“Sire, it’s draped around your neck,” Ephraim stated matter-of-factly, which sent both Loren and Henrick sputtering into laughter.
The king swelled with a retort, but Ephraim interrupted him with a stern reprimand. “Loren, Henrick, get out! You’re only making him worse by needling his already raw nerves!”
The pair tried to hide their smirks as they gave a mocking bow and exited the room after patting Xavier on the head.
“Jer, stop a moment and sit down,” Ephraim ordered gently, and the king immediately obliged as he sank into an armchair next to the hearth. “Good, now take slow deep breaths and get ahold of yourself.”
Jeremiah nodded as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before releasing the breath with a sigh. After repeating this several times, his eyes opened and they met the general’s with calm and clarity. “Thank you, Ephraim. I’m good now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, thank you, my friend,” he snickered embarrassedly. “I can’t believe how nervous I feel right now. Blimey! I’ve fought battles, addressed entire kingdoms, but the thought of…”
“Yes, I know. Nothing is more frightening than to open yourself to love and the pain it can bring with it. But, sire, there’s no alternative to living, to really living. It’s what makes us different from the dark followers: our willingness to open our hearts to hope and love.” Ephraim clapped the king’s back and grinned. “Oh, and sire? Your royalty sash is on the patio door, where you placed it during your last rant when you raked Mrs. Sommers over the coals for misplacing your black belt.”
“Well how the hell was I supposed to know she placed the belt on the hanger of my tuxedo suit?”
Ephraim winked at Xavier, who stifled a snicker before remarking in earnest, “You’re one lucky man, Jeremiah. God only knows what Lana sees in you.”
The king cleared his throat uncomfortably before standing and continuing to dress.
“Now, what can I do for you, little sire?” Ephraim asked Xavier.
“Uh, I need help with my tie,” Xavier remarked, holding up the tie he clutched in his hand.
Ephraim gestured for the prince to stand and follow him to the full-length mirror. Turning Xavier to face the mirror, the general positioned himself behind him. “I can’t do it unless I’m looking in the mirror,” Ephraim remarked with a smile.
As the general knotted the tie at his neck with deft fingers, Xavier took note that he stood less than half a head shorter than Ephraim. His father still stood a good head taller, and Loren a good head and half, but he was no longer the scrawny little boy who had stood in this room getting his tie tied two years before. Not only had he grown taller, but his shoulders were broader, and his arms had filled in with lean muscle. His face still had the softness of a child, but the rest of him was growing into a man. This thought brought a smile to Xavier’s lips, and he straightened proudly.
“There you go!” Ephraim announced patting his shoulders. “What’s the grin for?”
Xavier grinned even larger. “I was just noticing that I’m nearly as tall as you, Mr. Hardcastle.”
Ephraim laughed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, laddie. It takes more than height to make you a man.”
“Yes, sir.”
The groom’s party left the castle and headed to the church in the king’s limo. Jeremiah’s previous anxiety was long forgotten, and he seemed to be happily anticipating his marriage. As they entered the church, Xavier lingered by the entrance as his father spoke to the priest about the ceremony. A door opened to the left of the vestibule, and Robbie exited wearing a deep plum, satin dress. It fell off her shoulders with a feminine flair and stooped low in the back, revealing her bare back to below her shoulder blades. She wore matching plum gloves that reached her elbows. The skirt of the dress fell to just above her knee, leaving her shapely legs open to his appreciation. His eyes skimmed up her womanly frame, feeling heat ignite inside him at the view. She turned and saw him and her jaw dropped open as she shuffled toward him.
“Xavier? Oh. My. Gosh! You look… great!” she whispered.
“Me? Have you looked in a mirror? You’re gorgeous, Robbie. I… I can hardly breathe looking at you! I… I…” Xavier reached for her, pulled her toward him, and kissed her. He felt Robbie melt into him, and her arms slid around him as she sighed against his lips. Slowly, he pulled away from her and looked into her large brown eyes, feeling slightly dizzy.
