Disclaimer: I don't own Bloodlines.

Sydney and Adrian are finally getting married!

Mrs. Ivashkov

I smiled at my reflection. This was one of the few times where I actually believed that I was beautiful, and it brought an old memory back to mind.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth."

My hair had been left in a simple side ponytail that fell over my left shoulder, and in the sunshine, it shone like gold. A white veil covered me all the way down to my arms. I wore a white dress with straps, and a skirt that flowed down like a waterfall. The shimmery fabric of the skirt reminded me of the flowing nature of water. I almost couldn't recognize myself in the mirror, and I turned away from my reflection.

Today, I was getting married to Adrian. After several long years of dating secretly, we would finally marry.

It had taken a lot of effort for us to get to this point, with my breaking my golden lily tattoo, shipment off to Re-education, Adrian's rescuing me…but we were finally here. No one could possibly ruin the love and romance of my wedding day.

I hurried out of my make-up room and into the car that was waiting for me. I slid in, and the car began to drive to the flower garden where I would get married.

If I'd had a chance, I would've chosen to get married in Rome or Florence. I had yet to see those places in person, but Adrian had said we should get married somewhere quiet first. I wondered where we were going to for our honeymoon, but I knew better than to ask. He would simply give me very vague, infuriating answers, and I always wanted to know everything.

I looked over at the empty seat beside me, and sighed. Traditionally, my father should've been the one to walk me down the aisle, but ever since I had left the Alchemists…we hadn't spoken. I spoke to my mom, Carly, and even Zoe occasionally. My mom was waiting for me at the outdoor venue Adrian and I had chosen to hold our wedding, and she would walk me down the aisle.

Despite my strained relationship with my father, I had kind of hoped that if I got married, he would walk me down the aisle. I sighed to myself. He would certainly be appalled if he knew that I was marrying a Moroi, and accuse me of consorting with "unnatural creatures of the night." All he knew was that I had escaped Re-education, and that was that.

The garden came into view, and I caught my breath. All kinds of flowers were in bloom, filling the entire garden with color. Reds, blues, whites, pinks… I even saw a few lilies growing near the entrance. There were some fountains interspersed throughout the garden, and I noted that some of them were done in a neo-Classical style, with figures from Greek mythology.

I stepped out of my car, and thanked the driver. The few guests Adrian and I had invited were all seated in the rows of chairs.

My mom was already waiting for me behind a row of rosebushes. Happiness rose in me when I saw her. I was actually somewhat glad that it was her walking me down the aisle instead of my father.

"Sydney!" she exclaimed when she saw me and hurried over to hug me. I couldn't help the smile that was breaking across my face. "Careful, don't mess up your dress. You look beautiful today."

As I pulled away from the hug, I regarded her for a moment. It was strange, how I bore so much resemblance to my father yet we shared nothing in common. I had inherited my love of cars from my mom, who worked as a mechanic.

Her green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Today's your big day. I had always hoped to see the day that you would fall in love and get married."

Compared to my father, my mom was very easygoing and relaxed. It was a refreshing change to his coldness and criticism. When I'd first told her that I was dating a Moroi royal, she had been considerably shocked, but over time, had come to like Adrian a lot and supported our relationship.

Soon, I could hear the opening notes of a soft song on the piano, and I watched as Eddie, Jill, Trey, and Angeline walked down the aisle in two pairs. I'd chosen Jill and Angeline as my bridesmaids, even though I'd been a bit wary of choosing Angeline. God knew what would happen, but after debriefing her on mainstream America wedding customs, she'd promised that there would be no wrestling or brawls involved. So far, all seemed well, and Adrian had chosen Eddie and Trey as his groomsmen.

As I looked down the aisle, I could see Adrian standing with Marcus, and they were both dressed in tuxes. It was amazing how Adrian and Marcus had gone from punching each other during their first meeting to pretty close friends. I noted that Marcus was holding two boxes in his hands, and my heartbeat went a little faster.

