A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers! It's just a short chapter, but this update is my present to you :)
I don't think there's any special terms that you need to know for this chapter, so don't worry about definitions. The one thing you should know is that this chapter is about the Percabeth wedding. I did a lot of research and found the authentic script that would have been used at this time. It's the "Order for Consecration of Marriage" from the Sarum Use. The original text is in Latin, but some guy named Matthew Hoskin translated it to English. If you're interested, you can find the script here: classic-christian-texts/order-for-consecration-of-marriage-sarum-use/
I changed a bit of the archaic English to modern English to make it easier to read, but I kept a few words in (like thee, thou, and thy) that I thought everyone would be familiar with.
Anyways, enjoy!
PS. Thank you to PrincessOfAtlantis101, Jedi1, and Bolle Accidentali for reviewing Chapter 6!
The sun was shining brightly in the clear, blue sky when Percy arrived at the chapel for his wedding. A large crowd had gathered in the castle's inner bailey, but it parted for the prince as he approached. The gap revealed a bishop, dressed in full vestments, waiting outside the closed chapel doors. Percy joined him there, where he and Annabeth would marry in the sight of everyone present.
The king and queen stood slightly to his right; neither one spoke to the prince, but they greeted him with subtle nods as he took his place in front of the bishop. Percy nodded back at them, but he was wearing his heavy golden crown, so the movement was stiff and uncomfortable. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice his lack of regal grace. Everyone remained silent until trumpet calls announced Annabeth's arrival several minutes later.
Time seemed to slow for Percy as he craned his neck to see Annabeth. The Duke of Attica was escorting her, yet Percy's vision tunnelled until all he saw was his bride. She was wearing a fitted ultramarine gown with gold trim and a long train. Her long blond hair fell in perfect curls around her face and over her shoulders—Percy had only ever seen her with it braided before, but now it flowed loosely behind her. The sight caused an odd flutter in his chest.
Annabeth also wore a garland of orange blossoms on her head like a crown, and while her right hand was settled in the crook of her father's left arm, her left hand was holding a large bouquet of herbs and flowers. Three bridesmaids followed her; they were all dressed like Annabeth in order to confuse the evil spirits that liked to harm brides on her wedding days.
Annabeth kept her eyes pointed downwards as a gesture of humility while she walked towards the chapel, but she raised them to Percy's when she was three feet away. That shocked the awed look off the prince's face and shook him back into the present. He blushed for having been caught staring at her, then turned his head back towards the chapel doors. Annabeth and her father joined him a moment later, but the bridesmaids stood off to the left. Their job was done, because Annabeth arrived at the chapel safe and demon-free. From that point on, it was the prince's duty to protect her.
The bishop cleared his throat to signal that he was ready to begin.
"Behold, brethren! We have come here in the sight of God, the angels, and all his saints in the presence of the church, to join together the bodies of this man," he gestured towards Percy, "and of this woman," he gestured towards Annabeth. "Here a priest shall examine the persons so that henceforth they may be one in flesh and two spirits in faith and in the law of God, at the same time to the promised eternal life, whatever they have done previously. Therefore, I warn you all that if any of you know of any reason why these two persons cannot be lawfully joined together, he is to confess it now."
King Poseidon had ordered the castle guards to deny Bishop Octavian entry—only nobles with invitations in hand were allowed into the castle that day—so no one present offered any objections. There was a brief silence, and then the officiating bishop spoke again.
"Prince Perseus and Lady Annabeth. You, also, are required before God to declare any reasons prohibiting your marriage. If there are any, or if you do not enter this union willingly, then speak now."
Another silence fell over the assembly. This time, Percy shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Annabeth's medical condition was a reason, because it prevented them from becoming a proper husband and wife. Withholding that information was a sin, but he could not bring himself to mention it—not when the stability of Atlantis was at stake. Annabeth also kept quiet, so the prince prayed silently for their forgiveness. Meanwhile, the bishop turned to him and resumed speaking.
"Prince Perseus, do you wish to have this woman as a wife, and to esteem her? To honour, hold, and protect her—while healthy and sick—just as a husband ought to do for a wife? And do you swear to forsake all other women, and to cling to her so long as your life and hers will endure?"
A lump of guilt rose in Percy's throat, but he swallowed it forcefully. "I do."
He sent another prayer heavenward as the bishop turned to Annabeth.
"Lady Annabeth, do you wish to have this man as a husband, and to obey him? To serve, esteem, honour, and guard him—while healthy and sick—just as a wife ought to do for a husband? And do you swear to forsake all other men, and to cling to him so long as your life and his will endure?"
Annabeth answered without hesitation. "I do."
She and Percy both turned away from the bishop so that they could face each other. The Duke of Attica then removed Annabeth's right hand from the crook of his arm and placed it over Percy's right hand. He then stepped backwards, while the bishop coached Percy through his vows.
