The Reluctant Princess - a Novella

Chapter 16 - The Wedding

Elizabeth held her breath, her heart pounding as she closed the last few feet of distance between her and Henry.

Her father released her arm and stepped aside as she reached her future husband and stood there, peeking up at him from behind the heavily embroidered veil. She was pleased to note his cheeks were a little flushed and his expression was tense. It would have annoyed her immensely if he were his usual cool, unfazed self.

The officiant began to speak, but Elizabeth could not focus. She was overly aware of the curious stares of the hundreds of guests in attendance in the enormous cathedral and the pressure to portray the image of the perfect princess was nearly unbearable.

When she dared to sneak a peek up at him, she found his eyes trained on her, an undecipherable expression on his face that unsettled her. Panic began to set in then. Was he suddenly getting cold feet? Would he, wait until the last moment to declare in front of everyone that he was not going to go through with this farce? It would be the ultimate act of rebellion against the king after all...

She swallowed with difficulty and squeezed her hands together, trying to ease the trembling, but to no avail. She was not sure her family would survive such a blow... Especially after Henry had so casually aired out their pre-marital bedroom activities.

She nearly groaned out loud at that thought and said a silent prayer against that possibility. The truth was, that scenario was more than she could handle herself, and her response went well beyond the fear of ruination.

She was so deep in thought that she had not realized the bishop had already blessed the rings and had begun the exchanging of the vows. She stiffened as she turned to face her future husband, noting he was still rather stone faced, even as he leaned in a little to lift her veil. She dared not breathe as he slowly lifted the lace and belatedly chastised herself for having argued with Mildred over her make-up application...

His eyes widened a little as her freckled face came into view and a sudden smile split his handsome face. She exhaled a shuddering breath of relief at this and smiled back, expectantly.

The vows were said, rings and a chase kiss were exchanged, all of which Elizabeth experienced trough a sort of mental fog, and only when they stepped out onto the square, to the clamoring of the crowd gathered outside of the cathedral, she deemed the whole ordeal over.

She felt Henry squeeze her hand and turned to him, smiling hesitantly at him.

"You are stuck with me now, love" he said, with a teasing smile and tucked her closer.

"Likewise," she countered, her mischievous tone matching his.

"We will need to work very diligently to change some laws very soon," he reminded her. "Do you think you are up for that?"

"Absolutely," was her simple reply.

"So... this is not at all awkward..." Henry quipped, as he leaned back on his hands, perched at the end of her bed and watching Mildred remove a ridiculous amount of hair pins from his wife's coiffure.

Mildred's usually capable hands stilled in her hair for a moment and Elizabeth glared at him through the mirror. The man was impossible.

"Will you be much longer Mildred?" he went on, ignoring Elizabeth's non-verbal chiding.

Mildred flushed and opened her mouth to reply, but Elizabeth cut in.

"It's fine, I can take it from here," she told her maid, then added, louder, for emphasis, "I apologize for that man's misguided sense of humor, he can't help it."