Chapter Twenty-Two

Layla woke with a start when she heard her bedroom door open.

"Time to get ready, my lady," her friend's voice said coldly, heading straight to the washroom to get a tub of warm water on.

"Nieve," the blonde said as she scrambled to get out of bed and stop her friend. "I'm so sorry, for everything. Yesterday… I know now why you've been upset with me," she rushed to get everything out, seeing her friend stiffen as she stopped.

"And now I'm supposed to be grateful that you finally understand?" the brunette couldn't stop herself from asking, her voice full of pain that her friend still couldn't place.

"I… I don't know," Layla admitted she hadn't thought that far. "Please, Nieve? After tomorrow, I'll ask if I can have someone else as a handmaid. I'd rather have you as a friend I can only see every now and again because we're too busy than seeing you every day and arguing like this," she almost begged. She'd promise anything right now to make this right.

Nieve finally turned around to face her, still taking her in and deciding what to do. "Maybe…" was all she was willing to concede in this instance. "If you're still sure you want them to be your in-laws, we'd better get you ready for your engagement," she continued now. There was of course still a lot for them to talk through, but for now she was willing to try to get back to normal. As much as she was angry with the Simias, she didn't want to ruin her friend's special day.

"I want Ryan, and sadly that means them by extension," Layla told her with a slight nod. "And thank you, Nieve. There's no one else I could think of wanting to have with me today," she added with a small, slightly teary smile.

Her grey-eyed friend nodded and beckoned her to follow her into the washroom. The handmaid ran a tub of water and helped rinse her friend's hair. It reminded her of when they were still in the Marsh and they helped each other when they were able to have a wash this thorough. Nieve would wash her own body as Layla helped rinse her hair and visa versa. But they never had access to soap this exquisite; it foamed luxuriously and smelt heavenly of lavender and a hint of lemon. It was very fitting for a Lady-to-be with an earth power.

"Ryan won't be able to stay away from you," Nieve said with a smile to her friend in the mirror after she added the last flower to her hair. She'd helped Layla into her dress, tightening the corset exactly as she'd been shown by the tailor, before doing her hair. Her long blonde hair was braided and pinned back, with small silver flowers strategically inserted in between the braids. The silver in her hair created little glitters when she moved, enhancing the ethereal glow created by the silver accents of her dress. A simple silver necklace with a blue gemmed flower hung around her neck and teardrop earrings dangled from her ears. Kaitlyn had liberated them from the Simias collection for her.

"Thank you, Nieve," Layla breathed in awe, almost unable to believe it was her staring back at her in the mirror.

The brunette gave her a smile in return. She left her friend by the mirror as she quickly changed into her dress for the ceremony as well. Despite not having had the same level of care taken for her measurements as her friend did, the dress fit her extremely well. The silver in her dress was the overriding colour with blue accents, but it wasn't as sparkly as Layla's, probably done on purpose to match but not overshadow.

"You look great as well," Layla's voice drew her attention after a few minutes. "I'd best be careful you don't steal my thunder," she added teasingly.

"Highly unlikely," Nieve managed a chuckle. A knock on the door interrupted them. "Ready, my lady?" she asked as she headed over to open it.

Layla took a deep breath to settle the swarm of butterflies that swirled around her stomach at the idea that it was time. She'd never particularly liked being the centre of attention, even with her natural charm. But she would happily go through it a thousand times if it meant she'd be able to get engaged to Ryan. "Ready," she nodded.

The guard on the other side of the door seemed surprised that she was ready to go; he'd been expecting Nieve to ask for more time. "My lady," he gave Layla a small bow before he led the way.

Ryan still felt a little nervous as he waited in the throne room for his girlfriend to arrive, but it was a very different nervous than the last time he'd been in this position. Last time he really didn't want to go through the ceremony; this time he couldn't wait but he was nervous for her and how she'd experience it all. There were a lot of people milling about the room and a lot of them were pompous, rich and powerful primes.

