The Wedding They Wanted
2100 Words
The first argument about the wedding started over breakfast.
Luna had barely sat down when Mason dropped a thick notebook beside her plate.
The cover read:
OPERATION: MAKE DARIUS EMOTIONAL IN PUBLIC
Darius stared at it.
Then at Mason.
“No.”
Mason sat across from him.
“You haven’t even opened it.”
“I read the cover.”
“That’s just the working title.”
“It’s also the reason the notebook is going in the fire.”
Evelyn calmly took it from Mason before Darius could reach it.
“I told you to change the title.”
“I thought about it.”
“You added glitter.”
“It needed authority.”
Darius looked at the silver dust on Mason’s fingers.
“You are not planning the wedding.”
Mason looked offended.
“I’m the only one here with a clear vision.”
“That is exactly what scares me.”
Luna hid her smile behind her cup.
Amara came in carrying fresh bread.
“What are you all talking about?”
“The wedding,” Mason said.
Darius said at the same time.
“Nothing.”
Amara looked between them.
Then at the notebook.
“Right.”
Gabriel followed her into the dining room.
He read the title over Evelyn’s shoulder.
“I support the goal.”
Darius slowly turned to him.
“You were tolerable yesterday.”
“I’m recovering.”
Luna laughed.
The room went quiet for half a second.
Everyone looked at her.
“What?” she asked.
Kael, sitting beside Ronan, shrugged.
“You just sound… happy.”
Luna glanced at Darius.
His irritation softened the moment their eyes met.
“I am.”
Darius reached under the table and took her hand.
Mason noticed.
“Perfect. The romance is already happening.”
Evelyn closed the notebook.
“No planning before breakfast.”
“Fine.”
Mason reached for the bread.
“We can start after.”
Darius looked at Luna.
“We could leave.”
“This is our home.”
“We could still leave.”
“Where would we go?”
“The mountains.”
“You hate the cold.”
“I’ll adjust.”
Luna squeezed his fingers.
“We’re not running away from our own wedding.”
His gray eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Completely?”
“Ask me again after Mason suggests fireworks.”
Mason perked up.
“I have several ideas.”
Darius stood.
Luna grabbed his wrist.
“No killing him before breakfast.”
“I’m not going to kill him.”
Mason relaxed.
Darius added, “I’m relocating him.”
“Where?”
“Varden.”
Mason looked at Evelyn.
“He’s joking.”
Darius’s face stayed completely serious.
Evelyn buttered a slice of bread.
“Probably.”
After breakfast, Luna and Darius slipped away to the western garden.
The snow was melting under the morning sun. Small green shoots pushed through the dark soil along the stone paths.
Blackwood was finally turning toward spring.
Luna walked slowly, twisting the ring on her finger.
Darius noticed.
“Does it bother you?”
“The ring?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“You keep touching it.”
“I’m just getting used to it.”
His gaze dropped to her hand.
“If you change your mind—”
She stopped walking.
“Darius.”
He stopped too.
Luna turned to him.
“Do you want me to change my mind?”
“No.”
“Then why are you acting like I will?”
His jaw tightened.
The question hit deeper than he wanted.
“I don’t know how not to.”
Luna stepped closer.
“Yes, you do.”
“I’m working on it.”
“You are.”
“But?”
“But sometimes you still treat fear like preparation.”
He looked away toward the trees.
“If I imagine every way I could lose you, none of them can surprise me.”
“That’s not true.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
His eyes came back to hers.
“Yes.”
The answer was quiet.
Tired.
Honest.
Luna touched the front of his coat.
“You’re allowed to be scared.”
“I know.”
“You’re also allowed to be excited.”
“That feels less safe.”
She smiled.
“It probably is.”
Darius rested his hands on her waist.
“What are you excited about?”
“The wedding?”
“Us.”
Luna thought for a moment.
“Mornings.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You hate mornings.”
“I like waking up next to you.”
His expression softened.
“What else?”
“Watching you pretend you don’t enjoy family dinners.”
“I don’t pretend.”
“You always stay after everyone else leaves.”
“That proves nothing.”
“You refill people’s glasses when they’re not looking.”
“Basic hospitality.”
“You gave Kael your favorite knife.”
“He needed one.”
“You sharpened it first.”
Darius looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Luna laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’m excited to watch you keep becoming someone you didn’t think you could be.”
His hands tightened.
“And if I become worse?”
“I’ll tell you.”
“Frequently?”
“Constantly.”
His mouth curved slightly.
“What are you excited about?” she asked.
Darius looked at her for a long moment.
“Being known.”
The answer surprised her.
He continued before she could speak.
“Not perfectly understood. Not automatically forgiven.”
His thumb moved lightly along her side.
“Known.”
Luna’s chest tightened.
“And still chosen?”
“Yes.”
She leaned in and kissed him.
Slowly.
No audience.
No ancient power.
Just the soft sound of melting snow falling from the branches around them.
When she pulled back, Darius followed for another kiss.
She smiled against his mouth.
“That was greedy.”
“I’m practicing excitement.”
“You’re learning fast.”
“I’m motivated.”
They found everyone waiting in the great hall when they returned.
A large sheet of paper had been pinned to the wall.
At the top, Evelyn had written:
WHAT LUNA AND DARIUS ACTUALLY WANT
Below it were three empty columns.
Mason held a piece of charcoal.
“This is very organized.”
