Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight
Callie is 20 in this chapter.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Forever Burning
Three Months Later (Late September 2012)
"I can't believe that I'm getting married today," Callie whispered as she stared at herself in the mirror of the hotel's vanity.
The wedding itself would be taking place in the luxurious gardens of the North Star Hotel, and the reception would take place in the Orion Ballroom, which had been decorated in varying shades of red. Everything was exactly how Callie had imagined it: her dress was stunning, the venue was divine, and people who loved her surrounded her, it was gearing up to be her dream wedding.
"You better believe it," Leah called from across the room where she was lacing her silver high heel to her foot.
"Thanks again for being the Maid of Honor, Leah, I don't know what I would have done without you for the last few months," Callie told her sincerely as she watched her friend lace up her shoe. The bridesmaid's dress that Leah wore was blood red in color, and was held up by two straps that were tied behind the neck. A sparkling band of jewels was placed just below the bust, giving the dress some character.
"I'm honored that you wanted me to be your Maid of Honor; since that day we went shopping for Kim's wedding, I've thought of you as my best friend," Leah told her as she finished lacing up her shoes.
"I consider you to be my best friend too."
"As touching as this moment is, I think it's time to get the bride into her dress," Gina's voice floated over from the door.
Callie nodded her head and stood up from the vanity's chair. After a few moments of struggling, Callie had pulled her white dress over her body and had Leah zip up the dress and hook a few buttons. Callie went to look into the mirror but was stopped by Gina's gentle hand on her shoulder.
"From what Leah's told me, you have something borrowed," Gina started, nodding towards the diamond earrings that Callie had borrowed from Aria for the day, "something new," she gestured towards Callie's dress, "and something blue," she simply raised an eyebrow in a teasing manner as Callie blushed at the idea that her aunt knew about the light blue garter that resided on her upper thigh.
"But you don't seem to have something old," Gina continued, causing Callie's stress level to rise.
"Shit."
"Don't worry Callie, I have something for you," Gina assured her as she pulled a flat square box out of her purse and handed it to Callie.
Callie took the black velvet box and looked at it curiously, "What is it?"
"Open it."
Shrugging her shoulders, Callie carefully lifted the lid and gasped at the object inside. A simply diamond necklace was lying against the black velvet, sparkling brightly in the sunlight that was streaming through the window.
"This," Gina began, "was the necklace that your mother wore on her wedding day, and I remember her telling me that if she ended up having girls, she would give it to them to wear on their wedding day."
Callie touched the sparkling stones softly, "She wore this when she got married to dad?" Callie whispered in awe.
"Yes she did," Gina clarified. Gently, she took the box from Callie's hands and pulled out the diamond necklace, setting the box on the vanity. Carefully, Gina clasped the necklace into place at the back of Callie's neck, letting the diamonds lay softly on her skin. The second that the cool stones hit her skin; Callie's fingers instantly reached up to finger the piece of jewelry.
"You look so beautiful," Gina told her niece, a soft smile on her face.
"Really?" Callie questioned, her hand still resting on the necklace.
Gina nodded her head, "Do you want to see how you look?"
Callie couldn't seem to form the words, so instead she nodded her head in affirmation.
Gently, Gina placed her hands on Callie's shoulder, "Close your eyes," she instructed as Callie did as she was told, her eyes fluttering closed. Carefully, Gina turned Callie's body so that she was facing the full-length mirror. "Open your eyes."
With a shaky breath, Callie did as she was told, her eyes opening slowly to face her reflection. The person reflected back at her took Callie's breath away.
Her red hair had been curled and a small diamond tiara was placed towards the front of her head. Her veil, she knew, was attached to the back of her head, and hung to her feet. Her makeup was light, and barely noticeable, which Callie was very grateful for.
Her eyes moved away from her upper body and moved to the dress itself. Although she had seen the dress a countless number of times before, it still took her breath away.
The dress could have been strapless, considering the design of the top of the bust. Instead, caped sleeves made of lace and beads, rested on the very edge of Callie's shoulder, making the dress look more intricate.
The dress was fitted to her hips, encrusted with jewels and intricate beading. Once the fabric reached her hips, it flared out and down to the floor, but still kept its shape. Without having to turn and look at the back of the dress, Callie knew that her dresses train would reach two feet behind her.
