Kieran never knew for sure what to expect from Elena. She just kept surprising him even when he thought he knew her. But this...this was something he’d never imagined.

“Tomorrow!” he exclaimed, echoing his parents’ message.

His mother and father were seated calmly in the pavilion having tea while he stood gawking at them.

“That’s what I said,” his mother drawled and picked a biscuit from the plate, eating it.

“No, that cannot be,” said Kieran, stepping closer to the table. “Are you absolutely certain this was Elena’s wish?”

“Your betrothed herself spoke it,” said his father. He blew on his tea before taking a sip. “She said, and I quote; ‘Either Kieran and I get engaged tomorrow or the whole wedding is off. I will find myself another groom and I shall marry him instead.’ That is what the messenger relayed.”

Kieran’s jaw clenched. He could not pinpoint the emotion he felt at the moment. Anger and frustration at Elena’s brash decision making? Or fear and panic at the fact that he might lose her forever?

“So will you hold off your work and save your marriage?” his mother asked. “Or will you attend to your work and remain a bachelor forever? Because honestly, I can’t see you marrying anyone other than Elena.”

Kieran took a slow breath in and a slow breath out. He didn’t even have to think twice about his answer. “I’ll write to the governor to let him know I won’t be coming. I have an engagement to attend.”

His mother smirked. “That’s my boy.”

**

It was a particularly beautiful morning for Elena. She was gently awoken by her cousins Leticia and Caroline. She could not help her smile when pink flower petals were showered upon her, and she received pecks from each of them as they greeted her. They provided her with breakfast in bed, much to her delight.

It was her engagement day.

And on the engagement day, just like the wedding day, the bride was to be pampered. She was not allowed to do anything on her own.

So Caroline washed her face and brushed her teeth from her private bath chamber, and she and Leticia led her by the arms to the communal bathhouse. Petals of various flowers flooded the hallways, wherever they passed.

The communal bath house was a large chamber with an inbuilt bath tub the size of a small lake or pond. It had already been prepared with warm water, and petals of roses and jasmine floated over the surface. Citronella scented candles were lined up around the square edges of the bath, and Elena breathed in the wonderful scent of nature.

Mara and Anne were already waiting in the bath. They wore single strips of white cloth around their bossoms and white harem pants.

Leticia and Caroline undressed Elena and allowed her to walk down the steps into the waters. There, Anne and Mara lathered her up and scrubbed her clean with sponges. They shampooed her hair and washed it up as well.

Elena was blushing the whole time, partly because it was the first time she was receiving that treatment and partly because well… it was her engagement. The treatment and experience made that fact all the more vivid and clear, and what went through her mind was, ‘Finally.’

She walked back to the steps, rising out of the water, and she was showered with fresh clean water from a bucket as they rinsed her off.

From the bath, Caroline was waiting with a towel. She dried her down gently, like she was a newborn baby. Anne took the towel from her, and as Caroline wrapped a smaller towel around Elena’s hair, Leticia dressed her up in a white robe, tying the knot infront of her.

Her cousins smiled at her and took her by each of her arms, out of the bath house. She was taken to a guestroom on the ground floor. The floor was also coated with petals, and flower garlands had been hung as wall tapestries. Her cousins then smoothened up Elena’s skin with a rose-scented ointment which also made her glow.

It was in that room that they dressed her up in her undergarments and her engagement dress. The dress was a very light purple halter-neck, and the tulle skirt was somewhat wide, flowing to the floor in waves. Fabric ornaments of white orchids and fuchsia flowers had been embellished along some waves of the skirt. Her back was bare but for the strings for the bodice.

Since she would need to dance later on, the skirt was designed to be detachable. It was a wrap skirt, easily undone by pulling at the string tucked inside. When unwrapped, it would leave Elena in the rest of the dress – a halter-neck with a slim wavy chiffon skirt, plus short black tights underneath.

Elena sat at the dressing table and let Caroline style her hair into a simple bun, held in place by a long silver hairpin. Leticia applied kohl to her eyes, and cherry lip balm to her lips. They helped her wear her jewellery which included crystal shaped silver earrings, silver bangles on her left hand, and a silver finger bracelet on her right hand.

Once everything was done, Elena stood up and Leticia made her sit on the bed. Both her cousins tilted their heads and gave her smiles filled with admiration.

“So beautiful,” Leticia sighed as she held onto Carol’s arm.

Elena blushed. Would she ever stop blushing?

The doors opened and in walked Mara, Anne, her mother, both her aunts. It was the entire Rivera female barrage.

