10 Sea of Shields by Morgan Rice

Author:Morgan Rice
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Gwendolyn stood beside Thor, surrounded by attendants, in the sprawling grounds of King’s Court, watching the final preparations for her wedding unfold in the night. The plaza was lit by a thousand torches, nearly as light as day, and an army of servants rushed to and fro, lugging thousands of flowers, shaping hedges, even bringing in exquisite rows of flowering trees. Other workers set up chairs, decorations, while others put the final touches on the altars for the ceremony. There was not just one altar, but two, one each for Gwendolyn and Thorgrin and Reece and Selese. The entire Ring prepared for their joint wedding. It would be the biggest and grandest wedding that King’s Court had ever seen, and Gwendolyn was determined for that to be the case.

Gwendolyn knew that this was what her people needed. She loved all of this splendor for herself, too, of course, but it was her desire to please her people that drove her to make this spectacle what it was, to make it over the top. Sometimes, she knew, her people needed shelter and protection; other times, though, what they needed was joy, distraction. Entertainment, after all, was as vital a human need as any other. What would life be merely with food and shelter? Life needed a soul, a supreme distraction. Her father had always told her that good rulers considered the people’s needs; great rulers considered their hearts.

Gwen walked slowly through the ceremony space, large enough to hold a city, overseeing the workers and making small adjustments to the army of servants creating decorations, putting her stamp on the wedding to make it as beautiful as it could be. She wished her mother could be with her now to see all this, to celebrate with her. It was hard to go from a funeral to a wedding, and a part of her wondered whether they should; yet another part of her knew that that was exactly what they needed to do, what the people needed, and what her mother herself would have wanted.

Gwen was also driven by her love for Thor, and for her love for their new baby. She wanted this to be the most beautiful celebration to ever take place. Thor deserved it. Their love deserved it. She and Thor had been through too much together for it to be anything less.

Reece wanted it to be magnificent for Reece and Selese, too. After all, Reece was her brother, a member of the royal family, and he, too, was deserving of the greatest, grandest wedding the kingdom had to offer. Her father and mother, if they were alive, she was sure would want no less. And since they were not here to oversee it, as they had been for Luanda’s wedding, it all fell on Gwendolyn’s shoulders. She felt she needed to act not just as Queen, not just as a bride-to-be, but also as the missing parent for Reece. It was easy, though, being as close as she was to Reece, and as close as she was to Selese, who already felt like a sister to her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.