Dragon Quest VIII: Secrets

-Chapter Five - Wedding Day-

He didn't quite know where he was going, but he knew who he wanted to go to and it really wouldn't take long to convince her to come along with him. Ryuuichi walked quickly through the hallways of the cathedral, hiding between a statue or a corner of the wall whenever he felt or heard the presence of another nearby. Security was light, too light for his tastes, and he dimly wondered to himself it he was falling into a trap of sorts. Of course, the notion was silly to think of. Who would want to set up a trap during a peaceful wedding ceremony?

The young Trodain captain of the guard found himself wandering up towards the office of the recent High Lord Priest, now unoccupied since Marcello's disappearance. There were other rooms that she could be residing in, yet something was drawing him here. Making sure that there was nobody around, Ryuuichi slid into the office without a sound. His eyes locked onto a figure standing outside at the balcony and for a second his heart sank.

This wasn't where Medea was staying.

The tall, blond figure turned around at hearing the click of the door lock into place, his weary blue eyes meeting his current dark brown in faint surprise. Ryuuichi bowed at the king in respect, acknowledging his own presence.

"You…you're the one who asked for the mirror," King Clavius stated, the memory returning to him.

Ryuuichi gave a slight nod, wondering what to do. It wouldn't do to turn back around - he was in the presence of the king of Argonia after all and to turn back around would mean an insult. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants and frantically tried to think of a good excuse to leave.

"You seem to be troubled about something, young man," the king said to him and entered back inside the room. "Is there anything that I can help you with? Our kingdom is very much in debt to you after you gave aid to that foolish son of mine."

Ryuuichi paused in mid-thought as he stared at the king. This man was his uncle, he realized. It now made sense why he was so surprised when he met him the first time they arrived at Argonia's castle. He recalled back to his grandfather's stories that he supposedly greatly resembled his father, Eltrio.

The half Dragovian unconsciously let his hand stray to his necklace and the ring that resided there.

As another prince of Argonia, you have every right to tell them, including King Clavius.

"Actually, Your Majesty," he began, walking towards the king. "I…have something to give to you."

He slipped the necklace off over his head and held the ring in his open hand for the king to see. King Clavius' eyes widened at the sight of the familiar faint glow of an Argon heart embedded inside the jewelry.

"This is…"

[A few hours later…]

"I see…so you are Eltrio's son."

The two men stood at the balcony, having moved there when Ryuuichi suggested to get some fresh air as he told his story. Now the half Dragovian stared out at the vast gardens that decorated the cathedral with its true beauty obscured by the darkness of the night.

"When my older brother disappeared, everyone in the kingdom was devastated," the older man continued. "He was well-liked, strong, handsome, and friendly to all those around him. He was everything that our parents could ask for. It took a very long time for me to follow in his footsteps…"

Silence fell among them, each left with their own thoughts, until King Clavius once again spoke.

"I am sorry, I cannot accept you as the heir," he said, shaking his head and turning to meet him eye to eye. "It is not that I do not believe you…your eyes tell me the truth much better than your words, and…I had always known deep inside myself somewhere that there was something about you that resembled Eltrio. To find out that you are his son - it is unmistakable that you are; you look exactly like my brother."

He paused to allow Ryuuichi a moment to ingest his reasons. "However, for another heir to suddenly appear would cause turmoil among both kingdoms. I'm sure that you understand that."

The half Dragovian continued to remain silent. He was expecting this kind of response from his estranged uncle, the current king of Argonia, but he was disappointed all the same. He had managed to pull himself this far without thinking about the result of his actions. He had pushed those reasons aside with the aid of his grandfather and what his heart told him to do, what his friends had also pushed for him to do.

"…I do understand, Your Majesty," he finally began, watching his folded hands tighten in determination at what he was about to say. The logical part of his mind told him that the words were fit to toss him in the dungeons, but right now he really didn't care anymore.

Not when this situation revolved around her.

"However, I will not back down on the decision that I have forced upon myself…what I should have done long before this went into full motion." He paused to look for the right words to continue on. "I…I do not ask to become the next ruler of Argonia nor do I wish to. Despite who I am, my loyalties lie with Trodain and only Trodain. All I ask is…for you to stop this wedding from taking place."

He turned towards King Clavius now, noticing the other man's reaction. He knew that his eyes had shifted color.

"Princess Medea does not want this union to happen just as much as I do. She is forcing herself to do this because she is respecting the duty that has been set upon her since birth…even though she loves another…."

He knew that she loved him more than the brotherly figure he sought out to be without ever hearing her voice the words, but they always played the safety game when it revolved around their feelings for each other. But he didn't dare voice those words out.

"And…and I am doing my part of this old promise as the legitimate heir to Argonia…"

He turned around and headed for the door before he could betray anything else to the king, pausing only a moment to glance back.

"I understand that you are allowing my estranged cousin to run this wedding as he wants to because he is your only son. But will this union make him happy?"

[The next day…]

He had awoken early the next day only to find that he was the only person left in the room. Ryuuichi smiled bitterly to himself as he changed into the only clothes he brought along with him - more semi-formal attire made for the captain of Trodain.

He wasn't surprised that his friends were not here especially after his cold and uncaring attitude performance the night before. He wondered if they decided to leave the island without him. However when he left the room and entered the main hall, he was surprised to find all three waiting for him with knowing smiles on their faces.

"Did you have a thoughtful and wild night last night, Guv?" Angelo joked and return received an unexpected elbow in the gut by Jessica.

He merely stared at them, almost speechless. "How…"

Jessica took out a piece of paper from her belt, waving it around as evidence. "You left this on the nightstand when you came back. I, well Angelo really, couldn't help but be curious to see what it was. Why do you need a map of the cathedral that listed the assumed number of guards surrounding the area when the wedding takes place?"

