The New World
Copyright© 2024 by Dark Apostle
Chapter 60: The Wedding
Fan Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 60: The Wedding - The story follows James Smith, a man who dies and finds himself in a surreal afterlife courtroom, where his life is judged as "zero sum"—neither good nor evil, just utterly average. Dissatisfied with being consigned to eternal mediocrity, he manipulates the cosmic bureaucracy into granting him a second chance in a new world, where he is reincarnated as a child with his memories intact and perks... - edited by my lovely Steven.
Caution: This Fan Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Ma/ft Mult Coercion NonConsensual Reluctant Slavery Lesbian BiSexual Heterosexual Fan Fiction Farming High Fantasy Rags To Riches Restart Alternate History DoOver Extra Sensory Perception Body Swap Furry Magic Incest Mother Sister Politics Royalty Violence
“The wedding is in two days,” Blythe said. “Are you excited?”
“I am Mother,” Iona laughed.
“You have done a wonderful job of keeping me out of the planning. I am looking forward to being surprised by the ceremony,” James replied.
The three of them were sitting in a small room, finishing breakfast. Three months ago, James was fighting a dragon. Soon, he will be married for the first time, in either life. James had been fortunate that Iona’s mother took full charge of the planning. All she asked from him was his guest list.
“Battlemage Aaron and Mage Linwood will be here tomorrow. I do not know who else will be in their party. I will spend time training with Aaron. It will be an improvement over the instructions I have received through the crystals.”
“My husband planned on a formal banquet for the honored guests from the capital. We are considered a rural province and have few distinguished guests. Normally, we like it that way; it is easier on the budget. But this is a special occasion and we are blessed by the presence of these visitors,” Blythe commented.
“Mother, do we know how long they will be staying?” Iona asked.
“One week. They are coming on one ship and will return on the next scheduled one. So I will be juggling training and marital bliss,” James answered. “I need to take advantage of the opportunity offered with a fellow battlemage being here.”
He looked at Iona, “It can’t be helped. Duty rears its head.”
“I understand. Perhaps some of the court ladies will come and I can learn more about the capital.”
“James, the Zoran priest wants to meet with you,” Blythe said.
“Why? I am not a practitioner.”
“It is customary for the bride and groom to meet the priest before he performs the ceremony,” Blythe informed him. “Iona has already had her meeting.”
“Okay, when?”
“Now.” Blythe pointed to the door where a tall, gaunt man stood, waiting for permission to enter. “Have fun,” she grinned as she and Iona left.
“I am Preston, a priest of Zoran. I am here to interview you to confirm that you are worthy to be married.”
“What god do you worship?”
“None, I am respectful to all of the gods and their acolytes. But I have had such turmoil in my life that I was never raised in a religion.”
“What do you mean, you are respectful?”
“I stay out of religious discussions. In my travels, I have seen many magical creatures and the god’s handiwork. I am in awe of their efforts. But I have never pledged myself to any one god.”
“This is something I did not expect. The majority of my questions are focused on integrating Lady Iona’s beliefs with yours. But you do not have any!”
“That is not true. I am an honorable man and a Royal Knight.”
“That is irrelevant. I will tell Lady Blythe and Lady Iona the marriage cannot take place.”
“Please, oh please, I want to be there when you tell Lady Iona the wedding is off,” James laughed.
“Do not make jests.” I must tell them immediately.”
James watched the priest storm out. ‘Never expected this. I wonder what will happen.’
An hour later, Blythe walked in and saw James studying the latest spells. She stood and watched as he manipulated the gravity to raise a chair up and then down. Clearing her throat, she called out, “Excuse me, Sir James, do you have a moment?”
“Of course, how may I help you?”
“Preston has suddenly taken ill and is going to the church’s country house to recover. I have selected a different priest and he will perform the service tomorrow. His name is Stewart.”
“Interesting. I hope it is not life-threatening.”
Blythe threw her head back and started laughing. Finally calming down, she looked at him and smiled. “His decision to go to the country house for treatment moved it from life-threatening. My daughter had a few choice words with him. She knocked him to the ground and stood over him, raging at his stupidity.”
“Thank you for handling this, Lady Blythe.”
The next morning, James and Kenneth were at the gate waiting for the party from the capital to arrive. “I wonder who will be in the party,” James commented.
As the train of horses appeared, James used Observe to determine who he could identify. He called them off to Kenneth. “Aaron, Linwood, Kay, and Gruoch. The rest are guards and servants.”
“Who is Gruoch?” Kenneth asked.
“The King’s youngest daughter.”
