Regina was not sure what she had expected when she entered the wedding hall.

  It was true that she had heard music, but she half-expected the musicians to have been playing the dulcet tones meant to start a feet fish dance battle as one final trial before she was able to wed.

  Entering the hall did not reveal any feet fish… but she did see the audience arrayed around a broad circle with Artem already standing in the center.

  For a wild moment, Regina wondered if she was supposed to now dance battle Artem to the death… but then she shook her head and reminded herself of what she needed to do.

  She simply needed to walk to the open circle where Artem stood… a distance that was short in terms of length but far in terms of Regina’s dwindling store of patience.

  As Regina slowly made her way forward, trying to look dignified despite her ragged, burnt, and bloodstained “dress,” she could see vague glimpses of every notable noble family in Carcosa. The sole exception lay in –

  Were those the orphans staying at her house?

  Were they also playing musical instruments?!

  Regina was not a proponent of child labor and now, she felt a stab of guilt when she realized she had spent little time thinking of the orphans’ future while mired in her own worries.

  Inwardly, she promised to do better for these poor orphans in the future. After all, they had been through enough without also experiencing the horror of providing the music for Carcosan weddings.

  Yet as Regina continued walking, she realized with a sudden shock that the audience around her almost perfectly mirrored those who had been in the ballroom for her first engagement to Prince Aaron – now Erin.

  With one terrible exception, they were all the nobles she had seen during the vision that first revealed her magical abilities – only this time, she knew which names lay beneath the untrustworthy smiles and hidden teeth.

  There was Lord Red Hair - or rather, Marquess La Belle - all but beaming as he clapped his hands for the couple he hoped would make him even more prosperous in the future.

  There was Lord Ocean Waves - or rather, Marquess Poisson, proudly wearing Artem's feet fish brooch as he stood next to his equally bedecked fish-obsessed entourage.

  There was Lord Feet Fish - or rather, Duke Ihsan Kuzey, looking as dapper as ever as he stood away from the crowd, his handsome face looking horrified as he stared at the Poisson's accessories.

  There was even Lord Leaf Brooch - or rather, Duke Jason Neville, the man who had tried to kill Regina and Artem repeatedly through Robin Buren and other assassins, even as he kept his own hands "clean."

  Regina almost could not believe that Duke Neville had the nerve to show up on the wedding day of the people he repeatedly tried to assassinate... though it made a twisted kind of sense. After all, his absence would be far too conspicuous and easily noted.

  Still, it unnerved her to realize that Duke Neville would show up to his target’s wedding even when his pet assassin went missing!

  A strange pain went through Regina's chest at the thought of Robin Buren, who she had once thought of as Lord Grass Hair.

  Even now, she did not believe that Robin wanted to be a murder on the behest of his family or the Neville's. Yet she knew how noble families could... exert themselves to make their will known.

  If only Robin had...

  Regina did not even know how to end that sentence. She just knew that while Robin Buren may have been a killer, she simply felt sorry for him and his brutal death at the Queen's hands.

  She was jolted out of her thoughts by the realization she had almost reached her groom at the altar. For a moment, Regina overlaid the current scene with the one she had experienced in her first prophetic dream.

  In that instant, she was terrified that her vision would clear and instead of her beloved Artem, another Alpin would be waiting to wed her.

  Yet as she rapidly blinked, trying to dispel her sudden panic, she saw a set of guests that dispelled her illusions. For while she had seen her parents at the engagement ball, she had not seen the full contingent of her family’s elders…

  …Including her grandfather, the monster who had murdered Ava because her parents had dared beg for her.

  A flash of sheer rage spread through Regina's body – one that only increased when she took another step forward and the people at the head of the circle behind Artem came into view.

  Regina realized that most Alpin weddings must have been... special events because no one seemed bothered by her wandering through dressed with even less clothing than the nightgown she wore in her first vision, even with Artem's shirt.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  In fact, when she saw the head of the circle, she realized how truly special Alpin weddings must be.

  There was not a single person who looked perturbed by her father standing there shoeless with bleeding feet, as disheveled as her blood-stained mother.

  Nobody seemed to care that Aaron-turned-Erin was no longer wearing a shirt or that the Queen was standing beside him with a large bruise on her head and a blood-splattered dress.

  Regina could even see a surprisingly cheerful-looking Henrietta standing with Lady Paloma Poisson, who looked positively well dressed in comparison to everyone else. Nobody even seemed to care that Henrietta’s dress was also rapidly falling apart, though Lady Paloma did seem to sneak repeated looks at Henrietta’s impressive cleavage.

