The wedding hall looked like someone had sprinkled fireflies all over the place. The theme was purple and pink - Danny's favourite colours. The place looked magical.
Jenevive Vivance and her team were sitting in a booth on the top floor. Their cameras were filming everything live and she was currently making an appearance on camera. Like everyone else, she was also wearing gold and white clothes.
And then the moment we've all been waiting for, arrived. We all sat down as we watched the bride being walked down the isle by her father while violins were being played to accompany her walk.
The moment the bride walked into the room, her scent filled the hall. We were all engulfed in it. She was covered from head to toe in her thick veil, her beautiful gown, which looked like stars on a blue lit sky, and silky gloves that matched her gown.
As she got closer, her scent intensified, filling every corner of the room.
When she got to the alter, her father let go of her hand and sat down.
Kelpie weddings are very strict and traditional. The groom must be the first one to see the bride on the day of the wedding. Furthermore, because fated mates are so rare for kelpies, almost all weddings are always between chosen mates. The weddings are almost never for love, and there's an understanding amongst the kelpies that the purpose of a wedding is to gain power and increase influence.
As soon as the couple got to the altar. the priestess started the ritual to bind them together for life.
"Today, I bind this man and this woman before all of you who bear witness. They shall, henceforth, exist and move as one. You shall serve each other. You shall serve our kingdom. You shall serve our king. Be prosperous and be powerful."
She took a little silver star out of her pocket and pressed it into Mikah's hand right between his thumb and index finger. The little star fused together with his skin and was now visible on his hand as if it were a part of his hand. The priestess took another little silver star and did the same thing to the bride's hand.
As soon as the marking ceremony was done, the groom lifted his bride's thick veil and everyone in the room gasped. It was the seer, and not Danny behind the veil.
I watched King Amenadiel as his face went through a thousand emotions in a matter of seconds. He was the first to stand up and start looking around. He was probably searching for his daughter, but there was nothing he could do now. The seer and Mikah have been bonded for life.
Everyone was muttering, wondering what was going on.
A person wearing a long pink hood stood up from the crowd. She removed her hood and there she was - Danny. She spent the entire night dousing the seer in her scent because that's how kelpies make sure the right bride is standing by the altar. Danny's scent had to fill this room in order for the ceremony to be done.
Danny smelled nothing like herself. A month ago, when she and I decided we were not going to let her father marry her off, I got in touch with a good witch I met when the golden path was taking me through territory that fell within the werewolf kingdom. Her name is Agatha and she's probably one of the strongest good witches I've met.
Agatha gave me a very rare potion that can transfer the scent of one person onto another for an entire day. It was very hard to come by and had it not been for Agatha and her trusting me, I wouldn't have been able to do this.
Danny was beaming with joy. She walked up to the altar to congratulate the newly weds. All eyes and cameras were on them.
"Everyone, please give a round of applause for the newly mated couple!" Danny held the couple's hands and raised them up.
Some people applauded, but they were still confused and unsure of whether they could applaud.
There was notably a lot of tension in the room because they were all well aware that the seer could be banished at any moment for what just happened and they would be left without a seer again.
Danny looked at her father with the most impressive fake smile I've ever seen.
"Father, please join me. I think it's time we let our people in on the surprise we planned!"
She stretched her hand out to her dad and he stood next to her. He was doing a good job of hiding his anger and confusion.
Danny continued addressing the crowd with her father and the newly weds standing next to her.
"Everyone, a few days ago, my father proposed the most wonderful idea to me. He proposed that we cement the seer's stay here in our kingdom and make sure she has a life and family in the kingdom. I told him that is a splendid idea and thanked the gods for granting me a king and father with such foresight."
Danny was really buttering up her father. This was crucial because if we made him look like a fool, Danny would be the one to suffer for it.
"He consulted the seer and she thought it was a brilliant idea. My father decided the best way to welcome our new seer was to give her a chance to have her own family in the mighty kelpie kingdom. So he introduced her to Mikah and they agreed to a binding ceremony."
Danny was truly handling this well. She was smiling and faking happy tears like a pro.
"Since our kingdom has been without a seer for such a long time, my father, being the amazing and loving king he is", Danny faked a tear and held her dad's hand, "decided to surprise our people with the seer's wedding. He announced that it was my wedding to ensure that everyone would be in attendance to see our seer get her mate. As you can all see, he succeeded. Everyone is here! Even Jenevive Vivance has attended this momentous occasion."
The hall erupted into cheers and people started chanting. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
The seer and her mate kissed and the cheers increased tenfold. King Amenadiel was applauding and laughing like he really did plan the whole thing, but I knew he was probably fuming inside.
It was now time for Danny to announce something that would really drive this home. Something that will convince King Amenadiel that what his daughter did was necessary for the good of the kingdom.
"There's even more good news. My father found out Mikah's great grandfather was a seer. The union between these two will increase the chances of a seer being born into the kelpie kingdom!"
People were cheering and jumping up and down. Even Jenevive Vivance was jumping while broadcasting the wedding.
After the cheers, we all sat back down in our seats as the newlywed couple did their first dance. It is a traditional kelpie dance in which the couple shift into their creatures. Mikah shifted into a majestic dark blue horse-like creature with yellow eyes. The creature had gills on each side of the stomach and its two back legs could transform into a long dark blue tail that enabled him to swim in water.
The seer, Ella Bright, shifted into a white horse-like creature with silver eyes. Her creature also had gills on each side of her stomach and her two back legs also had the ability to transform into a long white tail that enabled her to swim in water.
I sat at the royal table with the King and Danny. King Amenadiel eyed Danny suspiciously. He still looked a bit angry that his daughter did not follow his orders.
