Sophie watched from the shore, along with hundreds of others, as the princess performed her part in the ceremony.
Sia was standing two feet above the great lake. The single red cloth wrapped around her body caressed the surface of the water. She wore exactly eleven silver ornaments on her body, all gifted by her family and friends.
Prince Shrutketu stood facing her, but closer to the surface, nullifying their height difference. His bare feet almost touched the water. His sturdy body was complimented by the ceremonial fur robe. Three priests stood a little far from the bride and the groom, floating above the same lake. They wore silver clothes and chanted hymns in rhythm with Sia's every action.
One by one, the princess bared her body of the ornaments and threw them in the water below her. With each ornament the priests chanted a different hymn and many starlites chanted with them.
Each ornament had a different hymn made for it. As Sia threw her anklet into the lake, they sang,
"I free my feet to go wherever you take me,
Be it a bed of roses or a thorny sea."
She removed her earrings and they chanted,
"To hear your will, my ears are now free,
Pain them with shrieks or sing pretty melodies."
After all the eleven ornaments had found their way to the bottom of the lake, King Suffle came forward and said to the groom,
"Wrapped in the velvet shawl,
Here is the precious of them all.
For her body may be bare,
But her heart is full of care.
Make her happy and you'll see
How happy a man can be."
He returned to his seat at the shore. Now it was the turn of the friends of the bride. With Sophie as their leader, they sang,
"Bright as the sun, cool as the moon,
She was happy till you made her swoon."
Sophie almost rolled her eyes at the last word. For people who could not feel love, the starlites sure had very romantic hymns. They continued,
"Tell us if you dare,
She'll live, where?"
As the last word was shouted by everyone in the bridal party, the groom answered,
"In my castle oh so fair,
In myself, toe to hair."
The groom's party shouted, "Or dragon's lair."
On this infamy, Dai roared as per his part, "Dragon's lair?"
Sophie and party repeated,
"Bright as the sun, cool as the moon,
She was happy till you made her swoon.
Tell us lord, don't you cheat,
What will she eat?"
Shrutketu answered,
"Fruits of season, sour and sweet,
Roasted chicken and juicy meat."
The fun loving Peshtims again shouted, "Or horse's feet."
Dai again feigned anger repeating the words in a much louder voice.
"Bright as the sun, cool as the moon,
She was happy till you made her swoon.
Tell us now, don't you blink,
What will she drink?"
Shrutketu answered,
"Wine, juice, milk and cream,
Glasses filled up to the brim."
The crowd in his side shouted, "Or, cow-urine."
Dai repeated his earlier antics but this time he sprang forward with a blunt sword in his hand shouting that he would not let his sister marry in such a family.
Sophie was taught that the ceremony was designed to beware young couples about the harshness of life and to teach them the fragility of faithfully made promises. Still, she felt some parts of the ceremony to be ridiculous. She knew that the silver in the lake made it rich in minerals, but she also knew that it was not to remain in the lake for more than a few hours. People were poor and they would take the silver out as soon as they could. The thought of Sia's ring on an unknown finger made her sigh ruefully.
Prince Shrutketu had given up his fur robe revealing the fighting attire he was wearing underneath. As he and Prince Dai fought each other, the people on the shores cheered. The Peshtims encouraged Shrutketu while the Midoses shouted for Dai. Sia watched the duel attentively from her seat between the king and Sophie.
Starlite weddings always happened at the high noon, between the sun and the lake. It symbolised the need for harmony between the hot and the cold. Some people also believed the couple got the blessings from the sun and the lake after giving silver as an offering.
Sophie looked around. Everything was covered in silver and gold, bells and flowers and other tinkers. The starlite castle was decorated with all the lamps they could buy, make and find at such a short notice. Sophie knew that by the time the ceremony was over, the sun would be long gone and the castle would sparkle in the dark. The bride and the groom would then proceed to the castle for their first meal as husband and wife. It would be a beautiful sight.
