Sylvain felt silly in his Church-provided getup but found solace in the fact that everyone else was similarly dressed. He was glad, though, that the chill of the Ethereal Moon had started to take hold of Garreg Mach otherwise he imagined he'd have been sweating profusely as they waited for Eve to arrive.

She would be there any moment, now. The choir had begun to sing, signalling the students and staff in attendance to stand and turn towards the grand doors of the cathedral and await Eve's appearance. With each bar of music, Sylvain wondered if Eve would even show up. He had gone looking for her earlier in the morning, but to no avail. Had she run away? Had she fled the monastery and her promise to His Highness?

No. She would never do that. Eve was a woman of her word. She would never have abandoned her promises. She had promised too much to too many people, and Sylvain knew she wouldn't dare walk out on those vows no matter how conflicted her heart was.

As he thought this, his friend finally stepped into view in the doorway of the cathedral. The sun illuminated her from behind, making her appear almost as if she were glowing. She looked beautiful, ethereal, in her flowing ivory gown. Sylvain had almost expected her to be dressed in some outrageously ornate dress befitting of a future king's bride; something with a giant poufy skirt and intricate lace. But that wasn't Eve. Instead, her dress was a simple satin that looked almost identical to the gown that Lady Rhea wore beneath her cape. Sylvain wondered if Eve had refashioned one of the Archbishop's dresses into one of her own for the wedding. It looked the same with the exception of the golden adornments that Lady Rhea's dress bore that were absent on Eve's.

When Eve began her procession into the cathedral and towards the altar, Sylvain turned his attention towards Dimitri. He was the only one not facing the door as tradition dictated that he must not turn and see his bride until she stood beside him. His back looked rigid as if he were using every muscle in his body to stay upright. Sylvain wondered what could be going through His Highness' mind at that very moment when several shocked gasps pulled his attention back towards Eve.

She had made her way about halfway through the cathedral by this point and the rows of attendees that she had passed already were filled with shocked stares, mutters, and stifled gasps. Sylvain's brow furrowed as he watched his friend walk ever closer, her chin held high in what he had first thought was confidence and now could see was defiance.

He chanced a glance back towards the altar—this time paying attention to Seteth and the Archbishop. Sylvain didn't know the details, but Eve had divulged snippets of her disdain for the leaders of the Church of Seiros. And as much as he figured Lady Rhea knew the gasps were in reaction to something Eve had done to undermine this ceremony and therefore her authority, Sylvain was impressed by her ability to look completely unphased. Seteth showed a sliver of his concern in his eyes, but Sylvain only noticed because he was looking for it.

Soon enough, Eve reached the first row of pews where Sylvain and the other Blue Lions were seated. She held his eye for a moment, a type of determination he had never seen before glimmering in her own eyes. And as she stepped up to the altar, moving to join His Highness' side, Sylvain finally saw what had caused all of the gasps.

The dress was backless, scooping from her shoulders down to the small of her back—revealing Eve's raging scar that marred the skin there. And all of a sudden Sylvain recalled the conversation they had had about that very scar.

"It's a reminder."

"A reminder?"

"That even I can be beat."

Was she admitting defeat? Was that the purpose of showing her scar here? Was it to say that she had been beat by Lady Rhea and the Church? Or perhaps it was simpler than that. Perhaps this was just Eve's way of creating some kind of shock factor to undermine the whole affair.

But either way, Sylvain couldn't help the relief he felt that she was there at all. And he was sure His Highness felt the same way as he watched all the tension melt from the younger boy's back as he turned to face the woman who would soon be his wife.

"I thank you all for gathering here with us today…" Lady Rhea began as soon as Eve had taken up her spot next to Dimitri.

"All this pomp and circumstance for these two little children." Sothis complained as Byleth watched on.

Those 'little children' are soon to be two of some of the most influential people in Fodlan. Byleth thought.

"Still, it is so odd to me that this Eve girl was so hesitant in all of this." Sothis mused. "Would not anyone be excited to marry the little princeling?"

Byleth's brow furrowed slightly at the thought. Sothis was right, literally anyone else would be ecstatic to marry Dimitri. So why had Eve been so reluctant?

"Gosh must she keep talking on and on like this?" Sothis complained as Rhea continued on in her introduction of the ceremony.

"…you all here to witness this union. But more importantly I am so thankful to be able to host this…unprecedented union here at Garreg Mach where the Goddess may witness."

As Rhea spoke, Eve's eyes flitted over to Byleth, locking eyes with the professor. An amused smile quirked at the corners of her lips as Rhea spoke about the Goddess witnessing her union with Dimitri.

