Chapter 44 — The Wedding of the Princess #2
“Before your families, before your people, and before all who have gathered here, you have freely given your vows and exchanged the symbols of those promises.”
Alexander and Amara stood very still.
The officiant smiled.
“Captain Alexander Whitmore and Princess Amara of Azania, you are now husband and wife.”
For one heartbeat there was silence.
Then the palace bells began to ring.
The city answered.
Cheers erupted beyond the walls.
Drums thundered.
Music rose.
At the harbor, the first ceremonial cannon fired.
Alexander jumped slightly.
Amara burst out laughing.
“You were frightened!”
“I was not.”
The second cannon fired.
“You moved.”
“I breathed.”
Amara stared at him.
Then both of them began laughing because those were exactly the words she had used with her mother that morning.
The officiant waited patiently.
Alexander finally looked at him.
“Is there another part?”
The man smiled.
“You may kiss your wife.”
Alexander turned toward Amara.
“That part I remember.”
Amara lifted her chin.
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
He did.
Alexander put one hand around her waist and kissed her.
The cheering became deafening.
Someone whistled.
Thomas shouted something inappropriate.
Elizabeth slapped his arm.
Kellan applauded louder than anyone.
Queen Nalia cried openly now.
King Adisa attempted to maintain royal dignity for approximately three seconds.
Then he began applauding too.
Alexander finally lifted his head.
Amara looked at him.
“That was acceptable.”
“Acceptable?”
“Perhaps slightly better.”
“Princess, I have just married you. Surely I deserve a higher evaluation.”
She smiled.
“Try again later.”
His expression suggested that he intended to.
They turned toward the guests.
For the first time, Alexander seemed to understand the scale of what surrounded them.
The courtyard was filled with people.
Beyond it, the palace gates had been opened so that the crowds gathered along the avenue could see the royal couple appear.
Thousands were waiting.
When Amara and Alexander stepped forward together, the sound rolled toward them like thunder.
“Amara!”
“Princess Amara!”
People waved flowers and banners.
Children sat on their parents' shoulders.
Soldiers raised their swords.
Officers saluted.
Musicians played from balconies.
Alexander looked at Amara.
“All this for you?”
She looked offended.
“For us.”
“I think most of them came for you.”
“Obviously.”
Alexander laughed.
They descended the great ceremonial stairs.
At the bottom waited two magnificent horses.
Alexander stopped.
“No.”
Amara looked at him.
“What?”
“You planned this.”
“I planned nothing.”
“That is your horse.”
“Yes.”
“And that one is clearly intended for me.”
“Yes.”
Alexander stared at the animal.
Amara smiled.
“Captain Whitmore, are you afraid of horses?”
“I crossed an ocean to find you.”
“That does not answer the question.”
“I fought armed men.”
“Still not an answer.”
“I survived your father.”
King Adisa, standing behind them, said, “Barely.”
Amara laughed.
Alexander mounted.
Amara did the same with considerably more elegance.
They rode slowly through the palace gates.
The city erupted.
Flowers were thrown from balconies.
Children ran beside the procession until guards gently pushed them back.
Musicians played from street corners.
People shouted blessings in several languages.
Alexander had attended military parades before.
This was nothing like one.
There were too many flowers.
Too much laughter.
And absolutely no discipline.
He loved it.
The procession moved toward the harbor.
Royal carriages followed behind them carrying their families.
Mounted guards rode ahead and behind.
When they reached the waterfront, the ships sounded their horns.
Flags from several nations moved in the wind.
Another salute thundered across the water.
Alexander did not jump this time.
Amara noticed.
“Improvement.”
“I was prepared.”
“Of course.”
They stopped where the road overlooked the sea.
For a moment Amara looked toward the horizon.
That same ocean had once carried her away from everything she loved.
She had crossed it frightened and captive.
Later, she had crossed it again on the journey home.
Now ships decorated with flowers and flags filled the harbor for her wedding.
Alexander followed her gaze.
He knew what she was thinking.
“You all right?”
Amara nodded.