  However, the true reason that Regina realized that Alpin weddings were special lay in the odd way nobody stared at the King standing in the center, even though the man was dressed in a resplendent yellow robe that appeared to be made out of thinly woven gold.

  Regina could barely see the King through her rage… until she suddenly noticed something that made a sharp, grim smile spread across her face.

  "His skin is yellow," she said softly.

  "That it is," said Artem, obviously having come up beside her.

  Her groom smiled and it was a dazzling combination of the dandelion and the blade.

  "I have so many wedding gifts for you once we are wed, dearest," Artem added and took her hand to lead her to the center of the circle.

  Standing in the center of people who mostly hated her or wished to exploit her, Regina should have felt anxious.

  Yet as Regina looked into her beloved Artem's eyes, she could only feel parts of her that she had long been missing finally slide into place.

  Regina had always thought that she was destined to be a potato wedding yet another spud… but somehow, despite her lowly ambitions, life had given her a field of flowers instead.

  So perhaps there was more danger around her… but there was also so much more life and color.

  As she squeezed Artem’s hand, Regina felt her older self fall away like a bud opening into bloom.

  Her past had once served her well… but she had become so much more thanks to the man in front of her.

  After all, a dandelion might look fragile… but its roots could reach down beyond the height of its flower.

  By knowing and loving her, Artem had rooted her just as completely and thoroughly.

  She hoped she could bring him that kind of support in return.

  Regina took off her ring and cut the tip of her finger with the sharpened edge of it, raising her bloodied hand into the air as she spoke with all her heart.

  "By the blood that was bred into me, by the blood that has been spilled by me, by the blood that I will gift to those after me… I join my body and my power to Artem Alpin. May our veins mingle as one."

  Artem's hands were shaking, but he similarly cut his finger and raised it, his voice just as clear and strong as hers.

  "By the blood that has granted me power, by the blood that has been brought to me, by the blood that those before us took for us… I join my body and my power to Regina Sheridan. May our veins mingle as one."

  Artem carefully touched his finger to hers and then, as if he could not help himself, he traced the edge of her cheek with his finger… even as Regina found herself doing the same.

  "Blood of my blood," she said softly.

  "Heart of my heart," he said and pulled her into himself.

  Regina's lips met his in a kiss and every other person or pressing problem she had simply melted away.

  Regina did not know much of love, for all that she had been surrounded with more of it than she had ever realized before.

  Yet she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she loved this man - that she loved her husband - and that she always wanted him to know as much.

  She wanted him to know that she adored his smile and his laugh and the press of his hands and the way he made every moment by his side shine brighter than the products of his magic.

  In the end, she pulled back only because her lungs demanded air, even as she could not stop smiling.

  "I love you," Regina told Artem, "and until the day I die, I will make you as happy as you make me."

  Artem’s smile was as bright and sweet as the first sign of spring.

  "Whatever future brings you to me," said Artem softly, "is the only future I could ever consider."

  For a woman who knew exactly what those words meant, it was a declaration of love beyond anything she could imagine.

  Trying to move past the uncomfortable lump in her throat, Regina suddenly realized that they were surrounded by a large audience who she had no desire to see her vulnerable.

  So, pulling upon all her shoddy social training, she turned to them with a calm smile.

  After all, now that the vows had been witnessed by all, there was only the ceremonial greetings to certify the witnesses.

  Regina could only hope that the tiresome formalities could end soon and she could go somewhere with her new husband in truth.

  "I do hope," she said under her breath, as she saw people begin to approach them, "that this will manage to be less tedious than this morning."

  "Do not fear," said Artem, a strange tone in his voice. "I do not believe anyone will ever forget our vow ceremony."

  "Oh!" Regina cried, her eyes brightening. "Have you planned for some additional entertainment?"

  She had heard that weddings could have special events planned to amuse the guests, though she had never previously attended one herself.

  "You could say that," Artem replied blandly.

  "I trust," said Regina, determined to love whatever Artem provided, even if it was not to her taste, "that I will enjoy what you have to offer."

  "Then," said Artem, holding her hand in his as a beautiful smile spread across his face, "please do sit back and enjoy the show, my falcon."

  Save the Villainess. In that game, you can choose to romance 5 different love interests. The only catch is that some of them might want you dead...

  We're holding a contest among them in Youtube now! Feel free to cast your vote if you are interested!