Work Text:
A soft sigh left the emperor’s lips as he saw her walking down the aisle, she looked so radiant. Rinea, the girl that he wasn’t ever supposed to consider. It was a kindness for his uncle to invite every woman of Berkut’s age to his ball, it was a courtesy nothing more. His choices were Angelica, Tabitha, no one else. Yet he danced with them once, a courjal touch with no intimacy behind it. Nothing indicating that they might be his queen or the one to have the lavish wedding their parents dreamed of. He was as a prince should be, cold, disinterested in the flurry of women watching him like a starving hawk. Yet there was one woman who didn’t meet his eyes once that night, and it perturbed him more than it should. Her hair was to her waist, periwinkle in hue. The lightest of soft blues, it was beautiful, it was… Ethereal, it seemed that a golden white light followed wherever she walked. Berkut was entranced and he hadn’t even seen the girl’s face, his uncle would’ve been appalled at the idea.
For Rinea it was different, the ball was a painful reminder that she would never be good enough. That her heart would forever belong to a man who never would give her the time of day, that she would marry someone who would give her father the money he needed. She was wearing the most expensive gown she owned, silk, faux fur, and lace stitched by no one of note. Her most prized position was the cheapest piece of fabric there, and it stung a bit. She had been in love with Berkut for years, well love wasn’t the right word in her mind. It was infatuation, she saw the dark and tall prince and her heart leapt. She knew that the two girls he would choose from were of a breed so different from herself, she barely knew how to eat properly. Yet for the last dance of the night Berkut had chosen her, finding her in the hallway outside of the ballroom. Rinea tried to hide her rose flush though to no avail, he knew.
They shared a night that none of the party would forget, that dance… The laughter after, the quiet but strong prince’s smile. It made her heart flutter, and then she overstepped and asked for the last part of her fantasy. A kiss, however brief. She only wanted a taste of what could have been in a different life, he obliged and the night? It was lost to them, a sinful divulgence from the normally straight and narrow prince. They woke early in each other’s embrace and they parted, she thanked him for the night of her dreams. Rinea knew that within hours he would announce which of the two he would marry, so she took her time getting ready. Relishing in the marks he had left all over her body, and the lingering taste of his lips on hers. The brunch started and she sat there staring at her plate, the finest fruit and pastries in all of Rigel, yet she didn’t care whatsoever.
Berkut remembered how empty his bride looked that morning, picking at her food with amounts even her birds couldn’t sustain themselves with. He raised his glass and all of the ladies eyes trained to him. Except the one’s he wanted to follow him, Angelica and Tabitha stood knowing full well it would be either of them. As the future emperor raised his wine glass he knew what he should say, ‘Angelica will you be my bride?’ yet… Yet he stood and walked over to the end of the banquet table, both girls confused as he did so. He went to the girl he had spent the night with, who he had claimed as his own. And he, the nephew of the Emperor knelt and took her hand. “Rinea, it would be my honor if you were my bride.” Slipping the ring not meant for an engagement on her finger, it was his. More so his father’s, he gave that to the young lady. And he faced backlash even now. His uncle was supportive from the background, he seemed to like Rinea.
Rinea still remembered the way the girls glared and laughed at her, the cold way they asked to see the engagement ring. It was silly but it stung deep down, she knew that she wasn’t groomed to be a ruler. She wasn’t groomed to even be apart of a court in general. She preferred the idea of simply staying in the background, taking care of their children. Being the kind hand to his cold demeanor… Snuggling in the back while he took care of Rigel, while she was taking care of their children. She didn’t want to be an empress in any sense of the word, all she wished was to be with her Berkut. As she walked herself down the aisle her heart rate increased, her blue eyes met the brown ones of her fiance occasionally. More focused on her feet so as she wouldn’t trip over anything, or that she wouldn’t collapse due to fear. She was already lightheaded, the tightness of the dress, the idea that today she would finally be Berkut’s… It was almost too much.
The moment she had reached the head of the chapel her heart nearly stopped, her prince was staring at her with a smile. The female could see the fear in his eyes though, the worry that perhaps after today he wouldn’t be here. He had already had broke once, and if it hadn’t been for Alm and Rinea he may have never gotten to this day. They may have never gotten to marry their other, they may have killed themselves as well as their child. But they didn’t, perhaps in another life they were damned in that way. Yet here she was finally hand in hand with Berkut, as they began the ceremony. Her hands trembled in his, while he ran his thumbs lovingly over her knuckles. It was so wonderful to have him being so kind even in the eyes of so many other people.
The bishop began with a soft murmur of reassurance to the couple at the altar, his voice boomed as she stared through her veil at Berkut. She never thought that two years ago she would be here, that she would be the one to marry the heir to Rigel. Even if they no longer were going to be given that state. He was given Rigel castle though, he was given a title of a Duke. It was beyond kind of Alm, and she had imagined it wasn’t just for Berkut. Alm had the entire continent to run, leaving a small corner to someone raised for the task was bound to lessen the load.
Berkut could see all the fear in her being, as the ceremony continued she relaxed slightly. As the last words were spoken before the pair needed to say anything Berkut cleared his throat. “Rinea, you are the light of my life. I have never met someone who has been so openly kind to anyone and everyone she has met. From the moment I saw her sneaking off from that ball I knew I could not marry who I was intended too. I had never met a lady or a lord so easy to talk to, without a malicious intent in their being. I have loved her from that moment, and though I can no longer offer an empire… I offer my heart, and I offer my undying love for you Rinea…”
The moment he had finished the blue haired female raised a had to her throat, letting out a soft half sob and laugh. And then once she had found herself she squeezed his hand, meeting his brown eyes and laughing. “It is no secret to anyone who knew me that I loved you, most of us girls in the court did. You were mysterious, and so very handsome… It was a dream that night you asked to dance with me, I had wished but you had started the conversation. I hadn’t ever had the attention from your house before, and to have you speak to me… It seemed like a dream, I never wished it to end. And the next day when you announced your wish to make me your bride… I… I had forgotten how to breathe. My things quickly were moved and our relationship grew, and I realized that I prefered the front you let go of in private. Our time was shattered by a war, yet if it wasn’t for certain people we may not be here. I offer the same to you, my heart, my soul, as well as my entire being. I love you Berkut.”
The pair weren’t given any time to compute what the other had spoken, the minister continued his lines as he asked the most important question. If they would marry each other, as both said their I do’s the Bishop stepped back. Announcing that in the name of Duma and Mila they were now wed, bound to each other until death. And with that the former prince lifted Rinea’s veil, cupping her chin and pulling it up as he leaned and kissed her. A tad to long before the two began moving towards the doors, they were finally married. Unified in the eyes of everyone now, even though in their eyes. They had been since he asked for the next dance.