Author's note: I just want to take a little time to give a special thanks to shrimpeater, who came up with the BRILLIANT idea that she will draw the wedding scene from the last chapter! I'll post up the link once it's finished onto my profile! I trust it will be amazing! We're discussing details now, and things are coming along quite well... Also, thanks to those who reviewed on the last chapter, it really made me happy (That includes you, shrimpeater)! Well, let's go to the wedding reception at the beach resort! Here is Chapter 11 of Light of My Shadow...
Silver's POV
As soon as we kissed, I knew Shadow was just as excited as I was...!
Everyone cheered, cried, or both once we began walking back down the aisle. I held Shadow's hand tightly as we approached the limo for us. Shadow opened the door for me, and I entered after I waved good-bye to my friends and family. Shadow closed the door and got in the other side. I let my window down, shouting my farewells with Shadow waving next to me. The crowd of people kept on cheering and waving, then the limo's horn honked several times.
Then, we began to leave towards the beach resort for our wedding reception...
I turned to Shadow. He smiled passionately, and kissed my cheek. I giggled, and hugged him tightly.
"We're married, Shadow! I'm so excited that we're...that you and I are..."
Shadow silenced me with a kiss on the lips. He looked into my eyes, "I know, baby. I'm excited as well...it's been a great day so far, and I think it's going to get a lot better now that I'm married to you."
I snuggled into his chest, "Aw, you're a sweetheart, Shads! I love you!"
Shadow kissed my head, admiring my flower hairpiece, "I love you too. I like this flower. Where did you get it?"
"Hmm?" I took the piece from behind my ear, "What, this? Oh, Mom gave it to me. It was hers when she married my dad."
"Is that so?" He took it from me and sniffed it as if it were a real flower. "It's beautiful...it suits you well."
I tried to snag it back from him, laughing, "Hey! It's not real, you silly hedgehog! Give it back!"
He laughed too, "Nope. It's ours, now. We're married, so it's also mine."
I soon gave up, and I hugged him again, "Ready for the party?"
Shadow nodded, "Oh yeah! I want to spend the rest of this day, tomorrow, and the next day...forever...with you, because I love you so much!"
I giggled, then kissed him as we got close to the resort.
The Écouter de Plage de D'Coolette was in sight. We were here.
The limo pulled up to the entrance, and Shadow opened the door. He was just about to leave, but I pulled him back for another kiss. He gladly accepted it.
He then broke it, much to my disappointment, and took my hand. "Ready?"
I shrugged, "I guess so...whenever you are."
He grinned and led me out of the limo. We walked into the building, hand-in-hand, and went up to the reception desk. A tall, white cat was sitting behind it, and she looked at us through her glasses.
"May I help you two?"
Shadow cleared his throat, "Yes, we have reservations for the Banquet Room for a wedding reception."
She typed on her computer, "Name, please?"
"Shadow and Silver the Hedgehog."
She typed a little more, then looked back at us, "Ah, yes...here you are...congratulations, by the way. The Banquet Room in the East Wing...it's to your right and down a long hallway. You'll see signs leading to it."
After we thanked her, we made our way to our reserved room. It was just...stunning. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling over the dance floor. The band was already there, setting up their instruments and their microphones. Waiters and waitresses were setting up the tables and filling glasses with champagne. A small group of people were there as well, and I didn't recognize who they were until we got closer. It was Mom, Dad, Blaze, Sonic, Amy, Espio, and Uncle Lumino and his family with my cousins, Sol and Neon.
"Hey, there they are!" He shouted as we greeted them.
I hugged my cousins. I hadn't seen them since Christmas...
Sol gave me a small noogie, "We're proud of you, Silv! It's just hard to believe you're married now!"
Neon agreed, "Yep, and I have my camera, so I can take as many pictures as I want!"
Sol sighed, "You mean the one I bought you, and that you almost broke the first day?"
"Uh...yeah...that one..."
I smiled and took Shadow's hand again. He squeezed lightly in reply. A dark brown hedgehog came up behind Sol and wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, sweetie...is this the new couple?"
Sol jumped a little, but turned and giggled, "Yeah it is..."
She then turned back to us, "Oh, allow me to introduce to you my new boyfriend. This is Vice...Vice, this my cousin Silver, and his new husband Shadow."
