Wedding

Aedric and Snoe are married in Sylvan fashion

25.

Wedding

 

In three hours time it had all been prepared.   Aedric stayed in the King’s quarters, pacing back and forth while Aeric and Aaron kept him ‘under guard’.

“They are going to have to bring a new rug in here to replace the one you have worn out, if you don’t sit down for a while.”   The Half-Elf told his foster son, tired of following him back and forth across the room with his gaze.

“Sorry.”  Aedric replied, and he came over to where they were sitting.

“Not exactly the day you had planned today, is it?”   Aaron kidded.

“I keep thinking I’ll wake up and it will all have been a nightmare.”

“Such a great attitude!”  Aeric laughed, “He is getting married and became King today, and it is a nightmare.”

“Well, I didn’t mean it like that.   It just is happening so quickly I can’t seem to sort everything out in my mind.  The crazy way things have went today, Snoe will probably give birth to our first child this evening!”

“I think there has to be a bit more… planning before that happens.”  Aaron said with a laugh.

“Aaron, I haven’t even kissed the girl yet!   I still feel somewhat awkward around her sometimes and in a short while she is going to be my wife!”

“So you are saying you aren’t quite sure what to do tonight?”   Aaron jested, receiving a stern look from his father.

“I have no clue!   I hadn’t really even considered such things.   Paladins aren’t supposed to dwell upon them - unless they are married--- and I didn’t realize that was a possibility any time soon!   This is all going to be a disaster!”

 

Aeric smiled knowingly, “Relax, son.   Snoe is probably more terrified then you are right now.”

“I doubt that!   Aeric, I don’t want to mess everything up.   I don’t want to look back on this day and think ‘I should have resisted doing it’, because I was too young and stupid to put a stop to it.   Snoe and I are too young to be married.   Don’t you agree?”

“Oh absolutely I do.”  Aeric replied, “However, Yesh thinks you both are just right, so we defer to His wisdom.”

“Speaking of ‘wisdom’: do you have any for me, as I prepare to go through this ordeal?”

The half-Elf paladin put his hands on both of Aedric’s shoulders, “Yes, I do.   Relax and enjoy today.   Yesh will work out all the details, as He is behind all of this.   Relax and enjoy it with Snoe - it will be a day you both will cherish.”

“-until the annulment.”  Aaron joked, which resulted in frowns from the other two.

 

A knock on the door caused Aedric to jump to his feet as if he were on fire.   The door opened and Gamel’s head popped around the corner, “Your Majesty, your bride awaits you.   It is time.”

 

The color drained from the new King’s face, causing chuckles from the other three men, but they guided him forward, through the door, toward matrimony.

 

***

 

Due to the lateness of the year and the snow that had just began to fall, the impromptu ceremony was held in the breathtaking chapel of Yesh Silimherum.   It was an astonishing piece of the very best of Sylvan architecture.   It resembled a large grove of very tall, straight trees, with the ‘walls’ between the apparent tree trunks, tall clear sheets of glass.

Never had Aedric seen so much glass used on one building in his life, and he was stunned to imagine the cost and time needed for the production of such flawless clear sheets that somehow offered strength.

 

The effect was that of standing at one end of a holy grove, with rows of carved wooden pews lining each side.   The snow fell outside, growing heavier as the Royal minstrels played a reflective, but joyful tune.

 

He was escorted by some of ‘his’ advisors to a throne that had been set up off to one side on the raised dais,  with a slightly smaller throne next to it which he realized would soon be Snoe’s own.   They politely bid him to be seated, suggesting that he would know when to rise.

 

Aedric sat there, very self-conscious and feeling completely fraudulent in his new role.   He was dressed in royal fashion for the Wood Elves:   White cloth trimmed in red and green and the sanctuary was full both with the Sylvan people and the delegation from Westmark.

At the front sat Duchess Dullerm, smiling, but blinking back tears as she contemplated her second youngest daughter being married so suddenly.   Beside her sat Amala, protectively cradling her baby sister and frowning as she caught Aedric’s glance.

