“You’re leaving?” Casey asks, and I nod. 

“Cai’s parents won’t let us get married, and they’re trying to harm me anyway,” I answer. Casey nods. 

“You’re my legal guardian, I think,” She whispers. 

“Then you can come with us, and we’ll keep you safe,” I tell her. “I need a maid of honor, don’t I?” Casey hugs me tightly. Flint comes into the room, and runs over to me, pulling me into a hug. 

“How is it that you’re always getting into trouble?” He asks, chuckling. “I probably can’t come with you. The King and Queen trust me, and I need to be on their good side to fix things for the low-born,” He explains. I nod, hugging him tightly. Cai is packing bags around the room. 

“Go pack, Casey. We’re leaving as soon as we can,” I say, after I’ve hugged everyone sufficiently. Cai also hugs Flint.

◈◈◈◈

“We can have the wedding tomorrow,” Jackson says, once the three of us have reached his house. I called ahead to let him know, and he said it was okay for us to stay. 

“I’ll take Olive shopping tonight, for a dress. She deserves to be a proper bride,” Aunt Mara says, hugging my fiancée. “Wait, Jack, have you told them the news yet?” She asks, hugging Casey next. My uncle turns to me, chuckling. 

“We’re expecting,” He says with a grin. Casey squeals. Audra and Adam run in, and I bend down, hugging them as well. 

“Is Flint coming?” Audra asks me. 

“No, he’s busy. But he’ll call you soon, got it?” I answer, fixing Adam’s unruly hair. 

“Okay!” Adam says, and they run over to Casey, their favorite babysitter. I stand up, and start to walk with Jackson into the courtyard of their nice country house. 

“Congratulations, on the baby coming,” I tell my uncle, who smiles. 

“I remember how it felt when Catrina and I found out we were expecting the twins. She wasn’t very happy about it,” He says, shaking his head. “I’m glad they’ve got a loving mother now,” He says. “You’re smarter than I was at your age, Cai…” He says quietly. I turn to look at him. “I should have run away with the girl I loved when I had the chance, before everything tore us apart for eighteen years,” He looks over at Mara in the house, talking with Olive. “I think you’re just living the life I wish I was brave enough to.” 

“They hurt Ivvy. And she got mad at me once, when Julia was threatening her at the competition, that I didn’t protect her the way I should,” I explain. “I don’t want it to ever happen again.” Jackson nods. 

“Do you have a suit?” He asks. I shake my head. 

“We left in a hurry,” I explain, shrugging. My uncle nods. 

“We’ll go see if I have one that fits you. Even elopements deserve some flair,” Jackson tells me, gesturing for me to follow him. 

“Wait, flowers!” Mara and Audra run over to me as I stand in the courtyard, where we’re having the wedding. There’s a priest sworn to secrecy standing next to me. I bend down for my little cousin to stick a flower she found into my suit’s lapel buttonhole. 

“Olive’s dress is sooo pretty. Like a princess,” Audra tells me, as her mother hands her some smaller flowers to add. “Is she a princess?” Audra asks, and Mara giggles. 

“My princess,” I mumble, my eyes starting to fill with tears. Audra quickly grabs her mom’s hand and they go to sit next to Adam. Jackson soon joins the people sitting. 

“Wait!” Audra yells, and jumps out of her seat, running towards the flower gardens again. 

“Audra!” Mara calls, laughing.

“I didn’t get flowers for Olive, and she needs some!” Audra yells, and grabs handfuls of flowers, running into the house through some glass doors. 

“Audie!” I hear Olive call. 

“I HAVE FLOWERS!” My cousin calls, and Olive giggles. I see a swish of white skirts through the door, and they disappear as Audra gets inside. Casey sticks her head out the door. 

“It might be a while,” Casey says, snickering. I roll my eyes. “Do you know if we have music?” She asks, tilting her head. 

“I don’t think so,” I call back. Casey gives me a thumbs up, and disappears. I take a deep breath. 

Audra runs back to her family after a while, and sits on Mara’s lap, watching the door. Casey, in a pale blue dress, opens the door and takes her sister’s arm, leading her out of the shadows and down into the courtyard. 

“Oh.” Olive looks up at me. Her dress is simple and white, with no ornamentation but her beautiful smile. It’s long and has off-shoulder sleeves. A simple see-through veil sits on her head, flowers stuck in Olive’s updo by Audra. She’s holding a messy bouquet in her hands. “I love you, Ivvy,” I mumble, as Casey delivers Olive’s hand into mine with a grin. 

“I love you too,” She says, her eyes filled with tears as I lift her veil. I cry too. “We aren’t going to get through this, are we?” She asks, laughing as she reaches over and wipes away my tears with her hand. 

