This Touch Is Forever

Hector swallowed as Queen Elvira lifted her eyes from the scroll and watched him. He looked down at his own svroll, then opened it.

She watched him calmly, but her heart was beating wildly. Is this where he ends it all? Is this where his love for Lana stops him from seeing her love for him?

He looked up at her, then slowly at the crowd. Lana was not even part of the servants in the hall, and he looked back to the scroll again. He never imagined such a grand wedding with Lana, but he had at least imagined that she would be the one standing across from him. Not Queen Elvira. Not any other woman.

"I..." He started, and Queen Elvira raised her brows in anticipation.

"I...Hector, a nameless servant," He blinked and looked at the crowd again, his chest filling up with tears. "Take you, Queen Elvira, daughter of King Richmond the third, Queen and owner of the throne of the pearl city, as..." He trailed off again and looked up.

Lana was nowhere. She must have been so angry about the incident in the morning. He licked his bottom lip and returned to the scroll.

"As my wife. To love, to cherish and to walk with till there is no more distance to cover."

Queen Elvira's smile spread through her face, her joy unmatched. The sound of applause from the guests filled the room, and it echoed off the shields that still covered them.

"Thank you, Hector." She said, before dropping the scroll on the silver tray that the maid passed to them.

He dropped his scroll, a single tear finally escaping his eyes. He turned to the door, just as Lana arrived.

Queen Elvira looked away from him, slowly taking a peek at the door. She turned back to him, letting him revel in the last moments. Because she would make sure they were the very last.

Hector could no longer control the tears that filled his eyes this point as he bit down on his lips to stop the harsh quivering of his lower jaw.

His eyes thinned as the tears filled them and he slowly looked away from her. He did not belong there anymore. He was married now.

"Your highness, exchange the rings now."

Queen Elvira nodded, then looked at Hector. He was wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, and she took a step towards him.

"You belong to me now," She said, slowly removing his hand from his face. She kept it by his side, then cupped his face gently. "If you need to cry, do it on my shoulder." She lifted her eyes to him as her hand slowly moved against his face, wiping the tears away. "And I will wipe the tears when you are done."

He nodded, then looked down to his feet.

"The ring, Hector." She said, and he looked up. The two ring boxes were on a bed of petals, staring at him almost daringly. He took the one next to him and opened it. It was a female ring, one that intertwined into the sign of eternity at the top.

Queen Elvira gave her hand to him, her eyes expectant. He was a little hesitant. He had never touched her of his own accord except that one time. But this time, it was different. This one touch is forever.

He gently balanced her palm on his open one, and the smile she gave them, could have warmed his heart. It could have, if only he were in love with her. If only he let it thaw him.

He slipped the ring into her finger, then slowly let go of her hand.

She collected the other box and opened it. Without taking the ring out, she closed it and put it back.

"I will not give that ring," She said simply.

Hector raised his eyes to her, in a confused yet hoping geature. Was she letting him go?

"I made a ring for Hector alone. He has not only...proven to be the man I have been waiting for, but he has also done so much for the palace. So, here."

His heart sank and he nodded his disappointment away. She brought out a black velvet ring box, then opened it calmly. It was a simple band, but underneath it, in beautiful handwritten cursive, was an engraving of his name.

"It is your name written in my handwriting, Hector. Think of it as a wedding gift." She said, then collected his hand, and slipped the ring into his ring finger.

She then slowly dropped it back.

"You are hereby, pronounced husband and wife. Long live the new royal family."

"Long live!" The crowd echoed after the minister.

Lana slowly left the hall, her hand clenched into fists.

Hector looked somber, his eyes fixed on his feet throughout.

"Hector?"

He looked up. "Your highness."

She shrugged, then gestured at her hand. "You will not let me walk out alone, will you?"

He looked at her hand, then to the now empty door, before he shook his head. He then cautiously held her hand. She adjusted her palm so her fingers would fill the spaces between his fingers.

"We can go now." She told him, as the servants fell behind them, accompanying them in their royal journey, amidst the cheers of the crowd.

"You said you would not let it happen, lord Adrian. They are married now. What will I do? What will happen to us?"

Adrian's pained expression mirrored Lana's, just that hers was a lot more on the softer side. He looked angry, to a point of self destruction.

"It does not have to be forever."

"What do you mean, Lord?"

"That marriage..." He said, plunging his nails into the flesh of his palm. "It does not have to last forever."

"So you...perhaps know what to do? Do you have a plan?"

He looked at her. "Are you not forgetting your honorifics?"

"I apologize, my lord."

"I will look for you when you are useful to me. For now, just stay low."

She nodded as he turned away, following through the door in the servant's quarters that the servants normally used on days of importance to avoid interfering with the royals.