pico gave her a reassuring smile, "Plus, I agree with what he said. You look stunning today, Dolly."
"Pico…" Dolce's stern look had softened and her lips curved into a smile, "Thank you."
"Everything seems okay, so I'll go on ahead, okay? See you later!" Pico disappeared with a smile, possibly going back to wait with her foster parents.
"Dolce," Dolce turned to Lest, who was smiling at her while offering her his hand, "Shall we be off now?"
Dolce gave him a warm smile and gently took his offered hand, "Okay."
The couple started their walk, heading towards the southernmost stairs to reach the east side of the town while holding each other's hands. Their first stop was in front of the Carnation flower shop where they were greeted and congratulated by Amber and Illuminata.
"Congratulations on your wedding!" Amber extended a hand Lest to shake, before she gave Dolce a hug, which had surprised her.
"Congratulations," Illuminata gave her hand to shake Lest's and Dolce's, "How do you like our flower decorations?"
Lest looked around to see the flower lineup on the streets, giving more color to them before turning back to the two with a smile, "They're really lovely and they're giving more color to the streets."
"I agree," Dolce nodded in agreement before turning to Amber with a smile, "And thank you for the pretty moondrop bouquet."
"You're welcome!" Amber gave her usual smile before she and Illuminata moved aside to give way for the couple to continue.
The elven musician had already been waiting for them at the small set of stairs ahead, along with her harp sitting next to her. Margaret gave her hand to shake, giving her wishes to the couple.
"Congratulations on your marriage, Lest and Dolce," Margaret gave them a smile.
"Thanks," Lest returned the handshake with a smile, "Is the entertainment ready?"
"Don't worry, I'll sing my best songs," Margaret gave him a wink, "You can relax and keep your wife accompanied!"
"Thank you, Meg," Dolce returned the handshake, before noticing a familiar object around the elf's wrist, "Wait, is that…"
"Yes, it's the bracelet you gave me on my birthday," Margaret smiled and looked at the bracelet, which was made of colorful strings with small musical notes hanging on it, "I feel inspired writing music when I look at it."
"I see. I'm glad you like it," Dolce gave her another smile before the elf moved from their way, leading to the stairs where the others were waiting.
"Be careful when going up the stairs," Lest took Dolce's hand with his right one while putting his right arm around his fiancé to support her as they both started going up the stairs.
"You don't have to take it this far, you know," Dolce quietly said as they slowly went through the stairs.
"I won't let you fall, Dolce," Lest replied with a smile, "I already promised that I'll always be by your side and protect you."
A shade of pink returned to her face as she let out a small laugh, "You'd better be."
Once they were at the top of the stairs, Lest let his left arm go from Dolce and held her hand once more. A few meters away from the stairs, the owners of the general store had already been waiting to give them their wishes.
"Congrats on your wedding, bro!" Instead of a handshake, the dwarf had held out his fist to meet with Lest's.
"Congratulations on your wedding, both of you," Lest and Dolce shook Blossom's hand with a smile before heading towards the northern side of the town.
Porcoline was standing in front of the restaurant on his own with a frown on his face. The chef noticed the incoming couple and turned to them, although the frown hadn't left his face, "Oh, Lest…"
"What's wrong, Porcoline? And where's Arthur?" Lest asked.
"He left last night saying that he had some urgent matters and couldn't make it for today," Despite his disappointment, Porcoline forced a smile as he passionately shook Lest's hand, "But let me congratulate you two on your wedding. Please forgive Arthur for his absence."
"Thanks, and don't worry about him," Porcoline moved to the side, giving way for the couple to pass.
"You're too nice, you know," Dolce commented shortly.
"Well…" Lest put his free hand on the back of his neck while trying to find the right words to respond, "I'm sure he had a good reason for him not to attend our wedding…"
"I know," Dolce let out a smile, "I understand that he must be busy, unlike you."
Lest let out a laugh, "Yeah, sure…"
The two reached in front of the airship, where Dylas and Leon had been waiting to give their wishes.
"Hey," Dylas called out, trying to force a smile, "Sorry I'm not good with words about this, so I'm not quite sure how to say this," Dylas gave them his hand while letting out a small smile, "Here's hoping for many happy returns."
