Title: Once the Earth Settled
Published: 04-08-09, Updated: 10-14-09
Chapters: 12
A/N: This is a sequel to Enough with Gravity Moving Already told in vignettes, by it was also the primer for all the other stories written after it so its it's not entirely Claire/Quil based.
Chapter 1: Wouldn't Have it Any Other Way
To tell you the truth Claire could have cared less what the wedding looked like as long as it was done and she was sealed to Quil forever. She would have happily worn his old sweats and a holey tee, but there was absolutely no way she could have convinced two extremely fashionable supernatural women or even Quil himself to agree to such blasphemy.
Almost immediately after Quil and Claire announced that they would be getting married in Avignon, Alice and Jasper returned from the hunt with newly golden eyes, and they were a frenzy with planning.
Honestly, Claire was more than touched by Alice's extremely generous offer to arrange and fund their wedding. She had only been travelling with her for two weeks, and her heart swelled at the kindness Alice was showing her. It was for this and only for this that Claire would have postponed the wedding for the two days Alice asked to make the arrangements.
Alice made a verbal list, a bit quickly, but Claire kept up. There was:
A church: chosen for the ambience since neither Quil nor Claire were Christians, or religious for that matter.
A photographer: an idea that once explained as a way to share the wedding with her family back home was like a breath of fresh air to Claire— who although determined, was terrified to face her mother when she returned a married woman.
A small dinner reception: which Claire found exceptionally foolish considering there were only six people attending and only half of those ate solids. When she pointed this out however, even Nessie glared at her, so she shut up immediately.
And finally the dress: the dress was considered by Nessie and Alice to be the most vital piece of the puzzle and it also happened to be the hardest and most time consuming of the tasks.
Claire was dragged, literally (piggyback on Alice), to Monaco—the closest place Alice trusted for shopping. Monte Carlo, which was like nothing Claire had ever seen in her life, could not be fully processed in the short moments she was given. So to Claire, Monte Carlo would forever remain a blur of shops she had always heard of but never once imagined owning like Chanel, Gucci and Prada. As well as a ton of shops that looked equally expensive but had funny names like Rykiel, Celine and Lanvin.
These stores, which Claire had long associated with luxury and class, were great theoretically—but after hours and hours of searching she realized that they didn't really appeal to her in practice. Alice agreed, shop after shop Alice would leave even more disheartened.
Valentino was their last stop and after an almost devastating strikeout in Chanel and Dior, where only an acceptable pair of shoes for Nessie and a necklace worth more than Claire's entire wardrobe were purchased, it seemed that all of Alice's hopes were riding on the love her favorite luxury retailer to get them through the draught.
"You know, in these uncertain times we live in, we can always be assured that Valentino will pull us through."
Alice's comment would have been hilarious in most situations: perhaps a movie with a caricature of a New York socialite for example, or possibly as sarcasm used in jest. This however, was not a laughing matter for Claire— who after hours of trying on a barrage of slips and cocktail dresses in varying shades of white and ivory, was more exhausted then she had been in years.
For an outsider it might have been difficult to decide whom among the three of them was more disappointed as they left Valentino empty handed. Yet anyone who knew the three women, all exceedingly beautiful in their own right, could see that the world had started to crash down around the usually exuberant pixie Alice. For what could be right in the world when Valentino failed to produce even one acceptable dress for a makeshift wedding?
The answer to their prayers was found where they least expected it: a thrift shop. No wait, Alice (once convinced that this was in fact the dress) refused to call the small resale shop a thrift store, so for the
purpose of her sanity, let us rephrase that.
The answer to their prayers was found where they least expected it: an antique shop.
It was hidden behind a rather impressive stack of old leather-bound and weather beaten French books on a rack of moth ridden clothes, and would not have been found if Nessie hadn't taken an unnatural liking to a gold brooch that clung to a granny sweater in the shop's window display.
