So fun fact halfway through chapter 31 was around the time I realized it was too big for a singular chapter. I also realized that a few points further down the outline were repeating themselves, so I spent a whole day rewriting the outlines for Marth's scenes. Also, sorry if you feel there are too many of those. I felt bad for how I treated him, especially after my friend played Engage. I got so attached to him, so now I can't help myself from giving him more time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story so far, and I'm excited about this chapter, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

The Princess's Dragon Bride

Chapter 32: The Vows We Make

"Corrin, Get down from there!" A voice called out from their temporary rest stop.

The transition from boat to another wagon was seamless, made all the faster after they found Leven's horse wandering the fields. Cloud had told them that the trip wouldn't be long, but the horses proved that running nonstop wasn't going to be an option.

They had stopped at least twice for dinner and once for rest. Thankfully they had found the underside of a cliff that was defensible. Byleth was put on watch for the one night they had rested overnight.

Currently, the group was stopping for lunch. Byleth was catching up on missed sleep. Cloud was patrolling the area. Leven was gathering firewood. Akira was cooking up dinner. And Robin was watching Lucina and herself.

The Koopa princess had climbed a nearby tree and was currently gazing out over the horizon, one arm looped around the tree while the other shielded her eyes from the setting sun. Cloud said it would be impossible to miss.

"What are you looking for?" a voice spoke to her left, and she turned her eyes away from the scenery to look at the other princess, now climbing up to reach her.

"Cloud said we were close, so …" she returned to her scouting.

When Lucina managed to reach her level, she heard a surprised gasp, "Corrin, look behind you."

While maneuvering in a tree while standing was difficult, it wasn't too hard with how huge the branches had been. She turned around and stared in wide-eyed awe.

Off in the distance, there stood a city. A vast kingdom that stood above the ground. It was gigantic from this far away. Corrin could only imagine how large it would be up close. The kingdom above gave off a glow of its own with six huge pillars of light around the rim, reminding Corrin of candlelight.

Lucina's voice broke Corrin out of her trance, "Cloud says we should be there by midday tomorrow."

"It's so big and pretty."

"Yeah."

"Hey Corrin," the Koopa Princess turned to face her girlfriend only to find her smiling, "Is your home more like this or Ylisstol?"

Corrin returned her gaze back to face the splendor. "I think it's somewhere in the middle." She closed her eyes, remembering the way her father's castle looked from atop Summer. "It's built like Ylissetol with towers and bridges, but it glows like this."

She paused momentarily, "Not as brightly as this, but …"

Lucina gently placed her hand over Corrin's, "You'll have to show me around someday."

Corrin couldn't hold back her smile, "I can't wait."

Shulk idly rubbed his thumb over the smooth surface of his cross-shaped ruby necklace. He hadn't received a true vision since the princesses were kidnapped. He shouldn't be nervous, he knows, but there was always something unnerving about it. Perhaps he was getting too used to his borrowed power.

If he was being truthful, if he never saw another vision like the last, it would be a blessing. He could still see the spray of blood. It was thankfully nothing but a nightmare now. He shook his head to rid himself of that image, of the spiraling train of thoughts that followed.

It was the first fatality he had seen in years. His hand caressed the necklace again, a silent thank you to the spirit inside.

His train of thought derailed again as he passed the training area, the sound of music catching his ear. Pyra hadn't arrived yet, so the Prince must have arrived early.

He stepped under the stone arches that separated the castle from the training grounds and the training grounds from the newly discovered garden. He listened to the sound of the lute, the songs it sang lovely yet frantic. The prince had been playing his heart out, it seemed. He was clearly overwhelmed.

Upon entering the secret garden, he found the prince sitting in the gazebo, hunched over his lute. The image seemed like something out of a fairytale.

The prince didn't startle as he approached, clearly wrapped up in his own spiraling thoughts. His eyes were closed, and his brow was furrowed.

"Marth?" Shulk had decided to leave the titles behind. It was clear that this wasn't the time. "Are you alright?"

"It doesn't make sense." he ceased playing and visibly deflated. The stress seemed to drag down his shoulders.

Shulk took a seat on the stone bench, waiting patiently for the prince to explain. "I suppose I'm overthinking everything again, and I feel crazy for even having suspicions."

Shulk said nothing, but it was clear that the prince was waiting for an answer. The silence was suffocating.

He only realized how delicately the prince was staying together when those deep sky-blue eyes turned on him. "I'm going to need you to explain what's running through your head." he placed a hand on Marth's shoulder, hoping to ground him.

He could see the prince's hands shaking, "Bowser Jr. and I were looking around this area a few days ago."

He took a deep breath, and Shulk found himself holding his own, too. "There's a path through the woods. It leads outside the castle wall."

Shulk felt his stomach drop as the prince continued. "And while I was checking it out, we noticed something."

"That being?"

