Chapter Nineteen
When Nel woke up the next morning, her thoughts were plagued with the previous day's events. From the attack at the rehearsal to the death of the attackers, her mind raced through all the possibilities. The guilt over killing the assassins still wouldn't leave her alone, it had kept her up for hours the night before, and looking over at her bare workspace only made her heart break even more. Will and Gilan had sat with her for most of that time, trying to convince her that it wasn't her fault. She loved them for it, but couldn't find it in her to believe them.
Nel forced herself not to think of that. She knew that if she did, she'd be stuck in a spiral of guilt all day. Instead of focusing on what had happened, she turned her mind over to the why.
Someone was trying to stop the treaty, the alliance. Someone wanted the Temujai to win. Someone who wasn't afraid to kill their own allies to take care of any loose ends, to cover their tracks. Someone here in the castle.
Last night, after leaving her with her brothers, her dad and Uncle Crowley had questioned everyone who had been near her floor, anyone who could've snuck into her rooms. No one had seen anything. The entire area had been completely abandoned it seemed.
Nel chose to believe that it was no one in Araluen. She could very well be wrong, but she had more hope in her people than that. Besides, Duncan had thought long and hard about the alliance before sending messages to the other countries, meeting with dozens of his advisors before proposing the treaty. It had seemed to be the only thing he'd met with his advisors about though.
If anyone in Araluen opposed this, chances were he already knew.
Toscana, being the next target of the Temujai, needed this alliance more than anyone. They didn't have the numbers to oppose the Riders, especially if they had forced the Gallican army to join their ranks as they had done with previous countries. That ruled them out.
Nihon-Ja was too divided between the Temujai and its own pending civil war to be worried about the alliance. In a way, Shigeru's country needed allies almost as much as Toscana did.
The Skandians had reason to hate the treaty, as it prohibited them from raiding, but with the pending war, couldn't risk losing the archers that Duncan was sending them. Besides, Erak wasn't the kind of person to follow through with some underhanded, back-stabbing assassination attempt. He was much more likely to tell you to your face, usually with an ax in hand. The only real reason to suspect him was the fact that he'd been the only major leader not present during the attack, although that was just a coincidence.
That left Arrida, which she immediately dismissed. They had insisted on the marriage, put forth one of their own Wakirs for it, and spent just as much time dedicated to the treaty as Araluen. In fact, he was a possible target of the assassins! This was all based around gaining their trust and binding the countries together after their long history. No, the Arridi had put just as much into this alliance as anyone else, so they couldn't have been behind the attack.
But that ruled everyone out, which meant they were back to square one and everyone was a suspect again.
Nel groaned and buried her face in her pillow. It was times like these that she became incredibly thankful she had turned down being a ranger. There was no way she could handle investigating something like this.
A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought and she held back another groan. Nel loved Cassandra dearly, but hated how the princess tended to rise with the sun.
"Rise and shine!" Cassandra called as she practically waltzed into the room, a dress hanging over her arm. The guard in the hall watched with amusement through the open door as the princess collapsed onto the bed next to Nel, making herself at home. "Come on, we have to get ready!"
Nel let out a moan of disappointment, attempting to burrow back down into her covers and go back to sleep.
Cassandra just laughed, "Come on, you've had your beauty sleep. I even let you sleep in a couple hours because Gilan said you went to bed late. It's time to get up now."
"Why?" Nel pretended to glare at her best friend, "The bed is warm. And comfy."
"I'm sure it is." her tone was very placating, as if talking to a stubborn child. Nel almost rolled her eyes at her before she continued talking, "But the bride is not allowed to be late."
That made Nel shoot up in a panic, eyes wide as her words sunk in.
"Oh no," the princess sighed in realization, "No, no, no. Please tell me you didn't forget the wedding got moved to today."
Nel gave her a sheepish smile, very pointedly not saying anything.
"Nel!"
The gardens were filled with guests, the ushers hard at work getting the guests to their seats as fast as they could. By some lucky coincidence, all of the flowers were in bloom, including the ones that were on the vine and wrapping around the gazebo, the climbing rose petals as vibrant as possible. With all of the natural beauty in the gardens, the decorations that had originally been planned had been scrapped.
