ICE AGE SWITCHEROO
A BEAUTIFUL MARRIAGE
A VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL
HELLO, EVERYONE. I AM HERE WITH A NEW STORY THAT FALLS UNDER THE ICE AGE SWITCHEROO STORIES THAT I HAVE WRITTEN.
A STORY THAT IS WRITTEN ABOUT LOVE AND MARRIAGE. PERFECT FOR VALENTINE'S DAY.
PLEASE ENJOY.
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ICE AGE. ICE AGE IS OWNED BY BLUE SKY STUDIOS.
It was a new day. It was a glorious day. It was a magnificent day. It was a day filled with magic. A day filled with love.
Everyone in Switchback Cove, animals and humans alike, were gathering in the forest for a very special occasion: The marriage of Roshan and Cheril.
Ever since the two met on the day the asteroid almost smashed inside the Earth, the two humans quickly fell in love. But even after finding true love, it's important to know who they are. Cheril and Roshan spent many weeks together and after almost a year of dating, they have decided to spend the rest of their lives with one another.
While the guest were busy getting settled in for the ceremony, the bride and groom were putting the finishing touches on themselves.
Cheril was admiring herself in the ice mirror. She looked gorgeous in her white colored furred dressed that stopped at her knees. She also wore snow white furred slippers to match her outfit. Around her neck was the beautiful necklace made of decorative wooden beads and diamonds. It was once her mother's necklace, but after keeping it safe for so long, Ellie returned it to Cheril for her wedding day. She wore a veil made of non-sticky spinned spider webs and decorated with pearls with a rose wreath attached on top.
After she finished admiring herself, Cheril looked around the room. Standing behind her were her best friends. Her family. Ellie, Shira and Brooke were chosen to be her maids of honor while Snow Belle, Bethany and Peaches were her bridesmaids. Even though she looked calm on the outside, the inside was as nervous as a racing jack rabbit that's being hunted down. Her heart was racing and her anxiety was shooting up as high as a rocket.
Cheril sighed. "I know this is known to be the happiest day of my life, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm as nervous as any girl would be on her wedding day. The impossible has been known to happen."
"Oh, please," Brooke said, "It's not like Roshan would ever leave you."
"Brooke!" Ellie shouted.
"What?" Cheril started panicking. "Can that really happen? Is Roshan gonna leave me one day?"
"Don't be silly. Of course Roshan would never leave you. Brooke's just having some trouble learning how to keep her mouth shut." Ellie bonked Brooke on the head.
"No, it's bound to happen. One of these days, he'll meet a girl that's prettier and more girlie than me and I'll be the one who ends up with a broken heart. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next week. It may not be next month. It could be years before he finally gets bored of me and moves on to someone else." Cheril paces around the room. She's almost on the verge of tears. "Am I making a mistake? Am I only getting married so I'll have a story to tell? I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can love him and he leaves me alone one day with all our children that I'll have to raise on my own. Maybe we should call the wedding off."
"Cheril, don't say things like that," Bethany said.
"None of that is ever gonna happen," Peaches said.
"Cheril, you're practically in our age group," Snow Belle said, "We're all married and things have turned out wonderfully for all of us."
"Humans and animals are different from one another," Cheril said, "Especially when it comes to marriage."
"No, we're not," Bethany said, "Love between a man and woman is the same for every species."
"Besides, we know our guys will never leave us," Peaches said.
"That's because they know that no other girls will love them the way we do," Snow Belle said, "It's the same with us. We know no guy will love us the way our guys do."
"So you think Roshan and I are the same way?" Cheril asked.
"Positive."
Ellie placed her trunk on Cheril's shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about, sweetheart. You and Roshan are going to have a wonderful life together. I guarantee it."
Cheril smiles and hugs Ellie. "Thank you. I guess I just needed a little reassurance."
"Besides, I'm sure Roshan's just as nervous about the future as you are," Shira said.
And sure enough, she was right.
NEXT SCENE:
Roshan indeed was in the other cave room freaking out. The moment he finished putting on his black and white fur clothing, his black furred boots and the traditional warrior face paint, he started waltzing around the place and was talking nonstop about the future.
Inside the room with him were Laurence, who was chosen to be his best man, and Manny, Sid, Diego, Crash and Eddie were his groomsmen. He was only allowed to have five. They were all standing around and listening to him babble on about the impossible.
