A/N: Hello again everyone here's the first chapter of 'Marriage Chronicle's'; the sequel to 'Dating Chronicle's'! This story will be more in Alice's point of view to make it more meaningful and will have a few other things to make it different, but I'll let you find that out for yourself. But just as the rating says there will be… lemons… and I don't say that very often, you've been warned! So without further ado; Lights, Camera, ACTION!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Chaotic; including its characters, the TV show, or the card game. I only own my main character and this plot.
December 31,
If you'd had told me at the beginning of the summer that five Leaders from a cartoon I watched as a kid would come to Earth to seek my hand in marriage, I would have thought you were out of your mind! But looking back at it now I would have to say it was the start of the best days of my life.
The morning after my fiancé's (I still can believe I'm calling them that now!) spent the night with me would be full of discussions of what would happen next. Normally in Perim when a male creature married two or more woman they would all live together in the same house that belonged to the husband, but because our pact was a 'special case' we would have to make a few minor adjustments. After hours and hours of going over it amongst the six of us we were able to come up with a solution; thanks to my cleaver thinking!
It would be like a rotation schedule; I would marry each of the Leaders in almost the same order as when they came to date me to keep it simple, except I would marry Odu before Iflar. Then after the marriages were said and 2 week long honeymoons done I would keep rotating in the same fashion to be with each of my future husbands during the term of one mouth, not a day sooner or later. Because I was marrying two Mipedian Princes instead of one Mudeenu, Iflar, and I would have to find a way to split up the time equally while I'm staying in Al'Mipediam (If that's even possible), but hopefully we'll figure it out.
Though my fiancé's told me I didn't have to, I decided to sell my Apartment.
My loving Leaders didn't want to make me feel like I was being uprooted from New York, it was just a chose I came up with on my own. I never really saw New York as my home from the very moment I moved here after I left the orphanage, and I loved my little Apartment too much knowing it would be left empty for months on end!
I had it listed the very next day. The Realtor's Agency told me that the area my Apartment was in was considered 'prime real estate' and my former Apartment was sold not even a month after that. You would never guess who the buyer was; it was a female student from the same art college that I went to over three years ago!
Her name was Lee; she told me soon after the second she heard this Apartment was big enough to house a private Art Studio, she jumped on the opportunity to buy it! She was even more flabbergasted to meet me, I guess I became quite the legend at my former school! I also liked how nice and polite she was, Lee kind of reminded me of myself when I was her age. Lee also adored the portrait of Snow that was on the upstairs' south wall, she promised never to paint over it.
Lee thought the offer was too generous but I gave her all my furniture, kitchen utensils, and household items I had; after all I wouldn't be needing them when I left for Perim. The only things I removed from my former Apartment were my Chaotic Cards (still not sure what I will do with them!), my dresses I wore on each of my dates (along with the jewelry and shoes that matched), my beautiful gifts my fiancé's had given me (believe it or not the flowers Maxxor gave me are still alive!), along with all of my art, jewelry, story writing, and scrapbooking supplies I had (took me a wholeday to pack all that stuff!) the rest were thrown away or given to charity.
And I was defiantly not leaving my three cats behind; they were coming with me even if it was to a whole other world! So I arranged for Maxxor to take Snow and Midnight to the Overworld, while Tiger went with Mudeenu and Iflar to Al'Mipediam. They would be safer in the Overworld regions of Perim and my three fiancé's promised to take really good care of them.
That evening my five Leaders left to return to Perim with my kitties in tow, but not before I gave the assigned cat caretakers the necessities the felines would need. The Leaders said they would return in a few day's and just like clockwork they did, but this time I met them in Central Park just after sunset and they weren't at all surprised the see a pile of tubes filled to the brim with my art supplies.
I gave my scrapbooking stuff to Maxxor, my story writing stuff to Chaor, my painting supplies to Mudeenu and Iflar, & lastly my jewelry making stuff to Odu. But they also had something for me as well that really took me off guard; the Leader's each had a leather pouch stuffed with gold coins, and I mean the real deal! I tried to make them keep the coins but my loving Leaders insisted I take them to spend on whatever I wanted to take back to Perim with me!
Now this would make a woman who loved to spend money very happy, but I've never been a big spender… In. My. Life! I also didn't like the idea of spending money that wasn't really MINE to begin with, least of all my future husbands. But never-the-less I took the pouches to make them happy; though I vowed to all five of them not a single tiny golden coin would be gone.
Before my fiancé's left again they told me the wedding preparations were underway; that made me excited but also nervous, I was so busy with packing and finalizing the deal on my Apartment that I haven't even started looking for the most important thing on a bride-to-be's 'To Do List'… A Wedding Dress!
Thankfully by the time that happened it was two days before October so I had at least a little bit of time to start looking around, but I didn't have to do it alone…
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"Have you found anything you like yet Alice?" Miss Mulberry called from her kitchen.
"No not yet," I called back from my spot on the couch, staring at my laptop screen that sat on my lap, "everything I've found so far is either too expansive or they don't have my size available."
I've been looking for a wedding dresses for about a week now and I'm starting to get a sense of dread that I wouldn't find anything I like in the price range I want to stick to. Even though my fiancé's gave me a small fortune to spent however I please not too long ago, I didn't want to drop that kind of money on a dress I was going to wear once (well five in this instance)! So I decided to spend no more than $5,000 that included the veil, jewelry, and whatever else; I thought that was a good price at first.
New York is considered the fashion capital of the world, and that goes for wedding apparel too. The problem is wedding designers think brides are going to pay top dollar for the dress of their dreams and they would be right; but for a woman like me who's on a tight budget, finding a good deal on a dress was getting harder and harder to find.
"Well don't you worry Alice," Miss Mulberry said walking back into the comfy living room carrying two steamy mugs of hot chocolate, "good things come to those who wait as they say!"
"Yeah that's true but I'm on a time crunch right now so I don't think that metaphor refers to me!" I commented as I closed my laptop, taking a white mug from the older woman as she sat down beside me on the couch. "And thank you again for letting me stay here Miss Mulberry that was too gracious of you."
"Oh pooh! Think nothing of it!" Miss Mulberry exclaimed, waving the notion off, "I wasn't about to let you stay in a HOTEL of all places and besides your always welcome here!"
I couldn't help but smile at that; after I finalized the deal on my Apartment Miss Mulberry offered for me to stay at her home until I left to 'move' to Perim. Trust me when I say I tried my best to decline the offer but Miss Mulberry wouldn't have a word of it, her Apartment was about the same size as my old one but it comfortably housed two for this short amount of time.
