Dragons of Fraidel Ch. 07 Pt. 02

A/N: All righty! This section is a doosy (as that it's long), so I hope it leaves you satisfied at the end lol. I don't know for sure if the next part will be the last part or not, but I'll definitely have no more than 4 parts. I had fun writing this part because fyi, I love weddings lol. Going to so many weddings and watching many wedding shows (and reading wedding magazines) has helped writing about the wedding planning process, but I wanted to add a few twists in it to make it a Fraidel wedding too.

Special thanks to 2 anon writers, Taco, and Hellina for ya'll's comments! Anon, I am actually emailing my editor the next part of Stones of Incienda too so you shouldn't have to wait too much longer because trust me I have been working on it. Reminder to my readers that I give shoutouts to ya'll who comment and be sure to check out my Bio area for updates. I always try to update once a month.

Special thanks to my editor Todger again, he's amazing.

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The next day, all of the rulers and their parties left. Galeena was sad to see them go, but knew she would be seeing them again for her wedding. The coming days seemed to pass in a blur for Galeena. She noticed how Torrence got involved more with the wedding preparations and mentioned it to him. He smiled and said his schedule had cleared up some because he got caught up on certain matters. That gave him more time to help with the wedding and to see her more. The twins were happy to hear this, especially Galeena.

As the big day approached closer, Galeena's demeanor slowly started to change as she became more nervous, not only for the wedding, but as her role as queen. It was as if the reality of her situation finally dawned on her and she began doubting herself more and more until she finally broke.

"I am just a regular young woman! I am not cut out for this!" Galeena shouted as she paced back and forth in her room the night before the wedding. Verdius, the twins, and their partners were trying to calm her down so she could get some sleep, but couldn't.

"But Lagina and Daphene have told us you're soaking up everything and have even started taking the lead in a few matters, like assigning the rooms for the royal guests and making sure our extended family was comfortable in the lodgings around the capital." complimented Tallisa.

"Yes! And you already have all of the names of aunts, uncles, and their partners down! When our father arrived last night, you had his favorite sweets ready for him." added Tamera.

This comment caused Galeena to smile a bit. Tidus and the twins' father, who was Torrence's uncle on his father's side, had a huge sweet tooth, but was super picky. Galeena learned that the man had high standards and managed to impress him.

"Yes, I am doing well now, but what happens when I take the full reigns?" she demanded.

"Lagina and Daphene will still be here to help dearie," replied Jasmine.

The dragon's words fell on deaf ears as Galeena continued to mumble and pace. Verdius felt his partner's anxiety and tried to think of a way to calm her down. Becoming serious for once, the dragon spoke up.

"So why are you marrying Torrence?"

The words caused the others to gasp, including Galeena. They were so surprised that no one said anything for a couple minutes. Verdius explained what he meant.

"If you feel you're not qualified to marry Torrence, then why did you agree to marry him in the first place?"

His words connected with Galeena and she pushed her doubts aside for the moment.

"Because I love him, and I can't imagine my life without him."

"There you go. Torrence may be king, but that's not what defines him. He's still a man after all. I've seen many women in the past try to hook up with him just because he's a royal. It's not easy being royalty with so many responsibilities and obligations, but I know you can handle it Galeena. You have earned so much love and respect already. Don't forget you aren't alone in this. Torrence had to learn how to become king quickly too. I know he needs you as much as you need him."

The wedding planners wanted to cry for they were never so proud of Verdius in that moment. Galeena herself was just as speechless, but managed to smile and gave her partner a hug.

"Thank you Verdius. I needed to hear that," she whispered against his scales.

The young dragon blushed and wrapped his wings around his partner. Pulling back, Galeena said she was ready for bed. Everyone left and the young woman finally went to sleep.

