The big day had finally come. Princess Belena, the heir to the throne of Vandan, was getting married to the man she loved. Although, since he was only seventeen, Lorek didn’t consider himself a man yet – not completely, at least. Still, he was old enough to become married under the laws of the land, and he was definitely in love with the princess, that much he was certain of. But knowing he loved her wasn’t enough to prevent him from having second thoughts just before the big moment.
The wedding would take place in the queen’s throne room. A large table had been placed on one side of the room, just left of the carpet that ran from the throne to the great doorway. On this table Lorek waited for his bride to enter the room, his heart pounding like a hammer. Behind him sat the two most important men in the kingdom: King Alban and his son, Prince Valdan. Valdan was a year older than Lorek, and in the short time that they’d known each other the two had become good friends. Despite Belena being the only heir as of yet, the kingdom of Vandan had grown so large over the twenty years of its existence that the princess didn’t feel she could adequately rule it on her own once she became queen. She had therefore asked her brother Valdan and sister, Princess Sylvie, to be her co-rulers when the time came.
Besides the king and Valdan, a couple of dozen other people were seated on the giant table. Most of them were high-ranking officials, nobles and military commanders, but there were also many friends of Lorek and his family as well. Behind them were several more rows of tables, on which were seated guests from all over the kingdom. There must have been several thousand people in the room and every one of them had their eyes on Lorek. One person who was absent was his father, Orlak, who was greatly upset that his son was getting married to a giant. He had moved to his home city of Elgon and repeated attempts to persuade him to attend the wedding had failed. Lorek wasn’t too bothered: his father had never been kind to him, despite having raised his son by himself, and he considered Belena and her family to be his own family now as well.
Towering high over the table with all the guests was the giant Queen Valerie. She would be presiding over her daughter’s wedding, at Belena’s request. The queen had been supportive of Belena’s relationship with Lorek from the start, despite the fact that the boy came from the poorest section of the town of Rismark. Lorek also didn’t appear to have any desire to become a king or a prince (or any other noble title). He just wanted to be by his sweetheart’s side (or on her shoulder in this case), and the fact that he made Belena happy pleased Valerie as well. Once the word got out that the princess was marrying a commoner, she immediately gained a lot of popularity in her subjects’ eyes.
Lorek looked up at the queen’s magnificent figure. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and on her head was a silver coronet which could have encircled Lorek’s old house. Standing by her side was her youngest daughter, Sylvie, who looked just as stunning dressed in red. The pretty blonde princess was fifteen years old and had surpassed the height of her mother, and now stood just a few feet shy of her older sister’s 175-foot stature. Sylvie didn’t spend a lot of time with Lorek; unlike Belena, who was always spending time with the townsfolk and helping them out in various ways, Sylvie preferred to travel around the kingdom or outside it, sometimes taking Valdan with her. Valdan especially seemed to enjoy going on travels – or adventures, as he called them – and Lorek was rather envious of him. He wouldn’t mind going on an adventure of his own – but only if he could convince Belena to come along. Perhaps they could go on a honeymoon to some fabulous distant place?
As the guests on the table in front of her were talking in hushed whispers, and Lorek waited anxiously for his bride to make her appearance, Valerie drew Sylvie aside and told her to see if Belena was nearly ready yet.
“I think she may be a bit nervous, now that the moment has finally come,” Valerie said. “But really, she can’t keep us all waiting like this! Go and tell her that if she doesn’t come down soon, I’m carrying this table up to her room, and we’ll have the wedding in there.”
Sylvie rolled her eyes.
“It’s not my fault she’s being a wimp! Why do I have to…”
“Because I said so, that’s why! She’s your sister and she needs your support. This is the most important moment of her life and we should all be happy for her.”
“I…I am happy for her.”
“Then go. Tell her that she couldn’t look more beautiful, that her fiancé is dying to get married already, and that there is literally nothing to be afraid of. Everyone here wishes her the best.”
Sylvie muttered an acknowledgement and left the room. Even though they’d been whispering, Lorek had managed to catch most of their conversation. He hadn’t seen Belena since yesterday morning. He wondered what her wedding dress looked like, and whether he would say all his words perfectly, or forget something and make a fool of himself. It helped a bit to know that it wasn’t just he who was nervous. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped.
“Hey, easy there!” Alban said, putting an arm across his shoulders. The king was half a foot taller than Lorek, which made the young man feel even more ill at ease.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I…I guess I’m just tense or something.”
“Yes, I can see that – but really, you need to relax. No-one’s going to make fun of you, no-one is here to sabotage your big day. I’m sure once Belena is standing at your side you’ll feel a lot better. Oh, look, here they are now!”
Alban hurriedly took his seat again, and Lorek turned round to see. The two princesses were walking down the carpet towards them, arm-in-arm. Once they were close Sylvie let go, and nineteen-year-old Belena came and stood next to her tiny bridegroom. She was wearing a magnificent white gown, whose fabric could have covered several town squares, as well as white silk gloves, a circle of flowers on her head and a giant white rose pinned to her breast. Her red hair flowed behind her like a waterfall. To Lorek, standing on the table at her hip-level, she was a vision: a tower clothed in white, a goddess who had come to Earth. Her beautiful eyes looked down on him with adoration and he looked up at her in the same way, but with awe and a tiny bit of fear as well. He was not afraid of her, merely at the thought of what his life will be like once he marries a woman whose thumb was bigger than he was.