"Well thank you all the same." I said before taking a swig of the hot chocolate, "I love how you decorated the place though, it's so cute! It reminds me of a cottage out in the country."
"Well thank you Alice!" Miss Mulberry beamed, clearly proud of her home, "It took me over a year to make it look right."
I laughed a little as I placed my mug on top of the wooden coffee table in front of me before opening my laptop again to the wedding dress site I was looking at online, "Have you found a design on a dress you like at least? The style or even the length?" Miss Mulberry asked curious.
"Well I know I want a strapless dress," I started, not taking my eyes off the scrolling screen of white dresses, "maybe on the simple side with just a tad of bling but not too much."
"That's good, because if you go head first into dress shopping without an idea of the dress you're looking for you can get overwhelmed pretty quickly." Miss Mulberry warned, "After all I've watched a lot of dress shows!"
"I know the problem is the prices on them," I said, finally looking at the older woman to my left, "I've must have been through FIVE wedding dress stores websites this afternoon and the best I've found are bridesmaid's dresses that fall into my budget! I think what I need to do it go looking in a discount wedding dress store."
"Good idea Alice!" Miss Mulberry exclaimed, "Where's one in New York?"
"That's just it, there isn't one." I explained, "The closest store is out of state in New Jersey; there by appointment only and completely booked until next year! I'm not sure what to do now!"
I couldn't help but let my head fall onto my laptops keyboard in frustration, who knew dress shopping could be so stressful! "Hey Alice," Miss Mulberry said slyly, just from her tone alone got be to turn my planted head to look at her, the older woman had a smirk on her face, "have you ever heard of the designer Margret Freebush?"
I sat up straight slowly with a raised brow, "Of course Margret Freebush is one of the top wedding dress designers in Europe, her designs cost up to a half a million dollars!" I said.
If it was even possible the smirk on Miss Mulberries face grew bigger, "What if I told you she had a store here in New York?"
"I would say that's awesome, but like I said her dresses can go up to a half a million dollars." I repeated, not sure were my friend was going with this.
"Margret Freebush has been a friend of mine ever since we were students together in collage," Miss Mulberry started, "I was majoring in art, she clothing design. After we graduated Margret moved to Europe to design wedding dresses, as you heard she was a huge success. Unfortunately with the bad economy going on in Europe the last few years, Margret had to relocate her store fronts to the United States where there was a bigger wedding dress market. But instead of designing extravagant dresses like she used to Margret is designing and selling much cheaper options that are in your price range."
"But… I haven't even heard she even had a store here!" I said, flabbergasted by the sudden news.
"That's because it hasn't even officially opened yet." Miss Mulberry continued, "The only reason I know is because I ran into Margret a couple months ago while I was out grocery shopping, trust me I was caught completely by surprise! If you like I can call her to see if we can… 'pop' in for a look at the selection."
I made a huge gasp then, "No! Miss Mulberry I can't ask you…!"
"Please don't worry Alice!" Miss Mulberry said, cutting me right off before I could say anymore, "Margret told me herself she has one too many dress in storage and besides she owes me one! We can make a big girls day out of it!"
I couldn't believe Miss Mulberry would do all of that for me, I even almost started crying! "Thank you so much Miss Mulberry!" I managed to say throwing my arms around the older woman's neck.
"Oh…" Miss mulberry cooed as she returned the warm hug, "Now let me go give her a call, Margret should still be at her store."
I unraveled my arms to let the woman get up from the couch to go back into the kitchen again, that's were her wall phone was, "She so nice to do all of this for me," I thought to myself, turning off my laptop to take into my guest bedroom and let it charge, "I hope I'll be able to repay her someday."
Since the sun was already going down outside my bedroom windows, I decided to just take a quick fifteen minute shower, then change into my pajamas with fuzzy pink pants and plain white long sleeve shirt. I didn't even take one step back into the living room again when Miss Mulberry all but came bouncing in from the kitchen with a huge smile on her face, "Guess what Alice!" she said excitedly, "We have an appointment at 'Margret's Dresses' tomorrow morning at 9 am!"
"What-No way! That soon!" I all but screamed, normally you would have to call months in advance to get into Margret Freebushes stores and that was just for a consolation!
"Yep!" Miss mulberry answered, "Told ya she owed me a favor. I even called Francesca and she's all too happy to come along with us if that's alright."
"Of course, the more the merrier!" I exclaimed, getting more and more excited by the minute.
"Good." Miss Mulberry said before glancing at the grandfather clock on the left side of the door, "Why don't we go ahead and turn in early? All this excitement wore me out!"
"Yeah I know what you mean." I said with a yawn, stretching.
Miss Mulberry then walked upstairs to her room while I went back into mine and all but threw myself onto the bed, hoping to fall asleep so the next day will came faster. And it must have worked because the next thing I knew the dawns light was starting to stream into my bedroom, also the smell of freshly brewed coffee tickled my waking nose, a tall tail sign Miss Mulberry was already awake.
I tossed the covers off of me and made my way into the kitchen that was right next door to the living room, but a wall divided the space with only a 'window' and door to look into the old fashioned kitchen, "You're up early." I commented as I sat myself down at one of the oval shaped table's maple chairs.
Miss Mulberry just glanced over her right shoulder at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "I could say the same for you Alice, but I know it's just the anticipation growing in your stomach."
"You'd be right as always." I sighed as Miss Mulberry placed a steaming cup of vanilla creamed coffee in front of me. I really wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but every once and awhile I would have a cup if I had to get up early for something.
"That's because I always am!" Miss Mulberry joked as she plopped herself in the chair across from me.
I huffed a laugh before blowing on the hot brew to take a swig, "But seriously why are you up so early Miss Mulberry?" I asked curiously.
The said older woman took a gulp of her plain black coffee before she answered me, "I've just always woke up at this time," she said with a shrug, "plus it was kind of beat into me to get up at this hour when I was still going to school."
I just nodded to accept her response silently before taking another drink of coffee. We stayed that way for several minutes before I broke the quiet by asking, "Miss Mulberry have you ever thought about retiring?"
Miss Mulberry just looked at me with a raised brow and a funny look on her face as she slowly sat her cup on the table, while still staring straight at me, "Honey I AM retired!" she retorted, but she wasn't offended at all since a smile came to her face right after she said that. "Sorry to disappoint you Alice, but retiring is the LAST thing on my mine right now!"
"Are you sure," I asked, concern clearly on my face and in my voice, "because after I quit my teaching job and leave there wouldn't be anyone to help you around the Community Art Studio."