“Wow!” Robbie muttered before giggling.
It was the cutest sound Xavier had ever heard, Robbie’s giggle. He couldn’t help but smile at her.
“Son, we need to get ready and leave the ladies to do the same,” his father called from the pulpit.
Xavier nodded to the king before quickly brushing his lips against Robbie’s and finally releasing her. He strutted down the aisle toward his father well aware that Robbie’s eyes followed him. He grinned as her thoughts chased after him, too strong to be denied and left unheard.
“My, my, Sergeant Davies. The boy looks a bit cocky, wouldn’t you agree?” Loren muttered.
“Why, yes, General Jefferson. I think you’re right. He looks so smug he’s practically glowing,” he responded.
Xavier shook his head and continued past the men to follow his father into a small room off to the right of the pulpit.
“Xavier, come here, son,” Jeremiah called from the couch where he sat. “We’ve got thirty minutes before the ceremony begins.”
Xavier smiled and flopped onto the couch next to his father, who hugged him close.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
“Nope. Not at all,” the king answered with a broad smile. “Robbie looked beautiful in her gown.”
“Yeah,” Xavier responded wistfully. “She really did!”
“Well, try to keep yourself under control, son. We don’t need anyone glowing in public,” his father recommended.
“Ha! You’re so funny!”
“Am I? I thought I was simply stating a fact,” his father said meaningfully.
Xavier gaped at his father. “Wha… you mean…” He jumped to his feet and raced to the nearest shiny object and inspected his reflection as Loren and Henrick snickered behind him. Sure enough, his eyes were aglow. “Oh. My. God!” He blinked hard and looked back at his reflection. Yep, still there. He spun to face his father. “How do I make it stop?”
The king smiled sympathetically and patted the seat next to him. Xavier moved toward his father as he shot Loren and Henrick a hard glare, which only seemed to increase their mirth.
“Loren, Henrick, leave us!” Jeremiah barked irritably.
With smirks still playing across their faces, the men saluted and left the office. “Those two are driving me up the wall today!” his father muttered as Xavier sat next to him.
“How do I keep from glowing?” he practically begged.
“You can’t. You can only control your thoughts so that it doesn’t occur in public.”
“What? You mean… I’m always going to glow?”
“Around Robbie? I hope so, son,” his father responded gently.
“What?” he gasped, looking at his father desperately.
“Son, the glow signifies your deep feelings for Robbie. If you didn’t glow around her, I’d worry. But the point of this conversation is to manage your feelings so that it doesn’t occur in public. That can be very embarrassing.”
Xavier frowned in thought. “Okay. So how do I do that?”
“Well, you’ll have to have a focal point.”
“Another one?” Xavier spat. “Geesh! How many focal points am I gonna need?”
Jeremiah smiled down at his son. “You need a focal point that douses your strong feelings, son.”
Xavier nodded. “Like what?”
“I can’t tell you what would work for you, son. That will be up to you.”
“Do you have one?”
“Yes.”
“What’s yours?”
“My father.”
�
��Oh,” Xavier muttered. It made sense. Thinking of his father would surely calm the heated sensations that Robbie generated in him.
“It needs to be a focal point that provides strong adverse feelings to what Robbie creates. My father was a very harsh man. He instilled fear, dread, and resentment most of the time. So, for me, he was perfect.”
“Hmm.” Okay, so maybe his father wouldn’t be effective enough. After all, his eyes were still glowing in his father’s company. “Grandmother! She’d definitely do it for me!”
His father nodded. “Well, let’s give it a try. Follow me.”
Father and son stood and entered an adjoining bathroom to stand in front of a mirror.
“Okay. Close your eyes and think of Robbie.”
Xavier closed his eyes but found it hard to concentrate with his father standing directly behind him. He opened one eye and looked at his father. “Dad? Could you maybe… step back please? This is weird enough without you standing over me like that.”
