The bride's carriage reached the Grand Palace in no time.
When Esther stepped out of the carriage, cheers erupted everywhere and she realized that a huge crowd of excited people were surrounding the entrance of the Grand Palace, most of them being royal knights, ordinary nobles and low-ranking palace officials who could not enter the wedding venue itself due to the number of guests. A
She could also see some of her lady friends from the Queen's palace waving at her, as well as her fellow custodians from the royal library. After her ladies-in-waiting helped her fix her wedding gown, Esther acknowledged these guests with a brilliant smile, causing the happy crowd to cheer even more.
Afterwards, she was guided towards the ceremonial hall by the knights. Beyond the large double doors of the ceremonial hall, she knew everyone was simply waiting for her arrival. Lady Tyra had already informed her of how the wedding ceremony would go.
As per tradition, the bride of royalty would be the last to arrive. On the other side of the hall, the groom would be standing before the altar where the master of the ceremony, the High Priest serving the Ivanovs, would preside to bless them in the name of the dragon protecting the royal family.
The herald announced the entry of the bride.
"All rise! Her Ladyship Esther Burton has arrived!"
At the sound of the double doors opening, all the guests looked at the entrance, and many could not help but gasp in awe and admiration, especially those guests who were laying eyes on her for the first time.
'How can a human look so enchantingly beautiful?'
Esther's appearance in that red wedding dress made many people think they were staring at a divine being who should only exist in paintings and lores of old. The colour red was generally harsh on the eyes, but on her slender figure, the colour red seemed to further heighten her flawless features, like the satiny petals of a rose.
'So that's the Crown Princess, the future Queen of Megaris!'
Her blushing face held a kind of soft and exquisite charm that made her seem like an incarnation of a flower in full blossom, and all the rare and exotic flowers decorating the hall paled in comparison to her. No one could take their eyes off her. Some looked at her with envy, calling her an enchantress or witch under their breaths, while others looked at her with awe and respect.
The moment Prince Theron saw Esther, his breath was stuck in his chest. His jaw almost dropped. If he wasn't a length of a hall away from her, he would have probably been unable to stop himself from scooping her into his arms this very moment, madly kissing her until her face turns as red as her dress.
He could not deny his bride was the most beautiful woman to ever walk the lands. Seeing her walk towards him with that beautiful shy smile, it felt like a dream to him and he never wished to wake up from it.
Sitting in the front row and seeing their son's reaction, the King and the Queen found themselves beaming in happiness as well. Queen Theodora could not contain her joy and said to her husband, "Our daughter-in-law looks like a fairy. Our son chose well."
King Esteban smiled. "Tsk. His father found himself a fairy to wed, how come the son's taste would be behind? Just like his father, he has eyes for a gem."
The Queen wanted to roll her eyes, but she did not disagree. "I wish them to be as happy as us."
"Isn't that a given when we decided to break tradition? We gave Theron full reins to his future instead of deciding for him. Let us trust his choice."
With slow and steady steps, Esther continued to walk with grace under the eyes of the wedding guests. She was oddly nervous and excited, and she could not stop the tips of her cold fingers from trembling. In order to keep her composure, she decided to watch the way her long skirt flowed around her legs as she put one foot forward after the other. It was such a funny thing to feel burdened by people's gazes, when only one gaze really mattered to her.
Reaching the base of the altar, before climbing the steps of the elevated pedestal, a certain young man approached her to offer his hand.
A steady hand, a warm hand… the hand she would be holding for the years to come.
Esther smiled and looked up at the handsome face of the man who would be her husband from this moment on. His dark eyes seemed to overflow with his love for her, and it made her blush further. Just one glance, and it was as if nothing else in the world mattered aside from the two of them.
'My Theron.'
She gently squeezed his hand, and together, they climbed those few remaining steps. This act from the Crown Prince of personally stepping down to get his bride was particularly touching as it wasn't part of the ceremony. It only proved to the guests how much he doted on his wife-to-be.
The young couple stood facing each other in front of the altar. After announcing the purpose of this occasion, the High Priest proceeded with the ceremony proper, and soon, he reached the part where the wedding vows would be exchanged.
"Theron Ivanov, will you have Esther Burton to be your wife, to live together respecting the values entrenched in the sacred vow of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health, and look after the bountiful lands of Megaris together with fairness in mind, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do!" Prince Theron answered, "I vow in the name of the dragon, I will always protect her even if my life is at stake."
Esther felt her heart turn warmer with his words. For as far as she could remember, she had always been the one protecting others, and only one person, this human in front of her, vowed to protect her. Her eyes turned moist as she put on the loveliest smile she could for him. Every moment they were together, this man never failed to assure her that he loved her more than anyone could ever have.
The High Priest then looked at Esther and repeated the vow, but this time for the bride.
"Esther Burton, will you have Theron Ivanov to be your husband, to live together respecting the values entrenched in the sacred vow of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honour and keep him in sickness and in health, and look after the bountiful lands of Megaris together with fairness in mind, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do!" she said firmly and continued, "I vow in the name of the phoenix, along with him, I will bear responsibility for all the hardship that will come his way."
Prince Theron stared at her with a smile that was both silly and adorable, as if he wanted to laugh in happiness but couldn't due to the sacred mood of the ceremony. His eyes conveyed to her that as long as she was by his side, no hardship would be difficult for him to face.