Kuon and Kyoko, now officially His and Her Royal Highness— and most importantly, man and wife— were awoken at some ungodly hour by the unmistakable sound of fireworks. Which seemed to be coming from the courtyard just below Kuon's suite, judging by the noise and the bright flashes of light that managed to make their way through the thick velvet drapes.
Normally, Kyoko would have thrown herself through the window and over the balcony into the courtyard in less than a second. But because this was the night after her wedding and her uniform was tucked neatly away in a wardrobe, the bodyguard (and princess of the land) settled for yanking the sheet off the bed and scooping up one of the many knives that were scattered around on the floor. Then in two steps she was across the room, throwing open the glass balcony doors and peering over the railing into the courtyard below. In one hand she was brandishing a long knife and the other was behind her back, clutching a handful of sheets tight to her ribcage to keep it from slipping down.
Kuon was incredibly annoyed at having his wedding night interrupted, especially when they had just finally settled down to actually sleep. But his irritation was momentarily forgotten as he watched his wife (completely naked except for the bed sheet but not at all bothered) squint, then lean down and hurl the knife down into the courtyard. The glint on the blade matched her eye and the moonlight made the sleek muscles on her upper back and shoulders seem to glow. It was the hottest thing Kuon had ever seen his wife do.
There was a metallic clang of the blade hitting stone in the courtyard, accompanied by a few yells.
"You must be very tired, to have missed from there," Choir's taunt rose up above the tittering pirate crew. "Or are you losing your touch?"
"It was a warning," Kyoko replied with a grin as she produced another deadly blade. "Care to try me a second time?"
"Now, now, there will be plenty of time for fun and games later, you can continue your competition then," Duke Takarada said. He shooed Chiori towards a large, oddly-shaped wagon, then looked up at Kyoko with a smile. "Good, you're awake! Just in time for the dress rehearsal."
"Is that Lory?" Kuon asked, still from the bed.
"He says we have to come down, something about a rehearsal?" Kyoko said, returning inside.
"Off with his head," Kuon replied with a yawn. He patted the bed beside him. "Come back."
Just then, another large BOOM sounded from the courtyard, followed by a clamor of voices.
"I think we'd better go down there," Kyoko said reluctantly, reaching for another weapon.
Kuon made a big show of turning over. Only when two more loud bangs went off, followed by what sounded like a full orchestra falling out the back of a wagon did Kuon groan loudly into his pillow and then reach for his breeches.
LINE BREAK
Duke Takarada had a bone to pick with the planning of the royal wedding— namely, that he had not been consulted nearly enough for his liking, and that every idea he had suggested was unceremoniously shot down. No, Kuon and Kyoko did not want four thousand white doves released into the cathedral. No, they did not think the aisle needed a custom-made tapestry depicting scenes of their courtship for Kyoko to walk down. No, the wedding dress would not be LME Academy pink. And no, they were not going to ask the palace chef to stuff the wedding cake full of fireworks.
There was no denying that it had been a very nice wedding, of course. But for a royal event, Duke Takarada found himself very underwhelmed. Prince Kuon had finally found his True Love, and Kyoko had found someone who loved her for her— knife skills and manners obsession and faerie blood and all. It was worth celebrating!
So Lory took it upon himself to throw the newly wedded couple a parade. It was an old tradition that had become less common as the nobility had gravitated towards stately processions from the chapel and the throwing of coins, but there was precedent (not that a lack of precedent had ever stopped Lory). The Duke loved a good parade. What better way to celebrate than to fill the streets of the city with music and dancing and entertainers, with the sound of trumpets and confetti flying through the air? There would be stiltwalkers and puppeteers and jugglers and acrobats, there would be no less than five bands marching in uniform, there would be roses dyed an atrocious shade of pink and custom sugar candies to be thrown to the children. And more.
