Happy endings don't always happen. Relda, Jake, and Morgan le Fay found this out the hard way... And now, so will Bradley. This is '13 Years Later' from his perspective. A piece for all those who have ever been left at the altar, literally and figuratively.
Bradley Stevens was a regular guy. And then he met Sabrina. They were in college, and they first met when she sat next to him in Political Science. They'd gotten to know each other over the years, and Bradley had fallen head over heels for her.
He could honestly say she was unlike any other woman he had ever known. For one, she was a self- declared tomboy, which most women grew out when they were twelve or so. But not Sabrina. For another, she was quick- thinking and clever. During Senior Prank week at the university, she was the one who'd organized the most elaborate prank of all: releasing a "glop grenade" attack on all the professors. The best part was, not one of them ever had any proof that it was her.
Bradley didn't know what was in a glop grenade, but he thought it was pretty cool. Whatever was in them kept the teachers away from classes for a week. He'd asked her where she learned to do that, and she'd shrugged and told him that it was from her ex.
This sort of worried Bradley. It bothered him so much that he called her sister, Daphne (who was really hot) and asked her about this ex of hers. Daphne explained that he had ripped out Sabrina's heart, run it over with a fire truck, hacked it to pieces with a chainsaw, and put each piece in rocket ships and sent them out to space to be destroyed by the heat of the sun, creating a solar flare that would mess with the electricity in Alaska for a month.
"That bad, huh?" Bradley had asked.
Daphne had told him, "It was pretty bad. Just get her to watch a Midsummer Night's Dream and watch what happens."
Bradley wondered whether or not Daphne was kidding. After all, if Sabrina was so upset about this, maybe he shouldn't be dating her at all. He liked her a lot, but she clearly wasn't over this other guy, whatever his name was. He didn't want to be just a rebound.
But one day, Bradley found out that they were doing a modern- day remake of a Midsummer Night's Dream. It was a romantic comedy, and looked funny, so he figured, 'What's the worst that could happen?' and took her to see it.
Throughout the entire movie, Sabrina had sat there, steaming with anger. She picked up the soda and clutched it so hard that it crumpled. And then she threw it at the screen.
As they were driving home, Bradley had said, carefully, "So you didn't like the movie, did you?"
Then she had told him. They were engaged already, and she'd taken a long, deep breath and said to him, "See, it's a long story. Have you ever heard of the Brothers Grimm?"
"Yeah," he'd replied, not really seeing where this was going.
"Okay... Well the thing is... I'm kind of descended from the Brothers Grimm and fairytale creatures are real and they don't like to be called fairytale creates so we call them Everafters and most of them used to live in Ferryport Landing but then there was a war and the barrier keeping them there went down and most of them left but now I help them with their legal problems."
"What?"
She explained it to him again. "I know that this is a lot to take in, but please understand, they're no threat to you. I had a lot of trouble getting used to it at first, but a lot of them are good people. And yes, there are some dangerous ones, but my family keeps them all locked up."
He stopped the car and started nervously pulling at his goatee. He sat there for a minute in the middle of traffic. Cars honked at him. Suddenly, he began to hyperventilate.
"Bradley, how about I take the wheel? Okay? Just keep breathing."
Bradley's rapid breathing eventually slowed down. He sat there, staring out the window and twisting his hands until they arrived home. Sabrina got out of the car. Bradley tried to do the same, but his legs wouldn't work and he landed facedown on the cement. Sabrina could have laughed at him, but she helped him up and explained gently, "It's okay. I almost had the same reaction when I found out."
"When did you find out?" he asked.
She sighed. "I was eleven."
"Was that the time when you and Daphne lived in foster homes?"
"Yes, but I never told you how my parents went missing, did I? It all started when..." And she told him the whole story. By the end, they were sitting in his living room and he was a nervous wreck.
"So are you okay with this?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he lied. Of course he wasn't fine. He'd just found out that his pretty and amazing fiancée had come from a town of magical freaks. In fact, from what she'd told him, she herself was one. He was terrified, but a voice inside him kept taunting him, saying that if he left her, he'd never forgive himself. He loved her. He really did.
..~0~..
Finally, their big day arrived. Bradley stood in front of the church, feeling nervous. Everyone gets nervous on their wedding day, but Bradley was terrified. He suspected that Sabrina's side of the church was full of Everafters. Of course, they all spoke kindly to him and smiled in a friendly way, but they all scared him a little. After all, they weren't really supposed to exist.