“Nope,” I answer with a chuckle. The priest comes over after Olive hands her bouquet to Casey, and takes my hands, facing me completely. 

The priest starts talking, giving some sort of speech, but I’m not listening very closely. Ivvy’s so beautiful. I try to remember the vow I memorized earlier, and turn to her when it’s my turn. 

“I, Cai Edwards, take you, Olive Ferrum, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death,” My voice is breaking by the end of it, and Olive’s eyes are filled with tears too. 

She takes a deep breath and repeats her own vows, quickly wiping her eyes. Adam hands us the rings, and I slide Olive’s onto her finger, my hands quaking. She chuckles quietly and puts my ring on. 

The priest says some more stuff, that I also don’t pay attention to. I just tune in on the talking once he tells me I can kiss my wife. Audra giggles as Olive hugs me tightly, her lips on mine. 

“Mom helped me make cake,” Audra explains, holding a can of whipped cream while Jackson carries the white-frosted cake over to the dinner table. Flint’s attending over a video call, so there’s a laptop on the table. 

“Is Mara okay?” Olive asks, after swallowing some roast potatoes. Jackson nods. 

“Yeah, she just gets nausea randomly nowadays,” He answers, then turns to Flint’s screen. “She’s pregnant, by the way.” Flint’s jaw drops. They talk for a bit as the cake is cut. 

“Can I have some cake?” Flint asks jokingly, and Adam laughs. 

“You’re on the computer, you can’t eat cake…” Adam tells him, giggling. 

“Just try, maybe it will work,” Flint says, and Adam starts to put a forkful of cake towards the screen where his older brother has his mouth open. 

“Adam, he’s just joking,” Jackson says with a laugh. Flint laughs. “Is Sadie there? I’m sure Mara would love to welcome another sweet girl into the family,” Jackson explains. Flint chuckles. 

“She’s already asleep, it’s been a long day of the royals ranting,” Flint answers, yawning, and turning the camera towards the bed in his room, where Sadie’s asleep. “Has Olive cut off the best man’s hand yet? She tends to do that,” Flint asks, turning the camera back to himself. 

“There wasn’t a best man,” I answer, as Olive chokes on the water she’s drinking, laughing at Flint’s comment. She leans on my shoulder, taking a bit of her slice of cake on a fork, and moving to eat it. I steal the fork and eat the cake on it before passing it back. She elbows me. 

“You’re annoying,” She tells me. 

“I didn’t think you’d like it, it might not be the edible kind of gold.” I point to the gold candy pearls. Olive blinks at me, then takes a bite of cake, rolling her eyes. I put an arm around her waist, smiling. 

“Where are you honeymooning?” Flint asks. 

“That’s a surprise,” I explain. “Ivvy’s already pinched me a lot trying to find out where.”

“All he’s telling me is that it’s an hour’s flight,” Olive says, kicking my foot. Flint chuckles. 

“Just let me know when you’re having kids, because my own parents don’t,” Flint says pointedly. Jackson laughs. 

“We didn’t even find out until last week,” Jackson defends. “And you were wanted in all Divisions by then, so I didn’t want to get you caught or something if people were watching my phones.” 

◈◈◈◈

“What are we doing in Inverness?” I ask, stepping off the plane in Light Division. 

“There’s an ancient castle that is part of my parents’ holdings, and they put it in my inheritance, so it’s mine now,” Cai answers, and I look at the snow outside the window as we walk through the airport, him dragging our bags on wheels. It was much warmer in Stone where Jackson and Mara were, so we could have an outdoor wedding in their heated gardens, but this is a blizzard. 

“We’re staying in a castle?” I ask, and he nods. 

“It’s called Cawdor Castle, I’ll have to read you the spooky play that was written about it, by a guy named Shakespeare,” Cai explains, chuckling. 

“What’s the play called?” I ask, and Cai shakes his head. 

“I can’t tell you that,” He says, smiling at me. I tilt my head. “Urban legend. Saying the name means bad things will happen, and I don’t want that, especially since things are finally going right for me.” 

We get into a car he commissioned to drive us, and I lean on Cai’s shoulder in the back seat, humming to the tune of the winter seasonal music playing over the radio. Fifteen minutes later, we’re at the gates of a huge stone castle. Well, I’m not sure of the size. It’s too snowy. 

Cai carries me out of the car, a servant getting our bags, and carries me through the front door, into a firelit entryway. 

“What time is it?” I ask, as we make it up to the master bedroom, and I yawn. Cai checks his watch. 

“About midnight,” He answers, and pulls the watch off. “I’m so tired,” He says, and I laugh, nodding in agreement. Within a couple minutes, I’m in the warmest bed ever, playing with Cai’s hair as he sleeps on my chest. It’s peaceful.