A/N: Hey everyone! This chapter is where everything goes crazy. I'm sorry that it goes back and forth between points of view so many times. I think it's for the best though. It just seems right to me; it just makes sense. Next chapters will even out though, promise.
My Shining Sun
BlackLaceBeauty
Chapter Seven
For Whom the Bells Toll
~Stella~
Well, here I was, sitting in a room in the basement of the oldest, and smallest, church in town. About to be married to a guy whom I did not know in the least.
Yesterday I spent the day with Ivan who tried to keep my mind off of today. School had been cancelled yesterday due to the fact that over half of the toilets didn't work thanks to the mysterious stink bomber. Ivan tried to keep me in an upbeat mood, especially when I learned that my weeding would be on none other than the very next night. It was great to spend the day with my brother, but not as great as it should've been. Everything went in a blur today. School went well I guess. I don't remember anything except that Gabby kept asking what was wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her.
Now I sat in a metal folding chair wearing my best black dress slacks and pumps. Over my skin toned strapless bra I wore a skin toned strapless camisole. It's amazing how fast things can change, isn't it? I wondered with a sigh what my groom would be like.
/V\/V\/V\/V\
~Carlisle~
Solomon showed up to my house again quite suddenly today. I had only been home from work no more than twenty minutes when he had knocked at my door.
"Carlisle, good, you're here. It's time; I need your help."
"With your client?"
"Yes, everything's together and I need you to sign this quickly. We need to get going."
I signed the paper without a second thought. I didn't even look at what it said. The way Solomon was acting made me think that maybe the patient had gone into a critical state. We took his car but we never ended up at a residence or hospital. We ended up at a little old white church. It was odd to say the least. Why would this patient be at a church? Was he or she too ill to move any further? Or did he just want to feel closer to God? I wasn't sure. I was fully ready to help with the situation, but Solomon led me into a small office. I was expecting to see other doctors gathered for briefing but no, the office was empty.
"Where is the rest of the staff?" I asked Solomon.
"Oh, they'll be here, don't worry." Solomon said sweetly. "Now, I need you to stay here until I come back for you. So, don't leave unless you want to ruin this for the patient and his family. I'll be back in about thirty minutes!" He left with a smile on his face; a smile I didn't like. What was Solomon up to?
I had been in the office perhaps five minutes when a knock came at the office door.
"Come in, I called, and entered a tall young man with beige hair.
"Hello," he said in a thick Russian accent. "I just wanted to give you, how you say, a warning."
When I said nothing he went on with his message, his tone of voice becoming rather menacing.
"If you so much as hurt or upset my baby sister to the tiniest degree, so help me I will get my water pipe from my car and smash it through you skull then bury your lifeless carcass in a snowdrift deep in Siberia. You understand da?"
The man had an aura about him that made me undoubtedly believe what he had just said. I could tell that this man, a human, could easily kill me if he wanted to somehow. That fact was more terrifying than the Volturi; that fear shattered my poker face.
"Yes, I-I understand," I finally managed to say.
"Great," he said with a genuinely warm smile. "I will leave you alone now. Treat her good."
The man left, closing the door behind him. Who was he and why had he given me that speech? More specifically, why did he tell me to treat his baby sister well? What was going on here?
/V\/V\/V\/V\
~Stella~
It was so silent in the room that I about jumped out of my skin when a knock came at the door.
"Who is it?" I brought myself to ask.
"Little sister, it is me," my brother, Ivan, called from the other side of the door.
"Oh, Ivan, come in."
My big brother, who towered over my five feet five at six feet two, entered the room with a garment bag in his hand.
"Baby sister, you're crying!" he said as he sat the bag down.
"Am not!" I said defiantly. "It's a nervous reaction!"
"It's okay," Ivan said as he wrapped me in a bear hug. "Brides are supposed to cry on their wedding day or so I hear."
"That's out of happiness," I wailed softly. "I'm scared, Ivan. I'm really scared!"
"I know baby, I know." He smoothed my dark blonde hair with strawberry tints. My long bangs had already been braided.
"You do not have to do this, Stella." Ivan told me. "I can take you home right now and we can watch movies or something instead of you subjecting yourself to this. Don't make yourself unhappy."
"I can't watch him suffer! It hurts me too much…"
"It hurts me too. But you've watched this go on for longer than I have. I can only admire your strength."
"That's why I have to do this. If their side comes through… I'll never regret this."
"You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do. Now I have to stop crying and get my makeup on." I squirmed my way from my brother's arms and made my way to the mirror that had been placed in the room. It was as I finished putting on my makeup that I noticed the bag that Ivan had brought in. Also I noticed that my brother was wearing a relatively nice suit and tie. Not a tux, but very classy.