"You guys have no idea how many questions are swirling in my head right now," Roshan said.
"I really don't care," Sid said. That remark earned him a slap over the back of his head by Diego.
"Of course you don't care. None of you care. I'm sure you guys haven't a care in the world about me. I'm sure my future is none of your concerns."
"Your future is gonna be fine," Manny said, "As long as you have all of us, nothing bad can ever happen with your relationship with Cheril."
"I can't help but worry," Roshan said, "Things can literally go wrong within the blink of an eye. What if something happens? That's the question that enters the mind of every soon-to-be married man. What if things don't work out the way I hope? What if I'm not the man Cheril wants me to be? What if I make a mistake? What if I do something wrong? Men have to worry about everything. Why can't life be easier than this?" He plopped down on a tree stump. "I just don't wanna fail at being a husband."
Sid walks up and slaps Roshan on the back of the head. "Get a grip, will you? For goodness sakes, this is your wedding day. You shouldn't be freaking out over all this. Worrying is a part of life, but you shouldn't worry about all that stuff until the time for worrying comes."
"For once, Sid's right," Diego said.
"You're not gonna fail," Laurence said, "Sure, you'll make mistakes, but that doesn't mean you'll end up being a failure. Everyone makes mistakes no matter what's going on in their lives. What matters is that you keep trying your best. And you keep trying even if you're on the verge of giving up. And giving up is something you can't do."
Roshan nodded. "You're right. I've worked hard to get to this point. I never thought it would actually come, but it has and I'm not gonna let it go. Lead me to the altar. I'm ready to get married."
"Hold on, buddy," Manny said, "You can't go out there without this." He held in his trunk a twig band wreath with vulture feathers sewn around it. "As of this moment, you are a man that only Cheril can be with." He places the traditional wedding twig wreath on Roshan's head and smiles. "Your gonna be a good husband."
"Let's go start the ceremony already," Sid complained, "I'm tired of waiting."
While everyone started piling out of the room, Crash groaned. "You see? This is the reason why neither of us are married."
"Because the guy's gotta constantly worry about everything?" Eddie asked.
"Exactly. The man of the family has to be responsible for every problem the family goes through." Crash stuck his tongue out. "That's why we made that oath that we would never marry any possum girls."
"If only Diego had been a part of that oath." Eddie sighed.
The possum brothers left to join up with everyone else at the ceremony.
NEXT SCENE:
The wedding was a full house. Nearly everyone in Switchback Cove attended. Even the humans.
Since Junior and Stripes weren't in the wedding party, they decided to invite Lydia and Caroline to the wedding as their dates. Louis and Bethany were also invited to join them even though the molehogs were married and were already parents.
"Thanks so much for inviting us to Roshan and Cheril's wedding," Lydia said.
"We're glad you accepted our invitation," Junior said.
"I hope I don't end up crying," Caroline said, "I probably will, but hopefully I won't."
"Come on, Caroline," Stripes said, "Don't be afraid to hide your emotions."
"I'm not afraid. I'm just timid and shy."
"I'll never forget when me and Bethany got married," Louis said, placing little John in his lap, "It may have only been the two of us, but it was love that was meant to be."
"I still don't understand why you two just didn't have a wedding ceremony," Lydia said.
"We're the types of mammals who enjoy small gatherings," Louis said.
"Oh, just taking about love and marriage makes me think about what my wedding with the saber man of my dreams will be like," Caroline said.
"I can already imagine who the saber man of my dreams will be," Lydia said, pointing at a familiar male saber sitting right next to her that happens to be Junior.
"Don't forget about the saber next to him." Caroline pointed at Stripes.
The two sabers gave each other looks that said, "I'm freaking out." They had no idea that marriage would get girls to talking about a wedding in the future.
Sitting behind the sabers and molehogs were Gladys, Earnest, Teddy and Terrie. Earnest had brought Terrie as his date and Teddy brought Gladys as his date. The two rabbits decided to sit in the same seats in hope that Earnest and Gladys might get along.
"Say," Terrie said, "Do any of you know who the minister is?"
"Roshan told me the minister was a surprise," Teddy said, "He kept acting all suspicious about it when I asked him."
"I just hope it's not another one of those hyraxes. I mean they're cute little guys and all, but I can't understand a word they say since they speak in their own native language."