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The next day was pretty chaotic. Even though the wedding wasn't until that afternoon, there was still a lot to do. A few days prior, servants as well as the twins' staff started decorating the ballroom for the wedding reception. Galeena learned that some of Fraidel's wedding customs were similar with some of Earth's customs. For one thing, she was not allowed to see Torrence until the wedding ceremony, but not because of bad luck, but because it was fun to see the groom's reaction in seeing the bride the first time. Since Galeena was to be kept separated from Torrence, she was given the morning off as long as she stayed in the royal family's section of the castle. Galeena took this time to catch up on some painting. She was thinking of her grandmother and parents, and needed a huge distraction at the moment. Painting provided that for her. Verdius was there and sensing his partner's inner feelings, he kept quiet as he watched Galeena paint. Currently she was working on the 'under painting'. Paint was mixed with water and the mixture was applied to the shadows. The colors themselves were very odd, but Verdius wasn't bound to interrupt Galeena when she was 'in the zone'. He was just happy to watch her work. His mind did wonder how everything was going for the others.

Meanwhile, Torrence was upholding another Fraidel tradition. It was common that on the day of one's wedding, the groom would get marital advice from all the married men in his family at an undisclosed location. If one couldn't make it, a letter would be sent. Not all of Torrence's kin could make it, so he had received some letters already over the past week. He managed to read all of them by this time. Currently he was in a huge hot indoor bath area in the capital that was closed off to the public for today. With him was Searon, his uncles from both sides of the family, her maternal grandfather, Conner, and other married cousins. The dragons were in another heated bath conversing. Much like Galeena, Torrence needed distracting in order for his mind not to think about his parents and Niron. At the moment his Uncle Meleanus, who was the father of Tidus, Tallisa, and Tamera, was talking. He was only one year younger than Tristian, so the two developed a strong relationship. Torrence's uncle had visited his family many times when Torrence was on Earth and the two had a private chat the other day when he and his wife arrived.

"Now Torrence as someone who's had the honor of being married for almost 30 years, here's the key to a happy marriage and it's just two words, 'Yes dear'." Meleanus said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Well you know what they say, 'happy wife, happy life'," added a cousin, which everyone agreed on.

"I really can't thank you guys enough for all the advice," Torrence said.

"It's our pleasure, my boy. You make our family and the clan proud." Conner said as he placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"It's because of people like you that I am who I am today. And thank you for welcoming Galeena into our family too. I know this past month has been hard on her, but she's has done a miraculous job adapting."

"Indeed. It took tremendous courage on her part to come here and not only adapt to this world, but to learn how to be a queen in such a short time frame." Searon added.

"I know Searon. I plan on doing my best to make her happy for the rest of my life."

"Very good my boy. Now, who else has some advice for Torrence here?" asked Meleanus.

It was close to lunchtime when Torrence, his immediate family, and even the Council started welcoming the royals from the other clans. This time the immediate families of the rulers came also, so the parties were bigger for a few of the royals. This was especially true for Garrison's group. Not only did his father come, but also his wife, three sons came, along with his eight siblings and their families. Even though the royals' families had been invited to the wedding, only the rulers, their significant other, and children were allowed to stay in the palace for capacity reasons.

For lunch, the men ate separately from the women. By this time Galeena had manage to seemingly turnaround and enjoy herself. Verdius knew better, but was proud of her. She was eating lunch with Lagina, her daughters, Daphene, who had a definite bump on her now, Meridian, the twins, Beatrice, and even Garrison's wife, Jennifer. The woman was tall and statuesque with a perfect hourglass figure. She had cinnamon brown hair that was braided into intricate buns and olive green eyes that seemed to hold a lot of knowledge. The woman was pretty intimidating looking, but was still polite. Having been a queen for years now, Galeena found herself asking the older woman for advice. Even though Lagina, Daphene, and those journals from previous queens had been extremely helpful, she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to speak with a current queen. Time seemed to go by too quick for soon lunch was over and Galeena had to start getting ready for the wedding. She was reluctant to stop conversing with Queen Jennifer. The brunette found this amusing and could relate.

"How about this dear? Feel free to send me letters if you ever need help with something," she suggested.

Galeena sighed in relief and thanked her before the twins whisked her off to get ready.

The first thing Galeena had to do was get her hair done. All of her blonde hair was made into small braids that swirled into a bun. She had wisps of hair framing around her face. The hairdressers were keeping in mind of the crown Galeena was to receive later. It was why she wasn't going to wear a veil. Galeena was glad she wasn't going to wear one. With a veil over her face, she was afraid of having a misstep while walking down the aisle. Galeena had a better chance of staying upright by being able to see. Her ceremony gown was going to be tricky enough to walk in.

