Two days later, it was the day of the wedding. Last night in the evening, everything had been set-up and prepared so that the wedding could commence at 11am. Sarah was glad to have slept enough and felt awake and present for a change. Ishaan had informed her that he could not come to the wedding because of an incident at the SkyRange Shipyard that required his attention in Sarah's absence. The sun was shining unimpeded by clouds and the blue sky above Zah'City contrasted well with the grey cityscape and green lawn of the Temple Complex. A large stage had been erected near the small bridge in the west of the complex and the live band was conducting their tests. More than 2000 guests were expected, both specially invited and public onlookers. The invitation list was more than 700 names long. Sarah squinted her eyes as she looked up into the sky. How hot it was. 34°C. Despite the heat, she was wearing her usual knightly outfit of boots, tunic, trousers and gloves. She still had two hours to get changed. Security had been increased and more than 300 Temple Guards were outside at the same time patrolling the complex and observing nearby buildings. They regularly stopped people to check their ID, but ignored Sarah because they knew her face and she was wearing the right kind of clothing. Later, in the dress, she could get asked for her ID if the guard didn't recognize her immediately. Sarah disliked having to show her ID at home but complied without comment as was expected of her. Most of the visitors currently in the complex would leave before the wedding started with only those having purchased a ticket being allowed to stay. Throughout the city, public screening events had been organized by the city council and in the rest of the empire, TV broadcasters, innkeepers and other entities provided ample opportunity for watching the wedding live in good company. More than 20 billion people were expected to tune in across the whole known space. Sarah sighed in light of the gigantism of this event. Hopefully the boring parts would be over quickly and the ceremony itself as well as the party following it were more fun. Standing or sitting around waiting for something to happen had never been exciting in the history of the universe.
Sarah sat down on a bench and closed her eyes until she felt someone approach and sit down beside her. The hooded figure was of a slim and petite build and was wearing grey sneakers with yellow accentuation instead of boots. A smile grew in her face as she realized who it was.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfi7dE6xTX
"Do you think it's wise being outside at the moment?" Sarah asked.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ42H3oO7e9
"I doubt anyone will recognize me among the wealth of tunic-wearers," said Johanna.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5DRJ4And0
"With sneakers."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybfzqrI2ay
"I can't wear boots all the time."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1QWe4SVl3
"I know, sis." Sarah chuckled.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0U4WLwP51
"We haven't had the chance to talk since you came home. How are you?"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSXjqM0vKy
"I'm okay. Not tired for a change. Governing is exhausting."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswBcKtCKqf
"I can imagine. I'm a bit tired because I couldn't sleep well last night. I drank a cup of coffee and it's gonna be fine. Do you think it's the right decision?"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPdqyktOwk
"I do. You're going to be happy with Michael. Just don't expect too much."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EL3wHwwKK
"What do you mean?"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaUrvZJHfy
"I don't really understand what marriage is all about. I'm married and there's no reason to end that but, if I think about it, nothing has changed."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA77j9U80xY
"You feel just like before?"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QhDAxB2dY
"It's odd. You get married and everything is wonderful for a short while. You feel awesome and grown up, but it passes quickly. Then you realize that nothing has actually changed."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDGM1aDZ7H
"I think it'll be different for us. We have a way of making days special."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90pJEqt9Nf
Sarah smiled as she leant forward to look at Johanna's shrouded face. "You will, I'm sure."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3taPzazhd
Johanna placed her hand on Sarah's before she stood up. "See you later, sis."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKndUCj9f7L
"See you."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcJkjtgKtN
As Johanna walked away, a cloud pushed itself in front of the sun and darkened the earth beneath it. Sarah looked up, expecting to see more clouds, but it was solitary. One hour and 30 minutes left. Sarah took a deep breath and went inside to get dressed.
