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“You sure about this, Sammy?” Dean adjusted his brother’s cape, fiddling with the brooch until he had everything lined up just perfectly. “I know the church says you kinda have to marry the guy, but it’s only been six months.”
Sam tucked his hands into his armpits to keep from messing with his hair. “Bit late to back out now, don’t you think? It’s not like there’s much to decide. Marrying an angel doesn’t bring us a formal alliance with Heaven, but it does give us the appearance of Heaven’s favor which will have other countries thinking twice about messing with us. Castiel himself has agreed to be one of the weapons in our arsenal, to be deployed at the king’s pleasure. Castiel is my soulmate, and to the best of my knowledge, takes that very seriously and intends to support me in my goals. What is there to be unsure about?”
“You know the stories as well as I do, where soulmates turned out to drag each other to Hell.” Dean’s lips quirked into a lopsided smile. “Admittedly, doesn’t seem like much of a risk when one’s a literal angel, but you never know. Maybe it turns out Heaven’s actually worse than Hell because at least Hell is honest about being a bunch of winged dickmonkeys and Heaven rationalizes everything as being just because it’s in the name of God.”
“Like the Church that I’m taking on?” Sam pointed out. “With Castiel’s help, advice, and personal blessing if not necessarily conveying God’s?”
“Yeah, I know.” Dean stepped back. “Still. You’re sure about this.”
“I’m sure.” A bell rang and Sam closed his eyes briefly. “And even if I’m not, that’s the bell. Time for my big entrance.”
Dean took up the sword handed by the page, holding it in front of him as he walked down the aisle at the court. Sam followed, heavy crown making it difficult to keep his head up, but he managed. A page stepped forward and helped him to manage the robes and cape as he sat on the throne at the front of the dais.
Two heralds took up horns, blowing a fanfare that announced the arrival of the officiating priest. Unfortunately, it was Zachariah; even the king couldn’t do anything about that. Zachariah hesitated just long enough to be rude without being insulting enough to call out before speaking the ritual greeting. “Your Majesty. I answer the summons to provide the earthly binding of you and your heavenly-bound mate.”
“Prepare the altar. When you are ready, Castiel will be brought forth.” Zachariah turned to obey.
As soon as the altar was prepared – mostly by Zachariah’s attendants, but with the high priest’s supervision – there was a golden light that flooded the room. Sam put his hand up to shield his eyes, looking at the audience until he found his court mage. Rowena’s startled look seemed genuine enough that he dismissed the idea that she had somehow faked the soulbond between him and Castiel; this wasn’t God himself interrupting the wedding to complain. As the golden light faded, tiny sparkles drifting down slowly over the assembled audience, Sam had to work quickly to regain control of his face. “Thanks, Zachariah, but I’ll take it from here,” Gabriel drawled. “I’m afraid a human ceremony wouldn’t be binding on an angel; you need an angelic officiant. You’re welcome to assist, of course. Rules of the kingdom and all.”
Zachariah glared, but to Sam’s delight, he didn’t find any kind of protest he could put up. The heralds raised their trumpets, sounding another fanfare. Sam rose to his feet as Castiel walked in, escorted by an angel Sam recognized as Castiel’s best friend Balthazar. He walked down the steps, hands extended to Castiel.
Balthazar looked Sam over. “By what claim do you take this angel from me?”
“By the will of God, by the power of the throne of Besatthet, by the sworn word of Castiel himself,” Sam responded as calmly as he could. “Castiel is my soulmate. The King of Besatthet has declared him my intended mate. Castiel has sworn his willing acceptance to the marriage.”
“Then he is yours.” Balthazar placed Castiel’s hands in Sam’s and stepped back, where a courtier escorted him to the reserved seat in the front row.
Sam escorted Castiel to the altar, where the two of them knelt. With Zachariah, Sam had known what to expect; how much of that Gabriel would hold to was hard to say. It started out well, with Gabriel reading from the holy book, and then giving a sermon on the importance of marriage, soulmates, and partnership in general – with a pointed aside about double-crossing partners being bad and another about the precarious state of the partnership between Heaven and its so-called representatives on Earth. He wound up by walking Sam and Castiel through the traditional vows, to which each answered “I do” as prompted.
For the more freeform vows, Castiel rose to stand over Sam. “I am your weapon, your armor, your shield. I am your blanket and your pillow. I am your guardian and your servant. I pledge with all I am to be your support and your comfort, your voice of wisdom and your moral compass. I am yours.” He returned to kneel by Sam’s side, hands outstretched. Sam took those hands briefly.
Then he let go and rose to make his own vow. “I don’t claim to know why you were chosen for me, but I know that you are mine for a reason. I pledge to stand by your side, to be your rock as you find your place in our world. I am yours.”
When Sam returned to his place holding hands with Castiel, Gabriel cleared his throat. “Any objections, anybody?”
“Yes.” Sam closed his eyes and reminded himself that this was all part of the plan. “I object.”
“And what is the basis of your objection?” Gabriel asked, sounding a little surprised.
“Succession.” Dean looked between Castiel and Sam. “We need a stable succession, and while Castiel’s not exactly what he appears to be, nephilim aren’t the answer, either. This is a human kingdom. It’s meant to be ruled by a human.”
Sam and Castiel both got to their feet. Sam turned to address the crowd. “My brother’s objection is fair. He is right that we need a human to be next in line to the throne. After much study, prayer, and consultation, I have an answer. There is a position specifically for situations where the sovereign and their soulmate happen to be unable to produce children naturally. In our case, a woman who agrees to bear my children. I have asked Lady Eileen Leahy to accept this position, and she has agreed.” A page stepped forward, uncovering the throne slightly behind and to the left of Sam’s on the dais. Lady Eileen was already in place, looking absolutely beautiful in her wedding finery.
“Objection withdrawn, your holiness,” Dean said, bowing and returning to his seat.
“Then by the power granted to me as an archangel of the Lord, I declare these two married. Seal your vows with a kiss, boys.” And they did, the red string that had brought them together flashing gold for all to see.