Chapter 496

496 Grand Wedding(Part Four)

The banquet hall was decorated with an array of yellows, dark brown, crimson, black, and white. The centerpieces were a variety of yellow chrysanthemums wrapped with crimson bows, and placed in a vase that looked like it had been hand-carved from chocolate-colored wood. Every decoration complimented the next, and when the bride and groom walked in; it was an elegantly picturesque scene to behold.

Several guests commented that they looked like an ideal couple, and matched each other perfectly as they moved through the room. Usually the bridal party entered right before the newlyweds did, but Magnus had insisted on ‘cutting to the chase’, so to speak. Everyone was hungry, including Shasta and Lawrence, so they didn’t mind speeding up the process a bit.

The only one who seemed annoyed was the officiant, but knowing he was getting paid regardless made him loosen up. The guests applauded and cheered as Shasta, Lawrence, and their children walked across the room like the perfect royal family. They gently waved and smiled before they all took their seats; except for Lawrence.

Raising a pre-filled glass of wine, Lawrence beamed as he spoke; “I would like to dedicate the first toast to my beautiful wife, Shasta. She is the most honest, caring, and honorable person I have ever met. I have called her my friend for years, and we have grown to be so much more than just that..”

Facing Shasta, Lawrence’s smile softened as he spoke; “You are my match in every way. You make me appreciate the life and privileges I have, and humble me when I forget that tomorrow is never promised. I love you, Shasta.. And I look forward to many years of happiness together.”

Shasta wanted to cry, she was so happy. The man she had secretly loved for years was announcing his mutual feelings for her to the entire world. She was a wife and a mother now; two wonderful things she had always thought was forever out of her reach. After she had wiped her happy tears with the handkerchief Lawrence had given her earlier, Shasta stood up..

Once everyone had taken a drink, Shasta offered up a toast as well; “I would like us all to drink to my amazing husband. Lawrence is a loving father, a wonderful King, and the love of my life. You, Victor, and Anna gave me a family, and I swear I will cherish you all until my final breath. I’m so blessed to have people like you in my life.. Thank you, Lawrence.”

Lawrence inhaled deeply and sniffled, trying to keep the tears in his eyes. He knew that Shasta didn’t really like publicly talking, so every word meant that much more to him. As she took her seat, the bridal party gave their speeches, then a late lunch was served.

Every kind of meat and vegetable seasonally available was laid out. Some of them were prepared as traditional Ruscovic dishes, but most were recipes more commonly found in Alcon. Both the bride and groom were from Alcon, so the kitchens limited the Ruscovic recipes.

.....

After Tidas and Skye returned from Sai, Shasta would retire from the RMC, and go to Ruscovic to live with her new family. Skye was unknowingly supposed to take over her spot as Vice Commander, although she would have to compete for it in the beginning of the Mage Trials. Shasta knew that she would win, but didn’t want to brooch the subject until they had returned.

Skye had been furious when Genie had sprang the trip on them, but Shasta believed that it had more to do with how he’d gone about it. If he had simply asked for help, Skye and Tidas would’ve jumped right into anything, especially to help Mei. As the platters and serving bowls were passed around and served by the servants, Shasta glanced at the diplomat from Sai.

He was chatting away with the Highlanders Petrie and Amara about what the Highlands were like. Shasta didn’t completely trust him, and swore that he treated Skye as more than ‘just a sister’, but Tidas vouched for him. She would give him the benefit of the doubt, but that didn’t mean that she would trust him..

‘There’s something he’s not saying.. I don’t know if it’s something that’s dangerous, or if telling them would be dangerous to him, but he’s holding something back.. I wish I could go with them, especially since I was born in Sai.. Born; is that even the proper term? It’s not like a was really ‘born’, so to speak-‘

“Shasta love? Did you hear me? Do you want some lamb or not?” Lawrence asked as the servant flashed a confused expression.

He had been trying to get the Ruscovic Queen’s attention for a solid two minutes. She had been staring right at him, but with a glaze to her eyes. Like the lights were on, but no one was home.

Lawrence was familiar with Shasta’s attention deficit issues, and knew that she didn’t do it on purpose. But the servant just thought she was drunk or something already, and wrote her rudeness off as that. After she had politely declined, she flashed an embarrassing look, then buried herself in her food.

Since it was their wedding, a special tray of fish was made just for Shasta. It had local fish such as trout, haddock, and wrasse, but rare treats such as spotted sea trout, herring, and large shrimp were on the platter as well. As Shasta started to stuff herself, the music started to play.

The band played slow, easy-going melodies at first, but as more people finished eating, the songs became more upbeat. The guests ate with gusto due to the delay in their meal, so by the time three o’clock hit; most were finished eating. As Shasta leaned back in her seat and stretched, Lawrence stole a quick kiss from her..

“What was that for?” she asked as she sat up straight again.

Lawrence grinned; “It’s a farewell kiss..”

Before Shasta could even ask, Skye was tapping on her shoulder while saying; “Are ya done eatin’ yet? Hurry up so we can play and dance!”

