White Wedding

"Your Highness, it's your wedding day, are you nervous?"

Ava glanced at the kind old maid through the gold rimmed mirror, clear blue eyes meeting milky grey ones. The only reason she could ask such a question is because Ava had a fondness for her, the old woman had been caring for her during her few visits to the capital since she was young. She watched as the woman fiddled with strands of her black hair, pinning them in place, slowly but surely creating an elaborate hairstyle. "No, not really."

"Truly, Miss? It's such an important day for girls like you, the start of the rest of your life."

Ava held in her laugh but her lips tilted up. "I disagree. This should be a nice day but it's no more important than any other, nor is it the start of the rest of my life. It's just something new, something a bit different. Something a bit fun." The old maid didn't seem to understand any of her words, frowning slightly with confusion but she could hardly question the princess further. Ava didn't seem to mind, carefully leaning forward so as to not ruin her hair. She clicked open the jewelry box before her, taking out a beautiful although more simple in design hairpin, silver with carved delicate flowers, each with a tiny diamond at their center. She held it out to the maid. "I'd like this in my hair as well."

The old maid frowned further as she hesitantly took the pin. After all, all the current decorations adoring Ava's hair were exquisite gold, even the tiara that had been selected and the earrings that dangled from her ears were gold. But one look at the look Ava gave her through the mirror, the hardness to that smile on her face and the maid immediately set about fussing with her hair to slot the hairpin in. Once she was done, Ava stood up, stepping back and turning this way and that to admire her appearance in the mirror, swishing about the delicate layers of flowing fabric. "Hm, quite nice. What do you think?"

The maids and servants all hurried to compliment her, to which she smiled politely but her attention was on the two who stood quietly to the side, one the familiar dark skin and dark haired guard, the other a girl with a small figure who peeked out between loose strands of white hair. Her personal maid, Mila, lit up, her eyes sparkling and a bright smile on her face as she clapped her hands and nodded her head with excitement. Covin tilted his head to one side, then to the other, pretending to be contemplating. He did a circular motion with his finger. Although Ava knew he was playing around, she still indulgently did a spin for him, the fabrics swirling around her figure. Finally, he cracked a smile and gave a thumbs up.

"Then time for the final touches." Ava turned to the two maids at the side, instructing, "I'd like Covin to place the veil and Mila to place the tiara."

The maids hurriedly bowed their heads. "Yes, Your Highness." They stepped forward, handing over the folded veil and the tiara they each held to the surprised Covin and Mila. In contrast to how eagerly Mila accepted the tiara, Covin seemed a bit concerned as he accepted the veil hesitantly, carefully unraveling the sheer fabric. He fiddled with the fabric, seeming at a loss until finally one of the maids stepped forward.

"You place this part over Her Highness' head, this will be the front and this the back," She instructed quietly, pointing out as she spoke. Covin nodded in acknowledgement, adjusting his hold on the fabric. Ava bent her head slightly to make it easier for him to throw the lengths of fabric over her, settling it over her head. He fussed with it a few times, moving it slightly to the left. Then slightly back to the right. Then forward slightly. He then looked it over carefully, his brows tightly knit with concentration before he was finally satisfied, stepping back with a small, proud smile on his face. Ava then turned to Mila, lowering her head again. Mila shifted the tiara into place, tears in the corner of her eyes as she exchanged smiles with Ava whose face was slightly obscured by the veil. "Thank you both," she said softly to which the two both bowed their heads a moment. The maids and servants who stood aside watched on without comment at this odd scene of affection between the princess and her servants.

"Your Highness, please excuse me for saying so but it is nearly time…"

Ava took in a slight breath before she turned. "My apologies for the wait, we may leave now."

As Ava walked down the aisle, she had to admire how extravagant and beautiful her wedding was. Milky white and sheer fabric had been draped in sweeps between the columns far above their heads. White petals and flakes that held a golden glint fell in a delicate rain, the work of the palace mages who were dressed in draping robes of white. Everything was carved out of white marble and decorated with flowers of pale, washed out colours, and shimmering gold. Everything except the carpet that marked the aisle she walked down which was a brilliant red. She wondered, if her marriage hadn't been a strategic one, one that represented the cooperation between two kingdoms, if her father would have put in even a fraction of this effort in. She knew the answer was no. As she met the hundreds of gazes that followed her, she entertained the thought of Yoseph being in the crowd, getting to see her so finely dressed on her wedding day. She knew he wouldn't be. But the pin in her hair that he'd given her as a wedding present gave her comfort. She kept her head held high, walking forward without hesitation.