"Yet again this child looks at you as if she knows I am here." Sothis noted when Eve finally looked away.

There's no way she could know. Byleth thought.

"For what other reason would she look at you in that way?" Sothis inquired harshly. "Both today and last night in the courtyard; she has looked at you with meaning upon mention of the Goddess."

I'll get to the bottom of it. Byleth determined, half out of her own curiosity and half simply to appease Sothis.

"If we ever get out of this ceremony, that is." Sothis complained with a theatrical yawn as Lady Rhea launched into another speech about how momentous this union was.

Dimitri could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he heard the stifled gasps of the wedding attendees behind him. What was happening? Was Eve not there? No, of course she was; she had promised.

"Starting tomorrow, I will be your wife and I will be devoted in that venture."

His pulse raced even faster as he remembered her words from the night before. She had promised to learn to love him. She had told him that he could not tarnish her with his blood-soaked hands. And she had asked him to kiss her. It all felt like a lifetime ago as he stood on the altar trembling with anticipation.

And suddenly she was beside him—radiant and oh so sure of herself. She turned to look at him and he saw everything he needed in her eyes. Her eyes were clear and bright and looked almost as if they were pleading with him to believe her promise from the night before. It seemed to Dimitri that for the first time ever Eve was letting him see her. Not her façade, not her blank slate for him to form into whoever he needed—her. And all over again he fell in love with her. There was something in her vulnerability, something in those eyes, that conveyed to Dimitri more than she ever had with words.

For a moment, Dimitri wondered if she had always looked like this and he had just never truly looked at her. But he knew that couldn't have been true. From the moment he had realised he loved Eve, Dimitri had done nothing but look at her—look for any hope that she might love him too. He wondered, then, if Felix had ever seen this version of Eve. Had she shown her true self to Felix? Or had she let herself become what the Fraldarius heir needed her to be?

And as the Archbishop continued on with the proceedings of the wedding and Eve went on holding Dimitri's gaze, he felt as if this was perhaps not Eve that stood before him. She was someone new—someone he had never met before—and somehow, she was the truest version of herself.

"And now for the ceremonial binding of the two." Said Lady Rhea and Dimitri realised he had not heard a single word the Archbishop had said.

For the first time, it was Eve who reached for Dimitri as she held out her right hand for him. He knew it was only part of the ceremony, but Dimitri's heart still fluttered at the notion that it would be Eve who reached for him and not the inverse as it had always been. Gingerly, he returned the gesture, reaching out with his right hand to grasp her outstretched arm. His eyes were fixed solely on where his gloved hand pressed into her soft skin—afraid he might hold her too firmly and bruise her. And as she wrapped her fingers around his forearm, was that the slightest of trembles he felt? Did her fingers quiver against his skin or was it he who was wracked with tremors?

As he lifted his eyes from their hands, he was met with Eve's intense stare. No, she was not the one shaking. She was his rock, the one thing of which he was certain. And as if she could sense his anxiety, she tightened her grip ever so slightly in reassurance. And for a moment Dimitri felt as though as long as she continued to hold onto him things would be okay.

Lady Rhea continued with the ceremony, wrapping their joined arms together in a ceremonial sash. She spoke words that fell on deaf ears as Dimitri focused only on Eve. He felt that the two of them were on the precipice of something. That beyond even just being married, something was shifting in their lives. It felt to his as if this moment marked the beginning of something greater than he knew.

"Eve." Lady Rhea said. "Do you vow before the Goddess to take this man, Dimitri Alexandre Blayddid, as your husband?"

"I do." Eve nodded with confidence, her eyes never once leaving Dimitri's.

"Dimitri Alexandre Blayddid." Lady Rhea now addressed him. "Do you vow before the Goddess to take this woman… Eve, as your wife?"

The Archbishop faltered a moment and Dimitri realised Eve had no names. He had never even thought about the fact that she had never told him her family name. She had no one. No family to speak of. He had always so closely associated her with House Fraldarius that he had half expected the Archbishop to use that as her family name. But she was just… Eve.

"I do." He nodded with meaning.

"Then with the Goddess as witness and with my power as Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, I pronounce you husband and wife." Lady Rhea smiled at the two of them as she held out her arms. "You may now seal your union with a kiss."

It was then that Dimitri was relieved Eve had kissed him the night before. He was sure that if they had not already kissed, he would have been frozen to the spot and unable to kiss her. But his heart had yearned for her lips on his ever since they had parted in the Goddess Tower and now he took the opportunity to seize her lips with his own and hope that she could feel his promise to love her no matter how long it took for her to love him back.