"Thank you," Lest and Dolce took Dylas' hand to shake.
"I won't be teasing you two today, so don't worry," Leon gave them his hand, "Congratulations on your marriage."
Dylas and Leon moved to make way for the couple, leading towards the inn with Xiao Pai and Lin Fa waiting in front of the door. Giving the couple a smile, the younger inn manager gave them her hand, "Congrash! Best witches!"
The mistakes on the wishes she was going to give them had silenced the two before they turned to look at each other in confusion and back towards Xiao Pai.
"I… messed up, yes?" An embarrassed smile came to Xiao Pai's face.
Dolce let out a sigh, before looking at her with a smile and took her hand, "Thank you, but how is it even possible to fail at saying such a simple statement?"
Lin Fa let out a small laugh before putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "But my little Xiao's mistake is what makes her cuter!"
"It's not funny, yes?" Xiao Pai removed her mother's hand from her shoulder before turning back to the couple with a smile, "You both have such a happy look on your faces, that makes me over-happy!"
"N-No, I…" A slight blush appeared on Dolce's face.
"I can see it," Xiao Pai replied before turning to Lest, "Is that right, Lest?"
"I can see that she's happier than she used to be on this day," Lest turned to Dolce with a warm smile, making her blush even more.
"C-Come on, let's get going," Dolce pulled on Lest's hand slightly, motioning for him to leave as well, which made him laugh.
"Yes, there are others who want to give you their wishes," Lin Fa nodded in agreement and smiled, "Congratulations. I wish for your happiness," The two innkeepers had moved out of the way, letting the couple pass and headed towards the west side of the town with the siblings waiting for them.
Forte let out respectful bow before giving the couple a smile, "Congratulations on your marriage, Lest, Dolce."
"Congratulations you two," Unlike his sister, Kiel gave his hand to Lest and Dolce.
"Thank you," Dolce returned the smile, until she noticed something on the dragon knight, "Are you okay, Forte? You look a little pale."
"O-Oh, I do?" Forte asked nervously, getting stares coming from the couple.
"It's kind of an odd story…" Kiel started before Forte lightly gave him an elbow.
"Kiel, no…" Forte whispered in embarrassment, but her warnings were completely ignored as he continued his story.
"You see, Forte was excited when we someone sent us a cake yesterday and took it for her to eat but…" The embarrassed knight quickly covered her brother's mouth with her gloved hands, stopping him from continuing the story.
"No, it's nothing," The embarrassed blush was still on her face as she removed her hands from Kiel's mouth.
"Sorry, I shouldn't tell anyone about the rainbow trout cake Leon sent us…" Kiel apologized, not noticing that he had spilled the truth unconsciously.
"Kiel!" Forte scolded in embarrassment.
"Wait, a rainbow trout cake?" Lest repeated the question with a laugh, "Is that the 'interesting' that he meant before?"
"Probably so," Dolce shortly replied before turning to Forte, "You should let Jones check on you later. I hope it's not that bad."
"Okay…" Forte bowed once more, "I should apologize for making you worry on your wedding day."
"Don't worry about it," Lest responded with a smile, "We're just happy to help."
The knight gave him a nod before she and her brother moved to the sides, letting the couple through only to see the lazy blacksmith chilling on the bench in front of the river. Noticing the passing couple, the blacksmith gave them a wave, "Congrats! Best of luck to you!"
"O-Okay, thank you!" Lest waved back before he and Dolce walked towards the last people on their track.
Jones was standing next to the clinic with Nancy and Pico at his other side. Nancy and Pico were watching the couple walking up to them with tears on their eyes, while Jones gave them a warm smile. The doctor offered his hand to Lest, who took it with a returned smile.
"Congratulations," Jones turned to Dolce, who was looking at him as if she was about to cry, before he turned back to Lest, "Lest, I leave my daughter in your care."
Lest gave him a nod, "Thanks."
"Jones…" Dolce's voice came out as a whisper.
"Dolce," Jones turned to his foster daughter, "I wish you have happy life with Lest."
Tears had started forming at the edge of her eyes as she smiled and nodded, "Thank you… Dad…"
Hearing the words had surprised the doctor, but he was happy to hear it at the same time. Jones turned to his wife on his right and gave her a slight nudge on her arm, "Nancy, is there anything else you wish to say to Dolce?"
