Wedding
Will and Elizabeth walked into the castle's chapel. The chapel was large, but not large enough to accommodate all the nobles who wanted to attend.
The wedding invitations were the hottest tickets in the kingdom. Everyone wanted them, but less than half a percent received them.
Even Princess Rosalind's sisters weren't invited. Yet Will was able to bring his children and Kalista. James and Helen were invited, but Katherine and Jason weren't.
Rebecca and the apostles of Aether were required to be in attendance. Rebecca was given the responsibility to oversee the bride's purity test and bedding preparation.
While Nisha was allowed to attend, she turned down the invitation to sleep.
In their seats, Will and Elizabeth waved to notable figures like Cardinal vont Gaius and Bishop vont Omar.
Will and Elizabeth had a pew to themselves. Will set next to Elizabeth and the children sat in between Elizabeth and Kalista. If not for being a different race, Kalista looked like Will and Elizabeth's teenage daughter.
The nobles conversed in their groups until the Lord Chamberlin announced the king's wedding party.
The crowd quickly found their seats, and the organist played the prelude, as Bryson announce, "All rise! Now announcing the arrival of this majesty, King Roland Godwin Fermion III. And his eminence Cardinal vont Clermont."
Although the Cardinal was introduced last, he walked down the aisle first. Cardinal vont Clermont wore a white rochet and scarlet cassock, mozzetta, and biretta.
On the king's head was a newly forged bejeweled gold crow. The king wore new a red robe lined with powdered ermine and laced with embroidered gold. Under the robe, he wore a crimson satin waistcoat and pants.
The Cardinal stood at the center altar and the king stood to his right.
Afterward, the doors open again, and Princess Rosalind walked down the aisle. She wore an elegant taffeta gown with gold trim down the sides of its front and at its long, flared sleeves. Over her face, she wore a veil and a small tiara.
When she arrived at the altar, the Lord Chamberlin told the audience to sit.
"Is there anybody from other countries here?" Kalista asked curiously.
Will looked around and pointed out Envoy Christopher von Mueller to her.
When the music stopped, Cardinal vont Clermont began his sermon, "We are gathered here today before friends, family, and above all else, Gods, to witness the holy matrimony of King Roland Godwin Fermion III and Princess Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot.
We thank the Primordial Gods for all the blessings that brought us here today and those that brought King Roland Godwin Fermion III and Princess Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot together to make this day possible.
And we are thankful for the blessings of another day with our loved ones and especially grateful for this day when we can be around vassals and guests – some of whom have traveled great distances to be here.
Love and marriage are truly one of the gods' greatest gifts and accomplishments. Yes, Elysium and the Terra are pretty impressive, but Father Aether has filled all of us with his love and allows us to grow that love exponentially by sharing it with someone else. And so, by giving selflessly to another, we make ourselves stronger and our lives that much richer. It's truly one of the greatest miracles we've been given.
And now I ask King Roland Godwin Fermion III and Princess Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot to stand facing one another with their hands intertwined.
King Roland Godwin Fermion III do you promise to love, honor, cherish and respect Princes Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot above all others, from this day forward until your very last day on Terra?" Cardinal vont Clermont asked.
"I do," King Roland replied.
"Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot do you promise to love, honor, cherish and respect King Roland Godwin Fermion III above all others, from this day forward until your very last day on earth?" the cardinal asked.
"I do," Princess Rosalind answered.
"These rings represent love, pure and simple. The love Father Aether has for all creatures great and small and the love you, King Roland Godwin Fermion III and Princess Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot, have for one another. When you place that ring on each other's finger, know that you are giving not just the gift of a ring, but also the gift of the love Father Aether has filled you with," Cardinal vont Clermont paused.
"Your majesties please repeat after me," Cardinal vont Clermont said.
"Please accept this ring as a token of my true, pure love for you. With this, I give you my heart and my soul. They are yours forevermore," they repeated.
We thank Aether for bringing King Roland Godwin Fermion III and Princess Rosalind Nicole vont Guillemot together and for blessing them now and always. Now, by the power vested in me by the Church of Aether and the Kingdom of Fermion, I pronounce you married, may your union always be prosperous. You may now kiss the bride," the Cardinal shouted to applause.
