[Music Recommendation: 6.6 Gigue ~ Peter Gregson & Richard Harwood]

Outside the palace, Sophie didn’t let the carriage stop properly before she pushed the door open, causing her to almost fall. She got her footing, arranging her hair properly, she raised her chin up. She was so excited to meet her dearest husband that she didn’t wait for the day to break properly.

"Sophie, behave," Saline said, coming down from the carriage with her husband behind her. "You made us not have a wink of sleep," the woman sighed. They were supposed to arrive by noon, but Sophie kept complaining how the Crown Prince would see her as someone tardy. They left Orion even before the first crow.

"Do you like him that much?" Curtis asked, fixing his Kong robe on his shoulder.

Sophie nodded, "Yes, yes. It’s one thing Oriana was right about. She said if we were meant to be, then we will find each other," she clapped her hands.

Adric and his father were the first persons to see Oriana’s family as they were having a discussion outside.

"Isn’t that Oriana’s family? I thought they would arrive by noon if not evening," Fidelis asked his son.

Adric smiled, "The earlier, the better. We can get this over with and quickly fix the wedding," he replied, getting ready to welcome them.

Sophie could no longer contain her excitement when she saw Adric standing outside the palace. "Mother, see? He couldn’t wait to see me either. Even in the cold, he stood out there waiting for my arrival,"

"Sophie, wait-" Saline tried to stop her daughter, but it was already too late. She was running, holding her gown up to where Adric was waiting.

Fidelis turned to look at his son, "What do you think is chasing the princess?"

Adric shrugged his shoulders, "We will find out soon,"

Sophie finally got to where they were standing. She bowed deeply first to her soon-to-be father-in-law with a smile that was pleasing.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," her voice sweet and pleasing to the ear.

"I find it, um... surprising that you’re more excited about this marriage," Fidelis cleared his throat.

The wedding bell rang continuously in Sophie’s mind. She could already see herself bowing to Adric, exchanging the chest, and spending the night together.

"Argh!! Your Highness, I knew that we were meant to be!!" Unable to contain her excitement, Sophie shrieked, holding her hand on her chest.

Adric and his father turned to look at themselves, then the man touched his head with his finger as if asking if the princess had lost it.

Finally, Saline and her husband got to where they were standing. "Greetings, Your Majesty," Saline bowed to the man.

"Greetings, King and Queen of Orion. We weren’t expecting your visit until later. I’m surprised to see you here earlier," Fidelis said, stretching his hand forward to greet Curtis.

Sophie smiled, "I wanted to show His Highness that I’m reliable and can also be a great support to him. All this I did by waking up early and preparing myself to meet him."

Fidelis nodded, though he was confused, but he still smiled. "That’s very thoughtful of you. I mean, I didn’t know you had a part of you that’s so dedicated,"

Sophie held her hand over her mouth and laughed. She almost fell to the side as she laughed. She was the only person laughing at the moment. "You’re so funny, Your Majesty. Yes, a lot of persons say that to me, but I only show this part of me to people I love."

Fidelis raised his brows, "That’s... refreshing," he turned to look at his son. More confusion was written all over his face.

"That’s alright, enough of family bonding. Let’s go inside and meet others," Adric said, shaking his head. He turned to walk inside the palace.

Sophie covered her face shyly, "His Highness is so manly. He can’t even wait for me to get used to him, and he’s in haste to get married. I’m so shy, I can’t get used to this!"

Fidelis raised his brows. He wasn’t sure what the princess was talking about, but one thing was certain: this one has lost it. He turned to her parents, "This way, please,"

Sophie stayed behind, touching up her face, making sure she still looked beautiful. "Bessie, add more powder here," the maid applied more.

"You look very beautiful, Princess," the maid complimented.

Sophie waved her hand, "I don’t need to hear it from likes of you to know, okay? I already know, but hearing it from someone lowly like you brings a bitter taste to my tongue," the princess used her finger to push the maid’s chest.

"Tell me, Bessie, because you’re now working directly close to me. You think we are now friends?" She asked with a small frown.

