Chapter 78: Chapter 67 part 2

Agathe

 

The guests gathered in the ballroom, which had been prepared for the wedding. Babette's family sat on the front left and the royal family on the right. Princess Annemarie had also come as Torsten's fiancée and sat next to him. The king and queen of the vampires had not accompanied her, as they had to take care of important matters in the marshland. Annemarie was skeptical about the wedding decoration and the structure of the hall. A large arch decorated with white panels of cloth and snowflakes of glass, under which Friedrich had the honor of entrusting his son and Babette to each other. It was the tradition that the father of the groom took over this task. The entire ballroom was reminiscent of a winter landscape. Guests sat on chairs that were also decorated with snowflakes. White petals lay on the broad passage that led to the arch.

First, the bride entered the hall. Her stepmother held, as tradition dictated, her veil, which was a little too heavy for Babette alone. The court orchestra sang a solemn melody and all the guests stood up and admired the bride, who looked like a walking flower shop.

Arriving at the arch, Babette made a deep bow first to Agathe, who nodded to her and then to the king. Her stepmother sat down with her husband. The baron had the rings ready. Now the bridegroom was expected. He always walked the way to the arch alone. Everyone looked intently at the big door of the ballroom, including Agathe. She had waited long enough for this day. When it opened, a murmur went through the rows. Peter wore a long black coat, as well as a top hat, and walked with his head held high down the corridor. The coat was not part of his wedding equipment. Also, the hat was not supposed to be part of it. Agathe had an uneasy feeling. What is the fool up to?  When he had reached the middle of the hall, he took off the coat, and let it fall on the floor. Peter left his coat with a confident grin and let his eyes wander over all the guests before continuing on his way to Babette. With a mocking look, he took the cylinder off his head and carelessly threw it away. Babette looked at him in disbelief. "Peter!", Agathe heard her hiss. Peter stopped in front of his mother. Instead of bowing to her, he winked at her. "Do you like my dress, mother?", he asked. Agathe looked at him stunned. She hadn't expected that! He turned to the Baron and Baroness with a simple nod and then stood next to Babette, who stared at him in anger.

"Hello, my dear!" Peter was still smiling while the guests whispered.

"Peter? What is this?" Friedrich looked at his son in surprise.

"I'm dressed for my wedding. Nothing more." Agathe could no longer see his face, but pure mockery could be heard from her son's voice. "So? Father? Do we want to start?"

"What are you wearing!", cried Agathe.

The prince wore a plain white wedding dress. On his head sat a finely crafted tiara, which was set with sparkling glass beads and white beads. He also wore jewelry made of white pearls around his neck and wrists. "I'm wearing something festive mother. Suitable for this day."

Friedrich coughed and shook his head. "Well, we can talk about that later. Shall we start?" The queen shook her head. Hopefully, this rebellious act remained only that. Hopefully, her son wasn't planning anything worse! A traditional wedding included a short speech before the bride and groom were married and exchanging rings. The father of the bride would tie the couple together with a golden, shimmering cord on the wrists, and like that they would leave the hall as a married couple and accept the congratulations of the guests in front of the hall. Only then were they allowed to remove the cord. And after that the official celebrations began, for which a large festive tent had been set up in the castle’s garden. But Peter ruined it. She only hoped that Babette would take it with composure and cover up his impudence.

"Gladly." Peter turned back to the king.

"You're embarrassing me!", hissed Babette. "What is this nonsense!"

"Certainly not, sweetheart!" Peter turned his head to Babette. "Don't forget to smile. You can always say no."

"You know very well that this is not possible! That would be a shame! Even worse than your choice of clothing! We'll talk about that later!" Babette looked at the king again. "We are ready!"

The king began the wedding ceremony. His gaze was serious. He gave a short speech about the significance of this day and finally came to the all-important question.

"Babette von Steinhof? Would you like to take Prince Peter von Sonnenhof as your husband? Are you ready to be the princess of our proud kingdom and fulfill the tasks that come with it?"