Everyone started talking at once and throwing compliments left and right at Elena, and at each other. Elena hardly caught what was being directed at her unless the person speaking held her hands.

Somewhere between the cooing and giggling was her aunt scolding her cousins to get ready and of course, they had to get ready in the bridal chamber. The bride was not supposed to be left alone, in case she needed something.

Once her mother and aunts left, the girls stayed behind to dress up in their dance outfits and chatter never ceased all the while. It ranged from how the house had been beautifully decorated to what the boys were wearing to ‘where is my hairbrush?’ to what kind of food had been served to ‘Seriously, where the heck is my hair brush!’

Elena had long retreated into silence. There was only one kind of chatter she wanted to hear, but was too nervous to ask the question, ‘Have the Hammedathas arrived?’

Lively chatter turned into bouts of frustration when an earring went missing and Mara’s outfit got torn.

Now Elena really could not ask, or request for some food for that matter. She had eaten very little when the servants had brought in the meal and regretted it some thirty minutes later. She could really use some samosas at the moment.

Leticia took to the floor to search for the earring under the bed.

“While you’re under there, maybe you could find my bracelet as well?” Caroline asked, hopefully.

Leticia responded with a bark. “What the blazes, Carol! Why didn’t you say your bracelet was missing earlier!”

Caroline hesitated. “I didn’t think it was necessary but since you’re down there…”

“Shut your trap and get on your knees!” Leticia howled.

Carol wrinkled her nose and reluctantly, knelt on the floor to search as well. From across the room, Anne was hastily trying to sew up Mara’s dressblouse, which the latter was wearing already.

“Keep still!” Anne hissed for the fifth time.

“I’m trying!” Mara cried. “Do it properly or else it will look terrible and people will notice.”

“No one will notice,” growled Anne. “I’d say do it yourself but since you were too bratty to learn how to sew, I have to do everything, don’t I? When will you grow up and take care of yourself, huh!”

Mara flushed red with anger. “Leave it if you don’t want to do it then!”

“Stop acting like a child. And be still!”

“I said leave it!”

Everyone was bickering. No one would’ve believed it if they’d seen how friendly and excited all of them had been a couple of hours ago.

Since she didn’t wish to add to the frustrations, Elena slowly rose from the bed and tiptoed to the doors. She put on her sandals and exited, carefully closing the doors behind her.

It would probably not be wise to head to any of the kitchens at that time, so Elena hoped she would find someone along the way to get her a snack.

“I especially love attending Rivera engagement ceremonies. Their traditions are very unique. Particularly the part where the bride has to find the groom before the exchange of rings.”

Elena did not recognize the female voice from round the corner so she guessed it belonged to one of the guests. If she knew the person speaking, maybe she could ask her to get her some samosas?

Elena walked forward. Once she turned the corner, she’d find the guest in the corridor.

“I have the same sentiment.” It was a different female voice that spoke next. “But I’m more sentimental that Victoria’s daughter is getting married at last. Oh, she’s been through so much with her groom always absent all the time. I hope he shows up today.”

Elena froze in her steps just as she reached the juncture.

“What makes you say that?” the first voice asked.

“Victoria told me how difficult it was preparing the engagement. Everytime the dance rehearsal was to be concluded, poof! He goes away. Poof! He goes to battle. The engagement dress is ready and poof! He dies,” the second voice replied. “You know, I attended an engagement where the groom never showed.”

“You don’t say!”

“It was the groom’s family that arrived and told the bride that he wasn’t coming, and the wedding was called off. The groom had fled to the coast, and no one knows why.”

“Oh my. It would be a tragedy if that happened to Victoria’s daughter, wouldn’t it? After everything that has happened.”

Elena did not want to hear anymore, and she’d lost her appetite as well. She rushed back to the guestroom and immediately got assaulted by her sisters.

“Elena!”

“Where have you been! When did you leave?”

“You know you shouldn’t be wandering off anyhow!”

“We were about to ululate in alarm!”

“Have the Hammedathas arrived!” Elena practically screamed so that her voice travelled above the others’.

They all ceased their yapping at once, but did not reply either.

“I asked you a question.” Elena was restless. She had been wondering about it since lunch hour was announced, and could not take not knowing the answer any longer.

Her sisters exchanged glances.

“Well…” Leticia started. “We haven’t seen them-”

“We haven’t seen any of the guests,” Mara chimed in. “Elena, we’ve been in here with you since a bit before lunch hour. How would we know who has arrived and who hasn’t?”

