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In chapter 6: Everything works out.
Thank you also to ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
crackthewip for the extra nudge to get the fic completed!
Kairi’s nerves were jumping under her skin. The meeting with Lyshen and Amara had already been planned, so at least she hadn’t had to request they make time to see her. That would have felt far too much like a ‘we need to talk’ situation, making it clear there was something wrong.
But it wasn’t that there was something wrong. Or at least she desperately hoped not. Trying to fix something wrong, more like.
Riku wasn’t with her. Originally he was going to be, since this was supposed to be about planning the ceremony, but Kairi wanted to do this bit alone. As much as she would have loved some moral support, she needed to take responsibility for things up until now.
The meeting was set to happen in one of the many quiet sitting rooms scattered throughout the palace. Kairi remembered this one; the floor set as a striking mosaic of interlocking star maps. Soft voices came from inside. She was sure it was the two queens, though she couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. She faced the door, getting her composure.
The wood was dark and polished, inlaid with smooth, deep blue stones. Lapis maybe. The door was cracked open, and Kairi knew that she was welcome to enter without knocking.
She still did, a gentle rap of her knuckles, before she pushed the door open enough to enter the room.
Lyshen and Amara were seated in a pair of soft, overstuffed chairs right next to each other, knees just barely touching. Two empty chairs sat across from them, similarly close.
They both looked up and smiled as Kairi came in, though when she pulled the door partially closed behind her, she could see a hint of polite confusion.
“Good afternoon, beloved princess. Where is your fiancé? Is he well?” Amara asked.
“He is, thank you beloved queens. I had wanted an opportunity to speak to you about something. It does relate to the wedding, but, well, I’d wanted to ask alone, if I may.”
Lyshen glanced over at Amara, and the pair seemed to reach an easy, wordless agreement.
Both women stood up, Lyshen taking Amara’s hand and brushing a quick kiss over her knuckles.
“I would be happy to speak alone with you,” she said.
Amara smoothed her skirts and gave a polite incline of her head. “I’ll give you some privacy. I hope all is well, and we’ll speak again soon.”
Kairi started to raise a hand to object. She hadn’t meant that she wanted one of them to leave.
As Amara walked past, she reached out a hand and briefly squeezed Kairi’s arm. A supportive gesture, like she was wishing her luck. Lacking either Riku or Sora at her back, Kairi appreciated it.
“While I hope it’s nothing bad, it does sound like this might be something serious,” Lyshen said, as Amara left the room. “Would you perhaps prefer to speak in one of the gardens? It’s a pleasant afternoon. Sometimes a walk can make a serious conversation easier than sitting and staring at each other.”
“That… sounds very nice, actually.”
The walk to the gardens was quiet. Lyshen led the way, a half pace ahead. Kairi knew some of the ways to get outside, but certainly didn’t know the layout of the palace as well as the queen did. As she’d guessed, Lyshen led her out a smaller passage, much more direct than the bigger doors between the gardens and the hall where their rooms were.
The smaller door let them out behind a lattice completely covered in climbing vines. Kairi glanced back as they stepped around it; she wouldn’t have ever guessed there was a doorway behind it.
Lyshen slowed slightly, losing even her half pace lead, until she was letting Kairi choose their direction. Kairi couldn’t even formulate a thought on whether that was some obscure violation of protocol or something she should have expected.
The silence was companionable for a little while, as Kairi led them down one of the winding paths, through the first garden and through a stone arch into a second. A stream of water fell delicately through and over several terraced rock beds, providing a low, peaceful background music. Kairi tried to let it relax her.
The gravel path gave way to a curved wooden bridge that arched up over the stream. Lyshen didn’t push her to speak, but paused at the top of the bridge, resting her arms on the railing.
Kairi stopped next to her, facing the waterfall, watching the water. It was beautiful, but she was barely resisting the urge to fidget.
“Would it be too much to ask you if you’ve had any luck finding your references?” Lyshen asked, keeping her attention on the stream.
That was as good a place as any to start, and Kairi was grateful she’d broken the silence.
“Actually, yes. We’ve been looking through several of the books you recommended. About that… There was one particular story that I wanted to ask you about.”
Lyshen looked over to her with an open, pleasant expression. “Of course.”
“It was a story about a lord who had been through some sort of tragedy in his past. He’d been in a marriage that turned out to be untrue. He’d made other mistakes, done the wrong things when he thought they were his only choices. But at the end, when he was finally able to come back to himself, with a chance to become a better person again, he struggled to believe he deserved to be happy. One of the people he thought he’d lost was his best friend, a man he’d secretly been in love with, even as he helped his friend to get married to someone else. But his friend loved him too. In the end, the best friend and the best friend’s wife both ask to marry the lord, and take him with them to their kingdom.”
“Ah,” Lyshen sighed. “I’ve always loved that story. I think it’s ultimately a very kind story. I hope that most people eventually find someone who loves them like that. That even when they struggle with themselves, they have someone who wants the best for them.”
“The story really went that way, though? The lord married his best friend and his wife?”
Lyshen cocked her head to the side. “Of course. It was the chance to offer Lord S. the kind of love he’d been long denied. It was not that new love that redeemed him; he’d done that himself. He and his best friend had loved each other for a very long time, which did not change how the already married couple felt for each other. They just finally had the opportunity not to deny their connections to each other.”