She stopped before the altar, standing in front of her husband-to-be who she could hazily make out through the cover of the veil. She was lost in her thoughts of how truly beautiful this wedding was, staring past Prince Jin's shoulder at the blur of white and glittering gold. She hadn't really heard any of the words being said by the man who was running the ceremony until; "Princess Avaline, if you will…" She blinked a few times, bringing her focus back to the prince before her whose gaze had never left her, standing with perfect manners and patience. She guessed which part of the ceremony they were up to, bowing her head slightly. Jin reached out, lifting the veil from her face. She looked up at him through lowered lids, an almost shy look matched with a soft smile. With some amusement she took note of the fleeting look of confusion on his face before he straightened his features, fixing on a courteous small smile. He lifted the golden wine cup, holding it up to her lips. "With this cup of wine, I promise my blood runs only for you," She took a sip before taking the cup from him, performing the same gesture for him. He repeated the same words, taking a sip.

Ava exchanged the wine cup for one of the rings, holding her other hand out palm up. Jin placed his hand on hers, speaking as she slid the ring onto his finger, "With this ring, I bind my heart and soul to you." Jin took Ava's hand in return and she echoed the same words as he gently slid her ring in place. At this point, he glanced up at her, meeting her gaze. "With this, our fates are sealed." He raised her hand to his lips to place a light kiss on the ring. Both rings let off a soft glow for a moment, indicating the ceremony was complete.

Cries of joy and congratulations spread through the hall. Illusions of birds formed from white light flew about the hall then escaped into the open air. A feather formed of that white light floated down in front of Ava. She caught it between her fingers, twirling it for a moment. This wasn't the work of the mages. She raised her head, looking in the direction where the guards stood in their formal ceremony uniforms, his hands clasped behind his back. He subtly shook his head. It wasn't him that did it. Which meant it was Mila. As a maid, she wasn't allowed to attend the wedding. But it seems she still wanted to be there for Ava, so this was her effort. Ava smiled as she brought the feather to her lips, crushing the illusionary feather in her fingers before blowing the glittering dust from her fingers. The dust was swept into the air by a non-existent breeze. It swirled as it dispersed, seeming to have never been at all.

---

Since the ceremony was done, it was time for them to leave for Eden. Although the capital of Yandil would be celebrating for the next few days, since the wedding was held in Yandil, the celebrations the newly married couple would be attending were the ones in Eden. Besides polite pleasantries, Prince Jin found that he and his wife didn't talk much. Princess Avaline seemed to have no problem talking with him, she would answer any question he asked, but Jin had hardly ever needed to be the one to instigate conversations. As the much loved prince of Eden, people usually fell over themselves to talk to him, wanting to gain his favour. But the princess had no need for this and she didn't seem to feel the need to start conversations with him either, sitting across from him in the carriage with proper posture as she read a book held in one, the other resting lightly on her lap. So he could only sit across from her, staring out the window as he waited patiently for them to leave. He was just starting to wonder what was keeping them when a servant knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

"Y-your Highness… What the Princess asked for…" The servant said hesitantly as he opened the carriage door. Jin didn't recall being informed that Avaline had asked for anything, his gaze flicking to the door. The servant seemed quite nervous as he stepped back, holding the door open. He hadn't the chance to question when he received the answer in the form of a grey dog who leapt into the carriage, sliding across the floor onto the prince's feet. This time, Jin's mouth fell open slightly as he stared down at the furry creature.

"There you are, Rodney," Ava greeted calmly, pulling aside her skirt that flowed over the seat next to her. The dog got to his feet, shaking his fur out from the dramatic tumble before climbing up onto the seat next to her, tail wagging as he pushed his head under her hand. She gently stroked his head as she spoke to the servant, "That's all I needed. We may leave now." He nodded and shut the door again, shouting to the other servants as he left.

Jin gathered himself although he was still slightly in disbelief that this dog that was anything but refined was truly laid across the carriage seat across from him. This mutt was really Princess Avaline's dog? And such a dog was really going to ride in the royal carriage, sitting across from him as if it held the same importance. "I wasn't aware we were bringing a dog along with us…"

Ava glanced up, a frown forming on her lips. "You wouldn't have me leave my beloved companion behind, would you Prince Jin? Rodney and I have been inseparable for the two years I've had him, I can't imagine life without him."

Jin stared at her for a long moment before he turned his head to stare out the window again. "No, it's not that. I was merely surprised that I hadn't been informed earlier."

Ava assessed the man across from her as she stroked Rodney's fur. What luck it was to get him for a husband, he had quite a good nature and wasn't difficult to get along with at all. That certainly made things easier. "Ah I see, I'll be sure you're kept informed of these things in future if that's what you'd like."

The carriage shook a little as it slowly started to move forward. Jin nodded slightly, his gaze falling back on Ava who had already returned to reading her book with Rodney's head laid on her lap. "That would be good." Jin then shut his eyes, preparing for the engulfing light and sickening feeling that was sure to accompany the teleportation spell. Ava kept reading without much care although she did place a hand over Rodney's eyes. Guess it was time to see her new home.