“Isn’t there a way to find out?” Elena asked as a mixture of desperation and panic filled her veins. “I need to know if they have arrived. Maybe I shouldn’t have given that ultimatum to Kieran. What if his work was really important and I stopped him from doing it? What if something terrible happened and he wasn’t there to stop it because of me? What if he’s really angry and he decided not to come and went to the province instead? What if he doesn’t show-”

“Elena.” Anne’s hands gripped her shoulders and it was only then that she realized her breath was failing her. “Breathe, sister. Follow my lead. In…out…”

Elena started the breathing exercises, but her heart palpitations seemed to get worse as more possibilities flooded her mind. Was it beating at a million times per second? She shook her head frantically as lightheadedness overcame her and waves of different colours danced before her eyes.

She was about to inform Anne that the exercises weren’t helping when her cousin Seth popped his head into the chamber.

“Hey, ladies-” He furrowed his brows when he saw Elena having a panic attack as the girls tried to calm her down. “-I’m not sure what this is, but take care of it fast because our future in-laws have entered the building. It’s almost time for your procession.”

Elena inhaled, nay, wheezed. All her sisters inhaled deeply with her and when she exhaled, they all did so simultaneously.

Her senses returned, slowly.

He was here.

**

Elena knew the drill – follow behind the pale yellow cloth her sisters held up and keep her gaze lowered. It sounded easy, and it was actually an easy motion to pull off, except for the rush of emotions going bonkers within her.

She’d always been the one watching the bride, the one dancing around the bride, the one throwing petals and smiling at the bride and now, she was the bride. It was the one thing that kept replaying in her mind as she walked into the hall with the cloth held up infront of her, shielding her from everyone’s view while her cousins danced behind her to the merry music.

She was the bride.

It was so nerve-racking, yet she could not help but feel exhilarated at the same time.

She was Kieran’s bride.

Butterflies swarmed her chest and stomach, and a smile crossed her lips. The cloth was tossed aside, and Elena heard gasps and coos as the bride was revealed – as she was revealed.

She kept her gaze lowered so she could not see any of the guests, only the petal covered floor and the feet of the dancers as they danced around her, as well as flashes of the cloths they swayed as they skipped about.

Elena took her place infront of the platform that was meant to be her and Kieran’s dais. Her hands were clasped infront of her as she faced the guests, with her sisters dancing on either side of her. The dancing came to a stop and so did the merry tune, and a round of applause echoed in the hall as the dancers bowed.

“Good luck,” she heard her cousin Anne whisper to her as they exited the stage.

The moment the harpists started to play that slow, lovely romantic melody, Elena’s heartbeat quickened.

It was time to look for the groom.

She lifted her eyes and appraised the guests for the first time. Most of their expressions were jovial and expectant. She easily spotted her mother and father seated at the front table on the left side of the aisle. He mother looked like she was holding back squeals.

Most of her family was seated to her right, which meant the Hammedathas were to her left. She took a step forward, having noticed the Commander and Lady Alyssa seated at the front table on the left side of the aisle. They smiled at her.

She walked into the aisle, intending to search for the siblings’ table. They always sat together so Kieran would be there too, right? She branched off into the left side of the aisle, her eyes looking for her groom or his siblings. She smiled when she saw Aira in a light peach dress, her presence made significant by the pink hibiscus flower behind her right ear.

She walked to the table and found Ray, Joshua, Aaron, Aira and Prince Lukas. Kieran wasn’t there. They all smiled at her but also gave her apologetic looks, since they weren’t allowed to give her hints.

As the tune played on, Elena turned around and scouted the tables as she tried not to let discouragement come to her.

He had to be around somewhere.

She spotted Maruja, Enoch, Anne’s husband who was cradling an asleep Matthew, some of her friends…there was no sign of Kieran. Everyone she approached gave her apologetic looks.

She really hoped they were apologizing for his not being at their tables – and not an overall absence.

She scouted the tables for the third time, then crossed over to the right side. If he wasn’t there, it would mean he had not come to his own engagement.

She took a deep breath and scouted the tables with her eyes as she walked through, hunting for his long hair. The only long hair she saw belonged to women, and some women had veils over their heads.

Wait.

Veils?

Elena retracted her steps and peered at the table she’d just passed. There were three women and one man seated at it. The man wore a stylish headdress along with his maroon suit, and two of the women wore veils. One of the women had a light pink veil over her head and a short sheer pink cloth tied around her nose and mouth. The other one had a bright floral print shawl over her head, nose and mouth. The second woman had a rather broad form.

