A Thousand Years- An Aveyond Fanfic Oneshot

Rhen stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom staring at herself in the mirror in a state of near disbelief. Her purple hair had been curled and pinned, cascading down her back in a shimmering waterfall and framing her face that looked smooth and soft rather then dirt streaked as it always had before. Crystal earrings twinkled at her ears and matched the stones sewn into her wedding dress.

Her wedding dress...

Never in Rhen's wildest imaginings did she ever believe that she would be standing in the Thais castle preparing for her wedding, in fact after starting on her quest she had never thought she would even be getting married.

Yet here she was, preparing to step outside and marry the man she loved before being crowned as queen of a broken kingdom.

The familiar feeling of panic fluttered in her chest as she looked at her reflection and the realization of what was about to take place came crashing down over her, her hands visibly shaking in front of her.

What was she doing?! She wasn't cut out to be queen! She was going to mess up and-

A sudden knock behind her cut her off mid-word and Rhen turned to look at the door as a faint voice called through.

"It's Lars, can I come in?"

"Y-yes."

The door opened to let the green haired sorcerer in and he closed the door quietly behind him before looking up at Rhen, his eyes widening slightly before he shot her smile that didn't have it's usual edge.

"Look at you, not covered in metal and dirt and actually wearing makeup for once. A miracle has occurred." He teased in a mild tone, before the smile suddenly fell away as Rhen began to shake her head.

"I can't do it Lars, I just can't do it!" Rhen gasped out, hands flapping slightly at her sides at a loss of what else to do with them without ruining all he work done on her by the servants. "I'm a farm girl, I'm not a queen. I'll ruin everything, the want me so bad to be the old queen-my mother but I'm not!"

Her breathing was uneven and instantly Lars crossed the room to reach her with only a few long strides.

"Hey, no. Don't do that to yourself." Lars said firmly, hands coming up to settle on her shoulders. "Listen to me Rhen, you were born to lead. It doesn't matter if it's a kingdom, or a ragtag group of people through the world on a quest. Goddess knows that if you can get the lot of us through the quest without killing ourselves or each other first leading the kingdom will be easy."

A trembling laugh escaped her at his statement and he smirked slightly before continuing.

"You are a powerful and smart person, as much as it pains me to admit that. You are probably the best suited person to do this, and your birth parents have nothing to do with it. You are the prophecied hero, and you're the swordsinger that could kick all our butts." He paused then before amending his statement. "Well, other then me."

"You're an idiot." Rhen snorted, her shaking beginning to subside.

"Yeah probably." Lars said with a crooked smirk. "But the point is that you can do this. You are going to take a deep breath, and then you are going to go out there to marry the man that loves you more then anyone else in Aia before standing by his side as you receive an official title for who you've been all along."

Rhen stared at Lars, forcing herself to relax and breath normal before impulsively hugging the sorcerer who made a rather amusing squeaky noise.

"Thanks Lars, I needed that."

He peeled her off of him with an exaggerated eyeroll although he couldn't quite hide his smile.

"Yeah yeah, save the sappy for the guy who actually wants it." He snorted as Rhen laughed and smoothed out the wrinkles from her hug in her dress.

There was a click as the door opened again and the servant poked her head inside.

"Milady, are you ready?"

Rhen looked over and took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she let it out again and looked at the servant.

"Just give me a moment please, and I'll come out."

The servant dipped her head before stepping out of the room and Rhen looked back to Lars who had gone over to the dressing table to retrieve her veil. She watched silently as he approached with the veil comb in hand and settled the veil over the back of her head, gently pushing the comb into place.

"There, done."

Rhen smiled softly and gave a nod, more to herself then anything.

"I'm ready."

He nodded and offered his arm to Rhen with an unusually serious expression.

"I'm sure Dameon is getting impatient and as much as I'd love to see him squirm I think that we should go."

Rhen giggled and accepted the arm that her friend offered, watching as the doors were opened by the servant. Her dress made soft shifting noises as they made their way through the halls and down the stairs towards the chapel. They stopped just outside the door, Rhen's eyes getting slightly misty when she thought about how much she wished her parents could have seen her and her father could have walked her down the isle. But it had all needed to happen as soon as possible which gave them no time to come down. She was so thankful to Lars that he was willing to take the place of her father, stepping into that position as a brother figure to walk her down the isle to her future.

The organ music behind the doors swelled and slowly the doors opened, Rhen's heart in her throat as she felt all the eyes on her. Her eyes darted over the room, then as the door fully opened Dameon was finally revealed.

It was like the shades had come off and everything was in such vibrant and full colour. The moment her violet gaze met his warm chocolate brown one every single last bit of nerves melted away. His mouth dropped open slightly as he caught site of her, tears misting his beautiful eyes as he smiled.