“Lord Mallow will be pleased that a member of the royal family is attending. It is an honor for the city. With your permission, I will send word immediately.”
“Certainly,” agreed James. ‘Why is she here? I wonder how she will be with Iona?’
Kenneth’s men escorted the visitors to the city gate. James greeted each of them as they arrived. “Thank you for coming to my wedding. How was the trip?”
Linwood spoke first, “The trip was uneventful. A little tiring.”
“This is an adventure. I am glad my father let me come,” Gruoch cheerfully said.
Sir Kay greeted James. “I was not expecting to be back so soon. King Destinea had no difficulty allowing Princess Gruoch to travel with a battlemage and another powerful mage. Those opportunities seldom come.”
Within a few minutes, they had split up. Aaron and James went to the clearing, Gruoch went with Blythe and Iona, and Linwood met with Bartholomew and Mathin.
As they approached the clearing, James asked, “Have you any report from Kael? Or the dragon?”
“Kael is still in the east. He should be back in another month or so. He limits the use of the crystal to avoid detection. There has been no trace of the dragon. So, no change from the last time we talked.”
“Here is the clearing that I used when Kael trained me. I keep coming back here. It is far enough from the city to minimize harm if a spell fails, the Ley lines are close to the surface, and the area is deserted.”
“This is a marvelous training area. I will commend Kael when he returns. Now, let’s walk through the new spells and I will look for any areas that you need to focus on,” Aaron said.
James Lifted himself up to the top of the trees and flew the perimeter of the clearing. On his second pass, he picked up the rocks and created the pyramid in the center. On his third pass, he started a fountain with the rocks, bringing a continuous loop of rocks up fifty feet in the air and then restoring them to the bottom of the fountain. On his last pass, he returned the rocks to their original position.
“Very impressive. You have this portion of the multitasking well practiced.”
“When I fought the dragon, I was able to dodge the creature and summon the rock darts. That is what saved me. When I returned to Castletown, I practiced combining spells in different orders to enhance my abilities,” James commented.
“The ability to juggle spells is important to progressing as a battlemage. A normal mage treats spells as a linear task—complete one spell, then invoke the next. A battlemage with that approach would be dead at the first battle.”
“Did you see anything that needs to change?”
“Not with these spells. Now show me your construction skills. That will demonstrate different spells.”
James Lifted himself up to the top of the trees and used his magic to create a trench from one end of the clearing to the other. He then dug a pit ten feet deep next to the trench. Landing next to Aaron, he waved his hand, “Ta-da!”
“Nice, now put it back.”
Without moving, James restored the clearing. Aaron walked the area where the trench was and examined the ground. “Before you start, memorize the original ground. That makes restoration simpler. You have a great deal of broken ground, which points to the disturbed areas.”
“How do I do that. I could change many areas in a single day.”
“James, use your Spell Of Memory. It can be used for more than just storing spells. Use it like a diary.”
“Clever, that spell is fast and always ready.”
Aaron then waved his hand and the floor of the clearing changed back to its state before James made changes. “Try again.”
James looked at Aaron, “You used the spell just to memorize a clearing?”
“You should store periodic images of the areas you are in. The images can be used to detect changes that could be traps. If you enter a combat zone and then return and something is different, it should raise an alarm, which needs to be investigated. Even a simple Observe may be sufficient. Just look for traps and unfamiliar magical signatures. If none are detected, trust your shields.”
“Sound advice. Thanks.”
James repeated the task, from creating the trench through the final restoration. This time, he was met with polite clapping. “Very good. But that is enough for the day. Let’s go back to the city. I will be here for a week and we can practice some each day, except for the wedding day,” Aaron suggested.
The two men flew back to the city and alight on the castle grounds. James called a guard over and requested that he take Aaron to his room.
James returned to The Fenrir for a desperately needed shower and meal. After his shower, he sat at a table and Suki brought him a plate, which he immediately started on. As he ate, Christine and Jan sat. “Looking forward to the wedding?” Christine asked.
“It’ll be my first one, so virgin territory,” he said.
“At least for her,” Jan joked.
Rolling his eyes, James just shook his head.
“We are closing the tavern during the ceremony so everyone can attend. Kenneth offered a guard to protect the place while we are gone.” Christine told him. “I am looking forward to you trying to tame Iona. She is too strong-willed for you.”
“I have been surprised how well we have meshed over the last few weeks. I am looking forward to moving in with her.”
The next day was a busy one. James had a final fitting of his wedding outfit, more training with Aaron, and then, after lunch, a meeting with all the mages at the tavern.
“Thank you for hosting this,” Linwood said. James just smiled and waved his hand.