Dragon Knights Fan Fiction ❯ A Suitable Bride ❯ Wedding Bells ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Special thanks to Dee-chan. She's my beautiful, talented, hard-working and patient beta-reader.

Warning: Major angst ahead. This is not like any of my other stories.

Italics are her thoughts.

The castle has been filling up with guests, well-wishers and the insatiably curious for the past month. Almost before notice of the wedding had been distributed and certainly before invitations had issued. Lykouleon and Raseleane haven't seen much of each other since he proposed, as both have been busy with preparations for the wedding, Lykouleon with a small yokai incursion to the west and Raseleane with meeting and entertaining the various nobles, which have descended on Draqueen. The gentlemen spend the days discussing the upcoming war and the ladies, almost to a woman, are incredibly envious of Raseleane. Of course, that was expected and none can fault her beauty, style, or grace, but Raseleane wishes that they weren't looking quite so hard for reasons to dislike her.

The denizens of the castle are slowly transforming it into a palace worthy of the wedding of the dragonlord. Every day it grows more flowery and feminine. The ladies of the castle have control for the first time and they're gradually eroding all masculine influences. Alfeegi was originally in charge of the redecoration, but has handed it over to Wilhemina, who's suspicious of his taste. She's running left, right and centre, ordering dragon officers at perilous angles on the top of rickety ladders, to reach out a little further to hang the garlands of white roses and bolts of cream chiffon, organising the entrance of guests into the great hall and rearranging the flowers in every bouquet she passes. Raseleane's never seen her so happy.

"Raseleane," Wilhemina steps over to her young daughter. "Let me take care of these little details. Really, weddings are such stressful affairs, but I absolutely can't let anyone else take over." She runs a hand over slightly frazzled hair. "You won't believe what one of those women said to me when I worried that we might run out of chiffon. "Chintz", she said. "Chintz?" Wilhemina tuts and rubs her hands. "It's lucky that I took over here so early on." Raseleane reaches out to pat her mother's arm and Wilhemina looks at her as if seeing her for the first time. "Oh, that reminds me." She pulls another two introduction cards out of her apron pocket. "Another two arrived today. I think they're settling into the blue room, but you'd better see them before too long."

Raseleane groans, but takes the cards. Every arrival has handed one of these into the guards at the gate. It states their name, title, place of residence, and Alfeegi fills in the rooms assigned to them during their stay. Each one of them requests the presence of the bride within hours of their arrival. Raseleane says goodbye to her mother and walks off toward the Blue Room. Meanwhile, Wilhemina rushes off to berate a hapless maid for placing a vase of flowers in precisely the wrong position.

Raseleane reaches the stairs closest to the rooms, when a voice calls out to her. She turns to see a well-dressed traveller with silver-white hair, but a youthful face. I've never seen a dragon with grey hair, but his doesn't look like it's from advanced age. If anything, he seems younger than most here. His clothes are dusty, as if he walked to the wedding, yet they're well made.

"Another new face." His voice has no accent and it's impossible to place his hometown. He bows cheekily and waves at the cards in her hand. "Of course, you're here for the wedding."
Raseleane blushes slightly. "Yes, I'm..."
The stranger steps in and takes her hand. "Then let me show you the castle. With all the excitement going on, it'll be hard to get a native to give you the grand tour."
"Actually I..."
"Ah, where are my manners." He raises her hand to his mouth, and presses his lips to it for rather longer than is comfortable. He watches her closely as he does so. "My name is Kai-Stern, I'm the Blue Dragon Officer and the Foreign Secretary for the Dragonlord." He says this offhand and watches her reaction out of the corner of his eyes. When her face lights up, he smiles widely.
"Ah, then you're the last one. My name's Raseleane and it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kai-Stern. Lykouleon's told me all about you."
Kai-Stern pauses for a brief moment and then regains his poise. "Ah, then you must allow me to defend myself and contradict all of the bad impressions that he's passed onto you."
Raseleane smiles and reassures him. "It's all been good news."
Kai-Stern takes her hand again and sighs softly. "It's typical that the prettiest girl here is already taken." He bows with a flourish and kisses her hand again. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, my queen. If you would excuse me, I'll retire to my rooms and make myself a bit more presentable."
As he leaves, Raseleane thinks, So that's Kai-Stern. Well, I've met them all now, and not one of them has anything in common. Where did he find such disparate bunch? She smiles. I bet Lykouleon deliberately sought such different advisors, and not least for the distraction that any personality conflict would cause.