“I suppose… Well, I know in Radiant Garden something like that would be seen as at least slightly suspect. Marriages are intended for two only. I feel like most people wouldn’t believe that someone could love two spouses that much, and that trying would simply mean they didn’t love either of them enough.”
“I think the story itself disproves that. Lord S. had been married before, to a woman who did not love him genuinely. Would that truly be a more ‘correct’ relationship than one with two people who did love him?”
“No. But some people might think so. Or that both relationships would be flawed.”
“I hope you do not take offense, because I don’t mean any. But that sounds very unfortunate. It strikes me as a very sad thing, that there may be people who love each other and are held back from doing so.”
Kairi took a deep breath. “So relationships like that, between more than just two partners, are acceptable here?”
Lyshen gave her an unreadable look out of the corner of her eye. “Acceptable. Normal. Even encouraged. The important thing in a marriage is the connection between the participants. Not the number of people, or even the kind of connection they share. Loving two people, or three, or more, is only a testament to how strong a heart someone must have, to connect so deeply with others. The connection doesn’t even have to be romantic, for all that it often is. Some of the strongest connections ever seen have been between those who loved each other platonically, but still chose each other above all others.
“I hope that knowing that does not make you feel differently toward Eclenna.”
Kairi shook her head. “Certainly not in a negative way. I think that perhaps I’d… made some assumptions based on the narrower view that I was familiar with. But I don’t think that the narrow view is the correct one.”
Admitting such a thing could be politically dangerous, she supposed. Taking the ‘side’ of another country, rather than her own. But it was honest.
“Did one story have such an impact on you?”
Maybe it was the repeat impulse to delay something that felt inevitable, but instead of answering she said, “Amara told me something earlier. She said that there’s a superstition about how prospective spouses find references. That sometimes the right ones just come to you, somehow drawn by the connections between you. Do you believe that?”
Lyshen’s face lit up with a smile. “I know Amara does. I would say it certainly feels that way, when the right story sticks out to you. It feels very meant to be.”
Kairi bit the inside of her lip until it hurt. She fixed her eyes on the tumbling water, though she couldn’t even pretend it was soothing her nerves anymore. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“All right.”
“Riku was not my original fiancé. Sora was.”
“Your friend who accompanied you here?”
Kairi nodded. “There were… maybe a lot of foolish reasons behind why we portrayed things the way we did. But the truth is that all three of us love each other. Something I think we were all afraid of. Or afraid to admit. Like I said, it would be something considered suspect at best, back in Radiant Garden. Akin to some sort of assumed betrayal.
“So there’s definitely a part of me that believes Amara’s superstition: it felt like finding that story was a sign of something, or like it really was meant to be.”
She tightened her grip on the railing. “I understand that we’ve been dishonest. If this changes things so drastically that you can’t go through with the planned alliance, I’m prepared for that, and I will take the blame for it. But after finding that story… it doesn’t feel right to keep pretending. To lie to you, and to all of Eclenna. It wouldn’t be fair to Riku and Sora either.”
“Or to you?”
“Or to me,” she repeated. That felt small and selfish, the least of the concerns.
Lyshen was quiet for what felt like a very long time. Kairi had to force herself to stay still. Whatever Lyshen said, she would have to deal with it, and she would.
She was half ready to be immediately thrown out of the country by the time Lyshen finally spoke.
“I am disappointed and saddened that you did portray yourselves falsely when you arrived. But I also stand by what I said earlier: I think it is very unfortunate that there could be people who love each other but are held back from doing so. It sounds like that may have been the case for you.”
Kairi’s heart was pounding so hard she thought it might choke her. “It was. That doesn’t make it right that we lied to you. Or to each other, for that matter. I realize an apology doesn’t undo the lie.”
“Nothing can. But ending a lie can be better than carrying it forward, regardless of how long you’ve been tangled in it.”
It did feel like a relief. At least in part. Even if everything went bad from here—they were asked to leave Eclenna, true peace again taken off the table, having to go back and face maybe never being queen, defending her and Riku and Sora to the council—even then, having told someone would be a relief.
“Of course, the marriage as planned between you and Riku can’t go forward.”
Kairi winced, “I- I understand. If you would like us to leave—”
Lyshen cut her off. “The marriage as planned,” she said gently. “I will speak to the ladies, layrdes, and lords. I believe I can advocate for why your situation was a unique one, and for why the alliance itself should move forward, despite the… facts that were withheld.”
Her voice took on a harder edge when she said, “However, the idea of going forward with an incomplete marriage, when there is no reason for it to remain incomplete, would not be an acceptable one. To refer back to the reference you mentioned, the initial marriage happened when the third partner was not ready or available. It was only later in his life that he could join them. But you tell me that you, Riku, and Sora all love each other; unless there is something else that you’ve left aside, there doesn’t seem to be any reason that all three of you shouldn’t be married.”
Kairi thought the sudden elation should leave her floating above the ground. “No reason outside of the norms of Radiant Garden.”
“All three of you are going to have to be present for some social events, and this may ignite another round of rehashing terms. I don’t think anything will truly change except the ceremony itself.”
“I… barely know what to say. Of course we’ll be available for whatever events you need us for.”
