Chapter 41. Who will you choose as a bride?
A FEW DAYS LATER
ALEXANDER
The cathedral should have been ruined. That was the first thing that felt wrong, the second thing was that it wasn’t. Not really, the outer walls were ancient, cracked and covered in vines, but the moment we stepped through the massive stone entrance, everyone slowed down.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The floor was spotless, not clean for a ruin, clean. The marble reflected light, rows of wooden benches stood perfectly aligned, hundreds of candles rested in silver holders, fresh flower petals covered parts of the floor, not dead flowers. Fresh flowers, nobody spoke, because that was impossible. This place had supposedly been abandoned for centuries.
"Does anyone else think this looks like someone was here yesterday?"Victor slowly raised a hand.
"Yes." Reynold answered immediately.
"Very much yes." Michael added.
"I dislike this location." Noa said.
"I dislike all locations lately." Michael replied.
That was fair, we continued deeper. The massive central hall stretched before us, coloured light poured through enormous stained glass windows, ancient banners hung from the ceiling. At the far end stood a magnificent altar made of white stone, and resting directly on top of it...was the third fragment. The final key piece, glowing softly as if waiting.
"DING." The system appeared and everyone immediately became nervous. "Final key fragment located."
"Thank you, system." Michael sighed.
"Additional information available."The system said.
"Oh no." Michael sighed harder.
"Historical archive restored. Location classification: Saint Aurelia royal cathedral."The system displayed several lines.
The image expanded, ancient records appeared and then my sword suddenly vibrated, hard.
"Wait."A sword said.
Everyone looked at the sword.
"What?" I asked.
The sword sounded horrified, absolutely horrified.
"Oh no."He gasped.
"What?"I asked.
"Oh no."He gasped again.
"WHAT?"I asked.
"I remember this place."The sword pointed itself toward the altar.
Silence. Then the sword spoke words nobody expected.
"This wasn’t only used for coronations."The sword said.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"It was also used for royal weddings."The sword contunied.
Dead silence, Rosalia slowly turned, Scarlet froze, Noa stopped moving entirely, Iris blinked.
"No."Michael covered his face.
"I remember ceremonies."The sword ignored him.
"I remember flowers."The sword sounded traumatized. Nobody liked where this was going. "I remember music."
"No." Michael repeated.
"I remember vows."The sword said.
STOP REMEMBERING."Michael said.
"I remember the king standing exactly where Alexander is standing."The sword vibrated.
I immediately stepped backward. Everyone slowly looked at me.
"Nope." The sword continued. "And I remember a bride."
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The academy students shouted simultaneously.
"I KNEW IT!" Victor yelled.
"You knew nothing!" I pointed.
"I KNEW SOMETHING!"Victor said.
"You KNOW NOTHING!"I said.
"I KNOW THERE WAS A BRIDE!" Victor shouted.
"THAT DOESN’T HELP!"I said.
Rosalia was laughing, Scarlet looked concerned, Noa looked dangerous, Iris looked thoughtful. Michael looked like he was developing a headache powerful enough to become a natural disaster. Then suddenly the cathedral doors slammed shut. Everyone jumped and then the candles ignited. Every single one at once. Thousands of flames erupted throughout the cathedral. The stained glass windows glowed. Ancient runes appeared across the walls. The entire building began humming with mana.
"DING." The system appeared. "Royal ceremony protocol activated."
"No." Michael whispered.
"Ancient recognition sequence initiated."The system said.
"NO."I said.
"Compatible bloodline detected."The system said.
The altar began glowing, the third fragment floated upward. The entire cathedral shook, then a voice echoed through the hall. A woman’s voice, gentle, beautiful, ancient, and very, very real.
"Welcome home."A woman said.
Everyone froze, the voice continued, not speaking to everyone. Speaking directly to me.
"Welcome home, my king."She said.
Victor immediately fainted. THUD. Nobody blamed him. The voice continued, softly, almost sadly.
"As centuries pass..."A voice said. "As kingdoms fall..." The stained glass glowed brighter. "As memories fade and yet..."
A pause, then the question came. A question that instantly transformed the cathedral into complete chaos.
"Who is your chosen one, my king?"A voice asked.
Nobody moved, nobody breathed, nobody blinked then every single female head in the expedition turned toward simultaneously. Scarlet, Noa, Rosalia, Iris, Isabella. Even several academy girls.
"WHY IS EVERYONE LOOKING AT ME?!"The pressure nearly killed me.
"Because it asked you." Rosalia grinned.
"DO NOT GRIN!"Scarlet said.
"I am absolutely going to grin."Iris said.
Scarlet looked nervous, Noa looked expressionless, which was somehow worse. Iris smiled and that was the most dangerous reaction.
"I quit."Michael slowly sat down.
"You can’t." Reynold reminded him.
"I know." The mysterious voice spoke again.
Still waiting. Still patient.
"Who is your chosen one?"She asked.
"DING." The system appeared. "Warning."
"Oh no."The system said.
"Ancient marriage recognition protocol remains active."The system said.
"NO."I said.
