"You’ll do that?" Sierra perked up, her eyes shining.
Vy smiled, "Of course. It’s not trouble at all. We’ll be back as soon as we can, alright?"
Sierra nodded, giving her blessing for them to go. Vy, Dygo, and Aether left imdiately. Sierra’s other friends all offered to pitch in to help too, but she politely declined. She wanted them by her side instead.
Should things go down a different route, she was going to need all the support she could find. As ti ticked on, Sierra could not help but let her nerves get to her. She was on her second glass of wine when she realized just how much it was affecting her.
With the guests to be seated in just two hours, she made a drastic decision. Sierra walked to the center of the ballroom, raised her glass, and hit it gently with a knife. The clear ring of glass reverberated throughout the room, quickly giving her the attention of all of her guests.
The chatter and noise soon died down, as silence replaced it.
Her friends and family wondered what she was about to do.
"Thank you, everyone, for attending the party, I hope you’re all having a wonderful ti. As you may know, my wedding ceremony is set to follow suit later this evening. However...," she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she looked into the faces of the crowd.
They were all hanging on her every word, wondering what she was going to say next. Sierra bit her lip, wondering if she should continue with what she had in mind. Or perhaps she should pretend as if all was well.
’I’m right here with you,’ Opal’s voice of support rang loud and clear in her mind.
Her little snake’s support ant the world to her. Looking over to her friends, she saw the support she sought for too.
With confidence, she continued, "King Alistair of Drakin, my beloved, would unlikely be able to attend the ceremony due to bad road conditions. Please accept my apology on behalf of the both of us."
Sierra lowered her head and bowed deeply.
When she raised her head later, she addressed her guests once more, "I will wait for his arrival but I do not wish to burden all of you with such an arduous task, as such, please enjoy the extended coronation party instead."
When she finished speaking, the gasps and whispers amongst the guests were evident. Most of them were wondering where King Alistair was. It soon devolved into several theories of what might be happening.
"Stood up on her coronation day no less? I knew sothing was amiss when he didn’t show up for the coronation."
"I should’ve known! Who would want to marry a Queen who’s ruling in her own right? It’s madness!"
"I knew this would happen! Hah!"
"This was supposed to be a joyous occasion, who knew sothing like this could happen?"
Sierra did her best to keep a smile on her face as she made her way through the crowds towards her friends. However, before she could get there, she was stopped in her tracks by the Lords and Ladies of the Bancroft Family.
The look on all of their faces said it all.
"Your Majesty, tell us the truth. Is there going to be a wedding or not?" Lady Tessi demanded to know, her arms were crossed.
Lord Finnian looked at Sierra disapprovingly as he threw his own opinions into the mix, "He might be a King but that does not give him the right to disgrace a mber of the Bancroft Family like this! It is outrageous."
Duchess Maisy and Marquess Preston could not voice their opinions in front of their elders, knowing the backlash they would face. But their expressions offered support for Sierra in anything she needed. And for that, she was grateful.
Before Sierra could respond, her father, Leon, took her out into the open balcony. When the other mbers of the Bancroft family attempted to follow suit, Leon stopped them.
"I would like to have a private word with my daughter."
"But-" Lord Badol could hardly finish his protests before Leon shot him a glare that effectively silenced him.
Once they had the privacy of the balcony, Leon turned to his daughter.
"Father, I-"
"Tell the truth, Sierra, no lies," he said sternly as he looked into her eyes, "You know there’s no need for you to sugar coat things with ."
Sierra leaned forward on the balcony. The smile she had plastered on her face quickly disappeared. She explained the situation to him. Leon hit his fists against the balcony railings.
"He better not have stood you out and lied! I swear I’ll-" Leon did not finish his words the mont he saw the expression on Sierra’s face.
"I... I don’t think he stood up," She confessed.
"Sierra..."
"I know, I know," She said to him, knowing it was going to be difficult for him to believe her, "I just... I know him, father. I know him well enough to know he would never do this to . Sothing must have happened."
She held her tightened fist close to her heart, "I can feel it."
Leon let out a sigh. She was his only daughter, the child he watched grow up into the beautiful and strong young woman she had beco. He had seen her get her heartbroken before, and he didn’t want her to go through that again.
He knew Alistair was a different man. He wasn’t anything like Cedric. He’d seen the way they interacted with one another. It reminded him a little of his own relationship.
"In that case, I’ll be here for you. Whatever you need," Leon said as he placed his hand on Sierra’s.
He glanced into the ballroom, at the other mbers of the Bancroft Family, "Don’t worry about your aunts and uncles. They’re just worried about you. They just... don’t know how to express it sotis."
Sierra smiled, "I know."
"So, what do you plan to do now? Do you want to call off the ceremony?"
She shook her head, "I’m going to get ready. Whatever happens, I’ll be ready for it."
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