A smile wreathed her face, everything else fading into the background as step by step she walked down the isle towards him. Finally they reached the front, halting as the chancellor bowed deeply to them before fixing her and Lars with a steady gaze.

"Who gives this woman away under the sight of the goddess to be wed?"

Lars lifted his chin, voice ringing out over the chapel.

"I, Lars Tenobar, give Rhen away to be wed."

Dameon descended the steps towards her and in the torturously long moments before he reached her, Lars turned to face her and leaned down to press a brotherly kiss to her forehead. His face held the softest expression Rhen could ever remember having seen on his face as he smiled down at her and handed her off to Dameon.

She and Dameon mounted the steps to the dais, standing before the chancellor who cleared his throat before looking down at the book in his hand.

"We gather today under the sun to witness..."

He went through the traditional introduction but Rhen heard none of it, gazing up at Dameon as he held both her hands tightly in his as if afraid she would be taken away from him.

Just a year ago she had no hope, trapped into the life of a slave with no visible way out. Now she stood before a man who loved her more then she ever thought someone could minutes away from speaking the vows that would tie them together.

Tears welled in Rhen's eyes at that realization, Dameon letting out a soft sound and releasing her one hand long enough to reach into his pocket for a handkerchief that he pressed into her hand.

"Here." He whispered, Rhen giggling slightly as she dabbed the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief.

"...and now in the eyes of the goddess I must ask you both this sacred question. Do not answer in affirmative if you do not plan to stand at each others side for eternity through all that life may bring." The chancellor's words pulled Rhen out of her revere and she quickly crumpled the handkerchief in hand before letting Dameon take hold of it again.

"Dameon Maurva, do you vow to be true to this woman through times of prosper and times of heartache to support and cherish her?"

Dameon's eyes shone with love as he gazed at Rhen, the girl finding her eyes filling with tears a second time despite herself.

"I do." His voice was clear and strong, there was no hesitation as he spoke his vow.

"Rhen Pendragon, do you vow to be true to this man through times of prosper and times of heartache to support and cherish him?"

"I do!" Her joyful explanation earned soft laughter from the audience.

"Then by the power that is vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."

By the look on Dameon's face one would almost have thought that he had waited a lifetime for that moment as he reached out to cup Rhen's face with tender hands and pressed his lips to hers.

Rhen's eyes slid shut as she tilted her head up and returned the kiss, the brushes of his lips across hers gentle as if she was a priceless treasure he was afraid to break. Finally he pulled away, Rhen's eyes fluttering open to take in his face.

"I love you, so much." Dameon breathed, eyes shining.

A cross between a sob and a laugh escaped her as the audience applauded in excitement, his words resonating deep inside.

"I love you too."

The glanced out over the crowd at their friends, taking in their smiles and laughter. Even Galahad for once looked happy, even Te'ijal's arm looped through his not taking away his cheer.

"On this moments occasion we have joined together the future king and queen of our city, however today is not yet over and now it is time for the coronation of the long lost princess!"

Cheers rose up as Rhen and Dameon turned to face the crowd and the chancellor who has descended the stairs to retrieve the crown. Rhen's smaller hand slipped into her husbands and she felt Dameon's fingers weave between her own before closing tightly over her hand.

"Rhen Pendragon, do you swear to protect the citizens of Thais and strive to prosper those under your rule?"

Rhen looked out over the chapel, at all the citizens that had come to see her wedding and coronation. There was hope int heir eyes, something she hadn't seen before today.

"I swear to protect the citizens of Thais and strive to prosper those under my rule." She vowed, dipping her head as the chancellor stepped up to her and placed the delicate gold crown on her head.

He then moved to face Dameon who's grip tightened on her hand slightly.

"Dameon Maurva, do you swear to protect the citizens of Thais and strive to prosper those under your rule?"

"I swear to protect the citizens of Thais and strive to prosper those under my rule." Dameon swore, lowering his head also to receive his crown.

The chancellor nodded and turned to face the crowd, stepping down off the dais to leave Dameon and Rhen alone.

"I now present to you, the king and queen of Thais!"

The applause and cheers were deafening and Rhen turned to her husband, beaming up at him.

"We did it."

He smiled softly, reaching up to brush a lock of hair behind the veil with warm fingers.

"You did it Rhen, I'm alive still because of you, because you took that step to open my eyes."

Rhen nodded, reaching up to clutch tightly to his wrist.

"Don't ever leave me Dameon. Stay by me." She whispered, the plea escaping her lips without thought.

He brushed a thumb over her cheek as in front of everyone he leaned down to press his forehead to hers.

"There is nothing in this world that could ever make me walk away. I love you Rhen, I'll stay by your side for a thousand years."