Maya sat in an outdoor tent by herself in a white wedding dress. She looked at her hand, and saw she was still wearing the ring she had put on with Riley the night before. Maya then heard a voice outside the tent say, "Princess Maya, it's time." Maya sighed and got up as with sadness in her voice she said, "Here comes the bride."

Riley was still sitting on her bed naked crying. Then Riley looked at her hand and saw she was still wearing the ring Maya gave her the night before. And it seemed to be just barely glowing. Then Riley stood up and took a deep breath. Riley then put her underwear on followed by a white shirt and white blouse. Then right after Riley put some footwear on, she immediately ran out of her room and then right out of the castle.

In front of a large crowd of people near a beach, Lucas stood in a tuxedo. Then walking towards him on the beach wearing her white wedding dress was Maya. Maya eventually reached Lucas and stood beside him. Lucas smiled as he said, "Here we are. About to begin an important chapter in our lives." Maya sighed as she said, "Yeah. Sure."

Riley was running down a grassy field as fast as she could. She tripped on a tree root at one point and fell. Then Riley jumped back to her feet and began to run quickly again.

Standing before Maya and Lucas was a priest who said, "We are gathered here today to witness the union between Prince Lucas and Princess Maya. A union of holy matrimony, in which these two shall proclaim their love for the other and forsake all others in that respect." Maya looked down for a moment as a few tears came out of her eyes.

Riley continued to run down the grassy field as she saw the beach ahead. From far away, she could see the wedding reception happening. She saw from far away, Maya and Lucas holding hands. Riley's face began to turn into one of panic. Riley then proceeded to run faster than ever.

At the wedding, the priest looked at the crowd as he said, "If anyone believes these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The crowd was silent. Then the priest said, "Then by the power invested in me..." But then suddenly everything was interrupted when everyone heard the voice of Riley yell, "WAIT!" Everyone including Maya turned their heads and saw Riley running towards the wedding. As she ran, Riley opened her mouth and said, "WAIT! Please don't! Please don't do this! Princess Maya, you..." Maya with wide eyes said, "Beautiful. You... you're talking." Riley then reached Maya and stopped to catch her breath. Riley and Maya then looked into each other's eyes. Suddenly a look of complete clarity came across Maya's face. Maya then said, "You're a mermaid. I remember it all now. You saved me the night of the storm. I'm alive because of you." Riley smiled as she said, "Yes. And I became human because... I wanted to be with you more than anything." A curious Maya then said, "But how can you talk again?" A confused Riley said, "I'm not sure. My speech was only supposed to return once I joined the one I loved in holy matrimony. But we didn't..." Maya smiled and held up her hand to show her ring. Maya then grabbed Riley's hand and showed Riley her own ring as she said, "Look at our rings. They shine brighter than they did last night. Don't you see? Last night we may not have had a priest or stood before a crowd. But we vowed to love each other forever in our own way. It was then in spirit, we were wed for life."

The priest then tapped Maya on the shoulder and said, "Princess Maya. What's going on? Do you wish to continue this wedding?" Maya smiled as she looked at the crowd and said, "The wedding has already happened. Last night I was wed in spirit to this woman you see here standing beside me. This woman whose name is... whose name is..." Riley made a big grin as she waved and said, "I'm Riley." Maya looked at Riley in awe as she said, "Aww. That's your name? It's so cute." Riley giggled and said, "Thanks." Maya then looked at the people and said, "Me and Madame Riley are now wedded for life. Together we shall rule this kingdom together." Then a man from the crowd spoke up and said, "But Princess. Don't you need an heir to rule in your place once you die? You can produce no such heir with this woman." Then Lucas stepped up and said, "They don't need an heir. For my kingdom shall share it's finest educators to yours. With cooperation with your new queens, we shall teach all our peoples to be better rulers. So they may all be intelligent enough to govern themselves without a ruling family one day." Maya then looked at Lucas as she said, "Prince Lucas. Do you really mean that?" Lucas nodded as he said, "Yes Princess Maya. I spent some time thinking about it and... perhaps together we can ensure your kingdom's future through means we hadn't considered before." Maya smiled as she said, "Thank you for being so understanding."

Maya then turned to look at the priest as she said, "Forgiveness for not being wedded by traditional means. May you at least bless us by recognizing our union?" The priest smiled as he held up his hands and said, "Ladies and gentlemen. Recognizing today, here are your two newest queens. You may each kiss your bride." Riley and Maya looked at each other, gave each other a big smile, and then they kissed each other. It was a kiss that sealed the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

THE END (FOR NOW)

*Author's Note - Is the story over? Perhaps not. The next "chapter" is a "behind the scenes" bit where I talk about how I came up with this story. Aside from that, do you all want to see more of this fairy tale universe, and learn what happens to the now married Riley and Maya? Comment and message me to let me know, and maybe this series shall continue.