Miss Mulberry just smiled warmly at me, "I know you're worried about me Alice but there's no reason to be, I did just fine on my own before you came along and I will continue to do so after you leave." She said in a 'no-arguments' tone.
"I guess I'm just stressing over nothing," I sigh, sloshing in my chair, "the kids are going to be really sad when I tell them I'm leaving."
"That wouldn't change anything Alice." Miss Mulberry advised gently, "I know they'll still come for the daily art classes and they've learned so much from you already, the kids will be fine don't worry so much!"
"Alright." I answered, sitting up straight as I began feeling better.
Just then there was four soft knocks on the front door, "Now who in the world could that be at this hour!" Miss Mulberry commented as she got up to open it.
I watched Miss Mulberry walk to the front door and look into the 'peep' hole, when she did the older woman let out a surprised gasp before finally opening the white painted door, "Francesca!" Miss Mulberry exclaimed, "You crazy old woman, what are you doing here!? Alice and I aren't even dressed yet!"
The said Italian woman just smiled, looking like she'd been up for hours, "Forgive me vecchio amiga," Francesca said as she all but waddled in, carried about five colorful packages and had at least three bags lopped around each arm, "but I was so excited that I couldn't sleep a wink last night! Plus I wanted to see our little sposa, where is she?"
"Francesca!" I exclaimed, coming out from the kitchen. I haven't seen the older Italian woman since my date with Mudeenu and was really happy she could come today to help me find a dress.
"There she is!" Francesca said in jubilation, dropping her packages on the ground before throwing her arms out wide, "Come here my dolce angelo!"
I walk quickly over and wrapped my arms around the woman's fragile body, she was the same size as Miss Mulberry so I had to bend over a little bit to hug her. But I didn't care at all as the both of use gave the other a gentle squeeze, "Thank you for coming." I said softly into her left ear.
"I wouldn't have missed this for the world!" the Italian said as she unraveled her arms, "After all you are much seen as a daughter to Antonio and I as Nancy."
That made me blush from the words, but then I finally noticed the colorfully wrapped packages on the floor, "What are these Francesca?" I asked pointing at them.
"Why there gift's, for you!" Francesca said, still smiling.
"All these are for ME!" I exclaimed, shocked as I looked at every one of the presents, "Francesca you didn't have to do all that!"
"No you certainly didn't!" Miss Mullberry said, more with a confused voice then annoyed as she finally closed the door and came over to look at the gifts for herself.
"Oh of course I did!" Francesca answered, waving the notion off like it was a fly, "When a young woman became engaged in our village, it was considered a huge celebration. We gave many gifts to the bride-to-be before and even after the wedding, but since you wouldn't be… available for that I thought I would just bring them to you now."
I understood what she meant entirely; Francesca was the only other person Miss Mulberry and I told about the true identifies of my fiancé's, just like Miss Mulberry I thought she would think I was crazy! But just like Miss Mulberry Francesca believed me and has done everything she could to assist me in the wedding preparations.
"But really Francesca," I said worriedly, picking up a box shaped present with a red bow, "This is WAY too much!"
"Not for you my dear." Fransesca answered in a 'no-arguments' tone, "Plus a few are from Antonio and even Timothy, they wanted to give you a little something too."
"Well thank you," I said, finally accepting the gifts, "and tell them 'thank you' for me as well."
"Of course dolce angelo," Francesca answered, then she sighed with sadness before continuing, "Antonio wanted to come but he couldn't pull himself from the restaurant and Timothy is busy putting the final touches on his gallery."
"Oh didn't worry I completely understand." I consoled the older Italian woman as Miss Mulberry, Francesca, and I began picking up the presents and putting them on the couch and coffee table for safe keeping, "this was kind of short notice anyway."
"Well seeing as it's rude to be in your PJ's in front of guests why don't Alice and I go into our rooms to change?" Miss Mulberry implied.
I could only blush and nod from embarrassment to respond to that. Miss Mulberry and I certainly didn't look ready for the red carpet at that moment; in my pajamas, Miss Mulberry in her older looking robe and our hair a mess like we've walked through a wind tunnel!
Francesca giggled at my expression as she got herself comfortable on the couch while Miss Mulberry and I made our why into the hallway that lead to our rooms, "Don't forget to wear something you can easily slip in and out of Alice," Miss Mulberry told me, "if you tangled in your cloths it can get very dangerous."
"Got it!" I said, giving to older woman a mock solute before closing my bedroom door behind me.
I got Miss Mulberry's message loud and clear though; she once told me about the time she was trying on a pair of pants at the department store, but she had on a very tight dress that day and while she was trying to get it over her head the dress somehow got caught on something and it got all bunched up while it completely covered her eyes! It took two sale associates almost an hour to free Miss Mulberry from the mass of fabric!
I went over to the rooms closet to look at my small collection of cloths to find something that followed the 'no tight' guidelines. Excluding my socks, bras, and panties I had only kept a limited selection of cloths after I moved out from my old Apartment since I knew I wouldn't be around on Earth much longer and I didn't want to congest Miss Mulberry's space any more then I already had. It took only a second for my eyes to land on a maroon colored dress shirt that synced around my waist but other than that it was loose and flowy, perfect for getting into and out of quickly and easily.
I changed into the dress and placed my folded PJ's on the bed for later, then I got out a pair of black ballet flats since I didn't want to walk around a most likely big wedding dress store in heels and slipped them on. I didn't want to wear a whole lot of jewelry so I put small gold hoops in my ears as a simple touch.
I then opened my bedroom door and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, I peaked around the door frame to make sure Miss Mulberry wasn't in there. The room was empty so I turned on the lights and closed the door behind me again.
Miss Mulberry's bathroom was just a hair bigger than my old one, but it didn't have a window. I picked up my pink makeup bag that was sitting beside the door and got out all the usual compacts to sit on the sink. I put on my foundation, little pink blush, and powder first; then white eyes shadow and black mascara to keep my look simple but pretty. Finally I painted on dark red lipstick that had a kiss of shine then I sprayed on some apple blossom perfume as a final touch.
After I put my makeup stuff away, I started on my hair. My blond wavy locks looked very pretty today so all I did was comb it through with my brush to get out the tangles and make it shine. "Nice!" I thought looking into the mirror to move a few strands of hair that was out of place, I had let my bangs go out the past summer and because my hair grows so fast it was almost to my left shoulder, but I liked how it framed that side of my face in an elegant way.
"My fiancé's liked it too." I thought out loud to myself, the mention of my future husbands made me smile and blush.