 

He smiled gently and raised his hand slightly to wave at her, expecting a contemptuous response.   To his surprise, she smiled back weakly, nodding at him before quickly turning her attention to her sister on her lap.

 

His attention abruptly turned to a procession of the three Priests of Yesh who were quickly coming up the center aisle, dressed in the green and red of the Sylvan people.   Behind them came Matron Zeatt, who also wore the Sylvan robes of the Yeshian priests.

This surprised Aedric, but he realized that it probably shouldn’t, for she was an Archbishop of Yesh’s church and they almost had to add her to the ceremony out of respect for her office.

 

As they took their positions at the first step of the dais, the Drow priestess turned slightly to look back at him and grinned at him somewhat mischievously, which also surprised him so much that he had to laugh.   She was attempting to ease his nerves and surprisingly, it worked for a moment.

 

Next down the aisle came Mattleos escorting Queen Mathlyn.   He led her to the front pew opposite of the Dullerms and she sat, while he came up the dais to stand at Aedric’s right side.

“How are you doing?”  He asked Aedric in a whisper.

“If I don’t pass out from nerves, I should be fine.”  He replied and Lord Matt chuckled at his cousin’s anxiety.

 

The minstrels suddenly stopped their tune and everyone in the chapel fell silent, apparently knowing it was a cue.   Aedric’s glance went to the end of the hall and then he knew why.

They began playing an ancient Elven bridal tune that he had heard several times before, while attending Faesidhe weddings.   But this time, it was for his bride.

 

Then he saw her.   She was being escorted by her father who, like his wife, seemed both pleased and sad at the same time.   Behind her walked Lady Nansea, Abigae and Allea, all wearing green Sylvan dresses of bridesmaids.

 

But it was Snoe which drew in everyone’s attention.   Somehow they had found an absolutely majestic wedding dress for the girl.   It was of the richest silvery white silk that Aedric had ever seen, with a jeweled corseted top which sparkled with the red and green gems that decorated it and seemed almost like brilliant berries.

 

The dress seemed crafted specifically for her, revealing to everyone what a beautiful and graceful young woman she was.   Around her white neck she wore a necklace of silver with red and green jewels and a headpiece with a veil that also was decorated in like manner.   Those assembled arose as one, gasping and exclaiming in wonderment at how radiant she looked.

 

Aedric was suddenly aware that not only had he stood when she had entered, but that he had come down from his throne and stood beside the priests.

He could not stop looking at her.    Her bright red Drow eyes shined like hot coals from underneath her veil, but never had he seen eyes more lovely.

 

How, he asked himself as she was slowly escorted toward him, could I have been repulsed at her when I first saw her?   She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.   The thought of being united to such a gorgeous woman filled him with shame and regret.   

Shame that she had to be joined to someone like him, when she deserved someone far more handsome and worthy.   Regret that he would never be worthy of her loveliness and grace.

 

He felt like a troll standing there with his mouth gaping open.   Aedric fought a strong urge to just turn and run as fast as he could.    The Sylvan people deserved a real King and this incredibly pretty girl deserved a husband much better then him.

But his knees were too weak by the time they reached them to even move.   Her appearance just improved as she neared him.   She carried a small bouquet of red and green flowers - probably the very last from the autumn- and she trembled as in her fetching fashion, she diverted her eyes as they took their positions.

 

The three Sylvan priests turned to Zeatt with a nod, and she raised her hands and spoke, “In the name of Yesh the Merciful, Holy is His name, I bid all of you welcome.   We are gathered here this afternoon to unite in matrimony, Snoe, daughter of Eleazar and Aurei of Westmark and Dullerm, to the new Sylvan King, Aedric the First.”

   “Knowing the sanctity that Yesh the Merciful attaches to the station of marriage, I ask you, Duke Eleazar Dullerm, do you this day, of your desire and with a heart thankful to Yesh, give unto Aedric, your daughter?”

 

Eleazar looked over at Aedric and nodded, saying loudly, “Her mother and I do so joyously and thank Yesh for this pairing.”