“Excellent. As I said, I will make the case for you, at least to start. Though there will probably be plenty of people still curious about your reasons.”
“Your willingness to advocate on our behalf is extremely appreciated.” That sounded stiff, so she added, “I genuinely didn’t even dare hope for that.”
“I want this alliance to work. I’m not delighted about the deception, but I invited you here on the gamble that you might have the strength of heart I would hope to see leading a nation Eclenna was allied with. Instead of the strength of heart required for a connection with one person, you’ve revealed that you’re deeply connected to two. If that doesn’t confirm what I’d hoped to see, what would?”
Finally, the tears came. “Thank you, beloved queen.”
Lyshen reached for her hand, gently pulling her close enough that Lyshen could put an arm over her shoulders in a brief sideways hug. Between her and her wife, Lyshen definitely seemed to be the less physically affectionate. Knowing that, it felt all the more comforting.
Kairi took in a shuddering breath, and wiped her damp cheeks.
“I will meet with everyone tonight, after the evening meal. If you think that all three of you can manage one more relatively informal dinner with the court before everyone is aware of the… different circumstances, at least. Then tomorrow we can resume any new negotiations, as well as the plans for the ceremony itself.”
“That sounds excellent. Thank you.”
This time, returning to their rooms felt completely different. None of the anxiety making her want to retreat, all of it replaced with elation. As much as she’d hoped for a positive outcome when she went to Lyshen, she hadn’t expected things to go like this.
She knocked, but didn’t wait before entering the room, letting the door shut behind her.
Riku and Sora were already most of the way to their feet by the time she came in.
“Are we running for our lives? Making a break for the border?” Sora’s tone said it was a joke, but his slightly too-wide eyes spoke to the fairly real concern underneath.
“I think all three of us are going to be expected at a not-too-formal dinner tonight.”
“A dinner? All three of us?” Riku asked.
She nodded.
“So… not being unceremoniously dumped back on Radiant Garden soil, with the peace treaty shredded behind us?”
“Nope. Not yet, anyway.”
“What did happen?” Sora asked.
Apparently he had either made peace with his inclusion at dinner or hadn’t really thought about it yet.
“I asked Lyshen about the reference you found. She recognized the story, and told me she’s always liked that one. When I asked, she told me that Eclenna cares more for the strength of connection than the specifics of it. More than two people, more than three, romantic, platonic… it’s the strength that matters and is prized.”
She took a deep breath. “So I told Lyshen the truth. I didn’t go into every single detail for why we did what we did, but I did tell her the truth. That we all love each other, and had no idea that such a thing was acceptable here. That it’s not something that would pass without judgment in Radiant Garden.”
“How did she react?”
“Better than I thought. Not happy that we lied, but understanding. She wants all three of us to attend dinner tonight, though not to reveal anything new about our relationship. She said she’s willing to go to the lords, ladies, and layrdes on our behalf, to see if things can move forward just as they have been. Only now it will be with the three of us.”
“Really?” The hope and tempered excitement in Sora’s voice was almost painful.
“Really.” She smiled. “A marriage isn’t confined to two, here. And as she put it, if only two of us were to get married now, after we’ve admitted to mutual feelings all around, that would be what they’d consider more unacceptable. That if all three of us love each other and want to be together, it would be worse to deny it.”
Both Riku and Sora looked a little dumbstruck. She couldn’t blame them; she felt about the same.
“So I’d like to make it official.” She stood up a little straighter, squaring her shoulders and facing both of them. “Riku, Sora… will you marry me? And each other? For real, and completely honestly, without any ulterior intentions or portrayals or anything?”
“Now you really are proposing again,” Sora said. “Is this number two or three? But you know I’ll say yes. However many times you ask, always yes.”
She looked at Riku. He had tears in his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Instead he just nodded, so emphatically it looked like he might give himself whiplash.
She reached out both hands toward them,
Sora collided with her first, completely overshooting her outstretched arm, and pulling her into a crushing hug. Riku was right behind him, though a little more sedate when he reached out, until Sora yanked him into the hug.
“You were nodding for both of us, right?” Sora asked. “Do I need to propose, too?”
“Don’t be a jerk,” Riku laughed, jostling at his shoulder. “Like I’d let you beat me to it, anyway: Sora, will you marry me?”
“Of course I will. I won’t even make you ask three times, like Kairi did.” The teasing note almost completely left his voice as he added, “But always yes.”
“And you, Kairi?”
“Also yes. Also always.” She leaned forward to peck him quickly on the lips, and then turned to Sora and kissed him too.
“And you’re both marrying me, too?” Sora asked.
“What kind of proposal is that?” Riku teased. “Yes, we are.”
“Yes again,” she confirmed.
Objectively, it was silly, standing in a clump in the middle of a borrowed living room, all three proposing and confirming their acceptances. But it didn’t feel silly at all.
This was the first dinner that Sora had been required to attend since the welcome dinner the first night they’d arrived, but he realized it wasn’t going to be the last.
This was what he’d been so desperate to avoid. Somehow it didn’t seem quite so impossible to deal with now. For the moment at least he wasn’t the center of attention, though that was subject to change, once the new status between the three of them was public knowledge. Tonight he only garnered a couple of questioning looks, probably because it was a surprise to see him there.