Honestly, what he wanted right now, more than anything, was for the Everafters to go away. And worse, a thought was forming in his mind: What if Sabrina was just marrying him because he was... Well, for lack of a better word, human? No, he thought to himself. She loves me. I love her. We will get married and be together forever.
Even in his head it sounded corny. In his heart, though, it sounded true.
His thoughts were interrupted when the wedding march began to play. This was it. All his doubts were pushed aside. Nothing could go wrong now.
Unless Sabrina threw off her own wedding and ran off to find Mr. Midsummer Night's Dream. That thought was just an ignorant little fly though.
Sabrina and her father appeared at the back of the church. She smiled, looking radiant in her white gown. They slowly made their way to the front, where the minister asked, "Who gives this woman to be married?"
"I do," said Mr. Grimm, placing Sabrina's hands in Bradley's. This is it. No turning back now. And Bradley didn't really want to, despite his increasing nervousness about Everafters. He could do this. He could marry an Everafter, and it would work out like the fairy tales always said. Happily ever after.
Of course, Sabrina hadn't told him that where she came from, the story didn't stop at 'happily ever after'.
Speaking of Sabrina, Bradley noticed that she looked rather distracted. She kept looking around nervously, like she was expecting to see someone. But his best man had told him that everyone who was invited had shown up already.
The minister went on, speaking about marriage. He spoke about it being like a long, twisting road that was unpredictable and at times, strange. He knew he was in for a whole lot of strange. He wouldn't regret it, though.
The minister continued, saying, "It is also customary to ask those gathered if anyone can give cause or reason that this union should not take place. If anyone objects, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Bradley saw Sabrina cringe. This bothered him. Was she expecting someone to object? A few tense seconds passed. Sabrina, oddly, instead of looking relived, looked disappointed. Was she really having doubts now?
The minister continued, saying it was time for their vows, but he was cut off by a strange sound. It sounded like a really large pair of wings flapping. Bradley looked around for the source of the noise, and gasped. Half the church- but only his side of the church- did the same.
A man with huge, pink wings descended from among the rafters, pausing in front of a stained glass window. He had long and slightly tousled blond hair, and wore hiking boots, a sweater, and jeans.
"It's... It's an angel," said the minister in awe. Then, he fainted.
"Hardly," Sabrina muttered. She then looked the 'angel' in the eyes.
"Hello, Stinky," he greeted with a wink at Sabrina. Wait, what? Sabrina stared back at the man, seemingly unable to stop grinning. Surely there had to be an explanation for this. Maybe he was her friend from high school or something, and 'stinky' was some sort of pet name.
"Puck!" called Basil, Sabrina's fifteen-year-old brother. He grinned awkwardly at 'Puck'. "Glad you could make it! Come on, take a seat." He gestured to the man and grabbed his arm, attempting to drag him to the back. "Oh, crap, we're gonna need a lot of forgetful dust. What were you thinking?" he hissed under his breath.
The man easily pulled his arm away. Despite his irritation, Bradley was rather impressed. The kid had beaten him at arm- wrestling about ten times. "Nice to see you, too, Basil," 'Puck' said.
"Puck!" Sabrina exclaimed, looking shocked, delighted, and concerned all at once. "What are you doing here?"
Bradley looked around the room. Many of his relatives looked shocked and worried. Sabrina's side was a mix of happy (from Daphne, Basil, and some others he didn't know) and horrified ( mainly her parents). Mr. Grimm looked ready to explode, and Mrs. Grimm just looked steamed.
"I did say we would get married one day. Honestly, didn't you ever listen?" he said cockily.
Bradley was insulted by this. It was his wedding, too. Who did this guy think he was? By then it dawned on him. He knew exactly who this was. This was an ex. No, not 'an' ex. 'The' ex. The one who ran over her heart with a fire truck... And something about corrupting Alaskan electricity. Whatever. The point was, this was the man Sabrina had been waiting for.
He felt he had to say something, so he stepped forward. "Excuse me," he said with a lot more confidence than he felt, "But... What are you doing? Sabrina?" He felt remarkably helpless standing there. A fairy had dropped out of the sky and was about to steal his girl, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt like he was drowning.
