Chapter 22

The day dawned bright and clear and found Nikki and Evelyn waiting in the living area of Xavier’s quarters for Zachary to show up with Kristine. Evelyn was pacing back and forth behind the couch that Nikki was sitting in. Just as Nikki was about to tell Evelyn to stop pacing and sit down, they both heard the voices coming from the hallway.

“I’m holding you to that promise Zach! You are going to show me that bedroom of yours! Every little inch of it! Especially this king sized bed you claim to have! And I intend to try it out too!”

Nikki grinned at the demanding voice of her best friend, but immediately put on a mock serious look with her hands on her hips as Kristine entered the room. “Kristine Amy Dixon! I so did not just hear you suggesting doing the horizontal tango with the Chief Advisor!”

Kristine looked at Nikki and threw her arms open wide. With a squeal, both girls threw themselves into each others arms and began jumping up and down together. Evelyn laughed at the sight of the two best friends greeting one another while Zachary had a look on his face that suggested that he couldn’t decide whether they were happy or crazy.

Kristine pulled away and held Nikki at arms length, “Oh chica, let me look at you! You are positively glowing! Life here definitely agrees with you!”

Nikki beamed, “Yes it does Kris! This place is so amazing. And everyone I’ve met so far has been great. I can’t wait to show you around.”

Zachary nodded, “Right, and on that note, I should get going.” He walked up to Kristine and kissed her on the cheek, “You be good and try not to get into trouble okay? Stay with Evelyn and Nikki?”

Kristine rolled her eyes, “What am I? Three? Really Zach, don’t worry, I’m not about to go wandering in a strange world all by myself without my big, bad protector to keep me safe.”

Zachary chuckled, “That’s my girl.” He gave her another kiss before excusing himself to go join Xavier in getting ready for the coronation that would take place when the sun reached it’s highest peak.

Nikki gave Kristine another hug before motioning to Evelyn, “Kristine, meet Xavier’s younger sister, Evelyn. Evelyn, this is my best friend, Kristine.”

Evelyn beamed at Kristine and held her hand out to shake it, “It’s so great to finally meet you Kristine. Nikki and the guys have told me so much about you that I already feel like I know you.”

Kristine laughed and shook Evelyn’s hand, “Same here, chica.”

Nikki nodded, “Okay, ladies, let’s go and try on your dress Kris, then we can give you a tour of the castle and the area if we have time.”

“Sounds like a plan!” replied Kristine as Evelyn giggled in glee.

**********************************************************************

Xavier looked up from the map he was looking at with his father and the Vaneks as Zachary entered the room. He smiled at the twinkle in Zachary’s eyes, “So, I take it they’ve been reunited?”

Zachary nodded, “Oh yeah, and you were right, those three together are gonna be the death of us.”

Xavier chuckled as Marcus raised an eyebrow in question, “Who is?”

“My sister, my fiancé, and his girlfriend.” replied Xavier, a bit tersely.

Marcus rolled his eyes, but wore a grin on his face, “They can’t be that bad.” At Zachary’s look he added, “Can they?”

Kegan snickered, “I’ll wager my pups they can!”

“Kegan!” Jules chastised, but even he wore a grin.

“What? I’m just saying. After the stories I’ve heard from these two, I just know the three of them will get along like ducks in a pond!”

Xavier laughed, “It’s birds of a feather, Kegan.”

“Come again?”

“You know,” Zachary answered, “birds of a feather flock together.”

“Right. Yeah. That.”

All of the men laughed at Kegan’s attempt to understand human clichés and soon Kegan was joining in on the humor of it all. Their laughter was a welcome reprieve from the gravity of the situation they had been discussing up to that point.

**********************************************************************

After trying on her dress, which only needed to be tucked in a bit at the waist and shortened at the hem, Kristine had gone with the girls to meet Devnet. She had been a little flustered at meeting a real live queen, but Devnet had quickly put her at ease. In no time at all, the four of them had been sipping a tea-like drink and trading stories about the men in their lives.

After a light brunch, Nikki and Evelyn gave Kristine the tour of the castle and the grounds. Kristine really liked the grotto near the pasture and she was in awe of the rooms Nikki now called home.

“An entire tower! You have an entire tower as your home!”

Evelyn shrugged, “Well, actually, she shares it with Xavier, but yeah.”

Kristine frowned, “Zach didn’t mention a tower when he was telling me about his rooms.”