“Yeah, sure,” he responded, backing towards the door.
Xavier closed his eyes again and pictured Robbie. He sighed as he relived their kiss and a smile split across his face. Slowly he opened his eyes and found that both his face and his eyes were glowing with a faint, shimmering pink hue. His father stepped forward.
“Okay, now think of your grandmother. Think specifically of an incident where you were angry, fearful, or resentful. Those are strong feelings that can battle… what you’re feeling in Robbie’s presence.”
Xavier nodded and thought. There were so many memories that would work, but one memory in particular came to mind—the day he had inquired about his father. His mother had been visibly upset, and he had felt bad about hurting her. His grandmother had come unglued and slapped him across the face as she called him names and insulted his father. He looked at his reflection and saw no sign of glowing. He looked up at his father’s reflection and grinned.
“It worked! Who knew my grandmother would actually help me one day!”
Jeremiah laughed and clapped him on the back. “I’m glad, but remember, using this technique is much more difficult and requires more concentration when you’re face to face with Robbie. Keep practicing until the ceremony. Hopefully you can minimize Robbie’s effects on you at the reception.” His father winked at him and left the bathroom.
Chapter 16
“Would all rise for your king, King Jeremiah Xavier Wells IV,” the priest called as the door opened next to the pulpit and Jeremiah and Xavier exited the office. Once they were settled by the altar, the priest announced to the crowded church, “Please remain standing for the bridal party.”
The church organ began to play as the groomsmen escorted the bridesmaids up the aisle. Xavier looked up at his father who stood tall and straight. By all exterior cues, the king was calm and collected, but his demeanor refuted the strong feelings Xavier felt radiating off his father. He was nervous, scared to death, and second-guessing putting Lana in any kind of danger by marrying her. Xavier slid his hand into his father’s, who looked down at him questioningly.
“You deserve this, Dad. You deserve Lana and happiness. Don’t be nervous. It’ll be okay,” he told him silently.
Tears filled his father’s eyes and spilled down his cheeks before he could swipe them away. Then he squeezed Xavier’s hand thankfully, winked, and turned back to the wedding party marching down the aisle.
Once the groomsmen and bridesmaids were in place, the music changed abruptly to the bridal march. Then Lana was there, standing at the end of the aisle on the arm of Governor Bracus. The king’s breath hitched at the sight of her. Slowly she crept toward them at the altar. As she moved past the patrons in the church, row by row bowed in honor of her, signifying her change in status to queen. Unlike the king, Lana’s thoughts were nowhere near as panicky. Her smile revealed the excitement and happiness ballooning inside her. When she finally reached them, Xavier felt his father’s anxiety and fear drop away the moment he took Lana’s hand. Love rolled off the king, and Xavier’s eyes widened at how easily his father’s thoughts came to him.
“Are you getting that?” Loren whispered.
Xavier glanced at the general and nodded. The king was projecting his thoughts unwittingly. The general cleared his throat uncomfortably as the king’s thoughts over the beauty of his bride continued.
Xavier wondered how to deal with this. If Loren was hearing his father’s thoughts, then it was possible others in the church could hear them as well. Before he could determine what to do, Lana cleared her throat, leaned in toward the king and kissed his cheek.
“Sweetheart? Your thoughts are projecting,” she whispered softly.
His father’s embarrassment flooded Xavier’s thoughts before he cut the connection completely. Xavier looked up at Loren, who had bowed his head to hide his amusement, but his shaking shoulders gave him away. After a glare from the king, Loren’s laughter escaped, and Xavier couldn’t stop his own laughter from joining in.
Father Reinhart announced that the congregation be seated.
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all,” the priest announced.
“And also with you,” the crowd recited.