"Hey Alice are you ready?" Miss Mulberry voice said from behind the bath door after two swift knocks, "Or are you going to continue daydreaming about your men?"
That jolted me back to reality, "Oh! Yes I'm ready!" I called out swiftly straightening the room, "Just let me clean up first!"
"Take your time sweetie," Miss Mulberry said again, with a bit of humor in her voice as I could hear her walking down the hallway, "We still have about half-an-hour before we need to call a cab."
I finished putting everything where they should be and put a little bit more apple blossom perfume on my wrists and neck before finally exiting the bathroom. I hustled back into my room again to grab my white cross over purse looking inside it to make sure my phone, wallet, and a bag of coins were in it; when I was sure they were I walked out of my room and into the living room.
Miss Mulberry and Francesca were talking; Miss Mulberry looking different then her usual attire, with a long sleeve ice blue dress that stopped at her knees with kitten heeled shoes of the same color and silver jewelry. I haven't really looked at Francesca's appearance until now; she too looked nice with an emerald and blue short sleeve dress with ruffles as the details on the knee lengths skirt, along with blue kitten heels and only gold stud earrings as her jewelry. Both women looked like they were ready for a real wedding then dress shopping!
"You know I just realized!" Miss Mulberry said, snapping out of whatever conversation she was in and stood up, "I'd better call for a cab now, it will probably take them a few minutes to get here."
The said woman went into the kitchen to do just that as I went to take Miss Mulberry's spot on the couch beside Francesca, "I'm so excited for you Alice!" The Italian woman said to me, "I didn't think you would ever find a guy!"
"You know I didn't either, though I wasn't really looking. After all I was too busy with my teaching job to even THINK about dating." I responded with a shrug.
"True, but I'm very glad you did," Francesca said as she put a warm hand on my arm, "you deserve to be happy Alice. Just make sure those Leaders of yours keep you that way!"
"I will Francesca," I couldn't help but laugh, "but I'm not worried about that at all."
Francesca smiled a knowing look my direction as Miss Mulberry walked back into the room again, "They should be here any minute." She informed.
Just then there was a knock on the door and Miss Mulberry all but materialized in front of it, she opened it up and a gentlemen was there in casual clothes with a yellow cab parked in front, "Let's get going girls, Margret doesn't like to be kept waiting." Miss Mulberry ordered.
The older woman grabbed their purses and the three of use piled into the backseat with me in the middle, Miss Mulberry on my left and Francesca on the right. Miss mulberry told the driver the address of the store and he drove off.
We had timed are arrival perfectly and at exactly 9 am we were pulling beside the curb to 'Margret's Dresses'; from the outside it was a cute little store not too big to be intimidating or too small to be insufficient, it was the perfect homey size.
"Shall we go inside?' Miss Mulberry asked.
Francesca and I just nodded as the three of us climbed out of the backset, Miss Mulberry paid the driver his price and he drove off just as we were stepping through the glass doors. The inside of the dress store was even cuter then outside; with curtain dressing rooms, lines of three-way mirrors, pretty flower arrangements, and long metal racks to hold the purest white dresses I had ever seen! I couldn't help but stare all around me until a woman's voice got our attention.
"Nancy!" an older woman said as she came up to us from one of the back rooms; she had long pin straight waist lengthen strawberry blond hair with thin streaks of grey, a black woman business suit with a just below the knee skirt, a white dress shirt under the jacket, and black kitten heels. The only jewelry she wore were white diamond studs in her ears the size of peas. Miss Mulberry had said Margret was the same age as her and it showed, she looked like an older woman with life just like my companions.
"Margret, it's good to see you again!" Miss Mulberry said as she gave her lifelong friend a hug.
"To you as well!" Margret said with French twang in her voice as she let go, then she must have finally noticed me because she gave a surprised gasp, "And this must be the bride!"
I couldn't help but smile and blush from shyness as Miss Mulberry and Margret came closer, "Yes this is my young friend I told you about, the one who's been helping me at the Art Studio the past few years." Miss Mulberry explained.
"Of course! But I must say you are prettier then I imagined you Alice, you have such a glow to you!" Margret gushed.
"Thank you." I managed to say as I felt my face heat up from the praise.
"So tell me what you are looking for Alice," Margret started, getting to the point, "Nancy has already told me you are on a tight budget so don't be concern about that. I have a lot of overstock in my warehouse so if you find something you like we can negotiate."
"Well… I defiantly want strapless. The style of the dress I'm pretty open but I would like something with a little bling and maybe lace if possible." I said.
"Excellent!" Margret cheered, clapping her hands, "Lace dresses are my best work and I have plenty of those there. Let's go back to one of the family areas and I'll take you to the dressing room Alice."
Margret escorted the three of us to one of the rounded chairs in front of a tall three-way mirror; Miss Mulberry and Francesca sat down while Margret took me to a red curtain offed dressing room not far away, "Go ahead and get comfortable while I get some dresses for you." Margret said before bashing off to do just that.
The first dress I tried on was a strapless ball gown with a sweetheart neckline and delicate lace and crystal details on the bodice; the look on everyone's faces matched my own, the dress wasn't for me. It was beautiful but Margret told me that brides often wore ball gowns if they had something to hide, and I defiantly didn't! All the woman in my party told me I had a stunning hour glass figure and that I should show it off, which narrowed the dress options down.
The second dress was a strapless organza with a sweet heart neckline, a crystal belt, and lace on the bottom shirt. The dress was beautiful and it flattered my curves perfectly but I wasn't feeling it and neither were the older woman; they thought the 'crazy skirt' took the spotlight off me, and that was the most important thing. Another dress fail.
Then on the third attempt Margret got a dress in mind that would 'look absolutely stunning on me' along with a surprise addition. When the designer came back with it needless to say I loved it, even more when I finally tried it on and it was my size so it fit me perfectly.
It was pure white since that was the ONLY material color Margret used for her dresses, it had the style and flow of a chiffon dress but was strapless and more figure flattering, hugging all my curves while still keeping it classy for a bribe. When I walked out with Margret behind me to help hold the skirt up since it dragged on the ground a couple feet, the two seated woman gasped quietly as I stepped into the stage that was in front of the tall mirrors. You could hear a pin drop from across the room because neither woman didn't know what to say so they continued the stare at me with wide open mouths and eyes.
"Well?" I insinuated, softly smiling as I picked at the silky smooth skirt, "What do you think?"
"…You look like an angel…" Francesca breathed, unable to take her eyes off me with a hand over her heart. Miss Mulberry still couldn't talk so she just nodded slowly in agreement.
