Wedding Hells (Schooled in Magic Book 8) (45 page)

She waved cheerfully at Alassa as the Princess strode across the room, taking her place in line. Alassa looked tired, unsurprisingly; Emily wanted to give her another hug, but didn’t dare in front of the bridesmaids. They’d probably faint on the spot if they saw anyone take such liberties with the Crown Princess. She settled for a reassuring smile as Alassa leaned against the wall, a pair of maids hastily surrounding her to adjust her dress. Lady Rose, the oldest unmarried woman in the court, stood next to them. She had the honor of leading the parade into the hall.

Emily opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again as Imaiqah opened the main doors. The sound of children singing drifted in through the gap, a long song she knew marked the start of the formal ceremony. She tried to follow the words as the song came to an end, but she was too nervous to do it properly. Lady Rose stepped into place; Emily followed her hastily, feeling her heart starting to pound. She hated the thought of being seen by thousands of guests, half of whom would be praying for her to take a pratfall.

“Go,” Imaiqah ordered.

Lady Rose stepped through the door. Emily counted to five slowly, then followed her into the Great Hall. Hundreds of rows of seats had been crammed into the chamber - she couldn’t help thinking of a church - and they were all occupied. She followed Lady Rose as she joined hands with Lord Bentham, then took Caleb’s hand as they met in the center and started the slow walk up to the head of the room. King Randor sat on his throne, wearing a golden suit of armor; beside him, Queen Marlena wore a long golden dress. They both looked absolutely calm, as if they gave their daughter away every day. A small altar rested in front of them, a golden cord placed neatly on top.

She reached the head of the room, let go of Caleb and took her place. The entire chamber seemed to be staring at her as Frieda stepped up and stood beside her. And then all eyes turned to watch as Alassa made her entrance, Imaiqah walking a step or two behind her.

Emily suddenly found it very hard to breathe. Alassa was a vision in white, her blonde hair spilling out behind her in a manner that had to be helped by a spell or two. Behind her, Imaiqah looked almost plain, but - Maid of Honor or not - she wouldn’t have been allowed to outshine the bride. The bridesmaids followed, carrying her train in their hands. Emily smiled inwardly as she saw a handful of mothers weeping at the sight of their daughters, on display to the entire court. No doubt a few other marriages would be contracted over the next few months, once the noblemen started courting the younger girls.

The children, standing to one side, started to sing a sweet song about love and happiness as Alassa came to a halt in front of her father. Emily found it hard to tell which members of the choir were male and which were female; they all wore silver robes and skullcaps. The oldest couldn’t be more than ten years old. She forced herself to relax and listen to the singing, knowing the real event would begin immediately afterwards.

Good thing Imaiqah managed to remove the younger bridesmaids
, she thought, grimly. It was hard to hold still in front of so many watching eyes.
They’d be fidgeting like mad right now.

The song finally came to an end. Emily clasped her hands behind her back as Jade appeared at the foot of the room. She had to admit she’d never seen him look handsomer; he wore a long black outfit that showed off his muscles and carried the sword she’d given the happy couple on his belt. Beside him, his father wore a similar outfit, but carried no sword. Emily sent him a reassuring smile before King Randor rose to his feet, drawing all eyes to him.

“We are gathered here in the sight of the gods to witness the marriage of my daughter, Crown Princess Alassa, to Jade, Son of Hawker,” Randor said, as if Alassa and Jade hadn’t already tied the knot. “I call upon the gods to bear witness to this union.”

There was a long pause. Emily lowered her gaze, but did nothing else. She’d never been taught to pray as a child and she didn’t really believe in the gods of the Nameless World. She couldn’t help noticing that several of the guests were praying in different ways, though; the Nameless World had always been surprisingly tolerant of different religions. They probably wouldn’t realize she wasn’t doing anything. Or so she hoped.

She thought she’d heard, just for a second, a faint snigger. But she hoped she had imagined it.

“When I die, my daughter will rule in my place,” King Randor said. “I call upon all of you to bear witness to her claim to the throne.”

