Ten dozen metal carriages were outside of the keep, just as big as the one she saw The Representative in that one night, all different colors and with nearly a dozen giant, black, armored horses, with hooves as big as a dining plates, thrice the size of any normal horse pulling each carriage. Moira could've only guessed the animal that hauled these heavy boxes. It was nothing she imagined.
The Market could be heard from the keep as they entered the main entrance, the doors were open as usual. The quiet thundering of the storm clouds were heard as the crowd roared, the bell in the distance marking Midday. The Morning for Moira was not great, her stomach empty and felt like it was full of rocks, she refused to eat in fear of throwing up in nervousness. She helped Vyvian with a few dresses and bits of jewelry that she wanted to keep. Vvyian assured her that she would get more dresses but understood the sentiment. Jalla couldn't stop arguing with Vyvian, while Vyvian remained calm as being yelled at by Jalla who took it as a personal offense that she couldn't pack her own stuff.
Jalla and Moira said their goodbyes to the staff and once leaving the throne room, say Tsina and Greyse tearing up. Moira knelt a bit and embraced them both in tight hugs. They both cried out wishes of "Good luck", "Write often", "Be safe!", "Try to Visit", "Don't forget us."
"Never!" Moira proclaimed, laughing and trying not to cry as well. "It's the only marriage, I can visit anytime." she joked. "After marriage I can do whatever I want."
Jalla laughed and hugged Greyse and Tsina, "Be careful." Jalla warned. "Many ladies arent as nice as Moira."
"Awwe, you care, don't you Jalla." Tsina said propping a fist on her hip.
"A big old push over." Greyse joined, leaning on Tsina. Jalla stiffened and adjusted her cloak. Moira and Jalla bow to the two, they do the same. Walking to the Main Hall, King Rejan wore a white chiton with a gold cloak, unlike the thick black cloak Jalla and Moira were wearing for travel over matching dresses made of thick cotton, the only difference was the shade, with Moira wearing orchid and Jalla wearing a dark lilac. Moira's hair flowed over her right shoulder in a ponytail of tiny braids with a circlet made of pure quartz embedded with the whitest of diamond plate shards gracefully atop her red hair.
The Representative and King Rejan stood outside the keep, waving at the people, then with a pausing hand, they all silenced for King Rejan.
"Today marks the first day of Autumn and the beginning of the Equinox Festival. It brings me great pleasure to welcome you all to my kingdom, where people around the world yearn to be when the Rains come. Many of you might even get a piece or two!" He laughed loudly with the crowd, knowing he has thousands of servants employed to clean the beautiful array of diamond plates that fall from the sky after the Rains' stop.
The longest day of the year was the beginning of fall, the leave change, the air pressure changes, the temperatures get a bit colder, and the Dome relies on the thick glass protecting them from the weather and the methane storms that creates the diamonds. The impact from the diamond plates on the glass is so heavy that it could be felt throughout the entire dome. Many dwellers that live outside the domes die if their houses aren't built correctly, or choose the wrong day to travel to the domes, or just too close to the edge of the forest that surrounds the Domelands.
"To those that have come for the festival, I welcome you humbly to my home. I have learned that every year this festival gets bigger and more glamorous every year, I thank all of you for that, for without the citizens of the Domes, the festival would not have been worth it. Today is a special day for all indeed, for the Domefolk, for the Edge Men, for the entirety of the North, where we say Goodbye to the sweet Lady Moira and Hello to great Fortune and Prosperity between the two greatest kingdoms in the north. The Domes!" King Rejan bows to the Representative next to him, she bowed back. "And Odiovitae!"
There was a mix of happiness and anger from the crowd but as Moira stepped forward it all faded to cries of well wishes. As King Rejan took Moira by the arm and led her to the carriages, Olvina was escorted by Auxilitor Merwyn Whytt, to three carriages ahead of Moira and Jalla's, Moira could have swore he was crying, but not for her, Moira knew, it must've been for the ferocity of love the crowd was showing him. Moira laughed at the thought of being mourned, at being missed. Reaching the Giant dark green metal carriage, an Odiovitian guard opened the door and reached for Moiras hand.
The crowd was cheering for the King, he let her go and waved to the crowd, calling out to people and making quite a spectacle of himself. As Moira stepped up on the first step, grabbing for the guards hand, she turned around and waved everyone goodbye and entered the carriage, Jalla following right behind her as the door was shut, the crowd becoming muffled. Looking around, it looked like they took a slice out of her bed chamber, white ruffles and pale green undertones with velvet poufs and round tea tables topped with a porcelain tea set.
