The Fanned Flames

[Pancho 4197]

 

The Fanned Flames

To Seal Love With a Stone

“She was like a shot of espresso, like being bathed in sunlight. She's incredibly energetic, enthusiastic, and has all the things which make my heart melt.” - Antonio Flavio Fuentes

 

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548 E.S 

 

Dawn struck through the day as the ringing of bells graced their ears. The morning had finally come, for she looked forward to this day for so long. As Renata walked down the aisle she found her breath lost in her chest. Hues scanning the passing faces but finding themselves glued to the ground as they made their way over to her would be husband. As she came to a stop by his side, gloved digits would make their way to her chin and raise her gaze to meet his, thus they could share the moment. A blush crept to her cheeks as her hands shook along with the racing within her mind and heart. As the lace curtains which separated them were lifted, her heart skipped a beat and the moment she had dreamed of slowly approached. His firm hands took hers as he secured his ring of aquamarine onto her hand, Renata shakily returning the gesture to his hand with a ring adorned of orchids.

 

“Do you, Lady Renata Juliya Ludovar, Take Sir Antonio Flavio Fuentes to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

 

“...I do”

 

“Do you, Sir Antonio Flavio Fuentes, take Lady Renata Juliya Ludovar to be your lawfully wedded Wife?” 

 

“I do”

 

“Then you may now kiss your bride.”

 

As the symphony of applause and cheers came to a crescendo, Antonio drew his now wife in close as they shared their first moment as man and wife. A kiss as gentle as the dew gathered upon the webs in their garden, but one filled with the love and care reminiscent of the time spent to grow that verdant collection. The moment was short but it had felt like a lifetime, for in those few seconds they had both envisioned their lives together. Dreams of peace, love, children, and joy blossomed in the bridge between their lips, held breathes feeding these visions as they lived and loved all for just this moment.

 

“Long have I asked our God to guide me to his Glory, to his ivory gates, but now I know that here in this moment I have tasted heaven upon your lips. I will find no greater purpose nor glory, than to know I have honored you as my wife and fathered our children”

*Her silence was deafening and her eyes were lost within his, her only response for the first few moments was to squeeze his hands three times, their gesture for ‘I love you’. After a moment she found the breath to say “And until the end when we are old and gray I will know no greater joy than to honor this family as a wife and mother.”

 

The Fog hung thick upon the air like honey upon her lips, morning light streaking through stained glass illuminating Renata’s midnight colored locks. Her Olive green hues bore holes into his mind as Antonio was lost in the ecstasy of her presence, a drug he never knew he needed until he realized that he looked for her in every still moment. The road leading away from the chapel was long and draped in leaves in the shades of yellow, orange and red. Her Ivory white veil adorning that pavement, following her like a shadow in the night. Incense and thuribles gracing the road with sanctified smoke as God as his glory lead their way to their new life, a promise of Salvation and service to one another. 

 

*under whispered oaths and blissful breaths he would pray along that path. His lips parted to utter one final oath to whatever Gods may be listening. “Give me the strength to guide this family down the righteous path, give me the patience to listen, and give me the ability to love as she should be loved. So that I may bring honor to this name and all who will share it.”

 

As they entered their venerable keep of Isaakev they walked up those steps in stride with the first light of the sun. A new day to grace a new union. A commitment to passion, honor, and courage. The man who once carried her banner swore on this fateful day to now hold her heart, and hold it he would. He who had known only violence and the sword now had the possession of the most fragile of charges. From warriors to friends and from friends to lovers their journey together was long and arduous. Victory and loss, success and strife, they had faced worse challenges than what the married life would bring, and nothing would ever scare him as much as the moment he had to ask for her fathers blessing. With this all in mind they would live and love, hand in hand, to enjoy the rest of their lives for however long that may be, in sickness and in health.

 

With intertwined hands the now couple would gaze upon the stars as they spoke 

“I hope to love you until the day we find ourselves among those stars.”

 

• Lady Renata Juliya Ludovar, Page of Marian, Armsman of The BSK

 

Antonio Flavio Fuentes of Isaakev

 

[Kaii 572]

Stefan Ludovar approves of this union, giving Renata two thumbs up.