Wedding at the Grove
It was a chilly Saturday morning, and Jesse Aarons, Jr. had just awoken to the sound of his father's beat-up pickup truck starting. Baripty, baripty ba-room, baroom, ba-roooom it went as it cold-started and spewed out white smoke out of its rusty tailpipe. Jesse Aarons, Sr. had started working weekend shifts at the store up in Washington to help make ends meet. That is, as if ends met at all in the Aarons household. Times were tough, and Jess knew people had to make sacrifices.
And it was not only his father who had to do some sacrificing. These extra workdays meant more chores for the Aarons children, with their father away at work. This, however, usually meant Jess, who often had to bear the brunt of the chores. As usual, Ellie and Brenda found ways to worm out of their share of the work. Momma was always busy cooking and taking care of Joyce Ann, who had just startied learning to toddle her way here and there.
And then there was May Belle. Lord, he was their father's favorite, Jess always thought. Not much chores for her, but she would usually be found in the greenhouse tending to her prized purple flowers. May Belle's flowers, she and Jesse, Sr. called them. Jess never ceased to be amazed at how his father always doted on May Belle and her purple flowers, even though they rarely seemed to bloom in full. They were purple, nonetheless, judging from the tips that peeked out of the green buds that May Belle streaked a few drops of serum on every morning.
Jess was about finished chopping firewood when he heard the familiar thump, thump, thump of Converse high tops on the ground behind him. The sound was comforting.
"Hey there," called out Leslie Burke to her friend.
"Hey yourself," replied Jess, giving her a quick nod, and returning to finish splitting the final piece of timber.
"How's your mornin'?" asked Leslie, hoping to hope that Jess was having a fine one. But she wasn't so sure, as she knew mornings meant chores for the Aarons household. And she knew how Jess bore his share a but grudgingly.
"Fine and dandy," Jess said tongue in cheeck, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Can I help?"
"I think I'll manage. I'm just about done!"
"Awright. But I think I have something that can help cheer you up," Leslie added, as she sat down on the small stack of firewood that Jess had finished chopping, quite carefully to avoid being splintered. Jess noticed just now that Leslie had set down a small picnic basket by her side. "Let's head to Terabithia. How about we picnic for breakfast?"
"I'd love that," Jess cried gleefully. He knew Leslie, or at least her mother, Judy, often had some special treat prepared in the mornings for breakfast. His family only ever had grits for breakfast. Pancakes were a luxury. But to a family that never seemed to have financial problems such as the Burkes, delicious food seemed like daily fare.
Jess could almost taste the bacon, its sweet and salty aroma wafting through the air.
Not that it was just the food that Jess looked forward to. It was Leslie he most looked forward to being with that morning. That adventurous, open mind of hers astounded him. He always thought there was more to Leslie than met the eye. And that meant a lot, for to this pre-adolescent boy had already begun to look at Leslie in a different light. He loved his best friend, in his own simple way. In his simple and young mind, Leslie was a treasure, and she was his treasure. It felt as if he felt they were one soul split apart, whom then God sent to Earth to find one another eventually. Leslie, after all, was his more adventurous self, he reasoned.
"After your chores, then?" Leslie suggested.
"How about right now? I'm through, and I'll just change my shirt."
"I'll be waiting at your porch."
Jess carried some wood into the house, and after a minute came out the door, almost sprinting. "Let's go, my queen," he called out, grabbing the picnic basket and heading for the road.
And the two friends ran down the dirt road, and over the fields. Leslie, with her featherlike gait, was almost flying in Jess's mind. Reaching the crab apple tree, Leslie swung on the rope first, as usual. Jess crossed the creek with a bit more caution, carefully holding on to the picnic basket in one hand while gripping tight onto the rope with the other.
When they reached the castle stronghold, Leslie asked Jess to wait at the foot of the tree. "King Jess, I have another surprise for you, but we shall leave our picnic feast inside the castle stronghold for the time being," she said in her regal, queenly voice, which was the language of Terabithia.
"Let us head to the sacred grove, for this is a time of celebration," she invited, as she alighted the tree house steps.
"Yes, my queen," Jess bowed and led Leslie toward the grove of pines, which was the most holy place in Terabithia. "What is it that we are celebrating?"
"King Jess, the Spirits came to me in a vision last night, warning me that the rulers of Terabithia might be in danger." Leslie uttered in a hushed tone, with a hint of warning in her eyes. "They said that for the kingdom to be stronger, the rulers must cement their union in marriage."
Jess's eyes widened in response. "A-are you asking me to marry you?" he replied, finishing with a worried and weak laugh.
"You are my king, but the Spirits insist that a union between King and Queen be formal," Leslie explained, still in a hushed voice. "That is the law of the land."
"A-all right, then." was the hesitant response by the King. And then, not so hesitant any more, he knelt on one knee in front of Leslie, reaching for her right hand and holding it in front of him. "It is not you, but I who should be asking. Will you marry me, then, my queen?"
"Of course, King Jess," a beaming Leslie replied. "Let us head inside the grove, then."
The sacred grove was a quiet, still place. The silence was deafening, and yet Jess felt as if there were eyes watching them in silence, and voices whispering to each other in the stillness of the air.
"Spirits of the grove," Leslie cried in a loud, but still regal voice. "We have come to seek your blessing in strengthening the union between the King and Queen of Terabithia. Hear us!"
