The Chancellor stepped back and admired his father in his uniform. "Mom is going to be so very happy with the way you look."
The treasurer was looking both handsome and grumpy in the new ceremonial uniform. While relatively modest the grey wool uniform looked very dignified. There was none of the fancy stripes and flashings of military uniform, there was a great deal of authority conveyed in its modest lines. After a few moments looking in the mirror his vanity got the better of him and he gave up a few moments of frank self admiration. "Not so bad for the bad side of fifty, really" he said.
There was a sharp rap at the door, followed by the entry of Captain Grubo, resplendent in his full dress uniform with sword and his blue green uniform outlined in silver piping, and his chest shining with all the campaign medals arrayed on his chest. He placed his fur and iron cap on a convenient table and admired the treasurer's uniform. "Quite Handsome" he said. "Girls do go silly over uniforms."
"I am so glad you stepped in and volunteered to be best man. Even though my mom is upset about it, I am grateful to you. I think having one's son as best man at your wedding is too comical to maintain the proper decorum" the Chancellor said. "We are also grateful you found a minister who was willing to do the wedding. Given the Cannon's objections, we were surprised at his offer."
"It was just a matter of finding the right man to persuade" said Captain Grubo. "I have found over the years I am good at making a man see things in the right light."
Captain Grubo admired himself in the mirror a bit longer. He looked to the Chancellor. "You might get to your seat in the sanctuary young man. The king is due momentarily."
The Chancellor took his leave and made his way to his seat. The church was relatively small and seemed unfashionable. The windows were just single panels of red or gold glass, the choir had the quality of fervor rather than being consistently on key. There were no pews, but there were seats for the family and, on a small raised dais, the king. He was glad to see so many staff from the castle were in attendance, as well as neighbors from the town. His grandfather and grandmother had been carried in on chairs by some soldiers and were seated by his uncles and his cousins. His grandfather was scowling, but his grandmother looked very happy.
Suddenly the heralds horns blared and the king came down the aisle along with Captain Karandanshen and his wife and Captain Molodoychen and his wife as everyone stood. When he seated himself, the rest of the church followed suit. When the crowd turned back to the front of the chapel the Treasurer and Captain Grubo were waiting at the altar.
Acolytes then filed in along the walls and at a signal all of them lit candles together. Then the choir began a hymn and the priest marched in from the back of the choir followed by two more acolytes carrying censers. He reached his place at the alter just as the choir finished. Then the king's heralds let loose on their horns again and began to play a processional. A six year old girl walked nervously into the sanctuary and made a few modest steps. Then looking at the sea of faces staring at her, she ran down the center of the aisle and grabbed her father's leg at the alter as he waited for the bride. The Treasurer picked his daughter up and began comforting her her as the rest of the procession continued its stately way down the aisle.
Through most of the service Lyuba insisted on being held by her father. Her sisters tried to capture her, but she stuck to her father like a burr.
The service was very plain. It started with the gift of eggs and honey, with the treasurer giving a very large drip of honey to his wife, which she had to lick off her chin to laughter of the congregation, THe king joining inn the fun. The Chancellor noted the king, unlike his half brother the previous king, bowed, kneeled and stood for the mysteries like any other congregant. The lesson was the standard prayer for weddings, which seemed to fit todays service, a lot better than the fashionable services he saw at weddings at other chapels. Despite the richness of the cathedral services, this chapel service was, in its way, grander
The lesson complete, it was time for the sermon. This was a quiet but affecting one that covered a long and fruitful marriage. It seemed one that looked to the future, but also covered the passed. The chancellor was very moved. He also wondered how such a good preacher was in such a backwater of a church.
During the lesson, and for a long time after ter was a disturbance outside the church. Soldiers were keeping the disturbance away, but there was a continuous presence. Finally the service was over, the congregants went down to the sacristy for the wedding breakfast. The Chancellor, the king, and captain Grubo went to the front door to see that the cannon and 20 churchmen were fighting with the soldiers for admittance. The king leaned over to captain Grubo who nodded and called up some extra soldiers and suddenly the churchmen were all face down the street and being trussed up. They were then marched off to the citadel
The king watched with an angry scowl as they were being marched off he turned and noticed the chancellor. He went up to him and said "They will be in the state prison till Firstday, three days from now. They will have two cups of water per day each. You will let them go on the 11th morning hour if they sign confessions i will write up for them. I am very angry." The king stood outside the chuch for a moment, then grinned. "That was a great wedding, wan't it. Lets go down and have some breakfast!"