"A light shined through the trees" Shulk wanted to ask for clarification, but the prince continued.

"It was Lucina's lamp," he turned and locked eyes with the seer. "It was left on her balcony."

"My sister is not one to arbitrarily read, let alone on her balcony." He made a vague gesture. His royal mask was fragile at this moment.

"It was like some kind of twisted beacon," the prince tightened his grip on his lute's neck, "down a path that would allow them to slip past the guard unseen."

"Coincidence?" he had no faith in his own words as he said them. "We don't know for sure if that was a signal."

"We know the request came from the castle" Marth stood suddenly, his lute clutched by its neck. "Then seamlessly, a magic lamp was left outside her balcony. It was an open invitation."

"It reeks of conspiracy." Marth's mask was gone now. He was frantic. His tears were threatening to fall freely. The rapid rise and fall of his breathing told him the prince was on the brink of breaking down.

Shulk couldn't help shrinking away slightly. It was all too convenient. A lamp that never stopped shining and that the princess wouldn't suspect if she saw it on her balcony. Her open balcony, one Lucina never locked because why would she?

Marth was right. It did reek of conspiracy.

Shulk took a deep breath to steady himself, "Let's change the subject, shall we?" He couldn't have the prince coming apart right now. This could be a conspiracy, but it could also be a terrible sequence of coincidences. I'll have to speak with Pyra about this. "I can tell that isn't the only thing bugging you."

He prayed the prince would take up his offer. He extended a hand to him. Marth steered at him for a long period of time before all the fear and outrage he had stirred up seemed to melt off him.

He took Shulk's hand and slumped back onto the bench. He sagged heavily, and all his prior energy sapped out of him. His hands were still shaking. "I'll speak with Pyra and Mythra. We'll figure something out."

Marth peered up at him. His mask lay crumpled on the floor, his face a mess of worry and doubt. He wasn't particularly good at comforting with his own mind a mess, but he needed to try. All he could think of doing was giving the prince's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Shulk tried to even his breathing, Marth was looking to him for stability, and he couldn't afford to lose his composure. The silence that followed was long but not uncomfortable.

Marth finally broke the silence by letting go of Shulk's hand before he spoke. "So I've been thinking about what Pyra said a week ago."

"What part exactly?"

"About the ball," so I didn't mishear her. "We never went to the party, and yet …"

Shulk felt a strange sense of dread, "And yet she claims you danced with Corrin all night?"

"Exactly," The prince took a proper hold of his lute. His nerves reached a level where he could ease them by playing, no doubt.

"Maybe she misspoke?" Somehow, he knew she hadn't, she never corrected herself, and he didn't mishear her as the prince had heard the same.

"It couldn't have been Father. He arrived late, according to Pyra," he started playing his lute again. "So if it wasn't me and it wasn't Father that only leaves …"

He tried to lighten the mood, "Embarrassed that Lady Lucina beat you to the punch?"

"Didn't Pyra's description of Corrin sound … off?" he froze as the prince's playing seemed to quicken. "Reserved, quiet, and nonsocial, it doesn't match what I've seen from her at all."

"Every time I saw her, she seemed eager and bubbly," he couldn't deny that he found that at least a little strange. The image of her snuggled up and reading in the same armchair as his sister came to the forefront of his mind.

"And don't even get me started on Lucina's strange behavior," Marth sighed as the tempo of his playing eased. "She was speeding through studies, and while that's nothing new, the last time she was like this was when …"

"When?" Shulk had no idea what was about to come out of his prince's mouth.

"When we used to visit Hyrule with Father," there was a small smile on his face at that moment, as if the prince was privy to something the seer was not.

"Meaning?" Shulk hadn't expected Marth to laugh, but he was thankful nevertheless.

"I think my sister may have feelings for Corrin." he shook his head. "It's a leap, sure, but Lucina is simple to read."

Shulk couldn't deny he was a little lost when it came to this stuff, but he trusted Marth's intuition. After all, he was right about Rex. "Do you think that's why she surrendered to the thieves?"

Marth stared off into the sky as if he was running numbers in his mind, "Maybe.''

"Marth!" Both boys froze at the sound of Mythra's angry voice calling from the training grounds.

"I don't think I'm getting another off day," Marth sighed as he stood. He handed Shulk his lute before running off to meet Mythra.

Shulk stared down at the instrument. There was something soothingly familiar about the music it made that eased his soul. Strange. Are these my feelings or yours?

Lucina had expected the city of Midgar to be large, but she hadn't been prepared nearly enough to take in the entire scale of it. Its sheer size completely dwarfed Ylisstol. The pillars supporting the city were enormous. The plates, as Cloud called them, blocked out much of the sky.

They had left the carriage outside the City walls. Or at least that is what she assumed this thin wire mesh was attempting to be. She wasn't sure how they kept anyone out, but she decided not to bring it up. It wasn't like the walls of Ylisstol were able to keep her inside, after all.

