A Wedding Surprise
Sophie opened her eyes to the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs to her room. She was momentarily annoyed at being woken against her will, until she remembered. Today was her wedding day. Today would be perfect. Sophie grinned, and sat up in bed as the door to her bedroom was flung open by her two sisters. The two intruders squealed girlishly and threw themselves onto the bed, enveloping a still-grinning Sophie in hugs.
"It's your wedding day!" screamed Lettie.
"Are you ready? Well, of course not ready ready; you're still in your chemise after all. But are you ready to marry him?!" Martha questioned excitedly, grinning into Sophie's face.
Sophie smiled back, and thought of her fiancée, Howl. He'd courted her for two years after the curse had been broken, before finally proposing. Howl had said that despite his resolve to be with her, he wanted theirs to be a proper romance, for Sophie's sake. Sophie didn't mind either way. She wasn't going anywhere, and she knew that Howl had committed himself to her. And the day had finally come.
"Yes. I am ready. I can hardly wait to see him." Sophie answered with a smile, feeling light and warm. Lettie and Martha grinned again, and embraced their sister together, before pulling her from the bed.
"Well then it's time to get you in your wedding dress. After all, we must have Howl properly dumbfounded when he sees you walking down that aisle," Lettie giggled.
Three hours later, Sophie was ready. Her red-golden hair was held back away from her face by a delicate array of braids and ribbons, and she was dressed in a simple, but elegant, white gown. Her bouquet was a lovely arrangement of yellow, red, and orange flowers from the garden; Sophie had designed it herself. Indeed, the three sisters had almost singlehandedly organized the wedding, utilizing their respective skills and crafts.
Sophie felt perfect. She was beautiful, and she was about to marry the man she loved. Even better, she would be sharing this beautiful day with her family and friends, and she would be married in her ever-lovely garden. Lettie's husband, Ben Suliman, had offered to escort Sophie down the aisle, as she had no other male relations and Michael was already occupied with the position of best man. Lettie and Martha were bridesmaids, of course. This day was perfect; absolutely perfect.
Sophie and her ensemble arrived at the beginning of the aisle, and Sophie looked to the aisle with the most exhilarating feeling in her heart, searching for her perfect fiancée to whom she would be married on this perfect spring day. And her eyes found him. Sophie blanched, gasping, before turning pink with fury. She began to march up the aisle towards him, her green eyes sharp, clutching her bouquet as though it were a club, while her confused ensemble rushed to catch up.
"You," Sophie growled, "What have you done to your hair?"
A less than perfect Howl with very short-cropped hair merely stared at her, frozen and enraptured by her beauty.
"I beg your pardon?" he managed to mutter hoarsely, not entirely certain of what she had said.
"What have you done to your hair?!" Sophie screeched, brandishing her bouquet at the atrocity crowning his head.
"How dare you!" she continued, "How dare you cut your hair on our wedding day of all things! What were you thinking?! I was looking forward to running my hands through your beautiful hair on our wedding night, but now! You've just earned yourself a place by the fireside tonight, and you should be lucky it's still in the house! How dare you, you horrible Howl, you! You wretched wizard! Why, the things I'd do if I had my cane! "
Lettie and Martha rushed to restrain her arms, crooning calming things as Sophie continued her verbal barrage, and the guests stared on in horror. The minister was shielding himself with his Bible, shrinking away from the enraged Sophie. But Howl stood very still, and continued to gaze at Sophie's face. He could not remember seeing a more beautiful, perfect woman in all his life. He wrapped one arm around Sophie's waist and cupped her rage-flushed face with the other hand, before pulling her forward into a deep, silencing kiss. A moment later, Howl slowly pulled away, and turned the quiet, dazed Sophie to face the minister.
Smiling amiably, as though such things were an everyday occurrence, he said, "If you please, Minister, you may begin the ceremony now. I'm afraid my lovely Sophie can never do anything by halves".
The minister gaped at the smiling Howl and the apparently love-dazed Sophie, and then settled himself and began the ceremony. A short time later, the two were pronounced husband and wife. Later, during the couple's dance, Sophie found a moment to glare at Howl once more.
"I still can't believe that you cut it. It's very disappointing, Howl," she grumbled, resting her head on his shoulder as they danced.
"It was Megan's idea. I was considering a change, and she felt that it was a more appropriate look for such a formal occasion," Howl said with quiet joviality. Sophie growled quietly.
"I'll have to have some words with Megan about that," she muttered darkly. Howl chuckled.
"My darling Sophie, you have me for the rest of my life. I daresay there will be plenty of time for me to grow my hair out as long as you'd like it. Besides, I had to surprise you somehow on our wedding day. We mustn't ever fall into convention, after all; it'd be against our entire love story," he murmured into her ear. Sophie hummed contentedly.
"You're right," she whispered, closing her eyes, "And I wouldn't have it any other way, Howl Jenkins."