The Knight of Chivalry

Chapter 42

The day following the feats was pretty laid back for Simon as he only ventured down to the lower town and met his friends in the tavern. They didn’t too much drinking though as they had had enough the previous night and so they merely relaxed there and played some dice games whilst they talked about things. Simon enjoyed spending this time with them and he would miss it once they all left after the wedding. The day ended without any incident and he went back and slept in the estate.

The next day the bells were tolling at the cathedral as today was the day of the wedding and Simon grinned to himself as that meant another night of festivities at the palace. He washed himself and trimmed some of his beard and then put on some clothes and went to the kitchens to get breakfast. Once he had eaten his fill he went back to him room and changed into the fine doublet he bought a couple of days again. He then went to the main hall and waited there for the others to arrive so they could walk down to the cathedral together. The lord was the first one to show up in a nice outfit and they talked together for a few minutes. He mentioned that Anabella had finally chosen a suitor and that they were now in the process of organising a visit to him so that they could spend more time together and get to know one another and for her to explore his castle. Simon said that he was glad for them and he would wish her well when he next spoke to her. The others starting coming into the hall then and so their group got bigger and they chatted amongst themselves. The ladies again were the last ones out but they looked magnificent in their dresses, so with everyone there, they left the estate and wondered over to the cathedral.

There was already a number of people inside the cathedral sitting in the pews to watch the ceremony. The lord led the way through the cathedral and indicated where they would be sitting which was one row of pews towards the front of the place with a pretty good view of the altar where the wedding would take place. They sat down in their seats and talked amongst themselves for a bit as well as with the guests sitting in front and behind of them as they were people the lord knew. They had to wait for over an hour before anything of interest happened and that’s when the royal party walked in and was seated at the front of everyone. Simon guessed that the time for the ceremony to begin was near at hand and sat patiently for it. Whilst he did so he looked around the cathedral which had been decorated especially for this wedding with banners representing both kingdoms. The choir started singing then and the trumpets let of a fan fare. Down the aisle came the princess and she was incredible beautiful in a very eloquent white dress on the arm of her father who was smiling a big grin. They got to the altar and he gave her hand to the prince and took his place for the ceremony. Cardinal Henry led the ceremony and started with a speech about love and stuff and there were many readings and hymns from the choir which sung them beautifully. This took around an hour or so and then couple said their vows and exchanged their rings and pledged to love each other so long as they both shall live, they then signed the papers. The trumpets let off another fan fair for the ending and the couple walked out of the cathedral hand in hand to the screaming crowds outside. The kings and queens followed them out followed by their over royal children and the cardinal and bridesmaids. The rest of the guests were allowed to leave after that and Simon got up to stretch his legs which felt really good as he had been a little cramped in the pews.

They got out of the cathedral and followed the procession to the palace where the feast was going to take place. The road was filled with citizens along the way that had cheered for the couple and thrown roses and other flowers for them to walk on. It took some time to move through the streets but they eventually got to the palace and they were directed by the servants to the great hall and seated at the correct tables. The royal family were already on the high table and smiling down at all their guests. It took a bit for all the guests to be seated but it eventually happened and once they were the king rose from his seat.

“Thank you all for coming to share such a special day with my son and his new wife, I am very happy for him as she is quite a beauty. Marriage is a very special thing as many of you will know who have found your partner and have married them and it brings you a lot of joy to be with the woman you love and I wish for that with my son. That he may spend his life with his love and to be happy together, as he will one day be king he shall need her support for the hard decisions he may one day have to make and I don’t think he could have picked a better person than her for that. So please raise your glasses and we shall toast to their happiness” the king said and he raised his as did everyone else in the room and they said to the prince and princess. After the king’s toast a few other members of the high table got up and made speeches in honour of the couple and did a few more toasts. After that the food came out and there were many dishes to be sampled that night, all of them very tasty. The kitchens had out done themselves once again and they had made a good range of food from both kingdoms for the guests to eat. Whilst they were eating the many different course entertainers came into the hall and performed for them. There were bards that sung songs for the prince and princess and then recited a few other popular songs that the guests sung along to. There were jugulars and tumblers that put on acts for them and they were very good at it. There were jesters that told jokes and did silly dances and other things to make the guests laugh.

Soon enough they got through all the course and then it was time for dancing and the servants again cleared some of the tables to make room and musicians struck up a tune. The prince and princess had the first dance which was a slow one and very beautiful and then other people joined in and it became quite a ball. Simon was surprised by several good looking ladies who wanted to dance with him and he grinned and obliged and took to the dance floor with them. His friends saw him and laughed at him but he merely grinned at them as he danced with another pretty lady. He soon became breathless and sat down with his friends and they commentated that he was like prince charming this evening getting all the ladies and he had to agree with them. A few hours later the prince and princess slipped out and all the guests made bawdy jokes about where they were going before getting back to drinking and dancing. It was in the early hours of the morning before Simon left the palace and returned to the estate to sleep and he was very drunk at that point but he had had a good night.