Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

First to walk through was the boring old man that Lorem Ipsum had discounted heavily at the beginning of the day.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, presiding over the wedding ceremony is Ray Torra, Ancient Elder of the Erenveil royal family and the Custodian of The Tower on Earth." Lorem Ipsum read from his cue card.

His professional visage never faltered, but his insides quailed. This was the Ancient Elder of the royal family. He was no mere custodian!

Lorem Ipsum kicked himself for not having the foresight to focus more visuals time on this very important figure, but he did not have time to reflect on much because the next two people waiting to enter through the floral gate were the Emperor and Empress.

As they two walked through the entrance, the music took on a more pompous feel. This was, after all, the currently reigning monarchs of the Erenveil Empire.

They walked down the small path, nodding vague greetings to either side and then took their place onstage.

"Aaaaaaand" Lorem Ipsum's eyes lit up. "We've finally made it to the moment we've all been waiting for! The Empress bride will be showing up next, Ladies and Gentlemen!"

The visuals all moved towards the highly decorated floral entranceway where the Empress Bride was supposed to show up.

As the music reached its crescendo, a white transport pod swooped down and landed in front of the floral entranceway. The three bridesmaids in fluttering pink gowns and the flower girl with a crown of roses on her blonde head immediately converged towards the pod, waiting for the bride to appear.

The pod opened and Poppy reached in steadying Candace as she helped her out of the royal pod. To her other side, Lyra took hold of her other arm and they both levitated her out of the pod and set her on her feet.

As the visuals caught the first visuals of Candace and the bridesmaids, more canned cheering and applause came through. This was actually the first time they had been able to see Candace Farrah again since the very last Avgo Event, and the audience was enthralled.

Ariana followed immediately behind them, holding onto Candace's short train to keep it from snagging on anything while Daisy walked ahead of them, throwing flower petals on the ground in front of the bridal procession.

They led her slowly towards the glass platform that had been strategically placed close to the entrance area.

Once Candace reached the platform, she could feel Poppy and Lyra using their magic to lift her up onto the platform. They did it so effortlessly that it seemed as if she was the one elevating herself.

Of course, Candace had no magic of her own that wasn't directly related to the Avgo. It was now this Avgo magic that was at work inside her womb, causing Candace to be so weak and infirmed she could barely walk.

Once they placed her on the platform, the bridesmaids continued to stand next to her as they waited for the grooms to appear.

The music began to swell on the other side of the courtyard, where the very long, elegantly decorated walkway led to the glass platform.

This was supposed to have been the walkway that Candace was to walk to the sound of stately music, with her beautiful shoes and long regal wedding train trailing behind her. All that had been completely eliminated, including the shoes and the long train.

Nothing was allowed around Candace that could be considered a possible trip hazard. Even the long walk up the glass platform had been twisted into something of a parody. Instead of the bride getting the glory of the long walk up the aisle, it would be the seven grooms and their three groomsmen.

First to walk through were the three kings who were the groomsmen.

It was a strange arrangement because the bridesmaids were supposed to be walking alongside the groomsmen. At the last minute however, Poppy and Lyra insisted on walking beside Candace to lessen the chance of her getting dizzy or fainting.

It was a legitimate concern. Candace could not stand or walk too long before becoming light-headed.

The extremely strong, highly athletic woman who could dance for hours and fight off armed warriors had been turned almost into an invalid. She was barely able to keep upright with seven avgo babies implanted inside her womb, sucking up all her strength.

The groomsmen walked down the path first, followed by Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and Slate rounding out the last of the men.

For some reason, watching the men felt a bit anticlimactic. It was somewhat of a let down after all the hype and build-up.

It wasn't because the men were not handsome heart-throbs. They were.

It was because, aside from Lucas, none of them knew how to do a cat walk, and this was exactly what it was supposed to have been…a cat walk for the men.

They weren't even trying to do a practiced stately dignified walk. They just basically strolled down the path as if they were getting in line at a seafood buffet table.

The music bravely continued until they reached the glass platform where they levitating themselves up and walk around the platform until they were lined up behind the Empress Bride and her bridesmaids.

All the visuals gathered around, capturing the vision that was before them of the bridal ensemble.

Ten men dressed in black stood behind five women. Three of the women were dressed in pink, with a smaller flower girl dressed in a much paler pink dress decorated with flowers.

The bride was at the center of the group, in her magically enhanced white dress with her flower wings. It was a stunning display that was worthy of the occasion.

The music faded to a stop.

From one side, the thin modest figure of the Ancient Elder, Ray Torra of the Erenveil royal family made his slow shuffling way to the front of the podium.

He was a small man, but his voice boomed with authority.

"To all of you who are here as witnesses to his occasion, I thank you for coming to my progenies' wedding. They are the youngest in a very long lineage of Erenveil emperors going back thousands of years."

He turned back to the wedding ensemble and smiled.

"Each of them have been very fortunate to have met their Empress at a time when they were able to make the connection work. Believe me, this has been a long time in the making."

He turned back to the audience. "The Avgo worked for all of them in very mysterious and magical ways. Even I was completely amazed at how it all happened."

"Needless to say, when they approached me and asked me if I would do the honor of marrying them, I accepted with joy. It is not just my sacred duty as the Ancient Elder of the Erenveil royal family, it is also my greatest pleasure."

He turned back to Candace.

"Child.. Come to me."