The crowd was cheering loudly and eagerly, and there were hundreds of people gathered in the great plaza in the capital.
The crowd was made of people of all classes and stations in life. The festival had drawn in people from all walks of life, all eager to celebrate and take part in the festivities of their Empress' wedding to the Prince of Pristan.
Isabelle smiled.
There were no boos, no hissing, no angry glares, no people holding up signs - or throwing them - with hateful things on them.
Just.
Her people.
Cheering for her.
It made her feel warm inside.
She could not let herself get choked up and emotional and teary eyed. She had to keep her wits about her, had to focus. If she got distracted she would fumble and ruin everything!
So she took a breath, steadied herself, and spoke.