The Union

The music and the food were also the best Lucia had ever seen in a celebration- a weighty remark if coming from a royal of Vanadis such as herself. Hundreds of people were inside the hall, laughing and dancing and eating and doing whatever n.o.bles do in a celebration such as this- albeit in a more formal manner as she and Timothy were at the front. A lot of these n.o.bles must have wanted to gain favorable first impression in their eyes, she mused.

"Are you sure of what you heard earlier?" Timothy asked beside her, secretly cupping her hands below the table. She met his eyes and saw that her husband was anxious. His frosty hands also confirmed this.

This won"t do, she thought. Seeing Timothy worry about things saddened her. What she experienced earlier can be discussed later. It was blasphemy to soil this celebration with worry.

She pinched a single grape from their shared plate and put it on Timothy"s lips. Timothy wiggled the fruit with his lips into his mouth and chewed, still looking at her.

"Fine" said Timothy "Not now right?"

"You know me too well Your Majesty" Lucia teased with a sweet smile.

Timothy chuckled and slumped on his chair.

Lady Maria walked towards their table. She was flanked by Erik and Sylvie who were both wearing formal attires. Sylvie shyly smiled at Lucia but still avoided looking at her.

"A great day King Timothy and Queen Lucia. Congratulations to the two of you." Lady Maria greeted with a smile.

Erik made a small courteous bow towards them. He then grinned at Timothy "I will be the one to follow you Tim. I"ll probably tie the knot in less than a year"s time"

"With the lady beside your mother I suppose?" Timothy sprang a rapid reply,

"No!" Erik glanced back at Sylvie "We… we are not like…"

"Oh they are like that" Lady Maria interrupted and grinned, her old white teeth showing. "Isn"t that right Sylvie? Didn"t Erik promise to take you to Greenwater?"

"He did. Like a n.o.ble prince he made an oath to me."

"And didn"t my Erik once rode to your rescue, alone and unarmed?"

"Oh I can still remember how gallant he looked that time. More gallant than a knight" Sylvie put her two palms of her cheeks.

"See?" Lady Maria wrapped both her arms on Erik and Sylvie "These two are lovebirds. I could only wish they hurry and make me some grandchild already"

"Ma!" Erik exclaimed with flushed cheeks.

The next ones who congratulated them were Freya and Henry. Freya looked beautiful with her red gown and Henry- well the Knight was wearing what appears to be a soldier"s uniform.

"Congratulations to the two of you" Henry put a palm on his chest and bowed "May the Omniscient bless you with joy. May his eternal light shine on your marriage."

"May the Omniscient bless you too Henry" said Lucia. She turned her head towards Freya and gave a grin "So… when will you follow us?"

Freya was holding Henry"s hand. She looked at Henry and then back at Lucia "We don"t have plans yet. With Castonia and Tulosa still technically at war, the legalities are difficult to solve"

"I say legalities don"t matter as long as we make our oaths to the Omniscient. But if it needs be, I am willing to take Castonian citizenship" Henry declared

"Are you sure?" Timothy asked "I thought you still wanted to go back to Tulosa"

"Just a visit probably. I want to see my father, mother and sister again. But I don"t think I will live back there. I am now hated by many Tulosans for.." Henry shook his head "obvious reasons"

After Henry and Freya, Lucia"s father and Arthur greeted them next. Her father was as extravagant as ever with robe made of Abicut silk and expensive rings on multiple fingers. Arthur was also the same but unlike before, his proud demeanor was gone. Like Sylvie, he also avoided looking at them.

"Your Majesty" The former King bowed "I have a gift to both of you"

"A gift?" Timothy turned a short look at Lucia.

"Yes. Well since my Lucia is now the Queen a gift feels like taking from her pocket and then gifting it back to her. But still…" her father leaned forward and said in hushed tone "Availability is the real issue here. It took me a lot of effort and connections to buy my gift."

"So what is it father?" Lucia asked with a chuckle. Her father seemed so excited to show the gift.

Her father smiled and gestured for a servant. After a while, the servant put a bottle on the table.

Lucia was not familiar with the bottle. But as she turned her head towards Timothy, she saw that her husband"s eyes were glittering.

"Is this…"

"It is"

"How… even…" Timothy caressed the bottle.

"Connections Your Majesty"

"May I ask what that is?" Lucia voiced.

"It"s Omniscient"s Touch" said Timothy "This is the rarest wine in the whole world! Last I"ve heard, there were only five bottles left."

Lucia enjoyed the sight of Timothy staring at the bottle like a child.

Timothy shook his head while smiling.

"We need to hide this from Erik"

Timothy"s jesting remark drew laughter from Lucia and her father. Arthur also laughed before shutting his mouth and lowering his head again.

Many guests and n.o.bles approached them after, offering gifts and greetings. Some of them were even Vanadians who endured several days on the snowy road just to attend the wedding.

