Chapter 107: Keep Your Distance
The days seemed to fly by in a flash. Once King Godwin realized that Soleia had recovered from her sudden illness, he attempted to shift the wedding date forward, as though he was afraid Orion might wake up one morning and decide his daughter wasn’t worth the hassle.
It took an entire council of pleading officers before he finally reconsidered the insanity of such an order― and in the end, what changed his mind was the knowledge that the visiting royalty would not make it before the new date.
Soleia could only internally heave a sigh of relief. One rushed wedding was enough for a lifetime.
Now, the only thing that worried her was Reitan’s emotional state. Her younger brother had been too overcome with guilt to see her whenever she could actually spare time to visit. He was also afraid of Florian, and since Florian was stalking around the palace hissing and spitting like an outraged animal, Reitan had holed himself up in his room.
Only Sir Ralph and her other sisters could visit him, and none could stay for long. Now, Sir Ralph was relaxing in her rooms, making tutting noises and judging the sketches for her wedding dress.
"This one... no, you’ll look like a chiffon cake. And this― are you wearing curtains? God, pardon me for saying so, Princess, but these are hideous." Sir Ralph pulled a face. "I know this is technically your second wedding, but you don’t have to settle!"
"You’re forgiven, because these are Elowyn’s chosen designs," Soleia said, her lips twitching in amusement.
"Oh, that explains it," Sir Ralph snorted. "She wants to hide the baby bump, hence the monstrosities. What a waste of fabric."
Due to the tight deadline, the seamstresses were working themselves to the bone to design a dress that would please the Princess. Soleia didn’t want to trouble them, but she and Elowyn had vastly different ideas on what made a beautiful wedding dress. She didn’t want to wear Elowyn’s chosen design.