“You look lovely, dear,” the queen said to Belena. “Shall we begin, or would you like a moment to gather your thoughts first?”
“I…I’m ready,” Belena said, and Lorek nodded as well. Valerie smiled at both of them and began the ceremony.
“Citizens of Vandan, I am delighted to welcome all of you to this happy occasion, the marriage of our daughter, Crown Princess Belena, to Lorek son of Orlak, the man she loves. Since this is only the second time in all of history that a giant and a human are wed, it might be safe to say that for many of you this must seem an odd, or even a bizarre event. But, as I myself am the first giant to lose her heart to a, ha-ha, a ‘tiny’ man, I can say from the bottom of my heart that such a difference in size is no obstacle to a true bond of love and a joyful shared life. True, there have been times when Alban and I have had our difficulties or our disagreements, but such are the risks of any relationship, and just like any couple who truly love each other we have overcome them. In the short span of time Belena and Lorek have known each other, I have not seen any signs of discord between them, only the unbridled love of two young people for one another, different though they may be. I believe the two of you have the necessary strength of character and honesty of emotion to make your marriage a successful and happy one. Of course, if either one of you, or anyone else present, does not wish this marriage to come to pass, please raise your voice now. If there are no objections, we shall carry on.”
No-one objected. Belena was looking down at the floor, blushing brightly. She was glad she wasn’t facing the crowd behind her. Getting married would have been so much easier if it had been just her family in the room with her, but she supposed the people had a right to see the wedding of their future sovereign.
“Very well,” Valerie said, after a moment of silence. “Let us proceed with tying the bands. I think, Lorek, you should go first.”
Instead of placing rings on each other’s fingers, which would have been impossible for Lorek and Belena, the couple had decided on an older marriage custom: tying a string or piece of cloth around each other’s fingers or wrists. Alban handed Lorek a blue sash, seven feet long, and Belena lowered her hand and stuck out her little finger. The princess smiled at her tiny groom as he ran from one side of her five-foot finger to another, looping the fabric around and tying it fast with a knot. When he was done he looked up at her smiling face and said his vows of marriage.
“Belena…my beautiful princess…you are the most magnificent being on this Earth in my eyes…but you are also the humblest person I know, and for that I am so grateful. Despite being greater than me in every possible way, you…you never once make me feel like the unworthy soul I sometimes think I am. There is no way I will ever be able to repay you for all the love, affection and compassion you have shown me…but I will do my best, as your husband, to support you, to comfort you and to protect you however I can. Your strength, beauty and kindness are beyond comparison, and I would be honoured to make you…make you my wife, you who are the light of my life and the queen…of my heart.”
Even though she’d known more-or-less what he would say, Belena couldn’t help but cry a few tears. She knew he meant every word he said, and she wanted desperately to pick him up right then, hold him to her breast and smother him with kisses. But first it was her turn. She drew out a tiny red sash from a pocket of her gown, just like the one he’d tied on her finger. Lorek stretched out his arms and, being very careful not to hurt him, Belena tied the piece of cloth around his waist. She thought he looked like a little birthday present with the cloth bound around him.
“Lorek…my little sweetheart…I have told you so many times how much I loved you, but I can never tell you enough. You have given me hope and joy even in the saddest parts of my life. Every time I hold you in my hands you remind me that all of what I have is of no importance next to you. If I could only shrink down to your size so that you could hold me in your arms I would do it, but I can’t, and I am so glad that you have chosen to love me despite my size. You are not inferior to me in any way, darling. You need never feel insignificant next to me. In my hands there is nothing for you to be afraid of: I will never let any harm come to you, I promise. Please give me a chance to make you happy, to be a good wife, a mother to our children one day, and your protector and guardian. You are the most important part of my life and without you I can never feel whole and content.”
There were cheers and clapping from the large gathering of people, but Valerie silenced them with her hand. She then spoke to Lorek and Belena.
“As Queen of Vandan, I hereby declare the two of you to be bonded in marriage, and I trust that the words you just spoke reflect your true feelings towards each other. May your new life together be long and blissful, and may the love that you have for each other never diminish but grow stronger every day. Now, I know you can’t wait a second longer, Belena dearest, so feel free to give your husband a kiss!”
Belena smiled, half from joy and half from embarrassment. She turned towards Lorek and tried to stoop down to kiss him, but it wasn’t easy with the flowing dress she was wearing. So she folded her fingers around his minuscule body and lifted him up to her face, where she immediately pressed him to her mouth. Lorek watched her vivid red lips as they came closer and closer, until nothing else was visible. Despite getting smeared by her lipstick he didn’t want the kiss to end. It felt so wonderful, to be held and kissed by the most lovely girl in the universe. And now that she was his wife he could spend every moment of his life with her. He was vaguely aware that the people were cheering and applauding, but really all he could think about was how amazing her lips felt against his body. When she was done she held him beneath her eyes and told him how much she loved him. Then she put him on top of the flower on her breast, where he sank into the soft petals. Then Valerie stepped up to hug her daughter, and for a moment Lorek thought he would be squashed between the bodies of the two titanic women, but of course he wasn’t. Valerie lowered her head and gave him a little kiss, before Sylvie did the same. After that he wanted nothing more than to be carried up to his wife’s room and spend some time with her alone, but that would have to wait. A myriad of people still had to congratulate the young couple, and Lorek braced himself for what will be a very long day.