*Rosemary*

The day of the wedding had finally arrived. I found myself staring at the mirror. Those cold purple eyes stared back at me. They weren't much different from what I was accustomed to in the castle. Maybe Artermia and Orlin were right when they suggested I escape from this the marriage. But, continuing with the status quo was hard. Father was willing to do away with me. A stronger person probably would have stayed as a show of resistance, but that wasn't me. I wasn't strong at all.

"Are you ready, Rose?" a voice called out. It was Artemia. Father wasn't fond of her either due to being from a nomadic tribe.

I stood up from my chair. "Yes," I said, holding my head high. This was my last task as a princess. After this, I would be free. At least from Father.

Artermia smiled as soon as I opened the door. "You look pretty."

"Do I?"

She took out a purple pin and put it on my orange hair. "Of course. You have always been pretty."

Orlin also called me beautiful the other day. That's the only thing I ever had going for me. But as soon as a guy got to know me, they seemed repulsed. It was as if I suddenly turned ugly to them.

I touched the heart-shaped pin. "Did Brother pick this?"

Artermia giggled. "We both did. He needed some advice."

I chuckled. Ore wasn't the best at this kind of stuff. But at least his heart was in the right place.

My sister-in-law-to-be walked me downstairs to where Ore awaited me.

"Wow. You look gorgeous, sis!" He took out a white handkerchief and blew into it like a woman out of one of the soaps Mia and I liked watching. "To think this day would come this soon..."

"Come on, stop crying you oaf," Artemia said, lightly punching him. "You have a duty to fulfill."

He nodded and held out his arm.

I blinked. "Wait, you are the one walking me down the aisle?"

He smiled. "Yeah. Who better than your big bro?"

I averted my gaze. Should have figured. Father was too ashamed to even do that.

I wrapped my arm around his. "Let's go."

Orlin smiled.

Big brother walked me to the cathedral chamber built into our castle. Only a few people were seated in the pews. Apart Father and Prime Minister Itou were the only familiar faces around.

I stared at Father as he sat near the entrance. At least he decided to show up for my wedding...

The clothes of the strangers were nice, even if inexpensive. Were they my soon-to-be in-laws?

The woman in the front pew smiled at me as I passed by. She grabbed my hand. "Please take care of my son," she whispered, putting a fabric bracelet on me. It had an image of Hanketsu on one side and an image of Valencia on the other.

My groom turned to look at me. His expression was as stoic as ever. This was going to be a loveless marriage, wasn't it? Why did he even want to continue with this farce? Father already told him he would gain nothing from it.

Last night, Orlin found out his name was Saffron. According to Ore's informant, he had recently foiled an attack on Kuroriku's shipping lanes by Kasai no Ki.

"Today we gather here for the marriage of Princess Rosemary Saika Hortencia Ruri Duchess of Villanova and Saffron Hermalindo Daikiri," the priest said.

Daikiri? So his family must've been farmers. No wonder this wedding was kept small. Oh, well. It was fine. Apart from the Prime Minister and Father, everyone else in this room cared for at least one of us. Those were the only kind of guests we needed.

"Saffron, do you promise to be faithful and true to Lady Rosemary for the rest of your life?"

"I do," he said, staring into my eyes as he placed a ring on my hand. They were beautiful, but they were frightening to stare at for very long. It felt as if he were staring into my soul.

"Lady Rosemary, do you promise to be faithful and true to Sir Saffron?"

I nodded. "I-I do." My hand shakingly put the golden ring on him.

"Then may the divine couple, highest among all couples, grant you eternal bliss. That which the holy ones unite can't be separated! May a kiss seal thing eternal bond."

I pressed my lips together. They were a tad dry. I gasped as Saffron put a hand on my face and kissed me for a brief moment. Despite that, the tingle lingered. That was my first kiss...

Saffron took my hands and slowly walked me toward the exit.

I stared at the bouquet of hyacinths in my hand and threw it behind me.

"I got it!" Artermia yelled.

Big brother scratched his red face.

I smiled. I'd always expected him to marry before me. Hopefully, their wedding would be nicer. Although, I might not have gone to it. Big crowds never suited me. Especially ones in the court.

"Haha! Can't believe you actually married," a guy with white hair said, patting Saffron.