"How did you know about his lineage, daughter?", King Amenadiel snarled at her.
"I had to do a thorough background check on him, father. I learned that from watching you all these years." Danny was not backing down.
"Imagine if I didn't do my research. I would have been mated to someone with seer lineage and decrease our kingdom's chances of producing future seers. It would have been a scandal if any of your enemies found out. Our people would have turned against us." She was reprimanding her father; something no one dared to do.
"Perhaps I have underestimated you, daughter." King Amenadiel looked angry, but he knew his daughter had tied his hands. There was nothing he could do.
I internally gave a sigh of relief. We had just managed to stop Danny from being married off and her father thought all this was done to save him from embarrassment.
I watched everyone dancing and celebrating. The newly weds were waving at us while holding hands. They looked really happy. I wanted to go join everyone on the dance floor, but then I saw it - the golden path had appeared again. This meant Mike and I had to leave and follow it to our next destination.
I grabbed Danny's hand and took her to a quiet corner in the hall.
"Danny, it's time for me to go. I just saw the golden path." I gave her a sad smile. I didn't want to leave her. Too many things in the kelpie kingdom made me worry for my new friend.
She bit her lip nervously. "Promise me you'll come back. Promise me that no matter what you will find this kingdom and come back to help me take my father down." Her eyes were glistening with tears.
I didn't know if I would be able to find the kingdom again without the golden path. King Amenadiel constantly moves the kingdom around so it's almost impossible for anyone to find. That's part of the reason why Mike and I were tortured when we arrived.
I hugged my dear friend. "I promise you I will do everything I can to find the kingdom again, Danny."
*********************************************
Mike's POV
King Maxwell looked impressed by the images that were appearing in the purple smoke hovering above Liz's limb body.
We had just seen how Liz helped Diane get out of a wedding she didn't want. Liz and Diane got really close in a very short amount of time. When they met, I could tell that Diane also felt drawn to Liz just like me and all the other people we have met in the past three years.
When Liz first told Diane she would save her from a forced mating bond, Diane and I thought she was being too optimistic. However, of course she found a way to keep her word to Diane. When she told me what really happened at that wedding after she and I left, I was blown away. Liz had managed to trick King Amenadiel.
Diane was crushed when we left. She and Liz had become like sisters in such a short space of time. Just like most people who have met Liz, she too felt drawn to her.
Liz feels like a warm ray of sunlight that keeps the dark and cold away. That's the best way to describe what being close to her feels like. She smells like warmth and safety. I've tried finding other way to describe to her what her scent is like, but that's the only thing that comes to mind.
"Mmmmmm", King Maxwell said as he leaned back in his golden throne. "Your friend has passed the first task. She has demonstrated that she has a quick and agile mind that can defeat an enemy without them even knowing."
I gave a sigh of relief.
"How did the two of you find the Kelpie kingdom, young wolf?" King Maxwell was rubbing his long red beard and eyeing me curiously.
I hesitated a bit, but then decided I wouldn't lie. Liz's life was in this man's hands. If I lied and he found out, he could easily decide to stop his test and have us all killed.
"Liz has the ability to see a golden path. She's the only one who can see the path and when it appears, she and I follow it until we get to where it is leading us."
Maxwell furrowed his brows like he was confused by what I said. "Tell me more about this golden path. Where else has it led you to?"
I scratched the back of my head. We have been to so many places. I wouldn't even know where to start.
"Well, it's taken us all over the werewolf kingdom. We've been to all the packs, witch covens and have probably met every seer in the territory. It led us to the Silver Kingdom a couple of weeks ago. She almost died while we were there. Now that I think about it, it's always leading us into very dangerous and life-threatening situations." I let out an awkward chuckle as I said the last part.
Maxwell stood from his chair and started walking towards me. He stood right infront of me.
"And yet you still follow her on this golden quest. Why?" He looked genuinely curious.
"Uhm, I just don't want to see her get hurt. Liz is the kind of person who will do anything to protect someone who needs help; even if she doesn't know them. I've seen her put herself in danger so many times so that she could help someone. She's always looking out for others, so I guess I'm just trying to make sure someone is looking out for her too."
A lot of people have thought that Liz and I are in a romantic relationship, but that's actually the furthest thing from the truth. When we initially met, I may have thought that there was some potential romantic connection between us, but that sounds like the funniest thing to me now whenever I think about it.
A few days after I met Liz, I realised something in me just wanted to protect her. It wasn't a romantic bond or a mate bond. I just found myself needing to protect her.
"That's very noble of you", King Maxwell replied.
"Your majesty, he does not know it, but he is her guardian." One of the men wearing long robes had stood up and was standing next to me and King Maxwell. I could tell from the glow in his eyes that he was a seer.
"Tell me more, seer." King Maxwell's attention had now shifted to the seer.
The seer's eyes stopped glowing. "That is all that has been shown to me, your majesty."
King Maxwell exhaled loudly.
"This is very interesting indeed. This golden path took you two to a place that no other magical creatures can find. Well, other than the gryphons, of course. We are superior to all others and naturally, we know how to locate the Kelpie kingdom." Maxwell chuckled to himself.
"No matter! Let us proceed with the second task - testing the soul. Your friend must demonstrate a soul that is strong enough to abandon love and desire for the greater good." Maxwell pointed his eyes at the man who was standing next to table that Liz was lying on top of. The man crushed the second vile and a yellow smoke hovered above Liz's body.
Just like before, we started seeing images appear in the smoke.
"Remember, young wolf", King Maxwell said. "Your friend does not know she is being tested and will probably not remember any of the things we saw."
We saw Liz. She was running towards someone and she had the biggest smile on her face.