“Wait a minute Amaryllis, didn’t you hear me?” She repeated as she stepped in front of me.
Oh for God’s sake!…
“What is it?” I asked barely able to keep the hiss from my voice.
“What’s wrong dear sister?” Lillian asked sweetly “I only wanted to
congratulate you on today’s joyous occasion”. I rolled my eyes, was she still going to continue with her pretense?
“Thank you Lillian but I have to leave now, I wouldn’t want to keep the
priestess waiting after all I have a ceremony to get to.” Her expression
changed and she tightly clenched her handkerchief, it looked like she still wasn’t over the fact that I was the first one to have a promise ceremony. Her smile quickly returned however and she stepped out of the way “Of course sister, I’ll return to my seat now” “thank you” I said surprised. That was it?, she wasn’t going to make snide remarks or try to delay me? Well I guess even Lillian isn’t stupid enough to try anything where everyone could see her, she was only a master deceiver after all.
As soon as there was a clear path, I scooped Naerys into my arms and rose to the sky. “How was it?’ I asked as we glided together “it was lovely Amar, Father and Wes were the first ones to arrive, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to anyone else”.
Good
“Hold on” I warned as I neared my
room, I’d left the windows open for this very purpose. Naerys and I easily flew through the large windows and into my bedroom where Alice was waiting for us.
“How did you..?”
“A maid never reveals her secrets your highness”
I laughed as she handed Naerys off to another servant and closed the door “Now, we have to hurry princess, you shouldn’t be late”
I nodded and undressed as Alice brought out my ceremonial outfit, after a few minutes I was directed to the vanity where Alice proceeded to style my hair and touch up my make-up. The final touch was placing on my crown.
“You look gorgeous, your highness” Alice said with a teary voice. “Thank you Alice” I hugged her and made my way to the stairs where Naerys was ready and waiting for me. By the time we made it back to the garden, my heart was beating at an irregular pace, this was after all the first time I would make such a strong commitment in both my lives. I could feel Naerys trembling a little so I squeezed his hands to reassure him, I didn’t dare speak out of nervousness. As Naerys and I walked towards the priestess, I blocked out everything and focused only on the feel of his hands in mine and the smiling faces of our parents who were eagerly waiting for us.
When we finally reached the priestess, Naerys and I let go and faced each other. We were standing in the middle of a magic circle filled with carvings and symbols. The priestess’s voice boomed as she started the ceremony
“I stand here today to officiate the union between Princess Amaryllis Sylvester of the vampire kingdom and Prince Naerys Elway of the mermaid kingdom”
“Do you Princess Amaryllis swear to always love and adore Prince Naerys for as long as he remains in your harem?”
“I do” I responded firmly.
“Do you Princess Amaryllis swear to always treat him fairly no matter how many males you add to your harem?”
“I do”
“And finally, do you Princess Amaryllis take Prince Naerys as your first harem member?”
“I do”
After my answer, the magic circle
flashed once.
The priestess turned to Naerys getting ready to ask his only question, “Hold on” I interrupted before dropping to a knee and taking Naerys’ hand in mine. I could very clearly hear the soft gasp that echoed through the garden.
Good
I bowed before Naerys and took his hand, holding against my forehead.
“Do you prince Naerys accept to become my first harem member?”
“I do”
“Do you Prince Naerys swear your unconditional love and devotion to me Princess Amaryllis for as long as you remain in my harem?”
A moment passed before I felt the droplets. I looked up in surprise to find that Naerys was crying softly.
“I do” Naerys replied firmly, smiling down at me through his tears “I swear my unconditional love and affection to no one else other than Princess Amaryllis”
The magic circle flashed again as a louder gasp reverberated around the garden, only this time I echoed it. I stared at Naerys in shock, did he know what he had just done?
I had no time to dwell on his words though as the priestess handed me the ceremonial dagger; without hesitation I slit my palm watching as several drops of blood landed on the grass, I took Naerys’ hand poked the edge of his middle finger carefully and watched as three drops of blood landed on the grass. This time though the magic circle brightly flashed for a minute before it died down again.
One by one, our parents stepped out and repeated ‘I stand here as a witness to this Union’. The priestess took back the bloodied dagger and added the last symbol to the circle “the ceremony is complete”
I gently pulled Naerys down to me and kissed him amidst the applause and cheers of the guests. When it died down, I stood up and helped Naerys to his feet.
Can you hear me?
The promise ceremony didn’t just bond a male and female together and allow the female to use the male’s powers, it also created a telepathic bond between them.
Amar?
Naerys’ angelic voice sounded in my head and I couldn’t help but smile. I led him back to the tent and we took our seats for the meal that was about to be served.
Why did you change the words of the oath?, do you know what you just did?
Did I somehow mess up the oath by changing the words?, I’m sorry Amar I just –
“Congratulations on your ceremony Amaryllis” Collette said as she began eating. With the blatantly mocking smile on her face however, who would believe Collette was actually happy for me?
“Thank you sister” I replied curtly before responding to Naerys
No, no you didn’t mess up the oath, but by changing the words you basically swore that you’ll only ever love me
Oh…
That’s it?, do you understand Naerys? this means you’ll never be able to enter another harem in your life!
That’s not a problem Amar, even if I have to leave your harem in the future, I don’t mind. If I can’t be with you then I’d rather be alone.
At that, I turned to Naerys who was blushing heavily beside me, he must’ve been shy because he didn’t turn to face me even once. I took his left hand and squeezed it.
Ok then Naerys, I only wanted you to know. Thank you for your oath.
