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“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Of course, it’s a good idea,” Annelise said tucking a hair behind Erika’s ear in a soothing gesture.
“But will it work?” Erika said, voicing her true fear.
Annelise took both of Erika’s hands in her own, their near-identical blue eyes meeting. “I’ve read the laws very carefully,” Annelise said very firmly. “At the end of the day, we will all be married.”
Erika squeezed Annelise’s hand. “I trust you.”
And both women knew what those words really meant: I love you.
--
Standing at the end of the aisle, King Dominick and Julian were waiting for the ceremony to start. “Do you have the rings?” the officiant asked.
“Yes,” Dominick and Julian said at the same time patting their breast pocket. They laughed at their synchronization, the magnitude of the day and what they were about to do seasoning the laughter.
“And you’ve rehearsed all your vows?” the officiant questioned, “These are royal weddings, and they must go off without a hitch.”
“Yes, we’ve covered everything,” Julian said looking over at the marriage certificates placed off to the side, ready for their signatures.
“Good, because the ceremony is about to start,” and with that the officiant signaled for the audience to rise to their feet, the music from the organ beginning the processional march.
Erika and Annelise linked arms as they walked down the aisle. Ever since they had found one another they had been inseparable. And they vowed from this day forth they would never be apart again. No matter the circumstance of Julian or Erika’s birth, they would ensure that they would always be together.
They remained linked together as they reached King Dominick and Julian. Dominick linked with Erika’s left arm, while Julian linked with Annelise’s right, the four of them a chain of links that could not be broken.
The officiant turned to Erika, for her rank was the lowest amongst the group, “Do you Erika take Julian to be your wedded husband?”
“I do,” she said confidently.
The Officiant then turned to Julian, “And do you Julian take Princess Annelise to be your wedded wife?”
There was a murmur that went through the crowd, this did not seem to be a traditional wedding. But Julian ignored them. “I do,” he said.
Princess Annelise was next. She had spent a great many hours studying the laws of both her own and Dominick’s lands. Neither Annelise nor Dominick were allowed to marry below their station unless by special permission of the King, but her father the King had been dead for many years. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t marry a king of her own.
“Princess Annelise, do you take King Dominick to be your husband?”
“Yes,” she said beaming first at Erika and Dominick on her left, and then over to Julian on her right.
“And King Dominick, do you decree that these marriages be lawful and also take Princess Annelise with her husband Julian and wife Erika as your associated husband and/or wives?” the officiant read carefully from the script that Princess Annelise had prepared for him.
“I do decree it and I say I do.” King Dominick said squeezing happily onto his link with Erika.
“Please present your rings for a blessing.”
Dominick and Julian each pulled 8 rings from their breast pocket, totaling 16 between them. Each was a thin band bearing a tiny gemstone signifying each of their birthdays: a crisp blue aquamarine, a rich pink garnet, a glittering diamond, and a violet amethyst. All had been mined under Annelise’s direction in their once thought-depleted gold mines.
The exchanging of the rings followed the vows. Erika placed her ring on each of her spouses’ ring fingers, followed by Julian, then Annelise, and lastly Dominick. Four fingers dazzled with the constellation of their love and four pairs of eyes were misted over with emotion.
“By the power vested in me by the joint powers of His Royal Highness King Dominick and Her Royal Highness Princess Annelise, I now pronounce you husbands and wives, husband and husband, wife and wife. You may now kiss whomever you see fit to at this moment.”
The confusion of the audience was palpable as the couples kissed: Annelise and Julian, Erika and Dominick. But the excitement from the crowd quickly won out over the confusion, as they all subconsciously decided it was better to be happy for the complex couple rather than try to untangle the transitive marriage property that had just taken place before them. Even the mathematicians in the audience, who wanted to state that that was not how the transition property works, knew: This was how love works.
And from that day forward the kingdoms that had previously been separately appointed to Dominick and Annelise became one kingdom, jointly ruled by the King, Queen, and their consorts for the many peaceful and prosperous years of their reign. For they had made a place that was theirs, a place where dreams could come true.