Evelyn remembered little of her wedding feast. From the moment Reynar's lips touched hers, her mind retreated behind a wall. It wasn't a conscious decision. Perhaps deep down she realized that she wasn't ready yet.
She did remember bits and pieces, though. She remembered sitting next to Reynar on top of a huge dais as they feasted. Numerous tables were lined up below them and were filled with various Magi and nobles.
She recalled several important people rising to their feet to toast her and wish her well. She knew there had been countless acrobats and musicians. She even remembered laughing at some bawdy song.
She remembered the wine, especially. The wine was a godsend. Thoughts of what might happen that night caused her to drink glass after glass. Perhaps that's why she recalled little of the feast. She wasn't known to be a heavy drinker.
Memory wasn't recalled clearly until this very moment, as she rested her head against the glass window of her bedroom. No, not her bedroom;
their
bedroom.
Reynar had led her up to the room to soothe her head. He said he needed to break up the feast and send everybody home before coming upstairs. So she still had time to think about what was going to happen in this bedroom.
Laughter floated up from the courtyard below her window. Hundreds of torches painted her face in flickering red shadows and illuminated the scene below.
A band of musicians was playing a fast tempo song as hundreds of people stepped in rhythm together on a wooden dance floor. An open-sided tent had been erected to keep the weather off of the dancers. The fabric fluttered from a warm summer breeze.
Evelyn's heart ached as she watched the merriment below her. She would have loved to been here with Daminus. They would have celebrated the marriage of a new queen by drinking and dancing. Daminus had loved to dance.
With a pain almost too great to bear, she remembered her own wedding. She had worn a simple dress of blue. Daminus had matched her with a beautiful coat and trousers made especially for that day. His blond hair seem to glow under the sun.
She remembered looking up at him, seeing his wide smile and the crinkles at the corner of his eyes. Those precious lines would never leave his eyes. He had loved to smile too much to worry about such things. Her smile had matched his that day. In fact, she couldn't recall it ever leaving her face the entire day.
It was the little things, like his laugh lines, that she remembered the most. She closed her eyes at the memory of his face and exhaled slowly. He was dead and never coming back. She promised herself that she had to let go. Daminus wouldn't want her to wallow in self-pity.
The sound of footsteps broke her out of her thoughts. She glanced down at the courtyard again. The musicians were putting up their instruments, much to the dismay of several drunken onlookers. Men and women were slowly walking out of the gate, the women mostly supporting their husbands as they stumbled down the path.
The footsteps stopped by the doorway. Evelyn turned from the window. "I hope I didn't deprive people of their fun," she said.
Reynar walked into the room hesitantly. "Of course not, my dear. Truth be told, if I let them drink much more this palace would have probably been burned down by morning."
Evelyn laughed. She felt a small bit of tension leave her; a small mercy. "It was a lovely wedding," she said, as the silence stretched between them.
"I agree," Reynar replied. He walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed.
Evelyn felt the tension returned as she noted where he sat down. She quickly looked away. "I'm afraid it was all a blur to me," Evelyn said, hoping to delay the inevitable.
"And for me, too," Reynar said, his voice suddenly husky. "I still can't believe it actually happened. To be married to such a remarkable woman..." He trailed off, shaking his head.
Married. For some reason, the word shocked her. She reached up hesitantly and felt the tiara still resting on her head. It was real.
"I really am the queen," she breathed.
"Do you regret it?" Reynar asked quickly. He sounded vulnerable.
"It's too early to know that," Evelyn said truthfully. "As of right now, it still feels right to me."
"Good," Reynar said, sounding relieved. He looked down at his hands and took a breath. "About what I promised you..."
"It's ok," Evelyn replied, though she felt anything but ok. "I know you have too much to deal with as it is."
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Now that the moment had arrived, Evelyn felt strangely detached. Perhaps she was retreating back into that safe place in her mind. Ever since her coma, she could feel it there. It was a place where Daminus was still alive.
"Tell me more about this process," Evelyn said, finally breaking the silence. "Why is this necessary?"
Reynar shifted on the bed. He cleared his throat before speaking. "As we discussed before, the continuance of the Lobare line is of the utmost importance. It's my line that the God declared to be the rule of Astuari. It has to be secured."
"I understand that," Evelyn said, nodding. "I just don't understand why a royal physician has to actually make sure the marriage was consummated."
"It's a valid question," Reynar replied. "A few generations ago, the King at that time was...well...I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to speak bluntly. The King held no desire for what a woman possessed between her legs."
Evelyn gasped. Reynar smiled awkwardly and Evelyn couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice.
"He didn't desire women? Then that means..."
Reynar laughed. "Yes, he much preferred the more rugged sex. So, as you can probably guess, the line of Lobare was in trouble."
"How did they resolve that?"
"They tied him down, blindfolded him, and had the queen speak in a deep voice!" Reynar said, shaking with laughter.
Evelyn couldn't help but join him; his laughter was infectious. "Poor man!"
They enjoyed the laughter for several blissful moments. Finally, the laughter died away and the awkward silence returned, even heavier than before.
"Ever since then the physicians make sure that the marriage is consummated the night of the wedding. Nothing can jeopardize the line of Lobare. Nothing."
"I see," Evelyn said, sighing. "Then there probably isn't a way to fool them, is there?"
Reynar shook his head slowly. "I wish I had time to think of a solution but nothing is coming to me. After we...finish, they will come by and examine you. They will see if my seed..."
"I understand," Evelyn replied. She looked around the room, her heart thumping into her throat. She opened her mouth once to speak but only a squeak came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Can we do this in the complete dark?"
"Of course!" Reynar said, hopping up from the bed. He strode around the room, pinching the candles as he went.
While he did that, Evelyn stood up on shaky legs and closed all the curtains in the room. The light in the room vanished almost completely.
A ball of mage light appeared near the ceiling, illuminating the room in a pale blue light. "I will dismiss it once we're ready," Reynar said.
Evelyn didn't know what to do next. Neither, it seemed, did Reynar. They looked at each other uncomfortably as another silence stretched between them.
"I guess...we get undressed?" Reynar said, his voice creaking with nervousness.
"It feels like we're children again," Evelyn said. She laughed shakily.