Riku reached down and very quickly gave his arm a squeeze under the table. Sora flashed him a smile. Just because this didn’t feel impossible anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous, and he appreciated the gesture.
He could make it through this, and through however many more social events he had to; it would be worth it.
Lyshen had been completely correct when she said the new revelation might set off even more rehashing of the terms of the treaty.
It did, every new discussion tied in with remarks that—while politely phrased—boiled down to “You aren’t hiding anything else, right?”
Kairi did her best to put those concerns to rest, but she could probably credit most of the success at doing so to Riku and Sora. To her fiancés: even thinking the word made her feel giddy.
All three of them attended a rapid-fire stream of morning, afternoon, and evening events, taking the chance to mingle with all of the people they’d already met. (Though for Sora, it was a first-time meeting with some of them.)
‘Affirming connections,’ Lyshen called it. It had to be a special brand of torture for Sora, though Kairi watched him handle it far better than he’d ever believed he could.
In the end, there weren’t any actual changes to the proposed alliance. Eclenna and Radiant Garden would still have mutual defense agreements; would set up official exchange programs for researchers and students; would share their own respective magical research and advancement; and would open their borders for travel, both for business and tourism. It still represented everything Kairi had hoped to achieve.
“You seem happier.”
Kairi looked up, suddenly aware of how lost in thought she’d been. This particular afternoon gathering had been moving on around her.
“If you don’t mind me saying so,” Lady Nathalie finished.
Kairi raised her glass of wine in acknowledgement. “I am happier, thank you. Happier than I ever thought I’d be.”
“All three of you do. As clearly as you and Riku were connected before, it seems even stronger now. And I think Sora brings… a sort of lightness to you both. Like he lets all three of you be what you’re meant to be.”
Kairi giggled. “Can I steal that for my wedding vows?”
She felt the utterly sappy look on her face as she looked over at Sora, who was in the middle of explaining something that required a lot of animated gesturing. That was the kind of thing he’d been worried would cast her in a poor light; instead, he was effortlessly charming everyone.
“If you want to.” By the only half-suppressed giggle in Nathalie’s voice, the sappy look on Kairi’s face was just as obvious to her.
Riku had been left out of most of the earliest preparations in the previous round, back when it was only going to be the two of them.
No such luck the second time. Or maybe just the right amount of luck, actually. Now that he wasn’t twisted in knots about wanting, but knowing he shouldn’t, and trying not to want, even as he had to pretend to want… Well, now he did want, and that was good.
Because Sora wanted, and Kairi wanted, and having all three of them involved felt perfectly, amazingly right.
They each had the traditions they wanted from home—a paopu fruit, specific flowers, the style of clothing they’d be wearing. These would blend with the Eclennan traditions of the Sacred Star and the sharing of references. The references had been blended, too. Some of them had been picked from the Eclennan history and mythology books, others from folklore of Radiant Garden.
About the only thing that they regretted not being able to incorporate was family. Lyshen and Amara had offered to send someone to find Riku’s parents and Sora’s mother, to bring them to Eclenna to witness the ceremony. It had been tempting, almost painfully so. But in the end, they decided it would be too much of a risk. The relationship between Eclenna and Radiant Garden hadn’t become an alliance yet, and Eclenna sending someone across the border and bringing Radiant Garden citizens wouldn’t happen without some attention. And attention from the council was risky; they didn’t want even a chance that the council could throw some new stumbling block in their way, as they finally drew close to everything they wanted.
Right now was a quiet moment in between the seemingly endless planning sessions and social gatherings. He was grateful for the temporary peace of their borrowed suite.
“We’re probably going to have to do this all over again when we get home,” Kairi said, walking up behind where he sat at the desk, draping herself over his shoulders.
“I imagine the council will be beautifully offended by the whole thing. The future queen, getting married on foreign soil. To two men they didn’t pick.” He rested his hand over hers.
“Let ‘em,” she murmured into his shoulder. “They can take their offense with them as part of their pension.”
That got a laugh out of him.
“Personally, I’m excited for that,” said Sora. He was sprawled across the loveseat.
“Why, Sora!” Riku turned just far enough to look at him, eyes exaggeratedly wide. “I had no idea you had a petty bone in your body.”
Sora stuck out his tongue. “Let’s see them leave my name off the announcement now.”
“I’d like to see them try,” Kairi said.
“Well, we still have to make it through one wedding before we can worry about the second,” Riku said.
“Spoilsport,” Sora complained.
“Actually, I was just thinking the longer we have to plan, the pettier we can make it.” He was already thinking of possibilities.
It was something of a tossup on whether the inevitable Radiant Garden wedding—or reception, or vow renewal, or whatever they wound up calling it since they would already be married—would require more or less planning than this one.
There would be more formalities, a different set of social rules, the new and additional pressures that would come from Kairi being the queen, trying to combat the scandal of the three of them.
But there wouldn’t be an alliance riding on it at that point, either. Or an ill-conceived impersonation-slash-fake-engagement plot.
Still, the idea that they’d have to do all of this excruciating planning of the minutest details again was exhausting. It would be worth it. But it would still be excruciating.
Then, as never-ending as the preparations seemed, they did come to an end.
One of the traditions that both Radiant Garden and Eclenna subscribed to for weddings was that the would-be spouses weren’t supposed to see each other before the wedding.
