Villain: The Play of Destiny

It was Monday morning, the last day of the year, 2040. The Demiliore Estate was livelier than it had ever been in over two decades, and the reason was the wedding of the Young Master of the Family.

Hundreds of workers of the Estate had been working since the last two days to prepare for today, and now they were going through the last bit of preparations.

The day had a festive atmosphere to it, and everyone was wearing colorful dresses. There were hundreds of children, who were enjoying the light snowfall out in the open, singing carols and wedding songs and they filled the stands.

At noon, the Demiliore Guards performed a horseback parade, circling the Garden where the Wedding Stage was set, and then they took their positions waiting for the guests to enter the Garden.

Signal was sent to the Main Gate and then the Guest Houses, and all the Guests soon approached the Garden in their vehicles. There were some young ones already present in the Garden since the morning, enjoying the festives, which included preparations for the later dances, traditional singings, and other performances.

It was not just a wedding of the Demiliore Family, but also of an Ancient Family, which had its own unique customs.

There were several bonfires set up in the Garden, which provided enough warmth even in the cold weather, and soon the Guests were guided to their Gazebos which bore their names and the names of their Families.

The Master of Ceremony kept announcing the names of the guests that arrived, and as soon as they took their seats in their Gazebos, the Maids and Butlers served them wine and snacks to enjoy as they watched the Performances taking place on the stage.

On the boundary of the Garden were the stands, set up for hundreds of workers of the Demiliore Estate and their families, who were here to witness the wedding of their Young Master. And they were all having the time of their lives as they happily cheered for the performances and enjoyed the snacks.

However, only a few guests were paying attention to the performances as they were more focused on the other guests who were attending the Wedding. They were quite agitated since they could not go forward and meet the other guests before the end of the wedding and the start of the Banquet that was to take place inside the Demiliore Manor. And the reason behind their agitation was the presence of the Four Major Families of the Sameran City.

The Announcement of the Lin Family and the Clark Family did not come out as any surpise to those that were aware of the connections between them and the Demiliore Family.

Clarks were old friends of the Demiliores, and the relationship betweent the two had always been good. And Lin were quite neutral in the Sameran City, and the First Wife of the current Head of the Family was best of friends with the Lady of the Demiliore Family. It was not unexpected for them to come, but today, instead of Lin Houtian, Lin Wudao had personally come to the Wedding. The old man, who had not made any public appearances ever since he handed charge of the business to his son was here today, accompanying his Daughter-in-laws and grandchildren, which rose lots of questions in the curious minds.

However, the announcement of Grayson’s arrival took everyone by surpise. The two families were not enemies, but they were business rivals, and their presence in a wedding which was a Friends and Family affair was quite a shock. Even if the Head of the Grayson Family did not come, his wife and all his children came to attend the wedding, which was not just a mere show of presence but also a show of sincerity.

But what really took everyone off-guard was the announcement of the last group of Guests, which was none other than the Angelini Family.

Darius Angelini himself came, and his estranged Grandson and his family were with him today. It was an event that was bound to send tremors throughout the city after the details of the wedding would be put up on the news tonight.

Some people subconsciously stood up when the Angelini Family passed by their Gazebos. It was not just in show of respect, but in shock that the old man Darius seemed quite healthy and just as majestic as they had remembered him to be all those years ago. Yes, he was much older now, but his steps were just as firm as ever.

After all the guests had arrived, it was time for the Bride’s Family to make their appearance.

Seeing dozens of people with enchanting emerald eyes and confident statures, wearing forest green robes over their suits, people couldn’t help but feel quite tensed, and at the same time, very curious about their origin.

The old men, who were quite knowledgeable, understood that the Mourntales were an Ancient Family, and soon they informed the young ones why these people held such a pressure in their presence.

When the Mountale settled down in their Gazebos, the Bridegroom’s Family, finally arrived.

Razier and Diana were in the lead, and right behind them was Venessa and the Guard of the Deputy Governor General. As soon as they entered the Garden, everyone stood up from their seats, and since Demiliore were the hosts, they visited every Gazebo and thanked everyone for coming to attend their child’s wedding.

The shock of the guests knew no bounds when they saw Raizer and Diana happily hugging the Angelini Family. Yes, everyone knew that they were all related, but they were supposed to be at odds that were unreconcilable. Or so they had thought.

It was very clear to everyone present today that Demiliore and Angelini were back together. And the guests could not wait for the Banquet to approach them and learn some details.

The final performances started, and an hour and half later, under the ruckus applause of the audience, everything finally ended.

The Master of Ceremony changed, and someone from the Mourntale Family took his place on the Stage that was being reset for the Wedding Ceremony. Everything was ready within fifteen minutes, and at exactly 3 pm, the new Master of the Ceremony announced the arrival of the Bride’s Convoy.

Dozens of Young Men in Green Robes, wearing swords on their waists, marched into the Garden, and then they parted, taking positions, and through them walked a beautiful fairy that suffocated the hearts of everyone with her beauty.

