Epilogue
Mathieu wouldn't have believed that a wedding could be pulled together in a mere two days if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Narrie had been the spearhead to getting things her, determined to give Avanon a proper wedding. Mathieu hadn't realized how close the two girls had become since Narrie had joined them in Korinth.
From what he had heard, as soon as the palace servants had come running into the streets, yelling about how the king was dead, fighting had all but ceased. And according to Darcia, who had seen it first hand, once the fight was over, Elric turned to Avanon, scooped her up and kissed her. Then he said something along the lines of: 'I thought I was the only one who felt something between us. I guess you won't be upset if I ask you to marry me, then?' Mathieu had genuinely laughed at that.
As Narrie orchestrated the clean up and reassembly of Ateri, Avanon had been a bundle of energy, bouncing around behind her. Mostly, Avanon was underfoot, but Narrie didn't seem to have the heart to tell her that. The two had done most of the clean up in one day; the explosion that had gone off were Anastasie's design and meant mostly for show, so only a few buildings had suffered some surface scratches.
The next morning Narrie had then reported that the wedding would be that evening. Everyone had scoffed, but in a matter of hours, the square of District 1 had been decorated and was now almost set to go. The ground was scattered with daisy petals of all the colors, and the altar had been carved out of some rare light pink wood. It was covered with beautiful lilies from Avian's garden, with Mathieu's permission of course. The aisle was also made of petals, however they were deep red rose petals instead of daisies, and the seating was being put in place. Mathieu was helping with the heavy lifting, moving wrought iron benches from the storage in the castle to the square.
Mathieu hadn't seen Solomon in two days, but that didn't surprise him. He was sure the blond man was busy helping, too, but Mathieu still missed him. After they moved all of the benches to Narrie's satisfaction, they started to hang the finishing touches on the square. Overhead, a myriad of fabrics were tossed and knotted from balconies and trees to make something of a fabric lattice overhead. The sky peeked through in some areas, the blue a stark contrast to the pinks, purples, reds, and golds of the fabric.
The suns were hanging low in the sky and Narrie sent the general populous off to get themselves ready. There was to be a feast for all of the citizens after the ceremony, so everyone wanted to get a little dressed up. Mathieu found himself being ushered up the stairs inside the castle to Avian's old room. A familiar red and black suit from so long ago was laid out for him, now altered to his new measurements. His hair, which he had begun to keep just past his jaw was pinned back and he found his way into the suit much easier this time around. His three Shadowriders sat on the bed, watching him.
Sighing, he looked at himself in the mirror. This was as good as it was going to get, so he smoothed his hands down his suit and headed out. Niveus followed behind him, her feet silently padding against the stone. They emerged from the castle, following the newly erected signs to the seating area.
Entering the square, Mathieu looked around. The suns were touching the horizon, but not quite setting yet, and the whole area was lit perfectly. Smiling in general at the happy occassion, he spotted Elise and Mina. Weaving between the guests and politely nodding to those who acknowledged him, he made his way to the women. Sitting next to them in the front row, Niveus hopped into his lap, purring.
"This is such a wonderful thing." Elise said with a smile, looking serene.
"I'm surprised you came." Mathieu admitted. "I didn't know if you would feel safe leaving your manor."
She patted his thigh. "I wouldn't miss the wedding of a friend for the world. I've been waiting for them to get together for a very long time; almost as long as I waited for you and Solomon.” That comment made Mina grumble under her breath.
Smiling, Mathieu pet Niveus’s head. “I’m glad Elric finally got it. It took him a while. Avanon’s looked so happy when I’ve seen her, though.”
Narrie bustled through the crowd, parting it with the loud grace she had never lost. “We’re ready to start!” She said excitedly. Turning to the group at large, she whistled shrilly. “Everyone, the Darc-Vaine wedding is ready to begin. Please take your seats.” Dressed in a dark blue skirt suit, she stood with her hands on her hips until everyone was seated.
Raising a hand, she motioned for Elric to step out by the altar with the minister. Elric was in a traditional black and white suit, but his eyes behind his glasses were bright and alive. He was smiling more than Mathieu had ever seen, and he had a daisy in his lapel; that was Avanon’s favorite flower. Clearing her throat, Narrie nodded to the musicians before taking her seat next to Mathieu.
As the music played, he turned in his seat to watch. Coming down the rose petal aisle first were the Shadowriders. Tesla and Nikola were about the size of dogs at the moment, and had pillows tied on their heads. Each pillow had a ring tied to it. Inside of his head, he could hear the grumblings of Tesla at the indignity of being treated like a tuvash and Mathieu tried not to snigger. Tesla gave Mathieu a piercing look as he passed.
Next in the cue were the best man and the maid of honor. Kiev looked beautiful in her dark red bride’s maid dress, her blond hair braided on one side. It was mid-calf in length, low cut in the front, showing off her breasts, and had a little fabric bow just under the left side of her bosom. Solomon, in opposition was in a black suit with an azure vest and a white undershirt. Mathieu put a hand to his chest at the sight of his Solomon; not seeing the man in a few days made him sometimes forget the exact placement of the little scars along his jaw, or the way that those emerald eyes could pierce through his soul. Solomon blew him a subtle kiss and Mathieu caught it.
