“Prince Ezra Nouvelle,” Chevalier started as he stood in the center of a stage that had been placed, the citizens of Nouvelle and those who came from Serce to attend the first royal wedding in nearly 35 years filling the field behind the castle on chairs, benches, and even the grass, “as I stand here today, the King of Nouvelle, I ask if you are truly prepared to spend the rest of your life with Lord Alaric, Lord Zarian, and Lord Antoni. Do you swear to protect them, guide their hearts, and use this marriage to ensure the safety and strength of Nouvelle?”

“Yes,” I nodded, “I swear upon death to honor the vow I take today as the future King of Nouvelle.”

“Lord Antoni,” he turned a bit as Antoni, Alaric, and Zarian were standing across from me in a group, “as the former Prince of Appanolia, its original heir apparent, do you swear to abandon all claims to the throne in front of our people and pledge your heart, soul, and mind to your fiance’s and our people?”

“I do,” Antoni sniffled, a gentle smile on his face.

“Lord Zarian. As the former uncrowned King of Serce before your capture and trading of your lands to me, do you swear that you will have no doubts in this choice? That your heart is truly settled in Nouvelle and you will make no attempts to force Duke Leon and Duchesses Peregrin and Hortencia from the castle? Does your loyalty lie not only to Nouvelle but the three men standing here with us today?”

“I swear,” Zarian nodded, gripping his cape for support, “I have no desire for my home to be anywhere other than Nouvelle and with my spouses.”

“Finally, Lord Alaric. As a Duke of Appanolia, regardless of your abandonment of your status, do you promise to stay in Nouvelle and accept your position as one of the kings of our country? Does your allegiance truly lie with your partners and children?”

“It does,” Alaric’s voice shook and Antoni gently rubbed his back, “my mother is deceased and left the estate to me as well as my title. I communicate openly with the current King of Appanolia, Antoni’s older brother Elis. But I pledge my heart and soul to Nouvelle, Antoni, Zarian, and Ezra.”

“As the King of Nouvelle, I announce your marriage to be true and complete. Citizens of Nouvelle and Serce, those who traveled for days to witness such a momentous occasion, I present Prince Ezra, Prince Alaric, Prince Zarian, and Prince Antoni, the future Kings of Nouvelle,” he smiled brightly, hiding a tear that ran down his cheek as I had never seen my father so full of pride.

A roar of excitement ripped through the crowd and I adjusted my crown, my throat warm as Alaric took my hand, rubbing my knuckles gently. It was against customs to be affectionate outside of holding hands in front of the citizens, a fact that surprised me as when I married Cassandra, I was forced to kiss her in front of everyone. This fit me better, knowing I would be able to show my love for my husbands in the privacy of our castle.

“My people,” I called over the commotion and it immediately ceased, my voice carrying to the forest, “thank you for attending. This means the world to me, to know how openly you accept us. Feel free to dance, talk amongst yourselves, and enjoy the evening. The taverns in Nouvelle and Serce as well as the single one in Wickersham Forest have provided enough food and drinks to carry on for days. I truly hope to see all of you again in a month when my brother marries at the castle grounds in Serce. Thank you,” I bowed, Antoni, Alaric, and Zarian following suit.

We left the stage with Chevalier, Sidra and Celeste immediately rushing over in their ballgowns that Oleano had created and I picked up Celeste immediately, squeezing her tightly.

“You did it, Daddy,” she whispered in my ear as I started to cry quietly, “you get to be in love!”

“I did… thank you,” I laughed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, “you look beautiful Celeste. I wonder how Uncle Oleano made both of your dresses sparkle so brightly.”

“I inlaid the glitter with dust from moonrock,” Oleano called from behind me and I spun around, “it was important to me that my nieces look as lovely as possible if Celeste was to wear such a deep blue and Sidra was in burgundy. Congratulations, my friend,” he gripped my forearm after I set Celeste down and wrapped my hand around his elbow, “you are truly the best man to lead this country when Chevalier retires.”

“Oleano,” I whispered and he pulled me into a hug, “thank you.”