Nancy gave him a nod before turning to Dolce with a forced smile on her face, "Dolly, you look gorgeous."
"Thank you," Dolce shortly replied, aware of the forced smile on Nancy's face.
The smile soon turned into a stern look as she turned to Lest, "Lest, you have to take good care of Dolly, okay?"
"Yes, you bet!" Lest nodded confidently.
"You know how Dolly isn't good at expressing her feelings, right?" The stern look on Nancy's face slowly softened, "Sometimes she is a little blunt, but…" Nancy turned to look at Dolce with a sad smile, "She really is a sweet, cute, and wonderful person… She gets lonely very easily, so…" The nurse wiped the tears which had started coming out, "Please be by her side, I know that you would…"
"Nancy… I…" Dolce took Nancy's hands in hers as her tears started coming out as well, "I want to thank you… for everything that you've done for me…" Dolce gave the older nurse a hug, "Thank you for being a mother to me…"
"Dolly…" Nancy returned the hug for a moment, letting go to have the last family member give her wishes.
"Pico…" Dolce turned to her best friend, who had never left her side.
Pico gave her a smile, but her feeling of emotion was clearly visible, "I'll always be sticking with you like always, and I'll always be here for you."
Dolce nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Pico."
"But let me ask you a question," Pico continued, "Are you happy with this?"
"Yes," A slight blush appeared on her face, "Of course. As happy as when I first met you."
"I… see…" A single tear slid from her cheek before she turned to Lest, "Promise me that you will take good care of milady from now on!"
"Yes, I will," Lest held his bride closer, but there was no resistance coming from her this time.
"Dolly…" Pico turned to her best friend with a sad smile as she slowly lost her color, "I wish for you to be happy…"
"Pico! You're turning transparent!" Dolce knelt down to Pico's level and grabbed her shoulders, "No, don't tell me…!" The ghost girl only smiled silently as she slowly turned transparent, prompting Dolce to hold her and prevent her from disappearing, "No, don't! Don't go Pico!"
The sudden panic within the group went up and suddenly down when Pico regained their color, leaving Dolce to stare at the ghost she was holding in disbelief, "Did I get you, Dolly? I think my acting was pretty convincing, wasn't it?"
"Pico…" An angry growl came from the female Guardian, but her attempt of letting out her annoyance was prevented as Lest had pulled her up and slightly pulled her away from the scene.
"Yes, yes, let's get going…" Lest took Dolce out of the scene and headed towards the town square ahead, which had already been filled with tables covered on white cloth with some chairs.
Some of the tourists who had been in town the past few days were invited to the dinner as they were sitting on their tables. The people gave applause as the couple made it through the town square and got more wishes from the two butlers waiting in front of the door leading to the dragon room. The two of them bowed down in respect once the couple stopped in front of them.
"Congratulations on your marriage, Prince," Vishnal said with his regular smile before moving to the side.
"Congratulations. May you two have a happy life together," Clorica got to the side as well, across Vishnal, allowing the couple to enter the dragon room to say their wedding vows.
With Ventuswill leading the ceremony, the two said their wedding vows in front of the wind dragon and Volkanon. Once they had said their vows, the two turned to see each other with their hands still locked on each other to share their wedding kiss, officially becoming husband and wife.
"I promise I'll make you happy," Lest looked at his new wife with a loving smile.
"I know you will. And I'll never let you go, not ever," Dolce leaned in forward for another kiss, before a familiar voice interrupted the moment.
"DOLLYYY!" Pico raced into the room and towards Dolce, who had expected her and took a step back while pulling Lest with her, letting the ghost crash into Ventuswill.
"Whoa!" The dragon didn't expect the sudden impact, but the comparison between her and Pico's body made the impact seem to be a slight nudge on her abdomen.
"Hey! Let's get outside!" Pico had recovered from the crash and approached the couple, "Everyone is waiting for us!"
"Okay, let's go," Lest gave her a nod and turned to Dolce, "Come on, let's meet the others and enjoy the meal."
The ceremony ended with a dinner party in the town square with the food prepared from the restaurant and the inn. Margaret's singing voice was heard from the background being the party's source of entertainment while Dylas, Clorica, and Vishnal was walking back and forth delivering the food the tables.