After her hair was done, Galeena was helped into her undergarments. Traditionally this was done by the mother of the bride, but since that was impossible, Lagina ended up doing it. Technically Galeena didn't need help, but it was another custom, so she was fine with the act. The purpose of this tradition was to calm down the bride's nerves for the wedding and the wedding night.

With the task complete, Lagina left to finish getting ready as the royal seamstresses came in. It was typical for brides, especially royal ones, to have two gowns since the first one was very ornate and not proper to dance in. Galeena was dressed in traditional Water Dragon Clan colors of royal blue and turquoise. The colors were found in the ruffles and petticoats of the gown. However, since this was still a wedding gown, the dominant color was white, just like in Western customs on Earth. On Fraidel, white was the dominant color due to the "clean slate" a bride took when she married into a new family. However, if a groom was marrying into a family, he was expected to wear white. Galeena's gown reminded her of what women wore in the late 18th century during the US Revolutionary War.

"All I need now a huge wig and powdered face and I'd fit in." she thought in amusement.

The gown was big and heavy, and Galeena was glad she wouldn't have to wear it for long. Her reception gown was much more comfortable and lighter. The opulent gown she was in now had a ten foot train with a hem width of three foot. Her neckline was a 'V' shape with a collar that circled around it. She had three quarter sleeves that ended in ruffles that extended to the ground. As the seamstresses check on the final details of her attire, the twins knocked on the door.

"Is Galeena presentable?" asked Tallisa.

"Yes, miss," answered Galeena's maid, who had been watching the whole time.

The twins, a man, Verdius, Jasmine, and Janessa came in. All of them gasped when they saw Galeena.

"Oh Galeena, you look wonderful! The blue of the gown brings out your eyes!" Tamera exclaimed.

"You think so? I haven't seen the full result yet. Who is he?" Galeena asked, referring to the man with the twins.

"Galeena, this is 2nd-in-command, Jeffrey. Since we're to be 'simply guests' for the wedding since we're family, he'll be in charge of everything. Don't worry you can trust him. He did the exact same thing for Niron and Daphene's wedding." Assured Janessa.

"In fact, he's our mentor!" laughed Jasmine.

The middle age man bowed and smiled.

"Don't worry Lady Galeena. I've had plenty of practice," he assured.

Galeena returned the smile and nodded.

"My lady, we are done. Are you ready to see yourself?" a seamstress asked.

Taking a deep breath, the young bride nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The seamstresses helped her turn to face her large floor length mirror. When Galeena saw herself, she was awestruck. She did not recognize herself at all for she looked like a queen.

"Wow! That's all I can say," she replied causing the others to giggle.

"Galeena, the other royal dragons and I have gift for you. Ankor is outside with it," Verdius said.

"Oh really? What is it?" asked Galeena, who was too afraid to move.

A few moments later, Ankor came in carrying a pair of dragon wings. Or at least they looked like wings. When Galeena saw them, she was shocked again and struggled not to cry.

"How?" she asked, recalling never telling anyone about her childhood wish to have dragon wings for her wedding.

"You can thank Verdius for that. During your first dress sitting, Verdius caught a stray thought of you wanting dragon wings. This pair is made out of a light iridescent metal to look like dragon wins. I'll help you put it on dear." Ankor said before magically fussing the wings to the back of the wedding gown.

The metal was mostly blue with other colors mixed in. This time, Galeena couldn't hold back the tears.

"Thank you . . . all of you. I just wish . . . my parents and grandma were here," she cried.

Verdius came forward and Galeena wrapped her arms around his neck, letting all her emotions out. After a few minutes, she pulled back and accepted a few tissues from Tamera before blowing her nose.

"I'll be fine. Shouldn't we be starting soon?"

"Will you be all right now?" asked Tallisa.

"Yes. Now get going you guys so I can clean my face off."

The twins nodded and they left with their partners.

"I'll run ahead and get the men into position before getting your bridal party Lady Galeena." Jeffrey replied before leaving himself.

By the time Galeena fully recovered from crying, Jeffrey returned with Galeena's bridesmaids and flower girls. Lagina was the matron of honor with Daphene and Meridian as bridesmaid. Lagina's girls were the flower girls. All the bridesmaids' gowns were based around Galeena's color schemes. Lagina's was mostly violet, Daphene's silver, and Meridian's blue. The triplets' gowns were mostly white with lavender. The party was also amazed by Galeena's appearance.

