Royal Chaos

Chapter Nine: Forever

Evan woke at dawn. The day of the wedding had finally come. He stretched, and looked around, annoyed. Jared hadn't arrived yet to dress him. He grabbed the shirt himself, throwing it on and struggling to button it up. His fingers slipped and he scrunched his face up in frustration.

    Fifteen minutes later he had successfully buttoned up his shirt. He felt vaguely proud and looked in his mirror. He would get dressed for the wedding later, for now he just needed to get to breakfast. He would also have to have a talk with Jared about being on time.

    He walked down to the dining room, where his mother was already sitting and eating. He sat down across from her.

    "Good morning." He said.

     His mother set down her spoon sharply, looking at him, "Lord Connor's former fiancée has gone missing." She worded it as a statement, but Evan knew it was more of an accusation.

    Evan sighed, everyone knew that if Connor's former fiancée showed up at the wedding and said her objections, then she could have enough evidence for the church to deny this wedding. So, Evan had sent a group of his soldiers to relocate her for a couple years into an outside city. Still, he couldn't voice this to anyone.

    "Best not to talk about it." Evan told her, digging into his food.

    His mother began to raise her voice, "With everything that happened with your father-"

    Evan slammed his hands on the table, making her go quiet. "This isn't like what happened with father." He said, staring her down. "I said, best not to talk about it."

    She went quiet, picking at her meal. Evan sunk down in his chair, but suddenly he had lost his appetite.

~~~

    Jared didn't show up to dress Evan that morning. He needed all the patience he could to dress Evan to go down the aisle. Still, he had other work to do, the wedding was being set up.

    As Jared walked into the castle's gardens he could see the workers setting up. A large arch was erected on the far part of the garden for Evan and Connor to stand under as they were married.

    Jared had to stifle his anger. It didn't matter that him and Evan had known each other for longer. It didn't matter how Jared had always been there for Evan.

    Chairs were set up for the guests all along the  garden path. Jared wove his way through the path.

    "Where would you like the flowers?" A young boy asked, hauling a large vase filled with the bright purple lilacs.

    "Over there, by the arch." Jared instructed. "And make sure the others are by each pew." The boy complied.

    Jared watched him, sticking his hands in his pockets only to feel something in his right pocket. He pulled it out.

    It was the stone from the other night. He held it to the light again. Rainbow fractals showed on the ground. Jared smiled, bringing it down and flipping it in his hand as he walked.

    He looked around, satisfied with how everything looked. Now all he had to do was deal with the King and his guests.

~~~

    Alana borrowed a beautiful purple dress from Zoe for the wedding. It was a bit extravagant for her, with a corset at her waist and a large petticoat. It did look pretty, she would admit, but she felt out of place in it.

    She had been surprised at the news of King Evan's wedding and she was sure Lady Zoe felt the same way. But still, she never mentioned her brother during their dinners together, which had become quite common.