Here's the next part! There are 5 parts to the wedding; and then this story is all done.
The Wedding part 2.
Disclaimer: Like usual, I don't own Vampire Academy, its characters or content.
Chapter 21:
'A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.' -Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
I woke up early; excitement humming through my body as I realised I wasn't curled up against Dimitri like usual. Hearing a small groan from the floor I remembered what had happened. Dimitri had come with me to bed for a few hours until the time got closer to eleven o'clock. Then we'd had a very long goodbye kiss and he'd left with Rowan to stay in a hotel. Like he would in America, he wasn't going to see me before the wedding started. Rowan, Orel (Sonya's son) and Paul had decided to go with him to keep him company since Rowan and Orel were going to be the pageboys and Paul was going to be Dimitri's best man. As soon as he'd left Marie, Zoya, Lissa, Mia and Viktoria had all brought their sleeping stuff into my room so they could keep me company.
Looking round I could see that the others were all starting to stir and I grinned brightly. They still didn't know what was happening today; and to be honest I was surprised they hadn't figured it out. They thought we were waking up early to go on a spa retreat before we went out to dinner; a real day of pampering and fun. While it was true we were going to be pampered, they were gonna be surprised with the end result.
We all took long relaxing showers so we were squeaky clean by the time the hairdresser and make up artists arrived. They'd been booked long in advance; while we were still at court, so they knew exactly what the cover story was and had their excuses ready. Olena had made us breakfast before she left with Yeva, Karolina and Sonya to check the church was decorated correctly and the reception was being set up the way we wanted. While my hair was washed I munched my breakfast and tried to answer Liss and Mia's question as best as I could without raising their suspicions.
"Liss, this is the spa pampering thing I told you about. Our hair's getting washed and styled, don't worry I picked out the perfect styles for you guys. Then we get manicures, pedicures and facials. Pick a polish that will go with the dresses we bought yesterday. You all need to wear the same colour or have your nails in a French manicure, y'know white tips. Actually that would look better, French manicure on your hands and polish on your toes." I could see the make up artists taking note of what I was saying. "Then we get to relax for a little while; before we get changed into our clothes and taken to the surprise place I'm not telling you about. When we get there the final touches will be made to our hair and faces. So just relax and enjoy it, okay."
Poking her tongue at me she sighed and picked up a magazine. Mia just shrugged and Viktoria giggled, realising they still didn't know what was really happening. "Since everyone's shut up, I'm gonna try and sleep for the next couple of hours. I'll see you guys when you're all beautified and gorgeous." More giggles from all of them as I shut my eyes and smiled.
We'd finally arrived at the church. From what I could through the doors; it was absolutely gorgeous. Mia and Lissa hadn't seen my dress yet because I'd sent them down to their car as soon as they were changed. The windows were blacked out and they'd been blindfolded when they arrived. I didn't want them to see anything until it was all done.
Walking in Olena and my mum grabbed my arms and steered me down one of the long corridors before I got the chance to admire the decorations properly. I'd requested lots and lots of flowers to match my bouquet; so the church was covered in bunches of white roses and brown trumpet lilies (bouquet link on profile). Focusing back on my two mothers I realised my mum was talking. "-Can admire the church later, right now Mia and Lissa are going out of their minds trying to figure out what's going on, and there are several guests who'd like to see you before the ceremony. Dimitri, Paul, Rowan and Orel have arrived and are ready; they're in their dressing room waiting before they go to greet the guests. The hairdresser and make up artists are waiting to make the final adjustments to you and your dress."
"Okay mum, chill. Breathe. Thank you so much to both of you for doing all this and helping us out so much; we really do appreciate it. Now it's your turn to sit back and watch." I hugged and kissed them both on the cheeks. "You've made this day as special as it could be. Mum, thank you so much for organising everything and helping to sort it without Lissa or the others finding out. Olena, from what I saw the church looks beautiful. I can't wait until I get the chance to take it all in properly; and I bet the reception will look just as good. Now both of you go and relax! I'll see you when I'm walking up the altar." Laughing, Olena pulled me into another hug and kissed my forehead.
"Okay Roza my daughter. I love you and you know that you are a treasured member of this family. Thank you for making my Dimka so happy and giving him a family; this was the least I could do for you. But I know you have many people to meet and not much time to do it in; so I will go and check on Dimka and the kids, before I come and see you again before the wedding." Smiling, she rested her hand on my cheek before hurrying back down the corridor to the room I presumed Dimitri was in.
I heard a small sniffle and looked down in shock. My mum had a small hanky pressed to her eyes and looked like she was trying to cover up the fact that she was crying. "Mum! Oh no, I didn't mean to make you cry!" Reaching out I tried to pull her into a hug; but she pushed me away slightly.
"No! Don't hug me - I don't want to ruin your dress. I just can't believe you're getting married. I've only really known you for such a short time and now you've got a family and pretty soon a husband; and that's what I wanted for you Rose. I didn't think it would be possible, especially with a guardian's lifestyle, but you were right, you could do it and you did. I'm so pleased for you both and I need to go and tell Dimitri too. But, I was also wondering, who have you got to walk you down the altar?"
