Hey guys, sorry for the long gap between updates. There's been a ton of stuff going on at school and time has just slipped by me. :( Anyway enjoy and please review! :D xxx

Chapter 11

I hadn't been particularly bothered about a bachelorette party but apparently it wasn't optional. Rose and Carly, who got on very well it turned out, had insisted on my having one.

"It isn't optional," Rose said.

"You cannot have a lonely bachelorette party with your book, Sydney," Carly teased.

Even Adrian had told me to go. "Dress up gorgeous, get drunk, invite a stripper, have fun!"

I was a little doubtful about Adrian's version of events and a voice in the back of my head told me that was probably what he had planned. Oh well, if he wanted to get a stripper and have no memory of his night that was fine, for him. Personally, I wanted to have fun but not drink myself to memory losing levels of unconsciousness.

My friends didn't trust me to pick my own outfit for the party, so they picked out some stuff and left it out for me. I didn't actually examine the chosen clothes until the day.

I think Carly and Rose must have been the ones to make the choice judging by what I had been put in. They had selected a pair of skinny blue jeans, a red silky blouse and a black blazer. It wasn't a bad outfit except for the fact that the blouse was slightly see-through. I groaned.

"What's up?" Adrian asked from the doorway.

"This outfit my sister and Rose picked is uh..." I tried to think of the best way to describe it.

"Hot? Yeah, I thought so too."

"I was going to say - not me."

"Ah, of course, no herringbone, no neutral colours." Adrian laughed.

"Hey, I'm not that bad. Anymore." I smiled, fully aware that I had once been exactly like that. "It's the blouse that I really object too."

"But I love it. I think you will look stunning and I may not let you go out." His green eyes smouldered.

"Well, I'm not sure if that's a reason to wear it or not."

"Definitely wear the blouse. Just remember, I'll be here when you get home." Adrian touched his lips gently to mine and left the room; I no longer had any desire to go out with my friends.

I reluctantly put on the clothes and promised that I have words with Rose and Carly later. I was supposed to be at the palace for half seven. The sun was just coming up and there was a beautiful sunrise as I walked across court. I still found it a little strange that sunrise might night-time but I was getting used to the idea.

When I arrived at the palace, Carly and Rose were laughing loudly whilst Lissa spoke quietly with my mother. I wished that Jill could have been there but Adrian had, rather unconventionally, selected her to be his best man. Or best woman as Jill kept insisting. The three girls were to be my bridesmaids and my mother was going to give me away. Lissa had tried to say that I didn't have to make her bridesmaid just because everyone else was involved, but I really did want her to be a part of the wedding. We had become good friends in the few months that I had living there and I knew that Adrian cared deeply about her.

"Sydney! You're here." Carly called when she saw me.

"What's the plan?" I asked, I didn't know a single thing about what was happening tonight.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Rose smirked. I groaned, it was never a good thing when she secretly planned things, but I had a feeling that Carly's involvement would make it so much worse.

We left the palace and set off into court. I followed everyone else's lead. Rose led us to a small salon and greeted the young man at reception. She seemed pretty friendly with him and brought him over. Lissa also gave him a bright smile as he approached.

"This is Ambrose, he's a friend of ours and he has organised us some manicures." Rose smiled. "This, Sydney, is the friendly part of the evening. Next we hit the clubs."

"Oh God." I rolled my eyes. I hadn't really expected anything different.

I had my nails filed, polished and frenched, if that's even the right term. I had never had French nails before but they looked nice on Lissa and I wanted something special for the wedding so decided to go for it.

"Alright then, ladies," Rose called once we had all been manicured. "Next we're off to a little club that is very popular around court."

The club was a large underground room; a small underground space filled with vampires would once have terrified me but now the only terrifying thing was that I was going to have to dance.

Rose bought a round of drinks and unfortunately I wasn't allowed to get away with a diet coke.

"Are you alright here?" I asked Carly as we sat at the small table.

"I'm fine. Dad never mentioned that they could be so funny and so kind. It makes you wonder why we were ever afraid of them."

"I ask myself that every day." I mused, thinking of Adrian and how gorgeous he was but also how he was completely unwilling to hurt anyone. There was no reason to be afraid of them.

"Come on, lil sis, let's go dance!" Carly grabbed my hand and tried to pull me onto the dance floor. I decided it was probably best not to resist.

Carly looked comfortable as she moved in time to the music, but my own movements were a little jerky and unsophisticated. I wasn't a fan of the music they were playing; the waltz for our first dance would be so much easier than this but as I listened to the beat, I eased into the dancing. It was more a case of counting and listening to the rhythm.

After a while, I sat back down again. My mom joined me at the table and we sat quietly for a few moments.

"You've got some nice friends here, Sydney." She smiled gently.

"Yeah, I like them a lot."

"And Adrian is wonderful. You really love him, don't you?"

"He's my life now, he means the world to me," I paused. "I don't know what I would do without him."

"I can tell that he feels exactly the same way. That boy adores you, it's beautiful; the way you look at each other, the way you act when you're together. It's clear to everyone that you're in love."

I smiled softly, more to myself than anyone else, thinking about Adrian and how accurate my mother's words were.

"Sydney!" Rose shouted, grabbing my hands and pulling me up to my feet. "You aren't dancing."

"Rose, you are remarkably observant whilst drunk." My sarcastic remark was completely lost upon her.

"I know, it's my guardian awesomeness; it permanently shines through." She grinned, puffing out her chest proudly.

"Of course. Better than that boyfriend of yours?" I teased.

"Belikov wishes he had half of my epic skills!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Damn right, Sydney Sage!" Rose threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into the centre of the dance floor.

She had obviously had a lot to drink and was stumbling a little.

"Rose," Lissa stepped up to my drunken companion. "Maybe we should be going soon. I think you've had enough to drink and Sydney is getting married in about a day."

"Lissa," Rose whined.

"I have meetings tomorrow and it's already two p.m." Lissa checked her phone as she spoke.

I hadn't realised that it was actually that late. We had certainly been here a while but that was remarkably late. I didn't think that I had ever actually been out that late, and I had definitely never drunk this much. I wasn't as drunk as Rose, or Carly I noticed, but I was certainly a little tipsy.

"Okay, Mom." Rose sighed.

"Thanks, Lissa." I grinned. I wasn't sure how much longer I would have wanted to stick around.

"No problem. I really do have meetings tomorrow." She was in a similar state to me, not drunk but feeling a little giggly.

When I got home, the house was empty but the bedroom light was still on. Adrian could never fully be relied upon to turn off lights and I was frequently going around behind him, flicking switches. I took off my clothes, put on some soft cotton pyjamas and slipped under the covers to wait for my fiancé to come home.

When Adrian did finally come home, I was just drifting off to sleep. He kissed my nose and straightened the covers.

"In thirty-six hours, you'll be Mrs Ivashkov," Adrian said, sounding remarkably sober.

"I love you," I mumbled sleepily.

"I love you too, Sage." Adrian chuckled and I fell asleep soon after that.