I sat outside with Nebula and smiled. I was laying against her body as she was laying down on the ground. I looked at the night sky and looked at the stars. "In two days is the wedding and that means this will be our second Kingdom conquered. We had some issues here and there, but so far so good."
Nebula closed her eyes and laid her head down. I looked at her and chuckled lightly.
"We have a lot of work to do if we also want to beat Alastor. If he was strong enough to defeat my bloodline alone, I can only imagine what he could do to me. I would need to work on mastering the Crest of Arcane then think about making bonds with more Spirits." I said then closed my eyes.
"Ryoma. Got room for one more?" Inoka asked and walked to me and Nebula.
I opened my eyes then watched Inoka sit down with us. "Help yourself. Always got room for you."
Inoka smiled and sat criss crossed the looked at the sky. "Beautiful night isn't it. I've never seen the starts twinkle so brightly."
"Yeah...the stars are very beautiful tonight." I smiled and looked at the stars.
Inoka smiled softly and closed her eyes. "Claire has never been so happy before. There is a man who actually cares about her, a man who risked his life to save her and her people. A man who she can say I love you to and he can say it back with no hesitation. I was worried at first, but I am no longer worried."
"Why would you doubt me? Everyone knew me pre Dark Crest. I was a very respectable emperor. I was very likable, but." I opened my eyes.
"But..?" Inoka looked at me.
"After that day I really did lose myself. I only put on a mask of my old self while on the inside I only wanted to find who killed my family. My original plan was to meet the Goddess of Wishes to gain more power to kill Alastor, but I think I am going to use my wish for something entirely different. I don't know what I will use it on yet, but all I know is I will use it that will benefit me and my future bloodline." I said and smiled.
Inoka smiled and looked back at the sky. "I really like this side of you. You are different from the other men. I like that about you."
I chuckled and watched the stars with Inoka for the rest of the night. She ended up talking my ear off about her childhood and I just listened to her words and stories of her and Claire's past.
The next morning, I woke up and noticed Inoka sleeping beside me with her head on my chest. I looked back and noticed Nebula still asleep and smiled. I looked at the sky and stretched. Inoka made a soft noise and opened her eyes a bit. She heard the sound of Phoenix chirping and groaned softly.
"I liked it better when you were only around during important events.." Inoka said softly and sat up, wiping her mouth.
I chuckled and noticed Nebula moving a bit as well. I sat up then looked around and saw Tsuhori walking around in her true form which was the form of a silver furred fox with her Crest shining on her forehead. She walked over to me and shapeshifted into her human form. She looked at me and smiled.
"Good morning, Milord. Princess. Nebula. Phoenix." Tsuhori bowed.
"'Morning." I said and smiled.
"Good morning." Inoka waved.
Nebula snorted and opened her eyes. Phoenix screeched and Inoka groaned. Inoka and I got up to head to the dining room for breakfast. We walked inside of the dining room and I opened the door for Inoka and she chuckled softly, patting my cheek then walked inside. I walked inside and saw Claire then walked to her chair.
I rubbed her shoulders and smiled. "Good morning, my love."
"Mmm..~ Good morning to you too, my love." Claire said and smiled. "Come. Sit down. Let's all eat together. I have an idea for the wedding. Our intimate wedding."
"Oh? Well lay it on me." I smiled then sat down in my seat and a maid fixed my plate then set it down in front of me.
"Well...I was thinking maybe we could have it in the same room my birthday was hosted in. Change up the decorations a bit and such. Maybe even have a little tune playing in the background. Maybe some drinks for celebration and I don't really feel...like consummating our wedding afterwards since you do still have your goals. We can do it after you've settled down you know?" Claire smiled.
"That can work for me. After all I'm not a big fan of pull-"
"And onto the next topic." Inoka interrupted, blushing as she knew what I was going to say.
I chuckled and crossed my arms. "And how about you, miss Phoenix. What do you have in mind?"