Of course, the three of them had still shared the suite up until the morning of the wedding; fortunately no one took that tradition so seriously that they were forced to sleep in separate rooms.
But very early in the day there was a knock on the door. It didn’t wake any of them, only because none of them had been able to sleep.
At the door were Queen Amara, Lady Nathalie, and Layrde Aubrin, each come to assist one of them with preparations.
Unsurprisingly, Amara swept Riku away after he’d done little more than run a comb through his hair. Lady Nathalie, who’d been so easily and happily charmed by Sora, led him away. That left Aubrin in the suite with Kairi.
“Breakfast is on the way,” they reassured her. “As is your dress.”
For as many dresses as she’d brought with her on this trip, a wedding dress definitely hadn’t been among them. That had been one of the many, many things that had been included in the interminable planning.
In order to keep connection to Radiant Garden, they’d decided to modify one of the dresses she had brought from home. She chose the blue and silver celestial one, a seamstress helping to add new layers to the skirt, changing the cut just slightly. It felt appropriate; a dress she’d already loved, also fitting in with the star-maps of Eclenna.
The dress arrived just as Aubrin had promised, along with a light breakfast of fresh fruit and cheese.
“I don’t think I have much of an appetite,” she admitted.
“Nerves?”
She laughed a little self-consciously. “At this point it feels like I couldn’t possibly have anything left to be nervous about, but…”
“If you weren’t nervous, I’d be afraid you didn’t care.”
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
“Please do try to eat something, though. It’s going to be a very wonderful, happy day. It’s also going to be a long one. And you’ll have two spouses to hold me accountable if I don’t take proper care of you right now.” They winked.
“Well, anything but that,” she laughed. She took a couple slices of nectarine, and segments of a sun-sweet orange, which mollified Aubrin slightly.
“I will admit I’m not extremely familiar with playing ladies’ maid, though I’ve helped my wife with her dresses and hair and such, so I do have a little experience.”
“Considering how beautiful Nathalie always looks, I think I’m in very good hands.”
“And flattery of my lady wife will also get you everywhere.”
Aubrin was far better than they’d claimed at helping her get ready. She was used to doing without any formal help; that was part of why she’d been able to come here with only Riku and Sora accompanying her. At most she usually needed help getting a button or a tie fastened in an awkward place.
Dressing for her own wedding was a little bit more involved than that, so Aubrin’s help was as appreciated as it was necessary.
Her hair was the biggest project, mainly as sections were braided or softly curled to accommodate and accentuate a crown of flowers. The flowers themselves were a mix of white and the same multi-toned deep blue of her dress. The colors matched so well she suspected there’d been some magic applied in the creation of the crown.
Aubrin was careful, getting the flower crown to sit comfortably, nothing poking her or snagging her hair.
Getting dressed was simple by comparison, though again, Aubrin helped immeasurably. Not having to bend or reach at an awkward angle made the whole process go more smoothly.
The dress was still clearly the same one, with silver stars and moons stitched into the dark blue fabric. The new layers added extra flow to the skirt, and there was additional silver trim on the bodice. It was beautiful. She wondered what Riku and Sora would be wearing, though she was certain it would be equally lovely.
She wouldn’t have long to wait, as Aubrin gave her a final once-over and pronounced themself satisfied with the outcome. It would have been a lie to say she wasn’t happy with it, too.
“Are you ready?” Aubrin asked.
“Still nervous. But absolutely, yes. I’ve been ready to spend my life with both of them for as long as I’ve known them.”
Aubrin’s smile was amused, but also very soft. “Excellent. Because it’s time for you to get married.”
Nothing about the ceremony was going to be a surprise. They’d gone over every bit of it—where each of them would enter from, when they would speak, what they would say—but walking into the ballroom still took her breath away.
Aubrin gave her shoulder a brief squeeze, before closing the door behind her, plunging her into near darkness.
It wasn’t completely dark: the pathway from the door to the center of the room was lit with some of the glowing spherical lights that seemed so commonly used in Eclenna. These ones were far dimmer than the ones that had lit the dances and dinners. These were more comparable to candles, the soft glow barely enough to light her path.
There were two similarly lit pathways, one to each side, originating at other doorways into the room. All three paths converged at the center.
If the other doors had opened, she’d missed it. Maybe hers had been the last. Now she paused to let her eyes adjust as much as they could, though the light still didn’t illuminate anything more than the boundary of her path. That seemed to be some magical trick in and of itself.
With a deep breath, she started to walk. The other two would be doing the same from their respective doors. Glancing in both directions, she could see some of the farther lights winking out and back as her fiancés stepped in front of them.
It felt hard to breathe, but she forced herself to, and to keep walking.
The first glimpses of them she got were by the candle-like lights, as all three paths grew close to midpoint. She couldn’t see them perfectly yet, but the light glinted off Riku’s hair, and Sora’s bright eyes.
They reached the center together, where something flared to sudden bright light.
The Sacred Star.
It was on a chest-high pedestal, putting the star itself at eye level. It was a bright, clear, silver-white, sparkling and sending bright refractions over their faces.
All three of them locked gazes in turn, and Kairi saw the same elation and nerves reflected back at her twice.
The light from the star also finally made it clear that they were not alone in the room. She’d known they wouldn’t be, but it was still almost a shock to see people in the space beyond the paths that had been cleared for the three of them.
