Serene’s POV

Shumal Sensei’s words took all of us by surprise and once we understood what they were asking us to do, squeals of surprise resonated among us. They both beamed at us as she continued to speak:

"Seeing the recent events, it became abundantly clear that any of us could lose our life at any given moment. So we have decided that the time we have, we will spend together and we will spend it happily. You are like our family and we would love it if you people could be part of our happiness."

All of us cheered, this was like a ray of hope amidst the pitch darkness our world had been immersed in.

"Wedding will be next week and will take place here in the very ground we are standing on. Let’s begin the preparations from today onwards." Shumal Sensei concluded her speech with a warm smile and I rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug as I chirruped:

"Congratulations Sensei, I am so so happy for you both." She hugged me back and I could feel the happiness emanating from her body.

"Thank you, my dear it was about time we tied the knot. I want to experience this happiness and seriously all of us deserve some jubilation after that fiasco and its after-effects." She clasped my hands in hers and gave them a tight squeeze.

"Both of you deserve this joyous reunion." I gave a warm smile to Lavaria Sensei as well who was now holding his wife-to-be by her waist.

"Thank you, Serene." He offered me his genuine smile and I could see the love he held for the woman beside him.

I stepped away after that as others began to surround the couple and offered their congratulations. Zeph wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pecked my temple.

"I am happy for them, all of us can use a distraction after the attack," Zeph whispered to me and I nodded.

The weather was mild, neither hot nor cold and the hue of the realm was pinkish, as it changed with every season.

Preparations began the next day and we began to put everything together for the wedding. We sat down in the dining hall and planned, dividing the duties amongst us.

The boys were to set up the stage and make sitting arrangements for all the guests, they also had to set up a music system and a separate area for the reception dinner.

Witches were in charge of decorating the whole area with flowers, ribbons, and silks.

Ziva and Alvene had been called back from their slayer duties and were to assist me and Tanzil with clothes and jewelry. We had to choose everyone’s dresses including the bride’s. Groom’s dress was to be chosen by Sarim Sensei.

"Let’s discuss the theme first. We need to have a colour theme for the wedding." Ayrden said. So that we could move forward with all the decorations accordingly.

"How about green and silver? They are soothing colours and will be easy on the senses after all the bloodshed that has been going around." Tanzil added and we couldn’t help but agree, it was a good colour scheme.

Everything needed to be silver, white and green, from flowers to dresses, and from silks to cutlery and table clothes. We made list after list of everything we needed and spend sleepless nights going over our plans.

Artins Sensei had provided us with the money we needed to manage all the affairs and Mariela Sensei was placed in charge of it. So we took all our suggestions to her and she provided us with money to acquire the things we needed.

Ziva and Tanzil were placed in charge of preparing the dress for Shumal Sensei. They had settled for a turquoise gown of taffeta and mesh net material with silver stone and gem work on its bodice and neckline.

A few of the best seamstresses of Hexum Realm were called in and they started working on dresses and gowns. All of us girls chose silverish-white gowns to be prepared from silk having a net bodice with silver and emerald gemstones and high heels.

I was put in charge of selecting the food. It was going to be a four-course meal consisting of starters, appetizers, a main course and dessert.

For starters, I had chosen chicken cheese croquettes, cheesy garlic bread with oregano and white sauce, plus vegetable salad and mashed potatoes.

For the appetizer, it was going to be corn mushroom soup and lavash.

The main course would include honey-glazed lamb chops slowly cooked over sandalwood, beef stroganoff and shrimp and sausage paella with chili sauce.

Desert would comprise of chocolate creme brulee and blueberry cheesecake.

Drinks would include several kinds of margaritas and red wine.

Then there was the question of cutlery and utensils, being a royal princess came with its perks. Different-sized spoons, plates, forks and knives were chosen for the different kinds of food we had decided to serve. All cutlery and utensils were to be silver and white with green ribbons tied to the cutlery.

Zeph was given the task of singing a song so he was preparing a song on his guitar. 3 days were left in the wedding and it was nighttime when I spotted him sitting on the ground writing the song. I went over and sat beside him. A light breeze was blowing which jousted his silky hair and he straightened them with his fingers.

"Can I see?" I asked and he handed over the diary he was writing the lyrics in.

"I am stuck on this part, help me out," he pointed to the bit he was stuck at. We discussed different words we could use in that sentence and finally settled for the one he liked.

We sat there for two hours writing and editing the song and Zeph made the tone for it. I listened in awe to his song and melodious voice which brimmed me with warmth. I swayed my head from side to side. Everything about him was perfection, his writing, his voice, his hold on his instrument, the tones he created, the strumming of his fingers and course his gorgeous smile.

"They will love the song, it’s melodious and defines their relationship perfectly." I complimented him as soon as he finished singing.

"I hope so," he finally closed his diary and put away his guitar, grabbing me by my waist he pulled me closer to him so I laid down in his lap. He was gazing at the night sky, his hands were on the ground with palms down.

"I am glad they are finding happiness with each other and getting married, not sure all of us will be able to get to that part of life," I murmured with a sigh. His gaze reverted to me and carried a pained expression as he spoke:

"We will keep thinking positive Serene. We can’t be pessimistic."

"We already lost one of us, Sahala was only 19 years old. Life has become so uncertain Zeph. We almost lost each other." I replied, my chest felt heavy.

"We are still here, Serene. That’s what counts and we will get to the point of getting married too. Especially you, you will find someone worthy, someone of your status and settle down. You will become Queen Serene one day."

His words mercilessly jerked my heart from my chest and threw it into a bottomless pit. My body convulsed and I shot up from his lap. Every inch of my body was pained at what he had said.

"WHAT?" I shouted at him with so much annoyance. He stared back at me with turmoiled eyes and spoke in a calm tone.

"I am not blind, Serene. You can’t marry a lowly folkel. There is too much of a status difference between us. Will your family be alright with our match?"

"Tell me you are joking right now, Zeph. For I swear I want to slap you so hard. You think me and my family care about that? Do I look like someone who cares about status and wealth? Would I choose you if I did?" I shook my head in disapproval.

"Loving someone and marrying someone is different and I don’t want you to rush yourself in this matter. Today you feel like that about me. You might not do that in a few years." My mouth flew open at his ridiculous words. Where was he coming from today? I had no clue.

"Zeph, I think you have said enough hurtful words. Please, stop."

"My stopping will not change the truth. I don’t want you to spend a life where people will ridicule you because of me and believe me they will. My family and I have been ridiculed throughout our lives, so I know how people think." His words were plunging daggers into my fragile heart and he wasn’t stopping.

"I don’t care about people, I care about us," I yelled at him.

"I do," these words burnt my resolve down and I jolted from the ground, standing up I said before walking away:

"Then I don’t think we should see each other anymore."