"What's in the bag?" I asked.
"I thought that if this is your big day, it should at least be a little special no matter the circumstance. So I brought this. It was my grandmother's. You are closer to her size than my mother ever was. Before my grandmother died she told me that she wished very much that someone in the family could one day wear this as part of their wedding. It was left to me and now I'm giving it to you, my baby sister." Ivan unzipped the bag, revealing a beautiful white blouse. It was lacy, elegant, and timeless.
"Oh Ivan…" I was astounded. I knew it was hard for Ivan to talk about his late biological family. "It's beautiful; you shouldn't have."
"Nonsense. Here, try it on."
I put on the blouse and it fit perfectly. It silhouetted my slender frame showing my curves. I looked like one of those timeless actresses from an old black and white film. I pinned my hair up with the braids crowning my head. The back of the blouse was lined by silk pearl buttons.
"Could you get the buttons?" I asked Ivan.
"Of course."
As Ivan buttoned up the blouse he told me," I'm not sure what happened to the skirt. I think it may have been destroyed during a war."
"Shame," I said. "I'm sure it was as beautiful as the blouse." I said as I felt the lace along the cuffs of the long sleeves. Ivan chuckled as he finished buttoning the blouse. Then he sighed.
"Look at you. You look lovely. Any bride would be jealous if they saw you." I blushed, which made him laugh. "It is true, so don't try to deny it. This also is an antique, but not an heirloom. I guess it could be though, if you passed it down to your daughter or granddaughter one day. I was supposed to send this to you for your sixteenth birthday, but I got caught up in things. I found it in an antique shop in a suburb of Moscow."
I gasped as big brother tied a blue ribbon holding a silver oval pendant around my neck. It was embedded with small diamonds that sparkled in the light. "It's gorgeous! Thank you, it's unbelievable!"
"You're welcome. It suits you."
A knock came at my door. The knock was much louder than Ivan's had been.
"Ten minutes," A voice called.
I started to shake again and again Ivan held me in his arms.
"You can get out of this Stella," Ivan reminded me.
"I'm not going to do that; I can't."
"I know you won't. You're too sweet. But listen to me. If you don't like him or change your mind, we will get you out of this. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you my baby sister. I know it is unlikely you'll change your mind and it would be after they came through if you did, but you can get out of it."
"I know. If I do what to get out, you will be the first to know; especially if I need someone to force my bridegroom away. I'm just scared that he won't treat me good. That and a few other things…"
"You're thinking of the consummation part of the contract, aren't you? Before I came in here I had a little talk with your bridegroom. He seemed nice but if he was acting I think my message went through loud and clear. If he doesn't do good by you… Well, I have my ways."
"I know you do." I grinned at my big brother then sighed as something else hit me. "Mom and dad aren't here, are they?"
"No, just me."
"The moderators won't even let my own parents or the rest of my family come to the wedding." I said sadly. "I am happy you are here, though. You're the best big brother ever, Ivan!" I hugged him around the waist.
"You're the best, strongest, and bravest sister a guy could ever wish for," he told me as he hugged me back.
Another knock came at the door; this time saying that it was time.
"It's time," I said very quietly. "I'm supposed to have an escort. Would you escort me down the aisle, Ivan?"
"I would be honored. Hold on a second. You have something old, something new, and something blue." Ivan said, referring to the blouse, the pendant, and the ribbon that supported the pendant. "Now you just need something borrowed. Ah, I know! Take this," Ivan said as he unpinned the pin from the lapel of his jacket; the pin was a small Russian flag. It was the pin he wore when he went to world meetings. He pinned it to my blouse.
Ivan offered me his elbow and I took it as he helped me up the stairs. The doors to the sanctuary opened and we slowly started down the aisle to no music. My hand tightened around Ivan's arm as I saw the two black curtain boxes on the stage. I knew in the one to my left, my groom waited.
/V\/V\/V\/V\
~Carlisle~
When thirty minutes had passed, just as Solomon had promised, he returned. He had a worried look on his face although it seemed almost faked.
"Everything is ready but there has been a possibly serious complication arise," Solomon said.
"What's going on?" I asked warily. What has he been up to? Had investigators come after him again? I wasn't going to cover for him this time if they were.
"I set everything up but at the last minute one of the family members stopped the other doctors from setting their equipment up. They claimed that all this was a trick; that I only planned to provide a placebo."
"The other doctors are already here? Why wasn't I told?"
"I wanted you to stay up here to provide support for the patient's family as this is very stressful on them and honestly I've never met a doctor as good with patient support as you are. People just seem to trust you so well."
