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All of the Trieux noble families were present. Marcus and Cerise sat together—waving on the sly so they would not be chastised by their parents. Lord Leroy was perhaps the least surprised and scandalized of the bunch. He brushed tears from his droopy eyes and smiled widely at Cinderella as she walked past.
When Cinderella glanced at Friedrich’s side, she realized many of the Erlauf officers and soldiers she met during the past fall, summer, and spring wore small squares of scarlet red cloth sewn over their hearts on the jacket of their uniform. Ensign Kurt stood with Gustav and Ivo. All three men saluted her when she passed him Lord Diederick and Colonel Merrich, seated near the front of the cathedral, bowed—although Merrich offered Cinderella a sly wink.
The second and third rows from the front were filled with foreign dignitaries—mostly ambassadors, but a few princes and princesses had deigned to attend. Prince Severin and Princess Elle were there. It was shocking, but Princess Elise of Arcainia had accepted the invitation—which had been delivered to her thanks to her loan-shark ties to their country—and stood with her youngest foster brother, Prince Gerhart. Prince Viggo from Ringsted attended, as did Princess Astra of Baris.
To Cinderella’s relief, Lady Klara, Mariska, and even snarky Silla stood in the very first row of seats. Lady Klara offered Cinderella a brief, underwhelming smile, but her eyes were soft and happy. Mariska was beside herself with joy. She cast a handful of flower petals before Cinderella—to Silla and Lady Klara’s horror.
Marie and Armel were also seated in the first row. Armel looked spooked—marrying a duchess had scared him pants-less, but the fact that his wife’s best friend would one day be queen terrified him to the core—but Marie was crying and blowing kisses in Cinderella’s direction.
Queen Freja, her Consort Commander Lehn, and Prince Johann stood directly opposite from Cinderella’s step-family and friends.
Commander Lehn gave Cinderella a warm smile. Prince Johann wriggled his eyebrows—earning a grin from Cinderella—and Queen Freja nodded once, indicating her approval.
Friedrich was now just a few steps away. His eye was hooked on Cinderella, his expression intent, although there was a customary curl to his lips. When Cinderella hesitated at the base of the dais Friedrich climbed down them, took her hand, and helped her up.
When they reached the top, Cinderella could see out into the open air courtyard. The shutters and drapes had been removed for the day so anyone who wanted to could see Prince Cristoph Friedrich VI and Duchess Cinderella exchange their vows. It made the cathedral chilly—as winter had arrived—but Cinderella hoped it might be a small step towards mending the country’s bitterness.
The courtyard was packed with Erlauf and Trieux citizens alike, bundled up due to the weather. It warmed Cinderella’s heart to see the two cultures intermingled, celebrating the day together. Admittedly, the two peoples were a bit stiff, but still. It was progress!
“Are you ready?” Friedrich whispered, squeezing her hand.
“I think so,” Cinderella shivered.
The clergyman smiled at Friedrich and Cinderella before he cleared his voice and spoke. “Today Prince Cristoph Friedrich VI and Cinderella Lacreux, the Duchess of Aveyron, come before this fine state to declare their love and intention to marry. Now, who stands for Lady Lacreux and gives her in marriage to Prince Cristoph and acts as her witness?”
Cinderella had a moment of blind panic. She had told the clergyman specifically he was to skip this part of the ceremony, because there wasn’t anyone to give her away! It was enough that Lady Klara and her daughters stood on her side with some affection, she wouldn’t push for anymore. But what did that leave Cinderella with? Sybilla the fairy godmother wasn’t around to magic another goat!
Cinderella winced in the silence and was about to whisper to the minster to move on when Friedrich touched her arm. When she met his gaze he tilted his head toward the open air courtyard.
When Cinderella looked, a resounding, almost deafening, “WE DO,” blasted in through the open windows.
Cinderella broke ranks and hurried to the banister—Friedrich at her side.
There, standing in the courtyard with the rest of the well-wishers, was every servant of Aveyron. They were headed by Gilbert and Jeanne, and all of them—from the head butler to the youngest chicken girl—wore bracelets or bands of scarlet red silk tied around their foreheads and the arms of their coats. They carried flags with the Aveyron crest, and bowed and curtsied when they saw that Cinderella looked down at them.
“They couldn’t all have possibly fit in the cathedral, so they asked to be outside where they might all stand together as your witness,” Friedrich said, speaking directly into Cinderella’s ear that she might hear him.