Chapter 20 – One Perfect Day

Soundtrack: Two Of Us – Supertramp

19th of November, 1890.

The southern county of Buckinghamshire was picturesque at a quarter to twelve on this autumn day. It would likely prove to be the last sunny day for the year of 1890, with the mercury hovering around twenty-five Celsius and nary a cloud or breeze to be detected. To put it simply, it was one perfect day. And that suited the wedding of Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos just fine, given that the groom's father was hosting the event in his mansion.

The inner courtyard, which Colonel Arc had volunteered as the venue for the wedding ceremony, consisted of a block of immaculate grass, bifurcated in both directions by paths of sandstone pavers. The vertical linked the parlour at the southern end of the house with the ballroom, and the horizontal linked the formal dining room with the western foyer. Along the edges lay hedgerows, with a solitary rose bush at each of the four corners. The effect was a blend of simplicity and opulence that the military family had always favoured throughout the centuries.

For today's festivities, the Arc family had arranged two rows of eight chairs, split in halves by a red velvet carpet that lined the vertical pathway. An iron archway stood proud over the parlour entrance, painted green and adorned by scores of daisies and red carnations – the respective favourite flowers of Jaune and Pyrrha. Where the pathways intersected, an oak lectern was placed in lieu of a proper altar, and a bible was supplied for the minister concerned. And finally, an upright piano stood ready at the eastern wall, with Kieran Nikos seated and ready to play the time-honoured march of Mendelssohn for the service. He'd learned this piece once he finished his studies at the Elder Conservatory, knowing that someday the motherland would call him back to use it.

Fiona and Flynn Nikos sat in the front right row, saving their patriarch and younger scion seats for when they finished their tasks for the service. Opal and Bridget then led their husbands behind the Nikos clan. Likewise, Colonel and Lady Arc took their seats on the left front row, with Sienna and her husband next to them, and the youngest four Arc daughters made their way behind their elders. All of the Arc daughters wore the colours they were named after, with Jennifer opting to wear silver in deference to the bridal party. Fiona and Xanthe had followed suit with the younger women, adorning a crimson and gold dress respectively, while the men opted to wear black tie. Except for the Colonel, who wore his dress uniform and medals.

Once everyone was seated, the elderly priest that had officiated the wedding of Coco and Fox Alistair came to the lectern and spoke as loudly as he could.

"Welcome, everyone, welcome. We gather here under the aegis of our Lord to bear witness to the marriage of Chief Inspector Jaune Arc and Doctor Pyrrha Nikos. I shall start by introducing the groom and his party. First, we have Mr. Yatsuhashi Daichi."

The giant Japanese man, who had since replaced Ren as butler to Pyrrha, looked comfortable in his suit as he took his spot at the far right of the altar.

"Next, we have Superintendent Nolan Blackford and Inspector Qrow Branwen."

The pair of policemen strode forward, doing their best to appear comfortable in the midst of opulence they rarely got to experience.

"They are followed by Mr. Neptune Vasilias and Mr. Lie Ren."

Neptune had forgone his blue beret for once, and his friends now knew why he wore it; a small bald patch was evident within his otherwise perfect black hair. Ren, meanwhile, had his locks pulled back into a braid.

"Now, we have the best man, Mr. Fox Alistair."

Fox walked comfortably into his spot at the head of the groomsmen, glasses firmly affixed to his face.

"And last, but not least, the groom; Chief Inspector Jaune Arc."

Jaune's entrance was the most confident display he'd ever put on. Even his father was visibly impressed as he watched his son proudly take his place before the altar.

"Now," the priest continued, "I welcome the bridal party. Starting with Ms. Yang Xiao Long."

Yang's entrance was as graceful as a muscular bastard could be. After careful coaching from her employers, her formal walk lacked the swagger that she was known for.

"Next, we have Ms. Blake Belladonna and Ms. Weiss Schnee."

The wealthiest two women in the world strode forward, with Blake's natural grace eking through her dress. Weiss, by contrast, had her back ram-rod straight, and her face was trying desperately to not look hard and crystalline.

"After that, we have Ms. Ruby Rose and Ms. Nora Valkyrie."

Ruby walked as slowly as she could manage, given her naturally excitable disposition, but her face had her trademark smile plastered all over it. And as for "Bloody Nora" Valkyrie, the Irish force of nature was as cheerful as she ever was as she followed her friend up the aisle.

"Now, we have the matron of honour, Mrs. Coco Alistair."

A slightly pregnant Coco minced carefully into her designated spot, with Fox keeping an attentive eye on her belly as she moved into place.

"And finally, the bride, Doctor Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha then walked in with her father Titos at her side, and Kieran started the march as requested. Pyrrha wore a blue-white dress with a veil and train, which looked like a clear sky reflected off of ice. A large pendant with three sapphires in it was clasped around her neck, matching Jaune's tie perfectly. In keeping with the bride and groom, every member of the bridal party wore white dresses, and the groom and his men all wore black three-piece suits and white dress shirts, as befitting the occasion.

However, as the keen observers in the crowd noticed, the necklaces worn by the women matched the ties on the men. Yang, for instance, had the plainest of them all; a mere gold chain with a small drop of amber appended; Yatsuhashi, meanwhile, had worn a gold tie. Blake and Weiss, the wealthiest of the bridesmaids, respectively had amethyst and diamond in their pendants – with Blackford and Qrow wearing purple and grey as a result. Ruby, meanwhile, was able to find a decent, if smaller, piece of her namesake for her pendant, and Nora's most recent mission resulted in her claiming an emerald and two small garnets; keeping the former, she gave Coco the latter. Neptune, Ren and Fox therefore wore red, green and brown ties with their suits.