They quickly went down to the sacristy. They each grabbed a hard boiled egg and ate it, followed by a slice of apple which they dipped in honey. Then they grabbed plates and walked down the board and sampled the foods which guests had brought. There was a large tureen of chicken leggs provided by the king.
There were matters of protocol which gave the chancellor nervous fits. By rights, the person at the center of the main table was the groom, but that was reserved for the king, always. The king, however announced grandly the week before that of the wedding that he sit at the end, away from the window. This way both the bride and groom and the king would both be sitting at different heads if the same table. And the king would be at a high level of security.
Of course, everyone had to stand when he entered and remained standing till he sat down
The Groom toasted the bride : "To the queen of all women who has helped me and kept me going through rough patches and made the smooth times spicy," He praised her beauty and her good sense through the years. Everyone who knew him was surprised at the tender parts of his speech No one realized he had a tender side
Captain Grubo toasted the couple with a speech which on the surface was good sense, but was filled with innuendo and good humor that had everyone laughing at the double meanings with almost every word.
The father of the bride gave a short toast to the couple, focused on the future. He kept his eye on the king who watched him closely. He wished them happiness and sat down quickly.
The king made the final, short, toast, praising her beaty and her intelligence.
Then talk became general again. The king called the Ambassadorial clerk and the chancellor to his end of the table. "The Church commission to the Metropolitan at Punica arrived late last night. I didn't want to spoil your enjoyment, but the matter is pressing. The Metropolitan changed in their yearly rota, and the new Metropolitan does not care about how or whether we do our prayers, he is concerned that the church authority is sacrosanct. He is going to try and interdict us"
The Ambassadorial clerk said "The old Metropolitan would stop him, wouldn't he? We are so far away and they have so little say in our chuch matters"
The king nodded. "That is what I thought too. The former Metropolitan has some authority, and the new one has to have the approval of the synod to do anything, which apparently he has. I feel that the authority is tenuous. But our Bishop Representative in Punica has got a bee in his bonnet and he is demanding it. "
The chancellor sighed. "He is the brother, illegitimate of course, of the bishop here"
The king leaned back "That is supposed to be against the laws of the chuch, both having your brother in that position, and having your illegitimate sibling being in those kinds of positions"
The Ambassadorial Clerk said "The late king thought it would be a capital joke. He is, by all accounts, a very hard working cleric, and he has the ear of the Metropolitan. He appointed both of them, going against the wishes of the synod as the time. The Synod of today is a great deal more amenable to the ways of the current bishop"
"Be that as it may well be" The king said "I have received a letter from the new Metropolitan. Here are copies. He demands answers to a series of questions about church relations with the secular authorities. The questions are basically demands that we give up on chastising the bishop and pass laws regularizing the illegal ownership of lands by the church. I can't do either of them. I need you two to think of honey words to the Metropolitan to tell him that we take care of our own affairs, thank you very much, and to jump into a convenient lake."
"How soon do we need to send the letter?" asked the Ambassadorial Clerk.
"They know how much time it takes for mail to get there. They have cut it very fine. I think four days is the longest we can keep them dancing."
The Chancellor leaned forward "So we are going to try and keep them sending letters back and forth?"
The King shook his head. "I would like to do that until the next Metropolitan rota, but the tenor of the letter precludes that. We need to, in words of honey and velvet, to make it clear that they have washed their hands of us, so we are going to go our own way. I can't back down on the Bishop. It has gone too far already. I can't back down on the church lands. I need the money desperately."
The Ambassadorial clerk put his hands on his head. "They will interedict us. That would be a great deal worse than backing down or squeezing a bit of cash from the populace"
The Chancellor leaned back. "I don't know. The chuch is a great deal limited. Interdict means a lot less than it used to. They have abused the power so much that it is a mere shadow of what it used to be."
the king smiled. "True, in your letter remind them of that fact. The days they could make a king knocking on their door for a month are over. Nonetheless, honey words. It would be unpleasant Be firm, but polite and let them know just how much they have lost by their cupidity. " He looked at the married couple. "They are getting ready to cut the cake. Have a draft ready within two days "