“Welcome! We are gathered here today for one of the happiest occasions in human life, to celebrate before God the marriage of our beloved king to our beloved queen. Marriage is a most honorable estate, created and instituted by God, signifying unto us the mystical union, which also exists between Christ and the Church; so to may this marriage be adorned by true and abiding love. Who brings this woman to this man?”
“I do,” Governor Bracus stated before bowing to the king and Lana and turning to sit in the front pew.
Xavier stood next to his father as the priest continued with the marriage ritual as his eyes slid and met Robbie’s. God, she was beautiful! She grinned at him, and he couldn’t help the goofy grin that split across his face. He winked playfully, his smile broadening as her face ignited red.
Both Loren and Ephraim read passages in honor of the king and his bride. The passages spoke of love and God’s love for man. Ephraim’s passage resonated with Xavier, and he could feel his father’s resolve cement in place as Ephraim read.
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not loved, I am nothing,” Ephraim continued to recite the verse as Xavier’s mind roamed. The verse reminded Xavier of the words Ephraim had used to calm the king just this morning that love is what made the king different from their enemy. Love was worth preserving.
After both the king and Lana exchanged vows, and the priest blessed their rings, Jeremiah slid Lana’s ring onto her finger and smiled, “With this ring, I thee wed.”
Once Jeremiah and Lana exchanged rings, they lit the unity candle as the priest proclaimed, “The separate candles symbolize that the groom and bride entered as individuals. They now light the unity candle to show recognition of their commitment to share a future, a vision, a dream under the watchful eye of God. They light the unity candle to symbolize their love from this day forward.”
No one told Xavier how extensive a Catholic wedding could be and he shifted impatiently from foot to foot until he felt a soft jab to his ribs.
“We’re nearly there, little king. Hang in there,” Loren’s voice hissed in his ear.
He sighed with relief when he realized Loren was right as the priest announced, “King Wells, Queen Wells, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings, and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance unto you and give you peace. Congratulations, Sire Wells, you may kiss your
bride.”
With a boyish grin, King Wells lifted Lana’s veil, pulled her into his arms, and dipped her before kissing her. The church erupted in laughter and cheers. Finally, the king set Lana to rights and lovingly stroked her cheek.
“I present to you, King and Queen Jeremiah Xavier Wells IV!” the priest announced and the cheers erupted into a thunderous roar.
Xavier grinned up at his father and Lana. He had a mother again! Laughter burst from him when his father grabbed Lana and gave her another passionate kiss as the congregation roared and laughed louder. Finally, the king took the queen’s hand and led her down the aisle as bows waved them past.
The crowd made their way past the newlyweds, congratulating the king and kissing the queen’s ring as a sign of her sovereignty. Once the last of the guests had passed, Ephraim turned and grinned at Jeremiah. “Congratulations, Jeremiah, Lana. Loren and I will walk ahead with the lad to the Reception Hall. Come when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Ephraim. I appreciate it,” Jeremiah stated, shaking his general’s hand firmly before clapping Xavier’s back. “It’s customary for the bride and groom to arrive last at the reception. Plus, we have a photographer who needs to take our wedding picture. We’ll see you over there, okay?”
“Sure, Dad. See you there,” Xavier answered before following Loren and Ephraim out of the church.
When they arrived at the Reception Hall, it sounded as if the party had already begun. Music poured out of the building as well as conversations and laughter. When they entered the Reception Hall, there was a brief hush from the crowd before they all started cheering and applauding. Many pounded Xavier’s back, congratulating him on his new mother. It was a bit weird. He turned to Ephraim.
“Why are they congratulating me? I didn’t marry Lana!”
“The addition to the royal family by marriage or birth is a rare occasion. So as a result, it is cause for celebration for the entire kingdom. It’s an exciting event.”
“Oh,” Xavier muttered before scanning the crowd for his friends.
When his eyes settled on Robbie, he found himself struggling for breath. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Slowly he moved toward her, his smiling face unable to form a coherent thought beyond, Mine!
The Prince of Warwood and The War of Kings Page 15