Nikki nodded, “That’s because he doesn’t have anything that elaborate. See, he has a house in the city, so the rooms he has here would be like a hotel suite of sorts.”

Kristine nodded, “Right, so he just has a living area and a bedroom with a small bath?”

“Yes,” replied Evelyn, “I’m sure you’ll get to see it soon, but his living area has a small table in it for when he takes his meals there. And the bedroom has a bathroom that is more functional than anything else.”

“Still, Zach has an entire house! Xavier and I will have to be content with a tower masquerading as an apartment.”

“Oh please, chica! That so called apartment you have is inside of a castle! I don’t think you have reason to gripe.”

All three of them laughed as they agreed with what Kristine said and Nikki gave Kristine a full tour of the tower she shared with Xavier.

**********************************************************************

Xavier stood in front of the mirror with a frown on his face. Zachary chuckled as he watched his friend frowning at all of the regalia he wore in preparation for his coronation.

“Really Xavier, there’s nothing wrong with what you are wearing.”

Xavier looked at Zachary through the mirror and shook his head, “It’s not the clothes, Zach. I’m still thinking about our discussion earlier.”

The smile faded from Zachary’s face. Sighing, he replied, “I know. We’ve done all there is to do for now X. Jules has stepped up security and everyone who was supposed to attend has been accounted for and searched. Everyone is taking every precaution there is. You and Nikki won’t be leaving the castle at all today, so we’ve secured that.”

Xavier nodded, “I know. We’ve been over it again and again, but still.” He turned to look at Zachary. “That’s two attacks within a few months, Zachary. Something is going on. Something much more dangerous than my father seems to think.”

“I agree Xavier. Which is why I’ve emphasized upping the security to Jules over and over again. Now, all we have to do is get through this day and then we’ll worry about what’s going on at the borders okay? Once you’re King, you can do more inquiry into what’s going on.”

With a nod, Xavier went back to perusing his royal attire until a smile broke out over his face, “I do look good, don’t I?”

Clapping his friend on the shoulder, Zachary laughed, “You look very handsome, Your Highness. Your bride will certainly agree.”

**********************************************************************

Nikki and Kristine stood among the small group on the western balcony watching the coronation ceremony that was taking place on the much larger eastern balcony. Peering over the shoulders of the guards who were assigned to her, Nikki could see Xavier as he stood before his parents who were conducting the rite.

Dressed in simple flowing gowns, Nikki and Kristine had been escorted by Charles, Kegan and the other guards to the balcony where they were allowed to watch the entire thing. Evelyn had to be on the other balcony since she was a member of the royal family.

The entire kingdom had gathered to wait for the coronation to begin. And as soon as the sun had peaked, the King and Queen had appeared on the eastern balcony with the princess in tow. Immediately Marcus had begun the ritual for setting aside the responsibility of the crown, then he and Devnet had introduced their son.

Xavier had walked out then. He was accompanied by Zachary and proceeded by Jules. Once he stood in front of Marcus, the former King had reiterated the statement of naming Xavier as his heir and continued with that part of the ritual.

Nikki hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of Xavier. She’d stared at him the moment he had appeared in the doorway leading onto the balcony. She couldn’t help it especially since the greens and gold of his outfit brought out the color of his eyes.

He was dressed in a vivid green velvet and satin jacket with black pants. The jacket was accented with gold braids around the edges and a golden belt. A thin dark green cape was draped back away from his shoulders and had an underside of gold satin. The outfit was completed by the black boots that clung to his calves and the thin silver braided circlet that signified his position as prince of the kingdom.

As soon as Marcus had proclaimed Xavier as the new King, the silver braided circlet was removed from Xavier’s brow and placed in a translucent box to be kept safe for the next heir. Then, Marcus had taken the golden ivy leaf circlet and set it upon Xavier’s brow, thus signifying Xavier as the new King.

Marcus had finished off the ritual of sealing the crown to Xavier and Zachary had moved to kneel before the new King. The Chief Advisor was the first to acknowledge King Marcus Xavier Raneri and swore his allegiance to him. The next one to do so was Jules, followed by the guards and Evelyn. The last to do so was the Queen and the former King.

At last, Xavier turned to face the crowd gathered before the castle as Marcus raised his voice and formally introduced King Marcus Xavier to his people. As one, the people showed their honor by kneeling to their new leader, thus bringing the hour long ceremony to a close.

