Wedding
[[Theme blatantly ripped from Eddings, and yes I know I bounced tenses in the ficlet. I don't care, this is ... like, ten days late in coming. So nyah. Deal.]]
Morning. It takes Merry a couple of minutes to wake up and realize what day it is. Wedding day. She sits bolt upright in bed, nearly smacking her head on the underside of the top bunk. Suddenly it feels as though she can’t breathe. Wedding day. Her and Dennis and scads of friends and family and oh god her father and …
Breathe.
And her father’s talking in her head. She rolls her eyes upwards in the general direction of his bedroom. I am breathing. Thank you.
She knows he’s laughing, but she can’t hear it or prove it. Oh well. It was what was needed to get her up and out of bed and not panicking anymore, and he knows it. She swings her legs over, half-stands and half falls out of bed. The wedding dress, everything is up and hanging in her closet. And Dennis is off getting set up by Erik, which is probably making him nervous beyond belief. Still. Bad luck, before wedding, etcetera. And this is her house, so she gets to kick him out. Father will go over there soon enough and keep Erik from scaring her fiancé out of his wits.
Shower time.
Hot water over her cold body. The windows had been open, almost all of them, last night, and it had been amazingly cool for an August evening. Hot water almost put her right back to sleep, but she forced herself out of the shower as soon as she felt her head start to sink forward. Hair up in a towel, everyone would be by to mess with it and her clothes and her makeup later. She twists her engagement ring nervously on her finger, plain band, simple diamond, the most beautiful thing she’s ever had. This is it.
Zero minus two hours. Dennis has no idea how to do up a tie, and Erik’s blind and fumbling fingers make him nervous and break down even his strongest barriers. Not that his shields are very strong today. He keeps getting flashes, visions. Already he’s choked down two of the strongest painkillers in the house, the ones that won’t fuddle his mind. Erik has no drugs that will confuse the mind in his house, and Dennis actually agrees with that although he’ll never tell the horrifying man so. He has no idea how Erik tells which bottle is which; he isn’t going to ask.
Strangely, his mind is a complete blank when he thinks about what will happen in two hours. He’s nervous, and he has the feeling he’ll be nervous all the way up until it happens. And right there… blank. Completely out of his mind; he can’t anticipate what will happen or what anyone’s going to do. Which is silly, he tells himself, and part of him believes it. He and Merry have known each other for a couple years now, and been dating for most of that. They’ve been through a lot together. It’s not as though…
Spirits and shades gibber at him from all sides. Erik’s house is packed to the walls and through them. He can’t wait to get out of here.
“Are you ready?” Sebastian asks, and he looks around the room as though he can see what Dennis does. He can’t, but he knows Dennis can see it, which is a relief in and of itself. Sometimes it’s awfully hard to tell reality from fantasy.
“I guess.” Dennis shrugs. “Scared out of my mind.” He wants to laugh, but he knows that anything that comes out of mouth that isn’t words will be hysterical sounding. He can’t imagine why he’s this nervous. Probably Erik’s house.
“He’s ready.”
Dennis manages not to jump out of his skin as Erik’s voice comes from somewhere directly behind his left ear. At least the older man thinks he is ready; he himself isn’t so sure. But Sebastian just nods, and the three of them make their way out to his car. It’s still weird to see his soon-to-be father-in-law in a car. Something about the man has remained stubbornly Victorian, even in the modern day.
Zero minus thirty minutes. She can hear Dennis fidgeting in the other room. She can also sense how close he is to losing control, and in this company that’s not a good thing. Her own hands twist on her skirt until Amber forces them down.
