Mischief in the Stars

This Changes Everything

"And you can change that, just not tonight," Maximus reminded her, forcing her to retake their arms as they led her to the coronation.

"Tonight, you become a queen," Aidan finished with a smile. She opened her mouth to protest but they reached the doors to the outside, making her stop short. "Also, you look lovely."

"Thank you," she said sheepishly, rolling her eyes slightly. She had to admit, she adored wearing this dress. "Let's just get this over with. God, I feel like I'm walking into my own death sentence."

"That's the spirit," Aidan chirped sarcastically as he and Maximus pushed open the grand doors.

Rory sucked in a deep breath as the fresh air hit her. Her brothers didn't let her stop walking as she had wished. They made their way down the grand marble steps. Her hair swished behind her, tickling her exposed back. Nearly everyone in Fantamia was here; they wanted to see their queen get coronated. While Rory was touched by the number of people who came, it only made her more nervous. Several things could go wrong with the coronation alone. If she messed up, thousands of people would be there to witness it. Beautiful flowers surrounded the area, glowing colorfully. White flowers covered the path she was walking on. As she passed over the petals, they levitated up into the air and floated behind her, glowing brilliantly.

Scorchers surrounded the area, monitoring everything closely. Rory thought it was unnecessary, but everyone insisted on having them there. While she agreed it was smart for safety reasons, she knew the scorchers weren't particularly fond of her. She got out of enormous legal consequences quite easily, which undermined their authority. She only agreed to have them there for the safety of the people in Fantamia; she had no interest in putting their lives at risk. She briefly saw Grimwald in the audience, recognizing the twinkle in his eye, he looked nearly smug from the situation. He gave her a kind nod in which she returned with a forced smile.

She spotted her friends in the crowd, all giving her reassuring looks. She stood above them with her brothers. The glowing white flowers that levitated behind her ended up being enchanted to follow her. They rose and created a grand arc above them. She took a moment to gawk at the arch of petals, relishing in the beauty. Something about the beauty around her comforted her. She had always found comfort in the nature of Fantamia, and she was glad that hadn't changed. Rory turned her attention back to her brothers before nodding at them- she was ready.

Aliya flew from the audience and landed on the top of the stairs, along with Rory and her brothers. The vuplide sat perched up next to Rory as if to protect her from any possible harm. Another wave of comfort washed over her, relieved that her amicorda was allowed to be present in her coronation.

"Please welcome your future queen, Rory Lucina," Aidan shouted formally, projecting his voice over the mass crowds. Eliphas had cast a few spells to make their voices louder. Rory was surprised by how loud his voice was now, and she was reasonably sure that the thousands of people in the crowd could hear him. Rory stood between them both, masking her nerves well. The crowd cheered loudly for a few moments, making her smile at them, unable to hide how overjoyed she was. She was surprised by how welcoming they were to her, considering she hadn't lived in Fantamia for very long.

"Rory Lucina," Maximus began in a loud tone, making Rory turn her head back to them. He nodded for her to come towards them. He had the crown in his hands. A stunning gold crown sat on a red pillow in front of her. Her two brothers held the sides of the pillow, balancing the crown up. Rory gawked at the gorgeous details. It looked like a regular gold crown. It had five spikes on it. Three out of five of the peaks had small hollow gold stars on them. The other two spikes had gold balls on them with tiny crystals in the middle of them. She was snapped out of her trance when her brother continued to talk. "Are you willing to take your oaths?"