Spilling Love

Part One

"Your ceremonial dress for tomorrow has arrived. It's hanging in your changing chambers," Edith whispers to Juliana at the royal eating table. "It looks absolutely stunning."

Juliana slightly smiles at her faithful maid. "I've heard. Lady Aylett delivered the news to me a few minutes ago. I am pleased to hear that it is beautiful," Juliana says as she pushes her chair out. She stands and rubs her palms across her thick silk dress, brushing the wrinkles smooth. She bids some of the nobles who had attended dinner with her in the royal dining area good day before linking arms with Edith and proceeding to her tower.

"You will be very happy when you set eyes on the dress. You will look so lovely in it," Edith says as she beams at her. Juliana's blood pulses with elation and glee. She had waited all of her life for the moment she became old enough to compete in The Choosing. It was true miracle for her and her family that King Leo actually chose her during the rite.

The Choosing is but one of many rituals the people of Relna conduct, but it is by far the most popular. Citizens far and wide gather around to watch if they can. The Choosing determines everything that happens to their New World. It's been practiced ever since the rise of Relna eight hundred years ago. Humans fled their old home, Earth, because of the raging natural disasters that made it impossible to sustain life. Once arriving, people had given up on the old ways of life; their reliance on technology, indolent behavior, and their mammoth egos. They live simpler lives now. Men work hard for their pay, tend to cattle and crops, and manage their family businesses. Women do womanly things at home; cook, clean, and watch after the children.

They all depend on the King to rule the land and make choices beneficial for Relna, but as everyone knows; every King must have a Queen. No King is an acception; it has been engraved in stone for the covenant by the first settlers to come to the New World that every King must marry someone of noble descent. And it was high time for King Leo to remarry.

The Choosing is the procedural when the King chooses his new wife. A very selected number of noble women over the age of sixteen may enter the rivalry for the King's hand. During the competition, the women each get to try to sway the King in any way or form, attempting to make him fall for her. At the end of the ceremony, the King picks his bride to be in front of all of the townspeople.

Juliana had turned seventeen two weeks before The Choosing. Her mother and father were very pleased to hear that their eldest daughter would be participating. They had always been fond of King Leo and enjoyed his company at royal events. They fancied the thought of him and Juliana starting a family together and giving them many grandchildren. All noble families with a good head and properly working eyes would feel the same. King Leo is ravishingly miraculous. His fit, picturesque build makes women of all kind swoon, and his talents to twist words into the most charming sentences made people feel like they were special to him. King Leo was one of a kind, a fairly young King with bright dreams for the land he ruled and a soft heart for his people. And that heart went even softer when he saw Juliana during The Choosing.

Some people say that it was Juliana's sophistication that drew him to her. Others say that it was her unwavering poise and grace that attracted him. Maybe it was the moving romance song that she learned from her grandmother in which she sang to him during The Choosing that caught his attention. Nevertheless, he chose her over all of the other aristocratic women desperate for his love, no matter what the reason. Once The Choosing is done, it is tradition to let the newly engaged to properly get to know each other. Exactly a month and a half to become comfortable with one another, albeit the rule that if a King is not satisfied with his wife to be he cannot go back on his word. Luckily, King Leo and Juliana set together perfectly like intertwined fingers. Juliana relished King Leo's suave and his gentle soul, and he adored her philosophy dialogues and her lax spirit. It was apparent to them and the others closest to them that their love was a flourishing one, and their marriage would be full of life and children. They would regime Relna with affection and tenderness.

Edith led Juliana up the steps of her tower to her bedroom where she will see her wedding dress. The making of it started before The Choosing even began. Juliana could not wait to see what she would be wearing the day of her marriage ceremony. Edith pushes the heavy wooden door open and held it open for her. "Thank you, Edith," Juliana says as she hurries into the room. She makes haste and does not wait for her maid's company to her changing chambers. Her feet shuffled across her room and into the chamber on the other side. She stops in the doorway when she sees the dress hung on a rack high off of the floor all by itself. Juliana makes a gasp-like sound, her hand flying up to her mouth.

The dress is more magnificent than she ever dreamed in her slumber. The train is an extensive length. It's so long; it has to be coiled around itself on the floor. Its bright white color gleams out at her, making Juliana feel pure and wholesome. Juliana walks towards it, examining the lace which covers the whole dress. "My word, this is spectacular," she whispers to herself.

Juliana feels two soft hands land on either side of her. She jumps a little before remembering it's just Edith. "And it will look spectacular on you, Lady Juliana," she tells Juliana.

"Thank you for your kindness, Edith. You've always been so benevolent," Juliana says as she faces Edith with a smile.

"I mean everything I say, love. You know that." Edith was always like a mother to Juliana. Her own mother was always too busy to look over her, so she was often times left with Edith as a child. Sometimes she feels like she loves Edith more than her mother. Edith takes the time to associate with Juliana; her mother doesn't.

"I know," Juliana sighs looking back at her dress. "I can't wait for tomorrow morning. I will be able to put on this gorgeous dress, look the most beautiful as I ever will, and then Leo and I will be bonded by the highest declaration of love. Marriage."

"You and King Leo make such a lovely couple. I can tell he truly loves you. Much more than his last wife, Delsa," Edith says.

"Delsa was a very exquisite woman. Anyone with sense would know that."

"But you are much more exquisite than she, and King Leo sees it." The thought of King Leo makes Juliana smile mindlessly. Knowing that by tomorrow, they will officially be bound together by The Elders makes her heart grow ten times its size. Anything concerning him does odd things to her body.

"Delsa left this world before her time, don't say you? She was only nineteen," Juliana asks her maid.

"Yes, very much so. But she left with pride and dignity. She was ready, just like every other Queen should," Edith says placing her hand on Juliana's shoulder.

"You're right, Edith. You are always right," Juliana replies. Edith giggles her weary, aged laugh.

"Oh, I'm not always right, dear. Just on occasion," she jokes. They laugh with each other. "Well now, would you like me to draw you a bath to get you ready for bed?"

"Yes, I would very much like that. I'll just be a while longer in here," Juliana replies. Edith nods with a wide grin as Juliana leaves her to supervise herself. Juliana ogles at her wedding gown for a moment longer, letting her fingers run down the waist of it feeling the lace. Lady Aylett told her that the town's tailor worked day and night on the dress, making sure that it would be more than flawless for the woman to marry the King. But Juliana wouldn't care even if she were to marry King Leo in the filthy overalls the peasants wear into the farmlands. As long as they were married, she would be happy.