“Merry, I’ve never seen you this nervous. Ever. Even when we were facing down those ghosts. Even when we were telling off that warlock. Even when…”
“I know. But this is…”
“This is your wedding day.” Amber’s getting far too much of a kick out of this, Merry’s decided. “So calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen. Nothing is going to attack or try and eat anyone or be summoned or anything. Besides, we’ve got enough magicians and witches and … thingies… to take down anything that might even come close.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. It was true enough, and even as much as she had seen and with her mother… she had faith in her Father to handle anything that could come their way. Faith that Father would take care of it. But that didn’t quiet the fluttering in her stomach. “It’s just…”
“It’s just nerves. That’s all it is, and it’ll go away in an hour and a half, when you two are done and married and everything’s going to be okay, Merry. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Deep breaths.”
Merry took several deep breaths. Her face was pale. “I feel like I’m going to faint.”
“Here…” Amber sighed. “Sit down. Honestly. And remember to breathe.”
“I am breathing.”
“Okay.”
“Things are going to be all right. You can do this. You’ve been working up to this for a year, and you can do this. Or Laurel and I will take our dresses and shove them down your throat.” She smiles, teasing. “You’re a strong, powerful woman in your own right, and Dennis is just as good. And he’s good for you, anyone with or without eyes can see that. And it’ll all be fine. It’s nothing you haven’t done before. It’s ritual, and it’s a special ritual, yes, but it’s nothing that isn’t wonderful and nothing you’re not ready for.”
“Okay.”
Amber took her hands, pulled her friend to her feet. “Are you ready?”
Dennis was fidgeting. Nothing seemed right: the collar was too tight, his shoes were too loose, his hair was a mess, the grass was damp, the wind was cold. He couldn’t think. He could barely breathe. Everyone was staring at him, and he desperately wanted to run and hide. The only thing that was gluing him to the steps was the horrific nightmare image of a wedding where one or the other of the party to be married didn’t show up. He was getting more terrified with every passing moment, never mind that they still had five agonizing minutes to go. And he didn’t want to think about what it would do to Merry if he really did up and flee.
Everyone was quieting down. That meant something was going to happen. It actually took him a full minute to realize what that something must be. Two minutes. He swallowed, afraid.
He didn’t see her, not at first. It was as though he blinked, and then she was there, vision of heaven in shimmering white, world narrowing to one smile and the shy eyes been waking up to for so long. She was so beautiful.
They joined hands. The headache, the spirits, everything went away. Calm, she could always settle everything, help calm him down, convince him that he was as strong as she thought he was. Maybe she was right. Who knew. Didn’t matter. She was here, and that was all that mattered. That and the words. Someone was speaking. He remembered what Sebastian and the priest had said earlier about not looking too bored during the standard wedding lecture, and put on an expression that he hoped suggested he was paying attention.
“I, Meredith…” The words faded in and out of his hearing. Incongruously the part that was most jarring to his ears was her full name; only her father called her Meredith, and it felt strange to hear her refer to herself by that name. “… in the sight of the Goddess and by these witnesses…” He felt the cords slip over his wrists, but barely felt her hands in his as she slipped the ring over his finger. Strange. And now it was his turn.
“I…” he had to swallow, had to remember what his name was. After all that time spent rehearsing the words to himself earlier he now had to fight to remember every one. “… in love and in honesty, in the sight of the Goddess…” His hands weren’t shaking, and he hoped he didn’t look too surprised at that. It was as though they knew what to do irrespective of the fact that his mind had gone completely blank. The words tumbled out in a whisper. “… take thee as my wife.”
The word sounded so exquisite it was almost painful. Wife. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, binding and cups and bread and may-you-never-thirst and the blessings and the raucous shout, wolf-whistles and stamping that came as she practically sank into Dennis’s arms. She was shaking; they both were. It had taken years, somehow, to get to this place. And it seemed too short a time for them both to take it all in so quickly.
“Den…?” she whispered to her husband, and then was immediately distracted by her mind’s use of the word ‘husband.’ Because that’s what they were now, husband and wife, joined in bonds that no mortal could put asunder save that they both consent… she didn’t want to think about any of that.
“Moonbeam?” She still hadn’t figured out why he’d taken to calling her that, but after a thousand tender moments she still blushed and smiled when she heard it.