"But that's not the end of it!" Margret exclaimed, making all three of us turn to look at her, "Just let me go grab a few more things that will make you even more stunning!"
Before we could say a word the older designer turned on her heels and scurried back to the storage area; Margret came back a few minutes later with pretty white heels and a few other things, but they were covered in protected sheets so I couldn't see what they were.
"First I need you to close your eyes Alice," Margret told me with a mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes, "I want this next part to be a surprise."
I huffed a laugh but did what I was told and closed my eyes tight; I could feel a pair of hands pull up my hair into a tight bun then put something in it, taking my existing earrings out to put new ones in, slipping something onto my arms, and slip the pair of heels onto my feet. I thought I could vaguely hear sniffles from one of the woman as Margret have me turn around to face the mirror.
"You can open them now." Margret whispered warmly into my left ear.
I slowly opened them and what I saw made me gasp, I would have stumbled back too but my feet were planted to the stage; my hair was up to accommodate the fourteen inched silk veil going down my back with five blooming silk white roses in a single file line at the top, delicate dangly diamond earring hung in my ears almost grazing my shoulders, and white four inched rounded heels adorned my feet to give me just a little height.
But the most gorgeous part of my look beside the dress was the delicate lacy floor lengthen jacket that slipped on right over the dress; it didn't hide the dress at all more like enhanced it tremendously with the extra-long sleeves that covered the top part of my hand, expertly designed edges, and long train in the back looking like it extended seven feet. It covered my shoulders and arms but with the rose's pattern on it you could see my skin and the dress that laid under it, it also fastened in the front with a single sparkly diamond that rested in between my breasts. The material wasn't heavy at all, weighting no more than a feather as it just rested against my curves like it was made for me alone.
"I… look…" I managed to get out, but couldn't say more. I didn't even believe this was my refection staring back at me, I looked like a completely different person!
Another sniffle caught my attention, when I finally tore my eye away from the mirror I saw that it was Miss Mulberry who had been sniffling the whole time! "Miss Mulberry don't cry! Or you're going to make me cry!" I exclaimed, feeling tears threating to fall from my already stinging orbs.
"To late for that!" Miss Mulberry sobbed as she snatched the box of offered tissues from Margret's hand and ripped herself out a handful.
I turned back around and saw Francesca was not far behind her, she was having difficulty keeping her hiccups at bay. "Here dear," Margret said to me, holding out a tissue, "you don't want to ruin your makeup."
I smiled my thanks to the designer and dabbed my eyes of some spilling tears, "You look so beautiful Alice, I can't even describe it!" Francesca managed to say as Miss Mulberry blew her nose.
"I love it too!" I said, so happy I found my dress that I couldn't wipe the smile I had on my face right now, "I think I found the one!"
"I'm glad Alice," Margret said, looking as proud as a mother would, "this dress his been my masterpiece for many years but I was never able to find a bride that I thought would be worthy of wearing it. But you my dear were BORN to wear this dress for your wedding."
I could only blush and smile at the woman's words, then a thought came to me, "So what's the price on the entire look?" I asked curious, but a twinge of concern was in the back of my throat.
"I thought that would come up." Margret started in a smooth voice as she continued to smile, "I added the numbers and if you included the dress and everything added, the total would normally be $10,500."
It felt like someone had punched me in the gust when I heard that price. "However," Margret started again, lifting a finger, "I'll let you have everything for $5,000 even."
That was over a 50% price reduction! "Margret that discount is way too generous, I can't let you do that for me!" I exclaimed, worried.
"But I am," Margret started, firmly, "after all any friend of Nancy is a friend of mine and besides I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night if I had let you walk out of here without this dress."
I softly smiled as I slowly ran a hand over the laces embroidered surface, "Thank you that means a lot." I said with as much humility as I could muster.
"And she doesn't have to worry about the bill either Margret," Miss Mulberry commented, the two of use looked over to the said woman as she finished wiping the remaining tears away, "I'll cover everything."
"Miss Mulberry-" I started off sternly, she has done so much for me already and there was no way I was going to let her do anything more. But she cut me off.
"Don't start arguing with me missy!" Miss Mulberry said sharply at first, but then softened as her humor came back again, "Think of it as my wedding present to you, so please don't start objecting because I've cried enough for one day!"
"Ok." I said with a smile as my eyes tiered up once again, allowing her to do just one more thing.
Miss Mulberry returned my smile warmly and came over to give me a hug along with Francesca. Margret called another cab for us as she was ringing the dress up, just like Miss Mulberry said she paid for everything without hesitation. The yellow cab pulled up in front of the store just as Margret had finished zipping the protective cover over the dress and boxed everything else separately.
The three of us waved goodbye to the older designer as we walked out the door; me holding the dress cover by its hanger while Francesca and Miss Mulberry each carried two boxes. We got in the cab and drove back to Miss Mulberry's Apartment around 1:30. Miss Mulberry made the both of us some turkey sandwiches for lunch and around the time we finished eating Antonio called on Francesca's cell phone and asked if he could join us, the restaurant wasn't that busy so he closed early for a change. The four of us talked for most of the afternoon and Antonio loved the dress when I showed it to him, I also opened up all the presents that Francesca had brought for me.
Believe me when I say that this group of individuals didn't believe in a 'Bachelorette Party' complete with dirty gifts, alcoholic drinks, and watching male strippers at a club. It may have been a tradition for engaged woman before they were married, but I wasn't into that kind of stuff and the three older people knew it. Don't get me wrong I'm not against the whole Bachelorette celebration, it's just something I didn't want to do.
The gifts were both sentimental and sweet, but charming and thoughtful at the same time. They included an expensive perfume set, bath & body scrubs, lotion, honey & coconut scented candles, and a hand sown white night nightdress with little lace details on the spaghetti straps with a matching thin robe from Francesca. Pretty hair accessories, a professional 100-piece paint set kept in a wooden box along with an eerie of other art supplies from Antonio, he also gave me a five bottle wine set from he and Francesca's private wine collection. Their son Timothy sent only one gift with the couple but that was enough for me; it was an abstract of my former studio if you were standing beside the stairs it was so heartwarming because I knew the young man painted it himself.
Because it was getting late Antonio and Francesca left around 8:00, but not before I gave them each a hug and kiss in gratitude along with a promised to see them again one last time before I left. Before I went to bed though Miss Mulberry had a gift for me as well it was only one but it was the most touching of all; it was a golden bound leather book with little pink roses on each of the four corners of the extravagantly designed cover along with a large cursive capital 'A' in the middle. She told me because I have so many excited times ahead of me that I should write them down in my own words, like writing my own story she called it.
