Wildfire

Fifty Eight

There had been screens brought in so that Emrys might dress without having to leave the room to do so with my sisters having been called in to assist with the twisting of my hair, my own ceremonial robes laid out beside me on the bed while the wire structure my Mama had wanted to surprise me with as a gift, the fashioning of it causing my hair to sit up high, away from my neck and back... The design of the wire it is currently being twisted around causing an elegant piling to form that looks and feels reminiscent of a crown, the glowing strands of my hair well rinsed and set to just so on top of my head with looping braids and endless wrappings shining more brightly than any golden bobble they could have pulled from the vault, the value of its color lending me strength just like Mama always told me it would as her hands shakily pull it into place for me.

None of us had been able to carry on much of a conversation, India holding my hand with a vengeance every time I reach out to him, our unexpected sameness a great comfort to me at the moment with Emrys away from my side as my Papa takes the place of his own father helping him into his own ceremonial wedding robes... However, Emrys's hair is not necessarily something my Papa can handle himself, but something Ronin has offered him assistance with, the three of them sounding quite flustered tucked behind their screen... The chuckles making their way to our ears on this side of the room dry and mostly coming from Papa warming my heart as I listen to them whisper for my almost-husband to hold still and turn this way or that...

I know that today is not the day either of us had hoped for... That it is rushed and secretive and that we won't be able to involve all of the staff who have been so kind or the citizens who have shown such great acceptance of my place by their future ruler's side, the buzzing I had heard outside the palace walls the day we had ventured into the bathing chambers being that of the villagers calling out to the two of us in celebration, their voices being raised every single day in the same fashion to let us know how happy they are for the two of us having found each other... And learning of it had moved me to tears, my ears able to pick up on traces of their jubilation of our joining even know though they know not that they are setting the tone to our now very private celebration... It is not how I would like them to be included... But my sweet Prince has promised me that on the day we reveal the brand he shall bind me to his side forever that we shall through the palace gates wide open so that they all might join us if they so chose to eat, drink, and be merry with us to celebrate our elopement with a joy I feel will be just as true as the joy we will feel ourselves... 

The longer I find myself doted on as my parents prepare my fiance and I for a wedding that is coming sooner than expected... The more I feel the tainting of my spirit be lifted away... Today nothing shall spoil the love we share or the tingling I feel as I try and keep my breathing calm enough to stave off the tears in my eyes threatening to fall from the overwhelming emotions of love that are currently endangering the carefully placed face paints that Mama and India had done so skillfully for me. I feel so special... And there is so much love in this room centered around the man who makes me feel so adored, cherished, and safe and myself that I almost cannot breathe with how moving it is to be so embraced... To know that even though I know Mama and Papa are devastated to not have us wed at the same altar all Queens before me have been welcomed to lay upon to bear the mark of their husbands flame, that they are still just as happy as they would have been just a few short days from now because our love is so true it does not need the ceremonial slab for our joining to be sacred and blessed. They know that the only thing that truly matters is that our commitment is genuine, and they are joyful knowing that their son has found happiness and strength in the Prince that we all know will be so much of a benevolent and fair ruler than his father, and they are currently taking comfort in the fact that I know they know I will be cared for in every way they taught me I deserved to be cared for... Just as they care for each other... With the love that they have so thoroughly coursing through them that they cannot help but radiate it every time they are anywhere near each other... And even when they are far apart.