Adrian had insisted that he didn't care if a human or Moroi priest married us, as long as we were together. Rose had suggested that we have Father Andrew, a Moroi priest from St. Vladimir's Academy, marry us, and I'd readily agreed.

The chords of "Here Comes the Bride" soon filled the air, and my mom squeezed my hand, a slight smile on her face. "It's our turn," she murmured.

I held on to her arm and we walked down the aisle slowly, to the beats of the song. I tried to concentrate on just keeping in time with "Here Comes the Bride," but it was hard. I actually wanted to rush to Adrian and be in his arms. Everyone rose as I passed by on my mom's arm, and I caught glimpses of people I knew in my periphery. Ms. Terwilliger, Kristin, Julia, Rose…

Then I was there with Adrian, and my heart beat even faster. He looked amazing in a tuxedo, and his stunning emerald eyes shone with happiness even though he looked like he was trying to keep from smiling widely. I couldn't help but smile at him, feeling like my heart would burst of happiness. Very soon, we would belong to each other and no one else.

My mom took my hand and placed it in Adrian's. When I turned my head to look at her, tears were flowing down her cheeks, but she was smiling through her tears. I smiled at her too, afraid I was going to start crying, and then turned to face the priest with Adrian at my side.

Father Andrew welcomed our wedding guests and offered some advice to us about marriage, but I couldn't really hear it. I was mostly focused on Adrian, and I had to fight hard to keep from peeking at him from under my veil.

Then Father Andrew asked Adrian, "Do you, Adrian Ivashkov, accept Sydney Katherine Sage as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Adrian answered, and I just wanted to cry with happiness, even though that was very unlike me.

Father Andrew turned to me, and asked, "Do you, Sydney Katherine Sage, accept Adrian Ivashkov as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," I said, and I was shocked to realize that tears were slipping down my cheeks. I couldn't hold my emotions of joy and happiness back any longer.

We spoke very simple traditional vows. Adrian vowed, "I, Adrian Ivashkov, take you, Sydney Katherine Sage, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

"I, Sydney Katherine Sage, take you, Adrian Ivashkov, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part," I said, locking eyes with Adrian. I could almost see the love and affection that had burned between us for so long.

It was now time to exchange rings. Marcus stepped up to us with the boxes and gave the rings to us before backing away. Our rings were both silver with diamonds, and the rest of the band was decorated with tiny little crystals.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Adrian said solemnly, slipping my wedding ring over my finger.

I repeated those same words as I slid the ring onto Adrian's finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," Father Andrew stated. "You may now kiss the bride."

Adrian lifted the veil from my face and we just gazed into each other's eyes. I felt like I was falling into those endless emerald pools, and I could see his love for me in them. I closed my eyes as Adrian kissed me, and put my arms around his shoulders. I could hear applause from the audience. Our kiss started out soft and gentle, but gradually turned more passionate and I could feel his tongue slipping in between my lips. My mouth parted, and we just stood there French kissing. It was like the rest of the world didn't exist, because there was no one else but Adrian.

Then I could hear whistles from the audience, and pulled away a little, but Adrian moved with me, keeping his lips on mine for another moment for pulling away.

I wanted to scold him a little for kissing me so long, but there was a very cheeky look in his green eyes as he leaned down to me. "Hello, Mrs. Ivashkov," he murmured in my ear. "Or should I say Lady Ivashkov?"

I smiled widely at him, and slipped my hand in his. Mrs. Ivashkov. I liked the sound of that. "Anything is fine, Lord Ivashkov," I teased.

We turned to face our wedding guests, and it really hit me that we were married. We would be together forever, because marriage was a binding promise. It wouldn't be broken. We would be love and cherish each other until death parted us, and we would look out for each other every day. Life wouldn't be easy – it never was, with Adrian around – but as long as we had each other to take strength from, we would make it through. Nothing would tear us apart from each other again.

Author's note: Suggestion by RoNfOrThEwIn! The more reviews/ideas, the more stories that will come out ;D