Once the dress was unearthed by Claire however, it became quite apparent to her that the brooch was fate. Yes, the brooch was in fact the tacky golden path of fate, that led her directly to her wedding dress, and subsequently her wedding, because it seemed to Claire that the wedding might not take place for weeks unless Alice was satisfied with all aspects of ceremony (and she was quite right in her assessment).
It took a little time convincing Alice, but in the end, after Claire agreeing to move the ceremony to nightfall so the dress could be steamed and pressed, they left the dinky little store twenty Euro poorer and exponentially happier. Well except for Alice, the disappointment from years of brand loyalty can be hard to accept and for enthusiastic shoppers like Alice, may take years to recover.
Quil's attire was definitely easier to acquire, well not easy per se, he was a massive sized man in all parts of the world, so his jacket needed to be custom made, but this however proved to be a painless task. An ancient and almost toothless tailor in town, after being thrown a stack of Euros and a dazzling vampire smile, was more than accommodating to their rush delivery demands.
So the wedding was set: a service just before nightfall in the Church of Saint Pierre, which Claire had painted on her first days in town. To Quil and Claire, this seemed a natural course of action, it was the largest church in town, and therefore was probably the go-to place for all of the town residents wedding and baptismal needs.
They were quite wrong.
In fact the Church of Saint Pierre, built in 1356 with its Gothic-style façade and Renaissance carved wooden doors, had not housed a wedding in over three hundred years, and it took a rather crafty vampire, her mood altering husband and a rather large donation to acquire it at all.
Four hours before the service, Quil and Claire who could not stop staring at each other in awed admiration, were separated. Claire was brought to the church and led to small room now completely covered in products of every kind, so that it no longer resembled a rectory but a Vidal Sassoon. After she was literally scrubbed down with vanilla body salt that tingled and moisturized with a satiny oil that smell like oranges and left her skin with a pearlescent glow, she was dropped in a chair.
There were three women present for this preparation, Nessie of course who sat thoughtfully to the side, trying not to incur Alice's wrath and a woman from town named Adele, who worked on giving Claire the perfect manicure and pedicure, as Claire demanded she get married barefoot like the Quileute women before her. And what else would she get for the occasion but a French-tip?
An hour before the ceremony was set to start two new faces appeared that Claire did not expect at all, and she was more than relieved to see them. Alice was getting increasingly more surly with her hair that would not comply with the complicated knotted updo Alice was attempting.
"Oh my god! What are you guys doing here?" Claire screamed. Bella wore a simple blue dress and silver heels and Esme was clad in a sophisticated sage two piece reminiscent of Jackie O.
They were both stunning, making Claire feel even more insecure as she sat surrounded by sparkly beauties on the one day she was supposed to outshine every woman in the room. In her defense it wasn't a fair competition when you were in a room filled with mystical creatures.
"We needed an excuse to get out of Italy. Oh Claire, you look so great," Bella squealed, placing a very cold and tentative kiss on Claire's cheek, watching from the corner of her eye, making sure she was ready if Alice decided to attack her for smudging Claire's makeup.
"Great? Bella, we aren't settling for great," Alice steamed, pulling at Claire's hair a little too harshly. Claire hissed and Alice dropped it immediately, stepping back and putting her face in her tiny hands. Poor Alice had had a hard week, first the damaging disappointment of her lifelong friend, Valentino, then the crushing defeat of having to agree to a hand me down 50's cocktail dress and now this—this impossibly long and bone straight hair that just would not give her a break.
"Well, is there any way we could help?" Esme asked timidly.
"Did you bring them?" Alice asked from behind her hands.
"Yes," Bella said exasperatedly, walking forward with a bundle of white cloth. "It's old and borrowed," she said smiling as she dropped the little pack in Claire's hands.
"And this is new and blue," Esme said winking as she placed a package the size of a shoebox but thinner in Claire's lap. Curious about the wink Esme gave her, she opened that one first, revealing an extremely revealing pair of baby blue underwear and a matching bra. Claire stuttered and smiled, trying not to blush in front of them, she nodded and whispered her thanks, quickly turning to the other package.