When most of the guests had left, a hooded figure approached their table. Their guards drew their weapons but Timothy raised his hand to stop them. When the hooded man was just a few paces from them, Lucia saw who it was.

"Son" Leopold gave Timothy a single nod before turning his look towards Lucia "And may I call you daughter?"

"You may" Lucia said sadly. She had been expecting this to happen but it was still heart-breaking. Timothy was also the same with his head hung low.

Leopold Castonia was still hated by many people. For most Castonians, he was still the foolish King who caused the civil war. With the addition of his betrayal to Wismar, Hadea, Canton and Inkit, he had gained the reputation of being a dishonest coward. Even though his betrayal helped Timothy, the idea of striking allies from the back was still dishonorable for many Castonians. Because of this, he personally proposed not to attend the wedding and the following celebration for fear that n.o.bles would use his presence in the wedding to destroy Timothy"s reputation. Timothy refused at first but Leopold was stubborn and his argument made sense. In the end a compromise was made- Leopold would attend the wedding and the celebration but in hiding. Even so, it was still sad. A father shouldn"t be treated like a fugitive on his son"s wedding.

"Don"t be looking dismal the two of you" Leopold put a palm on each of their faces "This is a happy day remember? Also many people could see you. The King and the Queen must be tough"

Lucia forced a smile "Of course… father"

Leopold"s face lit up. The old man smiled. "Having the Queen call me father is such an honor. Timothy is lucky to have you" he glanced at Timothy "You should make her happy. It is our family tradition to love our wives dearly"

"What about Ivan? William? Er, uncle Wilson?"

"Exceptions" Leopold said

Timothy laughed "More like the two of us are the exceptions"

Leopold joined in laughter "You may be right. I swear those three are the worst husbands ever" he then cleared his throat of the last of his laughter. He nodded to the two of them and with lowered head he said, "I don"t have a gift actually. I tried rummaging through my things but all I have are old man"s clothing and lesser Hadean wines. So I guess I"ll just congratulate and wish you a good marriage"

Timothy rose and embraced his father.

"Your presence is enough Father. Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me"

**********

After all the celebrations and the insincere greetings of the n.o.bles, Lucia found herself standing in front of their bed. Timothy was beside her, also staring at the wooly mattress fragranced with amyris. The bed was large, at least a few armspans long, and complimented with a thick fur blanket and two pillows wrapped in silk.

"If you"re not ready then we could do this later" Timothy said

"I"m ready" Lucia leaned her head against his arm "And you? Are you ready for this?"

Timothy turned his head towards her and their eyes met. The sincerity in the way he looked at her melted her heart. Timothy hooked his arm around Lucia"s waist, pulled her closer and put his lips on hers. Their lips raveled into a pa.s.sionate kiss. It was soft. It was warm. It was good. His breaths tickled her nose. His scent was lovely- a little sweet like berries. The taste of his lips was more complicated than his scent. It was a mixture of saltiness like the ocean and the saccharine taste of honey. Of course his scent and the taste of his lips were too unique to describe with utmost accuracy. His taste was Timothy and his scent was Timothy. The warmth that she felt as he touched her was also Timothy.

Lucia lost her thoughts. She didn"t notice the moment their clothes were dropped to the floor or the instant their bodies coiled into an affectionate embrace. She wasn"t thinking of these trivial things. In that moment, her thoughts were that of her love for him. She wanted Timothy to know that he was the one she chose and he"s the only one she will give this kind of treatment. She wanted him to feel special- because he really is.

Timothy will be the only one to experience her vulnerability. She was committed to him and only him. Lucia wanted Timothy to be happy so she gave all of herself.

Words were not enough to express her feelings and neither were their current actions. But at least by giving herself to him, they could be a little closer. She was his and he was hers. They own each other- a sole ownership of each other"s soul.

Timothy was still on top of her after they finished. He had been staring at her face for a while now as if memorizing every detail of her figure.

"Do you think we did it right?" He asked with a smirk

Lucia giggled and playfully pounded her fist on his arm "How should I know! I was just following your lead"

"Then was it… good?" He grinned, almost laughing.

Lucia"s cheeks felt hot after being reminded of what they did earlier. She shyly nodded an answer.

Timothy laughed and lay on her side. He then pulled Lucia closer and made her rest her head on his arm.

"I"m happy" Timothy said with a sigh "I"m so happy that I couldn"t believe it"s possible to be this happy"

"I am too" Lucia admitted, enjoying the feeling Timothy"s firm arm "I want us to stay like this Tim"

"We will. This is just the beginning. The two of us will be together until the end"

"Until the end?" Lucia repeated. Those phrases brought her contentment. The prospect of being like this with Timothy was all she ever wanted.

"Yes" Timothy put a kiss on her forehead. "Until the end"