Nel knew that the gardens had been pretty, but it hadn't occurred to her until now just how pretty they could be. She continued watching out the window at the scene, her heart rate occasionally spiking as she caught sight of Selethen in the large crowd, mingling with the guests. She had been telling herself for months that she could do this, but now that the day had arrived, she couldn't stop herself from trembling in fear.
"Careful, someone might see you." her father's voice greeted her ears gently. Turning around, she caught sight of him for the first time that day, dressed in the new formal Ranger's Uniform that Crowley had designed. She had to admit, it looked very nice, especially with the short cape and stylized arrows. The part that shocked her was how clean cut her father looked. If she didn't know better, it almost looked like he had gone to a barber and gotten a proper haircut.
Halt was also looking at her. Her mother's dress had been close to her size to begin with and hadn't needed many alterations and was definitely an improvement over the lacey monstrosity she'd had beforehand.
A pure white dress with short sleeves, it was very simple, with just enough beads sewn into it to catch the light and sparkle. The top wrapped around her torso before flowing into the skirt. The most extravagant part was easily the slightly jeweled sash tied under her bust. Nel had put her hair up as well, but chose to forgo the veil, instead putting a few white flowers in her hair.
Halt's eyes were shining as he took her in.
"D-Dad?"
"You're beautiful ceann ciúin." he said, his voice almost breaking, "You…you look just like your mother when she wore that dress."
Nel felt tears pricking at her own eyes and she rushed forward. Halt met her in the hug, holding on as tightly as they could. She knew everyone had been extra emotional lately, especially her, but she found it very hard to care at the moment. Her heart clenched at the thought that she would be leaving her home and family the very next day.
"Are you ready?" he asked, whispering the words.
Nel gave him a shaky laugh, "No."
Pulling back, her father held her shoulders and looked at her seriously, "Nellie, I mean it. Say the word and you don't have to do this. I can get you out of here."
Smiling, she pulled him back into another hug, "I know dad."
"You're going through with it anyway, aren't you?"
She just nodded.
Halt sighed, looking at her again, "I may hate every part of this, but I've never been more proud of you."
A sob escaped her at the words, a few tears spilling out of the corners of her eyes. Gently, he brushed them away.
The door opened again, admitting the princess.
Cassandra, dressed in her dark red bridesmaid dress, smiled at the pair, "Sorry to interrupt. Are you ready?"
Nel laughed, causing her to look at them in confusion.
"We're good." Halt answered for them, smiling a little as well.
Cassandra accepted that, moving forward and looking at Nel's face curiously.
"Were you crying?" she asked.
" A bit."
The princess sighed a little, moving to a small table on the opposite wall. Even though the two girls had gotten ready in Nels' room, she had brought a few things with them just in case. Reaching into them, Cassandra grabbed what she needed and went back to Nel.
"Your makeup smeared a little," the blonde explained.
"Oh, thank you." Nel whispered, letting her fix what she needed to.
Cassandra did it as quickly as she could, wiping away the smudged black paint from her eyes and reapplying it. Like everything else, Nel tried to keep her make up as simple as possible, when she wore it at all.
It wasn't long before she was deemed ready once again.
"You good?" Cassandra asked once more.
"No," Nel answered truthfully, "But all I have to do is focus on the next five minutes."
Halt narrowed his eyes at her, "Have you been talking to Crowley?"
"Always, just to annoy you." she teased.
He rolled his eyes, holding his arm out for her. She took it and they followed the princess out to the entrance of the gardens. True to his word, Duncan had more than doubled the guard and she saw a few extra rangers around as well, probably her father and uncle's influence.
The room they were waiting in wasn't far from the gardens and soon they were at the door, waiting for the music to begin.
Pauline, helping coordinate the wedding (Nel really needed to find some way to thank her), approached them as they waited.
"We're ready when you are." she said when she was close enough.
Nel took a deep breath, trying to once again calm herself. Halt tightened his grip on her hand, helping to steady her. A moment later, she nodded and Pauline left.
They heard the music start after a minute. Giving her one last sad smile, Cassandra began walking out the door, leading the way.
Taking another deep breath, they waited until she got to the end and then began their own walk.
Nel was reminded very quickly of how many people were in attendance and how long the aisle was. Her heart beat faster than she ever remembered it doing before when she saw the sheer number of guests.
