The Two Ceremonies

A second ceremony?

Seraphina was at a loss about what was going on. She turned her attention toward Mortimer and asked, "What do you mean by a second ceremony? I'm not married to them... yet?"

She noticed the four Shadow Lords making their way toward the entrance of the hall as if they were on their way to leave the place and her. But her attention was pulled back toward Mortimer as the man responded to her question.

"My Lady, as per Shadow City's rituals, the wedding ceremony is divided into two parts. The first ceremony is the binding ceremony that we just performed. This ceremony binds the bride and groom together through a magical bond. The second ceremony is the completion ceremony that takes place a month after the binding ceremony. During this one month, the parties involved can take their time to learn more about each other. If by the end of the one month period, the bride and groom still want to marry, then the final ceremony takes places, announcing them as husband and wife."

It took Seraphina a while to wrap her brain around the information she just received about the two ceremonies, and a realization suddenly hit her. With her eyes wide and staring at Mortimer, she asked, "You just said that both parties involved needs to agree for the final ceremony. Does it mean that if any of the four of them changed their mind, then this wedding will be canceled?"

Mortimer took a moment to assess Seraphina as if he was quite surprised by her question. "Well... either all four of them will agree to the wedding, or all four of them will refuse it. There's no in-between because the four Lords are always on the same page with their decisions. But we don't have to really worry about them. I'm sure the first one who will end up changing their mind are not the Lords."

Though he didn't point her out directly, the meaning behind his words was pretty clear. Seraphina stared at the Steward and asked, "What are you trying to say? You think I will be the one changing my mind about this marriage?"

Mortimer didn't answer immediately, and when he finally did after a moment, his voice sounded a little bit softer than before. "Lady Winters, I mean no disrespect. But you are not the first person who have been sent here by the Afterlife Council. The first person they sent, he was unable to survive in this place for more than a few hours because the city refused to welcome anyone who doesn't belong here. That's why the second person they sent was a woman who was going to marry the Lords. However, she ran away the moment she got a look at the city. The third person survived a few days after the first ceremony, but she too changed her mind when she realized that changing this city's situation is no child's play. You are the fourth person sent by the Council, and truth be told, no one is expecting you to last here for way too long."

This was the most information Seraphina had received about the entire situation. There was no denying that the mere appearance of the Shadow City was enough to make her think about changing her mind, and hearing about how the ones before her failed to last even for a few days in this place, did little to boost her determination to fulfill the task that was assigned to her by the Afterlife Council.

Keeping her expression blank, she asked another question, "What if I survived until the end of this one month period and didn't change my mind about this marriage?"

Mortimer gave Seraphina a very mild smile as he answered, "Then you must make sure the Lords will also be present there to complete the ceremony with you. Remember this My Lady, this land will never accept anyone who doesn't belong here and as a non-fae, your identity as the wife of the Lords will be your only way of staying here long enough to complete your mission. We all want you to succeed just as much as you want to finish this task assigned to you by the council. I wish you all the very best for this upcoming period of one month."

Seraphina was surrounded with silence, both from the outside and inside. She just watched as Mortimer gave her a polite bow and started walking away. It was not until the man was almost walking out of the door, did she returned to reality.

"Mortimer."

The man stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her. "Yes, My Lady?"

"Where are you going?" Seraphina asked as she walked toward the man.

"It's late at night, My Lady. I should be taking my leave to rest." Mortimer informed.

"And what about me?" Seraphina asked while pointing a finger at herself.

"Well... you should rest too... I think." For once, Mortimer looked a little lost as if he wasn't sure why Seraphina was suddenly asking such questions.

Letting out a small sigh, Seraphina folded her hands across her chest and spoke, "Then, how about you show me my room?"

"Your room?" The look on Mortimer's face became worse and he even appeared pale. "Well... My Lady... your room..."

Seraphina arched her eyebrows high in question, confused by how clueless Mortimer looked when she asked about her room. "You haven't prepared a room for me?" She asked.

"My Lady, just wait here." Saying that, the man rushed out of the Grand Hall and disappeared somewhere even before Seraphina could have done more than just opening her mouth to speak. Left alone, she stared at her surroundings, wondering what was going to happen next.

A couple of moments passed and then she finally heard footsteps. The very next moment, Mortimer returned with Arwan following right behind him.

"What is it?" The fae asked as he entered the hall. He had long discarded his cloak, and looking at the untied robe that wasn't doing a decent job of hiding his very muscular upper body, it seemed like he was just dragged out of his bed.

"I just asked Mortimer to show the way to my room."