Babette looked briefly at Peter, then took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm ready for that."

Agathe smiled forcedly.

Friedrich looked at his son. "And now I ask you, Prince Peter. Would you like to take Babette von Steinhof as your wife?"

Peter did not answer immediately. First, he looked at Babette, then he turned and looked through the crowd. His gaze rested longest on Agathe. When he turned back to his father, his words were heard loud and clear: "No."

 

Leopold

 

Tonight, it was time. Finally. Tonight, it would happen.

Out of excitement, he could hardly concentrate on his task. He and Marko helped in the kitchen as there was a big feast for the students at the end of the day to end the tournament day. There was, therefore, a lot to prepare.

"Be careful!", shouted Marko as Leopold was about to cut his finger.

"Oh. Thank you."

"Where are you with your thoughts?" Marko shook his head. Tears shimmered in his eyes. "The onions don't cut themselves and you hardly make any progress."

The onions, which they were supposed to cut into small pieces, were particularly spicy. Leopold also fought back tears. "I'm just looking forward to tonight."

"Oh? Yes? Do you and the princess have anything special planned?"

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"In a way. But she doesn't know anything about it, yet."

"And what is it?"

Leopold smiled. "That's my secret."

 

Julia

 

Marie was back. She was waiting for Julia to compete in the tournament. The first round was not over yet. The students had gathered a good distance behind the academy. There was a large open-air stage with many spectator stands. This served as the venue for the tournament. A small path led to the stage, which lay behind tall trees. Now, it was Philip's turn. He lost to a student from their parallel class. Pia and Helga cheered for him in vain.

"How are you feeling?", Julia asked her friend.

"Not good." Marie smiled sadly. "I miss Mia. The house was so empty without her."

"I can imagine. When Paul and Ingried left the castle, it also seemed empty to me. Even if you can hardly compare them. But that day, I also felt like I had lost her forever."

"It's really hard to compare."

"How are your parents?"

"Mom hardly eats anything or leaves the bedroom. Dad distracts himself from work. Julia? Why did this happen? Why did Mia have to die?" Marie sobbed. "Theo's family was sick too... But they are doing well. So... Why?"

Julia hugged her tightly. "I don't know."

"Me neither. And that makes it even worse! I don't know what to do. Dad wished me a lot of fun for the tournament. But the thought makes me feel sick. How can I have fun?"

"I don't know either. I'm so sorry, Marie."

"Me too."

"Me too, Marie!" Pia, who had only listened so far, sighed and then looked at Helga, who was staring sadly at her feet.

Then, it was Julia's turn. Restlessly, she approached the stage, which seemed to her like a deep abyss. Her mother expected her to do well? She would probably disappoint her. On stage, Mrs. Mühe awaited her, whose stern eyes looked at her. Julia's opponent was a girl from the parallel class. A tall, athletic-looking young lady.

I should have faked a cold!

 

Peter

 

He ran along the corridors of the castle to the castle gate, where several carriages stood. In his hands, he held his silver shoes, as he could not have run with them. The heels were too high for that. When he fled the ballroom, a riot broke out. Therefore, he ran as fast as his feet could carry him before his parents recovered from their shock and would look for him. Or send the guards after him... At the gate, behind a hedge, Peter had hidden a small travel bag in which his most important belongings were stowed away. He grabbed the bag and held out his diadem to one of the coachmen.

"Drive me to the academy. I pay you with this!"

"I can't do that. I'm waiting for the Duchess and Duke." But the coachman looked greedily at the diadem.

"These gems are worth more than you get paid by the Duchess and Duke for this ride. So?" Peter waved his tiara impatiently.

"All right." The coachman reached for the valuable piece of jewelry. "Get in. To the Academy?"

"Yes, exactly." Peter lifted his bag and then got into the carriage. He was careful not to step on his dress. He hadn't bothered to change. He didn't have the time for that. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. When the carriage started rolling, Peter felt free for the first time.