Callie was taken out of her daze when she heard a sniffle from behind her. Quickly, she turned her head to find that Leah and Gina had left, and another had entered the room. Her eyes landed on a tall man, in his late forties or early fifties, his hair brown and his eyes dark.
"Uncle Steve," Callie breathed as she watched him reach up and wipe away the lone tear that had fallen from his dark eyes.
"Hey Callie," his deep voice rumbled, "You look absolutely beautiful."
Callie couldn't keep the smile off of her face, "Thank you."
"I am so proud of you; you've become an amazing young woman," he confided in her as he walked towards her, his hands stretched out to take her own. "Looking at you now, I can't help but think back to the first time I saw you. Your mother had given birth to you only hours before, and your father placed you in my arms. The minutes my eyes locked with yours, I knew I was a goner. I knew I would love you like my own child, and now here we are," he gestured to the room around them and Callie in her wedding dress.
"You took such good care of Kendra and I, without you, I wouldn't be standing here. I wouldn't be able to marry the man of my dreams. That's why I wanted you to walk me down the aisle and give me away, because since my parents died, you became my surrogate father."
Steve reached up and wiped the falling tear off of her face, "I'm honored that you want me to walk you down the aisle."
Callie smiled at him brightly and drew in a deep breath, forcing her tears to subside.
"Are you ready to get married?" Steve questioned.
Callie nodded her head excitedly.
"Then let's not keep your future husband waiting."
Embry stood at the end of the aisle, his hands clasped in front of him as he waited for the wedding to begin.
His eyes scanned the crowd, seeing the pack, the Cullen family, and a few people he had never met before. His eyes rested on his mother who was sitting in the front row, a tissue in hand. Their eyes locked and his mother smiled at him proudly; Embry gave her a nervous smile in return.
His eyes switched to the other side of the aisle, finding Gina sitting in the front row, an empty chair on either side. The one closest to the aisle, Embry knew, would be the seat that Steve took once he had given Callie away. The other seat was not entirely empty, in place of a person, a picture frame sat, shining in the sunlight. That seat was Kendra's seat. Her smiling face resting in the picture frame.
He felt a squeeze on his shoulder and turned his head to face a beaming Seth, "It's about to start," his best man whispered.
Embry nodded his head and turned his attention to the aisle as classical music began to play. Embry couldn't fight the smile on his face as he watched Brooklyn walk down the aisle, dropping red and white flower petals onto the rug as she went. Her spaghetti strapped red dress twinkling in the light as she walked.
Once she was about half way down the aisle, Aria appeared in a blood red dress that he had seen Leah running around in only minutes before. Following Aria, Demi appeared, a deliriously happy smile on her face as she approached the end of the aisle.
Then Leah appeared, a blissfully happy smile on her face as she looked at all of the guests that had come to her friends wedding.
Once Leah had reached the end of the aisle, Billy Black, who they had asked to perform the ceremony, motioned for the audience to stand.
The bridal march began to play and Embry felt all of the air leave his lungs as Callie appeared. Her hand was holding onto Steve's arm as her sparkling eyes met Embry's through the blusher of her veil.
He had never seen her look more beautiful then she did at that moment. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he couldn't bring himself to care; all that mattered was that the love of his life was walking towards him, waiting to become his wife.
When Callie reached the end of the aisle, she turned to Steve. Gently he lifted her blusher and kissed her cheek; then he turned them both to face Embry. With a watery smile, Steve placed Callie's hand in Embry's, patting it gently.
"Take care of her," Steve whispered.
"With my last breath," he promised.
Billy cleared his throat, "Who gives this woman to this man?" he asked.
"Her family, friends, and I do," Steve told the older man before he took his seat next to Gina. Billy nodded his head.
The ceremony seemed to fly by as Embry stared into Callie's beautiful eyes. He had never felt happier, and he knew that he would feel like this for the rest of his life.
"The couple has decided to write their own vows," Billy continued with the ceremony, drawing Embry's attention back to the man. "Callie, would you please say your vows to Embry?"
Callie nodded her head and took a deep breath, making sure that she didn't blubber through her vows.
