Chapter Text
Weddings were a beautiful thing.
Her soft dress was bathed in golden light, the crisp petticoats underneath rustling at the hint of wind. There was something magical, ethereal, about how the satin feathered out around her, how she felt in its embrace. It was a gentle hug, a sweet whisper.
Lunafreya wondered if her mother would have told her she were beautiful, if her mother would have been proud to see the dress and to see how Lunafreya was the perfect princess, the perfect Oracle. She had done well, done the best she could, and this was her reward.
She had earned it.
Lunafreya looked into the mirror at herself, at the hair piled on top of her head, the wisp of fringe across her forehead. She smoothed a hand through her errant bangs and allowed her fingers to catch on her braid. It was the same style her mother had taught her as a child, the same style she had worn her her first Covenant. It was a comforting feeling, something that had been there with her for years.
And yet....
It wasn't good enough. It wasn't complete.
Not yet.
There was something missing, something so small that she was forgetting—yes.
The hairpin, the one that had been gifted to her from Regis, whose mere transport had been the kiss of death to the brave Glaive who was tasked to give it to her. It was the hairpin Regis had tracked, had bugged so that he could follow her, to keep his ever watchful eye on her.
He wanted her to be safe.
Everything had always been to keep her safe.
Luna smiled as she gently tucked the hairpin into her blonde locks, the scrape against her head a comfort. It was amazing that she could still feel, even after everything.
Even after the water…
After the chains.
Luna blinked at the mirror and patted the sides of her head, her fingers rubbing into her scalp. Soft, fine, perfect. The rings on her hands connected to her arm pieces seemed to glitter in the light.
She wished it were Tenebrae, but Lunafreya knew that Tenebrae was gone, and that her home now would be Lucis. She had earned that right, earned her happy ending.
She had done her duty, and the Gods were kind. They rewarded her for her triumph, and this was her happy ending.
Luna lifted herself from her vanity, carefully picking up the necklace on the white wood. She clasped the thick rope around her neck, adjusting it to lie against her breastbone, perfectly centered.
A true princess. How long had she dreamed of this moment, of walking from the room as a gaggle of handmaidens trailed behind her? How long had she imagined the flush of light peppering the sky, the swirling of music upon the air? How many times had she looked at her own mother's gown, the flowing satin and wished that one day when she was older, wiser, that she would meet her savior and he would take her to a better place?
Luna swallowed. It was the dream all young girls had. A perfect moment, ushering in a new dawn.
Her lead slippers made not a sound as she backed away from the room, and the doors opened to the hallway.
It was surprising just how dark Insomnia had been, how the royal color of black bled into everything it touched. Her first time to the Citadel had been short and spurned by blood and tragedy, but there had been something in the black marble. Only little flecks of color in the stillness of the Lucis Caelum family colors.
It was different from home, so different. But she would make the black inviting. It would be her job, afterall. That was what new wives did?
And she had an eternity to think of it.
An eternity... what a peculiar word, a peculiar idea.
Taking in a deep breath, Luna dragged her dress across the red rug that was laid out before her, clutching a handful of snow white satin within her grip.