He paused, again. Emily wondered, darkly, just how many of the guests were hoping that King Randor would die sooner rather than later. They might well assume that they could gain something from the chaos of civil war, if Alassa wasn’t immediately accepted as Queen, even if it was just a few little scraps of extra power. But Alassa was powerful in her own right and married to a combat sorcerer...

And she has me as a friend
, Emily thought.
How many of them are scared of me
?

The thought brought her no happiness. She had always wanted to be alone, at least until she discovered what having friends was actually
like
. Having the power to banish her stepfather from her life would have been a dream come true, on Earth. But now, having the power to terrify her fellow students - or grown men and women - was merely depressing. She hadn’t wanted anything but a normal life.

King Randor smiled. “Jade, Son of Hawker. Approach the throne.”

Emily watched as Jade strolled forward. He was clearly nervous, but she had a feeling that most of the guests wouldn’t notice. She’d seen him in Martial Magic, after all. His father followed, keeping one step behind his son; Emily glanced over at Galina, sitting in the front row, and felt a moment of sympathy mixed with envy. Galina had no formal role in the ceremony. She could watch without having to take part.

Jade stopped and knelt, two meters from the throne, as Alassa stood to one side. Emily glanced at her friend and blinked in surprise. It was hard to be sure, but Alassa looked
terrified
. Was something wrong?

She flinched as she heard another snicker. Something was wrong. Something was
deeply
wrong. It felt almost as if she were in two places at once, standing in front of the altar and watching the ceremony from a distance...

“Jade, Son of Hawker,” King Randor said. “Do you pledge yourself to my daughter? To serve her with your life and soul, your honor and your magic, to be her protector and defender while she lives and the protector, defender and regent of your child if she dies?”

“I do,” Jade said.

Emily sucked in her breath. It was no mere pledge, not when magic was involved. Jade might well have just agreed to a magically-binding contract. Even if it wasn’t, he could only be regent if Alassa died. The king had made that clear earlier, of course, but now he was reminding the entire court of the rules. There would be no shift in the balance of power as long as there was an heir to the throne, even if the heir was underage. The child would have a combat sorcerer as a guardian and regent.

And it’s more than that
, she realized.
Jade is pledging loyalty to Alassa over anyone else, even her father
.

“You may rise,” King Randor said. He lifted his gaze, looking over the audience. “Is there anyone here who would dispute the match?”

There was a chilling pause. Emily wondered, suddenly, just what would happen if a person
did
stand up and object. It was too late to prevent the marriage; hell, the real marriage had already taken place. The king might ignore the speaker, or Jade might be pushed into a duel, or...there were too many options. Thankfully, no one rose to dispute the match.

“Alassa, Daughter of Randor, Princess of Zangaria, Duchess of Iron, Marchioness of the Midlands and Patron of Steam,” King Randor said. “Do you accept this man’s pledge to you?”

“I do,” Alassa said.

“Take the wand and staff,” Randor said. Two young girls came forward, one carrying a wooden wand and the other carrying a long staff. “They represent your power and your place.”

And remind the watchers that Alassa is a magician
, Emily thought.
She’s no weak and feeble woman
.

“Turn and face the witnesses,” Randor ordered. “Jade, Son of Hawker; Alassa, Daughter of Randor. You...”

Emily staggered as everything snapped into place. Alassa in a white dress, her wedding day and...

...It is Alassa’s wedding day. Blood stains the altar, her white dress is ripped and torn; in one hand, she holds a wand, in the other a staff. And she stares at Emily with accusation in her eyes...

The snicker echoed through her head again, mocking her. She’d been tricked. The demon had shown her Alassa in white, but she’d jumped to the conclusion that it was Alassa’s wedding day, not the formal ceremony
after
the wedding day. And now Alassa was in the same pose...

“I object,” a voice shouted. Others took up the cry. “Death to the aristos!”

Emily whirled around, too late. A man stood in the middle of the crowd, holding a flintlock pistol. Before she could do anything, he pointed the weapon at Alassa and pulled the trigger. There was a deafening explosion...

...And Alassa cried out as she stumbled backwards, blood staining her white dress.

T
HE ENTIRE CASTLE ROCKED, VIOLENTLY
.