She unfolded the white material smiling although she was thoroughly confused as she looked down at the delicate yet intricate woven silver. It was gorgeous, but she wasn't exactly sure where she would wear it. It was much too small to be a necklace and too big for a bracelet and it seemed to have some sort of ring attached to it.
"It's an anklet, women in Indian wear them when they get married and since you're going barefoot—"
"It's perfect thank you," Claire cut her off with a hug, she was cold but comforting.
"Forty minutes!" Alice screamed as Esme kneeled in front of Claire, brushing the bottom of her foot with her hand, gently sliding the toe-ring on her second toe and then latching the cold silver clasp around her ankle.
"Why can't you just leave her hair down. I think it's rather beautiful," a voice sounded from the door and Claire turned to see the beautiful Tia whom she became friends with at Nessie's bachelorette bash. Claire smiled brightly, feeling a warm swelling in her heart. She hadn't let herself think about the fact that none of her loved ones were going to be at her wedding, but as more and more of her vampire cohorts dropped in, she felt a sweet peace wash over her.
"Tia! Oh, Tia! This is just so, wow—" Claire reeled jumping out of her seat and straight into the arms of the red eyed vampire, something she had been taught not to do since she was knee high.
"I called everyone that knows you or Quil, and even some who don't," Renesme said giggling and Claire cried. For the first time in a long time she cried for joy, so touched by their kindness she was speechless. Alice was not.
"Do not cry! You'll ruin the makeup, and if we can't have the hair, we'll at least have the face," Alice sighed, running a comb through Claire's hair, finally resigned to leaving it natural, letting it cascade down her face and back.
Although, Alice was disappointed beyond words at the simplicity of it all, the overall effect, once finished by the dress, was breathtaking. Claire stood before them, now completely outfitted, the picture of timeless beauty.
Her extremely long hair was shiny, black and straight, while her russet brown skin shimmered—a poster for exotic beauty that juxtaposed her white vintage 50s,, cocktail dress so flawlessly it seemed to be meant for her. She was topped off by a bouquet of wild flowers picked by Adele and wrapped in a simple white ribbon.
With just five minutes to go, Claire stood alone with the older French woman Adele, waiting for the signal to walk. They left the ceremony simple, Quil waiting at the altar as she walked alone to his side.
She hadn't been allowed a moment to examine the church before, and now that she was walking through, the setting sun casting beautiful multicolored lights through the stain glass windows she looked only at him.
She didn't look up to see the elaborate gothic arches she walked under, or the ornate wood carving panels to her right and left, her eyes were glued to Quil. She tried to pace her steps but she couldn't help it, the need to be by his side was overwhelming and she all but skipped the last twenty paces. He pulled her to him, kissing her softly on the lips, before a cough brought them out of their daze.
Claire had not even noticed the small man at the head of the aisle, wearing long white robes that were turning pink from the light through the stained glass window pane directly behind him. They parted and Quil listened patiently, trying not to cringe at every intake of breath.
The church was filled with vampires, fifteen and a half by his count: The Cullens- Esme, Carlisle, Edward, Bella, Jasper and Alice. The Denalis- Kate, Garrett, Tanya, Nahuel (who only half smelled), Carmen, Eleazer and assorted members of the new vampire council- Tia, Benjamin and even the Dracula twins, who although they would never admit it, were just as fond of the pack as the pack was of them.
If you had told Quil that he would marry Claire in a church half way across the world surrounded by vampires, he wouldn't have believed you, shit he might have even laughed at you, but right now, looking down at her, the world's most beautiful being, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Their vows were the pre-written kind, for which they were both grateful, because even being so very much in love neither of them were good with words.
It seemed like an eternity of rambling from the French priest before Quil was finally able to lift her up and kiss her again.
It was not a passionate kiss, it was soft and gentle and beautiful like a promise, before turning her around to face the crowd for the first time as Mrs. Quil Ateara.