She had her hand tucked in her father's elbow and he put his other hand over hers now, the gesture comforting and familiar somehow. Together they started walking and Nel was certain that if it wasn't for her dad, she wouldn't have been able to take that first step.
Steeling herself, Nel looked up to the end of the aisle…and then found that she couldn't look away. She didn't notice Shigeru and Fausto at the center of the gazebo or Aloom and Cassandra standing nearby. She barely registered the walk down the aisle or her family at the front watching her. The only thing she could focus on was Selethen's face as she made her way towards him.
Her fiance, her future husband, was staring at her in what looked like awe, with his eyes wide and his mouth partially open, as if he had stopped speaking in the middle of a sentence when he saw her. Nel watched as he took her in, his eyes eventually stopping on her own and she was once again struck by the feeling that he could see right through her.
He, like her, was dressed in pure white. It seemed a variation of his normal clothes, although much more orderly, more formal. These were embroidered in gold, the flowing Arridan script catching the light and drawing her eye.
Nel was fairly certain her heart had completely stopped. Before she knew it, she was standing right next to him, the strange spell she'd been under breaking when she felt her father stop moving.
Halt turned towards her, bringing Nel in for one final hug before giving her hand to Selethen. Unlike yesterday, Halt's expression was far from forced. His sad smile and the tears edging into his eyes were very genuine. It took all of her strength to not cry.
As Halt sat down, she and Selethen walked into the gazebo. They paused, each signing their names onto the two copies of the marriage contract (one each for Araluen and Arrida) before letting Fausto tie their hands together.
Nel glanced around quickly as he did so, looking over the gardens. It felt so strange to think that only a month ago she and Selethen had walked around this place and now they were getting married in it.
Fausto left, sitting next to the other Senators as Shigeru began speaking.
"I must say, out of all of the weddings I have been asked to officiate, this one is perhaps the most remarkable, for we are joining not just two souls, but five countries. This union represents the heart of our alliance, our future…but it is a marriage nonetheless."
He looked between the two of them, a serious yet caring look in his eyes, "Marriage is not easy. Far from it. Yet it can be one of the happiest parts of your life. Looking at the two of you, I wish I could say it would be perfect, but, as everyone knows, if something is worth having, you must work for it. However, something else that everyone knows is that no one will work harder for it than the two of you."
The Emperor took a deep breath, his gaze never leaving theirs, "In the time I've been here in Araluen, I have spent time getting to know the both of you, so I can say with absolute certainty that there are no two better people I could be marrying today. No two people who can give their all to this relationship, who can be so dedicated and honest and trustworthy. You will not only do your best, but you will succeed. It may have come about in a unique way, but there can be no question that you two shall fit together as any married couple should. The ribbon tying your hands together symbolizes this, that you two are tying your lives to one another. From this day on you will never be alone. You will have a partner, a friend, another half of yourself. Do you understand this, do you accept this, and are you ready to take your vows?"
They nodded in unison, turning to grab the rings from Cassandra and Aloom.
He began with Selethen, turning to face him and clasping his own hands in front of him.
"A husband is meant to care for, to protect, and to support his wife. To take care of her in good times and bad. To be a friend, a confidant, a home, or whatever else she may need. To never betray her or harm her in any way. Do you, Seley el'then, swear to do this? To love and honor and cherish her in every way you can? To accept her into your family, to be trusted with her heart and to trust her with yours in return? Do you promise to be the husband she deserves until death do you part?"
Selethen smiled at her, slipping the ring onto her left hand. It was a little difficult because of the ribbon, but he managed it. As soon as it was securely on her finger, he said, "I do."
Nel felt her face flame up at his words and smile, that little metal band she hadn't truly seen yet feeling like the heaviest thing in the world.
Shigeru turned to her next, slipping her a reassuring smile, "A wife is meant to care for, to protect, and to support her husband. To take care of him in good times and bad. To be a friend, a confidant, a home, or whatever else he may need. Do you, Aranel, swear to do this? To love and honor and cherish him in every way you can? To accept him into your family, to be trusted with his heart and to trust him with yours in return? Do you promise to be the wife he deserves until death do you part?"
Nel gulped nervously as she put the ring on his finger, praying with all her might that her voice wouldn't break or stutter, "I do."
The words were soft, but in the silence they seemed like the loudest things she'd ever said.
