"How are you feeling?" Lala placed a steaming cup of tea in Liliana's hands, breaking her from her stupor.
She had been fixated on a faint crack in the mirror whilst palace servants fawned over her, fixing invisible imperfections on her hair, dusting off her already clean dress, and adding more rouge to her red cheeks.
Liliana took a sip of the hot liquid and swirled it around her tongue before swallowing. "It's - it's a lot. Lyceus warned me it would be, that there would be countless traditions to uphold for a royal wedding, but I never imagined it to be like this."
She wasn't even allowed to choose her own wedding gown. No, the design was exactly the same as what every other royal bride-to-be from the north wore throughout history. The gold-tipped wings attached to the gown were outrageous enough, but its heart-shaped neckline only enhanced her large chest and its ballgown skirt was enormous , made of endless layers of impossibly delicate white fabric, except for the wide train of golden feathers that flowed from her waist down the back of the dress.
Lyceus knew how much she hated the horrendous dress, but there was little even he, as future King, could do. It was expected of both of them.
At least he had bought her the dress she had truly wanted to wear, with the promise of a small reception later - just them and the people they loved.
At least she chose every other aspect of her outfit, from her hair - curled, half up, and entwined with pearls and jewels - to her heels - beige and high enough that she would be almost as tall as Lyceus .
He picked out her bouquet - roses - as dark and red as her hair.
"Are you having doubts?" Liliana's eyes met Jacks through the mirror. He had dressed up, in a dark grey doublet made from rich embroidered silk. His pants were loose and made of a matching material.
"Heavens, no." She smiled, thinking once again of her fiancee. "Part of me just wishes we could skip the whole wedding and get to the marriage."
"Tsk, tsk." Cas chided, from where he was standing, half hidden in the shadows. She had insisted the wedding be held in the evening, solely so he could attend comfortably. Although, now, with a faint tinge of loving annoyance, she was wondering why she had even bothered. "This is supposed to be the best day, or rather, night, of your life. We can't have you regretting it before it even starts."
"I'll never regret it," She swore. "Even when I'm old and wrinkled and grey."
They all laughed at that, at the very idea of her aging.
And sooner than she would have liked, they were all waiting behind closed doors for their queues to enter the hall.
Elliot, Lyceus ' best friend and best man, would go first, accompanied by Riona, his younger sister. Lala, as her maid of honor, would go next, accompanied by Castor, and following them would be Liliana and Jacks.
Beyond where they were waiting, the hall had been bedecked in ribbons and lanterns in shades of cream, blush, and sky blue. Hundreds of chairs were assembled and each seat would be occupied by Lyceus ' subjects.
Lala fussed around her, fluffing out the sparkling train of her gown even more. Silk and gossamer rustled and sighed, and her grip on the bouquet in her hands tightened.
"Don't be nervous," Jacks clucked.
"I'm not," Liliana's voice was calm, even as streams of music sang past the doors and Elliot and Riona made their way into the hall. There was nothing to be nervous about. She was marrying the love of her life.
When it was their queue, Jacks stretched out one hand toward her. She took it, and intertwined her arm with his and they began walking.
Every step she took was deliberate, her eyes locked on Lyceus , who stood at the altar, his gaze never leaving her. He looked positively dashing in a deep blue doublet, adorned with golden embroidery.
Everything around her faded, until it was just him, just them.
A faint tear slipped down his face, and he didn't move to wipe it away as she reached the end of the aisle. Jacks held out her hand to him, and bent, whispering something in Lyceus' ear, before letting him take her hand and stepping away.
Then she was holding his hands as the wedding master tied her wrist to his with silken cords.
Her skin was on fire, and so was the prince's, as if they were bound together by more than just a gilded rope.
" And now," the wedding master said, loudly enough for everyone present to hear, "by my words, I join these two together. I tie not only their wrists but also their hearts. May they beat as one from this moment on."
The words, simple yet profound, hung in the air like a promise, sealing the bond that had been forged between them.
"I love you. More than I ever thought possible." Lyceus held her hands tighter, eyes latched on to hers with a burning intensity full of more love than she had ever hoped to receive.
They had been married for a little over a year before he started hitting her.
The dress was as hideous as Liliana had remembered it to be. Maybe even more so, as her memories had been tainted with time and the fondness with which she reminisced the echoes of her past - both good and bad.
The enormous wings attached to Evangeline's bridal gown dragged across her suite as she looked out her window edged in webs of frost. The extravagance of the design suited her the way it never did the seductress. The wings were still outrageous, but the neckline was flattering to her smallish chest and where the ballgown skirt absorbed Liliana, on Evangeline, it was terribly fun.
In the towers at every corner of Wolf Hall, caged doves waited, ready to be released after the couple exchanged their vows underneath an arch of gold-flecked ice that sparkled in the morning sun. A kingdom of people were already waiting, decked out in their finest furs and jewels.