"Eh? Well I was just going to help decorate. Since it's an Intimate Wedding there's no need for a venue or anything like that. It's just going to be me, you, Claire, Hori, Phoenix, and Nebula if she can even fit in here." Inoka said.
"I'm sure she can also shapeshift. I mean since she is a horse she's in a permanent companion form. I could ask if she knows how to shapeshift." I said.
"Alright." Inoka nodded.
We all finished having breakfast and went to different locations to handle separate business. After getting dressed, I went out to the ranch and saw Nebula trotting around. I walked to Nebula and she walked to me.
"Hey there partner. Can I ask you a question?" I said as I rubbed her muzzle. She licked my cheek and I smiled then turned my head, chuckling. "Yes, I love you too. Now onto the question. Are you able to shapeshift?"
Nebula tilted her head and closed her eyes. One of her magic symbols shined and she began to transform into a human version of herself. She had long white hair and a white horse tail. She wore a gray dress and black shoes.
"Wow, you have a human form like Tsuhori." I said, impressed.
Nebula looked at me and wanted to speak English, but didn't know how to speak. She looked shy and looked away.
I chuckled and made her look at me. "It's alright, Nebula. You don't have to speak. This is just temporary. You can turn back now, but Claire wants you at the wedding as well so that's why I asked."
Nebula transformed back into her horse form the neighed. She snorted loudly and stopped her hooves on the ground.
"I can tell it was uncomfortable for you. I also wonder how Tsuhori does it. She makes it look so easy huh." I smiled and rubbed her neck. "But it's alright since I understand you. Some Beasts like it better to be in their Beast form than any other form."
Nebula nodded and nudged me then galloped off to run around. I chuckled and watched her.
Things were going smoothly for the wedding and soon two days flew by. Claire looked in the mirror nervously as she applied on her makeup. She hadn't been married since the day Inoka struck down her previous husband in the war. She sighed and looked at herself in the mirror.
"Ryoma is the perfect husband. I know he will not ruin my kingdom. I trust him. I love him. He loves me." Claire said to herself in the mirror and smiled. She nodded finished getting ready and left her room.
"You've never needed retainers?" Tsuhori asked.
"Not a single one. I was the powerhouse between us. I was the one who struck down the King on the behalf of my sister. She couldn't strike down someone she loved, but I hated him so I took him down, but let her seize the throne." Inoka said and crossed her arms, smiling.
Nebula watched them and snorted. She still couldn't speak like them, but Tsuhori understood her perfectly.
"She asked if you're the only kingdom without retainers. She's only been on the southern parts of Uthea." Tsuhori said.
"Uhm...from what I know, The Kingdom of Selum doesn't have any retainers, the queen there is a wrestling queen. Rivule and Therris doesn't have any retainers as well. The Kingdom of Ezusha, the kingdom left of Volta, doesn't have any retainers and that queen is said to be the weakest queen of all of Uthea. There are a couple of kingdoms that don't have any retainers. I do know the Kingdom of Eternus has five retainers and all of them are extremely powerful not to mention Eternus is the largest kingdom of Uthea and below the City of Xezar where the Empress lies." Inoka said.
"Oh, if Milord wishes to truly conquer Uthea he would need to conquer the City of Xezar and not just the 20 Queens?" Tsuhori asked.
"Mhm and to even get in the city, you'll need proof that you conquered all 20 Kingdoms of Uthea. Only then can you get in the City and conquer the Empress and complete the alleged legend of Uthea." Inoka nodded.
Nebula and Tsuhori looked at each other and nodded. I walked into the party room and all three of them looked at me and smiled. The priest looked at me then looked back at his holy book.
"Now all there is to do is wait for my bride." I smiled.
"Wait no longer, my love." Claire said as she walked into the room. She had her hair down and curly. She wore her black royal dress and had on her magma crown.
"You really went all out. You tell us to not overdo it and yet here you are." Inoka smiled.
Claire giggled softly and walked ahead with me and stood at the front with me. The priest looked up and smiled at the six of us.