"I, Prince Perseus, take thee, Lady Annabeth, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, if the holy Church will permit it, and thereto I plight thee my troth."
The bishop then turned to Annabeth and coached her through her vows. "I, Lady Annabeth, take thee, Prince Perseus, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to be bonnair and buxom, in bed and board, till death us depart, if the holy Church will permit it, and thereto I plight thee my troth."
Percy drew his hand back from Annabeth's as two pages stepped forward. One carried a book, which he offered to the bishop, while the other carried a velvet cushion. The cushion held a single gold band adorned with a sapphire, and a leather pouch containing silver and gold. Percy took both items from the cushion and placed them on top of the book in the bishop's hands.
"Has the ring been blessed before?" The cleric questioned. Percy shook his head, so the bishop blessed it then. "The Lord be with you."
"And with thy spirit," the assembled guests chimed in response.
The bishop then bowed his head. "Let us pray. Bless, Lord, this ring which we bless in thy holy name so that whosoever would wear it may persist in thy peace, and remain in thy will, and live in thy love, and increase and grow old and be increased into length of days. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Another page boy stepped forward and offered the bishop a bronze vessel filled with holy water and an aspergillum. The boy held the bowl while the bishop picked up the aspergillum, filled it with water, and then used it to sprinkle the water over Percy's ring. Once the aspergillum was empty, he returned it to the bowl and handed the book—with the ring and leather pouch on top—to Percy. The prince accepted it with his right hand, then passed it back to the page. He removed the pouch and ring, then grabbed Annabeth's left hand with his own and recited, "With this ring I thee wed, this gold and silver I thee give, and with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow."
Percy passed Annabeth the leather pouch to symbolize that he could, and would, provide for her. Then he placed the newly blessed ring on her left thumb, saying, "In the name of the Father—" he removed the ring and placed it on her forefinger, "and of the Son—" then her middle finger, "and of the Holy Ghost—" and finally on her ring finger, "Amen."
Percy released the ring on that finger, then he and Annabeth both bowed their heads while the bishop pronounced a blessing over them. "May you be blessed by God, who created the world out of nothing, Amen."
They lifted their heads again, but the rest of the ceremony passed in a blur for Percy. The bishop recited scripture, delivered the Gloria Patri doxology, and led them in a series of prayers, blessings, and responsive dialogues, yet Percy barely listened. His mind was too busy trying to register the fact that he was married. He thought that he would feel different—more responsible and mature—once he was wed, but he didn't feel any different than when he had woken up that morning.
The prince snapped out of his daze just in time for the final prayer. The bishop bowed his head, but raised both hands high with his palms outstretched. "Let us pray. May the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, be with us: and may he join you together and may he pour into you his blessing, which God lives and reigns through all of the ages of ages. Amen."
The bishop then lowered his hands and led the assembly into the chapel for more prayers, more wedding blessings, and Mass. Percy and Annabeth were the first to follow him into the building, with the king and queen closely behind him. The Duke of Attica and his family followed shortly after, and then the rest of the noble guests entered.
A/N: So what did you think about the Percabeth wedding? I hope you weren't underwhelmed by the lack of kiss or pronouncement of their marriage, but those weren't actually part of the original medieval ceremonies.
Sorry that I made you wait a whole week for a 2,000 word chapter-it was initially longer (about 4,500), but I cut the second half out because it was just a series of prayers, blessings, and responsive dialogues between the bishop and wedding guests. I edited those parts out and glossed over them with a cliche "the rest of the ceremony passed in a blur," because it bogged the chapter down without adding much to the story.
I've already started working on the next chapter, and I think you guys will really enjoy it. Chapter 8 will cover the wedding feast and celebrations. I have plans to include a few medieval wedding traditions that we no longer practice today, but it's also a lot heavier on the Percabeth (so both the history buff readers and the people reading this story for the romance should enjoy it). I don't want to give too much away, but here's one spoiler for you: one of those traditions will include Percabeth's first kiss!
Anyways, here's four historical notes for those who are interested: (1) White wedding dresses didn't become popular until Queen Victoria wore one at her wedding in 1840. Before then, noble brides wore bright colours (peasants wore their "sunday best"). Blue was a popular choice for noble brides because it symbolized purity and was connected with the Virgin Mary. (2) In the Late Medieval Period, nobles got married in their castles or outside the doors of a cathedral,but never inside the church (that tradition evolved later). Peasants married inside the bride's home. (3) Couples weren't required to have their wedding blessed or officiated by a priest (all that marriage required was the couple's mutual consent to wed). Nevertheless, it became increasingly common for nobles to have priests or bishops officiate their weddings at the end of the Medieval period. When clergy was involved, the Sarum Use was often used to determine the order of the service (just like in the story). (4) Finally, the part that I wrote about bridesmaids was true-they dressed like the bride and escorted her to the wedding in order to confuse any demons that wanted to harm her on her wedding day.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!