“You sound like a five year old,” Shasta quipped with a smile.

Skye shrugged as she also smiled; “Ima good wit that, now let’s go! I wanna see ya twirlin’ around in that dress!”

Lawrence chuckled along with his wife before realizing; “Hey wait, don’t We need to dance first?”

Skye immediately deflated; “Oh yeah.. I kinda forgot about that whole ‘first dance as a married couple’ bit. And I think the officiant might snap if we skip another tradition.”

After nodding in agreement, Shasta then looked at her husband with a come-hither smile; “Well husband? Are you gonna dance with me? Or is Skye going to steal me away?”

Lawrence jumped to his feet in a comical manner, then said; “Umm, my bride, not yours. Get your own.”

Skye chuckled as he tried to fake-block Shasta from her sight, then looked at his bride and asked; “So who does the bride want to dance with first?”

Reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck, Shasta beamed as she joked; “I Guess it should be you.. But only if you want to.”

“Of course I do.. You’re the only one that I want to dance with,” Lawrence replied as he looked his wife in the eyes.

“...Now I feel bad for teasing you,” Shasta replied as she slipped her hand into his.

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Lawrence chuckled lightly as he lead her out onto the dance floor. The musicians stopped playing a jig-type song, and switched over to a beautiful slow melody. As the two started to glide across the floor, the guests awed at their synchronicity and grace, and cheered when they finished.

The dance floor was open to everyone afterwards, and people swarmed the bride and her Maid of Honor as they let loose. Shasta was having the time of her life as Skye played on her violin, and they danced in a large circle with anyone who wanted to join. Everything was great until Skye went to take a break, and Marco very loudly asked her to dance.

He motioned to the band to play something slow, then started to move with Skye nearly perfectly. She looked uncomfortable and stiff, but other than that, they complimented each other very well. Tidas quietly simmered with anger as he watched helplessly from the sidelines with his brother and sister-in-law..

“It’s our wedding: can’t I just punch him?” Shasta asked as she tried to keep her ears from folding back.

Tidas and Lawrence spoke at the same time; “No.”

Glancing at Shasta, Tidas added with a deadly tone; “If anyone get to hit Him, it’s me. Now be quiet: I can’t hear what they’re saying..”

Marco had started off with the basic pleasantries expected from him, but his sentences quickly became fragmented gibberish to anyone just listening in. Only a small group of people knew what the true meaning behind his words were, and only four of them could hear the conversation.

Skye, Tidas, and Shasta were a given, but Zas was also partially listening in as Marco talked and danced with Skye..

“You’ll never get to it. He won’t let ya, and ye canna buy his loyalty like so many others,” Skye said as Marco spun her.

Catching her in his arms and gliding along to the music, Marco spoke with a devilish smile; “Oh, I don’t know about that.. Everyone has a price, my dear. Even great ones like him.. I wonder what yours is?”

Ignoring his question, Skye replied; “He’s called ‘Immovable’ fer more than one reason, Brother-in-law. I may not’ve convinced Maggie ta let me take it, but he’ll never let ya have it, either. Or any of the others guardin’ it. They All were in the Highlands, so they ken better.”

Marco chortled, which startled some of the spectators. They hardly ever saw the Crowned Prince smile, and he was actually laughing with the princess. Most of the women found his dashing, but Skye knew the evil that lurked behind his grin.

As the song began to fade, Marco parted from Skye, but kept ahold of her hand. He stepped back and bowed before kissing her hand. After lingering a moment longer than what was considered appropriate, Skye yanked her hand away, and thanked him for the dance.

As she went to walk away, Marco grabbed her arm, and said; “I look forward to your return, dear sister.. You, my brother, and I will have much to discuss.”

Right as Skye pulled her arm away, Tidas stepped in front of her. Everyone was staring to the three with tense demeanors until Marco smiled, and patted his brother’s shoulder. With a cocky smirk, he looked Tidas right in his eyes, and said; “I hope you enjoy your time together while you can, little Brother..”

Tidas wanted to beat him into the floor, but instead replied; “Oh, I will, Brother.. We’ll be sure to bring back a souvenir for you!”

Marco waved at his family, announced that he would see them for dinner, then left. With the unpleasantness over with, the reception went into full-on fun-mode. The festivities went on until it was time for the servants to set up for dinner. None of the guests had realized how late it had gotten, they had all been enjoying themselves too much.

Magnus told them to enjoy themselves, but not to expect the royal family to attend dinner in the banquet room. Since Skye and Tidas were leaving in the morning, he wanted a private dinner with family and close friends. After the King had left the room, Tidas and Lawrence had to practically drag their wives off of the dance floor.

As they split up to head to their separate quarters, a familiar gruff voice called out to them; “Ye two are lucky that I ken ya so well.. Yer clothes be laid out and waitin’ on yer bed.”

“Thank you, Peggy!” Skye and Tidas called out together before continuing on their way to their quarters..