“I’m terrified.”
They were almost stumbling down the steps to the sound of friends and family. Somewhere in the crowd she caught a flash of her father’s tender and restrained smile, always the restraint of his own upbringing so far from her own. Bridgit’s beaming grin was less so. Dennis was squeezing her hand.
“Me too.”
It wasn’t that she was afraid she couldn’t do it. Or that he couldn’t or… no. She had faith in both of them. But this wedding business was so far different from marriage. So different from any ritual or ceremony she’d performed, despite that she’d been to at least ten weddings of various denominations and faiths. This was overwhelming, terrifying. And she could feel both of their nerves fraying at the edges.
Can we… she sent plaintively to her friends, who had created a sort of human corridor of bridesmaids and groomsmen down the walkway.
Of course. Laurel, always steady, made a hold-on gesture to her boyfriend (and Merry had her own suspicions about him) and edged a path through the crowd. The nearest structure was a mile away, but there was a copse of trees where they could have some privacy. Amber picked up the thread, keeping friends and family and guests distracted while Laurel got them to temporary safety. And then Merry turned and embraced her husband fiercely.
I love you.
She felt him shake, felt him slowly settle. I love you too. Her entire family, extended to the girls who might as well be family too, all used telepathy as easily as they used normal speech. Dennis still wasn’t used to it in general, but with Merry it had rapidly become second nature. She took it as another good sign. We did it… he sent after a second. We got through the wedding.
Now we just have to get through the reception! But she was already feeling better, after only a few moments of quiet and relative solitude. And she knew she was safe in his arms, safe and loved and it was peaceful like nothing she had experienced until he’d stumbled into her life. It was going to be all right. They had the rest of their lives ahead of them. Think we can do it?
As long as your crazy Uncle Erik doesn’t try to pat me on the back or anything. That guy’s scary. But his mind’s voice was light-hearted, calmer, and more amused than terrified. She stepped back a pace, stared up into his pale eyes, smiling. It was finally done. Sealed. And it felt good. Right.
Are you ready?
Morning. It takes Merry a couple of minutes to wake up and realize what day it is. Wedding day. She sits bolt upright in bed, nearly smacking her head on the underside of the top bunk. Suddenly it feels as though she can’t breathe. Wedding day. Her and Dennis and scads of friends and family and oh god her father and …
Breathe.
And her father’s talking in her head. She rolls her eyes upwards in the general direction of his bedroom. I am breathing. Thank you.
She knows he’s laughing, but she can’t hear it or prove it. Oh well. It was what was needed to get her up and out of bed and not panicking anymore, and he knows it. She swings her legs over, half-stands and half falls out of bed. The wedding dress, everything is up and hanging in her closet. And Dennis is off getting set up by Erik, which is probably making him nervous beyond belief. Still. Bad luck, before wedding, etcetera. And this is her house, so she gets to kick him out. Father will go over there soon enough and keep Erik from scaring her fiancé out of his wits.
Shower time.
Hot water over her cold body. The windows had been open, almost all of them, last night, and it had been amazingly cool for an August evening. Hot water almost put her right back to sleep, but she forced herself out of the shower as soon as she felt her head start to sink forward. Hair up in a towel, everyone would be by to mess with it and her clothes and her makeup later. She twists her engagement ring nervously on her finger, plain band, simple diamond, the most beautiful thing she’s ever had. This is it.
Zero minus two hours. Dennis has no idea how to do up a tie, and Erik’s blind and fumbling fingers make him nervous and break down even his strongest barriers. Not that his shields are very strong today. He keeps getting flashes, visions. Already he’s choked down two of the strongest painkillers in the house, the ones that won’t fuddle his mind. Erik has no drugs that will confuse the mind in his house, and Dennis actually agrees with that although he’ll never tell the horrifying man so. He has no idea how Erik tells which bottle is which; he isn’t going to ask.