The wind started to blow, seemingly speaking in response. It picked up speed, blowing through Leslie's golden hair for an instant. She beamed at Jess, and he thought she looked like an angel.
"It is time for us to say our vows, then," Leslie stated. "Come, let us kneel in front of each other. You go with your vows first."
"Uh, I don't know what to say, Queen," replied Jess, as he knelt. He had attended weddings before, but was not quite sure what the bride and groom actually said. Or at least he never bothered to listen. And this was a royal wedding, after all. This was supposed to be different.
"Then I shall go first," Leslie answered, sensing her friend's loss for words. And she started her vows. She spoke it like a song. Her voice was as soothing as a mellow harp strumming in the silence of the woods.
You are my friend,
My protector,
My King.
You found me when I was lost,
You took me in when I was cast away,
You took me into your world,
And I am no longer astray.
I used to think I was all by myself,
In the sea that was called loneliness.
Now I understand that I was not being forlorn,
But rather I was waiting to be found
By that one other soul
That was meant to journey with me
Through eternity.
I, Leslie Burke,
do take you,
Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr.,
as my King,
to have and to hold,
to love and to cherish.
Even death will not tear us apart.
The words were music to Jess's ears. But it was more so to his heart. He tried his best to make his vow as beautiful as Leslie's music was. He knew he had to use big words. He knew these words that were bigger than he was. But he did try his best. He wanted to please his queen, after all.
You gave me wings to fly,
when I was alone.
You found me
And we took to the sky,
Look how we have soared!
I gaze into your eyes,
And I see a whole new world
Waiting to be explored
And how my heart explodes to start
Soaring with you again,
Into the skies, under the sea, out in space,
Into eternity.
I, Jesse Aarons, Jr.,
Do take you,
Leslie Burke,
as my Queen,
to have and to hold,
to love, cherish and trust.
Nothing will set us apart,
Even death itself.
He was happy for the words he chose.
"Nothing crushes us!" Leslie exclaimed, her eyes smiling like she was the happiest girl alive.
"Nothing crushes us," said Jess in a whisper, still gazing into Leslie's eyes.
Not lowering her gaze, Leslie then produced from her pocket two loops of string. They looked like yarn--not too thick and not too thin. "I cut a few strands from the enchanted rope!" Leslie told her king, whose wide eyes gave away his puzzlement. She took his hand, and lovingly placed one loop into his ring finger.
Jess, pleased with the symbolism, did the same. He took the other loop and placed it with care into Leslie's ring finger.
"Our wedding bands!" Leslie said, delighted.
"Uh, Leslie," Jess started with some hesitation as he stood and helped Leslie up. "D-does this mean we have to kiss?"
He felt warm at his cheeks, and he noticed Leslie was a bit flushed, too. He never saw Leslie blush like this before.
"King Jess, you are my king, after all. What is it that you wish?" Leslie responded. She noticed she was no longer as sure of herself as just a few moments ago.
"Aren't we a bit too young for that?" asked Jess.
"Maybe we are," Leslie answered. But in her mind, she was thinking, I love you, Jess, and I hope you know that. And I want you to know this is the happiest moment of my life. I hope you feel that way, too. Then the queen took her king into a friendly, but loving embrace. "Thank you for being my friend," she whispered to his ear.
Jess hugged her back.
Then pulling apart after what seemed forever, Jess leaned forward and gave his friend--his queen--a quick peck on the lips. Both Terabithian rulers now wore an even more crimson countenance. Time stood still.
I was wrong, Leslie Burke thought to herself. Now this is the happiest moment of my life.
The newlywed king and queen returned to their castle stronghold for their wedding banquet. Leslie brought out bacon, toast and a thermos of orange juice. The bacon was cold. The juice was warm. No longer was the toast crunchy, but rather tough to the bite. But it was the best wedding feast, Jess thought, as he gazed into Leslie's turquoise irises.
I love you, too, Leslie!
Author's notes:
This is my first ever fanfic, and what an honor it is to be about BtT. I fell in love with the story and the friendship between Jess and Leslie when I first watched the movie. But when it came to the point of Leslie's death, it really had a profound effect on me. It hit close to home, as I recently lost someone very dear to me, too. Someone very, very young.
Wedding at the Grove is meant to be a one-shot, but I intend to expand this to a collection of ficlets.
This story can be defined, technically, as an LDD story. Or at least Leslie Doesn't Die YET. I'm not sure how I would write about this matter. I started reading dozens of fanfics here on FF dot net to help cope with the "loss" of Leslie's death in book and film canon. And so I am leaning towards that. However, in a way, I still think there was reason behind Leslie's death. Think of it this way. Leslie's inspiration was David Paterson's friend, Lisa. If the tragedy hadn't occurred, his mother, Katherine, wouldn't have written Bridge to Terabithia. And we wouldn't be writing and reading BtT fanfics here! And so if Leslie hadn't died, things could have been drastically different in Jess's life, too. Maybe there were lessons to be learned. Painful lessons. Just like how I learned mine in that fateful day in October, two years ago.
I've written this within the context of both the book and the 2007 movie, as you might notice from the context clues, the writing style, and the characters.
Please read and review. I would appreciate comments and inputs. I will continue with more ficlets. I am a writer by profession, but the last time I wrote fiction was back in high school, and that was about 15 years ago. I've rekindled an interest in creative writing, and I'm happy to be able to use fanfic (particularly about BtT) as my outlet.
Lastly, as a disclaimer, I do not own the rights to BtT and its characters.
Grace