Well… we are at the wedding dinner now and I have to say, this day has actually been rather pleasant and enjoyable. I also must commend Damecus on whatever the hell that potion was that he made this morning… it took some time to kick in, but after about an hour I felt great. Genuinely don’t think I would have even made it to the wedding if he hadn’t made that.

  The ceremony itself was really beautiful. I have no idea how she managed to get so many white flowers… she must have taken the entire stock of every florist in the city. There were white bouquets all around the temple as well as a large arch that was covered in all sorts of flowers… all of them white. I’m sure Damecus could probably tell you all of their names… but all I can say is that they were delightfully pretty.

  It was really sweet to see Tadwick throwing flower petals in his little suit, followed by Alexi who was carrying a little cushion with the wedding rings on it. Alexi had done a marvellous job cleaning his butler suit. You would never know it had been soaked in blood previously.

  Smutisha’s wedding dress looked fantastic on her. It was a lovely ivory shade. It had these wonderful flared sleeves that hung down over her hands. It was a lot more understated than I really expected from her. Given how ridiculous her outfit had been at the ball when I last saw her in a formal situation. She actually looked very dignified and refined.

  The ceremony itself was very long. The priestess talked for well over an hour about the virtues of the maiden. Tadwick rather struggled to keep still during the whole thing. Alexi on the other hand just stood there… back perfectly straight, holding the rings until they were needed. I still find the difference between the two of them astounding… Tadwick was most definitely not still… and he was able to sit down after he had thrown his flowers.

  After the ceremony itself, we all climbed into a procession of carriages and went back to the duke’s manor.

  We spent a couple of hours in the gardens posing for a rough sketch which will apparently be transformed into an oil painting later. Again… not ideal for Tadwick. Then we headed inside.

  The space where the ball had been previously was filled with tables this time. White tablecloths and seat covers everywhere. White bouquets on every table. Little placeholders with our names on them and way more cutlery than I know what to do with. Seriously… why does anybody need this much cutlery for one meal?

  Fortunately, we are not sat at the head table. I am also incredibly pleased that there is nobody at our table that I do not know. At my table there is me… obviously… as well as Kiyui, Tadwick, Alexi, Damecus, Farrow, Phoenix, and Rosario. There is a placeholder for Wynrun, but Rosario says that he is away on an ore mining expedition and they had not been able to get word to him of the wedding in time. I feel kind of bad for Farrow, I think Damecus and I are the only people here that she knows, other than Smutisha of course. She must feel very lonely.

  Thomas and Keith are sat at the main table, for obvious reasons. The duke and lady Katheryn are also at that table. There is an empty seat next to Lady Smythe… which I assume is also for somebody who didn’t get word in time. Poor Thomas still looks like his heart is about to explode… but Keith seems to be having a whale of a time.

  I do have to say that I am really enjoying the food so far. We have had two courses and there are apparently three yet to come. The first course was a Venison pottage. Much more fancy than the usual pottage that I have at home… I’m sure I could detect almonds in it… and even saffron… which is insanely expensive… it had a fantastic taste. That was followed by some bards performing some romantic ballads.

  Then there was a selection of meat and fish dishes. There was spit-roasted boar… beef steaks, grilled in red wine and sprinkled with cinnamon… smoked salmon roasted in white wine and sprinkled with cinnamon and ginger, and a haddock stew. I tried all of them. I absolutely loved the salmon… and I don’t normally go for fish dishes… but that was fantastic. Maybe it was the cinnamon and ginger combo. Rich people seem very into using cinnamon… my mum normally only uses it for puddings… I’ve never had it in a savoury dish before. Damecus decimated the beef steaks and about half the spit roasted pork. Tadwick wouldn’t go near the fish… he says it smells… but he really liked the boar.

  Lady Smythe stood up and began tapping a glass with a spoon. The room fell silent, apart from the sound of servants trying to remove the plates as quietly as possible.

  Smutisha: “Salutations everyone. This is normally the point where Daddy would make a painfully longwinded speech… but alas, he is not present as he is attending to some important business back in Vardan. So instead, you shall just have to put up with me.”

  The murmur of laughter rattled around the room.

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  Smutisha: “Panic not, darlings. I won’t keep you for long, I know we are all anxious to see the wonders of the main course. The plans that my lovely chef presented to me for the main course look positively scrummy. I hope you all like peacock and swan. I mainly just want to do a few thank yous then I’ll be finished. First of all, can we have a big hand for the catering staff, they have been absolutely fantastic, the venison was so succulent in that pottage, it was to die for.”

  A round of applause began. Some of the caterers smiled, happy to be acknowledged. Others cowered away with the plates, sheepishly, clearly not comfortable with attention being on them. One rather perky waiter even bowed.