Raseleane's gaze returns to the cards in her hand and she sighs and climbs the stairs. She then fulfils her duty by entertaining the newest arrivals to the castle. The Duke of Lanford is boorish and over-awed by the Castle, whereas his wife seems to be planning an overhaul of the decor.

"Of course, we update our home every other year, with a major redecoration every ten years, isn't that right dear?" The Duke grunts, while the Duchess continues mentally evaluating their accommodation. "How often is this place done up?"
"Well, Alfeegi has been running the castle and he keeps a modest budget for painting and decorating."
"Ah, there you go." The Duchess leans back and smirks at her husband before turning back to Raseleane conspiratorially. "Men have no talent for decoration. They're just not creative the same way we are. Once you marry, you must take over and redo simply everything, darling." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a square of paper, which she hands to Raseleane. "This is the name of my decorator, she's very talented."

Raseleane carefully files away the paper in her purse, but the conversation does not end there.

"Of course I would completely alter everything, but you've got such a big job here, maybe you could phase it. Purple is the new blue and it looks very well in bedrooms. White is simply too old fashioned for widespread use," she sniffs. "There's so much of it in the Castle."
"It's kind of themed for the wedding. White is the Dragonlord's signature colour, after all."
The Duchess immediately affects a smile. "And it looks so well on him. It's such a hard colour to carry off, but he's the one person that manages."
"Will we be meeting the Dragonlord?" The Duke is sweating heavily as he breaks in, but Raseleane can sense his yearning to speak, even briefly, with the Lord of Draqueen.
"Oh dear, he's far too busy. Is he?" The Duchess's eyes shine as she sees a coup appear before her. The Dragonlord hasn't lowered himself to smalltalk with the guests. I bet that the timing of his battles with the yokai has been partly arranged to avoid polite conversation with the nobles infesting the Castle. I wish I could escape it so easily.
"Unfortunately the yokai attacks have kept him busy, but he'll be at the wedding."
The Duke and Duchess laugh politely. "Of course he will, how droll!"

A knock on the door intrudes on the cosy scene and the Duchess leaves her esteemed guest to deal with the interruption. She opens the door to reveal the Blue Dragon Officer, newly dusted, dressed and charming. He bows to the Duchess, kissing her hand briefly, then crosses the room to shake the Duke's hand.
"Welcome to the Castle, I hope you've both settled in okay."
"Why of course. The Lady Raseleane has been so kind to us both." The Duchess gushes to Kai-Stern while eyeing him for developmental potential. "Now that the Dragonlord's off the market, we'll have to marry you Dragon Officers next."
"My dear lady," Kai-Stern clutches his heart and takes the Duchess's hands. "Are you telling me that you'll toss over the Duke here for me?"
She blushes instantly and assures her husband that of course she would not.
Kai-Stern's face falls. "Ah, my poor heart is broken. For a brief moment I thought that I would finally find happiness." He grabs the Duke's shoulder. "You're a lucky man, my friend. It's a long and lonely hunt to find someone as wonderful as your lady wife." The Duke makes indistinguishable noises, but appears to be happy with Kai-Stern's gentle flirting. Kai-Stern takes Raseleane's elbow. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm afraid that I must steal your gracious host. There are innumerable wedding plans to finalise that simply cannot be made without her presence."

The Duke and Duchess release her without a fuss and Kai-Stern quickly shunts her to the door. Once they're a safe distance from the couple she turns to Kai-Stern.
"Thank you for the rescue. They're a lovely couple, but I've been entertaining for the past month and my tolerances are low."
He turns to her with a twinkle in his eyes. "And now I must take you to a dull planning meeting, filled with boring details, like the number of flowers each bridesmaid must carry down the aisle."
Raseleane laughs. "I know that my mother would not relinquish such an important detail to one such as I, so you've let the joke slip far too early."
Kai-Stern ducks his head. "I guess you know your mother far too well for me to fool you." He reaches in to whisper in her ear. "In that case let me tell you the truth, though I have to swear you to secrecy." He stands back with his hands clasped behind him, until Raseleane raises her hand and promises to keep the secret he's about to reveal to her. "Okay then. The other Dragon Officers and I have bunked off and grabbed a bottle or two of wine and we're having a secret, illicit party in Alfeegi's room. You're invited, as the person most put upon this week. Will you join us?"
"I'd love to!"

