"I shall," he said.
"And wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, wilt thou love him, and honor him, keep him and guard him, in health and in sickness, as a wife should a husband, and forsaking all others on account of him, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?" he asked, now looking at Aria.
"I shall," she said, and she thanked whatever god or gods there were that her voice came out strong and steady—the complete opposite of how she felt.
Lex leaned forward, so Aria did the same. At first, she thought that he would kiss her, but instead, he placed his forehead on hers.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the man said. He walked down the few steps until he was standing right in front of them. "And I pronounce you, Aria Diaz Mills, Queen of Pembera,'' he said, placing what must've been a crown on top of Aria's head. "Long may she reign,'' the man said.
"Long may she reign," the people in the room repeated.
Lex pulled back. Her eyes had closed as soon as he'd placed his forehead against hers. She opened them, meeting his gaze.
"Long may she reign," he repeated. His tone was severe, but his eyes were playful.
He leaned in and kissed her. It was chaste, more of a peck on the lips, but it took Aria by surprise. By the time she realized what he was doing, he'd already pulled away.
He was the first person to stand. He placed his hand in front of her, and when she took it, he pulled her up.
A second later, everyone else rose to their feet.
Lex turned to the crowd and gave them a nod. With that, the whole room erupted in cheers. People began clapping.
Lex nodded towards the stairs behind Aria before turning and going up the ones on the left.
There were two chairs behind the table, and they both sat down at the same time. Everyone else was still cheering, hugging, laughing.
"See, that wasn't so bad," Lex said, low enough for Aria to be the only person that could hear him. "And you didn't even embarrass me," he added, smirking at her.
And it was so ridiculous that Aria couldn't stop herself from letting out a laugh. It sounded a little hysterical, even to her.
He smiled back at her, and that was that.
She grabbed a glass of wine and chugged it, hoping that no one was watching.
It was weird, sitting at the front of the room. Aria was so used to sitting at the table, watching Lex and Grace from below.
While they ate, different people came up and offered their congratulations and gifts. Aria nodded, mumbled 'thanks,' and tried to make her face look as happy as possible.
Really, she felt uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why people were giving her presents, but she thought it best not to ask.
After what felt like hours and a thousand 'thank yous,' people stopped coming up to the front. They talked amongst themselves, they ate and drank. And Aria was grateful for the break.
After dinner, they made their way into the gardens. They spent the rest of the night outside under the stars. There was music and dancing, but Aria stayed glued to her chair. Everything had been moving so fast, the night passing quickly.
"We have to leave first," Lex said, putting his hand out for her to take. "The others will wait. Once we're gone, they can stay, or they can leave. But we have to leave first. Unless you'd like to stay a little while longer?"
Aria took his hand. There was no way she wanted to stay any longer than necessary. But to her horror, people actually started to cheer once they got up.
She could hear them cheering all the way through the doors and down the hall. She cringed. She'd been so focused on this first part, so worried about the ceremony, that she hadn't really thought about what happened afterward. Or what was supposed to happen, anyway.
He led her to his quarters, and when the guards opened the doors, he spoke up. "After you," he said.
Aria went inside, and he followed, closing the door behind him.
She looked around, she'd been there once before, but she had stayed on the couch.
"Let me show you around," Lex said.
He led her from the doorway into the room she'd been in that night she'd accepted his proposal. It was huge, a lot bigger than the room she shared with the other girls. There were two couches in the center of the room, a small ottoman in front of them. One of the walls was filled entirely with bookshelves packed with books.
To Aria's surprise, a few paintings were hanging on the walls. Another chandelier full of candles hung from the ceiling. The right wall had two glass doors leading to a balcony.
He led her through the door located in the back of the first room. They ended up in the bedroom, which was even bigger than the first room. Aria took a look around. The first thing her eyes landed on was the bed pushed up against the wall directly opposite the door.
Needless to say, it was big. It reminded Aria of the beds she'd seen in old fairytale books. Sheer black fabric hung in a canopy from the top, surrounding the bed on all sides.
She looked away.
"Your stuff is on the right side," Lex said, pointing to a huge armoire and a vanity table pushed up against the right-side wall.
The left side looked similar to the right. Aria assumed that his stuff would be there.
There was another couch just to the left of the bedroom door, placed in front of a small fireplace. A beautiful grey rug lay on the floor between the