Amelia was dressed in a green and silver traditional wedding dress, embedded with emeralds and platinum linings. A dress that embraced the modesty and the modern style at the same time, without showing an inch of her skin, and it looked absolutely perfect on the fairy that was wearing it.

The women were sighing in envy, and the men could not bear looking at the bride, eventually lowering their eyes in respect.

There was just a presence oozing out of Amelia that made her seem like an unattainable dream to the Mortals, and when she took the stage and turned to the guests, the tiara on her head sparkled in light. She looked just like a princess, a real life princess that outshined every princess in the fairytales. And right behind her stood her two cousins as her knights, wearing silver robes with swords on their waists.

The Master of Ceremony bowed to her before he announced the arrival of thr Bridegroom, which was followed by the sounds of the hooves of running horses approaching the Garden.

His entry was quite a loud one when compared to his bride, and as the convey slowed down after entering the Garden, the audiences in the stands loudly cheered for their young Master who looked like a prince charming in every girl’s dreams.

Keith looked composed and confident, wore a light smile on his lips, and kept his eyes locked on his bride.

He advanced through the Bride’s Guard, who unsheathed their swords as soon as he passed by them.

When he arrived at the foot of the stage, he climbed off his horse, and respectfully bowed to the bride before stepping onto the stage.

His wedding suit and robes were similarly fashioned to that of his bride, with emeralds and platinum linings, and even the color scheme was the same silver and green. There was, however, no crown on his head, but even without it, he looked like a prince.

Right behind him were Yingying and Victor, dressed in Green Robes, and they too were wearing swords on their waists.

Keith stood facing his bride, looking right into her eyes, and after the horses were led away, the Familes of the two took their positions at the foot of the stage.

As soon as everything was ready, Keith smiled brightly and went down on his knees, drawing his right hand to her.

His action prompted the two guards standing behind her to angrily unsheathe their swords, which made the audience suck in a cold breath. And in their response, Yingying and Victor half drew their swords before he raised his left hand and stopped them.

As soon and Yingying and Victor covered their blades again, Amelia smiled and offered her right hand into his hand, which he graciously accepted and planted a kiss on her knuckles.

Seeing the decision of the bride, her guards sheathed their swords back on their waists and respectfully stepped back before bowing to the Bridegroom in apology as he got back on his feet.

And then the Mothers of the Bridegroom and the Bride stepped on the stage, who in Amelia’s case was her Aunt.

Venessa approached the bride first, taking out a beautiful bracelet of highest quality Jadeites and lovingly putting in on her left wrist. After she did that, she planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, before giving way to her aunt to approach Keith.

The Mourntale Lady too took out a Bracelet, but unlike Amelia’s, it did not hold Jadeites but was completely made out of Platinum in a woven design with a draconic crest. It was something a man could wear without it seeming too flashy. She then planted a kiss on his head, and then the two women presented their children with the bands for their intended that bore their names.

Under the applause of everyone, the Ring Ceremony was performed, and the Promise was made. It was now time for the Wedding Ceremony.

Both the Mothers helped binding the left hand of Keith with Amelia’s right hand with a red thread, and then on the platform, a large scroll made out of Sandlewood and Oakwood was uncovered.

Keith placed his right hand into the dish filled with red ink, and then he marked his handprint on the scroll. Amelia followed his lead and marked her left handprint on the Scroll, with her thumb touching his. The two of them then signed their names with black ink inside their respective handprints, and also on separate documents that were to be submitted to the Marriage Bureau.

After it was done, the Witnesses stepped on the stage to sign their names on the Scroll and the offical documents. Seven from the Bride’s side, and Seven from the Bridegroom’s side.

Other than Raizer, Diana, Venessa, Caesar and May, Darius and Damien filled up the last two places for the witnesses on Keith’s side, and all the Witnesses stayed on the stage after signing their names.

The Master of the Ceremony then asked the two of them to close their eyes, and recite their Wedidng Vows in their hearts.

Keith and Amelia squeezed each other’s hand as they recited the Vows they had taken on the night they married each other, and after they opened their eyes, they turned to each other and smiled brightly. ｂ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟ｌ.

“I am yours and you are mine.” They said in unison before Keith leaned in and kissed her.

The moment their lips touched, they felt a tremor in their heart, and their minds went blank. It was simply surreal, and both had never felt something like this in their lives.

She tasted so sweet and he instinctively kept kissing her, and Amelia just let the sweet feeling in her heart wash over all her senses.

When they finally stopped and separated, they found the crowd happily cheering for them and the fireworks lighting up the sky that was casted with dark clouds, and the newly wedded together bowed to everyone to thank them for their blessings.

The two mothers then unwound the tread that bound their hands, and the same thread was then used to bind the Scroll that was the proof of their union, which was carefully stored inside a wooden chest.

To finish the ceremony, the Husband and Wife both drank fresh goat’s milk from the same cup, and helped each other eat a piece of seasonal fruit, which was a Strawberry in their case.

After the Ceremony ended, Keith held Amelia’s hand, and walked down the aisle under the applause of the guests and the chants of the Bride’s Gaurd, out of the Garden, where a car was waiting for them to take them to the Manor.