As I wait for my cue to approach the altar, I pace across the floor of my room; the room I keep to myself, the room that is solely mine… the room I wish I could share with Violet. She is in the next room, though, preparing herself for her own march to the same location. She had told me her dress was beautiful, that I’d like it… and yet I have had nary a glimpse of it thus far. Until today, that is. I can hear footsteps approaching the door. In preparation, I comb my hair back and gel it in place. Through the mirror, I can see Adam enter the chamber. “Hey, dude; you ready?”

“In a moment; my tie is crooked.”

“You can’t get married with a crooked tie, now, can you?”

“It’s improper presentation, Adam.”

“Oh, and Ilmatar and Brook forbid we should ever improperly present ourselves, River.” He rolls his eyes in distaste. “Come on, man; let’s get you up on that altar, pronto.” Almost immediately, I find myself standing by the priest. As I look around the room, I recognize Katie and Aiden; Ciro and Ayla; Violet’s parents, Jennifer and Craig, and her uncle Lazarus (who was sent to jail for the crime of manslaughter, thereby freeing her parents, but was somehow allowed probation to see his niece get married); Adam and Marie, though I’d just seen Adam not too long ago; all four Royals; the mermaid I had kissed… what was her name?... Talia, and many others who were invited simply because they were friends of Violet’s, not mine. As the music begins to play, I search the aisle for Violet. Where is she? I ask the priest if he had seen her; he gives a small shrug, after which I inform him that I am going to find my bride-to-be.

Moments later, I arrive outside her dressing-room door. I knock, and she responds “Go away, whoever you are.”

“Violet, my beloved… it’s me…”

“I said go away! I look ugly, and I don’t want you to think that this is the way I will be dressed when we’re married.”

“I’m breaking down the door if you don’t let me in, Violet.” At this, the door opens. “Are you going to treat me that way all the time, River; even after we are married?”

“No, beloved, most certainly not; what’s the matter, Violet?” She looks down at the floor or maybe a spot on her gown, and grimaces. “I got my period today; it bled through a few layers.” She stands up and twirls slowly. “See?”

“I see nothing, beloved. You’ll be fine. I’ll see you on the altar, beautiful.” I kiss her forehead and walk out.

A few minutes later, I see a glittering object pass behind the lattices setup on either side of the aisle; Violet. When she finally reaches the altar, I grab her hand and kiss it, after which she smiles.

“I love you, River.”

“I love you, too, Violet.”

After we say our vows and kiss, we hop into Ciro’s van and are transported to a hotel (the best our friends could do, but fancy nonetheless; besides, it’s the penthouse floor) and left alone.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful from up here… are you looking, too, River?”

“I have my own scenery right here.” I scoop her up in my arms and kiss her silver lips passionately. She giggles when I make my lips vibrate against her beautiful skin. “Stop it”, she says playfully, and then smiles and says “River, I need to ask you something.”

“What is it, beloved? Is something wrong? Does something bother you?”

“No, but… I’m not sure how to word this… Um…” She bites her lower lip, thinking; I find it charming when she does that. “I don’t think we should um… make love tonight. Why don’t we wait for a couple weeks; I should be ovulating then. I love you, River, but I’m not quite sure this is what I want... not now, at least.” I look at her square-on for a few moments, after which she says “Damn it; I made you angry…”

“No, no, beloved… I’m not angry…”

“How can I be sure?”

“If I was even remotely upset, would I do this?” I drag her over to the bed and tickle her. “Stop it, you!” she squeaks. Thinking she is serious, I do stop this time. “We should, um... we should go to dinner. Everyone will be there.” By ‘everyone’ I mean Katie, Aiden, Ciro, Ayla, Adam, and Marie.

“I thought it was just supposed to be the two of us...”

“The others wanted to join us, so I wasn’t going to turn them down, Violet.”

“That’s okay, baby... I love you...” Her stomach growls, a sign that she is hungry. I smile and rub her belly.

“Pretty soon you’ll be eating for two people, eh?”

“Mmmm...” She pauses, and then she says “Now I’m not sure if I want a baby anymore, River...”

“Is something wrong, beloved?”

“No; I just, ah... I don’t feel ready; not yet.”

