𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 | 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯

03. - ENCHANTED

"Girls, we do not have time for arguments," their mother interrupted them. "Let us be off."

And off they went. Traversing the bridge above Grafton's river and running down the well-worn path lined with trees, Elizabeth and Jacquetta held hands, beaming as though the sun had smiled upon them for the first time. Melissa followed them, her pace slower and steadier. She had never been an envious girl, having had to share most of her life with nine sisters and four brothers, but with the sight here before her eyes, it had never been clearer who mother's favorite child was.

"Do not think of that," she commanded herself. "After all, what does being mother's favorite mean in the grand scheme of thing?"

Nothing, that was what. She affirmed that statement over and over again as they reached the little church near their homestead. Soon, the sight of England's own king, Edward, and his chaplain diverted all her thoughts.

"Soon," Melissa thought. "My sister will be married to the king of England. Not yet queen herself, but the intention is there. Elizabeth shall be queen, and I ... I will begin mapping out my own destiny."

For indeed, the red-head was rather confident that this one event was what would get the barrel rolling for her entire family, their fortunes and their future. Her elder sister, unintentionally, had gifted them all with a clearer path than they had all had before.

"I was early," Edward, the king stated, approaching her sister with a beaming grin on his face. "I couldn't wait."

They kissed, and he gave Melissa a small, teasing smile over Elizabeth's shoulder.

"I see you are to be a witness?"

"I see you are to be my brother," she retorted.

"Are you displeased?"

She examined him, head to toe, before returning his smile with a mischievous smirk.

"No ... it could have been worse. You could have had a double chin, or a fat neck."

He laughed out loudly, drowning out the hissed words of warning Melissa could hear coming from her mother's direction.

"My sister, Meg will like you." He affirmed. "She is as cheeky as you are."

"If she does, then she will have proven that she has good taste." The girl parried back. "Now, why don't we get you and my sister married before everyone else wakes up?"

This statement proved to be more than agreeable for Elizabeth, who was frowning between Edward and her little sister. Inwardly, she wondered how the two had come to develop a relationship as close as this, but she had no time to ponder upon it, for soon, they were before the chaplain, reciting their vows. Suddenly, though, Edward's smile faded away.

"I'm a fool."

Jacquetta, Elizabeth, and Melissa all looked at him in alarm. Was he regretting his decision already? Kings were, after all, known to be fickle creatures.

"I've forgot the ring," he continued, putting their worries slightly to rest. "Lady Rivers, do you have a ring I could--"

"I- I have one." Elizabeth interrupted him, pulling a small, velveteen pouch out from one of the pockets she was so fond of sewing into her dresses. And then, out came the ring. Small, delicate, shaped like a crown — it was Melusina's ring.

The couple laughed lightly, before Edward took it from her and placed it on the presented pages of the Bible. Then, in no time, they were married.

The king and his soon-to-be crowned queen ("My sister!" Melissa marveled inwardly) then stepped out of the little church; Jacquetta, her younger daughter, and the chaplain following them. Edward pressed a pouch of coins into the chaplain's hands, offered his new sister-in-law a cheeky wink, before turning over to her mother.