TFL | MW [✔]

02.

Uncle Siwon had insisted on being present for the wedding, but he wasn't a man with much patience for these sorts of things. Which was why they'd set off in the dead of night on their airship and why Wonwoo would marry a few scant hours after their arrival instead of a day or so later, as was customary. Siwon wanted to be there only until the morrow. Long enough to see Wonwoo 'wedded and bedded,' as he'd emphasized more than once. It made Wonwoo shudder to think about it, so he tried hard not to.

Instead, he focused on the practical. The servants drew him a bath, and he bathed, careful not to stay in the water too long. Once dry, he was dressed in an outfit hand-sewn by the royal dressmaker using the Morona colors. His wedding tunic was highly decorative, with an elaborately embroidered design and jewels that sparkled when he moved. He stole only the briefest of glances at himself in the mirror, doing his best to avoid his eyes which he was sure showed the fear he tried to hide even from himself.

Then the ceremonial veil was settled over his head, hiding his face from view. It was almost a relief. A gold crown was next, pressed down firmly to hold the veil in place. A single jewel of firestone was set in it, glinting in the light of the dressing room and complimenting the deep reds and oranges of his outfit.

He stood there in silence as the final minutes ticked by, feeling the weight of his outfit as if it were iron chains.

"It's time, Prince Wonwoo," a servant said, gesturing toward the door.

With a sigh, he turned, and there was Lord Aaron.

"Beautiful," the man murmured, his eyes suspiciously bright. "You will do Morona proud, my prince."

He was escorted to the door of the airship, and there he and the rest of the wedding party paused at the top of the ramp. The contingent from the kingdom of Sands was already waiting outside to escort them into the castle, but as usual, they were all waiting on King Siwon. Another of Siwon's little power plays. He liked making people wait.

The minutes ticked by, and Wonwoo's ornate costume quickly grew uncomfortable. There wasn't much protection from the elements, and a cold wind blew in through the open door, making him shiver. A cloak would have been nice, but it would have ruined the effect of his outfit, so he knew one would not be forthcoming. As always, he suffered in stoic silence.

At length, heavy footsteps heralded Siwon's arrival, trailed by a handful of anxious servants. Siwon looked Wonwoo up and down once, and Wonwoo tried not to tremble under his lascivious gaze. Siwon couldn't touch him. Not here, not now. And after today, he'd never be able to touch Wonwoo again. It wasn't much comfort since Wonwoo now knew who and what awaited him in the castle beyond, but it was something nonetheless.

Their procession across the airstrip and into the imposing castle seemed to take forever. Wonwoo was shivering properly by the time they entered through the huge double doors into the castle proper. It was quite different from Morona, the architecture having an unmistakably modern flare.

The castle was located near a fault line, according to Lord Aaron's rushed history lesson, and it had suffered a series of catastrophic earthquakes some hundred years before. They'd rebuilt it from the ground up in the aftermath, their scribes imbuing every practical aspect of it with runic magic, from the lights to the water. A hundred-year-old castle? Practically new in royal terms. Morona's castle was many centuries old. Parts of it were newer, naturally. Or patched up as time took its toll. But there was something pleasing about the high ceilings and clean walls of this place. It didn't seem quite so cold and foreboding as Wonwoo had feared. Of course, it wasn't the place he truly worried about. It was the people. Soon, he would get the measure of them.

They walked along the main thoroughfare for a time. Here and there, Wonwoo spotted runes concealed behind drapes and banners and hidden within intricately carved stonework. Morona's castle had few runes and mostly relied on alchemist magic, thanks to the firestone their kingdom had once mined. He longed to get a closer look at the runes but didn't dare step a foot out of line. There'd be time for that later.