Vice shook our hands, "I'm pleased to meet you guys. Sol's been telling me a lot about you, and it's an honor to meet you both in person."
Shadow nodded, "We appreciate you coming to celebrate."
A waiter came up to us with a tray. "Stuffed mushroom?"
Sol, Vice and I took one. I took a bite...it was perfectly cooked. I looked at Shadow, and held it up to him, "Want some, babe?"
He gave a little scoff, then bit into it.
"Like it?"
"Mmm-hmmm..." He swallowed, "It's delicious."
We greeted everyone else as more began to flood in. Soon, the whole room was getting crowded. I saw Antione and Bunny D'Coolette, the owners of the resort, and I went to thank them.
Bunny gave me a warm hug, "Congrats, sugar! I hope y'all have fun on your honeymoon! I sho hope ever'thing's just the way ya like."
Antione put an arm around her, "We worked very hard to make zis the way you wanted. It is beautiful, oui?"
I nodded, "It's perfect. Thank you both so much for doing this for Shadow and I! It means so much to us!"
Bunny winked, "Anything fo' our friends, sugar!"
A waiter then came up to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have you attention for a moment, please?"
The people then hushed.
The waiter continued, "Thank you. You should have gotten your cards to your assigned tables at this time. If you would please make your way to the dining area, we would greatly appreciate it."
Shadow took my hand, "Come on, love. We have to get to our table, or else they'll have to drag us there."
I grinned as I followed him.
The band leader came up to the microphone in front of her onstage, once everyone was seated.
"Hello, everyone!" She exclaimed, "How're we all doing tonight?"
A large applause erupted from the tables with a few shouts added in.
She beamed, "Okay, that's what I like to hear! Now before we settle down, I'd like to call up Dominic, the father of Silver, to the stage to say a few words."
Dad waved a hand, but Mom pushed him out of his seat, "C'mon, Dom!"
I cheered with her, "Yeah, Dad! Give a speech!"
He shrugged as he went onstage, and was given the microphone. He carried his champagne glass with him.
"Well, uh, I was hoping to do this later, but what can I do now?"
He swished his champagne around, "You know, I was sort of...dreading this day awhile ago, once Silver announced his proposal. I remember...that he wanted to be with Shadow for a long time. I, at first, wasn't looking forward to meeting or talking to Shadow..."
I stroked Shadow's hand for comfort, then he put his other hand on top of mine.
"...but, now I know he isn't a bad guy, like what other people say about him. All I had to do was...get to know him. Now, I'm proud that I did, and I want to thank my son for choosing the right guy to marry..."
Some laughs were heard. I felt myself blush as Shadow chuckled. Dad raised his glass, "I'd like to propose a toast..."
We all stood with everyone else, glasses raised.
"...to my son Silver, and my new son in-law Shadow...bless you both."
"Cheers!"
We clinked glasses together, and drank our champagne. Applause came from the tables as Dad made his way back to his chair. I hugged him, and he returned it with tears in his eyes. I tried to hold mine back as I whispered a "thank you" in his ear.
He went to Shadow and shook his hand. But what caught my husband by surprise was that he then got an embrace. He was a little shocked at first, but then embraced him back. I hear a few "awwww"s in the background, and saw Neon flashing a few pictures.
The leader of the band spoke again, "Thanks, Dominic! Now, it's time for Sonic, Shadow's Best Man, to come up and give a speech."
He sped up there, and spoke into the mic.
"Thanks, Mina! Well, first off I want to say congrats to the new married couple..."
More applause.
"...and Bunny and Ant for helping us reserve this resort...and every one of you for coming out to celebrate with us. Anyway, I just have some advice for Silv and Shadow: Live your married lives to the fullest. You both have each other for every problem you face, and you have each other for the best of days. See, there are special milestones in a relationship...
"The first one is 'Aquaintances': You meet each other for the first time. You talk about interests, and some boring stuff. One of you asks the other to lunch to talk some more.
"The second milestone's 'Friendship': You talk more about mild personal things, like about yourself. You go to simple places just to hang out. Who knows? Maybe you become best friends along the way.
"The third milestone is 'Boyfriend/Girlfriend': You guys start to like each other...a lot. You go out to fancy restaurants, you kiss for the first time, you hang out at each other's place, and do a lot of lovey-dovey stuff. You tell each other you love them...blah blah blah...
