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PRINCE Vincent and Lady Elizabeth’s wedding loomed large in the mind of every Urhallan citizen, especially those lucky enough to be in the capital. Two full decades had passed since the current king married his bride, and it was still talked of to that day. That was reason enough to drop everything to see it, Amelia reasoned to herself.
Beside her, Amelia’s husband, Dym, sighed.
“Can’t we watch from the window?” he grumbled.
“We can barely see main street at all from our shop!” Amelia retorted. “We’ll need a spot much closer to the palace… I need to see His and Her Royal Highness myself!”
“That’s my wife, never able to resist a party.”
“That’s my husband, boring and with no sense of romance!”
The two continued bickering on the path to the palace, the sun still barely over the horizon, until they arrived at a spot just outside the gates. There was already such a crowd that Dym had to hunch his broad shoulders to fit.
Dym felt privileged to have a warm, cheerful woman like Amelia for his wife, and he was rather impressed by the vigor and excitement with which she served the guards and their noble masters. The source of her boundless joy, however, was ever a mystery. It was unusual for anyone to show such care and empathy for others, much less to celebrate a stranger’s fortune. Perhaps the problem was him for following her but not sharing her joy.
The two waited patiently for the ceremony to begin, and they had an excellent view of the duke’s daughter as she rode through the palace gates. Four expensive-looking white stallions pulled her carriage, and even Dym’s jaw dropped at the sight. As for the bride herself, he caught only the faintest glimpse of her through the carriage’s lace window, and she wasn’t even looking out at them.
“We came all this way for that?” he grumbled.
“Oh, don’t worry, the wedding proper hasn’t started yet. Once the prince and princess finish saying their vows in the palace, they’ll appear on that balcony up there. The parade will start after that.”
That was enough to shut Dym up. It was clear he wouldn’t get to go home for some time. He idly looked up at the sky, but as he did, an odd sound filled the air. As he looked around, a rippling murmur traveled through the crowd from somewhere up the street. The crowd pushed at them like a wave, and it took Dym a moment to realize everyone was facing away from the palace. Dym and Amelia craned their necks.
“The hell’s that?” Dym murmured in disbelief.
What they saw defied all explanation. Standing there was a colossal cat with purple fur and a crimson cape. Clustered all around the titan’s feet were countless smaller cats in an unfathomable range of colors. The herd seemed visibly agitated, but there was no clear reason for the change.
“This part of the parade, too?” he asked.
“It might be,” Amelia remarked. “It’s large, but it’s just a cat. I don’t think it’s dangerous.”
The crowd around them reached the same conclusion and applauded enthusiastically. Dym noticed the guards scramble, which was a little worrying—but before he could think about it too much, a different shadow passed overhead.
Looking up, however, the thing was anything but shadowy. Its scaled hide shimmered with divine light; it had curled azure horns and a mesmerizing pattern of gold across its back. It was a live dragon, the kind that was said to be long extinct—and a blessed hallowyrm at that, a holy bearer of blessings. On its back were two figures in white—an auburn-haired young man with piercing emerald eyes and a blonde young woman in a trailing veil who looked like she’d stepped out of a fairy tale. She was still clutching a bouquet that matched her wedding dress as she rode. She looked similar to the princess they’d glimpsed earlier—no, it had to be her. That meant the pair had to be the bride and groom, the prince and his princess.
“This a part of the ceremony, too?” Dym asked confusedly.
Amelia slowly nodded. “Well…dragons are in all the old legends, aren’t they? Maybe they save their dragons for special occasions?”
In front of them, the giant cat began shooting off bolts of lightning, spreading and bursting above their heads like countless blooming flowers. Clearly, this was some celebrative stunt. A few stray bolts arced toward the crowd, but the guards vigilantly swatted the electricity away. More interestingly, rings and pendants throughout the gathered citizenry began to glow—including Dym’s glasses. They were all from Her Majesty’s store, it seemed, and the otherworldly shine grew to surround the crowd like a shield.
“Oh, I recognize it!” Amelia suddenly exclaimed. “That giant cat must be the Phantom Thief Mewlman!”
It had taken a while to remember the old picture book from her youth, but there was no mistaking it. The feline had to be harmless, then—though she didn’t understand the appeal of Mewlman fighting a hallowyrm, of all things.
Memories of twenty years back revived in Amelia’s mind, of the day the country changed forever. The king showed his face for the first time, standing before the assembled masses to declare he would be a great ruler to them all. Politics were beyond her, but true to his words, the capital took on a new vitality after that day, and the country prospered. This had to be a message—a declaration that no matter what danger befell Urhalla, the royal family would always be there to defend them…probably. That was the only way to construe the nonsense unfolding before them, and the crowd seemed to reach the same conclusion.
Finally, just as the people predicted, the giant cat stopped its attacks and surrendered to the pair on the hallowyrm. Its body became small enough to nestle in the prince’s arms, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Then, the bride and groom flew back to the balcony.
As they passed, the prince met Amelia’s eyes.
“Oh!”
She recognized the youth. In disbelief, she turned to the bride, thinking she had to be mistaken, and met eyes with a similarly familiar young woman. Amelia grabbed at her husband, enthusiastically pointing them out.
“Look, dear, up there! It’s the young couple Ricky was protecting!”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure it’s them,” he replied with a sigh and a shake of his head.
Amelia didn’t get angry with him, however. She didn’t have the time, as she was staring single-mindedly at the couple, trying to burn them into her retinas. Though the princess had different hair and had lost her glasses, she had a similar feel to the noble girl. Similarly, the prince’s hair was a different color from the young guard’s that day, but his face was the same. She’d encouraged the pair to pursue their love despite the apparent difference in their ranks, but clearly, that wasn’t necessary.
“I’m sure Urhalla will only continue to improve!”
Saying so, she eagerly waved back at the bashful newlyweds.