**********************************************************************

Nikki stood on the stool in front of the floor length mirror as the women continued to flutter around her putting finishing touches on her gown. Evelyn and Kristine stood to the side, the former wearing a smile of awe and the latter trying to hold back tears.

Nikki sighed, “Kris! Would you stop! I’m not dying you know.”

“I know,” sniffed Kristine, “It’s just you look so beautiful, Nikki.”

Evelyn nodded, “She’s right, that dress is perfect on you. Xavier is going to die when he sees you.”

Nikki gave them a bashful smile, “You think so?”

“I know so!” giggled Evelyn.

Kristine sniffed again.

Nikki rolled her eyes, “Kris!”

“What?” She sighed, “Can I help it if I’m so happy for you? You’re getting married Nikki! To a King! Oh my god! My best friend is going to be a Queen and she’s going to rule this world and she is going to be so good at it and she’s going to make babies with the King and give him lots of heirs and…”

Evelyn grabbed Kristine’s face in her hands and stared into her eyes as she said, “Kris! You’re babbling!”

Kristine blinked her eyes a few times before she hastily nodded, “Right. Need to stop. Okay.” She proceeded to take several deep breaths as Evelyn released her and turned to look at Nikki again. “Isn’t she just radiant Evelyn?”

“Yeah, she is.” Evelyn agreed.

As Nikki blushed, Kristine’s lips trembled, “I’m so happy for you.” She sniffled again.

“Kristine!” exclaimed Evelyn and Nikki together in exasperation.

**********************************************************************

Zachary turned to look at his best friend as they stood inside the antechamber behind the thrones. Xavier was peering through the curtain at the nobles who were gathered in the throne room along with his parents who sat in their respective thrones on the dais.

He chuckled, “Nervous?”

Xavier turned to look at Zachary with a wide grin on his face and eyes twinkling, “Of marrying Nikki? Not a chance. I can’t wait!” He turned to look back out the curtained entrance with a frown, “Tell me Jules had the guards search everyone who entered the room.”

Zachary sighed, “Relax Xavier. They’ve all been searched. And Nikki is going to enter from the side door, not the main entrance like in the past. The guards will be forming a barrier between the dais and the crowd, discreetly of course.”

Xavier nodded, “Of course.”

Xavier watched as Charles bowed to Marcus before making his way to where they waited in the antechamber.

Smiling, Charles asked, “Are you ready, Your Highness?”

Straightening up, Xavier smoothed out his jacket and looked to Zachary for assurance. At Zachary’s nod, Xavier grinned, “I’m more than ready.”

“All right then, let’s take our places gentlemen,” replied Charles as he stepped back to allow Xavier and Zachary to enter the throne room.

Jules took up the place to Xavier’s left as Zachary stood to his right and Charles behind him. As they made their way to the dais, silence fell in the room. Xavier moved to stand at the bottom of the steps that led to the throne, directly in front of his father’s seat. Zachary stood slightly behind him and Charles stood behind Zachary.  Jules moved off to the side so that he wouldn’t be an obvious distraction.

In silence, they waited for the bride and her escorts to arrive.

**********************************************************************

Nikki was pacing the floor, glancing at Kristine and Evelyn every so often. A frown marred her features as Evelyn sat next to Kristine attempting to keep her from bawling and ruining everything for an already agitated Nikki.

Nikki growled under her breath wondering what was taking so long. She wanted this to already be over with since she didn’t think she could take her best friend’s near hysterics anymore. She was even beginning to regret naming her the maid of honor since she was acting more like the dramatic mother who was losing her daughter to marriage.

Evelyn was a blessed addition to the group since she was the only thing keeping Nikki and Kristine somewhat calm. If it hadn’t been for her, Nikki was certain she would have already tossed Kristine out and stormed into the throne room to demand that the ceremony begin already!

Nikki heard a soft sniffle, followed by a soft ‘hush’ from Evelyn and whirled around to face them. Before she could begin laying into Kristine for the third time, they all heard the knock on the door.

Nikki narrowed her eyes at her best friend for a moment before she turned to the door, “Yes?”

Kegan opened the door and gave her a slight bow, “My lady, word has come that they are ready for you now.” He grinned, “Ready, my lady?”

Nikki nodded and picked up her skirts. “Oh you have no idea just how ready I am!” she exclaimed as she rushed for the door, leaving Evelyn to drag a bewildered Kristine behind her.