If she hadn't been standing so close to him she wouldn't have noticed, but she heard him let out a quick sigh of relief. That confused her. Was he afraid she wouldn't marry him? Why?
"Then I am happy to pronounce you man and wife!" Shigeru exclaimed, his face breaking out in an excited grin, "You may kiss the bride!"
Her confusion disappeared in a rush, replaced by anxiety. She'd forgotten about the kiss! A sinking feeling grew in her gut and it had nothing to do with whether or not she wanted to kiss Selethen, but more the fact that this was her first kiss…ever. And it was going to be happening in front of an audience of hundreds of people, including every single member of her family and the leaders of some of the most powerful countries in the world…and she'd forgotten about it.
She knew that she was blushing, it was unavoidable, but hopefully no one else was catching onto her inner panic.
Selethen's hand grabbed her chin, his touch soft but firm, as he guided their lips together gently, his eyes giving none of his emotions away. Nel let him take the lead, heart pounding wildly in her chest as she let her eyes close.
In all honesty it was probably one of the most chaste kisses in the history of weddings, his lips feeling like a ghost just barely brushing over her own. But that one instant they kissed could've been an eternity to Nel, some sort of spark leaving him and jumping right to her fingertips and her legs suddenly seemed stuck to the ground. Unknowingly, her hand tightened around his, to which he only squeezed back.
A cheer erupted as they pulled away from each other, loud and deafening. Nel's blush intensified, if that was even possible, as she looked out at the crowd and Selethen even looked a little sheepish as well.
Quickly, they made their way back down the aisle, leading the rest of the wedding party behind them. On the way, Nel caught sight of almost everyone. Most of them were still cheering, the Skandians being among the loudest. They may have hated arranged marriages, but they loved to celebrate.
Others were crying. Nel was surprised to see her Uncle Crowley among them, she'd never seen him cry before. Duncan was smiling when they passed him, although there was pity in his eyes. The Senators' expressions were very similar, but Atanyan just looked pleased. That made sense, at least to her, as he'd been the most worried about sealing the treaty.
A wave of sadness crashed over her as they finally made it out of the gardens and into the Banquet Hall.
The cheers weren't for her. They weren't for Selethen. They were for the alliance. Those weren't tears of happiness for her marriage, but happiness that they could finally fight the Temujai. Tears pricked at her own eyes yet again. For one blissful moment she had forgotten what this day was actually about, lost in the moment and intense feelings. The reality crashing back into her was almost too much.
"Are you ok?" Selethen whispered as they made their way to the head table.
She nodded, wiping the tears away. It didn't really work, more kept appearing, "Y-Yeah…it-it's just a lot to take in. Can't quite b-b-believe it yet."
He looked skeptical.
"All brides c-cry on their wedding day." she assured him, smiling, although it felt fake even to her. She grabbed a napkin from the table with her free hand, wiping the tears away. They finally stopped as Cassandra sat next to her.
The princess made a face and quickly grabbed the napkin, dipping it in water and wiping the rest of Nel's smeared makeup off as the guests began pouring into the room to find their seats. There would be no time to fix it, but Nel didn't really care.
Selethen didn't seem convinced, watching her with a concerned expression. Nel avoided his gaze. It wasn't a total lie. It really hadn't sunk in that the man sitting next to her, the one she was literally still tied to, was now her husband. She was married. She was a wife. Mrs. Seley el'then, or whatever the proper Arridi term was. That was something she was going to have to do now, learn to speak Arridan.
But it just didn't seem real yet.
As they waited for everyone else, the two of them untied the ribbon; it would be difficult to eat while still attached to each other.
When everyone was finally seated, they all waited patiently as Duncan stood up, gathering attention around the room.
"Ladies and gentleman, Senators, Oberjarl, and your Excellencies," Duncan addressed everyone, "It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this momentous celebration. This is one of the most historic moments for many countries in our world and I'm proud to have been part of it. I was also given the role of Patron-Sponsor for this occasion."
Whispers ran through the crowd. Many had heard of the role by now, but none knew what it actually was.
"When Lady Pauline told me of my role, I was a bit confused, like I'm sure most of you are." he continued, giving the courier a playful look, "She told me that Patron-Sponsor is responsible for three things. One is that I was to add a sense of regal dramatis personae to the proceedings."
