Chapter 493

493 Grand Wedding(Part One)

Tidas didn’t get a good feeling from his brother’s happy expression. An unknown instinct was screaming at him, but he couldn’t understand what it was trying to tell him. All he could do was be cautious, and keep an eye on his movements through the Fae spies.

Maevis and Nicolas trusted Marco the least out of all the humans they’d met. While Skye and Tidas were away in the Highlands, he had disappeared too many times on the Brownie spies assigned to him. This let them know that he was not only aware of them, but was actively trying to ditch them, and generally did a good job of it.

Maevis had informed Skye of his known and unknown movements, and she had told Tidas. The search they had done should’ve easily spotted him outside of Dragonhorn if all he was doing was hunting.. ‘He’s planning something, i just don’t know what..’

An idea had popped into his head, but Tidas had instantly dismissed it. Even for Marco; it was too dark.. ‘The only thing I can think of is that he’s preparing to become king, but Father is in good health.. The only way is-No. that’s too twisted: even for my brother..’

‘He uses the amnesty our Father provides him too often.. But that was usually to counter Karena’s public incidents.. With her gone, he can manipulate situations much easier..I wish I could’ve talked with Karena before she’d left.. Maybe with Marco abandoning her, she might’ve had some interesting secrets to share..’

“Tidas?! Did you hear me? We have to go, or we’ll be late,” Lawrence said as he smacked his brother in his back.

“What? Sorry, I was thinking,” he replied as Lawrence rubbed the hand that he had smacked him with.

Zas’ chuckle rang out before he said; “You two don’t change, do you? It’s gonna be interesting ta see Shasta in a wedding dress.”

“I bet she’ll look beautiful,” Lawrence commented with a smile.

.....

Tidas stifled his laughter as he said; “I’m sure she will.. It’s the walking in it part I wanna see.”

Lawrence flashed him a deflated expression, then replied; “You just wait until the reception. I’m going to tell her you two were making jokes..”

Tidas and Zas looked at each other, then nervously tried to convince Lawrence not to tell her as they walked out the door. Them, Lucas, Magnus, Marco, Nicolas, and Alfred all headed towards the throne room where the ceremony was being held. Ralph, Klaus, and Ronnie were waiting outside, along with a couple of other guards for Lawrence, Magnus, and the others.

The closer they came to the throne room, the more crowded it became. The guests were mainly the diplomats and dignitaries, as well as friends and family of the bride and groom. So the court nobles and higher ups were all gathered outside to glimpse the couple, and offer their well wishes.

Lawrence thought it was more of an inconvenience, and would’ve preferred cards or the like instead. But the people there were actually there to support Shasta and Lawrence. They were mostly the hangers-on of the court, and were merely there to say they were.

It took a solid ten minutes to get through, and would’ve taken longer; if not for one particular loud-mouthed Highlander..

“Do ya people have nae respect fer yer kings?! MOVE ASIDE!” Murdoc bellowed from the doorway to the throne room.

Wallace’s cackle echoed in the now-silent hallway as the crowds parted for the groom’s party. Petrie stood a few steps behind his king with Wallace; doing a far better job at containing his amusement, but still smiling when Tidas walked up with his hand extended.

Murdoc grinned cheekily as he took it, then pulled Tidas in for a hug. He then did the same thing to Lawrence while congratulating him on his impending nuptials. Magnus had the good sense to hold up his other hand with a stopping motion as he shook the Highlander King’s hand with his other.

After a bit of banter, they all entered the throne room so the groom side of the wedding party could take their places. Lawrence was in the middle, followed by Tidas, Zas, and Alfred. It was an extremely small wedding party compared to past royal weddings, but Lawrence and Shasta wanted it that way.

The decorations weren’t extravagant, but gave a sense of elegance to the throne room. The different yellows cast against the dark brown, white, and crimson red was beautifully set up. The servants were quiet proud of their handiwork, and Magnus was highly impressed.

‘I must give a small bonus to those who helped.. They did a wonderful job! I think even Karena would’ve approved..’

As the thought sprang into his head, a wave of regret washed over Magnus. Karena was a spoiled brat, but he had known her since she was fifteen. He’d watched her grow, and was there when she had given birth to his first grandchild.

