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And so it began. Xander let the coordinator lead him down the corridor, their steps hurried.
“Have you seen your brother?” she asked as they turned a corner and climbed a small flight of stairs.
“No.” Xander tried to modulate his voice to the even, regal tones of his brother. “You know Xander. He probably just wandered off.”
“Hmm.” The coordinator flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Well, the show will just have to go on without him.”
“It looks like it.”
She opened a door and gestured for Xander to enter. As soon as he stepped through, he realized that he was at the front of the wedding hall. Rows and rows of pews were filled with Aeniceans and Americans alike, all dressed in their finest, all ready to see a royal wedding. When Xander emerged, they began to cheer.
Xander raised his hand in his brother’s signature wave, and the cheering grew. In the front row, Xander’s parents and Maisy’s mother looked relieved to see him, and Xander raised his hand again. Then he took his place in front of a majestic arch woven with Aenicea’s national flower, the spring rose, along with American daisies to symbolize a “commoner” girl becoming a royal. The officiant, a tall man in a fitted suit, nodded to Xander.
“Welcome. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Cold feet?” he asked with a wink.
“Not at all.” Xander smiled at him, trying to channel Niko’s quiet confidence and not his own worries that someone was going to figure out that he was impersonating his brother.
“Well, good. Maisy seems like a wonderful girl.”
“She really is.”
Just then, the string quartet began to play. In unison, Xander and the officiant turned their heads to the front of the room, where one of Maisy’s bridesmaids entered on the arm of Niko’s and Xander’s childhood friend Jason. They walked down the aisle in smooth, perfect steps, aligned exactly to the music. This was the part of the wedding that Xander had practiced several times. Maisy’s friend looked lovely in a yellow chiffon dress, and Jason saw Xander at the front but didn’t do a double take — it looked like his cover was solid.
The next pair came down the aisle, then another, then finally Niko’s chief advisor, Evros, followed with a bridesmaid on each arm. Maisy’s sister, Lily, was one of them. Xander felt a stab of guilt that the plans had been rearranged and he hadn’t been able to walk with Lily, but surely a small processional recalculation was better than the groom not showing up.
The music changed, and a little boy Xander recognized as Maisy’s cousin came down the aisle with a pair of shiny rings on a large, white pillow. The crowd aahed at the sight of the little boy, who really did cut a dashing picture in his tiny tux.
He was followed by Joya, Evros’s daughter, who toddled down the aisle tossing fistfuls of rose petals and daisies onto the ground. The aahs increased.
With each group that came down the aisle, Xander’s nerves spiked, then relaxed. No one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. They all simply took their places at the front of the room.
And then the music changed again and Xander’s heart stopped. Somehow, in his mad dash to take Niko’s place and his worries about being found out, he hadn’t really put together that Maisy would be walking down the aisle towards him. She was wearing a long, lacy white dress that accentuated her feminine figure and made her appear to almost float down the aisle. Her gorgeous brown curls framed her face, the features of which had been emphasized with makeup. A tiara glinted on top of her head.
Despite himself, Xander couldn’t stop staring at Maisy as she came towards him on her father’s arm. She kept her gaze bowed most of the way, but when she raised her gaze to Xander a flicker of confusion crossed those beautiful features. Xander’s breath caught. If anyone could figure out the ruse, it would be Niko’s bride. But then Maisy smiled. It was just a flash of a smile, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, but it looked real. She stepped in front of Xander and held out her hands. After a moment he took her hands, and the ceremony began.
“Citizens of Aenicea,” the officiant said. “Visitors from afar. We have come together today to celebrate the eternal union of Mr. Galanis and Ms. Carpenter, hereafter referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Galanis — the crown prince and princess of Aenicea.”
There were a few cheers from the crowd at this. The officiant paused to let them die down, then continued. He spoke for a while about love and respect and duty and trust, but Xander was hardly listening. Instead, he was looking at Maisy, and she was looking at him.
Her green eyes sparkled with something Xander had never seen from her before. It must be love — the love she felt for his absent brother. Yet, even though Xander knew her affection wasn’t directed towards him, his heart warmed at the sight of her. Maisy really was gorgeous, and her hands fitted into his like puzzle pieces. Xander had never let himself look at his brother’s bride like this.
Yet now, standing here, their gazes locked, the rest of the world seemed to fall away. The officiant’s words faded into the background. The crowd blurred and disappeared. Xander’s thoughts of obligation and worries of being found out were washed away. The only thing that mattered was Maisy’s hands in his, her green eyes sparkling, the corners of her pink lips tilted up in a hopeful smile.
Perhaps it was the magic of the words being spoken and the romance of the packed wedding hall, but Xander felt a connection between himself and Maisy. Of course, for her, it was a connection with his brother, which dampened Xander’s enthusiasm.
“If you would each take a moment to sign the official wedding document…” The officiant produced a form, which had already been filled out, as well as a beautiful silver pen. Xander bit his lip and, when his turn came, quickly scribbled something that could be Niko’s name. Maisy signed after him, her signature much more refined.
“And now,” the officiant continued, “it’s time for the exchange of the traditional Aenicean wedding vows. Please repeat after me. Niko, you begin. ‘I swear to stand by you, in rough seas and in calm.’”
“I swear to stand by you, in rough seas and in calm.” Xander’s voice was steady.
“Now you, Maisy. ‘I swear to be your lighthouse, in dark nights and stormy weather.’”
“I swear to be your lighthouse, in dark nights and stormy weather,” Maisy repeated.
