As I was walking towards the hall where the marriage would take place, I saw Ikaris standing on a wall near the palace. His expression looked empty, but I saw the nervousness radiating from his body, and.. guilt?

I walked up to him, he was wearing a blue Sherwani, and he was grabbing the cloth tightly.

“Ikaris.” I called him out, making him turn to me. “What are you doing here? The wedding’s starting.”

“Pluto.” he nodded, and turned away from me, looking at the beautiful landscape in front of him. “Just.. calming myself..”

I hummed, and I stood beside him. “The demigod is nervous?” I said, teasing him.

He just chuckled. “I am.” he said honestly. “It’s just.. I don’t know if I could do this..”

“Do what?” I questioned.

“Lie.” he continued calmly, a trace of guilt and pain could be seen in his face. “I am going to marry her.. yet.. I could not tell her the truth..”

It’s because of that.. “I know how you feel.” I said. “But.. it is your duty, is it not?”

“It feels.. wrong, you know?” he said. “I know the truth, yet I could not tell her.. that all of this would be over.. that ultimately, this marriage is meaningless..”

“Is it meaningless though?” I asked him. “You will spend time with her for the rest of our mission, and you could just.. not do it, you know?”

Ikaris frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Not following Arishem’s order.” I answered. “Cancelling the emergence. Problem solved.”

“Do you think we could fight against Arishem, Pluto?” questioned Ikaris demandingly. “No. compared to him, we are but a mere ant.”

“For you, maybe.” I hummed. “But there is always a way, Ikaris.” I patted his back, calming him down. “But you can decide what you will do later, for now, Sersi is waiting for you in the hall.”

Ikaris just nodded. He walked to the hall with me, the entire journey was silent, as he was nervous, and doubting himself about whether this decision was right or not.

“Do not doubt Ikaris.” I said. “Focus on Sersi’s happiness, if you can’t focus on yours.”

He took a deep breath, and walked to Sersi, where she was waiting. Meanwhile, I walked to the others, I could see Druig eating like he always do, Ajak smiling like a mother seeing a daughter marrying, and everyone else were quite happy, except Sprite of course.

I walked up to her, and ruffled her hair, making her scowl. “Don’t be like that Sprite.”

She pushed my hand away from me, and walked away in annoyance. “Whatever dude.”

I then turned around, and saw Thena, standing with the others, but she was looking at me, smiling so brightly. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that added to her charm. I smiled, and walked up to her.

“You look beautiful in that dress.” I commented as I kissed her hand.

She smiled. “Thank you, it’s called a Saree.”

“Well, you should keep one.” I suggested. “It might be useful later.”

“I will keep one.” she said. “Quite comfortable.. and airy.”

We then walked up to the others, and the ceremony started.

Sersi and Ikaris entered the hall, and they both stood in front of a priest. The two of them were smiling brightly. Ikaris’s broodiness was nowhere to be found right now, only happiness.

I could hear Ajak weeping besides me, and when I turned around, I saw Druig eating..

I took the mango that was in his hand, and spoke. “Bro, stop eating.”

“What?” he defended. “It’s just some fruit.” he said as he took another mango.

I shook my head, and let him be.

The Priest then spoke to the two. “May the gods hereby bond you in. matrimony.”

The Priest then smiled. “Congratulations.” The Priest then walked away, where Ikaris and Sersi sealed the deal with a kiss.

It was a weird wedding.. there was no kiss in Indian marriage.. right?

Anyway, I saw everyone’s reaction, and to my surprise, only Sprite was unhappy.

“I’m quite tempted to just marry you right now.” Thena whispered from beside me.

I just shrugged. “Hey, it’s your choice, if you want to wait, I’ll wait, if you want it now, then fine.”

Thena shook her head. “I’ll wait.” she then leaned closer to me, whispering to my ear. “But I’ll be waiting for you in my room.”

I just chuckled at her usual boldness. “Yes Ma’am.”