There was more murmuring at the sound of this, but Duncan just laughed, "I still haven't quite figured out what that means, but it certainly sounds impressive, doesn't it? The second job of Patron-Sponsor is to provide a very large and expensive wedding gift to the bride and groom."
There was a loud gasp from almost everyone in the room. Said bride and groom wore mirrored looks of shock as they stared at Lady Pauline. She just winked at them, a mischievous smirk playing at the edges of her lips.
Duncan turned to face the head table, gesturing to the two of them, "But I don't know what I can give you that you don't already have. The only thing I wish for you both is a long and happy life together. So, my gift is something that I hope will fully show our appreciation for everything you two have just done for us, as well as not only providing you with something that could help you achieve that happy life together, but also a way that I hope will only continue to bring our countries closer together."
Selethen and Nel exchanged a look, both wondering what he could possibly be talking about.
"My gift," Duncan said, taking a deep breath, "is Gorlan Fief."
A hush fell over the room at his words. Nel's jaw dropped and Selethen seemed speechless.
"As most everyone knows, Gorlan Fief was, and remains to this day, a dark piece of Araluen history. It is seen as a symbol of when this country was almost torn apart. It is a constant reminder of what event led us to losing one of our greatest allies. In a way, everything that led to today started back at Gorlan Fief. It seems fitting to give that land to the two people who now symbolize the unification of our countries once again. When our war with the Temujai is over, my first priority will be to tear down Gorlan Heights and rebuild a new home for you there."
The hushed whispers returned, discussing the extravagant gift, before turning into clapping, celebrating it.
'He…He just turned us into a Baron and Baroness!' the thought slammed into Nel's head, 'For all his talk about putting a foreigner in power, he just turned him into a Baron!'
If the shock on everyone else's face was any indication, no one had known about Duncan's plans.
Selethen leaned over, whispering, "What do we do here?"
Nel shook her head, floundering for an idea, "I-I don't know. Accept it? What else can we do?"
He let out a breath, "I…have no clue."
Nel let out a breathy chuckle at that and he smiled before standing up.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your generous gift. My wife and I are proud to accept this responsibility and trust you've given us."
"And Araluen is happy to have you." Duncan smiled, grabbing his glass and raising it towards them. "The last role of Patron-Sponsor is to officially open the festivities, which I do now with a toast. May your lives together be filled with love, happiness, and everything else you could possibly want. To Selethen and Nellie!"
"To Selethen and Nellie!" everyone echoes, raising their own glasses to the couple. The glasses were filled with a Skandian ale, the tradition that Pauline had decided on to represent that country.
Food was served quickly after the toast, everyone settling into the meal. It was a tasty meal, if rather quick, and the topic for the wedding part was, unsurprisingly, Duncan's gift. Everyone seemed to have something to say about it, its symbolism, how the couple would run the Fief while living in Arrida, or anything else that came to mind.
Nel was overwhelmed at the prospect. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would ever become a Baroness, let alone on her wedding day!
Sending a glance towards her father, she saw that he seemed lost in thought over the issue. There was a slight crease between his eyebrows, a telltale sign that he was trying to see the big picture, but was missing a piece.
Speeches followed the food, Selethen and Nel accepting every toast or blessing as graciously as they could. Everyone seemed to give a speech, although Nel was fairly certain that most wedding speeches didn't revolve around the couple's dedication to their countries. Her smile almost faltered at the easy way they brushed over their 'lack of relationship'. She hadn't realized exactly how much people were going to celebrate the alliance that day, an uncomfortable feeling creeping under her skin at the thought.
Cassandra's and Aloom's speeches were a little better, talking about them instead of the treaty, but they seemed to lack sincerity when they talked about their 'future together'. It wasn't comforting to hear that even her best friend didn't have high hopes for their supposed happiness.
Luckily though the speeches finally ended. However, that meant it was time for the dancing to begin.
Nel kept her sigh to herself. Her dancing had improved somewhat, hopefully good enough for the reception, but it wasn't anything close to something that she was looking forward to. It didn't help that Pauline had told her she would probably be expected to dance with each of the leaders at some point before the night was over.
Her dance with her dad was first, followed by her dance with Selethen. Quickly she took her dad's hand, walking over to the dance floor. As the music started, she saw Will laughing over Halt's shoulder, but the expression left his face, replaced by a gobsmacked one as Halt began gracefully leading her around the floor.
