Page 47 of Stolen Princess's Secret

News of the wedding spread through the village with the arrival of those royal helicopters carrying the royal family. Far from this wedding being an impromptu and modest affair, the people of Aergoveny seemed hellbent on embracing their King, country and especially their new Lord, and making Tomas’s wedding to the Crown Princess an evening to remember.

Tomas and his companions were herded to the outdoor fires where the men of the village had gathered, and music and dancing was already in full swing. Women walked past on their way to the inn, bearing armfuls of wild mountain flowers and baskets of food, and everyone shared wide smiles and teasing glances and embraced the festivities with a skip in their step.

Rudolpho and the village mayor had taken it upon themselves to form an alliance and see to it that Tomas met as many people as possible in the hours before the ceremony began. Gabriel harnessed the younger men and encouraged their most prized steeds to be brought to him immediately for examination. The King’s wedding gift to the village included a year’s access to royal racehorse bloodlines, he told them, and promptly turned the wedding gathering into a horse traders’ paradise.

‘Just making it a wedding to remember,’ he said.

‘My father grew up in a mountain village,’ Rudolpho told Tomas a short time later as the men co-opted by the women to help with preparations began bringing out ornate soup tureens and tables. Tomas gratefully accepted a cup of strong hot coffee brought to him by the mayor’s grandson.

People started turning up with their hawks and, well, what was a falconer to do in the face of that kind of temptation but set a prize of first pick from his next hatching and help set out a flight path for time trials?

Rudolpho, being a courtier well used to keeping wayward kings on task, warned Tomas not to get too involved, this being his wedding day and all, and then the women signalled they were ready for him, so he jostled his way to the head of the crowd, straightened his trousers and shirt and the stunning fur cloak Ildris had slung over his shoulders at some point, and made his way towards the village square, where his bride waited with her family.

At some point the small, intimate gathering Tomas had imagined had become a celebration for all, because how else would this place beneath the sky and in the shadow of a great mountain range have become ringed with mountain wildflowers and pine boughs, and made raucous with rhythmic clapping and spirited vocals? With his blood quickening and his gaze searching ahead for that moment when Claudia would be revealed to him, he gave himself over to the moment, cupped his hands over his mouth and let out a piercing war cry of his own.

He didn’t even have a gift to lay at her feet—he really hadn’t thought this marriage moment through. And then he saw her and the air around him stilled and the music faded to nothing.

She wore a royal tiara and a simple white gown and a fur-trimmed cloak similar to his, and she smiled at him as if there were no other place she’d rather be than here with him.

He led an army of Aergovenich warriors, young and old, who would follow his lead, and he didn’t know when he’d become their figurehead but they put the weight of their wedding songs and customs and posturing behind him and it was glorious.

Bain the innkeeper stopped him from reaching Claudia’s side by the simple act of getting in his way and holding his ground until they stood chest to chest.

At the raising of Bain’s hand, all sound stopped.

‘Crown Princess Claudia of Byzenmaach, is this him?’

‘It is.’

‘King Casimir of Byzenmaach, do you consent to placing your treasured sister, the country’s beloved Crown Princess Royal, into this man’s hands?’

‘If she insists, yes.’

‘Lord Ildris of the mountain clans, do you object to the placing of your beloved jewel of the north into this working man’s hands?’

‘I dare not object.’

‘Lord Falcon Master Sokolov, are you worthy of this beloved woman?’ roared Bain at his most formidable volume yet.

Tomas realised why Bain had so suddenly developed a taste for theatre when the army of men behind him bellowed, ‘Yes!’ until Tomas raised his hand for silence.

The resulting hush nearly stole his breath.

And then Lor stepped up. He hadn’t expected her to play a prominent role in the ceremony, but nothing so far had proceeded as expected and her kindly face was reassuring.

‘Tomas Sokolov, you were born in my presence and, as you stand here before me, I claim my role as representative of the spirit of your parents. Do you object?’

‘No.’ He probably should have gone over the details of this wedding in advance...

‘Your future wife stands before you and us all,’ continued Lor. ‘And, as is customary, I demand you open your heart for examination.’

Did she want him to cut it out? This might shorten his life span considerably, which might even please Cas and Ildris. Cas was smiling broadly and Ildris looked annoyingly pleased with himself. Neither seemed to want to clue him in on his options regarding this particular part of the ceremony. Then again, he’d winged it so far.

‘I have nothing to hide,’ he offered grandly.

Although a little bit of mystique when it came to lording it over the people of Aergoveny might have come in handy.

‘Will you honour her?’ Bain asked.

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