Chapter 113 OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Chapter 113 OUT OF THIS WORLD.
MADISON'S POV:

"So I vow to spend forever proving I'm worthy of that choice. I vow to fight for you the way you've fought for me. I vow to honor both the princess you are and the woman I fell in love with. I vow to build a life that makes you happier than any crown could. And I vow—" He pressed my hands to his chest. "—to love you with everything I am until the day I die and probably long after."
I was crying now. Full-on tears that probably ruined my makeup.
"Thane," I managed. "When I was ten, you told me I was worth fighting for. That I deserved better than what the world gave me. I didn't believe you then. But you spent years proving it anyway."
I squeezed his hands.
"You found me when I was lost. Loved me when I was unlovable. Fought for me when everyone said I was guilty. You gave me your family when I had none. Then you gave me mine back when I thought they were lost forever. You've been my defender, my home, my heart."
The words came faster now, desperate to get out.
"So I vow to be your safe place the way you've been mine. I vow to choose you every single day over crowns and kingdoms and anything else that tries to come between us. I vow to honor both my heritages—" I gestured at the dual ceremony "—and build something new with you. I vow to love you through every season, every challenge, every moment. And I vow—" I rose on my toes, close enough to breathe him in "—to spend forever proving that choosing you was the easiest decision I've ever made. I promised that I'll one day marry you when I was ten and I kept that promise."
"You've always kept your words," Thane smiled.
"May we have the rings?" the minister asked.
The ring bearers brought them forward. Thane's was gold with subtle ankara patterns engraved. Mine was a band of diamonds and emeralds.
"With this ring," Thane said, sliding it onto my finger, "I thee wed. In both your worlds, in both our worlds, in the new world we'll create together."
"With this ring," I repeated, placing his band, "I thee wed. Forever and beyond."
The chief priest blessed us in Azuvian. The minister blessed us in English. Both traditions honored, both sacred.
"By the power vested in me by both God and the kingdom of Azuvia," the minister announced, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."
Thane pulled me close. "Finally," he whispered.
Then he kissed me like we were the only two people in existence. Like everything had led to this moment. Like the universe had conspired to bring us together and nothing would ever pull us apart again.
The crowd erupted. Drums and strings and shouts of joy. Flower petals fell like rain, both roses and hibiscus, American and African, everything we were.
We pulled apart, foreheads pressed together, both crying and laughing.
"Mrs. Slade," Thane said.
"Madison Adanna Kwame-Slade," I corrected with a grin. I'd decided to keep the name Madison because it was a name that had survived a lot and an identity that showed my strength. Erasing it wasn't an option.
"Either way, you're mine."
"Either way, you're stuck with me."
"Best fate I could imagine."

The reception was magic.
Long tables filled the gardens, decorated with both white linens and ankara runners. Centerpieces mixed American flowers with African blooms. Traditional Azuvian food sat beside American favorites—jollof rice next to mac and cheese, suya beside sliders, plantains sharing space with French fries.
The cake was seven tiers. Bottom four were traditional American vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, lemon. Top three were Azuvian flavors I'd grown to love. Decorated with both white frosting and ankara patterns in edible paint. Topped with a topper that showed us in both traditional and Western wear.
Speeches made everyone cry.
Eden went first. "When Thane told me he'd fallen for his nurse, I thought he'd lost his mind. Then I met Madison and understood. He'd found his soul. Watching them fight for each other through everything has restored my faith in love." She raised her glass. "To Madison and Thane. May your love keep defying odds and inspiring us all."
Dad went next, his voice thick. "Twenty-three years ago, I lost my daughter. I never knew she was alive. Then this stubborn hockey player showed up and gave her back to me. Not just alive, thriving. Not just surviving, becoming who she was always meant to be." He looked at Thane. "You loved her when we couldn't. For that, you'll always have my gratitude and blessing. Welcome to our family, son."
Carter stood, Maverick beside him. "To the woman who saved my son when I'd almost lost him. Who showed him that love was worth fighting for even when it seemed impossible. Madison, you've always been family to us. Now it's just official. And Thane—" He grinned. "—you're the luckiest man alive. Don't ever forget it."
Maverick raised his glass. "To my best friend and the woman who deserved so much better than what life gave her but fought until she got it. You've both taught me that choosing someone is braver than needing them. Here's to choices made with whole hearts and futures built on love."
By the time toasts finished, everyone was crying.
The first dance was to a fusion song, American pop blended with Azuvian rhythms. We swayed together, not perfectly, just perfectly us.
"Happy?" Thane whispered.
"Deliriously."
"No regrets about the crown thing?"
"The only crown I need is you."
"That's the cheesiest thing you've ever said."
"Shut up and dance with me, husband."
"Yes, ma'am, wife."
Parent dances followed, me with Dad to an Azuvian song, Thane with Eden to the song from his childhood. Then we switched to me with Carter, Thane with Mom. Family woven together through music and movement and joy.
The party lasted until dawn. Traditional Azuvian dancing where I finally got the steps right. Electric slide where half the royal court learned American line dancing. Hockey players teaching chiefs how to do the wave. Cultures colliding in the best possible way.
Gifts were overwhelming. Dad had given us a villa in Azuvia, our home when we visited. Eden and Carter had gifted us a penthouse in New York, our base during hockey season. Maverick surprised us with a foundation in our names supporting adopted children and displaced families.
But the gift that made me sob was from Joe. A photo album he'd been compiling for months. Pictures of me and Thane from the beginning, me adjusting his IV, him watching me work, us laughing over terrible hospital coffee. Every moment he'd witnessed, documented and preserved.
"You two were always going to end up here," he'd written inside. "I just had the honor of watching it happen."
As sunrise painted the sky, Thane pulled me away from the party. We walked to the edge of the  gardens where it was just us two.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"That I have everything. Literally everything a person could want. Family, love, home, purpose. It's almost scary how perfect life can be."
"Scary?" He pulled me against his chest.
"Like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For something to go wrong."
"Madison." He turned me to face him. "The shoes already dropped. All of them. We've survived literally everything. Kidnapping, attempted murder, evil families, exile, me almost dying, you almost dying, kingdoms trying to separate us. There are no more shoes."
"You sure?"
"Positive. From here on, it's just us building whatever life we want. Hockey season in New York. Summers in Azuvia. Raising kids who'll be citizens of two worlds. Growing old together while everyone wonders how we made it look so easy."
"It wasn't easy."
"No. But it was worth it." He kissed my forehead. "You were worth every second of hell it took to reach this moment of heaven."
Behind us, the party continued. Our family, both found and given, both chosen and born celebrated a love that had survived everything.
The sun rose fully now.
"Ready for forever, Princess?" Thane asked.
I looked at my husband,my defender, my home, my heart and smiled.
"I've been ready since I was ten years old. I just had to find you first."
"And find yourself."
"That too."
We stood together as dawn became day, watching our two worlds wake up beneath us.
Somewhere in the city, a child was being born. Somewhere else, an elder was taking their last breath. Life continuing its eternal cycle beginnings and endings and everything between.
But here, in this moment, with Thane's arms around me and a crown I'd never asked for sitting comfortably on my head, here, everything was exactly as it should be.
I was Madison Adanna Kwame-Slade—princess and wife, daughter of two mothers and daughter of a kingdom, American and African and something entirely new.
I was found. I was loved. I was home.
And it was more beautiful than any fairytale I'd ever imagined.