The herald's voice rang out once more:
"Time for the second marriage ritual!"
Alya let out a quiet, resigned sigh. 'This whole thing is so… boring,' she thought, already mentally checking out.
The herald continued without pause: "The Fate Binding Rite!"
Two attendants approached again, moving carefully and calmly.
On a velvet tray between them lay a single length of fine red thread and they presented it to the elder who had appeared before the dais.
Alya was stunned. 'Can everyone teleport here?'
The elder accepted the thread with both hands, then turned to the couple.
He carefully looped one end around Alya's left wrist and the other around Alistair's right, tying the knots.
The thread felt surprisingly warm against her skin, almost alive.
"Walk down the aisle and return," the elder instructed calmly.
Alya blinked, still not entirely sure what was happening. She glanced at Alistair, who gave the slightest nod and faced the crowd and she fell into step beside him, following his lead.
Then they walked down the aisle with slow steps while everyone's eyes followed their movements.
They reached the far end of the aisle, paused for a heartbeat, then turned and retraced their path back to the dais.
When they finally stood before the elder once more, he raised both hands.
"Their fates are now linked," he declared, voice carrying to every corner of the hall. "No matter the distance, no matter the path, they are bound as one."
With a subtle gesture of his palm toward their joined wrists, the red thread shimmered once, bright, then faint, and vanished entirely.
Alya stared down at her bare wrist, brows knitting in genuine bewilderment.
"Huh?"
The elder vanished in a soft shimmer of light, leaving only the echo of his presence.
Then the herald's voice boomed once more across the hall:
"Time for the Threefold Bow Rite!"
Alya dropped her gaze for a moment, brows knitting as she turned the words over in her mind. 'Threefold Bow Rite?'
Alistair turned to face her fully and she mirrored him instinctively, chin lifting with sudden determination.
'I'm not messing this one up,' she thought, a small, smug smirk tugging at her lips. 'I've got this figured out.'
They bowed to each other in perfect unison, deep, graceful, and synchronized.
When they straightened, Alya flashed him a quick, triumphant smile. 'See? I'm not clueless.'
They bowed again.
'Second one down' she thought, smirk widening internally. 'One more to go.'
As they rose, Alistair's brows furrowed the tiniest fraction. 'She's… oddly confident,' he thought, genuinely puzzled by the shift in her demeanor.
Then they bowed a third time.
Alya let out a quiet, relieved breath as they straightened, shoulders relaxing. 'Done. Finally.'
The herald's voice rang out again:
"To heaven as witness. To the world as witness. To each other as eternal partners! You may now kiss to seal this marriage."
Alya froze.
'Wait…kiss?' The word hit her like cold water. 'Even in this strange world, the groom still has to kiss the bride?…'
Before she could fully process it, Alistair's hand settled firmly on her lower waist and drew her in close.
Their eyes locked and time stretched thin.
She could see the faint glint of amusement in his green gaze, the subtle curve at the corner of his mouth that wasn't quite a smile.
She didn't want this. She wasn't sure she wanted to kiss him, not like this, not now. But her traitorous eyes dipped to his lips anyway, lingering there against her will.
She went completely still as he leaned in, their mouths hovering mere breaths apart.
Then, suddenly… he pushed.
Hard.
Alya flew backward, arms flailing, gown billowing around her like startled wings as she sailed off the dais and into open air.