Kapitel 7: Down The Aisle

A few miles from the imperial palace, was the temple of light. Dedicated to Goddess Thea, this temple was no less than a palace itself. There was a giant chamber of the goddess, a large library, residential chambers for monks, prayer hall, and a throne room.

The imperial wedding was held inside the throne room.

It was a vast hall, with a giant symbol of sun engraved on the floor, tall pillars holding up a roof with glass domes. Soft rays of sun descended from the glass ceiling and spread across the throne room.

Only a few guests were invited on the emperor's command, most of these guests were the guards from Izekiel's personal regime. The guests stood on either side nervously, it was getting hard for the temple musicians to keep playing the wedding music.

This hall led to a series of stairs that ascended to the dais. A Throne rested majestically over it. Behind it were large glass windows that overlooked the imperial city of Esmeria, and above it sat the emperor.

Izekiel's chin rested on his hand, as he was reclined against his throne, his other hand was rested over his long sword.

An extremely cold aura has settled in the temple with his presence. His eyes were dark and the darkness only increased with each second.

No one makes the emperor wait, but his bride had been late by five whole minutes.

Though there was enough distance between the emperor and the king and queen of Iyanora, they couldn't help but feel unsettled. It was as if they could sink under the ground by the weight of their emperor's dark aura.

The queen of Iyanora whispered to her husband.

"Why does it feel like we are being held captive?"

Hans glanced at the gates for the tenth time and replied in a low voice.

"We could be captive soon if Johanna delays any further..."

"My king, do you think our daughter has a change of heart?"

Hans shook his head but he wasn't sure either.

The parents of the bride had to arrive before the bride to complete some wedding rituals, but each second felt like an hour as they now waited for their daughter to come.

Izekiel's eyes were cold, his composure calm but his grip above the arm of the throne was getting tighter.

"I am afraid, my king," the queen leaned closer and whispered again, "It is sinful to bring weapons in holy places, then why did his majesty bring that sword?"

"I hope he does not have any other intentions" the king sighed, "What is taking Johanna so long?"

While most of the people were tense and agitated, there was someone who was very calm. She was none other than Izekiel's sworn sister, Myrtle. Her lady in waiting noticed this and asked in a low whisper,

"My lady, did you do something…?"

"It's just a present for her majesty," Myrtle placed a hand over her mouth as she softly chuckled.

The lady in waiting wasn't surprised, but she still felt like this was a bit too much.

Last night, the two of them traveled in a storm and met an old witch who lived on the outskirts of the city. Myrtle bought the tears of a mermaid for a hefty price. They were known for slowly but effectively making a normal human go insane.

When the moon was high, they sneaked inside Johanna's chamber and Myrtle poured the tears on her wedding dress.

Since Johanna was no ordinary person but a mana practitioner, the effect of the tears might differ but either way it was enough to bring Izekiel's wrath upon her.

Myrtle masked her emotions and glanced at Izekiel. He would be losing his patience anytime now, and no one would be able to beg forgiveness for the princess or her kingdom.

There were murmurs filling up the whole temple, the emperor had arrived in time, but the princess was still nowhere in sight. Some wondered where she had gotten such guts, some worried that she would die on her wedding day, while some were thinking about writing their wills in case the emperor decides to massacre the guests as well.

All of these soft noises were silenced when the herald spoke up.

"Her royal highness, princess of Iyanora, Johanna Nesrin Avington has arrived."

Everyone held their breaths when the gates slowly opened.

Nesrin entered the temple, followed by her four bridesmaids who were tense with each step they took. Earlier, there were doubts among the guests now there was a silence with certainty of something bad happening.

Izekiel noticed this sudden change, and lifted his eyes.

Instead of wearing the traditional white and golden dress, the princess wore a black gown. It fitted closely to her bosom and waist, and then there was a skirt that spread out and trailed on the ground with her steps.

Threads of silver have sewn gems and stones across the gown. It resembled a starry night, the gown was indeed beautiful but black was a color of mourning.

Her brown wavy hairs cascaded down to her waist, half of them were pulled up high. She wore her royal tiara and took confident steps towards the throne.

She carried a bouquet of chrysanths, gardenia, wolf's bane, and some purple flowers she had seen in the garden.

The guests have all frozen in fear, not only was the princess dressed in mourning colors but she also carried gloomy flowers. To come to the wedding like this was declaring her displeasure and unhappiness.

There were barely any guests who thought the princess would live a happy life, after all the first imperial consort has been living as if she was forgotten. But now they were certain that a major conflict was about to arise between the couple as well as their kingdoms.

The temper of their emperor was unpredictable, and very much feared.

When Nesrin's eyes met her groom to be, she found that her heart had forgotten how to beat.

He has a beauty that was fearful, threatening, and tempting all at once.

But at that time, all Nesrin could think about was the cruelties he had committed in the novel. How he gave bizarre cold hearted punishments for the smallest of mistakes.

She prayed that he too forgot the events of last night like her.

From the blurry ocean of her memories, she recalled that he had drunk some wine as well. Perhaps she stood a chance?

The bridesmaid stepped aside when they reached the steps towards the throne. Nesrin recalled the wedding customs from the novel, and knelt in front of the groom. With the heavy skirt, it was a little painful to kneel.

She waited for him to allow her to get up, but he said nothing and simply looked at her with silence. Each second was like a heavy weight being added to her shoulders, the desperation to escape his presence etched its way inside her heart.

Without saying a single word, he had made her stiff with fear.

With some hesitation, Nesrin lifted her eyes to look at him.

There was a darkness in his gaze, the amused smile that curled over his lips looked far from pleased.