RPOV

The bright lights filtering through the curtains woke me far too early for my liking. Even after my midnight rendezvous with Dimitri, sleep hadn't come easy and I wasn't looking forward to the spectacle I was about to star in.

If it had been up to me we would have pulled a page out of the Adrian/Sydney playbook and hitched a ride to Vegas, but of course Lissa wouldn't even hear of it. This wedding was a big deal both personally and politically and as the Queen's personal guardian I was expected to treat it as such.

Like I really gave a crap what a bunch of snotty Royals thought about my nuptials.

"Rise and shine!" Lissa called out pushing her way through the door.

I'd been hoping for a few more minutes of quiet before the circus started but apparently her Highness had other ideas.

Normally I would have complained about the sudden intrusion but the box of Krispy Kremes in her hands convinced me otherwise.

Hey all's well that ends in doughnuts…

"Okay Rose, last chance to back out of this." Sydney teased coming to sit beside me on the bed. Thanks to her ever growing stomach it was a lot harder than it should be.

"Not gonna happen." I told her in between large bites of doughnuts and both girls laughed at my total lack of etiquette.

"Let's just hope she has better table manners at the reception." Lissa giggled.

After a satisfying number of doughnuts the beauty police arrives and I spent the next several hours in front of a vanity table letting Lissa treat me like her own my size Barbie.

Thanks to last night's festivities it was nearly noon before the rest of the girls were among the living. Victoria, who had taken it upon herself to drink my share of the alcohol herself was a walking/talking definition of a hung over bridesmaid and the source of my afternoon entertainment.

Much to my surprise the day actually passed rather quickly and before I knew it we were ready to head over to the chapel.

I thought I'd feel more nervous the closer the wedding came, but as the clock ticked down I was still the picture of serenity. I guess that's what happens when you are marrying your soul mate.

I was standing in front of the mirror appraising Lissa's handy work when I caught sight of his reflection standing behind me in the mirror. In a shocking turn of events he was actually dressed halfway reasonable; the only outward sign of his usual flamboyance was the small gold hoop earring he couldn't part with.

"You look beautiful Kiz." Abe smiled at me fondly.

He may not have been around much when I was a child, but he'd more than made up for it in the last couple of years, and I was happy that he could be here today.

"How's Dimitri?" I asked, trying not to dwell on Abe's amused smirk.

"He got off to a rough start this morning but don't worry, we got him all sorted out."

I wasn't really sure what to make of such a cryptic answer but I was probably better off not knowing.

"Okay Rose, it's time!" Lissa announced shuffling back into the room. Behind her trailed Sydney along with the rest of the Belikov women.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" My mother asked walking into the room last. She had a small jewelry box in her hands and I could almost see the light bulb go on in Lissa's head.

"The presents!" she squealed smacking a palm to her forehead.

"What presents?" I asked, my eyes searching the crowded room.

"Oh come on Rose, they're a tradition." Lissa reminded me rolling her eyes.

Oh yes, I remember this now. We had to do this whole charade for Lissa's wedding with the something old, new, borrowed and blue. Personally I didn't really believe in superstitions but like everything else about this wedding I knew it was easier to just humor her.

"Okay so your dress is your something new." Lissa announced proudly.

We'd spent weeks searching for the perfect dress and in the end, Lissa got sick of all my rejections and had enlisted the court seamstress to get me something custom made. At the time I thought it was all pretty ridiculous but the second I stepped into that dress, I turned into a total girl. With a tasteful sweetheart neck line and a figure slimming cut, the dress itself turned out to be perfection and I had to admit I looked damn good in it. You could barely even make out my growing bump!

"For your something old." Olena told me, handing over a square box. I opened the lid to reveal a beautiful and delicate lace veil. It was stunning.

"Yeva wore this veil the day she married my father." Olena explained, taking the veil out of the box and moving to place it in my hair.

I lifted my head to scan the room, only to lock eyes with Yeva.

"A family heirloom." She told me simply with a small nod of her head. Yeva wasn't a woman of many words, and I knew that simple statement was her way of officially welcoming me into the family.

"Thank you." I whispered, too emotional to come up with anything more eloquent.

"Okay here's your something borrowed." Sydney stepped forward, flinging a shiny silk garter into my face. "And I wan't that back by the way." she winked causing the other girls in the room to giggle.

I stole a quick glance at my father and noticed he was an unusual shade of pink. I had to stifle a laugh about that one. I guess even after years of living with Dimitri and a baby on the way, he liked to pretend I didn't have any kind of sex life.

Fathers…

When he caught me staring at him he suddenly cleared his voice and stepped forward with my mother.

"And here's your something blue." Janine said placing the mysterious velvet box in my hand.

My breath caught in my throat the moment I opened the lid. Nestled safely inside was a beautiful pair of large sapphire and diamond earrings. There was a small cluster of diamonds at the base and a large tear dropped shaped sapphire hanging underneath.

"Now I know these earrings might be a little opulent for your taste, but they belonged to my mother and you can't deny their beauty." Abe added from beside my mother.

I had to admit he was right. The earrings weren't something I'd have ever allowed myself to splurge on, but that didn't mean I wasn't in love with them.

"They're perfect." I smiled, already removing the small diamond stud earrings I'd put in earlier. I took the new earrings out of their box, still marveling over their sheer beauty.

"There, now you are officially perfect." Lissa decided once the new earrings were in place.

"Thank you." I said, looking around at all the faces in the room. There was a lot of love around here and I could feel those traitorous hormonal tears trying to fight their way to the surface. I held them at by for now, but something told me that by the time this day was over they will have won the war.

"Are you ready?" Abe asked, extending a free arm out to me.

I took it gratefully, along with a deep breath before we headed towards the exit.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Next chapter is the Wedding! : ) Reviews Please.