I loved it very much, I never owned a journal before and was excited to start filling its blank pages when my adventure started. Over the next few weeks I would be doing more shopping; even though I swore I wouldn't I spent some of the gold coins my fiancé's had given me on new clothes, shoes, purses, accessories and other things. Around that time all the department store's in New York were having their 'summer blowout' sales all the items I bought were all sale, which included Barney's, Coach and Tiffany's if you want to know. I also bought some things that were very uncharacteristic for me, new lingerie from Victoria Secret. Not sure why I did, but thought I would buy an emerald green, red, white, purple and blue lingerie sets to have for the honeymoons; not sure I'm brave enough to wear them though but I have them.
Two nights before I would be leaving I went to the park after sunset because my Fiancé's told me last time they would return to visit me again; because the Leader's know they can't actually see me again until the marriage ceremony.
"So which direction will they be coming from Alice?" Miss Mulberry asked me, she wanted to come along so she could finally meet my… 'mysterious men'.
"It's different every time, so I can't really say." I answered with a shrug, but I was looking around at the surrounding bushes and not the older woman.
"Well I hope they get here soon!" Miss Mulberry exclaimed, more humorously than anything as she sat down on the small pile of presents I had received for the Leaders to take back with them, "I'll probably freeze soon!"
"Don't worry Miss Mulberry," I said, giggling, "Their pretty good at not keeping me waiting very long."
"As we should." A deep males voice said, my eyes darted to the left and saw Chaor who had spoken with the other male creature's only seconds behind him coming out of from behind the nearby trees.
"After all we can't let our future wife think we've forgotten her." Maxxor concluded, smiling sweetly at me.
I just gasped, a wide smile came to my face and I could also feel my heart beating faster as I ran to the five of them throwing myself into the waiting arms of Maxxor since he was more front and center. I immediately circling my arms around the Overworld Leaders neck as he wrapped his muscular ones around my smaller frame, "I missed you guys." I said softy, but loudly at the same time so the five could hear me.
"As we missed you Alice." Maxxor said lovingly, speaking for the five Leaders as he rubbed his cheek against the right side of my face.
I pulled away so I could give the Overworlder a tender kiss on the lips which was returned, he smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye as he sat me down again. I gave Chaor, Iflar, Mudeenu and Odu the same treatment which was much appreciated from the way they hugged me tightly in their warms and kissed me with all the love in their hearts.
"Well! I must say I'm impressed!" Miss Mulberry commented as she came over to the six of us as I was sat down on the ground again by Odu, with both hands on her hips, looking the much taller Leaders up and down with critiquing eyes, "When Alice told me you all would be 'different' she wasn't kidding!"
Iflar just smiled knowingly as he approached the older woman, "And you must me Miss Mulberry, Alice has told use much about you." He said with all the politeness as a Prince as he toke the older woman's right hand to give it a kiss.
"Hmm, very good." Miss Mulberry continued, "You have manner's that's a plus."
"(giggle) I knew you'd like them Miss Mulberry." I said coming to the older woman's side to hug her arm like a child. I knew she would act this way before all this happened; like an over protective mother would when she meet the boy her daughter was dating until she saw what he was like in person.
I proceeded to introduce my other fiancé's to Miss Mulberry, she seemed to be happy to put a face to the names. The conversation was moved elsewhere when Mudeenu noticed the pile of items not far away, "You have more stuff for us to take back I see." He commented with a chuckle in his voice.
"Yeah… I do." I said rather sheepishly, moving my longer bangs out of my eyes.
I could tell my Leaders thought my embarrassment was cute from the way they smiled at me as I walked over to my pile of stuff, "I found a wedding dress!" I announced in a sing-a-long voice, holding up the black-ish cover with my dress safely zipped inside.
"Oh good!" Maxxor said, happily, "You mentioned last time you were going to start looking. I'm glad you found one you liked."
"Thanks Maxxor, now I'm going to give this to you for safekeeping along with the accessories and shoes. BUT NO PEAKING!" I warmed him with serious eyes, yanking the dress out of his hands before he could grasp it.
Maxxor just chuckled at that, "I promise." He said, but I knew he meant it.
"I also did some shopping-" I started, Chaor interrupted me.
"You bought yourself some gifts," the Underworld Leader commented, mock surprise laced his tone, "and here I thought you wouldn't!"
"Yeah," I started with a sigh, but still I smiled because I knew the leaders were happy about that, "but Miss Mulberry convinced me to not let that money go to waste."
"Exactly!" The older woman said enthusiastically, "If a man gives you dough you better spend it!"
"There's still two pouches left though," I said again, "I'll save those for if I see something I like in Perim."
The Leaders just smiled warmly and nodded. "I also bought something for each of you to take back, but the rule still applies no peaking!" I stated again picking up five individual white boxes with the Leaders individual colored ribbons.
"What is it?" Iflar asked curiously as I handed him a box with a white ribbon tied in a bow.
I couldn't' help but smirk, "Let's just say their… special." I said mysteriously, giving my fiancé's a flirty wink.
That confused the male creatures for a second until a thought came to mind, which made them all grin at me. "Now then," I said, snapping the Leaders out of whatever dirty thought they had in their heads, "I was also given a lot of gifts so I'm going to split them up among the five of you…"
I then proceeded to do just that; all the painting supplies went to Iflar and Mudeenu of course, everything else was dived up among the others depending on what they were. I also gave them each a wine bottle from Antonio and Francesca's collection to save for the honeymoons, excluding Iflar and Mudeenu they all didn't drink wine very much but they were willing to drink a glass with me.
As for all the clothes, shoes, purses, and jewelry I bought bring my splurge day, I just kind of threw them in willy-nilly. The perfume, candles, lotion, scrubs, and nightdress Francesca gave me I had Odu take since that kind of stuff was a rare commodity in Mount Pillar.
"I guess that's everything…" I finally said, looking back behind me to make sure I wasn't leaving anything out, "Thank you guy's for helping me move my stuff, I know it was a pain."
"No it wasn't Alice." Odu said, sitting the bath stuff beside his pile to take, "we're just happy you'll be living with us soon."
That made me perk up, "I know I'm so excited, just one more day!" I almost squealed.
My five fiancé's just smiled at me before glancing at each other to share a look, "We have something else for you Alice." Mudeenu said, almost proudly.
"But guy's…" I groaned, "You've given me enough!"
"This is an important one though." Maxxor explained as he walked up to me pulling something out from his belt.
