Story of Azladoria

Chapter 7: The Announcement

Now that the terms of the marriage had been drawn up, it was nearly time for Vivienne and Natalia to formally announce their engagement to the public. Vivienne was looking forward to it, it was always fun to interact with her people, and the engagement party afterward was sure to be fun.

While the council had been getting things set up, Vivienne had taken the opportunity to show Natalia around the palace. They walked hand-in-hand, Vivienne pausing every now and then to point out a painting or to explain the significance of the decor. Natalia listened intently.

She even showed Natalia to her chambers, where she would be staying throughout her time in Azalea. They were very large, located directly next to Vivienne's and were furnished extravagantly. Filled with tasteful decorations, there was a huge bed and the most lavish silk sheets money could buy.

Vivienne smiled at the awestruck look on Natalia's face. "The second best rooms in the palace," she said teasingly.

Natalia laughed, walking through the room, admiring the decor. She rubbed her hand against one of the large satin curtains, looking very impressed with the room. Vivienne supposed traditional Gladorian decor may not be quite as opulent as the gaudy designs that filled the royal Azalean palace. She swallowed before speaking.

"I picked everything in this room myself, you know." she said hesitantly. Natalia turned towards her, eyebrows raised. "This room was furnished especially for your arrival," Vivian continued, flushed, it seemed a little silly now. "I tried to match everything in here to how things might look in Gladoria. I wanted you to feel more at home."

Vivienne was not very familiar with traditional Gladorian decor. The books she had read contained little to no information on the subject. The books that did have some information had been biased, to say the least. One author wrote that it was typical for the Gladorian savages to mount the head of their first victim to their bedroom wall, to carve the bones of the deceased into furniture, and to use the ashes of their enemies as makeup. Vivienne did not take his account too seriously.

She did her best with what she could find, taking lots of creative liberties. The purple and garnet accents, the display swords, and the suits of armor were all part her attempt to replicate the fashions of Natalia's kingdom. She hoped it was at least somewhat accurate to what one might find in Gladoria. It would be quite embarrassing if it was not.

But Natalia was smiling ear to ear.

"This is great, I love it!" she said happily. She walked back over to where Vivienne was standing, wrapping her arms around her in a sudden embrace. Vivienne was surprised, but not upset. She linked her arms around Natalia's shoulders to reciprocate the hug. Natalia must have realized what she had done then because she pulled back.

"Oh.." she said, but Vivienne gave her a reassuring smile. Neither of them let go of the other. They remained with their arms wrapped around each other, Vivienne stared into Natalia's eyes before her gaze drifted down to her lips. Natalia was staring at her lips as well, her eyes dark and lidded. Vivienne closed her eyes and moved her face closer to Natalia's. She could feel her warm breath on her lips..

A sudden knock on the door caused both of them to pull back.

"Your Majesties! It's time for the announcement!"

Away from Natalia, Vivienne now noticed just how fast her heart was beating.

"We should go." she said, sheepishly.

........................................................................

The large wooden stage that had been set up directly outside of the palace was already surrounded by huge crowds of people, all eagerly waiting for the long-awaited announcement. They began to cheer as they spotted Vivienne climbing up the stairs, but quieted when they noticed Queen Natalia of Gladoria following directly behind her.

Although Vivienne knew they had noticed her presence by now, a royal entourage was hard to miss, after all, she also knew they were still curious. There were many rumors surrounding Natalia, and she was also well-known for keeping to herself. Still, Vivienne knew her people trusted her.

"People of Azalea!" she began loudly. "I know that the war against King Icup has been hard on us all, I know at times it feels like our marvelous kingdom has been taking hit after hit. I know the war is stretching us all thin." she paused, surveying the crowd.

"But we don't have to fret any longer! We will win the war against King Icup, we will crush Metarkon, and we will reclaim the sanctity of our glorious country once more!" The crowd began to cheer.

"We will do it with the help of Queen Natalia of Gladoria, who has so kindly agreed to assist us with our victory!" She glanced toward Natalia, who was frozen with wide eyes. The crowd was listening now.

"I'm sure you all are wondering how we plan on doing this. I know our sudden allegiance might seem shocking to you all. But.. has Azalea ever backed down from a fight? Has Azalea ever given up?" She asked.

"No!" The crowd shouted.

"Has Azalea ever taken the coward's way out?"

"No!" The crowd shouted even louder.

"Which is why I'm happy to announce that I intend to wed Queen Natalia of Gladoria, and I intend to make Azalea the unstoppable force we all know it is!" She shouted, before grabbing Natalia's face and kissing her.

The crowd roared with applause.