Wèi jūn stands shoulder-to-shoulder, mixed in the farthest row with imperial guards and palace watch, laundresses and stable hands, the Pharaoh’s servants and maybe a few dozen courtiers from another tribe. He does not see the bridal walk, but the special furs and deels worn for the occasion.

The desert dwellers are an affluent people, though exuding no more radiance than he’d come to expect of the han.

The royal family watches some many rows in front, and batu's consideration ferries between spectacles, eyeing the husband and his attractive bride then circling to the plush backs of cupped ears.

y’var’la had arrived early enough to avoid notice and late enough to avoid responsibility. she occupied a place toward the edge of the hall, half-shadowed beneath the sweep of a carved column, where she could watch the ceremony unfold without being watched in return.

it was beautiful. irritatingly so. her gaze drifted over the flowers, the gold, the gathering of nobles and allies drawn together beneath satriya's banner. then, inevitably, it found sapair. for a fleeting moment, something sharp tugs at the corner of her mouth. annoyance, perhaps, of a door closing before she'd ever decided whether she meant to walk through it.

the feeling passed as quickly as it came.

y’var’la exhaled softly through her nose and settled more comfortably against the column. after all, weddings were far more entertaining when one wasn't the bride. or the groom. and if her eyes lingered a second longer than necessary on the captain of the guard before returning to the aisle, well. no one needed to know.

---

cameo unless someone wants a private

---

It was rarely, if ever, that The Empress left the fragrant humidity of Verdant’s Grace. The journey to get to their home had been an arduous one, full of other factions and magical caves, so once she had arrived at her palace, she more or less stayed put. Why would an Empress be needed anywhere else, other than her own dominion?

For this reason, it was a big affair when the Imperial Family decided to sojourn together, to visit a neighboring land for a fortuitous wedding. Though it was not a joining between ruling families, it was important enough to warrant an invitation, and so, Tianlong answered – and they brought a lotus-esque sense of quietude and refined grace with them.

Yue carefully assessed the buildings her people now buzzed about. The decorations seemed to glow with a golden light, and she couldn’t fathom how it was produced. The myriad of scents and the smokes all served to settle the Empress as she watched the nuptials from her place of dignity amongst the first row.

The Empress’s attention was first on the pair of glowing Egyptian rulers. Then the newly weds, and eventually her mental machinations turned inwards, and Yue mused heavily on her own fecundity, and if this should be cause for celebration as well.

Though the Orchid wished dearly to approach and rain well wishes upon those holy beings who had so graciously invited her Dynasty to feast and fete together, she stayed back with all words trapped under her tongue. This was a culture she had only encountered twice before, and Yue was too aware of her ignorance of their customs.

Therefore, as a virtuous and demure wife should, Yue stood abreast her husband and murmured to him about the beauty of the occasion.

---

༻❁༺

[does batu understand that he has delivered her into a lacquered hell? ye lanyi supposes she has thought the empress barren. twofold her surprise when the season unfolds, threefold to see how attentive the Son of Heaven is to the first wife of tianlong as she could not possibly expect him to be with a concubine. it is not jealousy. it is despair. the only way to ascend in the harem, she has believed, is to become mother to an imperial son. that is how she must prove her worth to the emperor. and now the potential of Heaven's Mercy with Heaven's Fang upsets her balance while restoring their own. a boy borne by the moonswathed woman will be the end of any hope beyond the life of a common concubine. even should she manage to bring forth sons, they will be second. third. fourth. fifth. and she does not believe they will have their father's eye, the man carved from stone and earth who has proven himself both brutal and kind. this kingdom has wealth and aplomb. she has come as part of the empress' retinue, and stays with yuè unless otherwise motioned. it does not stop her eyes from wandering about, from marvel and covet. she watches the ceremony with interest, for it will never be part of her own life. and when the praise rises high, she dips her head. for now, she trails in starry wake and curses batu anew in her mind. ye lanyi takes up modest stance not far from tianlong's ruling pair and bows her head, watching these proceedings from the corner of long lashes.]

does batu understand that he has delivered her into a lacquered hell?
ye lanyi supposes she has thought the empress barren. twofold her surprise when the season unfolds, threefold to see how attentive the Son of Heaven is to the first wife of tianlong as she could not possibly expect him to be with a concubine.
it is not jealousy. it is despair. the only way to ascend in the harem, she has believed, is to become mother to an imperial son. that is how she must prove her worth to the emperor.
and now the potential of Heaven's Mercy with Heaven's Fang upsets her balance while restoring their own. a boy borne by the moonswathed woman will be the end of any hope beyond the life of a common concubine.
even should she manage to bring forth sons, they will be second. third. fourth. fifth. and she does not believe they will have their father's eye, the man carved from stone and earth who has proven himself both brutal and kind.
this kingdom has wealth and aplomb. she has come as part of the empress' retinue, and stays with yuè unless otherwise motioned. it does not stop her eyes from wandering about, from marvel and covet. she watches the ceremony with interest, for it will never be part of her own life.
and when the praise rises high, she dips her head. for now, she trails in starry wake and curses batu anew in her mind.
ye lanyi takes up modest stance not far from tianlong's ruling pair and bows her head, watching these proceedings from the corner of long lashes.

[it has been a long while since lady ichimonji kaede attended a celebration of any kind. as servants and companions to the empress, she ensures Tatsuhime is perfect, draped with orange petals, glittering by way of sprinkled mica. how fast a year has flown! how fast a life will go! kaede bows where necessary. she watches the rite with interest, hiding the tinge of pain in her own heart. she sees how the married pair look at one another, and turns to tatsuhime then to hide any change in her own face. she whispers that they are witnessing love. when it ends and the crowd convenes to one another again, she gently nudges the girl in the direction of their empress. kaede falls back. she takes a drink and keeps her eyes upon the contingent from tianlong, straying three times for the guardian who had accompanied them.]

it has been a long while since lady ichimonji kaede attended a celebration of any kind.

as servants and companions to the empress, she ensures Tatsuhime is perfect, draped with orange petals, glittering by way of sprinkled mica.

how fast a year has flown!

how fast a life will go!

kaede bows where necessary. she watches the rite with interest, hiding the tinge of pain in her own heart.

she sees how the married pair look at one another, and turns to tatsuhime then to hide any change in her own face.

she whispers that they are witnessing love.

when it ends and the crowd convenes to one another again, she gently nudges the girl in the direction of their empress.

kaede falls back. she takes a drink and keeps her eyes upon the contingent from tianlong, straying three times for the guardian who had accompanied them.