Sarah's dress was a long sky-blue a line knee length royal blue dress with a box pleat at the front and with faintly lighter blue flower patterns with a v neckline. She turned around in front of the mirror to make sure she wore it right, then freshened up in the bathroom and applied subtle make-up to her face. She had just gotten a text message telling her to be at her designated seat half an hour earlier than planned and she had to hurry now. She triple-checked that everything about her outfit and appearance was perfect, then flew down the stairs before she remembered that she could use the elevator. Down in the garden, many of the guests had already been seated and the public onlookers gave 'overcrowded' a new definition. Sarah rushed to her seat, where a valet expected her.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgrS8yfQF0
"The lady may be seated here," he said in an overly formal tone.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpA6KaWB4C
"Thank you," said Sarah, having the distinct feeling that the valet disapproved of her - in her eyes artificial - tardiness. She sat down and throughout the next 20 minutes, wondered what all the fuss was about because nothing seemed to happen at all. Everything was set and ready. The guards cordoned off the Temple's entrance and stopped all the remaining foot traffic. Everything was silent now. At the end of a pathway adorned by lofty flowers stood the marriage registrar in a black suit with a white shirt and a tie in the Imperial colors red, white, black and yellow. Suddenly everyone stood up even though Sarah hadn't seen anything. Nevertheless she stood up as well. Standing close to the pathway, the bridal pair would pass right in front of her. She leaned over the railing just as Johanna and Michael emerged from the shade of the Temple. Johanna was stunning in her long, white wedding dress and Michael was dressed in a simple, but expensive dark blue suit. They smiled from ear to ear as they walked by the guests over the sound of defeaning cheers. As the pair passed by Sarah, time seemed to slow down for her as she grinned at her sister. She heard a meaty zing and something wet hit Sarah in the face. Johanna toppled over backwards and the red rapidly became part of her dress. Sarah's grin disappeared from her face as her body realized what had happened before her mind could process it. Isolated gasps in the crowd, screams and cries could be heard as Sarah jumped over the railing. Michael was standing beside his bride, apathetic.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLpnJYr88K
"We need a doctor!" screamed Sarah. "Sniper in the vicinity!"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2JBLqTIBn
She didn't have anything with her that could help now. No plasmablade, no knife, no first aid kit, nothing. A guard sprinted down the flower pathway; he had first aid with him. Sarah looked up and saw the assault rifle in his hands.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqfsgvskYC
"Give me that, soldier!" The soldier stared at her for a moment, then handed the weapon over. Sarah turned on the spot and ran down the pathway towards the registrar, whose shocked face she would never forget. Behind him, a trio of guards had taken their position, one of them searching for the sniper with binoculars.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jptIq8bIF
"You three, come with me," Sarah said.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIH20FhYUGF
"Yes, ma'am."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TnOLA6vck
"I need a knife."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTorVHQ9Sh
One of the guards pulled one out and gave it to Sarah, who promptly cut up her dress at the sides of the legs to ease movement wearing it.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbe2GsSmG5
"Call for backup. We're going after the sniper. No hesitation, let's go!"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4cjwDwqtj
Paying no more mind to the heavily bleeding Johanna who still lay on the ground in her now blood-soaked wedding dress, Sarah and the guards bolted towards the southern gate of the Temple Complex. She estimated that the shot came from the building at Temple Street 03 because it was the only one whose windows could be opened. Even if it was not, other units would catch the sniper.
They ran around the building and busted the main door open. The assassin couldn't have gotten away yet. If he was in this building, they would find it. By now, a squad of police officers had arrived at the building as well and secured the perimeter. He would not get out. Sarah and the three guards combed the entire building systematically, but even after additional reinforcements arrived to speed up the process, no assassin turned up. On top of that, Sarah tripped twice on her dress and ripped the dress up further. Just a bit more and it would show her underwear, but that was nothing more than a passing thought. She would catch the assassin butt naked if necessary. Only the mission counted. She took a radio from a policeman and listened in on the chatter. Police Special Forces swept through building after building without turning up anything resembling an assassin or his equipment. Sarah was hard at work trying to figure out how he might escape detection. Her fingers wrapped around her rifle's pistol grip, anxious to show its insides to the shooter.