The king lifted the queen's veil and kissed her. After kissing the queen, the newlyweds walked out, as guests through tulips at their feet. Camille and Edward particularly enjoyed throwing the flowers on the floor.
"Please follow the stewards to the palace's great hall for celebratory refreshments," the Lord Chamberlain announced.
…
In the grand hall, Elizabeth leaned her head on Will.
"Did that remind you, of our wedding too?" Elizabeth asked as a teardrop fell down her cheek.
"Yes," Will lied. And Elizabeth cried more happy tears.
After the first course was delivered, King Roland rose to make a speech.
"Let me begin by thanking Cardinal vont Clermont for an excellent wedding. Second, I want to thank my guests for attending. I also want to thank my guests for their good wishes and presents.
Lastly, enjoy yourselves, my wedding banquet shall last three days, and you are welcome to bring others with you to celebrate my nuptials," the king said cheerfully.
The king just announced, how those not in attendance may attend this celebratory banquet. Which meant, uninvited nobles would bang down Will's door to be his plus one for the next three days.
Three days was also the standard for royal nuptials. Three days signaled he was satisfied with his bride, but not thrilled. If he was happy, he would have held a weeklong celebration.
When the king set down, a flurry of merriment ensued as people celebrated the wedding. Servants poured wine liberally, there was not a half-empty cup in the great hall.
In the great hall, nobles were seated by noble rank in proximity to the king. That was also the order, for which nobles submitted their gifts to the king. James and Helen were placed near the back of the room. And Kalista sat at the table for foreign dignitaries.
However, there was one exception to the seating chart. The Royal Family was seated together.
"What do you plan to gift, cousin?" Francis II asked curiously. As his father was the first to present his wedding gift to the king.
"I only hope you leave some face for the rest of," Emma said smugly.
"Dear sister don't be anxious, every noble knows better than to compare gifts with Will. It would be better to compare your gifts to other Earls," Francis II recommended.
"Then are we can expect Earl vont Ballard to outshine us all," Emilia's husband cheerfully laughed.
"Then brother, what did you gift our cousin?" Emma asked.
"Christiana and I stopped in Gadreel and saw Elizabeth's elvish artificial grandfather clock. So, I purchase one and had it delivered to the castle yesterday. Today, I'll merely pay our cousin a compliment," Francis II said.
"What did you get?" Emilia asked Emma.
"We have a collection of expensive art. We plan to give our collection to the king," Emma smiled slyly.
"Your turn Emma, hurry up tell us," Emilia said anxiously, as Duke vont Khan presented his gift to the king,
"With Will's permission, we bought the king a fireworks display," Emilia's husband said excitedly.
"You bought him a fireworks display? Was it expensive?" Emma's husband asked.
"Very! Most people who ask are rejected," Emilia's husband smiled proudly.
What only he and Will knew, was how the man begged and prostrate to buy the fireworks, before Will relented. Will was responsible for the transportation and setup, but Emilia's husband would be given credit.
"Impressive," Elizabeth said looking at Will for a rationale. She knew how closely he guarded the fireworks. She wondered why he choose to sell fireworks.
Duke Francis gave his nephew twelve gold bars and 500 gold coins.
Duke Ahmed gave his majesty three ships from his armada. He gifted two galleons, one frigate, crewmen, and 5,000 gold.
The gift was so impressive, that people in the audience gasped.
Marquis vont Smith gifted the king a dwarven enchanted sword.
Next Francis II, Emilia's and Emma's husband presented their gifts.
When it was Will's turn, he and Elizabeth approached the royal newlyweds.
"Congratulations, your majesties," Will and Elizabeth said in unison as they bowed to the royal couple
"Thank you for your good wish cousins. Ha-ha, it appears we've drawn my dinner guests' attention," the king laughed.
Will and Elizabeth saw the dinner guests staring at them. Everyone wanted to know what they gift the newlyweds.
"Your majesty, let's say I feel honored to serve as one of your closest allies. I am also grateful to count you as family," Will flattered.
