A big thank you to Eunice339 for her beta work on this chapter.
CHAPTER TEN
NATALIE'S POV
I can't believe I am finally getting married to Max tomorrow. He only asked me two weeks ago, but after Andrew, I didn't think I would fall in love again so quickly. I think I probably have always loved Max. He has been my best friend, along with Hana, ever since we were small. But then I was seduced by the charms of an Erudite, which didn't work out, except for my two beautiful babies. It makes me wonder . . . if I had transferred, would I have been happy with Andrew or would I have just been with him for the children. Lucky for me I don't have to find out.
"Ready for tomorrow?" mum asks as she walks into my bedroom.
"I think so. Everything is done. Now I just have to wait."
"Are you going to be moving into Max's?"
"We've wanted to talk to you about that," I say. "Mum, what would you think if we knocked down the wall between Max's place and ours? I know you want me to take your leadership position next year and that would mean losing this apartment. If we knocked down the wall and remodelled a little, I think we could all live together. I know I would love for you to be close by."
"Are you sure you want your mother living with you? You will only have just gotten married, Natalie. Is Max okay with this idea?"
"It was actually Max's idea. We eventually want more kids and this would give us more room. Plus, we can build, like, an apartment within the apartment for you so that you can have your privacy. You'd also still get to live next door to Axel and Harper. I would love it if you were to say yes."
"Let me think about it first. We would still need to have the other leaders agree to this idea anyway," mum says. "I do want you to take my position, Natalie. I was even thinking we could swap roles and I could work part-time as the assistant while you take the leadership position. Although, I was thinking maybe you might want to wait a few years, have a few more babies first, then take the position."
"I can wait. I'm not sure I want to have any more children for a few more years anyway. Max and I have been talking about it. He seems to think that we should wait until the twins are a bit older before having more and I've only just turned seventeen, so we have plenty of time."
My wedding day is finally here! Hana decided that we needed to do more than 'just get married', so yesterday she and mum transformed the conference room into a beautiful garden. I don't know how they did it, but when I went to inspect it last night, it looked . . . magical. There is green fabric on the floor to make it look like grass. Mum must have contacted Amity, because there are a variety of different flowers and even a small tree now decorating the room with twinkling lights strung all around. Hana told me they are called 'fairy lights' and were once very popular during Christmas-time, back before the factions were created.
The conference room is on the top level of the Pire and looks out over the Pit. It has a glass ceiling and one wall is entirely covered by windows, too. The windows have all been left bare to allow in the natural light, but the other three walls in the room are hidden by foliage. After Max and I have taken our vows, tables will be brought in and Tony, the chef from the Italian restaurant where Max proposed, will personally serve us all a special meal from his restaurant. Once again, he has given us the meal for free. He told me that ever since we got engaged in his restaurant the bookings have gone through the roof and as of yesterday, they are booked out for the next six months.
The ceremony will start at sunset; Hana wants Max and I to be able to see the beauty of it through the glass ceiling as we exchange our vows. Then we will be able to dine under the magic of her fairy lights. I think I may just have to steal those lights when we are finished – I would love to put them in Tris' room.
My hair and makeup are done now. I am just waiting for my mum and Hana to come in and help me into my dress. I decided to go all out on my wedding dress. I actually got it from Candor. I decided that I didn't want to wear the traditional black dress that we would usually wear for a Dauntless wedding. I wanted to have the fairy tale – like I saw in the old movies and books from before the war. So, I have chosen a white, puffy dress instead.
When I went dress shopping in Candor, I couldn't believe my luck at finding an exact replica of the dress worn by a character named Cinderella in an old movie Max took me to see. Although the original dress had been blue and the seamstresses at Candor had recreated the dress in white, it was still completely over-the-top extravagant, but having Hana by my side made the decision extremely easy to make. She was so excited I bought it I thought she was going to wet her pants. So, now I have what I would call the most beautiful dress I have ever seen, hanging in my room, waiting for me to put it on and walk down the aisle.
The dress is completely opposite my usual persona. I'm not normally one to dress up very often and even then, I like everything to be simple and easy to wear. However, for this one very special day, I have decided to spoil myself and be a little self-indulgent. It's not like I will be getting married ever again, so I have decided to make this day as special as I can. Plus, I can't wait to see Max's face when he sees me in this fancy dress. Harper has already been gushing about how perfect Max looks in his suit – I think they once called them tuxedos. I have seen him in one before at his brother and my sister's wedding, so I can already image how dashing he is going to look and I can't wait to become his wife.
"Oh, Natalie, you look so beautiful," mum gushes.
"Auntie Natie, look at my . . . ooooh pretty," Zeke says with wonder as he enters the room. As our ring bearer, he looks so cute in his little suit, but I really hope he doesn't lose our rings. Although, they are just symbolic for the ceremony since we will get our tattoos tomorrow.
I crouch down, so I am at eye level with Zeke, and say to him, "Well, aren't you just the most dashing young man in your suit?"
"I know," says Zeke with all the confidence in the world.
"You are going to break a lot of hearts when you are older, Zeke. The girls are going to love you," I say.
"No girls! Yuck!" Zeke's face is scrunched up as he tells me this. I can't help but laugh because if he is anything like his father or uncle, he will be a very popular young man one day.
"Ready to go, Natalie?" mum asks from the doorway.
