AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oberon stands slightly in front of my father as he waits for me. He’s wearing a tunic the same shade of blue as my dress with white piping and fae symbols embroidered along the white sash around his neck. The symbols represent love, family, and dedication.
When my mother offers Oberon my hand, he holds it between both of his as a symbol of eternal protection.
My father begins to pontificate about the blessings of marriage, but I mostly tune him out. I give my complete attention to Oberon as we stare into each other’s eyes. What is he thinking? Hopefully, he’s not regretting his decision to marry me. I know I can be a handful at times, but he seems like a man who can handle it. His compassion toward Harold last night showed a different side of him to me. As we get to know each other even better, I look forward to seeing all sides of him. The thought makes me smile.
“Oberon,” I hear my father say, “would you like to say your vows to Emily?”
Apparently, Oberon wasn’t really paying much attention to my father either because he completely misses the question.
“It’s time to say your vows,” I whisper to him.
As if snapping out of a daydream, Oberon’s eyes become more focused as he clears his throat before speaking.
“Emily Sangard,” he begins, “I promise to love and cherish you above all others. I vow to protect you and our children with my life, and I will never lie to you, even if the truth is hard to say. These promises I make to you with all my heart as we rule not the dark fae, not the light fae, but all fae as one.”
Short and to the point, if not poetic or particularly romantic. Then again, we are in front of others, I can’t expect someone like Oberon to show vulnerability before the masses.
“Emily,” my father says, “would you like to make your vows to Oberon?”
“Oberon Drakken, I promise to always love you, even on days when you don’t necessarily deserve it, and to keep true to only you for the rest of the days of our lives. Your happiness and the happiness of our children will be my first priority no matter what may come. This I vow to you as your wife and as your future queen.”
Oberon smiles. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“By the power of my kingship,” my father says, “I now pronounce you not only man and wife, but king and queen.”
The crowd cheers as Oberon and I kneel before my parents. They remove their crowns and place them on our heads, marking the end of their reign and the beginning of ours. Those gathered raise their voices in approval as Oberon and I turn to face them as their new king and queen.
We lead the procession out of the ballroom to the reception area.
“I’m glad that’s over with,” Oberon says as we walk down the corridor, continuing to hold my hand. “I’ve never been one to enjoy speaking in front of a large crowd. Too many judgmental eyes watching your every move, hoping to catch you in a mistake.”
“I didn’t think you were the paranoid type, husband.”
Oberon grins. “Not necessarily paranoid, wife, but cautious. We may have won the battle against your father, but there will be more to come. I hope you don’t regret what we’ve done.”
“Never. What we did will be for the good of all fae and humanity. All I’ve ever wanted is to find a way to bring everyone together, and now we have the power to do that.”
“It’ll take time,” he warns. “Don’t expect to have paradise instantly, especially with the humans. It’ll take patience on our part to make them trust us.”
“I don’t want tomakethem do anything. I hope they’llwantto in time.”
“Me too,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Me too.”
For the reception, my mother spared no expense. We had the best wine, the best food, and the best singers serenade us while we ate. To my surprise, my father asked me to dance, but I braced myself for what was to come. He’s never been the sentimental type, and I doubted this signaled a change in his behavior.
“Are you proud of yourself?” he asks through a forced smile. “Now that you and Oberon are in control, I suppose you’ll make your mother and me move out of the castle.”
“There is more than enough room for all of us to live here,” I say. “You shouldn’t expect the worst in people just because that’s the way you operate. I would never throw you and Mom out of your own home. You built this place. It’s yours. Oberon and I will build our own palace, but it will take some time.”
“Bigger and grander than this one, I assume,” he smirks.
“Freer and calmer,” I retort. “That’s what our people deserve.”
My father’s fake smile fades. “I suppose you’ll be peddling your miracle machine to the humans soon.”
I stiffen in his arms as he continues to twirl me around the dance floor.
“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find out?” he scoffs. “I have spies everywhere, my dear. There’s nothing in this city that I don’t know about.”
