She could feel her muscles tense, but calm down again once he squeezed her hand. They were fine. They both knew eternity was probably not going to happen. She would find a cure and if he wouldn’t take it… She bit her lip. No, don’t think about that right now. For now, everything was fine. That was a worry for years from now. They probably wouldn’t even get to that point. Even more depressing.

‘I now bind your hands together to symbolize your new union of love, trust and friendship,’ the man spoke, as he started to bind their hands together with the cloth. Allison was glad that the man seemed to be capable of doing so without actually touching Kaz’ hand, because that would have been a fun experience. With their hands bound together, she leaned towards Kaz a bit, so their arms would touch too. He calmed her down, so she needed to stop feeling like they were doing something wrong here. ‘Now please, look at one another and say the words.’ She had told Kaz what to say during their walk. Now she just had to hope he actually remembered.

---

It was a scary thought. She was going to make a promise here that she never thought to make. Or at least, not this soon. And probably not to Kaz, with all their fights. Yet, here they were. And she had two options: run away very quickly, or go through with it. And she had the idea that option one wasn’t really an option here. Where was a book when you needed to desperately stare at one?

“You. Me. We. Us,” they spoke, in complete sync. It was at this point that she moved her gaze from the man, finally staring into Kaz’ blue eyes again. Immediately, the worries vanished. She loved him. “I am his and he is mine, from this day until the end of our days,” they went on, still in sync. A smile rose to her face as the man nodded slowly. He started to unwrap their hands again, staring at them as he did. The cloth fell on the ground and he held one ring in each hand without saying a word. Allison took the one he held towards her, which was Kaz’.

---

The ring in her hand weighed a lot. Not actually, but it felt like it did. It was as if their entire bond was turned into this one object. It represented everything they had gone through and would go through. So small, so important. She smiled softly, holding her hand to the man as he put the ring around her finger. It was… good. All was good. She sighed, as if she truly had to be relieved that the ring didn’t burn through her skin and scream that she had made a mistake. No. The ring felt like they finally had one thing that they could depend on. That this was all real.

Now it was her turn. Softly, she took his hand, looking into his eyes for a few seconds, before she gently put the ring around his finger, holding his hand again when she had done so. She bit her lip, looking at the solemniser for a second when he spoke. ‘Your wedding vows are sealed and you may henceforth be known to all as husband and wife,’ he spoke. ‘You may now kiss the bride.’ Slowly, Allison moved her gaze towards Kaz again, feeling how the tears started to appear again as she realised that she did not regret this. Not at all.

---

Nothing had changed. They were still the same, hopelessly flawed people they had always been. They loved each other, but were a mess and would probably forever be. Hopefully, the ring would remind them of what they had, of what they could have if their stubbornness wouldn’t get in their way. They had something pure, something that she couldn’t shake.

Their hands let go and she felt his hands on her face as their lips touched. She slowly put her hands on his chest, feeling her muscles relax as she let the warm feeling come over her. It was as if his kiss took away all the anxiety she felt. She was happy. This was where she was supposed to be. So when they softly pulled away again, she found herself staring at her man again, a light shimmer in her eyes. She could hear how the man spoke, but the words didn’t even get through to her anymore. Her full attention was focussed on Kaz as she completely seemed to miss how the man bowed to them. She was his and he was hers. There were so many things to say, yet she couldn’t find the words. A tear escaped her eye, slowly making its way down her face. “I love you,” she whispered. That was all that mattered.

---

Everything had changed. Not their relationship, but their lives. She would start to officially live in Rhoynar now, mingling in its business - their business. She had already sent word to Elayne that she was going to be picked up, so if she was correct, the woman should already be on her way to Rhoynar. Together with Juno and Abbas, the plan was to live in the castle, which had enough room for all of them. Which… meant that she probably had to introduce Kaz to Ellie. A thought she’d rather push away.

‘I love you too,’ he told her, wiping the tear away. Allison nodded carefully. “Let’s go… Home.” It was weird to call it that, but the castle was home now. They needed to arrange for certain things to be sent there, but she had made sure the servants had at least cleaned up the bedroom, so they could spend the night there. Together. In their new home, like a normal, married couple would.

---

Oh. Allison turned towards the solemniser as well and sent him a smile. “I will make sure you get paid for your troubles,” she nodded. He had told her before that it would be fine. That he would do this for the new Duchess. But, nothing in life was ever free and Allison wasn’t planning on letting the poor man go out of his way for nothing. She noticed how Kaz turned her way again and she nodded when he spoke. “Yes!”

Opening the castle doors was still strange. The castle was… quiet. She looked back at Kaz and sent him a faint smile. “If I’m correct, the bedroom is cleaned and the throne room should be as well.” Though she wouldn’t be surprised if it would take a while for the throne room to be completely clean again. There had been a good amount of blood, after all. But that was something she didn’t want to think about. For now, they had to… do something. Either head to bed, explore the castle a bit, sit down, whatever. As long as it wasn’t standing here.

---

High pitched sound. “Don’t do that!” she sighed as he pulled her fingers through her hair again. “Do you know how much effort goes into my hair?” she then complained, looking at him like a puppy would look at its owner after being punished. A sigh sounded as she realised it was a lost cause, If it was up to him, she’d never look good. That must be it. Because she could bet that her make-up was showing that she had cried as well.

“It has been a long day,” she admitted, after another sigh. “So I’d be fine heading to bed and just…” For a second she bit her lip, looking up at Kaz. “Just appreciate what we have.” Just talk, just… be there with him. Because she felt like she only appreciated his company more now that the words had been spoken. He was hers.

---