Ryuuichi let out a sigh, but he found himself smiling. "Was my acting that bad?"

"Well, we all thot y'were actin' a bit funny, Guv," Yangus piped in. "So we waited 'til y'were fast asleep t'figure out wot was goin' on."

Ryuuichi let out another sigh, brushing back his unruly hair in embarrassment. He was a fool to think he could get away at doing this by himself.

"Well," Angelo said, tightening the grip of his gloves," we have a wedding to crash, don't we?"

With the help of the map, they developed a plan to slip into the cathedral without notice just as Ryuuichi himself had done the night before. The half Dragovian stood on his tip-toes to scan over the crowd that gathered in front of the cathedral, waiting for some type of opening to arrive as he and Yangus waited for Angelo and Jessica return. So focused on the front doors was he that it took a hard tap on the shoulder by the former bandit for him to snap back to reality.

"Oi, Guv, 'ere they come!"

He turned around to see the pair trotting back towards them. His heart dropped a little at the looks on their faces. He didn't even need to ask about their end, but Yangus took over that task.

"How's your end?"

The silver haired man shook his head. "No good. It's completely blocked in the back."

Ryuuichi inwardly cursed to himself. Perhaps he shouldn't have talked to King Clavius after all.

"So wot're we goin' t'do now?" Yangus asked no one in particular. "Y'think we can jus' barge in there?"

"We might just have to," Jessica answered, one hand touching her chin in thought. "The ceremony is about to begin, but there isn't sign of King Trode or Princess Medea yet."

They looked at him for some possible solution as they had done in the past.

As he thought, all he could think of was the risk they were taking was perhaps the only solution lest he destroy himself for his mistake. He loved her, and she loved him - that was all that mattered.

"Jessica," he addressed the red haired mage, "do you think you can cast a Snooze spell on the guards?"

She pondered the question for a moment. "…It might be a bit tricky for all of the guards because of their own magical abilities…"

He looked at Angelo and Yangus. "If there are, take care of them. I'll get in there as fast as possible."

They nodded and he looked back to the front, hand straying to touch the hilt of his Liquid Metal sword to make sure it was secure, before he pushed through the crowd and marched forward.

When he burst through the doors, he was expecting to arrive at the perfect moment, the moment where the priest would as if anybody would object and take the opportunity to set what he should have done months before right. However, the young Trodain captain found himself in the middle of opening ceremonies with neither the princess nor her father to be seen.

His estranged cousin was up at the altar, staring at him along with the rest of the invited guests in the cathedral. Ryuuichi's attention immediately went to the four guards on either side of him and they were approaching him with caution as his hand went to the hilt of his sword.

"You! What are you doing here?" he could hear the screeching, nasalized voice of Prince Charmles echo in the cathedral. "Guards, get him!"

"Stop!" a familiar voice boomed, standing to reveal himself as King Clavius.

The guards had stopped at their advance and Ryuuichi turned back to the front, confused. The king of Argonia looked at Ryuuichi with eyes that said to the young man that he had expected this.

"You are not to touch him," the king ordered. "He is the rightful heir to marry Princess Medea."

His son stared at him in disbelief and a collected gasp echoed in the audience.

"Wha…Father, what do you mean?" Charmles asked him when he finally managed to regain his will to speak.

The hand over his sword fell back to his side as Ryuuichi watched the scene before him unfold, shocked. The king tore his gaze away from Ryuuichi and back to his son. "That man standing there is my brother's son, your cousin, Charmles."

He took out the chained necklace that Ryuuichi had given him the night before out of his cloak and held it out for all to see.

"Wha-what?!?" his son exclaimed.

"This is my older brother, Eltrio's ring, Charmles. I remember the day he returned from his hunt to retrieve this Argon heart." He turned back to Ryuuichi. "You are right. The person who should marry Princess Medea should be you, not my son."

Charmles objected. "This is nonsense! Father, what are you talking about? The person who should be marrying Princess Medea is me, not him! I didn't go through that trial to get that Argon heart for nothing!"

"You obtained the Argon heart??" King Clavius' blue eyes flashed angrily. "Then how can you explain this?"

He picked up a box that was next to him and opened it, revealing a large Argon heart inside. Charmles gasped and stumbled to the floor as he attempted to back away from the jewel.

"This was the Argon heart that Ryuuichi obtained and brought back to me after you went and bought another one!" The king of Argonia narrowed his eyes. "I know that is something that I have never taught you. And you still have the dignity to call yourself a prince??"

He turned back to his guests. "This wedding ceremony will still continue. However the groom will be replaced by the one who has truly stolen Princess Medea's heart and is the true heir to the kingdom of Argonia…the latter if he only wishes to."

Ryuuichi stared at the king in disbelief, his reaction to the older man's words only to blink. He must have ordered the guards to bring him forward because the young man couldn't budge on his own. He no longer took note of his surroundings as he stood at the altar, wondering to himself if he was dreaming.

His stupor was broken when the doors of the cathedral opened and revealed King Trode and Princess Medea who was surprised at his appearance before them. Oddly though, King Trode did not look too surprised to see him there. Ryuuichi wondered to himself if the two kings talked to one another after he left, but those thoughts were taken aside when she approached the altar still looking at him in wonder. She looked beautiful in her wedding gown; he only wished he was given time to be in the black tuxedo usually worn in your own wedding - but his captain attire would have to do.

When she had asked him what was going on as the ceremony continued did he realize that this was not a dream. He merely smiled at her. Only when their vows were taken did he lean forward and whispered to her:

"It's a secret."