Lyshen stepped forward from the other side of the star, directly across from Kairi, and between all three of them and the other people who were gathered. She put a hand out, just a few inches above the star.
“Here we meet. Our beloved soon-queen Kairi, and her fiancés, our beloved Riku, our beloved Sora.” Her voice carried easily through the room. “They have come here from Radiant Garden, to prove they have the strength, and the connections of the heart that we have so longed to know they are capable of. The three are here, choosing the love and connection all three of them share. Does the Sacred Star judge these bonds true?”
As they’d been instructed, each of them raised their left hands toward the star.
Kairi held her breath. She knew it was true. She knew it with every fiber of her being, but there was still that worry of what if? She filled her thoughts with both of them, how much she loved them, how much she looked forward to having all three of them together facing the world and whatever it could possibly throw at them.
The Sacred Star was warm. Not hot, like reaching for a flame, but the light held a comforting heat that wrapped around her raised hand. As she finally started to let out the breath she’d held, the star flared brighter, small bits of light fracturing off the star itself, and onto their hands
When the light dimmed, its warmth remained. A golden ring glinted around the third finger of her left hand. Riku and Sora’s hands were adorned with matching ones. Sora was the one to pull his hand back to look at the ring first, which felt like permission for her to do the same. It was a thin gold band, fit perfectly around her finger. Beautiful, if simple.
Lyshen smiled broadly. “And knowing that the Sacred Star recognizes your bond, I believe you have some words for each other, the inspirations and commonalities you have found in history. For even as every connection is unique, we still share those connections to the past, just as the future will look to us in the same way.”
All three stepped closer, reaching out and clasping hands in a tangle in the middle of their small circle.
This was a part they’d practiced, at least in part. Deciding who would speak first, what order they’d go in. They’d decided to start by each sharing a reference from Radiant Garden, then one each from the Eclennan stories. Ending with one for all three of them.
Riku started. “Kairi. Like a pair of famed soldiers, I have always seen and admired your strength. That has always been more important than status or appearances, and has held true in everything you do. Especially when you turn that strength toward protecting others, whether individuals or an entire country.”
She felt heat rising in her cheeks, as she turned to Sora. “Similarly, Sora, you have always been able to see to the heart of me. I may not be a monster in a castle, but you’ve always been able to see below the surface and loved me for who I am, never just an appearance or a past.”
Sora, in turn, addressed Riku. “Just like you’ve seen through my every attempt to hide. Other people have tried to push me aside, or to make me less than I am. Sometimes I’ve done the same kind of minimizing to myself. But you’ve always been there, reminding me that I don’t have to hide myself away, or accept it when other people want me to.”
And then they traded references back the other way. Riku, sounding choked up from what Sora had said, squeezed his hand and said, “It feels like we’re fated to find and stay together. There’s a story here about two men who were true soulmates. Even death couldn’t keep them apart, and when one died too young, his soul found its way back to the man he loved. While I hope we never face the same, you’ve been a constant in my life, and no matter what, I will never leave you.”
He tightened his fingers on Kairi’s at the last, making it clear he intended that part toward them both.
Sora’s eyes were extra bright, tears barely held back. “I found another story of two people who defied death to stay together. When one of them was brought back from the dead, her lover couldn’t believe she’d returned to him. But there was a single secret that no one except for her could have known; the fact that they’d been in love. They’d allowed their lives to be entwined in secret. And I am so glad we don’t have to do that, but I know that even if we did, it wouldn’t make it any less real.”
She was glad they didn’t have to hide anymore. “Riku, the two men I’m thinking of didn’t defy death in quite so literal a fashion. But they overcame every reason they had to despise each other, growing beyond that to instead protect each other against all else. In the end, one was completely willing to sacrifice himself, to the point of death, to ensure the other stayed safe. They both lived, ending a war and uniting two countries. I will never forget or take for granted the fact you were willing to sacrifice anything I asked of you.”
His fingers tightened on hers again. Even if the sacrifice of his own happiness or future hadn’t materialized, even as this worked out in the best possible way, he’d been willing to give it up. For her, for Sora, for Radiant Garden.
“And one final reference,” Kairi said. She was well aware this was stretching toward the longer side of what was typical for a marriage ceremony. “There was a lord here who had to overcome so much tragedy in his life; much of his own making, but much also caused by connections to others, many of whom were unworthy or shallow in their supposed love. But he found true connections in admitting his love for his best friend and for his best friend’s wife. The three were married, bringing him into the safety and love he deserved, even as he struggled to accept he was worthy of it. It was beloved Queen Lyshen who told me what I think is the most important part: the hope that everyone can find that kind of love, the love of at least one person who believes they are worthy of peace and happiness and safety. And I know all three of us have that in each other.”
There was a stretch of silence, probably only seconds, though it felt nearly infinite.
Then Lyshen broke the silence. “There is one final tradition to be observed.”
From somewhere behind her, she pulled forward a tray. It looked very Eclennan—ornately, yet subtly patterned enamel, the dark blue, silver, and gold of the star-maps—but what was set on the tray was from Radiant Garden. A paopu fruit.