Darius looked at Evelyn.
“You allowed this?”
“I corrected it.”
Mason pointed to the first column.
“Location.”
The second.
“Guests.”
The third.
“Things Darius Has Already Rejected.”
The final column already listed:
Fireworks.
A crown-shaped cake.
Matching white wolves.
A twelve-hour speech.
Darius turned to Mason.
“Why was the speech ever suggested?”
“Tradition.”
“Whose?”
“Mine.”
Luna stepped closer to the paper.
“Location first.”
The room quieted.
She looked at Darius.
“The lake?”
His expression shifted immediately.
Their place.
The lanterns.
The ring.
His question at midnight.
“If you want,” he said.
“I do.”
Mason wrote THE LAKE in big letters.
“Guests?” Evelyn asked.
Luna looked around.
“Family.”
Mason paused.
“Only family?”
“And close friends,” Darius added.
“No political council,” Luna said.
“No alliance representatives,” Darius agreed.
“No one who thinks this gives them leverage over Blackwood.”
Gabriel nodded.
“That removes most rulers.”
“Good,” Darius said.
Isolde stood near the fireplace.
“What about House Aurelis?”
Luna looked at her.
“You’re family if you want to be.”
Isolde’s eyes widened slightly.
No ceremony.
No bloodline speech.
Just an invitation.
“I do,” she said.
Mason wrote FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND ISOLDE IF SHE STOPS BEING FORMAL.
Isolde read it.
“I object.”
“Perfect,” Mason said. “You’re fitting in.”
Evelyn took the charcoal from him.
“What kind of ceremony?”
Darius looked at Luna.
“No vows written by anyone else.”
“Yes.”
“No magical binding.”
“Yes.”
“No kneeling.”
Luna smiled.
“Definitely not.”
Amara spoke softly.
“You could exchange promises.”
Luna looked at her mother.
“What kind?”
“Your own.”
Gabriel’s gaze settled on Amara.
“Promises you understand now.”
Not forever spoken like certainty.
Not obedience dressed up as devotion.
Just promises made by two people who knew tomorrow was still free.
Luna looked at Darius.
“I like that.”
“So do I.”
Mason raised a hand.
“Can I speak at the ceremony?”
“No,” Darius said.
Luna said at the same time.
“Briefly.”
Darius stared at her.
“Luna.”
“He helped make the ring.”
“That was his only contribution.”
Mason pressed a hand to his chest.
“I risked my life measuring silver.”
“You dropped it twice,” Evelyn said.
“It was hot.”
“It was metal.”
“Exactly.”
Luna touched Darius’s arm.
“Briefly.”
He closed his eyes.
“How briefly?”
“One minute.”
“Thirty seconds.”
“Forty-five.”
Darius considered.
“Fine.”
Mason smiled.
“I can say a lot in forty-five seconds.”
“That’s what worries me.”
Kael spoke from the edge of the room.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Everyone turned to him.
He shifted awkwardly.
“At the wedding.”
Ronan answered immediately.
“Stand with us.”
Kael looked at Darius.
“As your brother?”
Darius held his gaze.
“Yes.”
The answer still seemed to surprise him.
Kael nodded slowly.
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
Ethan leaned against the wall.
“And me?”
Luna smiled.
“You’re walking with me.”
His expression softened.
“To Darius?”
“No.”
Ethan frowned slightly.
Luna continued, “Beside me.”
Understanding settled in.
He wouldn’t be giving her away.
She didn’t belong to anyone to be handed over.
He would just walk beside his sister until she chose the next step herself.
Ethan nodded.
“Yeah.”
Amara wiped at her eyes.
Gabriel looked suspiciously at the ceiling.
Mason pointed at them.
“Everyone’s already crying. My speech is going to destroy this family.”
Darius took the charcoal from Evelyn and added one more line under the rejected ideas.
MASON’S SPEECH LONGER THAN FORTY-FIVE SECONDS
Mason stared.
“That feels personal.”
“It is,” Darius said.
That night, Luna found Darius alone by the lake.
No lanterns this time.
Just moonlight on the water.
She walked up quietly.
“You disappeared.”
“I needed to think.”
“Dangerous.”
“Yes.”
She stood beside him.
“About what?”
“The ceremony.”
“Regretting it?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
Luna smiled.
“Good.”
Darius took her left hand and looked at the ring.
“I used to think vows were just another kind of chain.”
“They can be.”
“And now?”
“Now we decide what ours are.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it.
“What will you promise me?”
Luna leaned into him.
“I’m not telling you before the wedding.”
“That seems unnecessarily secretive.”
“You brought me to a frozen lake at midnight.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“It was romantic.”
“This is also romantic.”
Darius frowned.
“I don’t like surprises.”
“I know.”
“What if your promise is better than mine?”
She laughed.
“You’re competing with me?”
“Possibly.”
Luna turned in his arms.
“Darius.”
Her fingers touched his jaw.
“You don’t have to make the most beautiful promise.”
“What should I make?”
“One you can actually keep.”
The words settled between them.
He nodded.
Then kissed her forehead.
“I can do that.”
“I know.”
Blackwood’s lights glowed behind them.
The house was full of people planning flowers, food, chairs, music, and one heavily restricted speech.
But by the lake, Luna and Darius stood alone.
Not preparing for forever.
Just preparing for one honest day.
Then the next.
And the next.
As many as they were given.
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