“I see; that’s quite alright, my beloved Violet. About what you said earlier... about skipping making love tonight... I think you’re right. We should wait until you are at the peak of ovulation.” I kiss her cheek and get up to pour us each a glass of wine. Violet hesitates, but then she takes the glass, takes a sip and sighs “Bye, bye, period cramps; thanks, baby." She criss-crosses her index finger on my chest. "You’re the best husband ever."

“I know I am. I propose a toast; to a happy marriage, a healthy wife-”

“And lots and lots of babies!” We both laugh at this.

Later, at dinner, Violet starts to feel dizzy. “I don’t feel so good…” Katie is the first to comment. “Did you have anything to drink, Violet?” Violet nods and whispers “Wine was the last thing I drank; it helped stop my cramps. It didn’t taste like it should, though. The bottle said it had a nutty taste; to me, it tasted more like chocolate; dark chocolate.”

Katie mulls this over for a while. “Hmmm… River, did the wine taste different to you? I know for a fact that you were the one who poured the wine.”

“No; it had a nutty flavour. Violet probably just tasted it differently, is all.”

Katie leans over and hisses in my ear “If you drugged my friend, you are going to jail, mister!”

“You think you can threaten me with that, Katie? Well you can’t, so quit trying! I’m Ilmatar’s son, remember?” Katie sits back down and grumbles. It is a known fact that Royals (which, technically speaking, she and I are) cannot be arrested. Suddenly, without warning, Violet collapses onto the floor of the restaurant. “Adam, could you help me carry her back to the penthouse?” He nods and picks up her feet, whilst I grab her underarms.

Twenty minutes later, Violet is lying on the bed in our room, looking as peaceful as if she really were asleep. After Adam leaves, I bite my lip and dab a damp cloth on her blazing forehead. “Please wake up, my beloved… I’m so sorry I did this to us…”

“So it was you! I knew I couldn’t trust you, River. Today was the happiest moment in Violet’s life, and now it’s ruined.” I turn around to see Katie standing by the doorway, arms folded in front of her chest. I look away again, and kiss Violet’s cheek.

Thirty-five minutes after Katie stops glaring, and eventually leaves, Violet wakes up.

“What, is it River? Baby, what’s wrong; why are you crying?”

“Thank God you’re awake…” Suddenly, a banging noise can be heard; someone is trying to break open the door.

“River; River, what is going on?” She clings to my chest, her fists crumpling the fabric of my shirt. “I don’t know, beloved.” My first-ever lie to my wife; great. That’s just what I need right now.

To stop the hotel from charging me for a demolished door, I walk over and open it. In doing so, I am nearly knocked unconscious by my father, Ilmatar (who is not only the King of the Earth Realm, but the Water Realm as well), or rather, his fists. I can hear Violet gasp as my body hits the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mother, AKA Queen Brook, crouching on the floor where I lay.

Father roars at her: “Brook, get up this instant; I demand it!” Being the strong type, Mother yells back. “I have had enough of this, Ilmatar; enough yelling; enough anger!”

“Or what, Brook; what would you do if I continued to yell?"

“I would leave you, and screw the consequences; I’d rather have my eyes plucked out by a tisegron than be with an aggressive, abusive husband!” At this point, I sit up and rub my eyes; being married takes a lot out of a man.

Father looks down at me and smirks. “We’d better get our son to an apothecary, love.”

“Yes, we should... I am sorry I yelled at you, darling...”

“As well am I, love. Do you forgive me, Brook?”

“Of course, darling...” She rubs her belly and sighs. “Eleven months yet...” In Maurasia, any pregnant woman’s gestation period is worth one of our years (about 14 months in Earth-time), so Mother is 3 months pregnant with my baby sister. “No offense, Ilmatar, but I just didn’t want the baby to grow up thinking that their father is a drunken asshole that swears at his wife.”

After she says the word ‘wife’, my body starts to feel like it’s... malfunctioning, like there’s some small, yet important part inside me that’s breaking down; my heart? No, it can’t be that. All of a sudden, my throat starts to close up and I feel my lungs refuse to do their job and let me breathe. I can hear Mother say “Violet, do us all a big, big, favor and call Ciro; get him to pick the four of us up or bring an apothecary here. Tell him that River is having difficulty breathing.”

