At the reception hall, even though the king and his bride had already left the reception hall, the celebrations continued with the Queen Mother and Freya acting as the main host of the event.
"Wow… Seeing that, I'm grateful that we got to do the marking privately as opposed to… that…" Jayra offhandedly commented, her eyes remaining on the huge doors where the king had just left carrying off her friend in his arms. "I mean, I'll probably feel embarrassed just passing out in front of everyone like that."
"That's the royal custom, I suppose…" Bartos remarked. "A royal has to mark or get a mark in front of his or her subjects. Likewise, if Princess Freya finally decides to accept Gideon, then there will be another Ritual of Marking in the near future."
Jayra nodded and murmured, "Right, the Ritual of Marking is equivalent to a wedding ceremony when compared to our traditions."