"Why do you look so nervous?" asked Marisol, coming up beside the bride-to-be. She wore an apricot dress with a sugary cream underskirt and a thick pearl belt, and she looked like a piece of candy.
Liliana looked back down, her focus on the bit of red fabric she was stitching gold thread onto. The dress fanned out around her, vibrant against the hardwood floor.
"There's nothing to be scared of," Marisol said. "You're about to marry a prince who adores you."
He wouldn't for much longer. Evangeline had told Liliana about how Jacks' spell would be broken after they were married and her fears about him falling out of love with her and who he would be then.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The distant bell signaled the soft music from the choir in the courtyard coming to an end.
The handbell choir had arrived in the grand courtyard of Wolf Hall the day after Apollo's proposal to Evangeline. They had appeared precisely at noon, clad in heavy red capes to better contrast with the snow that would surely fall soon. There had been 144 members of the choir, one for every hour until the wedding. And every hour, one silently departed. There were none left, now.
It was almost time.
Liliana set aside the piece she was working on, and took the pin out of her hair, shaking her head so that her hair fell down her back in tight coils.
"What if he falls out of love with me?" Evangeline blurted as they moved behind the doors beyond which was the ceremony. "What if we get married, he decides it was a mistake, and then he tosses you and me out of the North?"
"I don't think you have to worry about that," The other girl said. "Most girls would have to employ magic to make someone love them the way that Apollo loves you."
Evangeline stiffened.
"I didn't mean to imply that you put a spell on him," Marisol amended, cheeks flushing. "It's not a surprise that he loves you so much," She went on determinedly. "You're Evangeline Fox. You haven't even married the prince yet, and there are already fairytales about you. You're the girl who defied the Fates and turned herself to stone, the girl who wasn't afraid to reject a street of suitors or to bring her cursed stepsister with her to a royal ball, where she then captured the heart of a prince. Just love him the same way you live your life - love him without holding back, love him as if every day with him will be more magical than the last, love him as if he's your destiny and the world will be better if you two are together, and he won't be able to ever stop loving you."
Liliana wondered how the belladonna-sweet girl would react when or if she found out the truth about her wedding. About the fact that her sweet step-sister had been in love with her fiancee and wished them all to stone before gallantly rescuing them from the fate she had thrust into their hands.
Jacks had chosen that moment to arrive, taking his place beside her, his harsh gaze looking Evangeline up and down before he turned to Liliana, an all-too-familiar light in his eyes. "That dress is absolutely hideous."
Despite herself, Liliana laughed loudly, and Jacks smiled at the sound, a self-satisfied lilt to his lips. "I can't believe you let me walk down the aisle in that monstrosity."
"We all tried our best to warn you out, but you were too enamored with your betrothed to see any reason."
That easily, any trace of happiness vanished from her expression as she faced the closed doors. The reminder of everything that had happened between then and now was like a bucket of ice thrown over her.
"Well, a lot has changed since then."
He opened his mouth to respond, but the doors opened.
The day must have been cursed for Liliana couldn't seem to hold on to any of the memories of the wedding, even as they happened.
One moment she was stepping into Wolf Hall's snowy yard with Jacks hand in hers, cool air biting her cheeks as a court of scrutinizing faces looked her way. Then she was on the alter, watching Evangeline holding Apollo's hands as the wedding master tied their wrists with silken cords.
"And now," the wedding master said, loudly enough for everyone present to hear, "by my words, I join these two together. I tie not only their wrists but also their hearts. May they beat as one from this moment on. If one is pierced with an arrow, may the other bleed for them."
It seemed that Evangeline was mistaken and her fears unfounded.
Even after they were wed, Apollo did not drop her hand, spear her with an angry glare, and shake his head as if waking from a dream. But if anything, he held her tighter.
Their reception was beautiful.
Inside the gleaming glass-like walls, guests were given shining silver goblets of mulled wine and individual forest-green cakes that tasted like luck and love. Instead of musicians, a grand music box opened and life-size clockwork players stepped out to perform an endless stream of ethereal sounds.
The notes were like threads of gossamer and tails on kites, springy and enchanting in a way that made her think of warning fables of boys and girls so bewitched with magic songs that they danced until they died.
The fables weren't really fables and every so often, Liliana missed darling Solie - one of the girls involved.
She was snapped out of her stupor from watching the newly wedded dance around the floor by Jacks, extending a hand toward her.
Liliana, noting the other guests eyeing him, accepted the request. She was not one to make a scene. Anymore, that was.
He pulled her closer, the hand at her waist sliding under her open back as it traveled up her spine, sending shivers over her skin. Although she would never admit it, Jacks was a good dancer, and it was refreshing to twirl around the floor with someone as experienced as he was.
Some would even call it fun, but not her.