"...And the fourth milestone's 'Marriage': One of you proposes, the other says yes, and you get married. You do things you couldn't do before, like going across the world, buying expensive stuff, and having kids! What more do you want?"
Everyone laughed and clapped.
Sonic rubbed the back of his head, "Heh heh! But back to the point...Silver and Shadow, you guys reached the climax of your relationship, so cherish moments like these and live them full out! Well, I guess all that's left to say is...Congratulations, you two, and I wish you the best of luck in the future!"
He came to our table, and shook our hands as well as his trademark thumbs up.
The first dance was for me and my mother. I led her to the dancefloor when Mina called us, and began to dance with her once the music started. Halfway through the song, she put her head on my shoulder.
She sighed, "I'm very proud of you, Silver. You now can live life however you want, especially that you have Shadow."
"I know...thanks, Mom. I promise we'll visit you often."
"Where do you plan on living?"
I hesitated, "For now? Um, we're staying in Shadow's apartment. Shadow has a great job and gets paid well. When we have enough money, we'll get a house."
She moved so she could see my face. "Don't rush into things too soon, honey. You still have aways to go before anything major in your life happens."
"You're right...I love you, Mom. You're always there for me if I need something.
"That's what Moms are for, sweetheart. I'll always be there for you."
Afterwards, since Shadow didn't have parents, he danced with his best friend...Rouge, who was actually one of my bridesmaids and was wearing (I think) about 10 pounds worth of makeup. Don't get me wrong, she did look smashing!
Then after that, it was our turn to dance, just me and Shadow. Mina called us to get on the floor, and Shadow asked for my hand, "May I have this dance?"
I gladly accepted the offer. We went onto the floor, and Mina started to sing our favorite song: "You Raise Me Up"...
I snuggled into my husband, "Oh, Shadow! I love this song!"
He nuzzled the top of my head, "I know. You sing it so beautifully, and it is your favorite song...so, I thought we should dance to it...together..."
He dipped me towards the floor and kissed me again. "I love you, cutie...with all my heart."
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek, "I love you too, Shads. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
He smiled, "You know that will happen. It's like I told you with my vows...'I can never leave your side for a moment'. Once we settle, I'll do all I can to make us both happy. I want you to know that..."
He rested his head on top of mine as I relaxed on his shoulder. I sighed contently, "You're the best, Shadow. All I want is your love, and that'll make me happy for the rest of my life..."
He scoffed, "Hmph, I'll give it all to you once we're in Soleanna. Trust me, it'll be great when we're away from everyone."
I squeaked playfully when he kissed my neck.
After a few more hours of dancing and eating our dinner, we heard a loud voice from the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen...it is my honor to announce that it is now time for the grooms to cut the wedding cake!"
I walked to the table with Shadow, his arm around my waist. The waiter gave the cutting knife to me. I looked at Shadow, "Want to help me cut it, Shads?"
"Sure. But, I don't want you to cut yourself and then bleed all over the cake."
He placed his hand on top of mine on the knife, and stood next to me. With ease, we cut a slice of cake together. It was a vanilla cake with lemon frosting designs. Red roses lined one side of it up to the fourth layer, which it had about five. Surrounding the sides of the layers were vanilla, swirling bands of frosting. On each layer, there were light pink flower petals. On top, there was a groom with a black tuxedo on, and another groom was next to it with a white tuxedo on. It was very pretty, but no too fancy...
Shadow placed the slice on a plate, and grabbed a forkful of it. He held it to my lips, "Open up, Silv!"
I giggled, and opened my mouth for him. Man, it tasted so rich and creamy! I took the fork from him and gave him a piece of it. Camera flashes surrounded us as we fed each other. I couldn't help but laugh at Shadow when I accidentally got some cake on his face. He laughed with me, and tried to get some on my face.
"Ah! Shadow, stop it! You're gonna get me all dirty!"
"You started it, Silv! I'll get it all over you if you don't stop moving!"
Sonic suddenly grabbed a cut piece on a plate and shouted, "FOOD FIGHT!"
Let's just say that we all had a blast with our wedding cake for awhile...luckily we didn't make a big mess, or else Dad would've killed us.
Okay, the reception's done! It was pretty fun doing this chapter, especially the last part! Almost forgot another thing from last chapter...Wordreference for the French in this and last chapter. The next one's going to be the honeymoon to Soleanna, so stay tuned again...hopefully shortly!
