I follow Thomas and we stop just outside of the chapel doors. The female steward stays a couple of feet behind me, and I want to make some joke to her, mostly because I’m so nervous, but I know it won’t go over. I’ve never seen a steward smile, much less laugh. The female stewards are even meaner than the males, if that’s even possible. There are fewer female stewards, and I guess they feel like they have to work twice as hard to compete with the men, which is pretty much true in a nation like Polovia, where gender roles are rigidly defined.
We stand there for a moment, and I have no clue what we’re waiting for. After what feels like an eternity, Thomas lifts up a cane with an eagle’s head at the top and bangs it against the large wooden door. The noise echoes through the stone hall and I feel like it vibrates my very bones.
Slowly, the doors open. My heart is beating so fast I can’t hear anything else but its slamming as Thomas takes a few steps forward into the room.
I follow him, head buzzing. It’s a fairly large chapel, and the whole castle is there. It’s a few hundred people, everyone dressed in their finest clothing. Lords and Ladies mingle with the common staffers, which is nice, but I’m scared shitless so it doesn’t matter to me who sits where in this moment.
As we walk forward, I spot Nolan standing up near the altar. The priest is there in his vestments, and the king and queen are sitting on their thrones off to the side. As we approach, the king stands and walks directly toward us.
Thomas stops and steps aside, bowing slightly, as the king walks directly to me.
“Who comes here, dressed in white?” the king says in his booming, deep voice. He looks a lot like Nolan, and I realize suddenly that this is the first time I’ve seen him in person.
The whole room is staring at me, and I have no clue what to say, when suddenly I hear the female steward behind me whisper.
“A princess, looking for her prince.”
I take a breath and repeat that phrase. “A princess, looking for her prince.”
The hall is silent for a second, hanging on bated breath. The king appraises me and finally smiles very slightly.
“Come then, princess, in good health and good character. Enter into our family with my blessing and the blessing of the house of Leitner, may it continue ever into eternity.”
With that, the king turns and walks back to his seat. Once he’s seated, Thomas steps back in front of me and we walk up to the altar.
Nolan grins at me as I stand in front of him. “Good job,” he whispers to me.
“Thanks,” I say, but the priest gives me a dirty look and begins the ceremony in Polovian.
It’s a short and simple ceremony. I don’t know what they’re saying, but we exchange rings, and eventually Nolan kisses me, a chaste and appropriate kiss compared to the other kisses we’ve shared. When that’s done, we turn and the crowd cheers as we walk back down the aisle.
Once back out in the hallway, Nolan pulls me against him. “You did great,” he says, grinning his head off.
“I feel like I’m going to pass out,” I admit. “Why didn’t you warn me about this?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. I made sure that they did the bare minimum to make this legit.”
“Still.” I sigh, shaking my head. “That was one hell of a surprise.”
He just shrugs, a smirk on his face. “What did you think of it?”
“It was nice and simple. Plus, I didn’t understand a word of it.”
“The part with my father, that’s the first time that was said in English.”
“Really?” I ask, a little surprised.
“Really. He wasn’t too happy when they told him he had to do it in your language.” Nolan laughs and pulls me against him. “Too fucking bad, I said.” He kisses me more deeply, the sort of kiss I’m used to from him.
We break apart as the crowd begins to filter out of the chapel. I stand beside Nolan as we greet people, shaking hands and smiling. He introduces me to practically everyone, and very quickly one person blends into another. I don’t remember a single name that he told me. At one point, I know I saw Britta, and we exchanged a quick hello before she got ushered away.
After that, we’re lead into the main great room. Tables are lined up, heaped high with food and drink, and I recognize this part of the wedding. Like every wedding, this is the fun part.
Nolan and I have the seats of honor at the head of the table on a little raised platform. I actually liked it up there, because fewer people can accost us. Mostly Nolan talks about those present, goes into detail about the very complicated family I just married into. He talks about the feuds, the betrayals, the friendships, and the enemies.