My baby blue eyes widened when his green hand held out a little black velvet box, I looked back up at him and saw he and the other leaders smiling lovingly at me, "It took us forever to decide how it was going to look," Maxxor stated, his golden orbs gazing into mine, "but when we did, we made sure we were there at every step of its creation."
I took the little box with shaky hands, and I couldn't help but stare at it before Chaor said encouragingly, "Go ahead Alice, you can open it."
I then opened the lid and my mouth just fell opening a breathless gasp; it was the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen!
The band itself was solid gold with the world's biggest diamond that could fit on it in the shape of a heart. Most of the diamond was embedded in the band but about half-an-inch stuck out, and along with the diamond there were four other round stones, two on either side of it. On the left side was a blue sapphire on the inside and a red ruby on the outside while on the right was a yellow topaz on the inside and a brown tiger eye was on the outside.
All five precise jewels shined with luster as I ran a finger over the ring's cool surface, "It's beautiful…" I said, almost wanting to cry.
"Do you like it?" Iflar asked, clearly pleased from the sound of his voice.
"Yes! I love it!" I exclaimed, not able to take my eyes off the custom piece of jewelry, "I just can't believe you guy's would put this much time into this!"
"Why wouldn't we?" Maxxor asked, the seriousness in his voice made me look up at him, "What's more important than seeing you happy?"
That made me sniffle a little bit as I wiped away a few happy tears before they had a chance to roll down my cheeks, "Do you mind if I try it on to see how it fits?" I asked taking the ring out of the box, but then my next question was, "Ok, what hand does this go on?"
That made everyone laugh as my eyes darted between my left and right hands; Maxxor help me out by taking the ring and grasping my left hand gently as he slipped the ring on my left ring finger, showing the world I was officially an engaged woman.
"Oh my gosh…" I breathed looking down at the perfectly fitting ring on my left hand, "Please tell me this isn't a dream…"
"If it is, then were having the same dream." Maxxor said softly, almost in a whisper as he bent down to give me a loving kiss on the forehead.
"Holy smokes, look at the size of that rock!" Miss Mulberry exclaimed, looking over my right shoulder to look at the ring, "Now THAT is a lot of love!"
I couldn't help but smile and giggle, but Miss Mulberry wasn't threw, "I just have one thing to ask you five," she said sternly, looking straight into the much taller creatures eyes without fear, "do you love Alice?"
The said males all looked at me with warm eyes and sweet smiles, "With all our hearts." Mudeenu said, sounding like he meant every word.
"Then you had better take very good care of her," Miss Mulberry continued, as if warning them, "because if you don't I will find a way to get over to Perim myself and break a few of your bones! I may be old but I can do it!"
I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the looks on my fiancé's faces, they really did look scared! "We swear we wouldn't do that Miss Mulberry!" Odu exclaimed with wide red eyes.
"Good…" Miss Mulberry said, satisfied with the answer but not taking the males out of her beating gaze.
Maxxor however came right up to me and got down on one knee so we could talk eye-to-eye, "Until I see you in two days, my dear one." He said, placing a soft hand on my left cheek to cares it with his thumb.
"I can hardly wait." I answered with a smile, placing my own hand over his, "How many creatures will be escorting me?"
"Three," Maxxor immediately answered, "their some of my most trustworthy warriors. They will take you safely to my castle where a small army of maids will help get ready."
"Crack of dawn right?" I asked again, I wanted t make sure I had my facts straight.
"Right." Maxxor confirmed, as he gave me another kiss on the lips.
He got back up to walk away with the other Leaders carrying the items I handed off to them, they waved goodbye to me as I did until they were out of sight, disappearing through the bushes. "They seems like very nice men Alice," Miss Mulberry said, coming over to my side, "I have no doubt they'll make you a fine bunch of husbands."
I brought my left hand up to look at my wedding ring again, "Me too Miss Mulberry, me too." I said, smiling. The two of us then returned to Miss Mulberry's Apartment, for some rest.
The entire next day was spent preening me for the anticipated coming day; I painted my toes & finger nail's a pretty pastel pink, washed my hair until it shined like blonde sheets, embarrassingly I even shaved & waxed every part of my body except my head, moisturized every dry part of my form until my skin felt like a baby's bottom, and I even spent a good part of the afternoon clearing every microscopic pore from my face!
"You look very beautiful Alice." Miss Mulberry told me from the doorway, I was in one of the older woman's floor length white robes with a velvet trim as I sat on the sinks edge, plucking my eyebrows.
"Thanks Miss Mulberry," I said, putting the tweezers down for a moment to look at her, "I hope I look more aisle ready."
"You did before you did your makeover." Miss Mulberry responded with an amused smirk.
"Well you know me I always like to be prepared!" I said enthusiastically, then I calmed to say the next few words sincerely, "I'm going to miss you a lot Miss Mulberry."
"Now don't start getting sentimental on me young lady!" Miss Mulberry said, almost sternly as she shook a finger at me, "They'll be time to say goodbyes in the morning, but for now I'm going to bed to get some sleep if I'm going to be up to see you off."
The older woman then continued down the hallway towards her bedroom before I could say another word. I continued to just stare at the spot where she was, as a warm and knowing smile came to my face, "She just doesn't like to say goodbye," I thought, turning to look towards the mirror again, "Miss Mulberry never did like farewells."
After I finished plucking I went into my room the pack up my remaining belongings; including my date dresses, shoes, jewelry, and everything else I kept from my old Apartment. It totaled to about five large black suitcases and a small pink toiletries bag.
"That just about does it." I said out loud, looking around the room. Other than the suitcases by the door you couldn't tell someone has been staying in this room for the past 4 months. I then changed out of the robe I was wearing into my PJ's, I was going to need a good night's rest for tomorrow.
I got under the crisp blue covers and sipped my ring off to place on the nightstand by the bed, which was about the only time I would ever take it off other than when I took a shower. The second my head hit the pillow I was fat asleep, I must have really been tired because before I knew it I was dreaming…
I was high in the sky standing a fluffy white cloud as a multitude of others floated around me, almost as if welcoming me, "Hello Alice." an echoing voice said.
I looked up immediately after hearing that and saw a single figure hovering down from above, from where I wasn't sure but they continued to descent until they softly landed on another cloud that was right in front of mine.
The figure was completely golden metallic in color and it didn't really look human, I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman either because the body was completely covered in a floor length extravagantly designed gold cloak with wrist length wide sleeves that was long enough to touch the ground; almost like a wizards cloak but without the hood. The figure didn't have any facial features either, like it was wearing a mask but at the same time I could tell it was his 'face'. The figure didn't have a mouth, nose, or ears, but it did have almond shaped eyes that had no pupil, so all you could see is ash white. The figure did have waist length gold hair going down its back, or I think it was hair, but it was so stringy and thin that it looked more like thread to me.