Kuon and Kyoko arrived in the courtyard just in time to see one of the young stablehands leading their trusty pack horse onto a wagon the size of a small barge. An entire cartload of soil had been added to the wagon, and it was covered in grass and flowers with a wooden fence along the outside to resemble a tiny pasture. In a corner of the float stood a nephew of Some Guy Ted. The young lad, who was known as Will or just That Kid, depending on who was being asked, was wearing a white sash embroidered with gold and studying an oversize scroll, on which was written the pack horse's noble lineage and many heroic deeds, which had been embellished (but only slightly) by one of Lory's many poets that he kept on retainer. There was also a minstrel, dressed in Duke Takarada's signature pink, looking over Will's shoulder and noting down places for musical accompaniment. The packhorse was unperturbed by the chaos and was busy sampling the grass.
There were a dozen other wagons, similarly outfitted and decorated all according to theme. At least, Kuon was pretty sure that each float had a theme, although the precise theme of more than one eluded him. There was a wagon that had the most enormous glass tank that Kuon had ever seen— it was practically a wagon made of glass. Giant paper-mache figures of Sir Hoppington and Lady Lily floated on oversized lily pads made of wax, while performers dressed in mermaid tails and bedecked with pearls swam beneath the water, turning in graceful flips. There was a wagon commemorating the jousting match complete with strings of handkerchiefs that flapped in the breeze as if being tossed, another wagon consisted of a forest of miniature pine trees planted in the shape of a heart. One float was a replica of part of the palace kitchens complete with working ovens and four sous-chefs stood in their uniforms, spatulas at the ready, to flip scones and steam buns and biscuits into the crowd. It was followed by a cart loaded with barrels of the infamous Health Juice that had been tapped, and tiny paper cups with which to hand out samples (a small fragment of the population actually found it quite nice. Whether or not Kyoko is part of that fraction is up for debate).
Not all of the parade wagons had been done by Lory. Maria had made her own float, complete with her signature large stuffed-but-incredibly-realistic spiders sitting inside giant teacups. Chiori's crew had outfitted a wagon into a traveling stage for an encore of last night's performance, decorated to look like a ship with cannons on the side that blasted confetti and a main sail that unfurled to revealed some very amateur (but well-intentioned) portraits of the Prince and Princess. The blacksmith's guild had a small cart with all the finest blades that Kuon caught Kyoko eyeing wistfully. The traveling circus, whose ringmaster had tried to recruit Kyoko, gave the royals a wink as he looked over his acrobats and magicians and stilt-walkers, arranging them all into formation. The royal university scholars stuck out like sore thumbs in their regular garments, except for a few who were still wearing their nice garb from the ceremony and looking particularly bleary-eyed. All of the scholars clutched pamphlets with T.O.A.D.S. stamped prominently across the top.
The Trovahale chicken mascot (Kyoko later learned it was in fact a rooster) was such a spectacular sensation at the wedding that Lory had had no choice but to whip up a last minute addition to the parade. It was there that they found Lory, bribing a pageboy into a giant white rooster costume. Lory had tried to ask Kanae, but she had refused point blank. The Archive loved her friend, but she'd wear that costume over her dead body. Luckily, some of the younger palace staff were much more susceptible to Lory's excellent combination of cajoling, incentives, and peer pressure.
"There you two are!" the Duke said merrily, pleased with himself for having secured both a last-minute chicken costume and someone who fit inside it.
"Duke Takarada," Kuon said, stifling a yawn, "you have two minutes to explain yourself and all this—" Kuon gestured across the chaos that was the courtyard " — before I ask my father to revoke your title."
"Come now," Lory returned, not at all bothered. "You must celebrate your wedding properly! The people want to be entertained, and it is your sworn duty to provide for their needs."
"You're the one providing this."
"Yes, well, I am always happy to help," Lory said humbly, herding Kyoko and Kuon towards an open carriage, "But of course, it's not a royal parade without the stars of the show, now is it? You're right on time, good. Although you did miss dress rehearsal," Lory chided.
"Seeing as it's literally our wedding night —" Kuon started, but was cut off.
"It's morning now. Anyway, by the time we get everyone properly lined up it will be go time, so you may as well get in place," Lory said, herding them towards an open carriage that was pulled by eight horses with shining coats (the pack horse's cousins) and glittering with flowers sprayed with fresh morning dew and white gauze speckled with tiny crystals. Lory truly had gone all out. Taking their place inside the carriage, the royal couple saw Lory had put a sack of the coins for them to toss (as custom), along with a small barrel of bright pink flower petals, tiny felt portraits of the Hoppingtons, crowns made out of thick yellow paper, and little play daggers made of wood and painted to look like Princess Rosa.