Sophie's train of thought was broken when Dai came back defeated and put his sword on Sia's feet.
"He's a good fighter Si," Dai said.
"You were supposed to lose." Sophie rolled her eyes.
"Didn't mean I couldn't test him," he said winking at Sia.
Sophie understood what had happened and regretted missing a real sword fight between the two crown-princes. She looked pointedly at Sia. "I would have paid more attention if I knew."
"I would rather have duelled him myself," the bride said, "but...oh well."
"If you had me fighting him, you wouldn't be getting married," Sophie chuckled.
"I wouldn't bet on it," Dai replied. "He's good."
The bride and groom retook their positions above the lake and the final ceremony started. Prince Shrutketu started placing gold ornaments on Sia's body. They were again eleven in number but, splendid enough to adorn a queen.
This time there were no hymns. The only audible sound was the strong voice of the groom ringing in every ear. Again, each ornament had a different verse and Shrutketu said them like a true romantic.
"With this ring, I promise of a world without endings....With this necklace, I knock on your heart, hoping to get an entry, and make it my permanent home.....with this tiara I crown you the queen of my heart, my body, my-self."
With these words, Shrutketu had made Sia his wife. The crowd cheered.
Rose petals were showered on them from above. They settled on the lake making it look like a giant flower.
The divers sensed that the party was about to break and got in position to dive into the lake as soon as the shore was clear. Their situation of hunger and poverty had overpowered the dangers of the task. Tradition lost to greed and the race began. Every diver wanted the biggest piece of silver. Most of the wedding party had moved to the castle by the time the divers had gotten out of the lake. A few of them had curiously waited for the divers. The ornaments were great souvenirs. And some of the guests wanted a story for their grandchildren. The offerings of the newlyweds were sold instantly.
As King Suffle presided over the grand feast, his eyes went from Dai and Mishty to Sia and Shrutketu to Sophie and all others who looked up to him as their father. He felt old. Both Dai and Sia were married and Sophie was going away for a new job. Even she was near the age of marriage. Suffle looked at a tall ugly girl standing in a corner and smiled. He knew at least some things would never change.
He leaned towards Sia. "Did you recognise her?"
"Hours ago," Sia replied. The king heard her teeth grind as she said, "We should do something about the trespassers."
"You can't expect your friend to miss your wedding." Suffle chuckled. "Look how pretty she is."
"More like a nemesis, the bane of my tranquillity."
The king wanted to reply with a quip, but was interrupted by his son in law.
"We would like to leave before the sun sets."
Suffle hugged the couple and said, "I do hope you visit."
"Of course," the prince replied.
"Do get rid of the trespassers," Sia whispered in her father's ear. She knew that he would not.
As the couple went about the room, saying their goodbyes, the prince said to his wife, "I'm sorry about the urgency to leave. But there are some matters in Peshtim that require my attention. When I left, I hadn't thought that-"
"That you would accomplish what you had set out to do?" Sia cut him mid-sentence. Shrutketu decided to answer her later as he could see Dai and Mishty approaching.
"I'm going to miss my little sister."
Sia smiled through her tears. "And I will miss my elder brother, who came into this world a full three minutes before me." She then turned to Mishty. "I would've liked to get to know you better."
"We'll get to it," the Esite princess replied with confidence.
"I almost forgot," Dai said suddenly. "Neal had sent a gift for you."
"We have seen the gemstones that the humans had sent," Prince Shrutketu informed Prince Dai.
"That was from the empress," Sia explained. "Whatever Neal has sent, I don't want it."
"Sure," Dai shrugged. "But in the future, if you don't like his plans, don't agree to them."
Sia glared at Dai. "I'm leaving. Where is Sophie?" Sia merged into the crowd trying to find Sophie.
Prince Shrutketu remained behind to say a more polite goodbye to the couple. "What is their beef?"
"Nothing much." Dai chuckled. "She is not fully supportive of some of Neal's political moves."
Mishty bit her lips to stop herself from laughing.