"User response required."The system said. "Failure to answer may result in extended ceremony mode."
"What does that mean?"Michael looked up.
"Unknown."The system answered.
"WE ARE LEAVING."Michael stood up.
The cathedral doors immediately locked harder.
"I hate ancient civilizations."Michael sat back down.
Meanwhile the altar continued glowing. The mysterious woman laughed softly, as if she found all of this extremely amusing and somewhere deep beneath the cathedral...something began waking up. The glowing altar continued shining, the cathedral doors remained sealed, the mysterious voice remained silent which was somehow worse than actively trying to kill us. Then the air above the altar distorted, a figure slowly materialized from golden light. First a silhouette, then robes, then an old man, a very old man. Long white beard, golden ceremonial robes. A jeweled staff and a smile that immediately made me nervous. The ghost looked around the cathedral.
"Oh wonderful."He said.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Nobody liked that tone. The ghost nodded happily.
"The groom has arrived."He said.
"THE WHAT?" I shouted.
"The groom." The ghost repeated.
"No."I said.
"No?"The ghost looked confused.
"No." I said.
"Yes." He said.
"No." I said.
"Young man." The ghost adjusted his glasses. "I performed royal weddings for sixty three years."
"Good for you."I said.
"I know a groom when I see one."The ghost said. The ghost pointed directly at me. "That one is a groom."
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"The academy students immediately exploded.
Victor nearly fell off a bench, Rosalia was openly laughing, Michael looked like he wanted a meteor to hit him, the ghost priest looked around.
"Where is the bride?"He asked.
Silence. Dead silence. Then every woman in the room froze. The ghost slowly looked around. His eyes landed on Scarlet.
"Hmm."He said.
Scarlet immediately turned red, then Noa.
"Hmm."He looked and Noa took one step backward.
Then Rosalia.
"Hmmmm." He repeated again.
Rosalia suddenly stopped laughing, then Iris, the ghost froze, the cathedral froze. Reality itself seemed to freeze.
"Oh." The priest blinked. "Oh."
The ghost looked at Iris, then looked at me, then looked at Iris again. Then slowly reached into his robes and pulled out a giant book, he started flipping pages, rapidly. Very rapidly.
"What are you doing?" Reynold asked.
"Checking records."He said.
"Records?"Reynold asked.
"Records."He answered again.
The priest continued flipping, then suddenly stopped.
"Oh dear."His eyes widened.
That was never a good phrase.
"What?" Michael asked.
The priest looked terrified.
"Why is the original bride candidate here?"Then pointed at Iris.
The entire cathedral exploded.
"THE WHAT?!" Everyone screamed.
"The what?" Iris blinked.
"YOU." The priest pointed harder.
"I am me."She said.
"YOU WERE CANDIDATE NUMBER ONE."The priest repeated.
Michael collapsed again, Victor collapsed too. This was becoming a pattern. The ghost rapidly flipped more pages, then pointed at Scarlet.
"Candidate number twenty seven."He said. Scarlet froze, then he looked at Noa. "Candidate thirty four." Then at Rosalia. "Candidate forty one."
"Forty one?"Rosalia looked offended.
"You were not born yet."The priest shrugged.
"Fair."She said.
Then he looked at Isabella as the ghost paused.
"Oh."He said.
"Oh?" Isabella asked nervously.
"Interesting."He said.
Nobody liked that answer. The priest quickly closed the book.
"No further comments."He said.
"THAT MAKES IT WORSE."I said annoyed.
"Correct."The priest nodded.
The ghost smiled, rhen he suddenly became professional, very professional. He cleared his throat.
Raised his staff and spoke in an ancient ceremonial voice.
"Alexander Blackwood."He asked.
"No."I said.
"Do you swear-"He asked again.
"No."I refused.
"To honor-"He tried again.
"NO."I tried again.
The priest lowered his staff.
"Young man."He said.
"What?"I asked.
"You are making this difficult."He said.
"I AM TRYING."I groaned.
The ghost sighed dramatically and then the system appeared.
"DING. Marriage recognition ceremony status: active."The system said.
"No."I said.
"Current Progress: 12%."The system said.
"WHY IS THERE PROGRESS?!"I gasped.
"Suggested action: identify chosen partner."The system ignored me.
"Alternative action: identify no partner."The system displayed another line. Estimated completion time: 14 years."
Meanwhile the ghost priest looked delighted.
"Wonderful."He said.
"WHAT IS WONDERFUL?"I asked.
"You have options."He said.
"I DON’T WANT OPTIONS."I frowned.
"Too late."The priest smiled.
Then suddenly the altar shook. A deep rumble echoed beneath the cathedral, the mysterious female voice returned. Much closer this time, much stronger and definitely awake.
"Has he chosen?"She asked.
"Oh." His smile vanished. "Oh dear."
"What now?" Michael whispered.
The priest slowly looked toward the darkness beneath the altar, then swallowed.
"That voice."He said.
"Yes?"I asked.
"That is not part of the ceremony."He said.
"..."
"..."
Nobody liked that answer, especially when the cathedral shook again, and we all knew it wasn’t over.