I gasped. "Gael?" I said, blinking.

He grinned. "Hey, Cuz!"

"When did you get here?"

He furrowed his brow. "I was here all this time."

"He tried hiding," Saffron said, giving him a cold stare.

"Hiding? Why?" I giggled. "Were you trying to surprise me?"

Gael laughed. "Something like that." He glanced at my husband. "Who would've thought the cold Saf would marry docile Rose."

I furrowed my brow. Docile?

"Let's get a move on. We have a long trip ahead of us," Saffron said, nudging me.

"Hey! Don't brush me off like that!" Gael yelled, running after us. "Also, you can't leave before the party!"

Saffron sighed. "To think that guy is one of the Seven Hill Knights."

I smiled. It was hard to believe he was a dad too.

Saffron turned away. "Uh, but if you want to stay. We can."

I blinked. He was letting me decide?

I nodded.

"Then we can stay for a bit," he said, lowering his hand.

"Yahoo!" my cousin yelled, throwing his hands into the air. "Time to party!"

"Say, where is your rugrat? Heard you had one," Orlin said as he walked up to our cousin.

Gael grinned. "He's at home with his mommy. She wanted to come to see her captain's wedding too, but you know how things are. She did recently give birth."

"Wait, he's the captain you always talked about? The big meanie?" I asked, slowly turning to look at my husband.

Saffron glared at Gael.

"Hahaha! Come on Rose, you're just a kidder." He swung his hands behind his head. "You know me, Captain! I only ever say good things about you."

"But you once wrote—" I said.

"Shh!" Cousin said, covering my mouth with his hand.

Saffron pushed him aside. "You aren't fooling me, fool."

Gael lowered his head and sighed. "Okay, I do call you a meanie, but so does Satsuko."

Saffron scoffed. "I'll need to discipline both of you if you ever return under my command again."

Gael shoulders slumped. "Ugh. Satsuko's going to make me sleep on the couch when she finds out."

I patted him on the back. "There, there. But you do sort of deserve it for poking a bees' nest."

"Ugh, that guy is a bees' nest. Be careful, Cuz."

Saffron rolled his eyes and walked away.

Did I make him mad too? Or was it only Gael he was angry with? Ugh, way to go, Rose. You went ahead and made your husband hate you within minutes of being married.

"Let's go dance!" Artermia said, dragging Orlin away from the cathedral chamber.

"H-hey! Slow down!" Ore yelled, trying to keep up with her.

I smiled. Even my hyper brother was no match for his girlfriend.

Gael sighed. "Now I wish Satsuko were here."

"Can the baby not travel yet?" I asked.

He straightened his posture. "I'm not sure, but he is fresh out of the 'oven'. We didn't want to risk it." He grinned. "Though, little Seb seems strong! But of course he is! He's my little boy!"

I smiled. "Hope my kids turn out to be healthy and strong too." My face flushed at the thought of having kids. I was married now, but it hadn't occurred to me that one day, Saffron and I would have to consummate our marriage.

Gael smiled. "I'm sure they will. Especially if they take after their papa."

I frowned. True, but what if they took after their mother?

"Well, let's get going!" Gael said, rushing on ahead.

I took a deep breath and jogged after him. It normally was hard, but it was worse now with my dress. Maybe opting for a dress with a long 'skirt' was a bad idea.

Gael spun around as soon as I yelped. A pair of arms grasped me, but they weren't his.

"Are you alright? Did you sprain your ankle while walking down the aisle?" Saffron asked, holding me in his arms. He touched my leg and stared at it as if he were a physician.

"No," I said, blushing. "I'm just a bit of a klutz."

"Hmph," Father said as he stood up. He left the cathedral, eyes filled with annoyance.

"Woah! That was a nice catch, big brother!" said a black-haired girl dressed in green. She seemed to be nine years old.

"Alli, I told you not to talk unless talked to," the woman who gave me the bracelet said. "Sorry about that, Miss."

"It's fine. We're family now," I knelt down and patted Alli's head. "It's nice to meet you, Alli."

She grinned. "Brother sure picked a pretty wife."

I smiled faintly. Was that the only reason he was hung up on marrying me?

"Hello, Rosemary! I'm Salvias!" said a little boy with deep black hair and orange eyes.