Emily dived to the ground as she heard more shots ringing out behind her; something slammed into King Randor’s armor, knocking him to his knees. Jade hurled a fireball towards the first shooter as Emily crawled towards Alassa, trying to avoid being trampled as aristocrats panicked, running in all directions. They knew how to handle swords or magic, but guns?

“Get down on the ground,” Emily shouted. Her voice was lost in the din. She saw one of the bridesmaids fall, blood spinning from her shoulder, as another gunshot rang out. A pair of guards grabbed the king and started to drag him away from the carnage. “Get down...”

Jade threw a shield around Alassa as he knelt beside her. Emily added one of her own, hardening the air against bullets. Most magicians used wards intended to defend against magic, not physical attack. Bullets would go through them as if they weren’t there. Alassa was breathing heavily, her hands pressed against a bleeding wound in her abdomen. Jade reached forward, ready to cast a healing spell; Emily realized the danger and shouted at him to stop. The bullet might still be lodged in the wound.

They’re using flintlocks
, she thought, stunned. There was only one place in the Nameless World where flintlocks were produced. Had someone set up a rival factory in a different kingdom? And how had they gotten them into the castle?
We never prepared for guns...

“Don’t try to heal her,” she shouted at Jade. “You can’t!”

“She’ll die,” Jade shouted back at her. His face was pale. “Emily, you can’t let her die!”

“Put her in stasis,” Emily snapped. Panic yammered at the back of her mind, but she forced it down and buried it. Alassa would need a qualified Healer to remove the bullet and mend the damage while keeping her alive. “She needs careful attention, not a battlefield spell!”

Jade didn’t hesitate. Alassa’s face was suddenly wrapped in blue light as he cast the stasis charm, freezing her in a moment in time. Emily looked up; a dozen aristocrats lay dead, while several others were wounded. Caleb was shielding a dozen guests, holding a protective spell in place. One of the gunmen lay on the ground, his upper body charred by Jade’s fireball. It was hard to be sure, but it looked as if he was one of the guests rather than a servant or a guard. He’d definitely been in the thick of the audience when he’d drawn his pistol and opened fire.

“She’s not going to die,” Jade said, holding Alassa close. “She’s not going to...”

The door burst open, revealing three men in the king’s livery. Emily tensed as she realized they were carrying muskets - it was hard to tell if they were friends or foes - then swore as they lifted their weapons and opened fire. Her wards flared around her and the bullets bounced off; the newcomers hastily started to reload, just as Jade threw a cluster of fireballs at them. Emily winced as two died in flames; the third tossed something towards them and ducked back out the door. There was another explosion and the entire room shook, pieces of masonry dropping down from the ceiling. One of them struck Caleb’s shield and shattered to dust.

Jade caught her arm. “What the hell was that?”

“Improvised explosive,” Emily guessed.

It made sense, she thought. She hadn’t sensed any surge of magic, which suggested the attackers weren’t magicians. But then, they
had
deceived the wards...somehow. Her mind raced as she considered options. Jade was a skilled wardcrafter, but he’d been asked to create wards to cover a wide area, limiting the precautions he could build into their structure. If one of the attackers had been a legitimate guest, he might have been able to bring the others through the wards with him. Quite a few of the guests had brought servants.

She glanced up as a fireball shot towards her and splashed harmlessly against her wards. A young woman stood at the rear of the room, holding a wand in one hand. Emily had barely a moment to recognize that there was something familiar about her before the newcomer started shooting off additional spells, hammering Emily’s wards. The use of the wand would have suggested a weak magician, but there were too many twists to the spells for her to believe it.

“Stay with Alassa,” Emily said. She was damned if she was asking him to leave his wife, not now. Besides, the stasis charm would need to be maintained if it was to last longer than an hour or two. Caleb could cover the rest of the guests. “I’ll deal with her.”

She rose to her feet and stalked forward, preparing spells of her own. The newcomer smiled, rather coldly; Emily tossed off a fireball of her own, partly to see what would happen. She wasn’t surprised when the newcomer casually deflected it, then hurled a spell Emily didn’t recognize into the ceiling. The room shook; Emily glanced up, alarmed, as pieces of stonework started to fall to the floor.