"I would never think such, Princess," Bessie bowed.

Sophie nodded, "It should be Your Highness from now on. I should fit into my husband’s title,"

"Your Highness," Bessie corrected herself.

"Look, it’s the evil twin sister!" Walter pointed at Sophie. "She looks like our auntie, but also like the witch in our book," the little boy said loud enough for Sophie to hear.

Sophie scowled, "Who are those scrawny little rats and what are they talking about? I should change things around here the moment I become Queen," she harrumphed, walking inside the palace. Bessie quickly followed her behind.

"Kai, let’s play a game." Walter called his brother.

"Walter, I want to read," Kai replied, going to sit alone.

Walter twitched his lips, "Don’t worry, Auntie will soon have a lot of babies and I will play all day." He muttered, looking around for what to play with. He found Adric’s horse in the stable. The small boy walked towards the stable.

Oriana, who heard her sister’s voice, walked through the entrance to welcome her family but missed them as they had passed through another door. All she saw was Walter, who was struggling to ride a horse.

"Auntie, come and play with me!" The boy waved his hands.

Inside the palace, Sophie tried to ascertain dominance as the new wife. She even corrected some of the maids,

"No, no, change that color; it looks boring," the princess pointed out.

Sophie was yet to get off her high horse, her shoulders raised with pride. When she finally met Gwen, she bowed,

"Her Majesty,"

Gwen nodded, "Welcome," she moved her hair to the side, her eyes on someone else who she now exchanged a smile with.

Jasmine was the next to join them in the room, "Wow! They really do look alike!" She exclaimed looking at Sophie.

Sophie, who didn’t understand what was going on, bowed, "I am Crown Princess Sophie of Orion,"

"I am Princess Jasmine of Avon," the two princesses bowed gracefully.

Adric noticed that Oriana wasn’t in the room. He raised his brows.

"Please let’s have a seat and discuss the marriage properly," Fidelis offered.

Jasmine sighed, "Someone is not here yet,"

Sophie smiled, "Who else do we need to finalize the marriage? I mean, the two persons directly involved are here," she blushed.

"This one must be crazy," Jasmine whispered to her mother, who nodded in agreement.

"What about-"

"Ahh!!" Walter’s scream was heard outside, and following his scream was Oriana’s panicked scream.

"Walter!" Jasmine shouted, running outside to see what was happening to her son. Every other person joined her, including the elders.

Sophie gritted her teeth, "Who is trying to ruin this for me!"

Outside, Oriana was trying to calm Kato down, but the horse kept moving front and back, ready to bring the boy down. She didn’t know how to ride a horse, so she couldn’t stop it either.

"Calm down, please," Oriana touched the horse on the neck and neighed, "Ah!" She and the boy shouted. She was only trying to make the boy stop crying, so she agreed to ride a horse with him.

Adric ran out of the palace, he noticed that his horse was already overwhelmed and was going to be difficult to control.

"Ah!!" Oriana and the boy screamed again, when the horse moved its head up, ready to throw them off.

"Mother!"

"Nana!"

Adric scratched his brows tiredly, he didn’t know who was the child at the moment.

"Uncle, help us!"

"Your Highness, ah!" Oriana cried.

Adric ran towards the horse, "Bring Walter down first," he said to Oriana, who was already at the verge of crying.

Oriana carried the boy down, and Adric caught him. Walter ran to his mother’s embrace.

"Now jump!" He said to Oriana, who shook her head,

"No, I’m going to die! I don’t want to die!" The princess gripped the reins of the horse tightly, and this pissed Kato off. It neighed, ready to bolt.

"Jump, stupid! I’m going to catch you!" Adric shouted.

Oriana looked at the ground and how far it was from her eyes, "Please don’t let me die," before the horse could gallop, she let go of the reins. With her legs trembling, she jumped off, falling on Adric’s body and at the same time, their lips collided with their body on the ground. Adric groaned, as Oriana’s weight was on his left hand.

"Argh!" Everyone already tired of the noise turned to see Sophie, who now looked almost like a ghost. "Wh-what is my husband doing there and who- Oriana?"