"I feel you there, sister," Gladys said.
"Hey, Gladys," Earnest said, "I bet I've been married more times than you have."
"How many times have you been married?"
"Two times."
Gladys laughed. "I've been married five times! You lose and I win!"
"That's not fair! The only reason I've been married twice is because I was married to my first wife for twenty years. She birthed me two daughters. Then I lost her after she fell off a cliff and got trampled on by rhinos. I sure did love that woman."
"What about your second wife?"
"I married my second wife about three years later. My daughters left sometime after I was married to her and then five years later she died of old age. Now that was a woman I couldn't stand. It was no wonder my daughters moved away. She was a big itch with a capital W."
"Well unlike you, the five men that I've been with were either dumb, idiotic, stupid, lazy and moronic. After husband number five, I was done with marriage and decided to remain as a single woman for the rest of my life. I will admit that my third husband was so stupid that he actually gave me two boys."
Teddy tapped Terrie on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. "I think they're at a start to getting along."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking that," Terrie said.
A few minutes later, the music started playing. The first to walk down the aisle was Roshan. It was tradition for the humans to walk down the aisle first before the groomsmen, bridesmaids and maid of honors. Next up came Manny and Ellie. Then Diego and Shira. Then Sid and Brooke. Then Laurence and Snow Belle. And finally Bethany with Crash and Peaches with Eddie.
Next up came little Rose dressed up as a flower girl. She had a little rose wreath on her pretty red hair and carried a basket of snow belle petals.
At last the bride of the hour started walking down the aisle. Next to her was Julian. He volunteered to walk her down the aisle and give her away to her groom. By the time the "Wedding March" song ended, Cheril and Roshan were standing together hand in hand. The veil had been lifted and the ceremony had begun.
Untwisting himself out of a furry ball was none other than Shangri Llama. He was standing there with a stone book in his arms. "Good morning, everyone. Isn't it a lovely day for a wedding?"
"Hurry it up, llama!" Gladys shouted, "I wanna see them kiss!"
"Very well." Shangri Llama cleared his throat. "Friends and family of the bride and groom and all others of Switchback Cove. We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Roshan and Cheril. Before we continue, if there is anyone here that objects to this wedding and has a reason for why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."
"We object!" Crash and Eddie shouted.
"What?" Cheril yelled out.
The possum brothers started laughing. Crash wiped some tear water from his eyes from laughing so hard. "Just kidding!"
"It was a joke!" Eddie exclaimed.
Shangri Llama continued. "If there are no more interruptions, let us continue the ceremony. We shall begin with the bride and groom stating their vows. Just out of respect, the bride shall go first."
Cheril took out a leaf that had her vows written on it in the human's native language. Taking a deep breath, she read it aloud. "From the moment I met you, I knew it was love at first sight. My first glimpse of you told me what a handsome and strong man you are. But after every date and every moment we've spent together, I now can see what a smart, caring, honest and loveable man you truly are. All this may be written down and I'm speaking these words to you, but these are words that I'm speaking from the heart." She looks up at Roshan. "But a promise can't be written down. So I promise to love you for every second of our lives for however long they may be. I promise to never leave your side no matter how bad a situation can get in our marriage. Marriage is a life-long commitment and I know our love is strong enough to hit through any barrier that blocks our way."
"Now it is the grooms turn to speak from the heart," Shangri Llama said.
Roshan took a deep breath himself. "I don't have my vow speech written down. I know you wanted me to, but I couldn't. What I'm about to tell you is a speech of love that I could only write down inside my heart. The moment I first saw you, I hoped and prayed that you weren't a woman from my dreams. After pinching myself and leaving a red mark on my arm, I could clearly see that you were as real as the Sun and Moon. That's actually a good comparison. I'm like the Sun and you're like the Moon. Even though the Sun controls the day and the Moon controls the night, they both have one thing in common. No matter how dark the days get, they shine brighter than the universe and the light stays strong. So no matter how bad life becomes, we both know that our love is stronger. And like you said, marriage is a life-long commitment. In order for our marriage to last for eternity, we have to work things out and see things on a brighter side. And I promise to make that happen. I promise to love you and to never leave your side no matter what stands in our way. I promise to be with you through the good times and the bad times. Through every smile and every frown. Through every tear and every laugh. Through the pain and the healing. No matter what, I'll be there. And if I'm not, I've broken our love. And I never want our love to end. Never."