He ignored his parents as they were schmoozing with some of the other nobles. He knew that eventually he'd have to care about Serenissima's relationship with them, but until then, today, he couldn't care less. Especially when a voice finally announced his almost-fiancée's entrance. His jaw dropped as his blue eyes took in her appearance. Ryan always thought she looked beautiful, but the dress and her accessories elevated her to a whole new level. Warmth rushed through him when her brown eyes found him, a healthy blush and a small, excited smile on her face. He had to fight his natural urge to go to her, instead having to wait for her to make her way across the room.

Riven was stood behind him by the wall and, when he heard his friend's thoughts take in her appearance, his own blue eyes sought out her handmaid instead. He froze, unable to believe how beautiful she looked today. The silver bodice made her grey eyes stand out, almost dangerously stunning. On the one hand he didn't want her turning them on him in case looks could kill and on the other he felt that could be a good way to go, staring into her eyes. He wanted to talk to her, hold her, but he knew there was no way she wasn't still angry with him after yesterday. For now, he'd have to make do with just looking at her.

He hadn't realised how distracting she was until his friend nudged his elbow into his ribs. "What?" Riven asked annoyed.

"You're drooling," Ryan teased him before he stepped towards his girlfriend and took her hand in his, grateful that she was finally by his side.

You're a jackass, his bodyguard told him and the Simia heir had to fight back a chuckle, especially when Nieve had to take her place alongside him.

"Ryan, what is she doing here?" Layla panicked, her nails digging into his arm when she spotted Evangeline stepping into the room.

"Her family are still our closest allies, even if she changed her mind about wanting to marry me," Ryan told her calmly, sticking to the official line. He managed to pull his arm from her grip and wrapped it around her waist as his other hand took hold of hers. "Don't worry, I won't let you out of my sight," he whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Promise."

He wanted to reassure her more, tell her how beautiful she looked, but his mother chose that moment to gain the attention of the room to start the ceremony.

His almost-fiancée took a deep breath as she prepared herself to become the centre of attention. The Simias had had to change the ceremony slightly, as Layla didn't have any family to stand by her; Kaitlyn and Riven would be in her corner for the night. Her future-in-laws had also had to sponsor her for the golden bracelet she was supposed to give Ryan tonight. Layla gave him a nervous smile before she had to make her initial vow, her intention to wed him. She'd practiced it over and over the night before with Kaitlyn, to make sure she wouldn't make any mistake.

Ryan almost beamed at her when she'd put the bracelet around his wrist, and it put her mind at ease a little that she'd got through this first part unscathed. The future Lord took her hand in his as he gave his vow and pushed a white gold diamond ring on her finger. Lady Simia has suggested that the pair use the same jewellery that Ryan and Evangeline had exchanged, but her heir had refused flat out. He'd arranged for those items to be exchanged because he didn't want to start his marriage to Layla with used goods and he knew without asking that she'd definitely hate that idea.

Lord Simia declared the banquet opened shortly after this exchange, allowing the guests to mingle. As anticipated, everyone was very curious about Layla's newly discovered prime-status and Ryan fielded most of those questions for her. She only gave answers that were closest to the truth about her earth powers, as these required the least amount of embellishment. She could feel Lord and Lady Simia's eyes on her, as they made sure she didn't say or do anything she wasn't supposed to.

"My skin feels like it's crawling. Are you always watched like this?" Layla turned to her fiancé with a soft voice, trying not to keep looking back up at his parents.

"Unfortunately yes, but you'll get used to it," Ryan answered, not being as reassuring as she would've liked. He gave her back a comforting rub, which didn't comfort her at all.

Nieve stood near the wall, watching Ryan guide Layla through the ballroom, her friend blushing and nodding while he did most of the speaking. Her heart stopped when a familiar blond greeted the groom- and bride-to-be with a familiar hug. She'd somehow assumed Christophe was Evangeline's family; she hadn't even considered that he'd be here today.

"Are you okay?" Riven asked, noticing her eyes widen.

She turned to him, instantly scowling. "None of your business," she told him, any fear or nerves she felt instantly turned into anger towards the man that was stood next to her. The last ceremony was still etched in her brain, the way he'd held her and made her feel safe. She knew he'd still protect her, but she didn't want him to. She wanted to go away, but there was no way she'd be allowed to. She just hoped she could go through the motions without Christophe noticing her.