“The forest is doing well,” he smiled, leaning back, “allowing Robin and myself to be Dukes has saved so much. We intend to dissolve those titles when we move back to the castle to work under you, however.”

“Who will guard the forest then?”

“I will,” Jael suddenly bounced over, his hair braided down his back and filled with flowers to match the plum suit that he wore, “I’m nine now, Prince Ezra. I can maintain the forest in nine years and make decisions. My parents have teaching me.”

“That is so wonderful, Jael. What a good son you are.”

“May I take Celeste to dance?”

“I suppose,” I smiled, watching as he bowed politely to Celeste, making her giggle before they held hands and walked slowly to an open area of the field, “you’ve been teaching him?”

“Of course,” Robin laughed, joining Oleano and myself, “he is her spiritmate after all. If Celeste becomes Queen, Jael must know how to properly escort her. If she chooses to leave Nouvelle to Sidra, she will be the Duchess of Wickersham Forest.”

“True,” I nodded and Antoni suddenly appeared at my side, “Ah. Hello, my love.”

“Hello,” he giggled when I wrapped my arm around his waist, “I saw Celeste and Jael dancing. They are the cutest. Sidra is with Peri and Leon. Alaric and Zarian have taken to dancing as well, though Zari is doing everything in his power to act annoyed. We all know that does not work against Alaric however. He has such energy and Zarian loves it. He is such a beautiful dancer.”

“Always has been,” Robin smiled, “oh! My Princes. We have news.”

“Yes?” I nodded, fixing Antoni’s crown before running my hand through his hair as he left all his yellow waves loose.

“We have a new baby. She is safe at our home with our oldest daughter. Her name is Tarenia. Oleano found her outside of a portal. We assume she somehow came from the Land of Reason.”

“Oh, that is wonderful! What does she look like?”

“Her skin is the color of cronoa beans.”

“I… oh… cocoa! How beautiful,” I sighed happily.

“But her eyes are green as the trees and her hair is tightly coiled and a gentle brown.”

“When can we meet her?” Antoni bounced excitedly.

“I will bring her to the castle in a few days. Once the excitement from your wedding settles. I wish to dance with my husband. I suggest you do the same,” Robin kissed my cheek softly before allowing Oleano to guide him into the crowd, the two of them close together as they followed along to the music.

“Should we join our husbands?” Antoni smiled, linking our arms together before placing his hand on my forearm.

“Absolutely.”

We started through the crowd, nodding to citizens who congratulated us before we found Zarian and Alaric, dancing slowly to the musicians we had hired.

“Oh!” Alaric ran over and hugged me, “You finally joined us!”

“I apologize, darling. I was talking to Robin and Oleano,” I laughed, kissing his cheek slowly, “how long are we required to stay?”

“Once the feast is complete, we may retire to the castle. Chevalier explained this.”

“You know I pay little attention to that kind of thing. I was simply thrilled to marry the three of you.”

“I cannot do this much longer,” Zarian pouted, leaning into Antoni, “I have healed fully but my strength is still far lower than yours.”

“Why don’t we take our seats at the table? If we sit, then the food will be served and we can leave. I am growing overwhelmed,” I sighed softly, “how will I manage this when Celeste marries?”

“Well, you’ll have us,” Alaric giggled and I pressed my forehead to his hair, “you are never alone, Ezra.”

“I know.”

We took our seats at the table meant for royalty, Chevalier in the center as I took my spot to his left, Zarian joining me. Antoni graceful sat to Chevalier’s right, Alaric plopping down next to him and it was clear that the grace Alaric was forcing for the evening was gone, his need to be himself fighting through.

“This is lovely,” Zarian whispered in my ear, “I never thought… lying in that bed for years, my hope to be in this position faded. I would have been happy to just be alive in the kingdom. Getting to run this country at your side with our amazing husbands is more than I could have asked for.”

“I will always make your dreams come true, Zarian. That’s my job as one of your husbands,” I pinched his ear gently, making him giggle.