I knelt down and smiled at my little brother-in-law. "Nice to meet you, Salvias. How old are you?"

"I'm five!" he said, holding out five fingers.

"Your siblings sure are young compared to you," I said, glancing at Saffron.

He closed his violet eyes. "Well, Dad was away a lot."

I blinked. "Away? Is he part of the military too?"

Alli frowned and looked down. "He used to be."

"So he retired?"

"Father died in combat," Saffron said, picking up his little brother. "The Kasai no Ki surrounded his ship. To ensure the lives of his men, he stayed back and fought them by himself."

I frowned. Why did I press for answers? He must've thought me insensitive. "Oh. Think I heard about that from Orlin. Father gave a posthumous medal to a man called Ash who had saved his entire crew, at the cost of himself."

"Big brother helped raised us! So you better take good care of him!" Alli said.

Saffron frowned. "If I'm a caretaker, why do I need her to care for me?"

His mother sighed. "You do push yourself beyond your limits at times, son. Even as a child. If not for me pressing you to come eat, you would've missed meals. I'm afraid you might end up like your father one day."

My husband took a deep breath. "That's the life of a soldier. Breaks like this are a luxury. And self-sacrifice is the norm. I knew the risks when I applied for the job."

"How did you rise so high? Aren't you still a teenager?" I asked.

"Hard work. A lot of it."

"Even though the military is full of corrupt people, some still know how to recognize merit," Gael said, grinning.

I furrowed my brow. "Corrupt?"

"Yeah, there are people who rise up by giving money." Gael scratched his cheek. "If I had any, I might consider it too."

Saffron elbowed him. "Don't."

"I understand, sir," Gael said, gripping his side in agony.

"Yeah, you're too good for that," I said, shaking my head.

My cousin fidgeted. "Aww! Wait, you're just saying that because we're cousins!"

"No, I mean it!"

Gael smiled. "Satsuko told me the same thing. Although, she also said that if I try it, she'll burn me alive."

I glanced at Saffron who didn't seem fazed by it. Was he used to such banter?

"She would," Saffron finally said, shrugging.

Wait, it wasn't banter?! Just what kind of person was this Satsuko lady?

"Anyway, enough talk. It's time to party!" Gael said, throwing his hands into the air as he ran off.

Saffron sighed.

"Don't like dancing?" I asked.

He stared at the multicolored floor of my family's personal church. "Well, I haven't done much of it. I've been to dances before, but I usually stood by the punchbowl."

I smiled. "Is that so? That makes two of us." I put my hands together. "But, I do dance when alone."

"I see. Then, how about we dance?" he asked as we walked out of the cathedral.

"Uh, if you don't mind."

"You seem to want to."

Was he doing it only because I wanted to?

"Brother's bad at this romance thing," Alli said as she and her family trailed us.

Salvias nodded.

"Kids!" their mother said, picking them up. "You're going to make your brother anxious!"

Saffron closed his eyes and walked on ahead.

Was he anxious? He seemed pretty calm to me. But a mother usually knew her child better than anybody else did. Wonder if I would ever get to know him to that extent. Or even half as well.

I glanced at my mother-in-law. "If you were to describe your oldest son in one word, what would it be?" I asked.

She snickered. "Trying to get to know him better, aren't ya?"

My cheeks reddened. "I-I mean, I barely met the guy."

"How did you marry someone you barely met?" Alli said, tilting her head.

My mother-in-law sighed. "This isn't a fairy tale wedding, dear."

Alli frowned as her mother patted her head. "It's not? But brother married a princess!"

"Yeah, but the circumstances are different from what you read in books."

I looked to the side. Indeed. Little of this whole arrangement was what I'd wanted for myself. Not that I had much of a choice. This dress was probably the only thing I managed to pick out. The rings, decorations, all that was picked out by others. It was unusual that someone would consider my opinion. Even my brother would sometimes not listen to what I wanted for myself. I knew he didn't do it to be rude or mean, but it still stung. As if he thought he knew better than me.

My eyes darted to the stairs where Saffron awaited for me. Yet, this man who had essentially forced me to marry him, took what I wanted into account. It was downright paradoxical.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this second part ^^. There are still more, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to complete them (the last one is finished, it's the middle that needs filling)**