The tension melts out of Raseleane and Kai-Stern finds it hard to keep with her as she leads the way to Alfeegi's. Inside, the party has already started. Tetheus is in the corner, talking seriously to an equally serious young Dragon Fighter. Ruwalk is playing an upbeat melody on a lute, accompanied by two maids who Raseleane doesn't recognise, and Alfeegi is dancing, alone, on the table. Raseleane and Kai-Stern grab glasses of wine and drink and dance through the night.

Raseleane and Kai-Stern work together for the next few days, bolstering each others morale and rescuing each other from the dullest of guests. Eventually, like-minded groups begin to form, and the serious business of wheeling, dealing and gossiping grows, without needing the supervision of the two dragons. Any free time is taken up with fittings and run throughs. Raseleane walks down the aisle on average ten times a day, though Lykouleon arrives to only a few of the practices and Alfeegi, or Tetheus stands in for him.

During one of the final practices, Wilhemina leaves the party to deal with a minor crisis and Raseleane sits down on the dais' steps. Tetheus joins her.
"Don't tell mother. I'm not supposed to sit in this dress, in case it creases. She's going to iron it anyway, the day before the ceremony, but one strong crease could be fatal and ruin the day for everyone."
Tetheus smiles. "If I see one, I'll stand in the way." He coughs briefly. "I know Lykouleon hasn't been to many of the run-throughs, I've started to worry that I'll have to stand in for him on the wedding day itself too."
Raseleane smiles at him. "I Raseleane, take thee Tetheus, I mean Lykouleon."
Tetheus looks around to see if anyone has overheard, but the bride and her stand-in husband are not the centre of attention for once. "Look, I know that this is biggest thing you'll ever experience."
"Don't worry, I've been paying attention. I won't mess up during the ceremony."
"That's not what I mean. Marriage. The wedding. Lykouleon's spending more time planning these skirmishes than talking about the future with you. He's consumed with protecting the kingdom, but you are important too. If you want, I can talk to him and arrange time alone for the two of you to talk."
She squeezes his hand.
"It's okay. We'll have plenty of time to talk and there's no backing out now, for either of us. We should both be acclimatised to the idea of getting married and being together." She looks away. "There's no point in having a Dragon Queen and an heir if there's no kingdom to protect."
Tetheus opens his mouth, as if to speak again, but says nothing. He simply waits with Raseleane until the aborted ceremony restarts.

The day of the ceremony dawns cold and clear. A light mist covers the castle grounds and even seems to linger in the air inside. Wilhemina pulls aside the curtains of her sitting room and looks out, before awakening Raseleane.
"Hmm, no cloud. It should be bright and pleasant by the time the wedding proper begins."
There is no movement from Raseleane.
"Raseleane? It's time."
The lump in the bed still does not stir. Wilhemina sits on the bed and waits.
"Mother?" Raseleane has not turned to face her mother and Wilhemina prepares herself for a difficult conversation.
"Yes dear?" She reaches a hand out and strokes the bed sheets covering her daughter.
"What was it like when you married daddy?"
Wilhemina exhales a loud breath. "How do you feel about Lykouleon? Do you love him?"
A quiet "no" emerges from underneath the blankets.
Wilhemina sighs and speaks with a quiet, slow voice. "I didn't love your father either. I had no choice. I was told by my father to marry him and I'd hoped for better for you, but when you were born ... you had even less choice than I did."
"You were forced to marry daddy? You didn't love him?" Her voice is incredulous.
"I fell in love with him, but it took time. Time to get used to all his irritating ways, like the way he'd disappear when I wanted a good fight with him. Or the way he'd demand solitude when he was in a reading mood."
Raseleane finally turns to face her mother. "You were totally unsuited to each other."
"Yes, but we adapted, the way you'll adapt to Lykouleon." Wilhemina strokes her daughter's hair and Raseleane props herself up on her elbow.
"Lykouleon? You're not calling him the Dragonlord?"
"He's my son-in-law now. You'll learn about each other, learn to compensate for each other and grow closer together." She falls silent for a moment, then smiles. "I remember the first time I realised that I didn't resent your father any more. I remember when love first stirred."
Raseleane sits up and wraps the blanket around her. "Tell me."
Wilhemina smiles and places a pillow behind her daughter, to cushion her back. "You were four..."
"I was four? You didn't love him until I was four?"
"I love him now."
"And?"
"And I realised that anger was useless. I realised that he was a good man, and kind, and that I was poisoning my life and his, with the resentment that I still had for my father. Daddy spoiled me rotten and that marriage was the first time that he didn't give in to me. I still believe that he was wrong, but I was married to your father and it was pointless to make our lives miserable, because nothing was going to change. I finally started to make the best of it, several years too late." She speaks more softly now. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Learn Lykouleon's ways. He's a good man, and he can make you happy."
Raseleane says nothing, but starts to get up.

