Wicked Reign

The Royal Wedding

"Do I look good?"
Yei Lin, who barely arrived for the royal wedding, rolled his eyes before he turned around and gifted the sweating emperor with an over-the-top grin. "You asked me that question for the nth time already, Your Majesty the great Sun."
"And you answered me for the nth time with that awfully fake grin!" Emperor Corean Shuia Eckrett whined like a spoiled child on the brink of his hussy fit.
Yei Lin had enough of it. In one quick stride he held the emperor's shoulders and shook him as if he was waking him up. "Your Majesty, for the love of gods, if you don't stop this then you will not be able to marry her because no woman would like to arrive first without a single shadow of her fiance! You can't have the grand procession without you so snap out of it and off you go!"
A pair of golden eyes were widened upon Yei Lin's outburst. But this outburst did help the young emperor to snap from his fear-filled trance.
Alice and Chief Keiran on the other hand could only shake their heads with the corners of their lips tugging up from the amusing scene.
Trust Crown Prince Yei Lin to be the only one brave enough to shake the living daylight out of the viper king.
Viper King, it was the title given by Yei Lin to Emperor Corean Shuia Eckrett within the small circle of the Secret Council. The very title spoke of the newly ordained emperor. Deadly and silent—everything that could describe the young emperor for his tenacity in strategies and strong will whenever he was dealing with his enemies. Ironically, the so-called Viper King had only one fear and that was the Red Queen.
Red Queen, it was the title given by Lilian to Duchess Victoria Eckrett soon to be Queen Victoria Rozenreff Eckrett. Like what Yei Lin did to the emperor, Lilian also came up with this title because this was the best suited one for someone like Tori. Brutal, brave, and malicious—everything that spoke of the Tori who fought deadly court and household battles with her life always at stake.
And now, these two people would unite, creating a powerhouse that the world had ever seen.
"Alright! Let's go and meet my bride." With one last look to the floor-to-ceiling mirror, Emperor Corean Shuia Eckrett opened his arms to let Rowan and Alice help him wear his imperial coat.
"Your Majesty." Chieftain Keiran opened an elongated box. The craftsmanship of the wooden box was outstanding enough to be a subject of awe from the crown princes. Golden carvings were engraved on the box's lid filled with symbols that told the old tale of the founding of the Eckrett Empire.
But the box was not the one that the Chieftain of the North presented.
Cory opened the lid with his gloved hands.
If the lid awed the crown princes, what was lying inside it rendered everyone speechless.
A long sword with a handle akin to the carvings of the box, only, the engraved patterns added a winged woman embracing the sun. Its blade was shiny and sharp; a telltale sign that this was long sword was befitting for carnage.
"Duchess Victoria really knows how to pick a wedding gift for you, Your Majesty." In an awed voice, Alice muttered under his breath, his eyes still fixated to the sword which was now in the besotted emperor's hand.
Yei Lin nodded his head. "No wonder she wouldn't let me see what was beyond the satin."
Chuckling, Rowan teased his king. "I wonder of His Majesty can defeat this wedding gift. I believe Tori is giving you a hard time."
Chieftain Keiran could only nod his head, wondering as well what would defeat this kind of gift. "Being queen or the crown of the queen can't be counted as a gift since it is already given."
With a relaxed smile on his face, Cory merely tapped his friends' shoulders before he walked away with light steps. "Come on now. I can't be late on my wedding, right, Yei Lin?"

"LILY, I AM GOING TO GET MARRIED, not going to my funeral." Tori sighed as she handed a handkerchief toward the crying Lilian beside her. She continued, "And besides... you will be going with me to the Imperial Palace, you know."
Shaking her head, with the way Lily was biting her lower lip as she cast her head down, it was quite obvious how she was stopping herself from sobbing out loud. "I-It's just... I will miss serving My Lady here. This is where I vowed to you to serve you for the rest of my life and now... and now we're leaving here already."
For the first time, Tori took the initiative to engulf Lilian into a hug.
Well, at least that's what I am thinking to give.
Tori ended up patting Lily's back awkwardly. She wanted to comfort with a hug like those silly teen fiction movies she watched from her past life. But reality had ways to slap her from her expectation.
Tori cleared her throat and took a step from Lily before she held the latter's hands. "Listen. Nothing will change between us. I mean yes there will be changes since you won't be serving a mere duchess or heir apparent now, but our relationship with each other will remain intact." She tightened her grip around the hands of a hicupping Liliana. "Lily, I need you now more than ever. The imperial palace may seem a place of opportunities but that is where loyalty and treachery stayed together. We are not changing anything between us. The players of the game remain the same."
Tori paused and grinned wickedly at Lilian. "Just think of it as us changing the game settings—a new chess board to conquer."
Slowly, Lilian nodded her head. Upon the reassuring words of her mistress, the drought in her life was immediately replaced with a never-ending spring time. After all, it was Lilian's greatest desire to be the most valuable chess in her mistress' games of chess. This desire of hers was also the reason why she came up with the spy network that was growing and taking its roots day by day much to her delight.
Seeing the determination that she was used in seeing within Lilian's eyes, Tori sighed inwardly.
Tori let go of her hold on Lilian to offer Lilian her lace-covered hand. "Will you fight with me, Lily?"
Kneeling in front of Tori with her right reaching toward Tori's hand while her left hand was placed on her chest, Lilian brought Tori's hand closer to her before she kissed it with eyes solemnly close. "You have me to the death, My Ladyship."

THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET announced the arrival of the Emperor in the Rozenreff Territory. People cheered when a grand procession entered the Duchy to get their beloved and fierce Duchess.
Gold coins rained down on the very street where the procession passed through. The cheering crowd, the giggling children, the clanking of the gold coins on the pavement, the sound of uniformed hooves that hit the road—it was a festive day for a national holiday, the royal wedding.
Leading the procession was the emperor in his dashing imperial garbs, leaving young women—nobles and common folks—giggling in their spots upon merely witnessing the noble grandeur of the newly crowned emperor.
Amid the trail of lovestruck stares fixated on him, Cory's eyes were fixated on the mansion where his future wife was waiting.
The moment the procession stopped right in front of the opened gates of the Rozenreff Household, Cory did not wait for the royal announcement. He dismounted from his horse and races to the doors of the mansion—only to stop midway when he was welcomed with a sight that would forever remain in his heart and memory as long as he lived.
A woman clad in a mermaid cut dress, which was made up of layered laces that only covered her pelvic area and breast, walked towards him as well despite the insistent pleas of Lilian to stay put.
"Your Grace, please! The bride is to wait in the room to be taken out by the groom toward the intended carriage!"
With light steps despite the tight wedding dress, Tori merely glanced back at Lily with a genuine carefree smile. "I have already broken the tradition when I made him the king instead of the crown prince, Lily. Live a little."
Lilian could only stop from her tracks as she watched the emperor swoop Tori as soon as they met right in front of the fountain.
The two people met halfway in a hug, with the emperor carrying the giggling duchess before giving her a kiss on her pert nose.
"I love you," whispered Tori as she linked hers arms around his neck. Her ruby-red eyes were twinkling with genuine happiness for once.
"And I love you," Cory answered with a serene face without any facade hiding what he truly felt.