Kuon mostly dozed, leaning on the carriage handrail or against Kyoko. But soon enough dawn began to creep over the horizon and the parade began. After all, Lory was not about to let an early-rising servant or stray rooster announce that morning had come. As soon as the first peek of sun could be seen, a hundred pairs of cymbals crashed at once, and a thousand dancers poured out to surround the parade, the first marching band already moving forward. Still, given the number of floats it was still a good hour before the royal carriage began to move. Then Kuon stirred himself, putting on his best Princely Smile, one arm wrapped around his wife.
It had taken the Prince so long to woo his True Love that nearly everyone in the capital (and much of the surrounding area) had heard a thing or two about the future queen. After all, Kyoko had made quite an impression at the palace, and nobles and servants alike loved to gossip, and word had quickly spread around the castle and beyond about her duel with Sir Kijima and those strange posters and the handkerchiefs. The ringmaster of the traveling circus had accidentally let it slip that the future Queen had performed in his troupe some months back, and more than one palace servant swore they'd seen her running about the roof more than once. The point was, Kyoko's reputation had preceded her, and the populace was eager to catch a glimpse of the future Queen.
That it was True Love was evident from a mile away. The newlyweds glowed, as if the sun shone extra brightly just around them, and their sparkling smiles seemed to throw flecks of glitter into the air around them. Prince Kuon looked equal parts regal and smitten as he waved serenely to the crowd and smiled down at his bride. Kyoko was equally glowing, winning over the people with her enthusiastic wave and her ability to launch wedding favors into the crowd with uncanny accuracy. The royal parade wound its way around the city mostly without incident, although the raccoons, having recovered from their hangover, caused a bit of havoc when one of them swiped a flaming baton from one of the fire-breathing performers.
There had been a bit of panic in the crowd, as several people were wearing the newly fashionable feathered hats (after the Trovahale chicken mascot) and were not far from watching their newest accessory go up in flames. Luckily one of the hatmakers, a young woman named Sophie, had quickly doused the fire and scolded the raccoons (who had the decency to look chastised) into behaving. When lauded for her quick thinking, the young woman brushed it off, declaring the matter nothing compared to the stupidity that her husband (a very handsome and ostentatiously dressed young man who also had the decency to look chastised) got up to on the regular. In another life, where Sophie and Kyoko met, they would have been bosom pals. They would be in this life, too, if their paths ever crossed.
In the current moment, however, the parade was coming towards the end, meaning that the royal carriage was arriving at the town square, where the floats had circled up like a festival. In the center, the circus performed. Kyoko, of course, wanted a chance to learn new skills from them. When she brought up sword-swallowing, Kuon had to put his foot down.
"No," he said, gripping her tightly but discreetly by the waist. "Please, no."
"But it looks so fun! And I'd have even more places to store weapons!" Her eyes shone so brightly at the prospect that he almost gave in.
But then he had a better idea, and leaned in close to whisper, "I have a knife you can swallow later if you're so insistent."
The joke flew over her head until he waggled his eyebrows, and suddenly it didn't. She turned a vivid shade of red and flapped her hands at him, hissing, "Kuon! We're in public!"
But there was no time to dwell on her embarrassment, because once they reached the square there were trumpets and drums and confetti and a choreographed dance number that almost everyone seemed to have learned, and feasting and more dancing and toasts and plays and story tellers and a fireworks display that lasted thirty minutes. It was only afterwards, when Duke Takarada was trying to organize a capital-wide game of something that sounded like hide and seek, capture the flag, and croquet all rolled into one that Kuon and Kyoko finally made their escape. They snuck back to the palace (through yet another one of Kyoko's escape tunnels) before falling into each other's arms and their royal bed, giddy with delight and exhaustion.
We will leave it to the reader to determine for themselves if Kyoko learned any sword-swallowing skills that night.