Strangely, his mind is a complete blank when he thinks about what will happen in two hours. He’s nervous, and he has the feeling he’ll be nervous all the way up until it happens. And right there… blank. Completely out of his mind; he can’t anticipate what will happen or what anyone’s going to do. Which is silly, he tells himself, and part of him believes it. He and Merry have known each other for a couple years now, and been dating for most of that. They’ve been through a lot together. It’s not as though…
Spirits and shades gibber at him from all sides. Erik’s house is packed to the walls and through them. He can’t wait to get out of here.
“Are you ready?” Sebastian asks, and he looks around the room as though he can see what Dennis does. He can’t, but he knows Dennis can see it, which is a relief in and of itself. Sometimes it’s awfully hard to tell reality from fantasy.
“I guess.” Dennis shrugs. “Scared out of my mind.” He wants to laugh, but he knows that anything that comes out of mouth that isn’t words will be hysterical sounding. He can’t imagine why he’s this nervous. Probably Erik’s house.
“He’s ready.”
Dennis manages not to jump out of his skin as Erik’s voice comes from somewhere directly behind his left ear. At least the older man thinks he is ready; he himself isn’t so sure. But Sebastian just nods, and the three of them make their way out to his car. It’s still weird to see his soon-to-be father-in-law in a car. Something about the man has remained stubbornly Victorian, even in the modern day.
Zero minus thirty minutes. She can hear Dennis fidgeting in the other room. She can also sense how close he is to losing control, and in this company that’s not a good thing. Her own hands twist on her skirt until Amber forces them down.
“Merry, I’ve never seen you this nervous. Ever. Even when we were facing down those ghosts. Even when we were telling off that warlock. Even when…”
“I know. But this is…”
“This is your wedding day.” Amber’s getting far too much of a kick out of this, Merry’s decided. “So calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen. Nothing is going to attack or try and eat anyone or be summoned or anything. Besides, we’ve got enough magicians and witches and … thingies… to take down anything that might even come close.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. It was true enough, and even as much as she had seen and with her mother… she had faith in her Father to handle anything that could come their way. Faith that Father would take care of it. But that didn’t quiet the fluttering in her stomach. “It’s just…”
“It’s just nerves. That’s all it is, and it’ll go away in an hour and a half, when you two are done and married and everything’s going to be okay, Merry. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Deep breaths.”
Merry took several deep breaths. Her face was pale. “I feel like I’m going to faint.”
“Here…” Amber sighed. “Sit down. Honestly. And remember to breathe.”
“I am breathing.”
“Okay.”
“Things are going to be all right. You can do this. You’ve been working up to this for a year, and you can do this. Or Laurel and I will take our dresses and shove them down your throat.” She smiles, teasing. “You’re a strong, powerful woman in your own right, and Dennis is just as good. And he’s good for you, anyone with or without eyes can see that. And it’ll all be fine. It’s nothing you haven’t done before. It’s ritual, and it’s a special ritual, yes, but it’s nothing that isn’t wonderful and nothing you’re not ready for.”
“Okay.”
Amber took her hands, pulled her friend to her feet. “Are you ready?”
Dennis was fidgeting. Nothing seemed right: the collar was too tight, his shoes were too loose, his hair was a mess, the grass was damp, the wind was cold. He couldn’t think. He could barely breathe. Everyone was staring at him, and he desperately wanted to run and hide. The only thing that was gluing him to the steps was the horrific nightmare image of a wedding where one or the other of the party to be married didn’t show up. He was getting more terrified with every passing moment, never mind that they still had five agonizing minutes to go. And he didn’t want to think about what it would do to Merry if he really did up and flee.
Everyone was quieting down. That meant something was going to happen. It actually took him a full minute to realize what that something must be. Two minutes. He swallowed, afraid.
He didn’t see her, not at first. It was as though he blinked, and then she was there, vision of heaven in shimmering white, world narrowing to one smile and the shy eyes been waking up to for so long. She was so beautiful.