"Yes, but where's Hana?"
"I'm here, I'm here. Sorry . . . I was trying to get Tris into her dress. I swear she kept kicking her legs out and would not let me put it on her," Hana says as she walks into the room with Tris wearing a little white dress and Caleb in a little suit. I don't know where she found the outfits, but they both look so adorable. Hana is going to hold Tris and Nathaniel is going to hold Caleb so that they are both included in our wedding. "She is worse than you are when it comes to wearing dresses, Natalie."
"Okay," mum laughs. "Let's get moving."
We make the small walk from our apartment to the 'magical garden room', as I am calling it. Mum is walking next to me. She is going to walk me down the aisle today. It's sad that dad isn't here to do it, I think to myself. "Your father would be so proud of you, Natalie. I wish he were here to walk you down the aisle himself, but I know that wherever he is, he will be looking down on you with a smile on his face," mum whispers to me as if reading my mind.
"Thank you, mum," I say with tears already beginning to form in my eyes. I can't cry, I can't cry, I keep telling myself as we walk the rest of the way. We get to the door of the conference room and mum turns and hugs me. "I love you, Natalie. You have no idea how happy I am that you decided to stay in Dauntless and marry Max. I think you have made the right choice. Max is a good man and will love you till the day that you die . . . and beyond probably," mum laughs as she adds the last words. "I get to watch my grandchildren grow up and continue to watch my own baby grow. You are a beautiful woman, Natalie, and I couldn't be more proud of you."
"I love you too, mum," I whisper into her ear and she hugs me again. We both have tears in our eyes and she wipes away a few that have fallen onto my cheeks. Thank God Hana got the waterproof makeup.
Music starts to play and the conference room door swings open. I take a deep breath as we let Zeke walk down the aisle first. "Look at me, dad!" Zeke calls out as he sees his father. We all can't help but laugh. "You're looking pretty smooth there, buddy," Nathan tells Zeke.
"I know," says Zeke, echoing his earlier comment to me, but this time for all the guests to hear. The confidence this two-year-old has is unbelievable. A round of laughs can be heard from inside the room. Hana just shakes her head as she follows shortly behind him with Tris in her arms.
Mum links her arm with mine when it's our turn to walk into the room. It is a breathtaking sight as we enter. The fairy lights are all on and the sunset is happening above us. The sky is the colour of pink and purple because of the slight cloud cover. I move my eyes from the glass ceiling to look towards the front of the room and my breath catches in my throat. I can't believe how handsome my soon-to-be husband looks.
I walk the short distance to where Max is standing with Nathaniel and Caleb next to him. I look at my son and he looks adorable in his little suit. Mum unlinks her arm from mine, kisses my cheek and puts my hand into Max's. She then whispers in his ear, "You know what will happen if you don't look after my baby?"
"Yes, ma'am," Max replies as he winks at me and let's my mother kiss him on the cheek.
Xavier stands in front of Max and me and says, "Let's begin . . . I was fortunate enough, just a little over two years ago, to be able to link these two Dauntless dynasties together when Nathan and Hana were married and now it gives me great pleasure to be able to do it again. Natalie and Max, I have had the privilege of watching you grow from the day you were each born. And it wasn't long ago that I got to see you both take the jump to become full-fledged Dauntless members. Now, I get to unite the two of you as husband and wife. This is a great day, not only for you and your families, but also for Dauntless.
"Natalie and Max have gathered us here today, so that we can witness them unite and become one. We like things simple here in Dauntless; we like to get straight to the point. So, I will," Xavier says and everyone laughs.
"Maximus, do you take Natalie to be your lawfully wedded wife? To not cower in the face of injustice? To always seek peace within your family unit? To face every day together without fear? To stand up for one another?"
"I do," Max responds simply.
"Natalie, do you take Maximus to be your lawfully wedded husband? To not cower in the face of injustice? To always seek peace within your family unit? To face every day together without fear? To stand up for one another?"
"I do," I say with a smile. I see the relief on Max's face as I say those two words.
"By Dauntless Faction Law, I can now pronounce you husband and wife. Now, kiss already so we can all start drinking," Xavier says while Nathaniel and Axel both holler 'Hell yeah!'
Max pulls me to him and while looking into my eyes says, "You're so beautiful, Natalie. I can't believe you chose me."
I don't know what to say, so I decide to show him. I grab his collar and pull him to me, kissing him with all the ferocity I can. I want to show him that I love him; that I will always be by his side. I want to take that nagging self-doubt away from him. I know that he has been worrying that he was my second choice, but I know in my heart he isn't. I can't dismiss the relationship that I had with Andrew because it gave me such special gifts in Caleb and Tris. But it was more a teenage rebellion, the thrill of defying the faction laws. I never had the connection with Andrew that I have with Max, neither physically nor emotionally.
"Okay, okay," Axel says as he separates us from our kiss. "You will have plenty of time for that later. We want to get this little party going."
And we do. While it may only be our immediate family and friends here with us, it is the way that we wanted it to be. The children leave shortly after the ceremony and are thankfully all tucked away at Wyatt and Indiana's for the night, leaving Max and I free to enjoy our first meal together as husband and wife. Then we all move the tables to the side of the room so we can dance and drink among our friends until we are the only ones that remain, watching the beautiful sunrise the next morning, in each other's arms.