After sending everyone back, Cyril went back to the cathedral. By the time he reached there, it was already midnight.
The wedding was still going ahead, but there was no longer any music. Everything is dark now. All the candles are burnt out making the cathedral dark as night. The only light source was the moonlight.
As he walks further inside, he notices the crowd is smaller now. Most of them are still here praying. He can barely see the bride at the altar because the light of the moon can't reach her.
After walking to the end of the altar, he saw a small figure kneeling with her head down and crying silently.
He quietly approached her and knelt next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him.
The light of the moon shines on her fair complexion which made it even more beautiful than ever. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she had dried tears all over her cheeks.
"Amandine" he greeted softly.
She didn't respond. She just stared at him with her big brown eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked again.
She didn't reply but hugged Cyril tightly.
Cyril gently placed his hand on her hair while stroking it lovingly.
"It's okay Amandine," he told her soothingly.
When Amandine looked up into Cyril's face, she began sobbing. Cyril lifted her and announced to the people in the cathedral that the wedding was suspended.
He carried her outside of the cathedral.
Outside of the cathedral, Amandine is sitting on the bench weeping. The wind was blowing strongly and he wrapped his cape around her and sat beside her.
"Don't worry..." said Cyril, stroking her hand.
"How am I supposed to not worry?! You're my husband-to-be!" cried Amandine.
"No matter how terrible things are going to get in the future, I'm going to protect you and make sure nothing bad will happen to you, Amandine."
She grabbed hold of his hands and squeezed them so hard.
"You will be able to save me and your people, and we will be able to survive this war together. Everything is going to turn out fine. I promise you. And if anything happens to you..." his words stopped abruptly as Amandine started kissing him.
Her kisses turned passionate. He kissed back and caressed her soft cheek.
"Promise me you won't die.." she mumbled between the kiss and tears.
Cyril smiled.
"Of course, I promise. No matter what, we will be together."
She nodded. Cyril kissed her forehead, "Let's go back to the palace now. You need to rest."
Amandine slowly nodded and got up, trying her best to stay stable on her feet.
Together, they walked to the carriage. Then the carriage set off on their journey back to the castle.
The carriage came to a stop. Cyril opened the door carefully for Amandine and she got off while holding onto the side of the carriage for support.
She stumbled and almost fell when Cyril caught her by the shoulders before she could fall on her ass.
They walked up the stairs together and entered the entrance hall.
A maid came forward to help Amandine take off her cloak and shoes before taking her to her room.
Cyril kissed the back of her hand before going back to his room.
Then she was left alone. Alone to cry and think about everything that just happened. Alone and sad without anyone there. No one to comfort or talk to.
Just like she thought would come. And it did. It all just felt so unreal. Like it was some horrible dream. But it wasn't a dream. It was actually real and it was happening.
She sighed deeply as the maid took away her wet clothes. As she put on a comfortable nightgown, she heard the familiar knock on her bedroom door.
Amandine quickly opened it and hugged the person who knocked.
"Amandine.." Cyril called her name softly and rubbed her back.
"Can I come in?"
Amandine just nodded and let him in.
In the room, Amandine sat on her bed while Cyril sat on a chair.
Cyril released a soft sigh before he started speaking.
"So, according to the tradition, I have to ask for your permission to let me participate in the battle" he spoke softly as he held her right hand gently.
Amandine looked at him blankly and nodded. Cyril took the opportunity and leaned forward towards her. He kissed her lips gently once, twice, then he pulled back slightly.
He wiped away Amandine's tear-streaked face with his handkerchief.
"I love you so much, Amandine," he whispered, resting his head on hers."This war means so much to me and our kingdom. So, I want to do whatever I can to keep our people safe and happy. You know how much I care for you, right?"
Amandine nodded weakly.
"After the war, I will come back to you and we'll celebrate our wedding with the victory," he said smiling. "We can live happily ever after," he tried to sound cheerful to light up her mood.
But she was still too upset to smile. "I promise" he repeated.
"Now, it may seem impossible to you, but we'll survive this war" he continued.
"We'll defeat these monsters and the empire will return to its former glory."
He brushed some stray hairs away from her face. "And then we'll be together forever" he added.
For some reason, that statement seemed very important to her. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else besides him. She loved him. Even though she instinct yelling that she's going to lose him.
After all those years she has loved him, her feelings never changed. That's why she had chosen Cyril.
Because she knew she could never love anyone else but him. But she was afraid.
Afraid that maybe, just maybe, she's letting her heart be broken. That's why she couldn't smile.
She looked up into his deep green eyes and replied
"Thank you, Cyril ". Amandine kissed him again, but this time, she kept it slow and gentle, trying to express her emotions. After several minutes, he broke the kiss.
"Good night, my love," he said softly before closing the door and leaving her all alone in the room.
To be continued...