“Yes.”
He waited.
She smiled.
“More than all right.”
By late afternoon, they returned to the palace.
The formal ceremony had ended.
The celebration had only begun.
Tables stretched through the gardens.
Lanterns hung from trees.
Musicians prepared for the evening dances.
Food from both Azania and Alexander's homeland had been arranged across enormous tables because both mothers had apparently decided that one wedding required enough food to feed an army.
Thomas inspected the tables.
“I approve of royal weddings.”
Elizabeth looked at him.
“You have been eating since noon.”
“I am celebrating.”
“You are stealing pastries.”
“I am celebrating with pastries.”
Nearby, Kellan raised a glass toward Alexander.
“To the bravest man I know.”
Alexander smiled.
“Thank you.”
Kellan continued.
“A man courageous enough to marry my sister.”
Alexander's smile disappeared.
Amara laughed.
King Adisa lifted his own glass.
“To Alexander.”
Everyone quieted.
The King looked at his new son-in-law.
“When you first arrived in my country, I was not certain whether I wanted to thank you or throw you into the sea.”
Alexander nodded.
“I remember.”
“I considered both.”
“I remember that too.”
Adisa smiled.
“But you brought my daughter home.”
Amara looked at her father.
Adisa corrected himself.
“No. That is not quite right.”
He looked at Alexander.
“You helped her come home.”
Alexander inclined his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And you understood something many men never learn.”
The King glanced at his daughter.
“That loving Amara requires courage.”
“Father.”
The guests laughed.
Adisa smiled.
“May you both have a long life, strong children, good fortune, and enough wisdom to know when not to argue.”
Amara and Alexander looked at each other.
“That last part may be impossible,” Alexander said.
“Completely impossible,” Amara agreed.
They raised their glasses.
As sunset turned the palace walls gold, the first dance began.
Alexander held out his hand.
Amara looked at it.
“You said you were an excellent dancer.”
“I am.”
“This is your opportunity to prove it.”
“Are you planning to judge me all evening?”
“Yes.”
“Wonderful.”
She placed her hand in his.
They stepped onto the open floor.
For several moments they moved without speaking.
Amara's gown caught the fading sunlight.
Alexander's hand rested carefully at her waist.
Around them, family and guests watched.
Then Amara looked down.
Alexander followed her gaze.
“What?”
“You nearly stepped on my dress.”
“I did not.”
“Nearly.”
“That does not count.”
“It counts.”
“You are impossible.”
“You married me.”
“Yes.”
“You were warned.”
“Repeatedly.”
“And yet here you are.”
Alexander smiled.
“Exactly where I want to be.”
Amara's teasing expression softened.
The music continued.
She rested her head briefly against his shoulder.
Alexander held her closer.
Around them, other couples joined the dance.
Her parents.
His parents.
Kellan with one of the visiting guests.
Thomas with Elizabeth after considerable protest from both of them.
The palace gardens filled with movement and laughter.
Above them, the first stars appeared.
Amara looked around at the people she loved.
Then at the man holding her.
Months earlier, her future had been discussed by strangers as though she had no voice in it.
Today thousands of people had watched her choose.
Her husband.
Her family.
Her home.
Her future.
Alexander leaned closer.
“What are you thinking?”
Amara smiled.
“That this was a very large wedding.”
“You are a princess.”
“I noticed.”
“And your mother was involved.”
“That explains most of it.”
He laughed.
Then Amara looked toward the palace, where lanterns were beginning to glow and servants were lighting hundreds of candles for the evening celebration.
“Alexander?”
“Yes?”
“We actually did it.”
He looked at the ring on his hand.
“Yes.”
“You are my husband.”
“And you are my wife.”
Amara considered this.
Then smiled.
“Poor man.”
Alexander pulled her closer.
“Too late to escape now.”
“Who said I wanted to?”
The music changed.
The celebration continued around them.
And beneath the lights of the palace, with their families laughing nearby and the sound of the sea carrying through the gardens, Amara and Alexander began the first evening of the life they had chosen together.