"Greetings. We are here to unite and celebrate the wedding of Queen Claire and Emperor Ryoma. It has been years since Claire has last wedded, but now she's confident enough to let our kingdom have a king. A King like Ryoma, who has saved our kingdom and Queen Claire. It is an honor to be here and bless our two royals this fine afternoon. By having this intimate wedding, you two agree that your marriage will be very intimate and private and I am here to support that decision. Now who would like to start the vows?" The priest asked.
"I'll start." Claire said and the priest nodded. "Ryoma, when you appeared and took my hand that day and kissed it...I knew you had to be the one. You showed me that chivalry isn't dead. You showed me that a real gentleman isn't dead. You've sacrificed your life twice for our kingdom. Sacrificed your humanity to save me. This past week you've been here...it had all been a joy and I loved every moment we shared. You are the cold to my hot. You are the lava to my eruption. My rock and soul. My husband that I am proud to have and I vow on my very soul to make sure our marriage never falls apart. I love you Ryoma and I want you to have this.."
She took my hand then the Crest of Arcane shined on my hand then the Crest of Blaze shined over it. Arcane had copied all of the capabilities of the Crest of Blaze.
"The Crest of Blaze. Pyroc's Crest. Her Azur Flame will allow you to have Blue Fire Manipulation and all of its properties, associations, techniques, and applications. One notable ability of the Crest of Blaze is self resurrection. I want you to also have the Crest...even when we are apart, we are close." Claire smiled.
"A beautiful words as always. Next are your vows, Your Majesty." The priest said and I nodded.
"First...I want to say thank you for letting the people of Pyroc know the truth. Thank you for sticking by me and being welcoming. I am not the best King or Emperor, as much as I would love to say I am, I know I'm not. You have opened my eyes to new possibilities and shown me a world I was blind to. A world where revenge can't rule a person's life. A world where seeing to yourself is just as important as anything else. I also wanted to say that I really enjoyed being with you as well. It has been a wonderful week and I want to give you something as well." I said.
I took out a small box and handed it to her. She took it and opened it then looked surprised and gasped.
"These gemstones...They can only be found in the Inferno Cave and are extremely rare. You managed to find enough of them to get a full selection of jewelry." Claire said.
"The rarest gems of Pyroc, the Inferno Crystals made into your favorite assortment of accessories. I didn't know what to buy you so I put my craftsmanship skills to the test and made you those by hand." I said and smiled.
"These are beautiful.." She said then looked at me.
"Claire...I vow to be the husband you needed. To be the King your people needed once my quest is finished. I vow to never do anything to harm or make you sad. You've been through a lot and I am here to ease that pain." I smiled.
Claire nodded and tears rolled down her cheek. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I know..."
Inoka smiled and her eyes got a bit watery from seeing how happy her sister was. She wiped her eyes as well and looked back at us.
"Those were some beautiful words and I am here to ask these very questions now. Queen Claire...do you accept Ryoma to be your rightfully wedded husband and vow to care for him even on his darkest days?" The priest asked.
"I do.." Claire nodded.
"And Your Majesty, do you accept Queen Claire as your rightfully wedded wife and vow to take care of her even on her darkest days?" The priest said.
"I do." I smiled.
"With all that said, I pronounce you, Queen Claire and Emperor Ryoma, husband and wife. Your Majesty, you may kiss your bride." The priest said.
I smiled and held Claire close to me and kissed her lips and she kissed back. Inoka and Tsuhori cheered while Phoenix screeched and flapped her wings and Nebula made happy noises then her shapeshifting magic wore off and she ended up turning back into a horse.
"Whoa!" Tsuhori moved out of the way.
Claire and I looked at Nebula and laughed softly. Nebula looked embarrassed and snorted. Inoka laughed as well.
With the wedding completed, my second Kingdom was fully conquered and the Queen was happily wedded to me and only 18 more to go before I can claim my prize.