There was a music change up and Mathieu took that as his cue to stand. He looked at the end of the aisle and waited. Darcia stepped out with Avanon and they genuinely took his breath away. Darcia was dressed similarly to Solomon with the black suit and the azure vest, but on his arm was a stunning woman. The bust of Avanon’s wedding dress was beaded with white daisies on it, and there was a ribbon tied around her waist. The straps of her dress were made of white silk chiffon and traced the sides of her bust. From there, the chiffon draped down and became double layered so it was no longer see-through, but it swirled softly in the light breeze. The skirt was tie-dyed, as was her veil. Under the veil, her mutli-colored hair had flowers woven into it and hung in a sheet down her back.
Now, Mathieu had only been to very formal weddings, but he was sure that what the musicians were playing was not the wedding march; it was something more ethereal and Avanon practically floated down the aisle to it. It was only when Darcia stepped up to Elric, ready to give Avanon away, that Mathieu realized Avanon was barefoot.
“What’s up with no shoes?” Mathieu murmured to Narrie.
The brunette rolled her eyes and she whispered back, “I told her that she was wearing heels or nothing. Apparently, she chose nothing.” They both looked at her feet again and exchanged a look.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…” The minister began, bringing the music to a close.
Mathieu was happy that two of his friends were getting married, but he had heard the wedding vows enough times that he could recite them by heart. So, in the politest way possible, he ogled his boyfriend instead. Solomon winked when he noticed Mathieu’s attention and that made him turn red. Rolling his eyes at the blond man, Mathieu looked at Kiev. She didn’t seem jealous, just happy for her friend. That, to him, was refreshing to see.
Just then, a soft trickle of rain started to fall from the sky. Narrie swore and others began to stand, collecting anything that they had brought with them. The ceremony interrupted, Elric looked at Avanon. “I’m sorry.” He said with a frown as a rain drop landed on his glasses. “We can continue this inside.”
“No.” Avanon said simply.
“No?” Everyone turned to look at her.
She reached up, touching Elric’s cheek. “That’s right. No. I’m going to marry you right now. If we get wet, we get wet.” She smiled and looked at the minister to continue, but held up a hand at the grumbling coming from behind her. Turning to look at the gathered people, she put a hand on her hip. “Excuse me? Sit your asses down. If I’m not upset by the rain, you can’t be either. So shut up because I’m getting married.” Avanon glared until everyone was seated again. The minister continued the ceremony.
She looks so pretty. Niveus purred into his mind. Even if she is getting wet.
Nodding, he buried his hand into her fur. Yes she is. The soft sprinkling of rain didn’t bother him.
And she’s happy. Tesla pointed out, joining their conversation.
Nikola stretched in her place beside Avanon and purred loudly. Mathieu, how silly does this pillow look on me? She asked a worried way.
You look beautiful. Relax. He didn’t point out that the problem was going to be in a few hours when she dried from the rain and looked like a walking poof ball.
Oh, I’m up! She thought gladly to the others, standing up. Avanon leaned down and patted Nikola’s nose before taking the ring from the pillow.
Smiling, the bride and groom turned to face each other. Each held their rings in their hands and joined together. While Elric went first and followed the traditional vows, ending in “I do”, Avanon had something a little different up her sleeve.
Smiling, she kindly interrupted the minister. “Uh, if it’s possible, I have my own vows I want to use.”
“Alright…” The minister said and folded his hands in front of him, looking up at the sky; the light rain had stopped and the clouds had opened up to let the sky peek through.
Coughing, she brushed her veil over her head in an annoyed way, batting at it as it half fell in her face again, and looked shyly at Elric. “Um, well, okay.” She shook her head slightly to get her thoughts in order before starting over. “Vows, right. Elric, I promise to always love you, even when you forget something important because you’re more interested in some medical mystery. I promise to always be faithful, even when you annoy me by missing the signals I give you.” There was an appreciative chuckle given by those who knew Elric. “I promise to always be yours, even if you develop bad habits like leaving your wet towel on the floor. I promise to always want to be your wife, even though I’m sure we will fight. But most importantly, I promise to always be your friend, because without that, loving you isn’t worth anything.” Elric beamed at her in the setting sun, the small pools of water that had formed from the rain caught the light as well and made the moment glow.
Mathieu’s eyes were watery as he watched the two of them exchange rings. Wiping his eyes discreetly on his sleeve, he looked up just in time to catch their kiss. Elric cradled Avanon’s face between his hands and he looked at her with their whole happy future in his eyes. Leaning down, he kissed her in the way that every woman dreams of being kissed, with all the passion and love that should be shared between two people who belong together. Mathieu clapped and whistled with the rest of the large group, laughing when the Shadowriders added their own roars of approval to the din.
Over the noise, the minister proclaimed, “May I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Elric Darc!”
Even louder cheers were given over that proclamation. Mathieu’s eyes drifted to Solomon, who was already looking at him. He knew now that no matter what happened next in his life, whatever obstacle came his way, he had someone who would always be there. Even if he left a wet towel on the floor.