Arris and Demelza were married with great pomp and ceremony.
For years to come, the courtiers would argue over what she had worn, for her wedding dress changed every few paces.
Lady Edmea had promised her a raiment befitting the future Queen of the Isle of Malys and thus the whole of the Isle was to be represented.
When Demelza first walked down the aisle, delicate wings of frost unfurled from the shoulders of her silver gown, scattering snow upon the bystanders.
The people of the Aatos Mountains cheered.
Next, a towering crown of gold brambles shot through the braids of Demelza's hair, ending in the delicate antlers of the Ulva Wyld's famed golden stags.
The Wyldfolke roared with delight. Before she joined Arris, an exquisite net of seed pearls from the bottom of the Famishing tumbled over Demelza's face and the merfolk flashed their teeth, satisfied.
And when the veil was lifted, a diadem of polished ozoralds appeared around Demelza's head as the silvery gown bloomed with cave jewels.
The Glimmerians clapped wildly. The whole time, the people from the Vale of Sylke smiled smugly.
After all, the dress would not have existed without Lady Edmea.
The wedding banquet was just as staggering.
Ursula constructed a tower of miniature cakes.
To the guests' horror and her siblings' delight, Ursula had even celebrated the cuisine of the veritas swans.
Several iced buns held fat spiders suspended in a jam of cloud berries, and a table full of locust custard buns served with a sauce of winter cherries flambeéd in ice wine kept buzzing and humming and rising off the tables.
When they cut into the cake—which Ursula had divided into layers of candied aphids for Demelza and caramelized hazelnuts for Arris—Demelza looked over the towering confection to see Araminta and the queen in deep conversation.
When Yzara caught Demelza's eye, she dipped her chin and smiled knowingly.
No wedding is complete without curses and blessings dispersed at random and without consent.
This turned out to be a wonderful thing for Zoraya, who had been despondent ever since the third trial.
When a passing arrow—shot by an assassin who had gotten too drunk to do his job properly—turned her dear friend Niko into a statue, Zoraya's heart came alive and she swore that she would never rest until he could be restored to flesh and hear her declare her love as Niko had done for her many, many times.
At the banquet hall, Araminta and Demelza's sisters sat in an unbroken line of beauty.
An empty plate was placed beside Araminta in honor of Prava, and Rathe Castle even permitted the stone wall behind the table to serve as a glass window between itself and Hush Manor so that Prava could watch the festivities.
He was so happy to see his daughters and wife at the same table that he kept bursting into tears until he had run out of handkerchiefs.
He almost resorted to using the sleeves of his suit until the library wyvern brought him a blanket.
Unfortunately, it was his daughters' baby blanket which led to Prava lying down on the floor of his study to contemplate "the cruel and joyous passage of time."
Some time later, Prava—inspired, perhaps, by his own daughter's bravery in love—would confess the truth of how to free a veritas swan to Araminta.
And some time after that, Araminta would find a way to imprison him, which Prava would find "perfectly fair" and the two would work on their communication skills now that their nest was empty and their daughters set on their paths.
During the wedding feast, Demelza and Arris sat hand in hand.
They were in love. They were also perfectly terrified of one another, which may not seem like a good way to start a marriage, but is, in truth, the only way to sustain such a commitment.
There were many uncertainties that lay ahead, but there was much joy too, and in the pursuit of the latter, the former becomes easier to bear.
"A happy ending after all," said Arris, lifting Demelza's hand and kissing her knuckles lightly.
Demelza smiled. "Something like that."
She glanced out the window, where Wrate's moonlit eye regarded the festivities with cool ambivalence.
Beside the window, Yvlle and Talvi sat with their heads bent close.
They seemed to be examining a little book of poems. No doubt a tale about Enzo the Fool and his sea witch consort.
Arris had been the one to point out how they sat together quite closely.
A fact that made him smile. It made Demelza smile too, but she also could not help but think of what Talvi and Yvlle had mentioned …
something about how there was far more to Enzo and the sea witch than the legends revealed.
But that was another story altogether.
THE END