“I have a dream. One you or Alaric can fill. I’d like to have another baby before Sidra is too old. I am 28 now after all. Reaching an age that carrying more children may kill me.”

“Another child,” I whispered, watching Celeste giggle as Jael escorted her to their seats, both of them talking animatedly and hugging Sidra when she rushed over to them, “oh yes. I think we should. Two more. It would be cute to watch you and Antoni waddle around the castle with swollen stomachs.”

“How does birth work in the Land of Reason?”

“Not different from here though Cassandra had surgery for Celeste’s birth. She was unable to have her naturally, it would have killed Cassandra.”

“Ah we don’t use surgery here,” he took a sip of wine, smacking his lips for a moment, “we have certain mages that are able to remove children safely through their gifts. They use this on damaged organs and body parts as well.”

“I wonder if Celeste will be able to simply heal damaged bodies as she did for you.”

“Perhaps as she grows stronger. My muscles had simply frozen but were undamaged.”

“She fixed Leon’s shoulder,” I hummed, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his throat, “you smell wonderful,” I whispered, moving to kiss behind his ear, “I need this to wrap up now.”

“Eat. You will need the energy, my love,” Zarian laughed, rubbing my leg.

“Ezra?” Chevalier clapped my shoulder and I looked over at him, sliding my arm to rest behind Zarian, “I am so grateful that I was able to attend. To marry my youngest son off. It means more to me than you will ever know.”

“I can understand, Father. I’m sure I will feel the same when Celeste and Sidra marry.”

“Your mother would be proud,” he whispered, touching a sapphire pendant settled against his chest, “she is so very proud of you.”

“Is she?”

“I spoke with her last night,” he laughed loudly, “have you forgotten I can communicate with the dead? I brought her soul forward in my basin of enchanted water and we spoke at length about you coming back to me, your children, and fiances. I wish you were able to speak with her, but I cannot make others see who I speak with. I have never been able to. She sends her love, her hope for your future, and your leadership. Clarissa is finally able to be truly at peace because her sweet pea returned to us.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, my throat growing warm, “it brings me peace to know that she is proud of me.”

“No different than I am, my son.”

The feast finally started, a multi-course dinner of various meats, pasta dishes, salads, soups, and desserts that left me exhausted and full. Zarian slumped onto my arm, yawning and I rubbed his back with my fingers, looking past Chevalier to find that Alaric was truly asleep, his head resting on the top of Antoni’s.

“My goodness,” I yawned loudly, watching Morgan and Peri take Sidra and Celeste into the castle, Jael asleep in Robin’s lap, “the suns are starting to rise. This was the longest feast.”

“It was never meant to be,” Chevalier laughed, watching the citizens of Nouvelle leave for their homes, those from Serce retiring to tents we had placed for their stay, “you are free to leave. Go inside and spend the day with your husbands. You are not required to attend council meetings or anything for a week.”

“Thank you, Father,” I hauled Zarian to his feet before moving over to wake Alaric, “come along, my loves. We should retire to our chamber. It has been a long night.”

“A perfect one,” Antoni stretched and we headed inside, all of us stumbling with exhaustion as well as the amount of wine we had drank.

“We should sleep,” Alaric threw off his wedding clothes and Antoni immediately gathered them, placing the suit carefully on a couch as Alaric would need it when Celeste married, “I am too tired for anything more.”

“I think that’s common among all of us,” I laughed, assisting Zarian out of his outfit as the back was corsetted and impossible for him to remove on his own, “Alaric. Why are you in nothing more than your underwear?”

“I would sleep naked but you can never know when the chambermaids will burst in now that Antoni is no longer your steward.”

“Ah,” I nodded, watching Zarian climb into bed next to Alaric, both falling asleep immediately, “Antoni? Do you need my help?”

“I am fine,” he laughed softly, pulling on a soft cream nightdress, “I insisted I only had strings down the front of my vest. You were the only one with clasps and buttons.”

“I’m thrilled to sleep with all of you finally,” I finished undressing and took my spot, Antoni snuggling up to me, “let’s sleep. We can talk more once everyone awakens.”