Set The Date

Olivia looked at Adarian and said, "I planned on talking about it with him today."

"You did?" Adarian looked at her happily. She was sincerely thinking about their wedding.

"I wanted to know what your Ideal wedding would be like so we could plan around both our preferences," she explained.

Lady Lowenheim looked at Olivia surprised. Preferences? Preferences for what? Weddings were traditional. Nothing ever changed about weddings. They were the royal couple, all the major decisions had been made for them.

The only thing they needed to decide on was the style of the bride and groom's clothing. Perhaps she ment preferences on the date? Everything was already decided for the Royal couple. The colors of the wedding, the flowers they would use, where the wedding could take place, and the people who were to stand for them as attestants and wedding party members. Even the dishes at the reception were pre-chosen.

Olivia must not know this yet. She wondered if Olivia had other thoughts. Most women who were not royalty dreamed about the perfect wedding, didn't they?

"Alright," Adarian smiled. "I want to have the wedding as quickly as possible. If we could do it tomorrow then I would be happy with that."

Olivia looked at him curiously, "Would that be okay?" She would be happy with a small wedding for just the two of them. She still wasn't comfortable with other people. It would also be for the best if the Praxis family wasn't present.

"Absolutely not!" Lady Fredericka Lowenheim saw the way Adarian doted on Olivia. If she didn't say anything now, the two of them would probably really elope! If that happened Olivia would never be able to gain any authority as queen. It wouldn't matter how much love Adarian showed for her, or the fact that the Greystone family supported her. If the nobles in this kingdom were not involved in this wedding, it was as bad as announcing Olivia as a mistress instead of a wife. "You know that you have to hold a wedding no matter what! Even if neither of you want to do it, you have to hold a massively public wedding. Olivia also needs more power. Actual power. Not just the power you give her. She needs to be the head of every noble wife. She won't be able to accomplish that if you elope!"

"I know," Adarian said. "I wouldn't have eloped with her even if I did want to marry her right away. What is the fastest amount of time we can have the wedding in?"

"You want to have it quickly? Didn't you say we will only announce the date after I'm ready to be the queen? I don't even know the etiquette needed to get through the wedding ceremony! Much less converse with any foreign dignitaries you'll invite. Do you invite foreigners to the king's wedding? I've seen movies about period dramas where foreigners attend the royal wedding. Is that the case here?" Olivia panicked.

They both looked at her only half understanding. She just wanted to know if she had to deal with foreigners right?

"If there are foreigners, it will be from the Fluorspar country, where my mother is from," Adarian explained. "And because they will be on Cernealian soil, they have to follow our etiquette, not the other way around."

"But we will have to teach you foreign etiquette for when you make formal visits to other countries," Fredericka interjected.

"Ok, good," Olivia thought out loud, "So for now, all I need to know is everything for the wedding ceremony-"

"-And coronation," Freddie interrupted.

"...And coronation," Olivia continued, "and royal etiquette. How long would it have taken me to learn Royal Etiquette if I were the original Olivia?"

"You've only been learning royal etiquette officially for 3 days," Adarian said, "From what I remember it took Queen Roquell the longest to learn and that was 3 months. But she was originally a comonor, and she met the king at a ball."

Olivia smirked. 'She was like cinderella. Thinking back, we also met at a ball.' Olivia turned to look at Lady Lowenheim. "So how long do you think it will take for me to learn?"

Lady Loewnheim looked at Olivia as if studying her, "I shouldn't take you long at all. You have a solid foundation already. You can also dance remarkably well, and gracefully. Table etiquette still needs a little help, but it's not bad, there are a few bad things you picked up from Adarian, but we can have you learn properly. I noticed that when you aren't thinking about it you do use correct etiquette more often than not. However when you overthink it, you tend to watch Adarian for what to do. And because he isn't a woman…"

"But she's so cute when she copies me," Adaian defended.

"Cute or not you should teach her properly," Fredericka looked at Adarian sternly.

"Aside from that," Olivia interrupted, "When do you think I will be ready to be married."

"We'll have to plan a ball to announce it," Fredericka said. "I can help you with that, it should take no more than a week and a half."

"Then we can announce the wedding to take place two months after that," Adarian said excitedly. He turned to Olivia, "Olivia Carter, will you marry me in a little over two months from now?" Regardless of how much he wanted to make her his in the eyes of the kingdom, he had to get her opinion. He needed to know if she was truly OK with this.

Olivia smiled. She nodded and said, "I'm insane for this, You are definitely too good to be true, but yes."

"Ah!" Olivia screamed as Adarian picked her up and spun her in a circle in his happiness.

When he put her down he said, "You already agreed, and you can't change your mind now."

Olivia laughed, "Alright."

…

…

Olivia, like always, took her bath before Adarian. This time she made sure he took his clothes with him when it was his turn. She sat on the couch in their room wrapped in a blanket to be cozy and sat reading a children's book about the founding of this continent and the five great countries.

The five gods found this continent and created the values on which the countries were founded. The great dragons came from the direction of the setting sun and landed on Cerneala first. The god of truth claimed this land as his own, and taught the people there the meaning and value of truth.

Then they journeyed on and found Lespede, the southernmost country, and the god of justice claimed that land for his own, and taught the people there the meaning and value of truth. Then they traveled north finding the country above Lespede and east of Cerneala, and this was the country of Fluorspar.

"Having fun?" Adarian asked, interrupting her reading.

"Mhmm," Olivia said, closing the book. "I want to learn faster."

"I want to learn more about where you are from," Adarian smiled beguilingly. Olivia had so much knowledge in her brain. "Can you teach me?"

Olivia looked thoughtful. "I can, but there aren't any books, and a lot of the knowledge I have is vague and so much more of it is useless. I don't really know how much I can teach you."

"Everything and anything you have to say is interesting," Adarian replied. "Since there aren't any books, why don't we just make them?"

"That's a great idea!" Olivia exclaimed. "And, since I'm no good at teaching, we can do it like a Q&A. You ask the questions and I answer. And we write them down. ...Like an exchange diary."

"There are a lot of things you just said that I didn't quite understand," Adarian smiled at his genius bride as he sat beside her in the bed and held her hand, "but I think your Idea is great. We can write them down."

"Great!" Olivia looked at him brightly. "You'll have to get a diary and put a question in it. Then hand it over. I will answer to the best of my abilities."

Adarian understood what an exchange diary was now. She really kept him guessing.

"I think this is the best way, because sometimes I can go off on a wild tangent when I answer questions. It will keep us on topic. Later on, if you want, we can reorganize everything into an easier to read format."

Olivia also wanted to help advance the place so it could be closer to the modern world she lived in. At least with Hospitals plumbing and colleges. If she could accomplish this she would be satisfied. "Where are you going?"

Adarian had gotten off the bed and began to leave the room. "I'm going to get a diary." Adarian smiled at her excitedly. He really couldn't wait to get started.