Love is Worth Waiting for

The rest of the day went by quickly, news among Sunny's patrons spread quickly. It was no surprise that they were curious, and he got stopped many times throughout the day so they could ask questions.

One of the firekeepers he was serving suddenly spoke to him. A lot of them had come in one after the other, clearly one of his earlier customers had brought news back to the Ivory Tower.

"Congratulations on your engagement!" He didn't recognise her from either Nephis' or Cassie's cohorts. "How do you feel about it?"

Sunny gave her a bright smile, "She's an amazing person, I'm truly lucky to be given this opportunity" 'to infiltrate valor.' He added internally.

"I think she's luckier to have you actually." Sunny wasn't sure, but he could shake the feeling that she was jealous.

"Oh no, not at all. A master from a humble background couldn't compare to her." The firekeeper seemed intrigued, but Sunny didn't let her ask any more questions. "Sorry I have to attend to other customers now."

He slinked away and she seemed disappointed. 'It's for the best, I don't want to be in the spotlight more than I already am… at least until the wedding.'

Sunny already knew his peaceful life would be flipped on its head the moment they held the ceremony, but he secretly wished it wouldn't be.

He had already discussed his desires for the ceremony with Morgan when she showed up with the ring. He remembered saying something along the lines of hoping it would be small with only the important people who knew the details attending so his identity wouldn't become an issue.

Small was always a general term when it came to Valor though, especially since they were marrying off their only blood-related princess.

Actually, the whole precedent of their marriage was off from the start, the Shadow Clan wasn't public, so on the surface it was just Morgan getting married for love. Both Morgan and he were warriors that would be inconvenienced by an overly embellished ring, so their engagement rings were simple bands. 

Sunny hoped they'd be able to make an exception once again, and break the standard expectations of a large ceremony.

A smaller ceremony would also spare Valor the inquiries of why Morgan was wed for such an inconsequential reason, especially at such a delicate time. With a small ceremony they'd also be asked why they kept it hidden, so both approaches had pros and cons.

Sunny hoped they'd abide by his suggestion, but he knew it was equally likely that they'd hold a large ceremony anyway.

'Dammit! I should have discussed this in the official negotiations before instead of suggesting it afterwards.' Sunny's decision led to the choice being in Valor's hands.

'I just hope they follow my wishes in an attempt to not antagonise me.' He didn't want to have to leave the peaceful life he tried so hard to build behind. 'Can things please just go my way for once?'

***

Morgan considered Sunny's wishes. The Lord of Shadows hadn't said it during the negotiations, so it was safe to assume it was Sunny's own personal desire, but that wasn't saying it didn't have any weight.

'The Lord of Shadows seems to be apathetic as to how the marriage is conducted, just the fact that it is. The only thing affected by rejecting it is Sunny's personal feelings.' Morgan frowned. 

There were a lot of issues with Valor secretly marrying their princess off without anyone knowing, but if they held a large ceremony, Sunny could be unwilling to work with them as much in future.

Morgan considered all the ramifications of both possibilities. 'The general public might not take it well as they don't know the behind the scenes, that could be damaging to Valor's integrity and public image.'

With the presence of the sovereigns, public image didn't matter as much, but it was very possible for some more important people to defect to Song if they believed Valor's leadership was irresponsible.

The consequences of both choices were about equal, so it mostly came down to her personal view on the situation as Anvil was similarly apathetic to how the marriage transpired.

'I'm inclined to have a small ceremony.' The main deciding factor was that revealing Sunny to the public as her husband would seemingly create a weak point. Sunny's identity could be exposed if put under scrutiny or if Song acted on him, which could in turn reveal the Shadow Clan.

Morgan didn't know much about the Shadow Clan, but they seemed to keep hidden for a reason. Due to her lack of information, she had no guarantee that if exposed they wouldn't just leave Sunny to fend for himself and hide away.

'We can't afford to lose such an important piece in the war.' So it was decided. 'A small ceremony it is.'

Morgan started writing out a guest list of people that were important enough to be informed of the underlying situation.

Her list consisted of her father and a few of Valor's Saints. 'I should invite Saint Roan and Saint Tyris because he seems to have a connection with them.'

The saints she chose were those trusted by Valor the most, the less loyal saints would be informed that the Lord of Shadows was participating in the war, but not why and that the entire shadow clan would be too.

A lot of the younger saints that transcended during the chain of nightmares were left out due to their comparative lack of importance too.

Soon, she had a list that consisted of only the most important figures within Valor. The venue would have to be somewhere away from prying eyes. For that, she planned for the start of Valor and Shadow's fateful union to be located at the precise point it was created for.

The Lord of Shadow's citadel within Godgrave. 'I still have to discuss it with Sunny so he can ask the Lord of Shadows, but he is likely to agree.'

Morgan smiled and leaned back, 'All I have to do now is send out invitations.' She placed her hands on the table and got up, 'Let's get started.'