Evan woke at dawn. The day of the wedding had finally come. He stretched, and looked around, annoyed. Jared hadn't arrived yet to dress him. He grabbed the shirt himself, throwing it on and struggling to button it up. His fingers slipped and he scrunched his face up in frustration.

    Fifteen minutes later he had successfully buttoned up his shirt. He felt vaguely proud and looked in his mirror. He would get dressed for the wedding later, for now he just needed to get to breakfast. He would also have to have a talk with Jared about being on time.

    He walked down to the dining room, where his mother was already sitting and eating. He sat down across from her.

    "Good morning." He said.

     His mother set down her spoon sharply, looking at him, "Lord Connor's former fiancée has gone missing." She worded it as a statement, but Evan knew it was more of an accusation.

    Evan sighed, everyone knew that if Connor's former fiancée showed up at the wedding and said her objections, then she could have enough evidence for the church to deny this wedding. So, Evan had sent a group of his soldiers to relocate her for a couple years into an outside city. Still, he couldn't voice this to anyone.

    "Best not to talk about it." Evan told her, digging into his food.

    His mother began to raise her voice, "With everything that happened with your father-"

    Evan slammed his hands on the table, making her go quiet. "This isn't like what happened with father." He said, staring her down. "I said, best not to talk about it."

    She went quiet, picking at her meal. Evan sunk down in his chair, but suddenly he had lost his appetite.

~~~

    Jared didn't show up to dress Evan that morning. He needed all the patience he could to dress Evan to go down the aisle. Still, he had other work to do, the wedding was being set up.

    As Jared walked into the castle's gardens he could see the workers setting up. A large arch was erected on the far part of the garden for Evan and Connor to stand under as they were married.

    Jared had to stifle his anger. It didn't matter that him and Evan had known each other for longer. It didn't matter how Jared had always been there for Evan.

    Chairs were set up for the guests all along the  garden path. Jared wove his way through the path.

    "Where would you like the flowers?" A young boy asked, hauling a large vase filled with the bright purple lilacs.

    "Over there, by the arch." Jared instructed. "And make sure the others are by each pew." The boy complied.

    Jared watched him, sticking his hands in his pockets only to feel something in his right pocket. He pulled it out.

    It was the stone from the other night. He held it to the light again. Rainbow fractals showed on the ground. Jared smiled, bringing it down and flipping it in his hand as he walked.

    He looked around, satisfied with how everything looked. Now all he had to do was deal with the King and his guests.

~~~

    Alana borrowed a beautiful purple dress from Zoe for the wedding. It was a bit extravagant for her, with a corset at her waist and a large petticoat. It did look pretty, she would admit, but she felt out of place in it.

    She had been surprised at the news of King Evan's wedding and she was sure Lady Zoe felt the same way. But still, she never mentioned her brother during their dinners together, which had become quite common.

    "Sorry to intrude."

    Alana whirled around, surprised, to see Lady Zoe standing in the doorway. She wore a stunning green dress that made her eyes pop. She also held a little box in her right hand.

    Alana curtsied, "My Lady, you startled me."

    "My apologies, I have a gift for you." Lady Zoe moved forward. "I thought this necklace would go well with the dress." She opened the small case to show a beautiful purple necklace.

    "Oh goodness, is that tanzanite?" Alana gasped.

    Zoe nodded, "It's real too, of course." She unhooked the necklace. Alana turned around, facing the vanity mirror and let Lady Zoe carefully place the necklace around her neck. Lady Zoe was soft and gentle as she did it. "It's said tanzanite protects you so that you always come back to your loved ones." She said gently.

    "It's lovely, thank you." Alana replied, touching the necklace with light fingers as she looked at it in the mirror.

    Lady Zoe smiled, "Now, it seems we have a wedding to get off to."

~~~

    Jared was dressing Evan in his suit. It was wonderfully made by the capital's best tailor. They didn't talk as Jared dressed him, they simply didn't have anything to say to each other.

    When Jared stood back, he nearly lost his breath. Evan looked absolutely amazing. Evan turned to the mirror, adjusting his hair.

    "How do I look?" Evan asked nervously.

     "You look great, your grace." Jared said, giving a sad smile.

    Evan looked down for a second, then back up at Jared, "Look, I just... want you to know..." he hesitated. "This doesn't change the way I think of you."

    Jared almost asked to marry him right there.

    Instead, he nodded, "I know."

    He left the room, walking towards the gardens. Jared didn't know how to feel, should he be relieved? Should he be upset?

    Before he could form a conclusion, he arrived at the gardens, where guests were piling into the venue.

    Jared wasn't technically a guest, he was an usher. He was to greet guests as they came in and then stand in the back during the ceremony while all the real guests took up the rows. Lords, Dukes, Knights, Countesses, and Dames all got seats.

    "Welcome, Duchess Saraha, the last time I saw you it was at your own wedding! The king is grateful for your attendance." He shook hands and smiled.

    The guests that arrived gave him quite the shock, it was Lady Zoe herself, but that wasn't the shocking part to him. Behind her trailed Alana, dressed as if she was as high of a rank of Zoe herself.

    "Welcome, Lady Zoe, the king is thrilled at your attendance." Jared said warmly, taking the lady's hand and pressing a kiss to the top of it, a proper gesture for someone as high a rank as her.

    "I'm sure he is." Zoe said, sounding amused. She continued walking, her head held high as the other highborns whispered and gasped as she walked through.

    "Alana." Jared gaped at her.

    "Hi Jared." Alana smiled, stepping towards him. "It's nice to see you."

     "You're dressed just as nicely as Lady Zoe!" Jared said in shock.

    Alana laughed, "Yes, life is quite different in the rebel camp."

    Jared looked at his feet, "Well, there is no business talking about the rebellion and such at a wedding, but I warn you, if King Evan sees you, he won't be happy."

    "I'm aware, but today is a wedding day and that is a day of peace." Alana told him. "He can't hurt me today."

    Jared nodded, "Of course."

    Alana smiled at him, "I just want you to know that I truly do wish that you would join our fight, I fear the day we meet in a battlefield."

    "I as well." Jared said. With that, Alana turned and met Lady Zoe at her seat.

    When all the guests were gathered and seated, the ceremony began. Lord Connor, dressed quite sharply, stood at the end of the aisle, watching as King Evan made his way down. He wore his crown, a heavy thing with jewels encrusted in it that were worth more than Jared's life.

    The priest began to speak once Evan reached the end and held Connor's hands in his own. The two stared at each other happily. As the priest spoke, Jared tuned it out, the words were boring and Jared didn't care about the fine details.

    Jared supposed that Lord Connor would have a new title after this marriage. Since usually the wedding was between a king and a bride, the spouse would take the title of queen. That wouldn't work in this situation. Connor would take on the title of prince, since King Evan was the only rightful ruler and deserving of the title king.

    Jared perked up when the priest spoke these words, "-Speak now or forever hold your peace."

    Before he even knew what he was doing, Jared stepped forward, fueled by pure emotion, "I object!" He said. There were gasps from the crowd. He gulped, repeating himself, "I object!"