The gold figure was in almost a military stance; hands behind his back, shoulder's back, head up, eyes forward, chin down… the way the figure carried himself alone was enough to tell me it was someone important, but it's aura and the soft way it was looking at me said he could easily be talked to.
The figures eyes then squinted like it was smiling, "No Alice you are not dead, you're just dreaming." The figure said, in a voice that was neither feminine nor masculine.
That made me jolt and just look at him in shock, "How did you know…" I started.
The figure just chuckled like a parent would if there child said something funny, cutting me off before I could anything else, "I have the power to read minds young one," the figure explained, "exactly like a M'arrillian."
I looked at the figure for a moment and asked with curious eyes, "Are you a creature? From Perim?"
The figure then look startled, but its voice sounded like it was impressed, "Very good Alice! But I'm not that all surprised you got that right on the first try."
"How do you now my name?" I asked again, "And who are you?"
"Does my voice not sound familiar to you Alice?" the figure countered with a question, "After all I visited you once already."
I thought and though and then it hit me, "You're the voice that told me to follow my heart!" I gasped, finally realizing it.
"Yes I am," The figure confirmed walking up to me calmly until it was standing so close it could reach out and touch it, "and as for who I am, I'll let you guess that too."
I then studied his for several minutes; it was tall as a creature I estimated about Maxxor's height, maybe a tad shorter. And his presents made me think of a God almost from his stature and physic… my baby blue eyes widened as an idea came to made, it was crazy even for me but I said it anyway, "Are you Cothica?" I answered, smile beginning come to my face.
The figures eyes squinted even more, as if grinning now to confirm my answer, "You really do now the world of Perim! Very good Alice."
"Wow! So the Cothica is real!" I exclaimed stepping closer to him, but not TOO close, "But I always thought…"
"That it was a Loaction?" Cothica said, finishing my answer with obvious humor in his voice, "I'm not surprised, my children believe the same thing."
"But why are you here, visiting me I mean?" I asked again, with more confusion then curiosity.
"Believe me when I say that you are not in any trouble with me Alice." Cothica said right away, calming my first fear, "I have come to bestow a gift to you. After all it is a grand thing to be the first human to come to Perim, let alone to marry five of my children!"
"You are too generous Cothica sir," I started, "but you of ALL beings don't have to gift me anything."
Cothica'e eyes then halfway closed in peace, but also admiration, "I can see why my son's admire you so," it said warmly, "you are a very humble human woman the most I've ever seen. But none the less I wish you to have this…"
Cothica then brought out a jewel from behind his back, fashioned into a necklace shaped like teardrop. The glow itself made me gasp and shield my eyes because it was so bright, but when it died down and Cothica held it out to me with its clawed hand I could easily see what it looked like up close. The crystal clear diamond was teardrop in shape like I said before, but it was big enough so that would fit perfectly in the palm of my hand. It also had two stunning angle wings surrounding it like it was getting ready to fly, the silver chain was a little thick to hold the jewel but at the same it was delicate looking for a woman like me to wear.
"Oh Cothica it's beautiful!" I exclaimed taking the jewel with my right hand, it felt warm like it was alive but that didn't scare me as I looked into the gorgeous jewel like a mirror.
"I'm giving you the Angel Jewel as not only a present but also for protection." Cothica explained, "There will be times when my children won't be there to defend you from the dangers of Perim. So whenever you need to, hold up the jewel and shout 'Cothica Power, Illuminate!'"
"What will happen then?" I asked.
"I will let you find that out for yourself." Cothica said mysteriously, then his voice grew serious, "But be warned Alice, you must us it only when the situation is dire or your life is in danger."
"Will a creature try to take it?" I asked concerned, holding the Angel Jewel tighter.
"No, my children will not know what it the Angel Jewel is." Cothica stated, "But if those who are hungry enough for power see what it can do, they will most likely try. However, they will be greatly disappointed when they find out only YOU can use it."
"I promise I'll take good care of it Cothica." I vowed, and I intended to keep that promise.
"I am sure you will Alice." Cothica said warmly, then his eyes twinkled playfully like he was smirking, "But that is not the only reason why I came to you, I wanted to give you some pointers of what to expect when you live in Perim."
"Oh…ok." I said, kind of surprised.
"First I must warn you… they will be big." Cothica stated, rather bluntly.
I blinked, not quite understanding what that meant at first. Then it hit me, making my eyes grow as big as saucer plates, "WHY ARE YOU TELLING THIS!?" I almost screeched, feeling my face burn up.
Cothica all but laughed this time from the look on my face, "So you won't be… surprised by anything of course! On a more serious note, as you already know my sons will do everything in their powers to make you happy and not regret marrying them."
After my face returned to a normal color I nodded to Cothica for it to continue, "But they aren't perfect by any means; at times they can be selfless, unruly, and at time just plain rude. Also they will be absent for a time either for business or whatever else and might even put their roles as leader before you. But please know they wouldn't mean to, just have patients with them and know they will make it up to you somehow Alice."
I just nodded with a smile, understanding full well of the weight on my fiancé's shoulders, "But there will be pleasant times too," Cothica started again, with a more peppy twang in his voice, "you will be given unconditional love from not just your husbands but from everyone you meet. Just be prepared for whatever comes your way and know that I will come to you when you need it Alice."
"Thank you Cothica," I said politely, holding my new jewel up, "for everything."
Cothica just nodded it's head and with a wave of his hand I was plunged back to sleep, I woke up slowly and then sat up when I noticed something around my neck, "The Angel Jewel!" I exclaimed out loud, "So the dream was real."
The said jewel seemed to shine and dance in the moonlight coming in from the window as if saying 'hello' as I barely touched its glowing surface, "This is going to be one crazy new life!" I thought excitedly, "But I'm ready for it!"
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
…I can't tell you what going to happen in the coming days. But from what Cothica told me it will be full of laughs, heartaches, mess-ups and maybe even crash-burns! But I know for a fact I'm ready to take it all on with my future husbands by my side.
-Alice Amelia Rosewood
A/N: Ok now THIS chapter has to be a new record for me, hands down; Twenty four pages and over 11,800 words! But I did it in under a week, Hallelujah! Anyway I hope it turned out good for the first chapter and sorry there wasn't a whole lot of action in this one, but next one will be better. Until then, see you all next time!