This left a lot of mammals and humans in tears. Even Gladys was in tears and she hardly ever cried. Shangri Llama couldn't control his eyes and applauded for the beautiful vows. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Words spoken from the heart! What a speech! What poetry!"
"Enough of your bickering, llama!" Gladys shouted, tears streaming from her eyes, "Now get on with it before I cry a river over here."
"Very well." Clearing his throat, Shangri Llama continued. "Now that the vows have been spoken, it is time for this lovely couple to tell each other 'I do.'" He looks through the stone to remember what he's supposed to do next. "Let's see. Ah, yes. Roshan! Do you take Cheril here to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, rich or poor, and throughout everything life has until death do you part?"
"I do," Roshan said.
"Cheril! Do you take Roshan here to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, rich or poor, and throughout everything life has until death do you part?"
"I do," Cheril said.
"Ring bearer! Please come out here with the wedding bands safely placed on the softest fur pillow!" Running down the aisle was Stephen. He carried the pillow with the rings. Shangri Llama lowered down to his level. "Ring bearer, do you have the rings?"
"I have the rings," Stephen said, holding up the pillow.
Roshan and Cheril take the rings from the pillow and places them on each other's fingers. Shangri Llama applauds. "Incredible! With these rings that will forever be placed on your fingers for all eternity, you both shall be wed." He looks at the stone again to see what the next part is. "Oh, one more part and we'll be done." He clears his throat. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride."
Roshan and Cheril ended the ceremony with a kiss. The band begins playing and everyone cheers for the new happy couple. They run down the aisle together with everyone following them.
NEXT SCENE:
Later that evening, the reception party was in full swing. It started with a light show that Manny and Diego created. They somehow learned how to make actual fireworks thanks to Sid. Everyone was enjoying themselves.
Cheril threw her boutique of roses to all the girls who were still single. There was only one that caught it. It was little Rose who caught her favorite flowers. Plus she was also the flower girl, which made a lot of sense.
After the traditional wedding procedures, Roshan and Cheril walked up on stage. It was their time to liven up the party.
"Good evening, everyone," Cheril said in the microphone, "Before Roshan and I begin, we wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to attend the wedding. I think this is the biggest wedding Switchback Cove's ever had." She paused to let everyone cheer. "I wanted to go ahead and tell you guys that this is not the normal types of weddings humans have, but what can I say? Roshan and I are known for breaking the rules."
"And we're about to break even more," Roshan said through the microphone connected to the wooden piano, "We have something we like to share with you all. Cheril and I have been working on this song for weeks and we hope you all enjoy it."
Roshan began by playing the first few bars of the song. Cheril started singing.
CHERIL
Ohh yeah yeah
The situation turns around enough to figure out
That someone else has let you down
So many times I don't know why
But I know we can make it as long as you say it
ROSHAN AND CHERIL
So tell me that you love me yeah
And tell me that I take your breath away
And maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure
There's nothing left to say
Tell me that you love me anyway
Tell me that you love me anyway
Ohhh
ROSHAN
Waking up beside yourself and what you feel inside
Is being shared with someone else
Nowhere to hide I don't know why
But I know we can make it
As long as you say it
ROSHAN AND CHERIL
So tell me that you love me yeah
And tell me that I take your breath away
And maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure
There's nothing left to say
Tell me that you love me anyway
CHERIL
Show me look what we found turn it around every day
ROSHAN
I can hear what you say
ROSHAN AND CHERIL
Now I know why I know we can make it
ROSHAN AND CHERIL
If you tell me that you love me yeah
And tell me that I take your breath away
And maybe if you take one more
So tell me that you love me yeah
And tell me that I take your breath away
Maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure
There's nothing left to say
Tell me that you love me anyway
The song ended with Roshan and Cheril kissing. The crowd cheered. The sabers roared. The mammoths trumpeted. The stars were twinkling bright.
And love will remain in the air.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THE STORY.
NOTE: THE SONG TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME IS OWNED BY VICTORIA JUSTICE AND WAS SUNG ON THE TEEN NICK TELEVISION SHOW VICTORIOUS.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!
PLEASE REVIEW.