 

Zeatt turned to Aedric and nodded, and he came forward somewhat meekly.   Eleazar smiled confidently as he took Snoe’s hand, winked at her, and then placed her hand in Aedric’s.  He then turned and joined his wife and other two daughters on the front pew.

 

Her ivory hand trembled as he took it, but she squeezed his hand tightly and gave him a quick shy smile as they turned to face Zeatt.   She placed her hands upon each of their heads and prayed.

“Holy Lord, Yesh who offers mercy unto all people, I pray this day that thou shalt consecrate this union unto your service.   May this ceremony be sanctified by your blessing and may you bind Aedric and Snoe in love and unity under your purity.   So may it be!”

“So be it!”  The congregation replied as the prayer ended.

Zeatt smiled at both of them and then stepped backwards to allow the Sylvan priests to conduct the service.

 

Before the priests began, Aedric leaned in close to Snoe and whispered, “Snoe… you look… extraordinary.”

She smiled through the veil, “Really?   I’m almost the same color as my dress.”

“I’ve never seen you look so beautiful.   You’re… breathtaking!”

“Thanks” She replied shyly, and he sensed that she didn’t really think he meant it.

“I’m serious; you’re amazing.”

 

The girl blushed, and they turned back to the three Priests of Yesh.

 

“It is the will of Yesh Silimherum”, the first priest began, “that male and female should be united together before him in matrimony, that He would sanctify and consecrate their union.   Before this congregation today stands King Aedric, son of Princess Naella, and Princess Snoe, daughter of King Eleazar of Marksylvania, to be united through the divine ordinance of wedlock.”

 

Snoe and Aedric glanced quickly at each other, the words of the priest not helping still their nerves.

 

The Priest held up both hands heavenward as a second priest reverently brought forth a long green cord, trimmed in gold, followed by the third priest, carrying a silver chalice filled with red wine.

 

“Holy Yesh, behold, before you this day comes two of your children, seeking marriage.   Hear, oh Lord, their vows before you this day.”

 

The priest now turned back to them and took the green and gold cord from the second priest and gestured for Aedric and Snoe to approach him.   They shyly went forward and he took their joined hands, and then wrapped the cord around their wrists and hands.

“Recite after me, this thy vow unto your bride.”  The Priest said to Aedric, and turned him to face Snoe.   Aedric for a moment took in the scene of the young woman.   Through the veil she seemed very exotic and almost mysterious, with her pure white skin and blood red lips, as well as her red eyes shining brilliantly.  Behind her and through the large glass window-like walls, the snow fell as if joining in the ceremony.

 

“I, Aedric, King of the Sylvan people…” The priest began, pausing for Aedric to repeat after him.  He spoke the words in reply, staring deeply into the lovely gentle eyes of Snoe:

“I, Aedric, King of the Sylvan people,

Take thee, Snoe, to be my wife in the sight of Yesh Silimherum,

United in mind, heart and spirit,

I pledge my love, my faithfulness, my heart and soul,

Be thou consecrated unto me,

Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,

In the name of Yesh the Merciful,

So be it!”

 

Snoe was trembling and he saw tears in her eyes, but she smiled at the same time.   The priest turned to her and bid her to speak her vows to Aedric.   She did so in a voice that was somewhat soft, but very clear:

 

“I Snoe, Princess of Marksylvania,

Take thee Aedric, to be my husband, in the sight of Yesh Silimherum,

United in mind, heart and spirit,

I pledge my love, my faithfulness, my heart and soul,

Be thou consecrated unto me,

Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,

In the name of Yesh the Merciful,

So be it!”

 

She smiled with some relief as she finished the vow and he squeezed her hand for reassurance as they turned back to the priest.   The third priest had come forward with the chalice, and the first priest dipped his first two fingers into the wine and then touched both of their foreheads with his fingers, marking a circle with the dampness of the wine.

“Thou hast pledged thy vows unto each other before God.   Behold, Yesh hast joined thee together, united as one.   May Yesh the Merciful bless thy house with the bounty of many children and may thy love for each other increase with the years.   In the name of Yesh Silimherum, so be it!”

