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👑 N I K O L A I 👑
It broke Nikolai's heart to see Aneela so sad about hiding the true reason from her family about their quick leave. The Cerons were surprised when he told them that the letter contained the bidding from Genya to return to Ravka for some urgent wedding preparations, but they said they understood. Aneela tried to keep a smile on her face as they said their goodbyes, repeating to each one of her family members that they would see each other again at the wedding in a few weeks. The real one.
Nikolai held Aneela close in his arm when they made their way onto the ship that would take them back to Ravka with double the number of zowa they had arrived with to get back even faster. Every hour counted, Aneela and Nikolai had to get married as soon as possible. His fiancé had arranged herself with the thought of it and he was making peace with it as well but no matter how much both of them tried to distract the other person, every time they talked alone, they ended up speaking about their concerns with this situation.
About how likely it was that Ximen would still launch an attack. On how Makhi could set up a trap and they would go straight into it without noticing. About how they might get ambushed when they rode towards the boarder. On how the archbishop would decline their bidding of a secret ceremony. About how somebody would see them sneaking around the palace grounds at night and would give words to the shus.
Tamar, who was sharing a room with Aneela, reported to Nikolai that the future Princess of Ravka wasn't sleeping much and laid awake, staring at the ceiling most of the time. Nikolai couldn't sleep these two nights either, he even read some of the poetry Tolya had packed for him to bore his mind enough to fall asleep but not even that worked.
The crew was tired and exhausted when they quietly docked at the harbour in Os Kervo in the early morning hours of the third day. Without being seen, they smuggled themselves away on horses, riding towards Os Alta in a rush, only stopping to give the horses a quick rest. They reached the Grande Palace in the middle of the night and entered it through the secret tunnels Tamar had memorized.
When they found Genya in her room, she hugged Aneela and Nikolai tightly, telling them how sorry she was about the situation and asked what they should do about it. To Nikolai's surprise, she was all in on the plan and went to find Zoya who was most likely still up working. Nikolai split from Aneela to find the archbishop while she went to wake up Kheru and Tamar to seek out her brother.
It was a quarter three two in the morning when the archbishop unlocked the chapel – he had insisted on doing the quick ceremony in there because the Saints had to witness the union – while everybody looked around with nervous eyes. The grounds were empty and the servants asleep, nobody would see or hear what was going to happen at night without anybody other than the people inside the chapel would know.
Genya sat down at a little desk in the back to write out the marriage document when the archbishop waved at Aneela and Nikolai to follow him through the tall building that looked scary at night. Zoya and Kheru lit a few candles at the altar who contained some relicts of the Saints while Tamar and Tolya made sure they were alone in the chapel.
The archbishop gestured the couple to stand across from one another and then instructed the witnesses right behind them. Tolya, Tamar and Genya stood across the archbishop in a half circle.
He cleared his throat and opened his book, staring to speak: "Dear guests, we are gathered here today on this fine day – I mean night – to witness-"
"I'm afraid this has to wait for the actual ceremony." Nikolai interrupted him with a polite smile. "Can we cut this short, please?"
The old man looked at the prince with displeasure but sighed defeated. Nikolai had explained to him what was at stake after he refused to do it at such short notice in the middle of the night without the majority of the guests present and him having prepared a wedding service. "Alright. Will you, Prince Nikolai Lantsov of Ravka, Grand Duke of Udova, Major of the Twenty-Second Regiment, Soldier of the Queen's Army, Zoya Nazyalensky, Ruler of the-" Zoya behind Nikolai gave him a dismissive gesture to keep going. "Take Miss Aneela Damita Ceron as your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do." Nikolai said without bearing one thought at it and smiled at Aneela.
Her eyes were only on his, she seemed to space out of this unusual situation as well. She looked even astonishing underneath the moonlight as the few candles highlighted her beautiful face. Her smile was wonderful and her face was caught up with happy emotions that were only meant for him.
"And will you, Miss Aneela Damita Ceron, take Prince Nikolai Lantsov of Ravka as your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do." Aneela said just as quickly as Nikolai had and he couldn't help but smile even brighter.
She said yes.
"It gives me great pleasure to declare you husband and wife." The archbishop turned to Nikolai. "You may kiss the bride."
Nikolai was sure his heart would burst with joy as he placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. Aneela smiled back at him with her radiating smile and cupped his face as he leaned in. He closed his eyes, and his heart made a big jump when their lips touched. Aneela pulled him into her, kissing him back eagerly.
"Congratulations." Genya said as they pulled away from each other. The archbishop scoffed but didn't object when she put the handwritten document on the altar next to them. "The marriage certificate is ready to be signed."
The tailor held out a pen to Aneela and curtsied before her. "Your Highness."
"Thank you, Genya." Aneela hugged her tightly when she stood up right. "I wouldn't know what we all would do without you."
"Probably run around like headless chicken." She chuckled and let go off Aneela. "I'm proud to serve the Princess of Ravka."
Aneela smiled her one last time before she turned around, placing the pen on the paper. Her hand was shaking a bit when she wrote her new name on the bottom of the document Genya had written out with her beautiful handwriting, stating the formalities of the event. When she was finished, she stepped back and handed the pen over to Nikolai.
Aneela Damita Lantsov (née Ceron).
Nikolai smiled brightly at it. She chose my name. Months ago, she stated she would never do it because of a union but she did it because she loves me and wants to carry the name with her.
His hand was shaking as well as he put his name right next to hers and then took a deep breath when the pen wandered to Kheru. She signed as a witness underneath Aneela's new name and the pen continued to Zoya who served as a witness for Nikolai's side of the marriage. With raised eyebrows, the Queen finally handed the pen to the remaining party who needed to sign the document for it to be legitimate.
Nikolai stepped next to Aneela and grabbed her hand, making space for the archbishop to put his signature down as the last one. It was nerve wrecking because if he objected, none of this mattered. Ximen would attack them, and they wouldn't have much to prevent a war between Ravka and Shu Han.
Luckily, the old man was aware of what that meant, shot them an unsure look but signed the document. Aneela and Nikolai exhaled in relieve at the same time.
"Congratulations from me as well." He said as he handed the certificate back to Genya. "Although this is a bit unconventional and I look forward to the holy union we have been planning for a while now, I wish the two of you the best of luck. May the Saints guard you on your difficult path and may you succeed with their strength over this great threat."
In times like this, even I believe in the Saints – their support would be greatly appreciated right now.
