The Crown's Entrapment

Chapter 276 The Ceremony (1)

It was late in the afternoon, and Jayra was having last minute jitters as her wedding with Bartos came at her at speeds that she didn’t expect she would mind. It was surreal, knowing that she wanted this just a few days ago, only for her to have second thoughts the moment it was almost about to become a reality.

“You can do this…” the young mage cheered herself on. “You wanted to get married as quickly as possible, and now you’re getting it…”

Looking at herself in the mirror, Jayra couldn’t believe that the woman staring right back at her was her own reflection. She looked absolutely stunning with the way the veil draped over her head, her blushing cheeks accentuated with the makeup some of the servants had come to put on her. She knew that Xenia would’ve loved to be the one to do the makeup, but she didn’t want to further impose on her friend like that.

“All set, Jayra…” she breathed out. “All set…”

Standing up, the bride-to-be almost forgot that there were still a few servants attending to her as they escorted her out of the room. She had no idea as to where the wedding would even take place inside the manor, or even who was going to be there to see her walk down the aisle. She knew she had given out letters ahead of time, but the schedule had also been bumped ahead due to extraordinary circumstances. There was no way that any of her busier guests would be able to attend.

Silently, Jayra walked down a few flights of stairs. She was still inside the manor, and she had a feeling that the wedding would also take place within it as well. Perhaps in one of the great halls? Or perhaps in the nearby gardens?

“You’re finally here.”

Jayra almost jumped up when she saw Princess Xenia greet her by a set of large doors leading to one of the numerous great halls found in the manor. The princess was wearing a rather simple dress by her standards, one that almost looked more in line with what she’d wear if she was in disguise.

“It’s not like I wanted to be late,” Jayra meekly responded a thing that was so uncharacteristic of her that her friend couldn’t help but chuckle at her expense. “Stop laughing.”

“I’m not,” Xenia smiled. “I’m so happy for you, you know? I can’t believe that my best friend’s about to get married!”

A warm feeling surged within Jayra’s chest. Even if the King and Queen wouldn’t be able to attend, at least she had Xenia by her side through this monumental occasion.

“As you might’ve guessed, Father wouldn’t be able to attend,” Xenia continued as soon as she noticed the silence. “That didn’t stop a few priests from the royal church to attend though.

“Really?!” Jayra excitedly asked.

“I’m sure you’ll know them once you see them,” Xenia chuckled. “Also, while Father wouldn’t be here, he managed to send you a honeymoon gift that I’m in charge of giving to you after the wedding.”

“Oh? Is it something fancy then?” Jayra giggled.

“Can’t say,” Xenia coyly replied. “Now come. Let’s get you walking down that aisle.”

Jayra blinked as her friend then offered her arm to her. It was weird, and also… “What’re you doing?”

“What? You think that just because Father isn’t here means you’ll be walking alone down the aisle?” Xenia jokingly stated, her arm still open for her to take. “With the priests explicitly stating that they can’t do it for ceremonial reasons, I decided that I’ll be the one walking you down there to Bartos.”

The young mage was speechless. Her mouth agape, tears threatened to fall as she quickly locked arms with her sister in all but blood.

“Thank you so much!” Jayra thanked her from the bottom of her heart.

“Hey, it’s the least I can do after you put up with me for years on end,” Xenia chuckled. “Now, let’s get you married.”

As if on cue, the doors opened, revealing a rather grand, yet deceptively simple wedding set. The great hall had been transformed into a makeshift cathedral, and the guests were all standing up looking at her as they entered the hall.

“Smile, Jayra,” Xenia encouraged with a bit of a nudge. “This is your day, after all.”

Heeding her friend’s advice, the mage did her best to show her happiness, her tears still falling as she saw family both old and new. Almost immediately, she recognized the priests that Xenia was talking about, all of them giving her warm smiles of encouragement, while one of them, Bishop Ruben, was waiting by the altar to officiate the wedding.

It was too much. By the time Xenia was about to hand her over to Bartos, Jayra was already a sobbing wreck of happiness and joy, her heart threatening to explode as she felt her husband pull her up to the altar. It all happened so fast… From having just met, to already saying their vows in front of one of the people that raised her to be who she was right now.

“This is it,” Bartos smiled at her with his ever-handsome smile. “We’re going to get married.”

“Y-Yes…” Jayra stuttered out, her tears preventing her from forming proper words.

“Do you, Jayra, accept Bartos as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do…” she practically sobbed, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much. She had practically missed much of the ceremony despite being in front of the officiator, but she wouldn’t dare to miss this part of the wedding vows.

“And do you, Bartos, accept Jayra as your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” she heard him say, her world being far too blurry for her to see properly.

“If that is so, then I now pronounce you two as husband and wife!”

Jayra let her tears flow as the priest’s declaration rang inside her head like the wedding bells in her own wedding. Before she could even face her wedded husband, Bartos had already pulled her in close, smacking his lips with hers without even waiting for the officiator to tell them to do so.

“Well then, I suppose I’d say you may now kiss the bride, but that’s fine too.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at the priest’s happy words. This was the best day of her life, and not even a war would be able to take this away from her.