Chapter 53 - Dresses and Menus

The palace corridors of Valtoria buzzed with anticipation as the final preparations for our royal wedding gathered pace. The weight of our union, long seen as a necessary alliance between Veridia and Avaloria, had now shifted into something more intimate—one that, beneath its layers of duty and ceremony, promised a glimmer of genuine connection. In a sunlit antechamber adorned with intricate tapestries and gleaming mirrors, Alexander and I found ourselves immersed in the delicate business of testing our wedding outfits—a ritual that, despite the formality, held unexpected moments of levity and revelation.