Celeste's life is far from the enchanting fairy tale one might expect from a princess. Her father, a ruthless and self-absorbed king, leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. To seal alliances and maintain his power, he arranges for Cele...
Together with Elia, I walk down the corridor until we reach the door. The moment the door opens I look into two red eyes. Novak stands in the doorway in a richly decorated green suit. His eyes glide over my body as he observes the decorated attire. His concerned look softens slightly and a small smile graces his lips.
'You look beautiful,' he says, extending a hand to me. His presence at this door is unexpected, but not unwelcome. I take his hand and let him lead me down the corridor into the open space. I stare my eyes out as we walk into the crowded space. The large open space is filled with hundreds of white cushions lying in rows on the floor. An elf is kneeling on each cushion. All the men are dressed in green suits and the women in the same green dresses as before. The throne that stood on the altar has been removed and given way to a tall narrow table. What is on the small table top cannot be seen from my position. At the table stands an elderly man, cloaked in a green dressing gown. Behind the man is a row of silver candlesticks in which dozens of green candles are burning. To the side, a woman plays a harp. The soft sounds reverberate through the otherwise silent room.
'The dagger is in the second drawer of the left wardrobe in the bedroom,' Novak whispers in my ear out of the blue. I look at him in surprise, but he has already turned his gaze forward. We walk into the temple room before I can ask anything else. All eyes are on us as we walk along the side to the corridor between the cushions. Why Novak accompanies me to the altar is unclear to me.
We walk in silence through the crowd to the altar. As soon as we stand in front of it, Novak makes a small bow to the older man, making me follow his lead. Smiling, the man puts a hand in my direction. Slowly, Novak lets his hand slip from mine and I step onto the altar. The moment I start to wonder where Walmoet is, the lady behind the harp changes her piece, the elves bow further to the ground and open the temple doors. Walmoet, along with two guards, walks into the temple towards the altar.
He is dressed in a green and white suit. His coat, unlike the other men, is long and reaches to his knees from behind. He too wears dozens of silver chains around his shoulders. The blouse he wears is white, as are the trousers. Both decorated with hundreds of silver stones. I cannot deny that his clothes too are beautiful.
What I do not expect is that Walmoet takes a bow to the man next to me before stepping on the altar. The two green eyes look over my body as I bow to him in place. I feel uncomfortable by his gaze but then what did I expect. He just nods and says nothing. The elves straighten up again and the harp stops sounding.
'We thank the gods for bringing these two souls together, ask for their blessing today,' the man begins. His words knock me back to reality. Within minutes, I marry the man standing next to me, the man who beat me both to death a few months ago. The mad elf king known to be anything but gentle. The man I have to undress and rob of his life later tonight. I wonder what I have gotten myself into.
'Let souls drink from the well of nature, asking for the blessing of nature's gods.' Those words take me out of my thoughts as the man holds up two glasses of green liquid. Walmoet grabs one and forces me to take the other. The man next to us continues with a prayer, unintelligible to me, in Lenom, the language of the gods. At the same time as Walmoet, I take a sip of the green and terribly bitter drink. I have to do my best not to spit it out and knock the whole glass backwards.
'Bless nature,' echoes through the hall the moment Walmoet and I empty the glasses. The empty glasses are put back on the small table.
'Give souls the same ease in their prosperity as the water that flows through our world. Let the stream guide them in hard times.' The man extends both his hands palm upwards in our direction. Walmoet puts his hand in the man's in the same way. With my ignorance, I follow his lead.
While muttering, the man grabs a glass jug from the small table and pours a small layer of water into our hands. I cannot help but look at Walmoet in surprise. Without a word, he gently grabs my wrist and brings my hand to his mouth. Astonished, I watch Walmoet drink the water from my palm and soon realise that I should do the same to him. With slight reluctance, I follow his lead and drink the water from his palm.
'Bless the water,' echoes through the room.
'Let the light of the stars bring happiness to souls, show them the way in the darkness.' A white candle is placed in the centre of the table. The man takes two green candles from the candelabra behind him, holds them in front of me and Walmoet. This time it is immediately clear to me that we have to light the candle together. Slowly, we simultaneously bring the two little flames to the wick. Just before the flames touch the wick, the wick catches fire and forms a red flame for a second before turning into gold.
'Bless the stars.' I don't have to think long before I know how that fuse caught fire. No one really seems to notice, except me and Walmoet. He only grins before handing the green candle back to the man. Before the man says anything else, Walmoet holds out his hands again. I grasp his hands as the man slowly wraps a green ribbon around our hands. I let myself be guided through this whole ceremony. I had no idea what to expect and it is still not clear to me. The ignorance has partly taken the place of my nerves, which is a nice touch.
'Let's connect these souls. Give the souls all the prosperity they deserve, progeny to seal their connection,' he continued as he tied a knot in the ribbon.
'Will you serve the gods and give thanks for their spells?' is the man's first and only question.
'Yes,' replies Walmoet with no doubt in his voice. If I answer now, I cannot go back. My heart is pounding in my throat and I am no longer sure whether my hands are wet from water or sweat. For a moment, the idea of refusing comes to mind. Then I realise I am already too far gone to go back. I put aside all my doubts, all my emotions, and reply.
'Yes,' I pronounce in the most confident tone I can. A huge grin marks the face of Walmoet, my husband, my second husband.
'The gods have answered your prayers and connected your souls. You may seal your connection,' is the last thing the man says.
'Bless the connection,' echoes through the temple before a loud clapping erupts. I have no time to look at the elves or look for Novak in the crowd before Walmoet pulls me towards him and presses his lips to mine.
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