Yuki blinked, and suddenly it was her wedding day. The palace had been bustling every day up until then, at all hours. Thank goodness for having soundproof quarters, else she might have heard every plate dropped, every fall of the maids and servants, every single noise. Instead she had to listen to the sounds of her maidservants and ladies-in-waiting titter over her, poke and prod her, and dress her up in a wedding dress that took several bolts of cloth and pieces to put on. It was exhausting, consequently causing Yuki's perception of the days passing to blur.
It was before the ceremony that she requested Yuri's presence. Yuri, who had been through the whole wedding planning and events far more recently than their parents, was the brains behind all of the decorations. The brains behind the colors, a wonderful blend of cold blue, white, and gold -- "A marriage of snow and sun" he called it, "uniting the north and the south." Uniting the north and the south while tensions were rising between the east and the west.
Yuki knew kind of a bit about it. She knew she was being married off in order to create a large region of neutrality between the other halves of their continent and whatever squabbles were going on. Regardless, Yuri threw himself into it, and it was the first time since his return that Yuki had seen him smile so grandly.
"Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony?" Yuri's voice asked from beyond the partition installed for Yuki to get dressed. She huffed, hands on her hips, which were swiftly put back down by her attendants.
"Only if you're the groom, Yuri!" she said, her voice high and irritated. She may not have been in the single digit area of age anymore, but Yuki could and did certainly get fed up with a lot of things that inhibited her movement and freedom. Goodness, she was already excited to take the dang thing off. "Besides, who else is going to do my hair?"
Yuri laughed, causing a few of the ladies to laugh as well. Some of the tension drained in the room as a result. "You will have to ask one of your ladies to do it after His Highness takes you back north." To which there was some buzzing among the ladies once again. Yuki shooed them away for a moment, gathering the folds of her pastel yellow and white dress into her hands, jumping from her stool and knocking it over with her train.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about!" Bustling over, Yuki reached out and took hold of Yuri's hand. He was dressed to match her, all royal and charming, red eyes bright beneath the fringe of carefully brushed hair. "I want you to come with me!" She squeezed this palm, watching his expression as his eyebrows raised, as he glanced around and no one met his gaze.
"I… I'm not sure that's entirely proper, Yuki," he said finally, squeezing her smaller hands. "There really is no reason for me to go with you, once you're married."
But Yuki would not be deterred. Swinging their joined hands between them, she had an argument prepared: "But you will help me feel more at home! I mean I love my ladies and maidservants, but I won't have any family there…" Sniffling, she put on her best watery-eyes gaze, threatening to make the colors lining her eyes and face run. It was a dangerous game to play so soon before the actual ceremony, because pushing it off to redo all of her facial decorations would be a major fault and could risk insulting the groom and making him wait. "Plus… I thought you would be able to teach me all the ins and outs of being in charge…" Since you did it, once, in a different region too.
Of course, that was a low blow and she knew it. Little sisters could be manipulative like that, but Yuki liked to think she had a good reason for it. It might take time to work on the way he flinched in pain at the memory. It would take time to heal his heart. Yuki just wanted to help with that, and not from a distance.
He sighed, finally swayed by her looks and her insistence. "We can talk to His Highness about it… okay? Let's worry about that after the ceremony." It was enough to perk Yuki up, and she smiled. "Now… what kind of hairstyle would you like me to do for you?" Yuri ushered her back to the stool, reset by the attendings.
The ceremony itself was beautiful, though Yuki could hardly pay attention to it. She knew she had to look the part and act the part as she walked with her arm hooked through her father's, escorted down the long aisle. There were plenty of people on both sides, wintery north and summery south, that she did not recognize. She was too young to recognize them, though she would have to learn the wintery northern people soon enough. Up front, bordering the altar, was her mother and her brother, dressed simply but royally, as they could not outdo the bride on her day.
Chandeliers cast a warm light across the room, windows open to help keep the stuffiness out via the cross breeze. Everyone stood in a wave as she and her father passed, and he helped guide her up onto the altar, where the vows would be exchanged. Yuki instinctively responded to everything she was asked, echoed everything that she was told to echo, held herself as any princess would even though she wanted nothing more than to slouch and be the kid she was at heart.
"You are now His and Her Highnesses of Isklan, the land of the North," was finally declared. When Mirai leaned in, eyes dancing as he smiled and gripped her ringed hand, Yuki also leaned away. She couldn't help it -- was he really going to have to kiss her to seal the deal? Alas, she couldn't back away too much, but Mirai was attentive to her signs, and instead placed cool lips upon her brow. A roar of cheering went up from the crowd, followed by claps and relieved sighs.
The marriage meant an alliance, which meant the avoidance of war -- or so everyone hoped. Yuki felt her heart spike at this realization; she had a lot to live up to, and as they turned to lead the way out to the reception in the ballroom, she snuck a glance over her shoulder toward Yuri. He nodded and smiled toward her, the usual reassuring smile she knew was fake to everyone else: It will be all right.
Only if you're there too, she thought, turning an adoring gaze up to her husband as the doors opened for them to walk through. Your happiness is just as important.
And so, the celebration festivities began.