DYNASTY ── the remarried empress

𝟎𝟐𝟓. what a wedding

                 THE DAY OF THE WEDDING ARRIVED, astrid stood on her stool as her ladies-in-waiting prepared her gown. it was a magnificent ball gown of peacock blue──embellished with actual feathers of the wonderous bird, and paired with a 15 foot long imperial red cape, both sewn by threads of gold. And paired with more gold jewellery and accessories, astrid only looked more ravishing──indeed, many men often told her she was the most beautiful creature they had ever beheld.  kalliste, odessa, and verena were also dressed──kalliste in dove grey, odessa in a powder blue, and verena in buttercup yellow. when the women finished getting ready, they helped astrid get to the wedding hall. 

in the tradition of their empire, the most senior member of the family often had to bless the union──and in this case, astrid was the most senior member of the imperial family, so she would be the one to bless the marriage. as she entered the hall, everyone stood up, curtsying and bowing respectfully as they acknowledge their true leader──the imperial princess of the first rank, astrid celeste evangeline vict, and soon to be, emperor astrid vict the first. 

she held her hand out and kalliste carefully took it into her one, guiding astrid up the stairs while verena and odessa held the train of her dress. astrid had always had a high and haughty look about her face that when wearing extravagant things, only made her imperial splendour shine more than usual.  at the top of the stairwell, there had been a seat of gold for astrid to sit in, just in front of where the high priest stood. 

and as she took a seat and her ladies returned beside navier, astrid finally noticed how the halls sparkled with magic which made it look like little snowflakes dancing in the winter air. astrid bit back a scowl──how wasteful. spending such fine magic on the likes of these events. 

she spotted many people in the crowds below her──one in particular, navier. dressed elegantly and simply in a pink dress she looked so poised and was a stark contrast to how she used to dress as empress. the doors opened and rashta appeared, making her way down the long narrow pathway as astrid visibly scowled. what on god's green earth was she wearing? she looked like a bloody christmas tree. astrid, who personally would've recommended rashta wear something simple and soft, scoffed at how stupid it was but how it would benefit her most in this situation. 

she would see it already, nobles whispering amongst themselves at gatherings about how vulgar and imprudent the empress was at her own wedding. the country needed a humble, prudent, and frugal lady as empress──not some wasteful, vulgar, and arrogant harlot as empress. she hadn't noticed, but sovieshu and rashta both had joined her at the front. "do you, emperor sovieshu trovi vict of the eastern empire, take rashta ishka to be your wife?"

sovieshu nodded, "i do."

"and do you, rashta ishka take sovieshu trovi vict to be your husband?"

"i do."

the high priest turned to astrid, "the imperial princess astrid of the first rank, do you bless forth this union?"

astrid turned to look at sovieshu and rashta. a small smirk toying at her lips as she leaned forward, "high priest?" she asked, beckoning him to come close and when he leaned in, a smirk appeared as she asked, "and if i object?"

the high priest faltered but regained his composure as he whispered back to her, "then the marriage will not move forward, my princess." astrid hummed dismissed the high priest as she spent a solid moment. considering her prospects. 

if she did not bless the union, she would be rid of a thorn by her side──maybe she could even get rid of rashta entirely and marry margaret, or annalise, or even alexandra off to sovieshu. but then she thought about how even more satisfying it was to watch as rashta fell from grace. the higher you climbed, the harder your fall. 

and so finally, she nodded, "i, the imperial princess astrid of the first rank bless forth the union of my brother, emperor sovieshu and rashta ishka."

the high priest let a small sigh of relief as he handed sovieshu and rashta a contract, "please sign here." and when the newlyweds finally finished signing, they were officially married. "with this, i declare that a new imperial couple now graces the throne of the eastern empire." everyone clapped and cheered, and astrid did so too, clapping half-heartedly her good nail-guards clashing every time she brought her hands together.

as they prepared for the procession, astrid slipped into a pair of peacock blue trousers so she could ride her horse. it was a tradition that there was a parade to celebrate the new imperial couple and astrid would be the one to lead that procession on horseback. holding the reins of her black horse, she approached her brother, "tell your wife to get out of those gastly clothes instantly." her brother dipped his head, "it truly was atrocious. i apologize, imperial sister."

"not only was it ugly to look at, can you imagine what the nobles and the commoners will say? that we have an imprudent empress who spends the empire's money on lavish uneconomical things. it was careless of rashta to behave in such way. if she is going to sully our reputation, i will have her deposed before she can even place a crown on her brainless head." astrid glared at him before mounting her horse and galloping away to release some anger. 

as her horse clipped-clopped on the cobblestone streets, the commoners sang her praise, some bold-tongued ones even declared her as "empress astrid" it was like that every time she did something. she was the shining beacon of the east──the eastern pearl──the darling of the east──the land's delight. 

but this time, the praise had also been for empress rashta who had been a 'commoner' before becoming empress. it did slightly annoy astrid, yes, but she didn't let it bother her to much because the people still adored her──they admired astrid and wanted to be rashta, that was the difference. 

astrid earned their respect by helping them, by protecting them──rashta was being admired by them because she was one of them before becoming empress. rashta was only admired because she was like them──astrid was admired because she actually helped them. the people's love was fickle──swayed easily. which was why when navier appeared, she was greeted by the cruelest silence known to man. 

and when it was time for the reception that evening, astrid changed one last time this time, into another peacock blue ballgown, this time, without a cape because she was going to be dancing that night. she sat next to the royal couple, on the other side of sovieshu. she was rather bored and unamused at the antics of the lower-ranking nobles who came to sing praises to the new empress. they were like hounds, sniffing for an opening for prominence. 

 it was until that prince theodore and his sisters arrive that aroused some bit of excitement in astrid. they all approached to the front and greeted the royal couple quite half-heartedly before excitedly surrounding astrid. 

margaret was busy, looking for the finest suitors──her eye was razor sharp and almost immediately, she had sniffed out the richest lords. annelise was far more prudent, asking astrid for the lords who had the kindest hearts. and alexandra, was perhaps the most shocking off all, for she did not look for a man, but was instead looking around at all the ladies. 

the five of them had been chatting when duke ergi approached them. "my princess, would you do me the honour of being my first dance of the night?" he asked, extending his hand out. 

theodore regarded ergi coldly, "i was hoping that my darling princess would do me the honour actually. considering i am to be betrothed to her." 

who is astrid gonna pick?? vote in the comments ladies and gents.