Lest and Dolce shared their table with Jones, Nancy, and Volkanon as they had their meal with Pico hovering beside Dolce. They had their conversation about various topics from Volkanon explaining about the upgraded bedroom for the newlyweds up to the topic of starting a family, which had greatly embarrassed the couple. It was when Lest was about to start his meal that he noticed something moving around in the middle of the square.
A wooden sign was literally moving around, hovering closer towards the table they were all sharing. A certain ghost girl came into his mind as the first suspect, only to see his new wife being teased by that same suspect as both of them were next to him. Some writings started appearing on the sign, which had the shapes he had already seen before.
Lest patted Dolce on the shoulder, snapping her from her embarrassment, "W-What is it?"
Lest pointed out his finger at the hovering board, which had almost finished writing itself, "That sign… isn't Pico, right?"
"Huh?" Dolce turned a little to her side to a confused Pico before turning back to the sign as it slowly hovered closer, "Wait, those handwritings…"
"Did you see something, milady?" Pico noticed the surprised look on the bride's face before turning to the sign which had the couple's attention, "Hey, I think… I think it's them!"
"Yes…" Dolce whispered as she let out a sad smile, "They are also here, attending my wedding…"
"They're your parents, right?" Lest moved closer, wrapping his arm around Dolce's waist, "Let's see… your mom said 'Congratulations, Dolly! I hope you live a happy life with him!' and your dad wrote on the bottom…"
"He said 'Take good care of my daughter. I hope my trust is not misplaced.'" Pico finished reading the sign before turning to Dolce with a sad smile, "They have given you two their blessing as well…"
Dolce nodded silently and smiled as she let a single tear slid down from her face, "Yes, I know…" She turned to the hovering sign as she held Lest's hand firmly and whispered, "Thank you… Mom… Dad…"
The wind blew across the square, but the blowing wind had shocked Lest as he saw the hovering sign. He saw two figures, a man and a woman, with the man holding on to the sign. The man had short red hair slightly covered by a black top hat similar to the ones Dolce usually wore while also wearing white gloves and a purple shirt covered with a long black cape. The woman had long curly pink hair tied to a ponytail and wore a red long dress and was holding a moondrop flower in her hands.
The man and woman were smiling at them, but the unfamiliar faces had Lest confused for a moment until he realized who the figures were. Lest returned their smiles and nodded before more wind blew through the square, wiping clean the figures' existence along with the sign. Lest saw his new wife turned to him with a smile and teary eyes which made him bring his hand to gently wipe the tears from her eyes.
"The two people I saw… were my parents-in-law, right?" Lest asked with a whisper and got a nod from Dolce.
"I saw them too…" Dolce replied in a whisper, "They gave us their blessing as well…" The two of them shared another look at each other before joining with the other people on the table to eat.
The party ended at the middle of the day with the villagers helping each other with cleaning up the town square afterwards. While the town square was being cleaned up, Lest helped his new wife move into the castle by carrying her stuff from her old room at the clinic. With everything all set in their new bedroom, they had the day off to rest at the home they would share from that day on.
The newlywed had spent their first hour in the room, trying to pick the best pet names for each other. They were sitting by the table in the middle of their bedroom, with Lest watching his blushing wife while laughing along with Pico, who had joined in for her own amusement.
"Come on, Dolly," Lest teased with a laugh, "You already heard me call you by your new nickname, so it's your turn now…"
"We're not here for a day yet but I'm already enjoying it!" Pico commented before pulling on Dolce's dress, "Say it, Dolly! I want to hear it too!"
"I… I'll say it, okay?" Dolce took a deep breath before looking at her new husband with a nervous smile, "W-Will you make me the happiest person, s-sweetie?"
"Of course," Lest took Dolce's hands in his, "And I know you will do the same for me."
I just have to slap that sign idea here and that was inspired by a comment I found, though the one who wrote it had a point. Why no 'running sign' at the wedding when Lest married Dolce? Oh well, I hope the scene pretty much makes up for that sign missing in the game.
Now this is the end of the story's first arc, Wishes, but there's still more to come! Stay tuned for the next arc!