They joined hands. The headache, the spirits, everything went away. Calm, she could always settle everything, help calm him down, convince him that he was as strong as she thought he was. Maybe she was right. Who knew. Didn’t matter. She was here, and that was all that mattered. That and the words. Someone was speaking. He remembered what Sebastian and the priest had said earlier about not looking too bored during the standard wedding lecture, and put on an expression that he hoped suggested he was paying attention.
“I, Meredith…” The words faded in and out of his hearing. Incongruously the part that was most jarring to his ears was her full name; only her father called her Meredith, and it felt strange to hear her refer to herself by that name. “… in the sight of the Goddess and by these witnesses…” He felt the cords slip over his wrists, but barely felt her hands in his as she slipped the ring over his finger. Strange. And now it was his turn.
“I…” he had to swallow, had to remember what his name was. After all that time spent rehearsing the words to himself earlier he now had to fight to remember every one. “… in love and in honesty, in the sight of the Goddess…” His hands weren’t shaking, and he hoped he didn’t look too surprised at that. It was as though they knew what to do irrespective of the fact that his mind had gone completely blank. The words tumbled out in a whisper. “… take thee as my wife.”
The word sounded so exquisite it was almost painful. Wife. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, binding and cups and bread and may-you-never-thirst and the blessings and the raucous shout, wolf-whistles and stamping that came as she practically sank into Dennis’s arms. She was shaking; they both were. It had taken years, somehow, to get to this place. And it seemed too short a time for them both to take it all in so quickly.
“Den…?” she whispered to her husband, and then was immediately distracted by her mind’s use of the word ‘husband.’ Because that’s what they were now, husband and wife, joined in bonds that no mortal could put asunder save that they both consent… she didn’t want to think about any of that.
“Moonbeam?” She still hadn’t figured out why he’d taken to calling her that, but after a thousand tender moments she still blushed and smiled when she heard it.
“I’m terrified.”
They were almost stumbling down the steps to the sound of friends and family. Somewhere in the crowd she caught a flash of her father’s tender and restrained smile, always the restraint of his own upbringing so far from her own. Bridgit’s beaming grin was less so. Dennis was squeezing her hand.
“Me too.”
It wasn’t that she was afraid she couldn’t do it. Or that he couldn’t or… no. She had faith in both of them. But this wedding business was so far different from marriage. So different from any ritual or ceremony she’d performed, despite that she’d been to at least ten weddings of various denominations and faiths. This was overwhelming, terrifying. And she could feel both of their nerves fraying at the edges.
Can we… she sent plaintively to her friends, who had created a sort of human corridor of bridesmaids and groomsmen down the walkway.
Of course. Laurel, always steady, made a hold-on gesture to her boyfriend (and Merry had her own suspicions about him) and edged a path through the crowd. The nearest structure was a mile away, but there was a copse of trees where they could have some privacy. Amber picked up the thread, keeping friends and family and guests distracted while Laurel got them to temporary safety. And then Merry turned and embraced her husband fiercely.
I love you.
She felt him shake, felt him slowly settle. I love you too. Her entire family, extended to the girls who might as well be family too, all used telepathy as easily as they used normal speech. Dennis still wasn’t used to it in general, but with Merry it had rapidly become second nature. She took it as another good sign. We did it… he sent after a second. We got through the wedding.
Now we just have to get through the reception! But she was already feeling better, after only a few moments of quiet and relative solitude. And she knew she was safe in his arms, safe and loved and it was peaceful like nothing she had experienced until he’d stumbled into her life. It was going to be all right. They had the rest of their lives ahead of them. Think we can do it?
As long as your crazy Uncle Erik doesn’t try to pat me on the back or anything. That guy’s scary. But his mind’s voice was light-hearted, calmer, and more amused than terrified. She stepped back a pace, stared up into his pale eyes, smiling. It was finally done. Sealed. And it felt good. Right.
Are you ready?