There was no pardoning what she had done, but Magnus still considered Karena a part of his family. It made him sad not to have her with them, but he shoved the negativity down.. ‘This is Lawrence’s wedding day.. I need to be in a good mood.. For his and Shasta’s sakes..’

After Magnus had pulled himself out of his funk, he glanced around the room. It made him smile to see the diplomats and dignitaries getting along well. Shifting his attention to the front, Magnus wondered what had his youngest son containing a smile..

Tidas grinned as he saw Genie sitting next to Aero and Celestia. He and the Fae Queen were talking like old friends catching up while Aero watched with an annoyed expression. It was obvious that he didn’t like Genie, and Tidas wondered if it had anything to do with him mentioning sneaking into the Fae Nation in his youth.

As he continued to looked around, Tidas recognized several people like Doctor Gohan and Doctor Lyberth, as well as the lass Skye had befriended, Nora. Zas’ family took up two rows of seats also, making Shasta’s side of the aisle just as full as Lawrence’s. Confused, he asked Lawrence why there were people that Shasta barely knew attending their wedding..

Lawrence grinned cheekily; “It’s for both Shasta, and you and Skye. We agreed to invite a few people that we knew Skye would like to spend time with before you two leave tomorrow. You three are why those last three rows back there are filled with RMC members.”

Tidas smiled genuinely at his brother as he thanked him, then reached into his jacket; “Oh, I almost forgot. These are for you two..”

Lawrence looked at the envelope his brother had handed him, then asked; “What’s this?”

“Remember that lodge you told me about in Ruscovic? The one you suggested to me and Skye for when we visit? Well, I booked a week for you and Shasta. I paid for everything, including food and a nice bonus for your Nanny to keep the twins at your palace while you two are enjoying yourselves. Just call ahead three days, and you can go any time within the next two years.”

A massive smile stretched across Lawrence’s face; “Really?! Thank you, Tidas! This is amazing! Perfect for when we need a break.. I don’t want to imagine how much this cost you.”

Tidas cleared his throat; “Aye, well.. Skye paid for half of it, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”

Lawrence half-hugged his brother, then got distracted by the officiant. As they talked about the wording of the vows, Tidas glanced around the room again. Everyone looked to be having a good time, until he locked eyes with Marco.

Tides didn’t understand why, but his brother looked almost amused as they stared at each other. Like his gift to Lawrence and Shasta was a gag gift instead of the sincere present that it was. Trying to stay calm, Tidas averted his eyes, and continued to survey the room.

It was then that most of the women that had been with Shasta came in. Amara, Lidia, Maevis, Marie, Kari, and Zas’ daughter Mary all took their seats. Kari and Klaus matched their clothes, which Marie thought was adorable. She and Lidia sat next to Lucas as the others sat and chatted a moment.

As the crowds settled into their seats, Tidas recalled his wedding to Skye. The decorations had been rushed, and it wasn’t what he and Skye had imagined, but they had loved the it regardless. The effort that Peggy had put in with the rest of the Moonstone staff had touched their hearts, and reminded Tidas of the bond that she and Skye shared.

It was obvious how much Peggy loved Skye, which was why Tidas hadn’t brought up not taking her to Sai. Due to her age, the traveling would be difficult on her, but Peggy wouldn’t be left behind again. She’d made her feelings perfectly clear to him after they had returned from the Highlands.

She knew that she didn’t have many more years with them, and wanted to spend every moment that she had left with the lass that she’d raised. After that, Tidas wasn’t about to tell Peggy to stay behind, but Skye was still contemplating it. She understood how hard the journey would be, and Peggy was still insisting on going.

Skye had tried to talk her out of it, but saw an argument brewing in Peggy’s eyes. Knowing the look, she dropped it, but hadn’t given up on getting her to stay. She was hoping to convince Peggy to go to their new home, and to start directing the other servants on setting everything up, but Peggy had been adamant.

She was going to stay by Skye’s side: no matter the risk. Their time apart during the Highland Raid was the longest that they’d ever been separated. Skye had missed Peggy, but it had been far harder on the old woman than on Skye.

It was only two months in when Peggy had decided that no one was going to tell her that she had to stay behind again. Sick, injured, or even dying: she would stay by her lass’ side. As both Peggy and Tidas thought about their coming journey, the doors to the throne room opened..

As the music started to play, and the gathered guests started to calm down; everyone waited for the bridal party members to enter..