More for the benefit of their unseen audience than for Kairi, Sora, or Riku, Lyshen continued, “In Radiant Garden, there is a tradition regarding the paopu fruit. It’s said that when people share them, they’ll remain part of each others’ destinies, forever.”
The star-shaped fruit looked like it could have been picked from the tree just moments ago, though of course it had been procured at least a day before. But it was perfect: each point of the star as near-identical as possible, the skin a uniform, vibrant yellow, one bright green leaf clinging to the stem.
Sometimes, during more informal celebrations, the wedding couple would pull the fruit apart. It would cause a mess of juice when the rind tore, but it tended to keep the mood light, and give the couple a chance to be silly as they dealt with the sticky mess.
This was a slightly more serious ceremony, so there was also a silver knife set along the edge of the tray.
Like the extra reference, this part fell to Kairi. This they hadn’t been able to practice, since they weren’t going to get extra paopus, nor would they waste them on a practice run if they had them. She’d practiced peeling an orange without making a mess, but it wasn’t exactly the same.
The silver knife was very sharp, easy to make a slit at the top of the fruit near the stem, not snapping off the leaf. She made the cut through the rind, trying not to cut into the fruit itself, then sliced toward herself.
The fruit inside was darker in color than she’d expected, more yellow-orange than the bright yellow skin. The rind came away easily, the fruit clearly perfectly ripe. She set the knife on the tray with a clink, using her fingers to pull the rest of the rind away. After that, the five segments came apart easily. She handed one each to Riku and to Sora, keeping one for herself. The remaining segments were traditionally later split up and shared between the couple—or the trio, in this case—but the important part was they each had a piece now.
She raised her piece like she was toasting with it, and Riku and Sora did the same. Then she took a bite.
Now the juice exploded, too much running down her chin and over her fingers, forcing her to quickly put the rest in her mouth. It was delicious, tart and sweet like pineapple. The texture reminded her more of fresh mango, silky smooth, and also making such a mess as soon as it was bitten down on.
Her fiancés—just about now her husbands—had encountered the same problem, and were trying their best to look dignified as they tried not to drip juice onto their clothes or the floor. Hopefully Lyshen had napkins.
It turned out she did, subtly offering them each a small square of soft cloth. They each wiped their fingers, while trying not to giggle.
A smile quirked at the side of Lyshen’s mouth, too. “As we gather strength and inspiration from the past, so we hope to offer the same to the future. May many look upon you as inspiration for their own loves. All three of you are married, in the eyes of Eclenna and before the Sacred Star, and with destinies entwined. May the connections of your hearts remain as strong and bright as they are today.”
A kiss was optional for the ceremony in Eclenna, but it was another thing that none of them had a desire to forgo. All three leaned in. She pressed her lips to Sora’s first. He kissed Riku once she pulled back, and then Riku leaned in to kiss her. All three of them tasted like the paopu they’d just shared, lips still just a little bit sticky.
Applause erupted from all around them. The magical lights that had delineated their paths to the center of the room all brightened, as did lights set near the ceiling. The lights came up gradually enough not to be blinding, but they immediately revealed everyone who was assembled in the space behind Lyshen. Layrdes, ladies, and lords, all of whom Kairi knew she’d met at some point over the last few weeks.
It would have been nice to have some truly familiar faces; Sora’s mom, Riku’s parents, their friends, her future council… but there would be an opportunity for that in the future. For now, it was enough that the ceremony had happened. Nothing was going to take that away.
After, there was dancing. It was what Sora had been most afraid of in the first place, the threat that he could do so badly he could ruin the chance of peace between nations. At least at this point it wasn’t likely that he was going to ruin the alliance. Though maybe he’d keep just a little bit of that anxiety until the ink on the treaty was dry, which would be sometime the following day.
Even so, he couldn’t get completely out of dancing at his own wedding. And he wouldn’t have wanted to anyway.
Riku spun him around, then gripped his elbow so firmly he didn’t even have a chance to overbalance, before he was pulled back in. Kairi giggled as Riku spun her around in turn. She was a bit more graceful as she used her own momentum to carry herself back to them both, rather than Riku hauling her by the elbow.
But between Riku’s arm at his waist, and Kairi’s hand finding his shoulder, somehow he was much more capable of staying upright than he’d been after even the hours of attempted practice before. He let himself relax just enough to move with them, letting the two of them guide him along with gentle pressure.
It probably looked awkward, the three of them improvising a strange mix of leading and following, with Sora alternating between matching Kairi’s movements and Riku’s, the two of them switching between who was leading the dance as a whole. He did start to understand all the things both of them had tried so hard to describe before, how to feel what your partner was going to do, and what they were asking you to do in turn. It did seem silly now to remember how he’d struggled so badly.
Riku had bemoaned how he could be so good at footwork and balance when it came to fighting, yet so bad at it with dancing. Now he felt the similarities. Maybe it was just that he was relaxed into it. Maybe it was that this was at least partially improvised, so he was moving with them in the moment, not given a chance to overthink.
Waking up next to Sora, Kairi on his far side, was everything Riku could have dreamed of wanting. Had dreamed of, often: swinging wildly between wish fulfillment that left him bereft when he woke up for real, and nightmares where it all inevitably went wrong. There was no sense of loss or impending doom this time. Everything was completely, perfectly real.