 

The audience applauded and the two of them looked at the Priest who simply smiled at them as if waiting for them to do something.   From over his shoulder, Zeatt leaned in and whispered in a voice loud enough for most of the chapel to hear, “Well kiss her, you silly boy!”

 

The room erupted in laughter as the two young people blushed.   He looked at her and she shrugged with a slight smile, so he leaned in and gently raised her veil.   He suddenly felt very nervous, but with all of the chapel watching, he had to give them what they expected.   He wished he could have apologized to her for what he knew would probably be a very awkward kiss, but instead he just quickly and quietly prayed to Yesh that he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

 

Leaning in, he gently took her chin in his trembling palm, thought to tilt his head to one side and with a gulp of air like someone about to dive under water, puckered up and hoped his aim was true.

 

To his delight, he hit the mark and his lips thrilled with the sensation as hers responded in like manner.   For a long, wonderful moment, they both forgot the setting, enjoying the warm sensation of each other.

 

It was the whistles from the crowd that made both of them break the kiss, both blushing, which caused more light-hearted amusement from those assembled.

 

The first priest tapped Aedric on the shoulder and they turned to face him again.   The second priest now stood there holding Queen Mathlyn’s tiara, which he held out to Aedric, “Your Royal Highness, it is your right to crown your Queen.”

 

Not certain exactly what he was supposed to do, he took the offered crown and turned back to Snoe.   She looked up in wonder at the tiara and bowed her head before him.   From nowhere, the words he needed to say came to him.

“Snoe, my wife; I, Aedric, King of the Sylvan, do crown thee Queen of the Sylvan people, in the name of Yesh Silimherum!”

 

He placed the delicate crown on top of her floral bridal headdress and the chapel roared with enthusiastic approval.   Taking her hand, he helped her to her feet and immediately the priests escorted them over to the twin thrones on one side of the dais.  

There they seated themselves, grinning at each other as the priests instructed the congregation to come forth and pay homage to their King and Queen.

 

They came from the back of the chapel first, mostly the Sylvan people, who came forward and bowed or curtsied before them for a moment, most of them spending their brief moment before them staring in pleased awe at the radiance of their Queen.   Finally their families came forward, with Snoe’s parents leading the way.   As they approached, Aedric was alarmed to see both of the Dullerms about to bow before them.

“No! Please,” he said, quickly rising, “You owe no homage to me!”

They just smiled and still bowed slightly, and then rushed forward to embrace both of them.

“Congratulations!”   Aurei said to him as she embraced him, “I am very happy for you.”

“Thank you, Duchess-“

“No, none of that now!   You are family now.   Aurei is my name, call me that.”

“Alright.   Thank you… Aurei… for allowing Snoe to go through with this.   I assure you, this whole thing was as much of a surprise to us as it was to you and Duke… um, I mean… as it was to you and… Eleazar.”   He felt so odd using their personal names, but she seemed very pleased.

“Yes, but it was a beautiful wedding, despite the hurried pace that it was put together.”

“I must say… um, Aurei, that whoever found Snoe’s dress did an amazing job on such short notice!   She looks absolutely magnificent.”

 

Aurei smiled at the compliment given to her daughter, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“No, no!   Remember, we are family.   It is just Aedric.   Believe me, I feel rather shameful sitting up here pretending that I am actually a King.”

“You will do fine!   Both of you will.   It was such a beautiful wedding with the snow falling through the glass.”   The Drow lady began to cry, smiling as she did, and Snoe quickly arose and embraced her mother, asking her if she was alright.

“Of course I am; I’m just happy, that’s all.” She replied, and Aedric turned to receive Amala, who carried her sister.

“King Aedric.” She said, emphasizing his title as she bowed slightly.

“Princess Amala.” He returned the emphasis on the title and she accepted his jab with an actual grin, the first he had seen her give.

“Welcome to the family.” She said.

“Thanks.   I am very honored to be part of it.”

Not knowing what else to say, the Drow girl moved on to speak to her sister, while Eleazar spoke to Aedric.