  Smutisha: “Next, I would like to thank my good friend Lady Katheryn and her father, our wonderful duke, for allowing my wedding reception to take place here, in his fantastic abode. As well as letting me stay here in the guest wing for so long. Honestly, I will get a house of my own here at some point, I swear.”

  The duke and Lady Katheryn laughed and raised their glasses to her. Lady Smythe smiled back at them before swiftly downing the drink that she had in her hand. She gestured for one of the waiters to refill her glass and addressing the room again.

  Smutisha: “Next, I would like to thank the two beautiful young boys who led me down the aisle earlier today. Young Tadwick, you look wonderfully elegant and quite frankly, I too struggled to keep still when that priestess was talking, gods did she go on. Big well done to young Alexi for lending an air of elegance to the proceedings, something which I’m afraid I often struggle to do. So, let’s have a big hand for the boys.”

  Tadwick jumped up onto his chair and started bowing at everyone. Alexi stood next to his seat and bowed his head in acknowledgement. When the applause stopped, he sat back down and resumed sitting perfectly still as he had done before. Kiyui had to pull Tadwick down from his chair in order to get him to sit back down.

  Smutisha: “That brings me quite neatly to the people who I would like to thank most of all. Dwynfel Vesidia, Damecus of the Sawtooth clan, and Farrow Marcel.”

  Fucking what? Please don’t draw attention to me. I barely did anything.

  Smutisha: “If it wasn’t for Damecus’ quick thinking over at what is now known as Fort Bracken, my new husband and his brethren would likely have fled from a vicious orc attack, or worse yet, been killed. His plan succeeded, in part, due to his fabulous acting, but largely due to some wonderful flanking from Farrow. She, along with a goblin named Sonya and my personal guard were absolutely vital. They decimated the ranks of the orcs and caused them to flee.”

  Farrow raised her glass in acknowledgement and Damecus nodded.

  Smutisha: “And of course, our lovely Dwynfel. Who I am sure you all remember. Last time he was here, he killed a corrupted incubus in this very room. In fact, the mezzanine has only just been repaired. If not for Dwynfel, then none of this would be happening at all. It is Dwynfel who has shown us that not all goblins mean us harm. He is essentially the reason for this alliance, long may it last. Thank you, Dwynfel, from the absolute bottom of my heart.”

  The room began to applaud again. I really wish she hadn’t phrased things like that. That makes it sound like all of this was my intention. I just seem to be being swept along by all of this stuff. I didn’t choose this. I advised against this. Now I feel like if it goes wrong then everyone will blame me.

  Smutisha: “One last thing before I go, darlings. I would like to say a big thankyou to my wonderful husband. I am aware that his people are not ones for mixing with different races, but he has travelled here, of his own free will, to become part of a culture that he is unfamiliar with, all in the name of making peace between our two communities. I am very proud of you, darling. So, my final thank you goes out to you, my love. I am truly thrilled to be able to call you, my husband.”

  A significantly louder applause than previously broke out. People were shouting and making all sorts of noises. Thomas was flicking in-between a happy smile and a nervous one.

  Smutisha: “So now, I hand you over to my husband for him to say a few words.”

  Smutisha sat down and gestured for Thomas to stand. She clearly never warned him of this… nobody did… he looks terrified. Fuck, I would be. You can’t just spring this shit on people.

  Thomas stood up, nervously swallowed, and looked out to his audience… sweating profusely.

  Thomas: “Hello. Umm… I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t aware that I was going to be making any kind of speech here. So, if you’ll forgive me, I’ll keep this brief.”

  He looked down at Smutisha, as if making sure that what he had said so far was ok. She smiled back at him sweetly and he returned his glance to his audience again before continuing.

  Thomas: “My beautiful wife here speaks as if my coming here was a big selfless sacrifice on my part. The truth is, I’m happy to be here. Incredibly happy in fact. What she says about my people is true. Mixing with other races is not something we do. But most of my people do not see what I see. I see such beauty in my wife, I see such strength, such kindness and compassion. I see what is possibly the most amazing woman that I have ever met. Lady Smythe… Smutisha. Being with you is not a sacrifice, it is the highest honour that I have ever received. And I look forward to our life together.”

  Smutisha stood up, with a tear in her eye, and gave him a hug as the crowd erupted in rapturous applause once more. I have to give Thomas points for that. Given that he improvised that out of nowhere, he chose his words better than I ever could, and it certainly went down well with the guests. Even if this alliance does end up collapsing, at least their marriage will likely remain pretty strong. They do genuinely seem quite well matched.

  This is one of the few images that I have generated with AI that I have been unable to find a problem with. I am genuinely pleased with how this one turned out.