For 20 minutes, she paced around the building keeping track of the police effort. She sighed as it became increasingly difficult to understand how he could have slipped through. Then, something on the radio made her listen up. There was talk of a box and a round hole in the window having been found in an apartment facing the Temple Complex in an adjacent building. The box looked like a makeshift carrying case for a Sniper rifle. But neither the rifle nor its owner were around anymore. Sarah decided to go to the roof to have a better overview of the situation. Over the radio, she asked whether the rooftops had yet been searched. They had not. The rooftops were closed off with a digital lock and an alarm system. Sarah rushed up the stairs. The elevators had been shut down. On her way, she called for a technician to open the door for her and she did not have to wait for long. Storming through the door onto the roof, the bright sun hurt her eyes. She swiveled around hoping to discover something suspicious. The building in which the box had been found stood 20 meters from the building Sarah was on. They were of the same height and layout; one out of three identical high-rises that had been built in a row as mixed apartment and commercial real estate. Looking down onto the neighboring Temple Complex, she could see that most people had disappeared. Only Temple Guards and about two dozen Knights were scurrying about securing the perimeter. Up here, the breeze was stronger than on the streets and it flowed her ripped dress to the left. On the adjacent roof, a man appeared. He stood at most two meters tall and was dressed in a simple dark blue suit. Sarah knew in her heart that he was the assassin and sprinted towards the edge of the roof. The suited man turned around and ran. Sarah jumped and with a flick of her hand magically pushed herself off the roof and it propelled her across the 20 meters wide chasm. Her feet hit the other roof and she rolled over and back onto her feet, but her rifle hit the edge and fell down. The man was running to the other side of the roof and was wearing a parachute.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWXjyJGtjS
"Stop right now!" Sarah screamed, chasing after him. He did not answer but Sarah was gaining ground. The high-rise was only so big and just as the man reached the edge and jumped off, Sarah caught up to him and grabbed his parachute. They fell towards the ground together and the parachute opened, throwing Sarah off him. Now in free fall, she timed it and used her magic to soften her fall. Despite it, she slammed into the ground, with the assassin landing close to her. Groaning from the pain, Sarah jumped back to her feet and wrestled the assassin to the ground. The man was stronger than, Sarah, but she held him down with telekinetic magic.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMqm6S2OX1
"Who sent you?" she asked, but the man merely laughed.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Rys4ynb3T
"You can answer now or suffer later. Choose!" 727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLYCB9DVKH
She applied more pressure and he groaned as he was pressed to the ground. Nearby police had witnessed the events and arrived, restraining the assassin. As Sarah withdrew her magic and turned away, she grew aware of her bruised body and she limped away, being supported by a police officer. As the adrenaline left her body, her wounds began to burn like hell and she gritted her teeth in defiance.
On their way back to the temple, they walked past the spot of red grass where Johanna had been shot. Sarah closed her eyes for a brief instant and hoped that she would find Johanna alive and well considering the circumstances. Inside, she wanted to see her sister immediately but a medic dragged her off and applied salves to ease the pain and bandaged her bruised left arm. Finishing that, Sarah slipped away and went to see Johanna. She was asleep and hooked up to all sorts of medical equipment. Her pale face and shallow breathing only added to Sarah's worries. She took aside Doctor Molina and asked with a quiet voice, "Will she be okay?"727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitgAfEerIw
"We've removed a bone fragment caused by the bullet grazing it on its way through her chest. Luckily, the bullet came out the other end. She is stable for the moment, but not over the worst yet. We'll know better over the course of the afternoon."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM736Rw3lif
"I see. I caught the asshole. They'll hopefully get out of him who sent him. I'm guessing pirates. They did threaten me like that."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpIBIfmtLh
"I just hope this will soon be over," said Doctor Molina. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I need to take care of something."727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6b7XijHZlC
Sarah nodded and after Molina had left, she approached Johanna and felt her temperature. She was hot. Her body must have been in high activity, dealing with the injury.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36Pxk15tDI
"Sleep well, sis," said Sarah and left. She asked a nurse where Michael could be found. Upon being told that he was with a therapist, she decided to lie down. Every single bone and muscle of her body demanded her to rest. Looking like an escaped hospital patient - which garnered many looks - she went to her apartment and dozed off quickly. To her dismay, the bruises did not let her sleep for long periods of time because every time she moved, arcs of fire jolted through her body. This had been a day she would never forget.
