But their fateful ends were only realized after the festivities. After all, those two still needed to bear witness to the love of the century.
Amidst the knocked-out bodies of elven soldiers, the dazed innocent guests, and the newly arrived orcs who had crashed the wedding like falling meteors, the reunited couple—well, more like the orc prince—somehow decided it was the perfect moment to have a renewal of vows.
Prince Silarion, however, hesitated. He looked at the wrecked venue, then at the half-conscious elves, then at the slightly bloodstained ground, and whispered that perhaps it was unnecessary. He was worried it would burden the guests who had already gone through too much.
The Orc Prince, however, solved this in a sentence.
"You may leave if you want to," he announced calmly.
Because in truth, he couldn’t care less if there were only the two of them left on the planet for this second wedding. But because his wife was considerate like that, the prince decided to settle it right away.
Much to Silarion’s shock, instead of fleeing, the guests scrambled to gather the scattered seats. They brushed off leaves and dirt, repaired broken legs by sheer will, and arranged them neatly. Then they sat down on their own accord, staring straight at the couple like they were about to witness living history.
Even the former bride did the same.
She tore the long skirt of her dress at the seams so she could move more easily, then marched over and grabbed a chair to settle in for the show.
With that settled, the towering groom then looked at his second-time bride with such obvious affection that every elf present felt like they had been punched directly in the heart.
Silarion blinked rapidly. "Is this really alright?"
The suddenly mellow Orc Prince nodded. "You deserve another wedding where you can be true to yourself. Besides, there are guests here who deserve to see us happy today."
He tilted his head toward the elven princess, who was shaking like a leaf as she was forced to kneel beside the passed-out elven king. Her eyes widened at being acknowledged, and she instantly looked away as if hoping no one would remember she existed.
All of that convinced the shy Elven Prince, and finally, the renewal began.
And despite the ironic background of crushed flowers, knocked-over arches, shattered lantern fruit, and fallen soldiers, the moment was beautiful.
Because even all that still reflected what couldn’t be denied—love.
The orcs fell silent while the elves forgot to tremble. Even the breeze dared return for a moment, as if nature itself was watching.
It felt bizarrely fitting.
A wedding surrounded by chaos for two people who had weathered so much to stand together again.
__
"And so, amidst destruction, bruises, a ruined ceremony, a gagged princess, and an unconscious king, the second wedding of Prince Silarion and his Orcish husband began and ended with more sincerity than any of them had ever expected." Princess Kira narrated proudly, sounding like someone who had practiced this exact ending for years before finally getting the chance to say it.
Well, not exactly. Ada had heard this story so many times that she could probably recite the whole thing in her sleep, verbatim.
And maybe that was why Ada looked perfectly fine.
Meanwhile, Luca, Ollie, and even D-29 were in various stages of emotional collapse.
"Heuk... Heuk..." Luca hiccupped pitifully as he clutched his chest. He had used every ounce of imagination he possessed during the story and now believed it was a tale that should be preserved in all archives.
Ollie, on the other hand, was down for the count. The little mop was slumped over, trying to comprehend the fact that a love like that had actually existed.
Ollie slowly turned around to where the others were still standing. His eyes were glossy. His hands lifted. Grubby little palms reached out toward Kyle like a child begging to be carried.
Kyle saw the look.
He knew the look.
He suppressed a chuckle, stepped forward, and scooped up the wilted barnacle from his rock with practiced ease. Ollie latched on immediately, burying his face into Kyle’s shoulder as the dam finally broke.
With that, Xavier and Jax came forward. The Imperial Prince placed a gentle hand on Luca’s back, rubbing soothing circles as his little wife shimmered suspiciously, his eyes far too glossy for a person who had simply heard a story.
But in all of this, D-29 had fallen silent.
The little system was dangerously close to powering down. How could it not be? It had endured the emotional devastation of realizing that it had not been there to witness or record such a historic spectacle.
Where was the action? Where was the wedding? Where were the dramatics? How could fate rob it like this?
Wait.
Exactly that.
Where was the wedding?
D-29’s internals whirred frantically, lights flashing as a single urgent prompt appeared.
"Host!"
"Yes?" Luca sniffled.
"When is your wedding?" D-29 asked with utmost seriousness, already preparing to schedule everything months in advance.
The world froze.
Ollie, who had been mid-hiccup, swallowed it so fast he almost choked.
Luca’s tears evaporated. His eyes widened. "What? A wedding? But I am already married!" he yelped, flailing his hands helplessly.
But to everyone’s surprise, one person was not confused.
One Orc Princess.
Princess Kira.
She was fuming. Her expression twisted with righteous indignation as she glared at the Imperial Crown Prince, who stood there with all limbs intact while calmly comforting his confused spouse.
Before the Princess could storm over to educate the humans about proper romantic gestures and the importance of ceremonial reaffirmation, the sensible Prince acted first.


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