Chapter Three

"You must hurry, Aodh," I insisted, my voice deceptively calm. "Everyone's waiting on you."

"Shut it, Fee!" he growled, fumbling with the clasps of his dress suit. "The less you bother me, the quicker I shall be done!"

It had been four years since our mother's death and our brothers' births. Aodh was now nine years old, and I, ten. We had changed significantly since then; we had become far more mature and knowledgeable for our age. The wound to our hearts had healed, but we were yet familiar with the gap that remained. And now, father was remarrying. Aodh was not in the best of moods, owing to his intricate suit when he would have much preferred to wear a simple tunic and pants.

"It's not as bad as you think," I said. In fact, it was the opposite. He truly looked the part of a prince in that suit.

"Yes it is," he mumbled, finally finishing the last clasp. "It makes me look silly."
I decided not to argue with him on the matter, but merely walked out the door to the outside. Aodh soon followed.

There we found the two red-haired twins, Fiachra and Conn, in finery, ready to come inside and get us. They were both just barely out of infancy, and already they were the best of friends. The twins did everything together, most of their deeds getting them into trouble. I smiled at them and nodded my head towards the chariot and the waiting driver, Connl. All of us walked towards the chariot with elegance.

Upon seeing us, Connl couldn't help but bark with laughter and said, "Save it for when we get there."

Excused from being formal, the twins began running to the chariot, entering it with identical expressions of excitement plastered all over their faces. Aodh and I walked faster, but did not run. Should we trip, our finery would become grass-stained, and it was not acceptable at weddings. Finally we entered the chariot. Connl pulled the back of the chariot up and fastened it securely to prevent any of us falling out.

"Hang on tight," Connl warned with a grin as he grasped the reins. "We're going to go fast."

Our horse, a bay stallion, snorted and started off, pulling the chariot with ease. The landscape seemed to pass us in a blur. Fiachra made to reach out and attempt to grab something, put I pulled his arm back, knowing that his arm could have been torn off.
The rest of the ride was somewhat uneventful, and though we were moving quickly, it seemed to take forever. Finally I saw the castle approaching, growing larger and larger as we got closer. As we reached the gates, it loomed over us, a giant fortress. We were met by guards who let us in, and stable-hands took our lathered horse and unfastened the back of the chariot.

Fiachra and Conn nearly toppled over each other to get out, eager to get to the wedding. Aodh and I walked out side-by-side as elegantly as we could, feeling self-conscious. We glanced at each other for reassurance, and then walked after the twins. Connl soon followed us.

"This'll be exciting, eh?" he asked us, a grin stretched across his face.
Aodh and I remained silent, our apprehensiveness now making itself evident. Connl chuckled in amusement at our nervousness.

"Alright, alright," he said, still smiling. "I understand. I will shut my mouth and leave you be."

Connl did indeed stay silent for the rest of the walk. Truthfully, I liked it when he talked to us—it kept me distracted from my pounding heart. I could not find the words to protest his silence, so I, too, stayed silent.

Trying to find other means of distraction, I listened to Fiachra and Conn chatter and trade good-natured insults. They were more excited than nervous, it seemed—polar opposites of Aodh and I. I envied them, and felt, somehow, that Aodh did too.

We soon entered the room that would prepare us for the wedding which would be held at the edge of a cliff overlooking beautiful green plains. We were to stand by our father to welcome his soon-to-be wife, Aoife. The twins would be on the right side of our father and Aodh and I would be on the left. We were all given a line to recite when the druid said a certain line. Everything I did was autonomous, my mind wandering to what would happen at the actual wedding. Finally, after much frustration, waiting, and anticipation the wedding began.

Father walked to the edge of the cliff first, standing in front of the druid that would bind him to Aoife forever as her husband. He looked very regal in his outfit—his robes the colors of the sea, embroidered with tiny depictions of white horses. His trimmed red beard and hair had been neatly combed and blazed red against his blue-and-green outfit, his dark eyes twinkling with happiness. There was no doubt in my mind that he truly loved Aoife.

Everyone's eyes suddenly turned to the pathway created by the guests of the party avoiding that one particular path for the sake of the groom and the bride. As I followed everyone's gaze, I saw her, walking gracefully through the isle.

Aoife was dressed in white finery, with a circlet of beautiful flowers atop her head like a crown. A white veil trailed from the circlet like hair, pulled back from her beautiful face. Her pale blue eyes twinkled with happiness not unlike my father's. Aoife's dress was almost pure white, the edge of the sleeves trailing nearly to the ground. My eyes fell to the hem of the dress, onto which was embroidered four large depictions of swans; their bead-eyes seemed full of sorrow. My eyes lingered upon the swans for a moment as they seemed significant to me somehow, though I could not explain it. As an uneasy feeling gripped my stomach, I forced myself to look at her smiling face. I immediately felt better.
She finally stood before my father, looking up into his eyes as the druid droned on in prayer. I could tell that they were both barely aware of the world around them, that the only ones privileged to be in this private world were Aodh, Fiachra, Conn, and I.

The rest of the prayers proved to be boring for the twins, both of them restlessly fiddling with their hands and then each other's hands, desperately trying to find something to do. Aodh and I remained still, both of us determined to remain regal as we should be.

Finally the prayers ended with Father and Aoife kissing each other, and the party began. There were no other children like us at the wedding, so all of us remained together. When night fell, many of the adults began acting silly and unusually sloppy, a mystery to Aodh, Fiachra, Conn and I. Connl, the only one who acted as he normally did, took us back home and left us with a caretaker, explaining that it was his honor to remain at the party for as long as it took.

It was three days and two nights before Father, Aoife, and Connl returned home, still in their wedding apparel, all in high spirits. Fiachra and Conn ran out to greet them while Aodh and I hung back in front of the door to our home, waiting for the adults to come to us.

"That was a wonderful wedding, was it not, Fee?" Aoife said as she approached me, sweeping me in a great hug. "It was a good experience for you, as you too will get married one day." She smiled and gently tapped her finger on my nose.

"I doubt it," I quipped, smiling to let her know that I was joking.

"I wouldn't be too sure," Aoife joked and warned at the same time.

After Father and Connl hugged me and more jokes were traded, we turned to enter the fort for breakfast.

Again, my eyes strayed to the swans embroidered on Aoife's wedding dress and again, the uneasy feeling came over me, a feeling I would later identify as foreboding.