A Song of Silence

Chapter 119: Vows in the Dark

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"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today for the union of our High King Azazel and Lady Aerilynn StormBringer!" The ordinator intones.

"Your dress is exquisite, " Azazel whispers to me.

"You don't look too bad yourself," my response makes him smile.

"Your Highness," the ordinator says to Azazel, "Repeat after me please." Azazel nods in assent.

"I, Azazel Kilian ShadowBender..." the ordinator says.

"I, Azazel Kilian ShadowBender..." Azazel repeats.

"take you Aerilynn Maeve StormBringer,"

"take you Aerilynn Maeve StormBringer,"

"to be my loftily wedded wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"to be my loftily wedded wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"and whatever life may throw us, until death do us part."

"and whatever life may throw us, until death do us part." Azazel finishes repeating after the ordinator and all goes silent.

The ordinator now turns to me, "Lady Aerilynn, if you would repeat after me?" I nod.

"I, Aerilynn Maeve StormBringer, take Azazel Kilian ShadowBender,"

"I, Aerilynn Maeve StormBringer, take Azazel Kilian ShadowBender," I repeat.

"to be my loftily wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"to be my loftily wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"and whatever life may throw us, until death do us part."

"and whatever life may throw us, until death do us part." Azazel's grip on my hands had grown tighter with each word, a conveyance of his emotion even with the love already abundant in his eyes.

The ordinator continues, "At this time, Aerilynn StormBringer and Azazel ShadowBender will exchange rings." A pillow with two rings on it is proffered towards us. Two rings of silver lay on the pillow, my wedding band, the one thinner than the other is picked up by Azazel.

He slides it on my finger as he speaks, "Aerilynn, with this ring I promise to love you, to cherish you, to be faithful to you and only you, and to walk through the rest of our lives together. I promise you that from now on, you are my equal. In power, in strength, and in disposition. My love for you has no boundaries and this ring is only further proof of my devotion to you."

I grab his ring next and as I place it on his finger, I speak, "Azazel, with this ring, I promise to you my life, my devotion, and my acceptance. You are my equal, the very air that I breathe, and the one I intend to spend the rest of my life with. You were once my friend and now we become husband and wife. Let this ring be a sign of the devotion and love that I feel towards you and proof that there is nobody else on this continent for me than you." A small tear appears at the corner of his eye, but I quickly wipe it away and clasp his hands in mine once more.

The officiant starts speaking again, "Lady Aerilynn and High king Azazel have now proclaimed their love and commitment for each other in the eyes of everyone present. If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace." A tense silence descends over the crowd. Anyone who objected to our marriage would find themselves on the receiving end of Azazel's wrath. It was safe to say that there wasn't a peep from the audience. "Then it is now my honor to pronounce you both, husband, wife and mates! High King Azazel, you may kiss your bride!"

Azazel's lips descend on mine in a bruising kiss. I open my mouth for him and his toy he and mine enter twine in passion. The loud clearing of the ordinaries throat breaks our kiss. Refusing to be embarrassed by our passion, I hold my head high as the ordinator steps off the stand in order for Azazel to now take the lead. "In addition to a wedding, there is also to be the coronation of our new High Queen today!" A small boy carrying a pillow with a simple silver crown on it approaches us on the dias. Azazel picks up the crown and now knowing that it is my time to kneel, I do so. "Lady Aerilynn, do you swear to uphold the laws of the realm, to be a fair and just ruler, and to care for your people for as long as you may reign?" Azazel asks me.

"I do swear it." I say simply.

"Than by the power vested in me as the High King of Altreya, I now crown you, Aerilynn Maeve StormBringer, the High Queen of Altreya!" With those final words, Azazel places the simple silver crown upon my head. I rise from my kneeling position to my feet to lookup and see Azazel smiling at me with a victorious look on his face. A broad smile appears on my face to match his own. Clasping hands, we both turn to the large crowd that applauds and cheers us in celebration. Arm in arm, Azazel and I begin our long walk back down the aisle.

Cheers and congratulations are shouted at us as we pass. Azazel and I only smile, nod, and mouth our thanks to the well wishers around us. After what seems like an eternity, we finally make it to the end of the aisle and lead the well wishers to the ballroom where there will be food, dancing, and lots and lots of partying. During the walk, Azazel whispers to me, "You look ravishing, my Queen."

"Jackass," I curse at him in a playful tone, ignoring the lustful look Azazel gave me as he delivered his compliment. We reach the room soon enough and the double doors are thrown open to reveal an exquisitely and lavishly decorated room filled with food, wine, and maids ready to fetch whatever was necessary. Azazel and I merely took our seats at the head of the table and watched as the guests that had followed filed in.

When most of the room had filled with people, Azazel stood and addressed the crowd, "Thank you all for celebrating our union with us. Eat, drink, dance and enjoy!" At the end of his words maids filed in carrying trays of champagne, food, appetizers. Everything. Azazel then sat down and the guests started to dance and mingle with each other. He turns to me and says, "Did I mention how ravishing you look, my dear wife?"

I roll my eyes at him, "Only minutes ago, my husband. Have I mentioned how smug you look?"

"Only because I finally have everything I have ever wanted and am now married to my mate and the love of my life."

"Smooth talker."

"Not to mention I am absolutely delighted with the dress Xyla designed for you, by the way."

"Good. I think both Xyla and I would have strangled you in your sleep if you didn't." I say, a false threatening tone to my voice.

"I don't see how you and Xyla would have strangled me seeing as we won't be doing much sleeping tonight," Azazel says, a deeper tone to his voice now.

I place my hand on his cheek, "Later you ass, we have a party to enjoy, food to eat, and lots of dancing to do. We can have our fun later."

"Careful my dear, I'm filing every insult away to punish you for it later." The very thought sends a thrill through me.

"Dance with me first, my husband, and see if you can even get it up after all the dancing we're going to do," I respond snarkily. Azazel only smiles before he takes one of my hands and leads me to the dance floor. The crowd parts for us as we walk up and the band starts a new lively tune at Azazel's signal. "Think you can keep up?" I ask.

Azazel only responds with, "Watch me," before sweeping me into his arms and swishing me around the dance floor. The first song ends and we continue into the next. Soon enough we are joined by other couples on the dance floor and then everyone joins in after awhile. Not wanting to be disturbed, Azazel and I dance in small circles in our corner of the room, not bothering to change tempo with the music and content to stare into each others eyes all night. For hours if we truly wished it. Time would pass and he and I were both content to stay right where we were. That sounded like the perfect kind of night if you asked me.