"Embry," she began, a smile on her pale face, "When I first met you, I didn't think it was possible for me to fall in love. Every person that I had loved had been ripped away from me, and I never thought I'd be able to feel like that about someone again," she confided in him. "But then I met you, and suddenly, I could breathe again. I could be happy again. You pulled me out of the darkest place that I have ever been, and loved me so deeply, so honestly, so beautifully, that I opened my heart and allowed myself to love again," at this point Callie was fighting tears, which she knew she was failing at, as a lone tear slid down her porcelain cheek.
Embry, who was fighting back tears of his own, gently wiped the salty drop off of her face, silently urging her to continue; his eyes remaining damp.
"I love you Embry, with every fiber of my being. I love how you helped me heal after losing my sister. I love how you stepped into the role of a father, to help me care for my niece. I love everything about you, and I will love you until I give my last breath. I will continue to love you in this life, and the next. You're the light in my darkness, Embry, you're everything to me," she finished.
"Embry," Billy urged for the groom to say his vows.
Embry blinked away the tears that had formed in his eyes the moment Callie began her vows, and took a deep breath, "My beautiful, fiery, Callie," he began, "I knew from the moment that I saw you that you were my soul mate. You are passionate, loving, funny, sarcastic, and so much more; you are everything that I could have wanted in a wife."
A few tears leaked from Callie's eyes once more, and Embry reached up to wipe them away as Callie gave him a watery smile.
"I promise to be a shoulder for you to cry on. I promise to be the person that you can lean on. I promise to do everything in my power to make you happy. I promise to love you with every breath that I take."
"Do you have the rings?" Billy asked.
Embry tuned to Seth, who reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a diamond encrusted wedding band. Callie turned to Leah who handed over a white gold wedding band. The band was lined with three small diamonds and then a larger orange fire opal; the pattern repeated around the entire band.
Callie and Embry placed the rings in Billy's hands so he could bless them. With a smile on his face he handed the smaller ring to Embry, "Embry, place this ring on Calida's finger, and repeat after me."
Embry gently grabbed Callie's left hand as Billy began to speak. As Embry slid the band onto her small finger, he repeated Billy's words, "With this ring, I thee wed."
The process was repeated once more, with Callie slipping Embry's ring onto his finger, and saying the words that Billy instructed her to say.
Embry and Callie kept their hands intertwined as Billy began to speak once more, "With the power invested in me, I pronounce you man, and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Embry didn't need to be told twice. He wrapped his arms around Callie and pulled her into their first kiss as man and wife.
"Are you going to explain the reasoning behind my wedding ring?" Embry whispered into Callie's ear as they shared their first dance as husband and wife.
Callie lifted her head off of his shoulder as they continued to spin around the dance floor.
"What makes you think your wedding band means anything?" she asked coyly.
"Because I know you," he informed her as he dipped her gently, pulling her back up so that her body was pressed tightly against his own. "And I know that you don't do anything without some sort of purpose or reasoning."
"Okay, you caught me," she told him as she grabbed his left hand and lifted it up for them both to see.
"I'm listening," he teased, as he continued to twirl her around the dance floor.
"I chose to put Fire Opals into your wedding band for a few reasons," she began, "the first is that it matches my hair, which would make you think of me when you look at it."
Embry nodded his head, knowing that what she said was true.
"The second reason is that one of the stones associated with the element of Fire is the Fire Opal. I thought that it would link you to me, even on a very low level."
"Okay."
"The last reason is based off of the second reason. Since the Fire Opal is associated with the Element of Fire, it represents everything that I think our love is: forever burning."
Embry pulled her body closer to his own, "That's a good way to explain the love that I feel for you: forever burning."
Callie smiled at him brightly as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Embry Call, my love for you will be forever burning."
He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Callie Call, my love for you will be forever burning."
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was surprisingly difficult to write!
The next chapter is the Epilogue, which means the story is almost over!
This chapters fun fact is:
The title of this chapter started out as "Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady!" but when I finished writing the chapter, "Forever Burning" seemed to be more fitting.
Pictures from the wedding are able to be seen on the link on my profile page!
Please review and let me know what you thought!