Violet nods and rushes for the phone. “Hello; Ciro? It’s Violet; King Ilmatar, Queen Brook and I need a ride to the hospital. River needs medical help. He collapsed once, but he’s sitting up now. He is also having difficulty breathing.” My throat finally opens up, allowing me to take in mass amounts of oxygen. Sigh… and I had thought my lungs would only fill with pure hydrogen. “I do feel lightheaded, though…”

“He says he’s feeling lightheaded, too; how soon- okay.” She places the phone back into the receiver, walks over to me, crouches and kisses my forehead. I voluntarily collapse into her arms, and she runs her fingers through my hair rhythmically. “Don’t you worry, baby; Ciro will be here soon. He will help you out, River.”

“I know, beloved…” Moments later, I hear a knock on the door; Ciro. “River” he asks “can you stand up, man?” I try to, but my legs give way and collapse underneath me. Ciro sighs. “I don’t know how the hell we’ll get you downstairs, then.” Father snorts “We carry him, you idiot.”

Mother beams at her husband’s ‘brains’ and strokes him under the chin a few times. “Or you two strong men could help him walk downstairs; is that not a good idea?” Father smiles; a rare occasion, but it’s also a sign that he is happy. “Ah, my wife… you make my world go round; you know that, right?”

“Yes, darling.”

That night, while we lay in the marriage bed together, Violet asks me a question that she deems as ‘simple’, when really, it’s not.

“Do you really love me, or am I just a one-night-stand to you?”

“Violet... I do love you, my beloved... why else would I call you that?”

She shrugs and asks a different question. “How long was it before I woke up?”

“An hour, at the least, but you’re fine now, beloved... you’ll be fine… I will protect you, no matter what.

“I know you will, baby… Now, about getting pregnant...”

“I realize you do not want it now, beloved.”

“I didn’t mean I didn’t want it eternally, River; if you want babies-”

“It isn’t just about what I want, Violet; you must remember that I am also thinking of your feelings, too, my beloved.” I kiss her neck, hoping she’ll forgive me for what I had so boldly done to her.

"I realize that, River; but what if I'm not able to-"

"That doesn't matter, Violet... what matters, at least to me, is that we're together for the rest of our lives." I kiss her hair and cuddle closer to her; she makes no attempt to back away or slap me, whilst yelling "You jerk! How dare you!"

"But honestly, River; what will we do if I can't-"

"Don't you say those words, woman. I don't want to hear 'em."

"So then I'll just be the quiet, obedient wife, while you're the aggressive husband, then?" These words shock me so much that I begin to stutter "V-Violet... I-I... I don't know what to say..."

"How about my name, repeatedly?"

 Afterwards, I kiss her cheek. She smiles, not knowing exactly what was meant by that normally romantic gesture. “You’re feeling kissy tonight, baby; are you sure you want to wait?”

“Yes; I am completely sure, my beloved.” A sigh escapes my lungs. “I need you to know the truth, Violet… the horrible, horrible truth.”

“What is it?”

“You tasted the wine differently because… I put a few crushed-up Ambien in it first…”

“You deliberately knocked me out?”

“I never meant to; I swear it… please do not declare divorce, my beloved…”

“I will never, ever declare divorce, River.” Violet’s lips make contact with my own, and I can’t help but let out a small sigh. I don’t pull away from her, nor do I push her further, so she breaks away and looks at me.

“What’s wrong, River?”

“Oh, nothing; I’m just happy, is all. I’m happy that you trust me enough to kiss me again, even after what... what I did.” Violet raises her hand and, thinking she will slap me, I duck. She, however, does not; instead she caresses my features, and so I push my cheek into it. "Hush, my love... you need your rest, and a good cup of hot coffee in the morning." She yawns, and I whisper in her ear "By the sounds of it, you do, too, my beloved wife." As soon as both of our heads hit the pillows, we are fast asleep, spooning.

Sometime during the night, Violet and I wake up. She pokes me all the way down to my rib muscles and says “Super poke...” in a quiet voice.

I wince once, and curl my nose, but instead of backing away, I slide closer and lie on top of her back, what with my being a lightweight young man (about 125 pounds in weight, while Violet is 117 pounds). She flips around, exposing her semi-bare chest, and tantalizingly whispers in my ear “You want a piece of me, baby?” I whisper back “I don’t just want a piece, my beloved; I want it all. I’m going for the gold this time, babe.”

She giggles and says “Then take it all, baby; It’s all yours” before letting out a small moan of pure pleasure. “Mmmm, you’re so good, baby...” After this wonderful feat, we fall back to sleep while spooning.