Arianna, Spring 3, 1:01 p.m.
The second everyone turned around to look at me, my stomach lurched. It wasn't the same nausea as before, but it certainly was uncomfortable. I willed it to go away, but it wouldn't.
That is, until I looked over at Gunie again. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was slightly open, but his expression quickly changed to a slightly shocked-looking smile. It was as though he couldn't look away.
My eyes clouded over with tears again.
Gunie, Spring 3, 1:02 p.m.
"Earth to Gunie," Tristan whispered. I didn't take my eyes off Arianna, especially since encouraging Tristan would just end up with both of us getting smacked upside the head with Lara's holy book.
"Shut up," I told him. "Just look at how beautiful your sister is."
"She is," Tristan replied. "But that doesn't mean you can just go to town on her tonight."
"We're in a church," I hissed, looking over at him.
"Like you care, atheist," Tristan teased.
"I'm agnostic," I muttered. "And so are you."
"Yeah," he replied. "That's true." He paused, and I thought he would finally shut up. "But that doesn't mean you can deflower my sister!"
"Shush!" I hissed, not even thinking to say that she already had been deflowered, and by me. "Is nothing sacred to you?"
"Oh, come on," he said. "You know I'm just messing with you, and I have plenty of respect for you two."
"Are you finished now?" I asked. Tristan didn't respond for a second.
"Girl titties," he said quickly.
"Go to hell," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
Arianna, Spring 3, 1:04 p.m.
As I reached the altar, I saw Tristan practically shove Gunie so he was standing next to me. I smiled, knowing how lucky I was that the two of them had become friends.
Lara started reading out of her book, and I frowned slightly. I had read that speech a million times, and as I looked over at Gunie, I could tell he felt the same way. But it was necessary, and we had to stand there through the boring part to get to the actual vows.
The vows…my eyes widened and my heart started pounding as I realized that I had left the paper that I had written the night before at the inn.
"And now the couple will exchange their vows," Lara said. It took a lot of willpower not to start cursing, crying, or both.
"Wait!" someone exclaimed from the congregation. All heads turned in the direction of the sound, and Liam came running up to me.
"It's not time for the rings yet, Liam," I told him.
"I know," he said. He started digging around in his pockets, and I gasped as I saw what he took out: the formerly missing paper. "I found this in your room. Is it important?"
"Very important," I told him approvingly. He quickly turned out to face the congregation.
"Look Mom!" he exclaimed. "I did something important! And I knew it was, because it had hearts all over it and it said 'I love you'!" There was a combination of laughs and coos from the crowd, and Liam attempted to take a bow. Luckily, Mom practically flew out of nowhere and snatched him up.
"Continue," she said quickly, as she made her way back to her seat.
While I was relieved I had found my written vows, I couldn't quite get over the mortification caused by my dear family.
Gunie, Spring 3, 1:10 p.m.
"Thank you, Liam," Lara said. "Are you ready, Arianna?"
I smiled sympathetically at a very flustered Arianna as she unfolded her sheet of paper. Her hands were trembling, and as she looked at me, I smiled gently again to let her know that everything was okay. She didn't seem to notice, though, and her breathing made me start worrying that she might have an asthma attack. Then, she opened her mouth, and I sighed with relief.
"Raguna Oceanus," she said, her voice sounding more confident than I had expected. I blushed, though, upon hearing my second name used.
In Norad, second names were traditionally given to children when they were two years old. In other words, they were given when a kid was less likely to die. I had no idea what my parents were thinking with "Oceanus," despite the fact that my first name had a water-related derivation.
She looked up at me, and didn't break eye contact for a second, other than to glance at the paper.
"Years ago, I met a sad boy. A tragic hero, who had arms that carried a heavy burden. Still, the ones he loved, he loved with all his heart. Sadly, he didn't know if he could trust them." She paused. "You chose to trust me, Gunie, so forever, I will trust and love you. You are the only man I could ever love, and I promise to be a loyal friend and a loyal wife. Forever."
At that point, my mouth was open, and my eyes were wide. I already knew that Arianna loved me, but to hear her say it with such eloquence left me stunned.
"Gunie," Lara said after a moment. I blinked.
"Oh, sorry," I said quickly. I took my written vows out of my pocket, and prepared to read them.
Arianna, Spring 3, 1:15 p.m.
My trembling hands calmed as he started to read.
"In sickness and in health," he said, smiling nervously at me. "That's what they always say, but this phrase is taken for granted too often. You, Arianna Vivienne, have exemplified this more than anyone I have ever known. In my times of sickness, I remember your compassion and willingness to help me and comfort me. That sickness is inevitable, but I know we will work together to bring ourselves back to the state of health. I promise to help you, to comfort you, and to love you with all my heart."
I was doing everything in my power not to burst into tears of joy, but they started to fall anyway.
"Now, for the official vows," Lara said. She turned to Gunie, and smiled. "Raguna, do you take this woman to be your wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Gunie, Spring 3, 1:21 p.m.
My heart pounded, and I didn't know why. They were just two little words, and I really wanted to say them. I breathed deeply.
"I do," I said, suddenly smiling broadly.
"And you, Arianna," Lara said, turning again to Arianna. "Do you take this man to be your husband, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Arianna, Spring 3, 1:22 p.m.
I inhaled slowly, preparing to say the two words that would forever change my life.
"I do," I said as the tears started back up.
"I now pronounce you man and wife," Lara said with an overjoyed smile. She looked over at Gunie. "You may kiss the bride."
By then, the applause was so thunderous that I could barely hear Lara. Gunie stepped closer to me, and lifted the veil away from my face. Then, we kissed, and it felt almost exactly like our first kiss as teenagers. The applause escalated, and he hugged me.
"Why are you crying?" he asked gently.
"Because I'm happy," I told him.
We let go of each other, and we started to walk back down the aisle, but that time, we were together as husband and wife.
Yay! I haven't worked on this in forever, but I felt the need to revisit it.
I love all of Tristan and Gunie's exchanges. I love them in general, though.
The next few chapters are going to be interesting. In other words, lots of drunk people. Drunk Tristan. Need I say more?