She had heard Shulk mention Midgar once. A story told secondhand, and it sounded like a fairy tale. A city standing above the ground over another city. With tall towers made of steel and glowing lights that shined so brightly, they hid the stars in the sky. They had flying ships, steel wagons, and metal horses.

She had told herself it was nothing but a legend. Many in the castle thought so. Well, all but a young Marth who would cling to Shulk's every word as he told his stories.

Seeing it up close was an overwhelming experience.

Or at least it would have been if they had actually gone to see the city above. Instead, they were maneuvering around rubble and garbage. Cloud was right in saying this would be the best way for them to get into the city undetected, but it was still awkward to get around.

Byleth and Cloud had gathered whatever supplies were needed from the wagon and hauled it up with them. Leven was forced to part with his horse once again. Meanwhile, Robin and Akira went to scout.

They had trudged over metal pipes and crumbling stones. Or at least Lucina, Corrin, and Leven had. Robin had flown off promising to scout ahead. Akira had summoned Arsen and flown off without saying anything. Cloud had leapt up and over surprisingly large areas of debris effortlessly. Byleth had, without rhyme or reason, just flown up as if not affected by gravity and flew away with the rest of the supplies. Just what other strange powers were they hiding?

Corrin had joked she could fly them over with her dragon wings, but the mere thought of it sent Lucina into a panic. Eventually, they reached their destination. Mostly thanks to Robin, who had thankfully come back for them.

Their destination, as it turned out, was a church. Upon stepping through the front doors. Cloud and Byleth were talking amongst themselves about something while Akira lounged in one of the pews, "S'up."

Neither the girls nor Leven found this particularly amusing. A rock may have been thrown.

"Alright," Cloud spoke up, "I'm going to go meet up with my contact," he eyed Corrin and Lucina when he added, "You guys can wait here. It's safer." Neither of the girls was going to argue after the trek they had just endured. They needed time to rest.

The church itself was huge, too, It wasn't the biggest chapel Lucina had ever seen, but it was large for common use. It was an old building, and despite the hole in the ceiling, it was still very much intact. The hole in the ceiling even gave the building an almost ethereal look, the way the light danced along the flower bed growing through some of the exposed floorboards.

Corrin was overjoyed to see the flowers as she knelt down to admire them closer. Lucina couldn't help but take in her image. Her long silver hair shone almost ethereally in the exposed sunlight.

"Do you think we're allowed to take one?" she turned to face Lucina, and the princess's heart stopped at that very moment.

"I wouldn't risk it. We don't know whose they are." She knelt down to observe the lovely flowers herself. "I don't think a bed like this would grow naturally." The flowers were resilient for growing in such a place, but Lucina couldn't doubt that these were the product of someone's hard work. It felt wrong cutting any of them, so full of life as they were.

"Luci," Lucina found her gaze on Corrin again. The Koopa princess wasn't looking at her directly, but the Ylissean didn't miss the playful smirk on her face. "You're staring."

Heat flushed her face suddenly. "Sorry, sorry," she looked away suddenly. She stuttered out her words, fumbling with any justification for getting lost in thought. "You just look really pretty."

She didn't mean to be so direct, but the shade of pink that decorated Corrin's cheeks was worth making a fool of herself. Although the playful smile that overtook those lovely features added a single drop of dread into their hearts. "Keep saying things like that, and I might just marry you."

Lucina scratched at the back of her head, "I mean, we are already in a church."

The crimson that flooded both of their faces was immediate at the implication. She had meant it as a joke, but Lucina couldn't help but let that idea fester. Imagining Corrin in a lovely wedding dress was too much for her heart to handle.

"I can officiate," Byleth said, breaking the silence. When everyone looked their way, all they did was shrug. "I worked at a church back in Fodlen."

The idea hung in the air. Lucina could feel herself get lightheaded with anticipation. They were courting, sure, but marriage was something else entirely. Although the idea was tempting, she knew it was ultimately Corrin's decision.

Guilt began to fester. Corrin was meant to marry her brother. That was the whole reason they had hired the Phantom Thieves. She doesn't want to marry. I need to remember that.

"I always wanted to marry for love, like in all the books I've read growing up." The memory of the Koopa princess wiping away tears rang through her mind. "And I … I don't even properly know Marth."

She couldn't ask this of Corrin. Had they spent enough time for Corrin to love her?

"I can't marry Marth," Sure, she and Corrin were courting now. It was far more than she and Marth had. "I'm not in love with him, I …." those words haunted her. She wasn't sure what exactly in that memory had her heart squeezing in her chest.

"Luci?" But when Corrin met her eyes again, they were sparkling. Softly she took Lucina's hands. The excitement that radiated from her smile was heartwarming. The sheer sight of it stole Lucina's breath away. "I'd love to if you're up for it. What do you say?"