As Pyrrha made it to the altar, Kieran finished and made his way back to the seat.

"Welcome everyone," the priest began with his bible open and ready. "Today, we're here on this beautiful autumn morning to mark the union of two remarkable people into holy matrimony. Today's reading comes from chapter four of the first epistle from John the Evangelist. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."

"And the brave pair of souls before us have definitely cast aside their fears in the face of adversity. Pyrrha has let nothing stop her from achieving every goal she's set her mind towards over her twenty-five years, whether it be as a scholar, adventurer or surveyor. As for Jaune, he's worked diligently to calm the fears of London's populace as a policeman for several years, never ceasing his vigil over the streets and alleyways many of us call home. It's fair to say, then, that the union of these two courageous people will never suffer from fear, or any negativity at all."

The ancient priest placed the holy book down at this point, then looked to the best man.

"Now, I'll ask the best man to present the rings."

Fox produced the rings for the pair. Specially forged by Neptune for the occasion, both of them were bands of gold that had small diamonds around each centerpiece. Pyrrha's ring featured a crimson-Dust laced ruby, and Jaune's ring bore an azure-Dust laced sapphire. Once the rings were readied, the priest began his usual spiel regarding the rings.

"These rings are the symbols of the vows here taken. They mark the beginning of a long journey together, filled with wonder, surprise, laughter, tears, celebrations, grief and joy. May these rings reflect the warmth of the lives that flow through them today. Two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever they go, may they always return to one another. May they grow in understanding and compassion. May the home that they establish be a place of peace, comfort and sanctuary. As I invite Jaune and Pyrrha to make their marriage vows I remind everyone here that this is the heart of the ceremony. The vows they make before us are sincere and binding promises that are intended to keep them together for the rest of their lives."

Jaune spoke his vows first. "I, Jaune Gareth Arc, take thee, Pyrrha Alizarine Nikos, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth." Pyrrha responded in kind. "I, Pyrrha Alizarine Nikos, take thee, Jaune Gareth Arc, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth."

At this point, Jaune placed his ring on his beloved's finger, Pyrrha doing the same, and completed the vows.

"With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

The priest nodded, and spoke his last for the service.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Time seemed to slow at the very stroke of noon as Jaune leaned into Pyrrha's face and kissed her heartily. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience to be seen as the applause and cheers erupted. The priest led the couple over to the wedding register behind the altar, and they signed it with Fox and Coco as the witnesses.

Once the ceremony finished, the audience partook in cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the formal dining hall in the eastern wing of the house. The Arc family made a beeline for the northern half of the table, with the Nikos clan on the other side. The bridesmaids and groomsmen sat between them, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha a pair of seats in the middle of the table, facing the doorway. Fox, in his capacity as best man, rose from his seat between Jaune and Colonel Arc.

"Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends of the groom and bride. As best man to the groom, I feel it necessary to make a speech before the food is served.

"The first time I met Jaune, we were both eighteen, and he and I were first-years within King's College at Cambridge. He was preparing to study criminology, and I accounting. All the same, we both took on classics as an elective, and we became fast friends as a result. Whilst there's a lot to be said of our time at university, most of the things we got up to are best left in the past."

Jaune blushed purple with embarrassment as his father and the rest of the table sniggered in response. Even Pyrrha had a slight smirk on her features, as Fox continued.

"After graduation, Jaune and I went our separate ways for a time. He tried serving in the army, while I managed to start working as a clerk within the Bank of England. Eventually, after three years and a couple of promotions, I was invited to a dinner party at a town-house in Kensington by Pyrrha, who was and still is best friends with my wife. Having suffered from grey-scale vision since birth, I didn't recognise the man that Pyrrha brought home that night with these glasses on, until after he ran off with the host and two other guests to apprehend a maniac in the clockworks of Big Ben. That was certainly one way to get re-acquainted with an old friend."

The table guffawed, in the usual manner that connoted enjoying a darker brand of humour.

"Not long after we were re-acquainted, I moved to become the head of the accounting department at Scotland Yard, where Jaune was the newly-promoted Chief Inspector. We've since got along famously, not least due to Jaune knowing that I control his wages and behaving accordingly."

This got the table roaring with laughter; even Jaune began to cackle as his wife threw her head back and laughed.

"But in all seriousness, I've been inordinately blessed to have Jaune and Pyrrha as friends. To give an idea of how close we all are as friends, they were best man and maiden of honour at my wedding on St. Valentine's Day this year, and I felt it was fitting to return the favour this time."

At this point, Fox picked up his champagne flute, cuing the others to get theirs filled and in their hands. Once that was done, Fox concluded his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast. To the bride and groom!"

"Cheers!"

A/N: And there we have it, ladies and gents. Amaryllis and Aconite is complete!

Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favourited and followed the work, as well as those fans on Reddit who liked what they saw and gave their approval.

And once again, I'd like to thank DezoPenguin for supplying the setting in the first place. Wherever you are in the world, I hope things are going well for you.

Now, as for the future of the Belladonna Lilies series, I've still got one more fic confirmed and in the pipeline - Mechanica Aurantiaco (which is Latin for Mechanical Orange, for the record). There'll be some pre-existing characters appearing, along with a few others that haven't been introduced as of yet. The only thing I'll reveal at this point is that Oscar Pine will be one of the two protagonists in the story.

After it's released, that might be it from me. I do have an idea about a fic focusing on Sun and Velvet with the wider group of Faunus on Ellespoint Island, but no plot points have come to mind other than Bunanas becoming a reality and the Albain twins being villains. As much as I'd like to write that someday, it'd be amazing to see if someone else can flesh that idea out.