An army of handmaids enters the bedroom to aid Raseleane in her dressing, all controlled by the iron whip of Wilhemina. Under her direction, Raseleane is cleansed, plucked, perfumed and finally clothed. The dress is lifted from its dummy and all hold their breath as the laces are tightened at Raseleane's back. As pearl after pearl is sewn into her hair, the army steps back and Wilhemina takes over. It is she that lifts the final piece, the veil, into place.
She steps forward and whispers into Raseleane's ear. "You look beautiful, darling", before lowering the gauze in front of her eyes. The veil distorts everything, as if a light fog has entered the room, and sound becomes muted. The veil is the lightest available, as everyone will want to see my face. My lack of hearing must be an illusion, a mental trick caused by my nerves.

It is usually the bride that keeps everyone waiting, but Raseleane is confined to the room for a further hour, until word comes that the Dragonlord and his guests are all in position and ready for her entrance. As she is led from the room, she sees her cortège, a small party of assorted flower girls and bridesmaids, lined up in pairs according to height and all in a pale blue. Wilhemina falls into place behind her daughter. She took advantage of the delay to change into her own dress, a deep wine, the closest to black that she can dare, on her daughter's wedding day. Tetheus steps up beside her and takes her arm. He squeezes her hand, but says nothing and Raseleane takes comfort from that.

They finally set off on their procession, to an eerily empty castle.

"I've never seen the castle like this. There's no-one around," she whispers. Have yokai attacked while I was waiting and killed everyone? Her heart beats faster.
Tetheus squeezes her hand again and whispers back. "Everyone's in the Great Hall. The Dragonlord has allowed all the staff to attend, except for those on guard duty. It's quite full in there. We may not fit!"
Raseleane giggles and continues her slow pace. This is the first wedding she's been to where the flower girls didn't get bored, or distracted and run ahead. Obviously, mother's trained them too. They stop outside the entrance to the hall for a final check and Raseleane turns to Tetheus, her eyes welling a little.
"I wish my father could be here."
His face tightens and he pats her hand.
"I wish that I could say something comforting."
"I know."

The door opens and a layer of sound washes over the party and even penetrates the stillness of her veil, as everyone turns for their first sight of the bride. Music follows, an ethereal ditty that Raseleane recognises from lullabies sung to her as a child. Her mother's voice rises behind her.
"They played this at our wedding too."
At the third bar, the flower girls begin to walk and two by two, the rest of the party follows. The faces in the crowd disappear as the altar comes closer, turning into an odd blur of pastel colours. They are halfway down the aisle before Raseleane gets her first glance of Lykouleon. He's dressed in his signature colour, with the odd splash of purple, but whether it's from the clever lighting design, or the fog effect from the veil, it seems to Raseleane as though he's surrounded by a brilliant white aura. His features fade, and waiting for her is no longer kind and gentle Lykouleon, but the awesome glory of the Dragonlord. Her hands tremble but her feet continue to pull her forward, in perfect step with everyone else. What am I doing? What you've been trained for. I'm not worthy to marry the Dragonlord. Then no-one is.

Her escort reaches the steps of the dais and split to either side. At last Raseleane and Tetheus are exposed and together they step onto the dais. Tetheus walks her to Lykouleon and leaves her with a final squeeze to stand beside Wilhemina, who's waiting a step below. Lykouleon approaches his bride and lifts the veil from her eyes. As the sight and sound of the real world returns to her, the aura that seems to surround the Dragonlord disappears and she sees the man she's beginning to understand, in front of her again. He smiles and some of her worries melt away. I can do this.

Laughter and music echo through the castle, even to the secluded, private quarters of the Dragonlord. Lykouleon places his hand on the door and slowly opens it. He turns before entering, to look at Raseleane. He reaches out his hand to his wife and gently cradles her cheek. His lips brush against hers, gently at first and then with more force. His mouth slowly opens and Raseleane follows his example, until Lykouleon's tongue enters her mouth to softly touch her own.
"Raseleane," he says softly. "Let's go inside."

I'm sorry for the delay. This was hard to write and I got bored with it when it grew to such large proportions. I find angst hard to write, which is why the chapters are usually much shorter. It tires me out. Anyway. What could possibly happen next? The next chapter is the final one.