"You could've told me that from the start, Solomon." I said.
"I told you that you would be working closely with the patient's family. Anyway, they want to have one of the doctors take part in a traditional trust ceremony; for assurance that we are not trying to fool them. Since all the others are already prepped, I was thinking you could be the one to take part. It's a very simple ceremony."
"Alright, what do I need to do?" I finally said, going along with Solomon's urgings.
"Nothing much. Just stand there and follow along with what they tell you to do. It shouldn't last very long. They told me ten minutes, tops."
Solomon led me out of the office and into the sanctuary of the church. It was simple, plain wooden pews leading up to a small stage where two cloth cubicles were set up in the place that I assumed the pulpit usually was. Solomon told me to go into the one to the left and I did. I waited while the member of the patient's family came out so the ceremony could begin. I actually found this intriguing; how often did one get to witness, let alone take part in, a ceremony that had probably been around about as long as I have. Studying various cultures was a pastime of mine, so this was interesting to me.
I heard footsteps approach the stage. One set stepped onto the stage while the other sat down, I assume. The moderator of the ceremony asked me to place my hand through a slit in the curtain before me. I did so and a small, feminine hand was placed into mine. With our palms touching a satin ribbon began to be wound around our hands starting at my wrist going to hers. The ribbon started to sear my skin. That alone should have set me off. Nothing except fire caused my kind pain when touched to skin. It burned her hand too; I heard a hiss come from the other side of the curtain. The sound of people silently leaving the church filled my ears. There were only a few people there to begin with though.
After a few minutes and some chanting in a language I did not understand, the ribbon was removed. The girl yanked her hand from mine, most likely trying to nurse the pain. My own hand still stung and a strange feeling began to envelope my body. My usually pale skin was tinged pink from the ribbon. I was handed a small gold ring. It couldn't be for what I thought it was, was it? I was told to put both of my hands through the opening this time. This time, the girl's hand was missing and, from the sound of things, had to be forced back into the opening and held there. I held her left hand and felt another hand tightly holding her wrist. I didn't want to go through with this now. Every one of my instincts told me to run, but I couldn't. A force beyond my control had taken over me, as against my will, I slipped the ring onto her finger. Then her hand was gone and I heard her run from the stage and out the door. Just what had I done?
The force that had controlled me was gone almost as suddenly as it had come. I exited the box and saw Solomon sitting calmly in the front row pew with a smug grin on his face. It was infuriating.
"Just what happened here?" I demanded.
"Didn't you feel it, Carlisle? I know you did because you were a part of it. That was some pretty strong mojo, huh?" Solomon said nonchalantly.
"Mojo?" I asked, not in the mood for one of his games.
"Yeah, mojo; you know, magic. Man, too bad you didn't get to see your bride, Carlisle. She's a looker."
"Bride! What are you talking about?"
"You just got married! Sorry, I forgot to bring the rice to throw."
"I certainly did not just get married, Solomon. I never even signed a marriage agreement." I persisted, even though things were starting to make sense.
"Yes, you did. Here you go," Solomon said as he handed me the paper I had signed before coming here.
The paper was a certified marriage license. And I had signed my name to it. The man who gave me the speech in the office, about treating his little sister well, he must have known. He must have thought that I knew as well. His sister must have been the girl in the other booth; my new bride, apparently. Alice had foreseen something big happening and I suppose now this was it. The moral of this story: if someone wants you to sign something, read the paper first.
"Let's get you to your bride!" Solomon said as I continued to stare at the license. I looked at him, still furious that he had tricked me into this. "I think they've caught her by now."
"I will not," I said. "The gall you have for tricking me into something like this!"
"Oh Carlisle, get over it! I did you a favor. You were lonely after Esme left you and it was about time you got over her. Now you've got a new bride to do just that. Now come on, let's go. You don't want to disappoint her do you?"
"You disgust me, Solomon. I don't know what you've done to this girl and her family, but I'm sure it's sick and wrong. I'm going to meet this girl and hopefully work out this mess that you created. After today I never want to see you here or anywhere else."
"Fine, she's at her place now. The moderators will take you there."
I was taken to the girl's home where inside there were two guards stood in front of a bedroom door. I looked down the hall and saw the girl's brother sitting in a chair, polishing a metal water pipe with a red and white cloth. He hadn't been bluffing, it seemed; he glared at me as I was pushed into the bedroom. The room was dark but I could see just fine. I looked around and saw a young lady sitting on the bed blindfolded, her hands tied behind her back. I gasped at the sight, appalled at whoever did this to her and got her into this. When she realized I was in the room, she began to panic.
