Malion: Up In Flames

Celebration

"Decoda!"

I turned to see Kaylum, heading towards me, his arms outstretched as he grinned at me. He had a deep black suit on. The cuffs and trim of his jacket had a gradient of firey orange and a vibrant red. It matched the handkerchief in his breast pocket.

"Woah! Kaylum! You look fantastic!" I exclaimed as he wrapped me in a massive suffocating hug. I coughed when he let me go. He smilled at me while he wiped at his eyes.

"I can't believe this day is really happening. Damn, I thought I'd have more of a family to see me through this..." he took q deep breath and ran a hand over his slicked back hair, "What am I saying? You're my family. Alex, Michelle, you and Elliott. We really are like a family, aren't we? Beneath, Elliott and I are like brothers." Our laughter drowned out Maraline's scoff.

"Well, the ceremony is set to start in abour an hour. The food will be displayed here. That is where the celebration will be confined to until darkfall. The party will end once darkess is one." She growled.

"You mean when the sun has set? Come now. Even I know that whatever 'darkfall' is, it's bull- I mean nonsense." I corrected myself. She glared at me.

"Princess please. I advise you only speak when spoken to. This is a royal matter, after all." She seethed.

"And I am royalty. These are my friends. I should have more say over this than you, Auntie." I said, leaning closer with a transformed glare.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty. Please, this is not a matter worth arguing over. My dearest Queen Maraline... I do advise allowing the Princess to oversee the final parts of this event, if Her Greatness will allow it." Kaylum said, the brightness fading from his eyes as he spoke to her politely. I looked at Mara and she glared at me then turned to leave.

"Oh yes, Auntie Mara. I expect Baron to be attending the wedding. Without. Any injuries." I told her bluntly. She scowled at me and turned to leave.

"When will the guests arrive?" He asked.

"Depends on how many guests are arriving. This... this was arranged so suddenly. Maybe push it over to tomorrow? Give yourself at lest q little more time to plan? Maybe I can help?" I suggested. He gave me.a soft smile.

"Decoda... Anthony and I have planned this for weeks. We've just kept it between ourselves and the Gods, who would have had contact to The Beneath anyway. It was lucky that we needed to come here around the same time we planned it to happen. In all fairness, I probably would have dragged you all here to attend." He said with a laugh to himself. My heart sank. I glanced at the ground, puzzled.

"Kaylum... you... you have to understand that this all seems incredibly sudden and quick. I just... Im so incredibly happy for you. The fact that you've found someone so special to you makes my heart sing. Please, have an amazing time. If you don't I'll throw you into the Lava lakes." I told him with a grin. He laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're here. You look stunning." He said slightly softer. I smiled.

When the guests arrived and the small field filled up with about 15 guests, the final preparations were made and everything settled down.

For a brief moment, everything was silent before The Ballad of Connected Souls started to play from the violins and the chello beside the arch of black roses.

I looked around briefly to see our whole group, including a fair few citizens from the Kingdom seated behind me.

When the music got more lively, Kaylum and a Darocan woman with straight black hair that had been uniformly chopped at the collarbone emerged from behind a large hedge. Kaylum was dressed in the suit from before and the Darocan woman also wore a suit which was a deep navy with a bright red tie.

Next came Anthony with Elliott by his side. That Darocan woman and Elliott stood on either side of the arch while Kaylum and Anthony met in the middle. They took each other's hands and pressed their foreheads together.

A small Flamewraith stepped onto the podium in a clean, extravagant robe, as opposed to Kaylum and Alex's ragged cloaks. She smiled at the couple and started the ceremony. I thought back to my own ceremony. It felt like that was so long ago.

Once vows and promised were exchanged, the couple recieved their rings. Each slipped their rings onto the finger of their partner. I glanced up at Anthony, who wiped a tear from his cheek. Finally, as the music came to a crescendo, Kaylum leaned in and kissed his now husband. The small group erupted into cheers and applause.

"Now, who's carrying whom down the aisle?" Kaylum asked with a cheeky grin.

"If I could lift you, I would." Anthony huffed as suddenly he was swung into the arms of his husband. They made their way down the aisle and towards the collection of tables and chairs off to the side. He put Anthony down and gave him a sweet kiss.

"I love you so damn much." He told him, recieving a giggle from Anthony who went in for another kiss. When the music changed to a more excited and quick paced melody, the rest of us got up and headed towards the couple to have a dance. I spent most of my time on the sidelines.

Kaylum spent a lot of his time chatting to his best woman during the reception. They reminded me of Alex and Drevel's relationship.

"Hey there. How's the newlywed? I asked Kaylum. He grinned at me.

"I'm fantastic. I think this is the happiest I've ever been." He said. I grinned.

"And who might you be? Here to steal a man himself from his spouse?" I joked. The woman laughed a loud, boisterous laugh.

"No way! This moron's way out of my league." She chuckled, recieving a punch from Kaylum.

"Your Highness. My deepest apologies. There is something you must know immediately. There was someone spotted in the Kingdom who-"

"I'm so sorry, my dear, but would you mind coming to me later? I am in the middle of a conversation. Would you please come back to me after the ceremony?" I asked. The small handmaiden bowed down and slinked off. I turned back to the Darocan and smiled.

"I'm sorry. I never caught your name." I excused.

"Carra Glaice. Great to make your acquaintance, your Highness."