Nel felt herself smile again. She hadn't known that her father could dance, but he was always full of surprises. You would think she would've learned by this point.
In truth, Halt had been taking lessons from Pauline for the past week. He may not have been happy about the wedding, but he certainly wasn't going to go out of his way to ruin it. He had also realized that this would be the only wedding dance with Nel he would ever have and it had amazed him how much he wanted it once he actually discovered that fact.
Even more surprising was that she didn't mess up. Nel found herself not even focusing on the giant crowd watching them and simply enjoyed dancing with her dad.
It was as the song finally came to a close that the tears started to build up again. She tried to hold them back as best as she could. The final notes rang out and Halt gathered her in a tight hug, holding her close. She wasn't sobbing, it just looked like an emotional goodbye, but Nel didn't care. She just didn't want to let go of him.
It seemed like everything had just come crashing down on her at once, like everything she had held back since she accepted the engagement had come undone all in one dance. She'd been perfectly fine until then. She didn't want to leave Araluen, to leave her family. She wasn't ready to say goodbye and this was her last night with them.
She wanted to stay, to see Will get his own Fief to look after, to help Malcolm in the Grimsdell, to see Gilan start the family he so desperately wanted. She wanted the days where Uncle Crowley got annoyed at his paperwork until she'd help him. She wanted to see Cassandra crowned Queen. She wanted those long horse rides with her dad. She wanted home. She wouldn't have any of that in Arrida.
But Halt just held her through all of it, whispering soothing sounds in her ear like he'd done when she was a child. She wasn't ready to leave them, to leave him.
The sounds he was making were killing her, as if it were something physically slamming into her body, made even worse by the announcement of the first dance.
Nel wiped the tears away as discreetly as she could as Selethen walked towards them. Halt reluctantly gave her hand to the Wakir. In a way, this felt more like he was giving her away than before.
She found herself clutching Selethen's arm tightly, just knowing that everyone was watching, waiting for her to break down again. She didn't even know most of the people in the room, but she could practically feel their anticipation. Instead, Nel forced herself to smile, trying to look as excited as possible.
Selethen's touch was gentle as he brought her in for the dance, holding her much closer than he had during the lessons.
"Relax." he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Everything will be fine, I promise."
She could only nod, trusting him as the music started. The first notes of 'Together Forever' rang through the air and he began leading them around the dance floor. Nel narrowly avoided stepping on his toes multiple times.
As before, she kept her gaze fixed over his shoulder, but when she felt like she had the hang of things, she risked looking up at him.
Selethen was watching her as intently as always.
"I'm sorry." she whispered before she could stop herself.
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "For what?"
"All of…this." she mumbled, glancing down at herself shyly, "I-I really didn't mean to break down like that. I-It didn't have anything to do with you, I promise."
He smirked knowingly, "I'm sure that's not entirely true."
Nel's blush deepened, "N-Not you specifically. I, um, I-I just-"
"It's alright." he reassured her, "You're leaving your home tomorrow to go live in a country you've never been to with a man you met less than a month ago. Anyone would feel that pressure."
"H-How are you so calm about all of this?" she looked at him curiously. She felt like she had asked him that before, but was still amazed at his positive and understanding attitude through it all, "How are you taking this so well?"
His lips pressed together quickly and she could tell he was holding back a sigh, "Because I don't have a choice. Like you, I need this alliance to succeed. I hate that that is what it boils down to, but it does."
"I can't argue with that." she said softly.
"But," he continued, leaning down so he could whisper directly into her ear. Nel suppressed the shiver that wanted to run through her at the contact, "I haven't exactly been unlucky in this situation. I got to marry a beautiful, compassionate woman who is more loyal than almost anyone else I've ever met. That makes it very easy to accept my situation and find some happiness in it."
Nel felt her face heat up even more, words spilling past her lips without her even thinking about it, "Aloom stole first place in the loyalty division?"
A genuine smile spread across his face and he burst out laughing. Nel couldn't help but join in. The crowd looked on in surprise before cheering, taking that as the cue to join them on the dancefloor.
Selethen spun her around a couple times before continuing to speak, "You know, I wasn't lying earlier. I meant every word I said."
Her confusion returned, but before she could ask for an explanation, he elaborated.
