Isadora’s face flushes a little, and I’m not sure how much is from my compliment and how much is from my frustration. I notice her adjusting in her seat, and I want to know what she’s thinking.
The queen raises a single hand in the smallest attempt at showing me she’s retreating from that villainous vein in her tea conversation today. “I don’t dare make an enemy of you, Nathan. I know how dangerous you are.” She takes a sip of her tea again. “Vincent is aware, as well.”
Chapter Nine
Isadora
“Thank you, Elinor.” I can barely get the words out, and not just because of the tight corseting of the wedding gown. I’m so excited to be walking down the aisle today that I can barely breathe. My stomach is fluttering, and I’m anxious and forgetful. I had no idea just how excited I would be for the wedding ceremony.
“Of course!” Elinor’s eyes are glassy. “You look so beautiful, Isadora. You’re going to be the most kind, most worthy queen any nation has seen.”
I take Elinor’s hands in mine, standing into my heels and attempting to straighten out in this massive gown again. “I will always consider you a dear friend, Elinor, and your words mean so much to me. That’s why I want you as my maid of honor. I didn’t need all those other ceremonies and traditions, but today, I want you there with me.”
Elinor is shocked. I point to the wardrobe, and Elinor’s eyes follow where I’m pointing and back at me before she opens the door.
“Now, let me help you into that, and we’ll finish getting ready.” I picked out a gown that perfectly complemented her skin tone and eyes, something that would make her look elegant and right at home at the wedding. My mother was not thrilled with this idea, but I didn’t care. Servants are not my idea of objects, and I’ve always loved Elinor. She’s been a source of warmth when my mother could offer nothing similar, and my wedding day is supposed to be about me, so why not have Elinor be a part of it?
We both finish getting ready, and I squeeze her hand as we exit my room and head to the palace gardens.
The ceremony is surprisingly short for being one element of tradition our nations are all so invested in. I walk down the aisle to both men waiting for me, and Elinor stands beside Marius, Nathan’s friend who was actually talking to Vincent moments before I began my procession. Have I entered the magical place and time where Nathan and Vincent could actually dare to get along rather than stay at each others’ throats?
The wedding is beautiful. It’s more than just the sight of my two men vowing to spend their lives with me. It’s more than the I love you’s we share. I can see it on the tear-streaked faces of near everyone watching.
Marius and Elinor both look like they’re going to cry, as I struggle to fight back my happy tears. The wide smile spread across my face might actually hurt in the morning, that’s how happy I am.
“Forever,” I lean forward and whisper toward them both. “Forever is a gift to have with you two. Thank you for your alliance, for your love, for your lives.”
I kiss them each on the lips, quickly, because that’s the custom, but then I look at them each again and…okay, so there are some perks to being a princess. Making out with your two hot, new husbands has to be one of them.
I look at Vincent, then to Nathan. They both know what I’m thinking. I circle my arms around Vincent’s neck and Nathan brings his arms around me. Nathan kisses my neck while I kiss Vincent’s lips, and I think I actually hear some of the wedding guests gasp.
I mean, I’m relatively sexually inexperienced…but even I have an idea about what marrying two men means.
With the ceremony completed, we are supposed to have a fancy dinner now. Eat more courses than there are hours in the day. My husbands escort me to our front table, and they sit at either side of me.
My fingers tap over the table so much I know I must look bored. I can’t help it. Sandwiched between my two gorgeous husbands and knowing that the bedding ceremony is next on the agenda…well, how is a girl supposed to focus on anything else? I eat some, but I realize that the wine is much more delicious and suited to my mood right now.
Nathan is looking at me with a look that is so much more than that charming grin he’s always wearing. His eyes are adoring me, and that moody cloud that seems to be ever-present seems to have lifted, the facade faded away to reveal the man behind the mask of who he is to others. For me, Nathan is himself. He’s kind, artistic, soulful.