Vyvian stepped out from the back room, wearing a thick gray dress and heavy white gloves, her hair in a top knot. Taking the cloaks of Moira and Jalla and bowing low, Vyvian smiles, gesturing to the dark green settee with pale yellow pillows with her hand.
"Hello, Lady Moira, Jalla. Please, as we are about to depart, I suggest you take a seat till we are comfortably on the road."
Moira did not want to argue, she has never been in a carriage of this size before and sits immediately, Jalla sitting beside her. Vyvian continues to stand facing the door as Hulmir walks in, he looks incredibly different. His hair was parted and brushed wearing a tailored suit of teal, one of his sleeves was covered in layered, dragon-like, metal armor. Jalla ogled him, quite loudly, Moira thought, as he came near to stand by the settee. Moira had to nudge Jalla hard to get her to realize her mouth was open.
Hulmir seems to notice this and Jalla blushes bright red, turning away as Moira suddenly stands as the door opens and sees her uncle walk in. Even though the carriage was large, it still tilted at the weight of the king. Walking to Moira, he takes a hold of her hands, seemingly caring, and squeezes them hard, she winces before staring into his face once more. His voice was low, and angry.
"Don't Disappoint Me, Moira, you are my sisters daughter and that is the only reason I have cared for you so, you are my only current heir. Respect that. Please your husband. Do not disgrace our family." His words were like snakes striking her heart. He let go of her hands as Vyvian ushered him out.
And with that, he left, the door shutting and locked by the guard. You could see the Kings head disappear from the window into the crowd. The last thing she thought he was going to say would be uplifting and not the fact that the only reason she became heir is because the Auxilitor stated the King was getting older and told the court that he probably wont have a successor, to subside their fears, he made his dead sisters daughter the heir and commissioned to marry Ramilda Fasi, another pure bred human, his late brothers widow and his cousins daughter, but the chances of a fifty-six year old man producing children was slim.
Moira was angry, and hurt, but smiled nevertheless and sat back down, rubbing away the pain in her hands. She opened the window curtains behind her head and saw everyone waving at the carriages, their voices still incredibly muffled. Vyvian saw this, clapped her hands together once, and all the carriage curtains flew open, startling Moira by the sudden light.
Hearing a horn up ahead, the carriage lurched forward making Moira bump into Jalla with her shoulders. She stood and turned to look at the crowd passing by the window, with a firm grip on the settee, and Vyvian looked wary about Moira's stance, offering an arm to balance herself, but Moira refused it. Jalla remained seated while looking outside as Moira waved to the people, they waved back at her even making suggestive gestures at her. She saw the bulk of the people pass at the main square, then past the market, the inn's, the pools, the oval mile long Rotunda Walk, where she saw the dozens of Carriages behind her. Moira would miss late night snacks and Tsina and Greyse and the king chefs and the messhall servants, and the protection of the dome above her. Moira couldn't remember if she's ever lived anywhere but in the domes, she has never seen the blue sky without the domes hexagonal squares blocking her vision. Jalla squirmed excitedly at Moira, looking nervous too, but couldn't help but to feel free.
Soon the white concrete turned to gray then black, the dome walls getting closer. The houses turn from symmetrical and white to shabby and grey within minutes, each a different shade of black or white. Moira and Jalla gaped at the massive gate, at how yellow the glass was up close, and how thick the dome actually was. It had to be forty meters thick of reinforced glass. The carriages came to a stop, and for a moment, all that could be heard of was the rattling sound of heavy metal scraping the ground which Moira assumed was the metal gate.
The horn sounded again, and the carriage started off, the sound of the horses heavy hooves pounded the concrete, the carriages creaked as they started speeding up to a run, then everything seemed to go dark, the long line of over two hundred hooves echoed eerily through the tunnel. It was dark for about five seconds, but it felt longer, it scared Jalla so much she pulled Moira back onto the settee and held her hand, the only light they had was from the lanterns dangling motionless on the ceiling and that moment of darkness felt like forever. Moira closed her eyes, then suddenly the world behind her eyelids lit up like she was standing over a fire, opening her eyes, looking out the window across from her, she saw the great orange and red endless sand stretch out before her.
The world felt bigger out here, somehow, the sky was clearer, the wind was colder, the lighting was much louder out here, the thundering boom made Moira squeak, and Jalla jumped in her spot. Vyvian finally offered Moira and Jalla their tea, Moira taking hers as she gawked at the world around her, and Jalla refusing hers, looking at if she was about to throw up. Moira couldn't help but to feel scared though enlivened, she stood there staring at the world she grew up in disappear beyond a horizon and into the great Domeland sands, as the world she was plummeting into sped past before her eyes.