"Absolutely."

Everything moved almost instantaneously after that.

Lucina found herself shifting anxiously from foot to foot, absentmindedly fiddling with the buttons of her vest.

It was Akira's vest, usually, but after deciding that they would have this mock wedding, it was decided that they would at least try and dress up. Unable to get their hands on good and proper wedding attire, they decided to swap some items around. Lucina, for the most part, was still wearing her own sweater and trousers, but Akira's gray vest added a splash of formality.

She had no idea what they had decided to do for Corrin's outfit. But she had a sneaking suspicion it would involve Robin's coat as he wasn't wearing it at that moment. Either way, she would find out as soon as she could hear Corrin and Leven talking amongst themselves outside.

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder to ground her at that moment. "Nervous?"

"How can I not be?" Lucina's face was on fire.

Byleth caught her attention as they dropped down from the ceiling. She was more stunned at the fact he was wearing Robin's coat than the act itself. She was getting used to the group's eccentricities. They met their gaze with a shrug and said, "It's the only religious outfit we have."

She heard Robin mumble something in annoyance. When she peeked over at him, he rubbed circles into his temples.

Byleth adjusted her hair, pulling it free and letting it flow over her hood and shoulders. Robin tilted his head. "Did you switch forms?"

Byleth only shrugged, "It's too small to fit otherwise." Robin returned to mumbling as he looked away, his face dusted pink. Lucina couldn't help but chuckle, thankful to have a distraction.

That was until Akira shoved open the church door. It was weird seeing him without his vest. Then he stepped aside, letting Lucina finally see her bride.

Corrin, walking side by side with Leven, stopped the Ylissean Princess's heart. She was wearing her own hood as a veil. She had Byleth's coat draped over her shoulders like a tail. And much to Lucina's surprise, she wore her blue tunic. The whole ensemble was ridiculous, but there was something about it combined with Corrin's lovely simplicity that somehow made it work.

The bride made her way to Lucina's side. "Does it look bad?" The Ylissean found herself unable to speak.

"Lucina, Breathe." Robin tapped her shoulder. That thankfully snapped her out of her trance. Then despite her frantic heartbeat, Lucina managed to shakily take Corrin's hands in her own.

"You look amazing." That had Corrin practically glowing. She couldn't look anywhere but at Corrin. The foreign princess entranced her regardless of what she decided to wear.

"Byleth," she heard Robin start whispering.

"What?"

"Start the ceremony."

"Give me a sec." In a softer voice, they added, "How does this go again?"

A moment passed before Byleth started speaking, "Dearly Beloved …" Lucina started to tune out Byleth.

She's absolutely lovely, even without a proper wedding dress.

Maybe we should just tell Father everything.

Maybe he'd be willing to let me take Corrin's hand. Instead, I'd have to ask Marth too. The memory of Marth's panicked face, before he ran out of the ballroom ran through her mind. Somehow I don't think he'll mind.

"Akira!" Robin's voice cut through her thoughts, "That's your cue." The leader of the Phantom Thieves rushed to the spot between them. In his arms, he carried Leven's folded coat atop, which rested Corrin's butterfly hairpin and Lucina's mask.

Corrin's cheeks pinked as she lightly picked up the mask. "Leven offered to make us some rings, but," she lightly placed the mask on Lucina's face. "I think this is a little more personal."

"You really like that hairpin, don't you?" Lucina teased as she lightly tucked the butterfly into Corrin's hair.

"Cuz you gave it to me," there was clearly more to that, as the look in her eyes told of many things she wanted to say.

Lucina could stare off into the vast sunset that glowed in her girlfriend's eyes. Naga, if I could ask anything of you.

"Do you, Lucina, take Corrin as your lawfully wedded wife?" Byleth's voice cut through the spell Corrin had on her.

"I do."

I beg this of you,

"And do you, Corrin, take Lucina as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

Grant me the strength to protect her.

"You may now kiss the bride"

"Robin," Corrin called out as Lucina slipped down Corrin's hood, "quick grab the tome we left on that bench."

Lucina only raised an eyebrow as Robin grabbed the photo tome left on the first pew within sight. "I want to remember this."

"I didn't say anything." She couldn't hold back her smile as she tilted up her mask.

Robin opened the tome and made a motion for them to continue.

Then Corrin grabbed Lucina and yanked her into a full kiss.

Because she means the world to me.

AN/ welp, I hope you enjoyed that. Yes, the wedding was what I was talking about. I actually came up with the alternate outfits on the spot. I mostly did it cuz I thought it would be cute. The first one I came up with was Lucina in Joker's vest, and all the rest slowly came to me in the order that they did in the chapter. So yeah, I hope you understand why I wanted this to be its own chapter. I hope you enjoyed that.

~ (7/27/2023)