I was slightly surprised by this question. Mum knew that I didn't know who my dad was. "Well since I don't know who my dad is, and I've never met him, I'm going to walk down the aisle alone." I wasn't too bothered about it really. Considering I'd thought I'd never end up with the life I did now, walking alone was no big deal.
Something sparkled in her eyes and she gave me a small grin. She was hiding something. "Ok well, I better let you go and explain to Vasilisa and Mia what's actually happening. I don't think they're going to take it lightly."
Laughing I gave her one last hug. "Yep, Lissa's gonna skin me alive. But I'll see you later. Thanks mum."
'Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.' -Barnett R. Brickner
"Okay Lissa, Mia you can take off your blindfolds." They did as they were told and gasped when they saw me. I'd quickly had my hair and make up checked before they were brought into my room.
Mia was the first to regain her composure. "Rose, what the hell is happening? Is that a wedding dress? It's gorgeous, and you look amazing but, what the hell is happening?" Hearing Mia talk, the shock began to wear off and Lissa began to talk.
"Rosemarie Hathaway!" Uh oh, her voice indicated that she wasn't very pleased with me; but I could feel a rollercoaster of emotions through the bond. She was extremely happy at the fact that Dimitri and I were finally getting married, and she was starting to become excited too. But she also felt a little disappointed because she hadn't been able to help me out with any of the details. Added to this was understanding at why we'd gone shopping yesterday; and why I'd been so insistent we all went on this 'group holiday.' Surprisingly, she was angry with Viktoria for not telling her what was happening, not me; but there was a lot of hurt added in. She was wondering why I'd kept it all such a big secret; after the dare where Dimitri had revealed his feelings for me, she thought I'd tell her everything. She was worried that there were other things I hadn't told her; and she wouldn't have any way of knowing what they were.
"Liss, I know you're angry and confused and feeling a whole lot of other emotions; so give me the chance to explain." Nodding, she sat in one of the spare chairs. "I didn't tell you because I couldn't. And it wasn't just you I didn't tell; none of the other guests knew either; like you they all thought we were having a party to celebrate Dimitri's ten years as a guardian – Olena explained to them as the arrived at the church today. The only people who knew before today were; me, Dimitri, the kids, his family, my mum and Adrian. And no, I didn't tell him – he dream walked when I was thinking about the preparations and guessed. I couldn't tell because of the queen." Shock came through the bond.
"You know the queen was against me becoming your guardian in the first place; and since I graduated she's been trying her hardest to get me reassigned. But she couldn't do that without attracting a lot of unwanted attention. But she found out that Dimitri had proposed to me. You remember Dimitri asked when we were on the way to the shopping mall so that no one would know; and then we were planning to go to a human church a few months later to marry?"
"Yeah, but you said that the time wasn't right. What with the fact that you'd just had Marie, and Rowan was having problems at school."
I sighed. "No Liss, I made all of that up. The truth was that the queen had the car bugged, or someone was spying and reporting on us because she called me up into her chambers. She told me that if I went ahead with the marriage she would have Dimitri reassigned, the kids taken away, and I'd be sent to a commune. I couldn't let that happen. So I called off the wedding. And then we started planning this one. It took a long time because we had to be sure no one was actually spying on us. But with a lot of help from Dimitri's family; we got it all sorted. I told them what I wanted; and they organised it. That's why I didn't tell you Liss. No one in court knew except for Adrian; and he knew if he'd spilled our secret, I'd have kicked his ass."
That made her laugh, and I could feel the anger and hurt slip away. Squealing both she and Mia grabbed me up in a hug which caused us all to laugh. "But I have one more thing to ask. Lissa, will you be my chief bridesmaid please? And Mia, will you be one of my other bridesmaids too?" Squealing again, they both hugged me again."
Mia spoke first. "Of course I will Rose. This is so cool! I understand why you couldn't tell anyone; and I'm so happy for you both. But, I'll have to get your present when we get back to the States."
"Thanks Mia, and don't worry about presents. We just wanted all of our family and friends to be here. But… if you do buy something, I'd love some new lip gloss."
Lissa interrupted before Mia could reply. "Yes I'll be your chief bridesmaid! Thank you, thank you, thank you! But who are the groomsmen and other bridesmaids? Aren't Marie and Rowan doing anything?"
"Calm down Liss. Marie is the flower girl and Rowan is the pageboy. You're the chief bridesmaid with Christian as your groomsman." I felt a flash of happiness through the bond. Lissa was imagining what her wedding would be like if they got married. She was already planning the dresses and wondering if I'd be her chief bridesmaid too. "Of course I will Liss. You don't even need to ask. Mia, you're another bridesmaid with Eddie as your groomsman, and Viktoria is my other one, with Adrian as her groomsman. Zoya is another flower girl with Orel as the other pageboy. Dimitri asked Paul to be his best man."
A huge shout out to GoldenIvy for reviewing almost every chapter of this story. You're amazing, thank you so much! Please check out her stories, especially Why Me, and its sequel Lost. They're absolutely brilliant!
And a huge hug to my beta reader lilmissryry; for making all the brilliant changes needed to these last five chapters. Please check out her story Love, No Restrictions; and the sequel Out of Reach.