“Congratulations, Aedric.” He said, extending his hand, which Aedric shook.

“Thank you, sir.   Thank you for not running me through with your sword when you heard that we would wed.   Snoe is the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.   I feel like a mud covered beggar in the presence of an angel.   I’m lucky I could even speak during the ceremony, sir.”

 

Eleazar smiled as he looked at his daughter, “She really shines bright today.   It will be hard to not have her living with us any more, but I am glad it is you that she is with, Aedric.   Yesh has given me complete peace about it, and believe me; I do not trust my family to just anyone.   I am very satisfied with her marriage to you and I too am glad you are now part of our family.”

 

“Thanks.   I promise you that I will continue to fulfill my vow of support of you and your cause.   You will indeed be King, though I had not heard of Marksylvania before the Raven spoke of it.”

“It was a term that I had only spoken of to a few people - not even my daughters knew of it.   When Queen Eioldth began to warn us that there might be some degree of anti-Elven sentiment growing in Northmarch, she mentioned in passing that if worst came to worst, Northmarch could divine into two halves, with the demi-human half to the west.”

“She really didn’t believe that the situation would grow that grave, but after she said that, we pondered what name she would call the western half of her kingdom.   Since it would encompass all of the Faesidhe forest and all of Westmark, we began to call this hypothetical kingdom ‘Marksylvania’.   Now it looks as if that may be a reality.”

 

“Then I swear that I will strive to make this so, sir.   You are certainly worthy to be King.”

 

Eleazar smiled slightly, “It may surprise you, Aedric, but I am as nervous and reluctant as you are to assume the title of King.   I sympathize with your state of mind.   But like you, I will do what Yesh desires of me.   But enough of that for now: this is a joyous occasion after the grim task of burying King Travin.   I will make way so others can greet you.”

 

Aeric, Alis, Aaron and Abigae greeted them next, and they spent several moments speaking to them, followed by Gamel, Sir Alvis, Nansea, Zeatt and Allea.

 

The last to greet them was Mattleos and Mathlyn.   Both hugged them happily and Mathlyn seemed especially pleased with the outcome.

 

When Snoe took off her tiara and offered it back to her, Mathlyn laughed joyously, “Child, you are Queen now; it is yours as a symbol of status.”

“But you are still King Travin’s Queen!” She protested.

“Yes, child, but I am now simply the King’s mother… or actually grandmother… which is a different role than a Queen.   Do not worry, it is a very respected role and I do not regret handing the title of Queen over to you.”

“Do we still address you as Queen?”  Snoe asked her.

“Our people do, but as you are now my granddaughter through marriage, I would greatly like you to call me by my name or simply as Amilyo… if that would not offend you to use.   I do not imagine it is a title that you have ever used with Aurei’s vampire mother.”

 

Snoe frowned slightly, thinking of Alleania, “No, we hardly know her and I suspect even if we did know her better, it would not be a fitting title for her.   I would much rather use it for you… Amilyo.”

 

Mathlyn grinned and hugged the new Queen, “Child, I look forward to your company in the palace.   I have always been extremely fond of you, now you are part of our family and we will be greatly blessed by it.”

 

Mathlyn turned to Aedric, “Is she not the most gorgeous bride you have ever seen?   Never has this chapel seen such a lovely woman.   I heard some of those around me begin to call her ‘The White Queen’ and they spoke the words with awe and deep admiration.   Your Queen’s great beauty has won their hearts, as well as yours, I clearly see.”

 

Aedric just smiled and glanced over at Snoe.   She seemed so different now, so regal and beautiful.   It was the stuff that great ballads were written about.   How could he have not noticed how beautiful she was before today?   He had began to appreciate her loveliness the more he had grown to know her, but still he had not really fully noticed her great loveliness until today.

 

Now he could not stop admiring her.

 

She smiled meekly at his continual stare, blushing demurely.

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"...suggesting to him that he would know when to rise." You can probably take "to him" out.
"...the more he had grown to known her..." The "known" ought to be "know."

This was beautifully written, Eddie, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina, I'm glad you liked it.