I placed my attention on the food in front of me when he remained silent, but then he squeezed our joined hands and I smiled before I started to eat.
“Oh my Amaryllis must really adore the prince seeing as she hasn’t let go of him once after the ceremony”
I stared at Lillian unimpressed, what was she trying to start now?
“Of course she does” Collete snorted “did you ignore the stunt she pulled during the ceremony?”
Good, the whole point of that stunt was to let everyone know just how much Naerys means to me.
Mother laughed as she noticed our joined hands resting on the table “they remind me of us Lionel” she said as she nudged father. He blushed as he congratulated me, before flipping open his fan and hiding his face behind it.
“Congratulations Amaryllis”
“Thank you, dad“I flashed a bright smile to Sir Cameron who was seated on my mother’s left side. Seeing as she finally stopped referring to me as ‘princess’, he and mother must be getting closer.
I turned to sir Dagarth and eagerly waited for his well wishes, he was the only one left now. After a few minutes of my intense staring , sir Dagarth finally raised his head from his soup before looking at me ”Congratulations Princess”. I stifled a groan at his formal tone, but oh well I mustn’t be too
greedy.
“Thank you, dad”
He nodded and went back to his soup, and so I decided to also go back to my food. After the meal ends, Naerys and I will have to socialize for at least an hour, I’d pushed it by not having him at the gate. If we leave the party just after the ceremony there’d be baseless rumors all over the kingdom by tomorrow.
Get ready Naerys. We have to mingle with the guests once we’re done with dinner.
Of course Amar
***************************
After an hour walking around and meaningless conversations, I finally headed to Tyrion who had somehow been taken to Darius’s table instead. I hadn’t had a chance yet to thank him for the clothes and I was glad he had been able to see me in them.
“Is everything to your liking?” I asked as I approached the table arm in arm with Naerys. Tyrion nodded as he sent me a bright smile, his gorgeously blue eyes twinkling like the lights that hung above us.
“Congratulations on your ceremony Amaryllis, it was beautiful. Congratulations to you too Prince Naerys”
Naerys offered a small smile before softly thanking him. It looked like both our efforts were finally paying off, Naerys seemed like he trusted and liked Tyrion enough to at least be cordial acquaintances.
Darius on the other hand gave us a strange look before shaking his head “It’s great princess, congratulations to you both.”
“Oh and before I forget, here” Tyrion pushed a small box across the table. I looked at in confusion, didn’t he say the clothes were our gifts?. Tyrion coughed and looked away as he caught my gaze
“I couldn’t help myself”
“Very well then” I conceded taking the small box and turning to Darius expectantly. He grinned at me wolfishly “don’t worry, you’ll get my gift later princess”. I nodded and continued “thank you both for attending and enjoy the rest of the evening.” And with that, Naerys and I were formally excused from the party. We made our way up the stairs, our exhaustion increasing with every step.
“Go on Naerys, go in” I urged softly as we finally arrived at my room. Naerys flushed as he made his way inside, we had to spend the first night after the ceremony together. I turned my back to him as I quickly stripped to my undergarments and pulled out all the jewelry in my hair, freeing my silver locks. I turned back to Naerys and held out my hand “I’ll help you undress; you can’t possibly be comfortable sleeping in those clothes.” I could see how far his blush went as he lifted his hand to mine.
I made quick work of the shirt and cape before nudging him into my bathroom to change into his sleepwear. After a few minutes, Naerys emerged in a pair of soft looking pants and a think silk shirt. I didn’t notice I was staring till Naerys looked up at me with flaming cheeks
“Amar?” “A-hem” I coughed as I made on the bed and patted the area next to me. Naerys slowly approached but stopped when he was a few feet away still looking unsure, I sighed before stretching and gently pulling him down beside me.
When I noticed the rapid thumps of his heart, I smiled coyly and turned so that I was nearly on top of him, my legs on either side of him as I braced my weight with my arms. Naerys flushed deeply and swallowed as he stared up at me, the moonlight reflecting off his gorgeous silver eyes.
“A-amar?”
I chuckled and bent down slowly letting my hair fall onto his face, once I was close enough, I kissed him softly before pulling back and whispering into his ears making sure to brush my lips against his earlobe as I did so…
“Relax, Naerys. We don’t have to do anything, spending the night together means just that, spending the night together”
More like we couldn’t do anything, Naerys was still a minor after all and my conscience wouldn’t let me take advantage of him.
After that, I dropped onto the bed and pulled Naerys closer to me wrapping my arms around him so we were spooning.
“Now go to sleep”
As much as Naerys and I were exhausted from the day’s festivities, it didn’t seem like either of us would be able to fall asleep soon, at least judging by the way Naerys was slightly trembling in my arms. I sighed softly and leaned into him, freeing one hand to stroke his hair.
“Calm down Naerys, I’m right here, you can relax now” I soothed gently and sure enough, after a few minutes both Naerys and I were both out cold.
Authors note;
Heyyyyy guys, finally Naerys' promise ceremony!!!. And can you believe it, two chapters in two days (well just a day considering I started at 4 yesterday) anyways , i'm amazing right?? ( shameless author clearly asking for praise)
A-hem! Sorry for not updating earlier but two long chapters cancels it out right? One for last week and one for this week. I'll try my best to update earlier. Now enjoy pretty clothes!!!!
Pick anyone, amaryllis's dresses
Naerys' outfits ( I know they don't match perfectly but I did the best I could 😭😭😭 pinterest is difficult y'all)