"My vows. I meant them. It wasn't just something for the treaty. I fully plan on doing everything in my power to make our marriage work, to make you happy. I don't want our life together to be one that we just tolerate, one we have to live with."
He was looking directly into her eyes now, waiting for her response.
"I-I'd like that." she admitted. "I don't want us to be strangers."
"Me either," he agreed, smiling again, "I'm not asking for you to fall in love with me Aranel, but I would like to be friends at least."
"Well, we could start now." she mumbled.
"Excuse me?"
"My friends call me Nel." she told him.
Selethen just kept smiling at her, although his grip on her tightened. At that, Nel finally had to turn her red face away, looking around the room for the first time since they started talking and trying to calm her racing heart.
Eyes widening, she saw how many people had joined them, dancing all over the room. They spun around the newlyweds, looking far more graceful than she could ever hope to be. Her eyes raced through the crowd, quickly picking out the people she recognized. Alyss seemed to have coerced Horace into the waltz and near them were Will and Jenny, Will spending more of his time watching his feet than his partner, much to Jenny's amusement.
Lady Pauline had somehow ended up dancing with Halt, although that didn't surprise her too much as they were old friends. Halt was shooting looks her way every now and then, smiling when he saw her watching them.
Edvin was smiling brightly as Lydia led them around the room. He didn't seem to mind that she'd taken charge at all. The rest of the Herons stood nearby, eagerly awaiting their turn with their teammate.
The biggest shock though, to everyone it seemed, was when Gilan strode right up to Duncan and Cassandra, cutting in with a grin. Duncan's eyes were wide in shock, but Gilan seemed to barely acknowledge him, scooping the princess up. They began gliding around the room, completely lost in each other. Nel felt an immediate twang of jealousy at the sight, they made it look so easy. Then the feeling was replaced with guilt. Had she really been so distracted lately that she'd completely missed the relationship blooming between her brother and best friend? She felt bad that she'd missed such a crucial part of their lives.
The song ended not long after that, a new one starting right up. Almost immediately, the two were interrupted, Atanyan holding his hand out, "May I cut in?"
"Of course," Selethen responded, bowing stiffly to the Emrikir before moving out of the way.
Nel gulped before allowing him to take her hand. Selethen had been his ward, so for all intents and purposes, she and him were practically family now. The thought did nothing to help the queasy feeling in her stomach.
They danced silently for a minute before the Arridi leader spoke up, "You look beautiful."
"Th-Thank you."
"You must be relieved to finally be married," he continued, "No more worrying. You can just go about your life now. Get settled in, put down roots, practice medicine. I'm not a gambling man, but I'd wager you can't wait to start a family either."
Nel wondered if it was possible to suffer any damage from blushing, her cheeks had been burning so much today, "I-I-I hadn't really th-thought about it." she stuttered.
Which was the truth. Ever since her conversation with Uncle Crowley, she had avoided the topic like a plague. Of course she knew she'd have to address it eventually, but she just kept putting it off. With a start, she realized that she couldn't do so anymore. Tonight was her wedding night. She felt like burying herself in the deepest hole she could find to avoid the embarrassment.
Atanyan, oblivious to her thoughts, laughed, "Oh, I'm sure that'll change soon! I know Seley el'then has always wanted a large family. To be honest, my wife and I would love to be covered in grandchildren as well."
Nel turned to look at her husband. He was talking with Aloom and Malcolm, sending an occasional look in her direction. She wasn't surprised that the doctor had started talking to him, he'd been curious about Selethen since he arrived.
But, watching from a distance, Nel just couldn't picture the tall warrior surrounded by kids. One or two, perhaps, but even that seemed far fetched. It was just further proof that the man she married was a complete stranger.
Atanyan seemed unconcerned by her silence, filling it himself with talk of the future and her new life in Arrida.
Nel couldn't bring herself to stop him.
By the end of the reception, Nel's feet were killing her. She could've sworn she had danced with everyone at least twice, barely being given a chance to sit down. It didn't help that she discovered Erak was actually a worse dancer than her. He kept switching between stepping on her feet and just picking her up while twirling her. She was dizzy and in pain at the end of every song with him, but he smiled and laughed through it all.
This had officially become the longest day of her life, the celebration lasting well past sundown and all she could think about was kicking off her shoes and sinking into her incredibly soft bed upstairs. At this point, it was a wonder she hadn't fallen asleep at the table.
