Of Kings and Sucessions

[King Alboin]

King Alboin of Graevia was in Miska, as one could often find him if he was not in the country. But this was not just an ordinary visit. No, today, he would marry his son off to the daughter of his best friend.

Who, concidentally, he just spotted.

"My friend! There you are!" He said, reaching his arms out to hug him. "Today, we become family!"

[King Ramon]

The other king gladly hugged his old friend.

"That we do, old friend, that we do!" he said. "It's a joyous occasion! Come! I'm going to check on how the wine tastes for the reception." The king gave his friend a wink.

[Juliet de Chagny]

The two kings scurried off.

~ Elsewhere

"Deidra! If you don't quit your fidgeting, I will inform your future husband to treat you awfully!" Juliet said, as she braided her best friend's hair to later place into an intricate updo upon her head. "Which means no pleasant wedding night for you, Missy miss."

Juliet herself had been married six months now and if Deidra before had complained about her vulgarness, which Juliet herself thought toned down, those complaints had only increased tenfold since her marriage.

Of course, Juliet saw nothing wrong at all. No, she was a happy bride in a land of women married to men ten times their age. So she was lucky to be married to a man relatively closer to her age, even if at seventeen she was teen years his junior.

He was handsome....

Of course, so was Deidra's soon to be husband. She knew her friend would also be a content bride just based on that.

[Deidra]

Deidra stopped squirming. If just for her friend's sake.

"Now, what have we always been told, Deidra, my love?" Her best friend said to her as she worked.

"Holy cow, you two look so much alike that you could be twins, how are you from completely different countries?" Deidra said.

"Yes, but actually the other thing." Juliet said.

"Are you two really going to force your children to marry just because you've both decided that you're too lazy to leave each other's side and go visit separate sets of grandchildren?" Deidra asked.

"No! The "Tonight is the best night of your life speech"!" Juliet said.

"Oh. I usually try to forget that."

"Well, tonight, you're living it."

"Why did I not ask to be a nun? Why did I not ask to be a nun? Why did I not ask to be a nun? Why did I not ask to be a nun?" Deidra repeated, chanting it in the manner of a mantra.

"Beats me. But quit stressing, you're gonna have fun. And not just at the after-party for the ceremony. The after-party for the after-party." Juliet said, waggling her eyebrows.

"Good God you're horrible."

"But I'm yours. And just remember, somewhere else in this castle is a young man just as nervous as you."

"I sincerely doubt that."

"Oh, yeah, I know. But I'm trying to make you feel better!"

[Prince Daxton]

Daxton was pacing his room. As much as he'd been prepared for marriage for a very long time...and well, he did have previous experiencing with women... He had to admit, the Rassi queen was something else entirely, and her friend defiantly knew how to make a man blush, not that Daxton didn't return the favor.

Marriage, the same woman from now till...forever. Especially since the terms of agreement required him to stay faithful or ruin the alliance...which would cause hsi banishment and what fun would that be?

So he paced, hoping that nothing went wrong today. But he was royal, and royals never have a day of bliss do they?

[Langston]

"Well you look a bit nervous, couldn't be getting married or something today could you?" Langston asked, coming out of the shadows.

Daxton jumped, a little. "No never, marriage is for nobles and idiots," Daxton answered. "Oh, wait."

Langston laughed at his friend's scared little jump. "You would think you'd be used to me popping in by now."

"No one could get used to you," Daxton said. "You're much to sneaky. I should do something about this. A bell maybe?"

Langston sighed. "I think that would be counterproductive to my job." he said.

"Oh...yeah..." Daxton said, then went on muttering about spies.

Langston just laughed. "Come on now! I"m important to you!" he said.

"Important and annoying can exist in the same person." Daxton answered.

"Point."

[Juliet de Chagny]

Juliet gave a few final tugs on the hairdo.

"Good. You're perfect."

Deidra scrutinized herself in the mirror.

"Hmm...I look sorta, kinda pretty. You're a miracle worker!"

"I know, I know." Juliet said, bowing. "Anyways, you are getting married today. No if, ands, or buts about it."

"Because if I don't, a political alliance goes down in flames, I'll disgrace myself, my family, and my country, and possibly get myself executed for treason?"

"No, because I had a new dress made for the occasion and goddamnit, I'm never going to wear it anywhere else." Juliet said.

"True. And I had a new dress made that I'm never going to wear again, so I suppose I better make the best of it." Deidra said.

"That's the spirit, chickadee. Just think about it, by this time tomorrow you'll be..."

"In your rooms, getting drilled about tonight?"

"A married woman." Juliet said. "But yes to that as well."

Juliet walked over to the bed, where Deidra's gown lay in state.

"Come on love, let's get you into this thing."

Carefully, without mussing hair, they got her into her gown.

"God, you look like an angel." Juliet said when Deidra was all secured into her dress. "I don't know how any person will be able to resist you."

"Well thankfully, I have my big, bad, scary Matron of Honor to frighten people away." Deidra said, spinning. "The skirt's swishy! That's so cool!"

"Of course I'll defend your helpless soul from the hordes of people wishing to view you. But I make no promises during the party. I plan to be drinking wine happily in a corner, admiring my handiwork when it comes to your hair. And aren't all skirts at least a little swishy?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. Swishy skirts are just so joy-giving. Oh! Can I join you in that corner?"