"Bradley," Sabrina said gently, taking his hands like she'd done when she'd first told him. "I'm sorry I never told you about this before. But there's just no way to say it: I was never over him."
This was a slap in the face. This was a nightmare come to life. It couldn't be happening. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words. Finally, he choked out, "So I was just your rebound."
She didn't look him in the eye. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Bradley stood there as she turned from him and looked at her fairy. Bradley looked at the fairy, searching for any sign that he was changing his mind, or that this was all a bad joke, or even a slight hint of guilt. But there was nothing but happiness on the man's face. And why wouldn't there be? Bradley admitted that he once thought that running away from the altar would be kind of fun and romantic and exciting. And it probably would be, unless you were the sorry sucker who got left behind. Because that was him now.
"Come on, Sabrina," said the fairy, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Together, they flew away.
..~0~..
The rest of the night was a blur. He dimly remembered his half of the church being smothered with something to make them forget. He also remembered Daphne asking him if he wanted to forget, too, but he'd said no. He might have imagined this part, but he thought that Sabrina's parents apologized to him several times for what happened.
He also remembered Basil Grimm saying, "Honestly, I think it was kind of bitchy for Sabrina to do that to you, but if it makes you feel better, some of the princesses are still available. And a lot of them are hot."
He thinks he might have made some sort of choking laugh noise at this.
Some time later- he's kind of lost track of it by now- he's sitting in his wedding finery, in a bar, telling the bartender all about it. He's gathered a pretty big audience at the bar, some of whom seem pretty sympathetic.
"Grimm, did you say? I once dated a Daphne Grimm," says a dark- haired man from the corner.
"That's her sister," says Bradley.
"We barely lasted two weeks, but I was pretty messed up when she ended it. Those girls are heartbreakers," sighs the man. "But I don't think she'd break up with someone right in front of the altar."
..~0~..
A week later,Sabrina showed up at his house, looking like she wanted the floor to swallow her up. Bradley opens the door, and they just look at each other for a while.
"So, I thought I'd just return this," Sabrina says after a while. She's holding out the ring.
"Oh. Thanks." Bradley doesn't really know what to say.
To her credit, she presses on. "There's no real way to apologize for that. I know that. But don't think I don't care what happens to you. I like you, I really do, we just weren't right for each other. You deserve someone who's free to live a normal life, but that's just not me. And I'm sorry it had to happen this way."
She really did look sorry. "Yeah. I'll get over it," he said morosely, going to shut the door. But Sabrina stuck her foot in the way.
"No, you need to understand. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the story never ends. It's not over for you, Bradley. Move on with your life! Being depressed isn't going to do anything."
He looks at her and sighs. "Well, good luck to you and the fairy." He offers a half smile.
She returns it and says, "Good luck to you, too."
..~0~..
A few months later, he's walking aimlessly down 34th street when out of nowhere, a motorcycle spins out of control and slams into him. He's knocked to the ground and people start calling 911. The motorcyclist pulls off her helmet and peers down into his face.
"Omigosh, I'm so, so, sorry! Are you okay? That guy just rear- ended me out of nowhere! Is anything broken? Are you going to sue? 'Cause i'd totes understand if you did, but-"
He opens his eyes and sees a girl's face hovering over him, the sun illuminating her head. "What happened?" he murmurs.
The girl sat down in the street next to him, and explained how her motorcycle was rear-ended and she lost control, resulting in him being hit. She apologized at least seven times for hitting him.
And then, he's not sure if it's his bumped head talking, or all him, but he says, "Well, I might be inclined not to sue if you go on a date with me." And she smiles.
..~0~..
A. N.- for those of you who follow "Of Mirrors and Mayhem, we're working on it, we haven't abandoned it. We're currently just trying to incorporate some ideas from book nine into it.
We tried not to make Sabrina seem bitchy, but what she did really wasn't nice at all. How would you feel if someone left you at the altar?
We wanted to write this because, well, though we all love the Puckabrina ending, we felt it was taking away from one of the big themes of the series, which is that there's always another side of the story.
A major theme of book 9 was love. Sabrina defeated Mirror with love. And if not for love, she would never have considered marrying Bradley. But the fact that she loved Puck more led to her abandoning it, and leaving Bradley at the altar.
Whether or not you liked it, please, please, please review.