Rise of A Queen: Aster's Story

Chapter 2

An hour later, she was walking through the halls of the space center, eager to reach the door to the Elder Council. Elder Alioth approached her as she turned a corner. "Astoria, Princess Lyra has had a body scan and we are pleased to inform you that she is healthy and remains intact. It is no surprise that while it is acceptable for her to be sexually active before marriage, she was very sheltered and King Cassiel made it clear that he preferred her to reserve her body for her spouse. Since she failed to find one in our community, he knew that it may be an important factor should she marry outside of her own culture. She is prepared and waiting for your arrival." Aster stopped walking as he finished speaking. She was acquaintances with Princess Lyra and was familiar with her quiet and docile nature. She knew that this entire process must be humiliating for her, even if it was normal. It seemed only fair that she be given the same peace of mind regarding her life partner. "Elder Alioth, I believe we should take time to do a health check for you to report back to my bride. Perhaps this situation will be less stressful if she doesn't feel like the only one being subjected to these circumstances. " The Elder nodded, "Very well, we can go into the next door and do the body scan." Aster didn't speak as she entered the door. She took a glance around the room and found it to be a small conference room. The Elder took a small wand-like device from his pocket. It was about the length of a pencil but about 2 inches wide. The handle had a few buttons on it, and he pressed them in a sequence that was random to her. "This is a simple process, just stand still and it will only take a minute." She nodded and waited for him to wave the wand around her body from top to bottom. Once he was finished, she took a seat at the table and waited for the results to load. "Very good Astoria, I will report back to the Princess. Your scan shows that you are healthy and not pregnant. She will be pleased to know that you volunteered." Astoria gave a small smile to the Elder, "Let's not discuss my lack of virginity with Princess Lyra in any detail. That will be a discussion for the two of us, but I believe that through our acquaintance she is aware that I have a fiancee waiting for me to return to Mars, so there is no surprise as to my status." With that she stepped into the hallway, holding the door for the Elder to exit with her. "I will give you a few minutes to talk with her before I enter the room." He nodded and went on his way.

She stood in the hallway for a few minutes dazed out, simply staring at nothing. She welcomed the brief moment of numbness where she saw nothing, felt nothing, thought about nothing. Life had taken a sudden and surprising turn and she wasn't sure how she was going to keep a grasp on who she was as an individual or how she was going to maintain her relationship. If she was honest with herself, she was more than a little scared that this would be more than Rigel could handle. They had been together for 3 years, and although they had never set limits on their relationship, they had both been exclusive with each other. Shaking her head, she snapped back to reality. She was going to go through with this whole fiasco. She was going to accept the rule of the Canis Center and take Princess Lyra as her wife. She squared her shoulders and walked into the room. The council of 6 was seated in a semi-circle. In the middle stood a Canis Priest. He smiled and bowed his head to her. “Good evening my Queen. Tonight we will make your rule official and bind you to Princess Lyra. The King has moved to the next realm this morning and his body will be laid to rest in 3 days. The Princess is aware of our situation and should arrive any minute.” Aster gave him a quick nod, “Very good. We will complete the ceremony, then I want my wife escorted by her guard to my new chambers. Have a servant bring in a hot bath and her favorite foods. I want two guards stationed outside my quarters. No one is to disturb us this evening. She is not to leave until after the meeting with Morax. I will make this clear to her when we speak tonight. Before I retire to my chamber, I want someone to show me to my office and any files related to Morax. Have someone prepare clothing for my meeting tomorrow.” As she finished her instructions, the door opened. Princess Lyra entered their council room. She was dressed in a jade green flowing gown with a gold belt. Her long black hair flowed freely down to the back of her calves. Her face was tilted down bowing her head to Aster, “My Queen”. Her voice was soft and quiet. Aster returned the show of respect, bowing at the hip instead, "My Bride, it is a pleasure to see you again, even under these strange circumstances. I have made plans for our evening, and I hope you will find them to your satisfaction." Aster extended her hand as Princess Lyra raised her head and her brilliant blue eyes stared into her brown ones. "Now if you are ready, we can begin." Together they turned to face the priest.

"I, Princess Lyra Rasalas, take you, Astoria Black, as my wife and Queen." Aster watched as she cut her left wrist. "I, Astoria Black, take you Princess Lyra Rasalas, as my wife and Queen" and made a cut on her own wrist and extended her arm towards her wife. They placed their hands together, blending their blood and stating in unison, "One blood through eternity." With that, the Priest wrapped their joined hands in a red cloth embroidered with gold thread. He completed this part of the ceremony, "Two bound as one though eternity, I present to the Elder Council Queen Lyra and Queen Astoria Black". The Canis Priest bowed out of the room for the rest of the ceremony to begin. Aster bowed her head to the council to give a request. "If we may take a few moments to collect our thoughts and prepare for the next portion of the ceremony I would be grateful." Elder Alioth bowed his head in reverence and agreed, "I believe a 15-minute break to allow you two to speak in private would be acceptable." With that, the council exited to their private chamber through a side door. Aster and Lyra stood with their hands still bound for a few quiet minutes. "I will give you a few minutes to prepare for this." Aster unwrapped their hands and brought Lyra's chin up to look into her eyes. "When I come into the room, close your eyes, imagine we are alone. There is no one in the room but us two. I will get you out of here as quickly as I can." Aster turned to walk out of the room without waiting for her answer. She stepped out of the front door and leaned against the wall. This was going to be the hardest part of today. She steadied her resolve to get this ceremony over with and perhaps enjoy the rest of her evening with her wife.

Putting on a stoic face, she entered the council room. A table much like the one from a doctor's office had been moved into the center of the gallery. Her wife was lying on the table perpendicular to where she stood. Her body was pointed away from the Elders and her head was turned to the side facing away from everyone. Aster walked to the foot of the table and waited for instructions. An Elder she didn't know spoke up, "This is the consummation ceremony between Queen Lyra and Queen Astoria. Once the ceremony is completed, the Elders will document the results and the marriage will be filed in our archives. You may begin."