She studied each of the persons closely, and noticed a dark red symbol on the part of the shawl that fell over the second woman’s shoulder. She walked forward and craned her neck to make sense of the symbol – it was the Guard’s emblem.

Elena’s lips quirked as she fought back a giggle. She stood infront of the table where the ‘woman’ in floral print sat. ‘She’ was tracing the rim of ‘her’ chalice with an index finger, ‘her’ gaze on the cup.

Elena extended her hand and placed it atop ‘hers’. ‘Her’ gaze flicked from the cup to Elena’s face.

Cyan.

Her heart fluttered and a grin spread across her face. She mouthed a ‘found you’ to her captive, who pulled down the shawl from his face, and thick dark brown locks fell from beneath.

The people at the table cheered as Kieran stood up, his cover blown. Everyone else joined in the cheers as Elena led her groom by the hand to the aisle. He followed behind her as they stepped up onto the platform and took their seats side by side on the chaise.

Elena pulled her hand away and settled it on her lap. She felt his gaze on her but she kept staring at her hands. She couldn’t look at him. If she did, her smile would grow wider than it was and everyone would wonder if she was drunk. She was supposed to be a blushing shy bride, not a hyperactive, squealing one.

Their parents climbed up the steps and onto the platform to stand by their side as Elena’s youngest cousin, Taris, brought the rings on a red satin pillow. Elena picked a golden ring and hoped it wouldn’t slip on account of her nerves. She placed it on Kieran’s finger, and Kieran placed the other ring on her finger.

She had to keep herself from shrieking out of excitement. Her eyes accidentally met Kieran’s and just like that, she was trapped. But in that moment where they held each other’s gazes, she read the expression in his eyes.

It read, “Finally.”

And she mouthed back, “Finally.”

His eyes twinkled and he flashed her a grin, his canines glinting ever so deliciously. He winked – a quick one, and she looked away, biting her lip as giggles threatened to spill from her throat.

They stood up and joining hands, lifted them to show off their rings. The hall erupted with cheers and applause, as well as hoots which Elena believed could only belong to Ray…and probably Prince Lukas.

“Bless you,” her mother and father said together as they gave her and Kieran a hug.

“Bless you.” Lady Alyssa also gave them both hugs; kissing Elena on the cheek.

“Bless you.” The Commander on the other hand, gave them each a pat on the upper arms. He did, however, smile at them before following his wife and Lord Rivera down the platform.

Kieran and Elena turned to face each other. It was time for the engagement dance.

Her mother unwrapped the tulle skirt of Elena’s dress while Kieran shrugged off his burgundy coat. He placed it on the chaise, leaving him in a v-neck white shirt with frill sleeves and his black trousers. He wasn’t a fan of the design, but Elena thought he looked good in anything, really. He stepped closer to her and reached his arm round her to touch her bun.

“Are you nervous?” she whispered.

He looked down at her as he pulled out the hairpin holding her bun in place. Her black hair fell to her neck and down her back.

“Not anymore,” he whispered back.

The musicians started to play their song. His hand dropped to her waist and he pulled her to himself while her hands settled on his chest.

“Me too,” she murmured.

She’d done this with him multiple times before; when it had been the two of them along with Alistair and Olivia. And now, it did not matter that there were even more people watching them. The moment she’d gazed into his eyes and felt his arms around her, it was just the two of them in the room.

There was no need to look at anyone else but him; not when she was twirling, not when they were moving in sync, not when he was lifting and spinning her; and definitely not when his hands were tracing the curves of her body.

And whenever she looked at him, he was always gazing right back, like she was the only thing he was drawn to see.

For the finale, she spun back to him. One of his hands held her waist and the other slipped under her knee as she lifted her leg slightly. She clung to his neck as he dipped her, slow and low.

They had rehearsed this before, so it shouldn’t have felt new to her. Yet it did, because the look in his eyes was a bit different. The fondness he’d had before as he looked at her was…deeper. The connection that always lay between them seemed deeper. Every other emotion seemed deeper.

And she wondered if he could see it all in her eyes, the same way she could see it in his.

Author’s grumble:

So there was a point where I was describing Elena’s gown that I stopped, blinked, and asked myself, “But what am I describing?” I was on those paragraphs for around 2 hours, I kid you not. It didn’t bring out the imagery I wanted it to bring out but myeh. I ain’t no fashionista.

Imagine being a bride in these traditions.

The next update shall be on Friday or before…