"No. There are going to be SO many people that want to talk to you. And you can't disappoint them. You're a princess after all, even if there are days where you wish you weren't."

"You mean like the day I married someone I barely knew for reasons that I'm actually kinda fuzzy on?"

"Well, that's just a aristocracy thing in general. But yeah, pretty much. I know my marriage was arranged and all, but at least he and I were able to exchange letters and get to know one another. And my father said that if I didn't like him, I didn't have to marry him. But not all girls get that. A lot of girls, whether they're royal or not, will get married having never before laid eyes on their fiance or having heard anything about them." Juliet said, sitting down on Deidra's bed.

Deidra sat down next to her.

"Well, at least I'm not alone." She said. "How long are we cooped up in here for?"

"Well, at my wedding, the best man came and got us, remember? But it might be different here. Might be your father. Might be his father. Hell, it might even just be that sunset hits and we're all like 'Weren't you supposed to get married like hours ago?' and we head down to the chapel to see what the living daylights is going on." Juliet said.

"And because you're a bridesmaidzilla, you'll tear a hole in the wall." Deidra said, laughing at the idea.

"I'll do it anyway, just to make you feel better."

"Aww, shucks. You're a good friend."

"Best friend."

"Surreeee.."

"I hate you."

"No you don't, you get occasions for new dresses because of me."

"You're right! Get married more! Every year have another ceremony! I wanna have more sparkly dresses!"


Deidra laughed.

"No. One wedding is more than enough."

"...Fine..."


(ooc: Juliet's dress: www.tailoredweddingdresses.com/images/D/bridesmaiddresses035.jpg (red one) Deidra's dress: www.rivendellbridal.com/UpdatedWebsiteFiles/seminepreview.jpg D's hair: your-hairstyles.com/img/arts/2010/Dec/09/410/braided_updo_hair.jpg )

[Prince Daxton]

"Who's your best man anyway?" Langston asked.

"That is a very good question. I have no clue what's going on, to be honest. I just know I'm about to pledge my life to some girl that every time I've met was civil, therefore I have no clue what she's like. Oh fun." he muttered that last bit.

Langston laughed. "Wow, a wedding where the groom doesn't even know who the best man is. The planners have out done themselves this time." he said.

Daxton lifted his hand as though to say 'cheers'.

"When is this affair to start?" he asked.

"Um...... I dunno."

[Deidra]

"So 25 years to life then?" Deidra asked.

"Oh, you make it sound like marriage is prison!" Juliet gently chided. Deidra just gave her a knowing look. "Ok, only a little. I'm technically not supposed to go run about the villages with no shoes and my hair flying free now that I'm married."

"Didn't you do that last night?"

"Quiet unmarried child. You do not know of such things. We do not speak of that."

"Unlady-like married woman, I believe we are speaking of such things and we both know of them."

There was a knock at the door.

[King Ramon]

"Are you two decent?" the King called. "Well, Juliet, you never are but, Dee, my dear?

[Juliet de Chagny]

"I love you too Your Majesty!" Juliet called out.

"Yes, we're decent father!" Deidra called. "Is this a start to the ceremony knock or a checking to make sure that I haven't run off to a nunnery yet knock?"

"Not that it'd be hard to find you if you did." Juliet said. "There's one nunnery within 20 miles of here. And you can't run fast, even in sensible shoes."

"Shoes are sensible?"

"No."

[King Ramon]

Ramon entered with a chuckle.

"Well, If you really want to dear, I'm sure the Abby would love a new addition... But of course, that would ruin the alliance...and piss off a very nice young lad that's supposed to be your husband."

[Deidra]

"And I'd have to spend the rest of my life sewing in an Abbey." She said. "I like sewing just as much as the next person..."

"So not at all." Juliet interrupted. Deidra hit her playfully.

"But I'm not keen on spending my life doing that." She finished. "And daddy, you never answered the question. Is this the runaway bride check or the time to go get married check?"

[King Ramon]

"A bit of both." the King said. "But yes, dear, it's time to head to the chapel."

[Deidra]

Juliet and Deidra filed out of the room and were heading to the chapel door. Now, whilst the guests were in the chapel already, the wedding party itself was still outside the door, all of it. Even though most people believed that the groom wasn't supposed to see the bride before she walked down the asisle, the royalty of Rassel had always done it that they all met up at the chapel door, and then the groom and his entourage went down first, followed by the bride. If the groom choose not to look at his bride out of superstitution or otherwise, well, that was his business.

Deidra joined everyone at the door. The ceremony was to begin shortly, of course.

"Hey, chickadee," Juliet said. "Remember when we were kids and even though we were told that we couldn't go watch the lunar eclipse that your Dad's astronomers predicted, we snuck out anyway?"

Deidra snickered.

"And when we got caught by Father Mitchells just as soon as we had made it outside and he made us sit in church all day and do the rosary one hundred times." Deidra added.

"But not before letting us watch the eclipse with him and explaining the scientific theories behind eclipses. Which is just so odd for a priest. But that's why he was and is always my favorite." Juliet said.

"Well, he is the one marrying me today. And if when he married my cousin is any example, let's hope he doesn't work in that particular childhood story into the sermon." Deidra said.

"I hope he does. It'll remind everyone of how awesome we were as little kids." Juliet said.

"And how horrible we were at sneaking."

The two of them giggled a bit, for just a second before collecting themselves together. The groom was heading down the aisle and she was set to follow in just a minute or so.