The treaty itself was almost a work of art. The wording was exactly as they’d spent weeks hashing out, now transferred in the neatest of calligraphy onto the thickest, softest paper Kairi had ever felt. Symbols and artistic flourishes decorated the sides of the paper, stars and vines and flowers twining around the words themselves. There were two identical copies—and they were identical, despite their ornamentation, to the degree that Kairi wondered yet again if magic had had a hand in their creation—so that each country would have their own original document.
There were certain proclamations and the like in Radiant Garden that were this formal. They were kept under glass, displayed in an offshoot of the library. Some had been signed by her father, but most were older than that.
Knowing this would be the first one signed by her was a strange feeling. She wasn’t the queen of Radiant Garden—not yet—but she would be.
There were two lines at the bottom of each page, one for her to sign, and one for Lyshen to sign. Lyshen signed first, for the one Kairi would be taking with her, and Kairi signed first on the one that would be staying in Eclenna. A symbolic, but diplomatic gesture.
Kairi had spent a truly ridiculous amount of the morning practicing her signature. It would be terrible form to mess everything up with a sloppy signature.
She didn’t mess it up.
The ink was allowed to dry, everyone cheered, and the treaty she was bringing home with her was rolled up and put in a protective carrying case. The copy that was staying in Eclenna would be put in the vault where their most important political documents were kept. A copy would be displayed in the museum, something else that felt surreal when Kairi stopped to think about it. That she was part of Eclennan history now.
Maybe someday someone really would look at her marriage to Sora and Riku as something inspirational.
Goodbyes were always hard. Weeks ago, it had been hard to arrive in Eclenna, not knowing what was going to happen, but with so much at stake. Now it was hard to leave.
They were each saying some individual goodbyes before the transport left. Kairi was taking a last, slow walk around the gardens with Lyshen.
Not that Kairi wasn’t very ready to be home, because she was. She missed Radiant Garden, and getting to return triumphant was an excellent feeling. There would be a lot to do when she arrived home. Presenting the treaty. Her coronation. Appointing a council of her own. Another marriage ceremony, or at least celebration.
She sighed, and didn’t realize quite how loudly until Lyshen gave her a sideways glance.
Instead of asking what the sigh was about, she said, “I’m already looking forward to having you back in Eclenna. Or maybe being able to visit Radiant Garden.”
“The idea that both of those things are possible is a wonderful thing to be going home with,” Kairi agreed. “I think Layrde Aubrin is already thinking about how to convince Lady Nathalie to come for a visit, too. To be fair, I did promise them that they could be the first to visit and study the stars from our point of view.”
“They may be the first official visitors you receive.” Lyshen laughed. “I’m sure you’re excited to get home.”
Ah, there it was. “Of course I am. Very much.”
Lyshen’s pointed silence was enough to prompt:
“Just not looking forward to everything that’s waiting for me.”
“Something in particular?”
Bitter was absolutely the last thing that Kairi was feeling, but there was more than a bit of it in her single sharp laugh. “The scandal.”
Lyshen gave a knowing nod.
“The council has never had any say over my marriage, even as they made their disapproval of my engagement to Sora very clear. But a marriage between three people? That simply isn’t done. I know they aren’t going to be happy.”
“And what is the worst that could come of that?”
She shrugged. “Probably not much more than a lingering headache. They may try to delay my coronation, but they can’t prevent it forever, even if they try. I met the criteria they set forward.”
“If it helps, remind them of the wording of the treaty you’re bringing home with you. The nation of Eclenna is allying with Radiant Garden as led by you, based on the strength of your heart. With room for extension with your future heirs. Should your council deny you your rightful queenship, they do not benefit from any part of the treaty. But you will always have our full support and backing.” Lyshen’s smile was very sharp.
Kairi could feel a reflection of that edge in her own smile. “I appreciate the reminder.”
On Eclenna’s magically-enhanced transport, Kairi once again wished it wasn’t quite so efficient. It would have been nice to have a real honeymoon. Or at the very least, a more leisurely opportunity to travel with her husbands. And she already felt the ridiculous grin on her face. Husbands. Surely the dopey feeling when she so much as thought about that would stop at some point, right?
“So, are you going to ease the council into it, or just… announce your new status?” Sora asked.
“How did you know I was just thinking about being married?”
“Probably because the way you’re smiling matches the way he was smiling,” Riku said.
“Like we couldn’t say the same to you.” Sora pushed into Riku’s shoulder with his own.
“Didn’t say you couldn’t.”
“But no, no easing them into it,” she answered. “It’s not like there’s a gentle way to break the news. Even if there were, it wouldn’t somehow make them more okay with it. They’ll hate it either way, and it’s up to them whether they decide to be quiet or loud about it.”
“I think the only way they’ll be quiet about it is if they think they can make us keep it quiet, too,” Sora said.
She thought again about their grudging announcement of her engagement, with Sora’s name left out. She should thank them for it, really.
“No more keeping quiet,” she said. “I think that we’re all done with that, aren’t we?”
Riku and Sora both nodded agreement, and she reached out to grasp their hands.
That was how they were going to face everything, no matter what: hand in hand in hand.
[The "references" are all based on various existing stories/books/movies, including the one about "Lord S.", though I took a couple minor liberties to make it suit the setting. I don't want to *say* which books that story is from because it's a pretty significant spoiler for the character, ha.]
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