It took him a long time to sleep that night. So when he finally did manage it, it felt like only moments later that Martha was waking him. She was beaming.
"It's the big day!" she cried and George felt himself smile too. He was getting married, married to Sebastian, who knew everything. Who knew who he was and loved him all the more for it.
His smile was wide and giddy as he let Martha guide him to the dressing table and firmly sat him down. But it did not last long. After hours of his hair and face being poked and prodded and brushed and god knew what else by Martha and several other handmaidens, he was fed up. He was sat here, trying to hold in his yawns and winces, meanwhile Sebastian was probably still sleeping somewhere else in the castle, contentedly undisturbed. That was definitely on the list of things he missed about being a man.
Although, when Martha and her finally stood back he couldn't contain the small gasp.
"Wow, Martha, I look... amazing," he breathed. His skin was smooth and blemish free, his eyes bright, his cheeks rosy. Everything was subtle and yet he seemed to glow. His hair was intricately knotted with many plaits that met at the back of his head, the remainder streaming from the knot delicately in a silken wave around his shoulders.
"Let's get you in your dress to see the finished look," she grinned.
He stood and felt the curls in the hair bounce slightly, but the knot stood unmoving and firm. The younger girls helping Martha held the dress open for him to step into, and then Martha set about doing up what looked like one hundred buttons up the back.
He admired the dress. Now that his worries about Sebastian were eased, he was able to appreciate the dress in all its beauty again. And it truly was beautiful. Delicate embroidery detailed the hem and bodice, all in white, the dress beneath was tightly fit before fanning out in a wide skirt to the floor, with button detailing all the way up the back.
He began to picture what Sebastian's reaction might be. He imagined him, eyes bright, his wide smile broadening as he saw him, and felt the tingling excitement tickle through his every nerve.
"Get a grip," he whispered to himself, but still smiled. He couldn't seem to stop himself from smiling.
Once Martha was happy with the final touches she placed a tiara and a veil over his head, it was pulled back over his head, but she instructed him to put it over his face when the time came. He nodded and she gave him a tight hug, before gasping and checking she hadn't ruined the dress. He laughed.
"Martha, don't worry. You've done an incredible job. Thank you."
"Oh it was nothing," she smiled, waving a hand. "I'm so happy for you," she sobbed again and hugged herself tightly. "Now go on, get downstairs, your mother and father are waiting."
He thanked her once more and then began the walk downstairs to where his parents waited. As he walked into the room, both his parents looked up. His mother immediately gasped and began to sob, and laugh all at once. His father smiled and gave him a satisfied approving nod, and even Captain Fell who stood in the corner allowed the corner of his mouth to lift in a smile.
"Oh my baby," his mother cried and hugged him, pulling back before her tears could touch anything.
"You're happy?" He asked and his mother just sobbed louder, nodding and mumbling incoherently.
"Sebastian is back and well," his father said and George did his best to fake relief, as if this was news. "He apologised for his last minute absence. He had some affairs that needed tying up before the wedding and forgot to pass word."
"Where is he?"
"He has already headed to the chapel, I believe."
The chapel. He was going to get married. Now. He tried to calm his frantic breathing. He knew this was right, and yet it still felt terrifying. This new life was so much to get his head around. And yet, thinking about Sebastian being there, waiting for him helped him to calm himself.
"Well, I guess we should get going."
They left the castle to find two carriages waiting for them. One would take his mother and the captain, the second George and his father.
He climbed into the nearest carriage, and his father followed, carefully avoiding his dress as he closed the carriage door.
"I am very proud," he said as the carriage began moving, "of how well you have accustomed yourself to all this. Your new life suits you."
"Thank you, it's strange but I feel like me but... better. Like I'm able to see my behaviour from the past differently now. To change," he explained and his father nodded in agreement, glancing out the window as they headed towards the gatehouse that led them out of the castle grounds.
The chapel was a small building nestled just inside the castle grounds, barely big enough to fit more than fifty people. They usually visited several times a year for the main holidays, Christmas, Easter and the like. It was not open to the general public, but George was glad his mother had chosen it over the larger churches in the kingdom. It was a familiar safe space, and felt special to him. Plus less staring eyes to watch him trip over his dress or stumble on his vows.
Due to the limited space and the situation of the chapel within the grounds, they would satisfy the general public with a carriage ride through the nearest town before heading to the chapel, then Sebastian and George would ride together back through the streets before heading to the castle balcony to wave. It had all been meticulously planned.
"And you are still happy to be marrying Sebastian?" The King suddenly asked.
"Yes," George said confidently. "He...," he hesitated, unsure whether to tell his father what had happened, but weighing his options decided that he was done with secrets. "He- Sebastian I mean, he knows the truth."
His father's eyebrows rose, "Since when?"
George winced, "last night. Don't tell mother."
His father laughed, "Your mother and I snuck out the night before our wedding, you know. She's not so tightly laced as you might think."
George smiled, "well actually, he snuck into my room. He... guessed the truth. He worked it out himself."
"He did always know you very well, I assumed it would only be a matter of time. Hence why, when we thought he shouldn't be told the truth, I was relieved when he said he wanted to leave. I knew that the boy is no idiot."
George laughed, "No, he's certainly not."
"And? Did he take it well?" His father asked.
"Very. It," George swallowed "well it turns out he always loved me and I never knew..." he faulted off as he saw the look in his father's face. "You knew?!"
"I'm no idiot either," his father said coolly. "The boy's always been smitten with you, that much was obvious."
"But- but how come you never told me? How come I never knew!"
His father shrugged, "it wasn't my place to tell you. Besides, after what happened I didn't know if he would still feel the same. But when I saw him with you after he proposed, I could tell. He still had feelings for you even when he didn't know who you were."
George's mind reeled. "Did mother always know too?"
"She would have practically been all for you and Sebastian ending up together even before everything happened, if it wasn't for the fact that that would leave us without an heir. And of course that you were evidently a straight man, oblivious to the attention of anyone without breasts."
"Father!" He hissed and his father laughed.
"What? You were. Clearly not anymore though," he teased. "Your mother has been suggesting Sebastian from the start of all this hasn't she? She always felt his feelings for you were strong enough, it was your feelings that were the unclear part."
George thought over all the times his mother had suggested Sebastian as a suitor. He remembered his words like they were spoken aloud.
'What? No. Never, he is like my brother. I can't- I won't.'
How naive he had been, and how much had he changed since then.
They rode through the gatehouse and suddenly there were crowds of people lining the road. He opened the window to the carriage and waved, he heard shouts and cheers and clapping and couldn't help but smile. The crowds were so happy, sharing in this special momentous day for their kingdom.
Soon they were returning back to the grounds and en route to the chapel. Suddenly George's stomach tightened with nervousness. This was actually happening. He balled his hands into fists and tried to continue breathing normally. He was beginning to feel light headed, the tight bodice of the dress making it hard to breathe.
"Are you okay?" His father asked gently, resting his hand on George's. The touch helped him feel more grounded again as his racing heart began to slow.
"Yes," he said eventually. "Yes, I'm okay."
"Good," his father said as the carriage lurched to a stop, "because we're here."
George looked out of the window and saw his father was right. There was the chapel. It was just as he remembered, nestled between two large oak trees, with large double doors that had been decorated with a huge arch of beautiful flowers that curled and cascaded around the frame. The dappled sunlight bathed the building in a warm inviting glow and as he took his father's hand to help him from the carriage, his nerves began to ebb.
This was right. This was good. This was home.
