Finding Stardust

For dozens of years, they had lived in exile because Kaoshin was considered a traitor, an enemy of the kingdom. It was only after King Licht Wolfland pardoned Kaoshin and Arreya and cleared their names that the family returned to the capital.

They were allowed to retain all their assets and possessions that were confiscated by the government years ago. And finally .. they could meet Emma Stardust, daughter of Kaoshin Stardust who would soon become the queen of Akkadia.

Emma was deeply moved when she met her grandparents, who were very old. In addition, she also met two uncles, her father's younger brothers, and their families. On the day of the wedding, she no longer felt alone.

The Stardust family came to attend the wedding ceremony, as did her younger brother, Prince Aran, her aunt Princess Lilia, and her uncle who was the monarch of Taeshi, and the rest of her extended family.

Although both of her parents are gone, Emma now had the Taeshian royal family by her side, the Stardust family from her father's side, and the Wolfland family from Therius' side. And of course ... Therius, or King Licht Wolfland, her husband.

From a lonely orphan on Earth, Emma was now surrounded by her big family. She felt so moved and grateful.

"Are you happy?" Therius asked her after the wedding ceremony was over, and they went to Therius' chamber to rest. All their families had met on the night before the wedding so that the bride and groom could rest after the wedding ceremony and no longer needed to see them.

Emma pondered for a moment at Therius's question. She had been through so many adversities and difficult times, but now it felt like they were all so far behind. She still had her extended family and a husband who loved her very much.

Only one thing made her sad.

"I'm also sad that he can't be with us on our happy day," Therius said as if reading Emma's mind. "But you know how he feels about you. If we forced him to stay, we'd only hurt him."

Emma nodded languidly. She realized that it was really difficult for men and women to be friends because if love grew between them, the friendship could be ruined, especially if the love didn't go well.

Since she found out that Xion actually loved her, Emma even started to feel conflicted inside. She did not know what she felt for the man. Was it feelings of gratitude, or was she also in love with him?

By now, Emma seemed to understand what her mother was thinking 21 years ago. Arreya chose to bury her love for Kaoshin because she thought of the various political aspects and the friendship between her and Prince Darius.

However, all of Arreya's plans changed because Emma suddenly came from the future to visit them. If Emma had never come, Arreya might now be the queen of Akkadia and married King Darius. They may have children together. 

Therius would not become the crown prince and went to earth looking for Emma. Ahh ... could it be, Emma and Aran might never be born too. In a way, Emma's existence was a time paradox.

Now, Emma wondered, would she change her mind, if suddenly a girl came from the future and claimed to be her and Xion's child? 

She didn't know.

"What are you thinking?" Therius asked, waving his hand over Emma's face. He had seen her daydream and wanted to know what was bothering her. "It's our wedding day. I hope you're not thinking of another man."

Therius's words were meant as a joke. He wanted to break the ice. However, it actually touched Emma's heart.

Therius was right. She should not think about another man and all the what-ifs. Currently, she was Therius' wife. Even though she had asked Therius to wait before they slept together, she was still his dear wife. She shouldn't think of other men at all.

"I'm just thinking about what happened," said Emma with a smile. She touched Therius' cheek and looked at him deeply. "Finally, we got married."

Therius nodded. "I'll still keep my promise. We don't have to sleep together until you're ready. But I guess the people in the palace will gossip if we don't sleep in the same room. What do you think?"

Emma hiccuped when she heard Therius' words. Indeed, after the wedding ceremony was over, she and Therius deliberately rested in her husband's chamber, because they wanted to avoid rumors among the officials and noble families who came to the palace today to celebrate their wedding.

After the event ended and all the guests left, the plan was that they would return to their respective rooms. Now Therius expressed his wish that they share a room after they got married. This request made Emma batted her lashes.

"I won't do anything to you," said Therius, smiling. "Not until you're ready."

Emma swallowed hard. She was not ready to move into Therius' room and sleep with him, even though they would not have sex. Perhaps, because she had always thought of Therius as a friend, she still needed time to adjust and started treating him as her husband.

"My room is very spacious and has a private lounge and two bathrooms. You can get as much privacy as you like," Therius said again, trying to reassure Emma. "Tonight, you can sleep in my bed in this room. I will sleep in the lounge. The couch there is big and comfortable."

The lounge that Therius meant was a spacious room next to the bedroom. It had a big fluffy sofa, a minibar, and a space to do some work. That's where he spent a lot of his time.

Emma immediately remembered the event Therius drank too much wine that he got drunk on his birthday while they were still aboard The Coralia. Because she wanted to take revenge on Therius for letting her sleep on the small library sofa, Emma let him sleep on the lounge sofa.

Remembering that, a smile crossed Emma's face. Ahh .. how could she let Therius sleep in the lounge tonight...

"It's a big sofa. Look! I'm fine sleeping there," said Therius, smiling. He grabbed Emma's hand and walked following him to the lounge. After they got there, he then lay down on the sofa. His long legs were stretched out to show that he would still be comfortable to sleep there.

"Hmm ... you're right," said Emma. "Okay then. I'll sleep in your bed tonight and you can sleep on the sofa."

Finally, Emma relented. She understood that as the king, Therius had a reputation he needed to protect. If people found out that the king still hadn't consummated his marriage with his bride, they might think there was something about him.

Maybe they would think he was actually gay and just married Emma as a cover. Actually, in Akkadia, the same-sex relationship was not uncommon, but the society's view was still very conservative when it came to their king, especially because the king was expected to produce heirs to continue the line of successors to the throne. 

As an only child, Therius didn't have any nephews to be his heir. That's why he must have his own sons to be the next king.

"I'm happy to hear that," said Therius. He took off his regal robe and placed it neatly on the table. After that, he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and went to the minibar. He took out a bottle of wine and two glasses from the cabinet. The young king lifted his wine bottle and asked Emma. "Would you like a drink to celebrate our wedding?"

Emma nodded. "Of course."

Therius did have a low alcohol tolerance, and he couldn't drink more than two glasses. But he was often jealous of Xion and Emma when the two were having fun drinking together. Because of this, he was determined to get used to drinking more in order to keep Emma company.