Love be a Lady

"I object!"

Charlotte walked down the aisle, the train of her dress gliding across the tiles of the cathedral. Too soon, she approached the alter, and the bridesmaid took her bouquet of flowers. Charlotte took a moment to imagine that someone else was standing by her at the alter. Instead of the Duke's cold, dark eyes, she imagined a girls beautiful, shining blue ones. In place of the duke's balding head, a girl with dark curls looked up at her with love through her thick lashes. Finally, Charlotte opened her eyes.

'Here I go' Charlotte thought, and looked up at the duke. He took her soft hands in his as the priest began the ceremony "We are gathered here today..." He spoke, his voice echoing in the dark hall. Frantically Charlotte prayed that something would stop the wedding. But she knew it was futile. The wedding would go as planned, and she would be forever stuck with the Duke.

The priest reached the final part "..Speak now or forever hold your peace.." She hopes that someone powerful enough to stop the wedding would object. "Well.." the priest was about to finish when a voice rang out from the end of the hall "I object!" Charlotte looked over to the doors, wondering who had stopped the wedding and saved her, and to confirm that it wasn't the person that her heart longed for it to be...

There, in the doors to the cathedral, was a horse, which she swore was from the royal stables from the Northern Point; and Charlotte knew that the person who always rose it was someone very dear to her heart.

Princess Ophelia of the Northern Point ran down the aisle, her raven curls flying behind her, blue eyes shining with happiness. Charlotte tore her hands from the Duke's, tossing the ring that he had just slid onto her finger at him and ran towards the woman with raven curls. "Lottie!" Ophelia yelled as Charlotte crashed into her arms. The young women sat in each other's arms as everyone in the hall stared at them in shock. "Lottie, oh, forgive me for not stopping them before.." Ophelia whispered. "Ophelia.. Thank goodness you came.. but how does this help? I love you, but.. they'll say that I.. that we.." "Darling, don't worry.. I promise I've figured it all out.

Finally, someone spoke "This! This is unacceptable! You stop the ceremony for some girl? What claim does she have to object!? Who is she, anyways?" The duke, too caught up in rage to realize who he was talking to, spit. Charlotte and Ophelia finally got up, still clutching each other as if they held on for dear life. "Well, it is quite a simple reason." Ophelia started, pulling her dark curls out of her face "Do you know who I am, Duke of Yorkshire?" The Duke's eyes filled with recognition. "So you've figured it out now, haven't you?" Charlotte asked the duke "You realize that the woman before you is the Princess Ophelia of the Northern Point!" "But, Princess" the duke spit out the title as if it were a fowl word "On what do you object?" Ophelia answered quickly, obviously she had known what she was to say "I do not approve of this match" The duke sneered "That is no reason at all! You cannot simply say that you don't approve of the match! Three words and the girl will be my wife, and there will be nothing to stop us any more."

Charlotte stepped towards the duke, her hand still clutching Ophelia's "If you loved me at all, you would have called by by my name! My name is Charlotte, and not 'My Lady' or 'The Girl' and certainly not your wife! I'm done with this charade! It's not up to you, or my parents, or anyone for that matter, to decide how I live my life! And.. if you really loved me, you would know that." Everyone looked towards Charlotte and her parents started to stand up.

"It matters not. You were promised to me, and we will be married, no matter what!" The duke shouted. Ophelia spoke up "But, you cannot marry her if she decides to be with someone else!" The duke looked around frantically, searching for something "There is no one else that she would love! Who could she be with?" He stared at the doors as if he expected someone to burst in. "Wow, he really can't tell, can he?" Charlotte whispered to Ophelia.

Then, Ophelia did something that Charlotte had never seen coming "Charlotte. You've always been the best part of my life, for as long as I've known you. You've been there for me through all of the difficult things in my life, and you've offered me a helping hand whenever I needed it. You were there for me when everyone else abandoned me, and you've always seen me as more than just a title. Lottie, I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the light of my life and I love you more than you could ever know. When I thought I'd lost you and I rode here hoping to get to you in time..."
"You thought you'd lost me? Ophelia..."
"Charlotte, you're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life, so.." Ophelia pulled out a ring, and Charlotte gasped with surprise. Ophelia looked up at Charlotte through her dark, fluttering lashes, love shining in her eyes "Lady Charlotte Esme Quinn of Northundria, will you marry me?" Charlotte's face broke out into a smile and she leaned forward to kiss the woman in front of her. "Yes" Charlotte breathed, and they kissed again.

The duke stared at the two in shock. Someone in the crowd cheered, and soon a few others did too. Charlotte's parents stood up, angry. Slowly, Charlotte and Ophelia broke apart. "I love you" Charlotte whispered to the raven haired princess in front of her. "I love you too, Lottie" Ophelia replied. They stood up, and Charlotte's parents came towards them. "Charlotte! Princess." At this Charlotte's mother curtsied. "We.. we should have listened to you three years ago. I knew that duke was trouble! But, please forgive me, and come home!" The duchess (Charlotte's mother) said. "I'm sorry you thought that that excuse would make me forgive you for forcing me into an engagement that would mostly benefit you. But I think you're focused more on the title than the fact that I've found love. Maybe I'll forgive you some day. But right now, I'm not ready. So, you go home to your big mansion. I'll stay with the person who is home to me."

And Charlotte and Ophelia walked away from the duchess, who stared at them in shock. The two women rode off, perhaps not into the sunset, but into a world that held everything good ahead- so Charlotte in her pink dress and high heels, and Ophelia in a riding habit and sturdy boots galloped away. And Charlotte saw that the day that could have been the worst day of her life ended up being the best. Charlotte was finally home.