The Peshtim Prince decided to get the details from his wife, in the seclusion of their room. He found her talking to Sophie and smiled. Ten days ago, she was just a name to him. He had no idea that he would get married in Midos. Yes, a marriage between Peshtim and Midos was expected, but it was supposed to be between the humans.
When King Suffle and his family had welcomed them to their castle, Prince Shrutketu had admired her perfect balance of charm and elegance. And when his father had told him that he was hoping for a wedding, Shrutketu hadn't hated the idea.
Sia felt perfect for him. And he had believed that she had no objection to the marriage. But he could now sense that something was wrong. Sia was angry, not only at Neal, but at him too.
Shrutketu approached his wife and her friend. The later looked at him and gave him a fluttering salute. "Your Majesty," Sophie said.
The prince answered her salute and said, "I believe we haven't met before."
"She lives on the grounds now," Sia said. "She hadn't had the time to visit."
Sophie rolled her eyes. "I still live here." She hadn't visited the palace because she wanted to give space to the Peshtims. Sia placed her hand on Sophie's and said to Shrutketu, "She's a bit shy of royalty, but she is part of our family."
"Okay," he replied. Shrutketu found it fascinating that the starlite princess had a human friend whose policies she didn't like and a commoner as a sister who was shy of royalty. All he had was a younger brother who had refused to come to his wedding.
"It is time to go." Sia told Sophie, "Now you will have to take care of everyone."
"Don't you worry. Dai and Mishty can manage each other. I will care for the king and he will take care for the whole realm." Sophie hugged Sia.
Sia whispered in Sophie's ear, "That still leaves ..."
"We'll manage," Sophie assured her. Between Dai and Suffle and her, she was sure that they could manage Neal. If Sophie had known Neal as well as Sia knew him, she wouldn't have been that confident. "You take care of Peshtim. "
"And Peshtim will take good care of her," Shrutketu said.
"Give me just a few moments to change into my travelling attire. Nisha has gotten everything else ready," Sia told her husband once the goodbyes were over.
"I'll go see if father has finished the preparations," he replied.
When he didn't leave, she asked, "Is something wrong?"
"You could tell me. You seem...angry."
"I have to leave everything and everyone I know. I get to be a bit frustrated," Sia lied.
"It's not that." The prince turned to leave. "Something has happened." He wasn't going to pressure her, if she wasn't willing to tell him.
"I had thought that marrying you was my decision," Sia blurted out.
"Was it not?" The prince turned back to face her.
"The emperor of Peshtim got a letter from the empress of Midos, which I'm sure was written by Neal. It hinted," she gritted her teeth at the word, "that it would be more prudent to get you to marry me."
"My father had conveyed the emperor's wishes, but I didn't know that there was a letter behind it."
"Nor did I." Sia sighed, "until last night."
"But it means that you agreed for the marriage on your own. It was your decision." Shrutketu could now see the problem and the solution.
"I feel as if I'm a game piece of nisiman," Sia said. "Or a puppet. As if I never had a choice. If that selfish brat had not written that letter, we wouldn't be the ones getting married."
"We are not humans. Starlites don't get married under pressure. If anything, the letter may have only catalysed what was inevitable." The prince took Sia's hands in his and said, "I married you because you are perfect, not because an old man thought it would be prudent."
"But still, Neal had no right to interfere in my life." Sia didn't fail to notice how the proper prince had just called his emperor 'an old man'.
"You are right, he didn't. But your empress had every right to pursue a democratic tie," the prince reasoned.
"It was not an empress who did it, it was a mother. This is a clear abuse of power."
The prince chuckled. "I don't believe he is safe yet. Princess Marya is adamant to have him as a husband," he said. "And rule both Peshtim and Midos."
"He'll think of something." Shrutketu heard a strange mix of confidence and irritation in Sia's voice. "You should check on your father."
The Peshtim party was able to leave before sunset. Many eyes in Midos were moist as their beloved princess left them for ever.