"Wow Aunt Leena! You look so pretty!" exclaimed Cypress.

"Thank you sweetie! You three look lovely too," smiled Galeena.

Lagina's kids had started calling Galeena by her nickname when they became comfortable around her.

"Where are my flowers?" Jade asked.

"When do we go down the aisle?" Pearl also asked.

"The florist should be here any minute with your flowers and then we'll leave." Jeffrey said.

He was right for there was a knock at the door just then. The florist and her assistants came in with the flowers. The girls each had a basket filled with sky blue phadean flower petals. The bridesmaids' bouquets were purple lilacs and the bride's bouquet was purple lilacs and sky blue phadeans. After the flowers were passed out, everyone left the room. Coreal and Ketra were waiting for them in the hallway. Ankor escorted Galeena with Jeffrey helping with the train.

The wedding ceremony was taking place outside the courtyard. Torrence was there at the center. His groomsmen were stationed just inside the castle to escort the ladies. His nephews were the ring bearers and were inside as well. The head councilor always officiated a royal wedding, so Tealor was in the center with Torrence. Chairs were placed in a circle, with the exception of the aisle and behind Tealor. Magical gems were placed throughout the city, including near the entrance of the courtyard. They would be used to show the wedding. According to Ankor, they were Fraidel's version of projection screens. Torrence was extremely anxious. Even though he was dressed every inch a king, he was acting the same way the first time he met Galeena.

Tealor chuckled and said, "It'll be fine your majesty."

"Sorry Sir Tealor. I remember Niron acting the same way before he got married and teasing him for it. I am regretting that now," Torrence admitted.

"You didn't mean any harm by it, and Niron knew that. Aw, looks like we're about to start." Tealor consoled him as he heard the wedding music start to play.

All talk stopped as well as others heard it.

The first to walk down the aisle was Daphene and one of Torrence's dragoons. Each of the groomsmen wore similar colors to their counterparts; hence, this groomsman was in silver. Next was Meridian and Searon, followed by Lagina and Tidus, who was the best man. After them came the ring bearers, who took their job very seriously. Sean came first carrying Torrence's ring on a tray in a small open box. Sirius brought Galeena's ring on a tray inside a box too. Tidus took each of the boxes, closed them, and held onto them, before the boys stood next to their father. After that, Ankor appeared and carried a tray with the queen's crown. It was a tiara made out of a rare light blue silver metal with the same gems found on the king's crown. On the same tray was Verdius's collar, which was made out of the same metal. It encircled the crown. Ankor came to stand behind the bridesmaids. Soon came the triplets as they sprinkled the flowers down the aisle. Each was determined not use up the petals right away. They did so well at their goal, that they had plenty of petals left when they reached the altar. Looking at each other, they decided to do the same thing; turning their baskets upside down and dumping the rest of the petals in front of the altar. This act earned groans from their brothers, but the adults laughed. The girls went to stand in front of their mother. Before the bride, the last to go 'down' the aisle were Cerulos and Verdius. They flew down the aisle after coming out of the castle.

Everyone stood as the music changed to signal the bride's arrival. Torrence took one last breath as the doors opened up. When Galeena appeared though, he lost all breath and almost fainted. However, Tidus was ready for this and with his spare hand, slapped Torrence on the back to keep him awake. The ploy worked, but the groom was still flabbergasted as Galeena walked down the aisle. The bride appeared to be calm, however she was anything but calm. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she carefully walked down towards her groom. Galeena had practiced walking in heavy and ornate gowns for this moment, but it was still nerve-wracking to walk perfectly in her gown. At least heels hadn't been invented in Fraidel and she was wearing soft slippers with cushioning. Looking into Torrence's eyes helped. He looked invincible too wearing a long sleeved royal blue tunic with cerulean blue trimmings on it. The hem started short in the front and was longer in the back. He wore indigo trousers with black boots. The outside part of his cape was turquoise and inside was midnight blue. In his hand was the scepter with the Water stone. As Galeena walked closer, Torrence held out a hand to her.