"Please stop, flattery does not suit you cousin," King Roland laughed.
"I'm afraid my gifts are similar to Duke vont Khan's," Will said. It was an open secret, that the King was looking to expand the navy.
"First, my new Shipping Company shall be at your disposal to build and provide maintenance for your navy. Second, I gift you 10 caravels, 5 carracks, 3 galleons, and 2 frigate ships," Will paused handing over the deeds. These were all ships Claud bought on credit earlier.
"Why does that first gift, feel more like a present to yourself and less to me?" the king mockingly asked, but was happy nevertheless with the gifts.
When the Duke and King arrived at Durres, they found a large, impressive, empty harbor. All the ships had been moored elsewhere.
"For our last gift, I commissioned the finest dwarven blacksmith, gemsimth, enchanter to make what's in this box. The box was built by the finest elven artificer and runesmith," Will said handing the box to the queen.
This was the first time the nobles had publicly observed Will and Queen Rosalind together.
"It seems you spared no expense," King Roland nodded in approval.
The king knew dwarven and elven goods were extremely expensive. He also knew Will was using this moment to give his wife a redo from before.
The queen too was thankful for this second chance. She thanked the gods for this opportunity. Hopefully, now she could finally do something right.
"Oh my, how lovely," Queen Rosalind said covering her mouth in shock.
After she regained her sense, she told Will and Elizabeth, "Thank you for the good wishes, your gift is exquisite. And, Earl vont Ballard, I wish to apologize for the earlier outburst," Queen Rosalind apologized.
"Apology accepted. Would you like to try it on?" Will asked motioning to Elizabeth with his eyes.
"A bold suggestion, Earl!" the king said, thanking Will for accepting the apology and moving on. However, Will knew the queen wearing his present symbolized his dominance over other gifts.
"Lady vont Ballard, you do me a great favor by helping me wear your wedding gifts," Rosalind prayed Elizabeth wouldn't 'accidentally' decapitate her.
"It shall be my honor, your majesty," Elizabeth curtsied.
"This is unfair," Emma whispered to Francis II and Emilia.
King Roland smiled at the scene, he was happy Elizabeth and Rosalind made amends.
"Then I would like to take the liberty of wearing these right now," said the Queen. They watched as Elizabeth helped the queen replace her old jewelry.
While Elizabeth helped the queen replace her jewelry, Will told the queen, "you greatly honor us. It is to our great joy that you like our gift, I shall surely let the craftsmen know how much you favored it, to wear it at your wedding banquet."
After Elizabeth was done, the audience finally got to see the jewelry. They first noticed, the expensive 392.52-carat diamond neckless with cushion-cut blue sapphire necklaces. Will modeled the necklace after the Belle of Asia back on Earth.
Next, their eyes dropped to the 26.66- carat diamond earrings with matching cushion-shaped sapphire suspended from the stars. The earrings were modeled off the Richelieu Sapphires from Earth.
Lastly, the dinner guests saw a 62.02-carat diamond, cushion-cut natural sapphire mounted in mithril and flanked by diamonds. The ring was similar to the Rockefeller Sapphire Will owned back on Earth.
"Oh, my gods," screamed a shocked woman.
"I've never seen something as beautiful!" exclaimed another woman.
"I've never seen something so beautiful," cried a third woman.
"It appears you've outdone yourself. You made my wife the envy of every woman. Well done. Return to your seats cousins, drink, party, and enjoy the merriment. You have made me extremely happy! Bryson bring me my next guest!" the king laughed hysterically.
Will and Elizabeth walked back to their seat confidently. Hearing more and more women praise the gift.
However, before they sat down, a steward approached them and bowed.
"The Queen Mother wishes to see you," he informed.
They walked to Queen Ashley Maria who grinned.
"Greetings, Aunt Ashley," Elizabeth said, as she and Will bowed.
"Elizabeth, I'm glad you made amends with your new cousin. But you still need to be punished. During your spat, I covered for you. Now you must repay the favor. I'm feeling rather ill tonight, you two shall serve as my replacement for tonight's bedding ceremony. Remember…don't leave until marriage is consummated," she smugly grinned and left the dinner party.