After everything had come to a close, she made sure to say goodnight to everyone and wishing safe travels to those in the morning that she wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye to. The first ones to leave would be the Nihon-Ja delegation, taking Will and Horace with them. Nel doubted her ability to get up before dawn to see them off.
She and Selethen were finally able to leave, his hand providing a steadying feeling on the small of her back as they walked through the halls.
It wasn't until they completely passed by the stairs that led to her room that she realized where they were going.
Her eyes shot open, the fatigue instantly leaving her body.
If Selethen noticed her sudden change in demeanor, he didn't say anything.
When they reached his room, Nel took a deep breath, already rubbing her palm.
Unlike her room, there wasn't much in there to give any hint as to his personality. He obviously hadn't brought much from Arrida. She knew that her room was probably being packed up right now in preparation for the trip tomorrow. She almost winced at the thought of all her books being mixed up and packed incorrectly.
There was one of her nightgowns and some basic travel clothes for tomorrow lying on the dresser next to a privacy screen. She flushed at the memory of what had happened last time she'd used a privacy screen with Selethen in the room, however unintentionally.
The memory was made more embarrassing by the fact that he had apparently stood up for her afterwards according to Arald, telling Svengal off for his comments. She hadn't expected him to do that.
Selethen's hand left her back, landing on her shoulder lightly.
'This is it.' she thought, her heart rate rising rapidly, 'This is happening. No more putting it off. It's-'
He placed a gentle kiss on her temple, unknowingly cutting off her internal rambling, before moving to the dresser, apparently getting his own bed clothes out.
Nel let out a breath, forcing herself to relax. She had a few more minutes. Grabbing her nightgown, she ducked behind the screen, hands shaking as she unlaced her dress and then corset. Normally she didn't have any problem doing this, but knowing that her husband was waiting for her was making it difficult to concentrate on the task. Eventually she got it, her body feeling instantly relieved at not being trapped anymore. Slipping into her nightgown, Nel stepped back out into the room, mentally preparing herself for what was going to happen.
However, she was not prepared to see Selethen already sound asleep, hand tucked under his pillow and breathing deep and even. Apparently the skill of falling asleep whenever and wherever they wanted wasn't limited to only the Rangers.
'I didn't take that long, did I?' Nel thought to herself as she crawled into the other side of the bed, averting her gaze from her new husband's toned chest as he, apparently, preferred to sleep without a shirt.
'I didn't do anything wrong…did I?' she found herself wondering, much to her confusion. She'd just been panicking over something happening, now she was worried it wasn't happening? 'We've been married less than 12 hours, I couldn't have made him mad already, right? He's just really tired, like I am.'
Nel thought back over the day, from the moment she walked down the aisle to when they left the party when it suddenly hit her like a sack of bricks.
'I cried! Before our dance, I cried! I all but admitted that he was part of the reason why! He must think I hate him!'
Nel turned so her back was to him, practically burying her face in her pillow in shame.
Day one of marriage and she'd already messed up.
Professor: Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter! I honestly planned on having it up ages ago. Then I had car trouble. Then Tears of the Kingdom was released. My pre-order was actually dropped off a day early, which did not help in the slightest and made it very easy to procrastinate and distract myself lol.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've been waiting so long to post it! It was not meant to be over 7,000 words, easily the longest chapter I think I've ever written. However, there was a lot I wanted to include. That being said, I had to rewrite it and cut some stuff, so it was a huge work in progress.
Small notes: I did do research on Italian and Scandinavian wedding traditions. Apparently the hand-tying thing is a real tradition according to Google, however, if I got that wrong, I'm sorry. With the Scandinavian traditions, apparently they toast with a special honey-mead during the reception or something like that. I simply modified it a little to better fit our favorite sea wolves.
'Dramatis Personae' means a dramatic person in a play, novel, or narrative. I know that a different phrase is used in the books, but I felt this phrase worked better for this story. Pauline added the word 'Regal' to it to basically be a joke/dig at Duncan, saying that he is a dramatic person "acting" in the role of a king, but not actually ACTING like a king. I feel like this is right up Pauline's alley with her sense of humor and, let's face it, no one is happy with Duncan in any aspect.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm hoping to get back to more regular updates from now on, especially since my car is finally fixed.