CHAPTER FOUR
"Why is this taking so long?" Connor moaned, fussing with his bow tie.
Giles smacked his hand. "You're rumpling it." Connor glared at him. "Think of it this way, Connor, if you were having a church wedding you'd be doing this in front of a church full of people, having a complete Catholic mass in addition to the marriage. Here," Giles waved his hands around the beautiful reserve on the banks of the river Nene. Willows wept along the water's edge and the lush grass was alive with flowers like handfuls of gems scattered on green velvet. Butterflies drifted along, jewels on the wing and dragonflies darted in and out, almost as if curious as to the disruption in their territory. A cluster of chairs were nestled under a grove of oak and not far off was a 'dining hall' tent where Ailsa was helping Dawn prepare. Savage and his family had done a good job of preparing the site. "Here, you just have to contend with some noisy birds and a smattering of Watchers."
Connor looked at the oak grove. "I don't even know the Watchers. Why would they want to come and watch this?"
"You've met Rhiannon now, and Saeth," Giles reminded him. "The rest are just Father Savage's family."
"And it's a right big family," a new voice joined the conversation. Father Savage strode their way, wearing a blue vestment with Celtic knotwork trimming it. He was tall, rail thin and Dawn had told Connor that the priest looked like Pierce Brosnan with greying hair. Connor, for his part, wondered if his father had ever had the lyrical lilt the priest's voice had. It seemed to make Dawn all doe-eyed. "I'm one of thirteen." The priest beamed.
Connor's eyes widened, a nervous tickle in his belly. "You can have that many kids?"
"Yes." Giles fought back a smile. "You'd do well to remember that."
Connor eyed him sourly.
"My family's just here to help set up the chapel. Mostly they're Watchers so doing actual hard work like this is good for them." The priest smiled even more widely.
"Need I remind you you're a Watcher as well," Giles said, sardonic.
Savage patted his vestments. "This is hard work. We've got everything squared away, son, paperwork-wise. We've fudged on some of the waiting periods and all that, but if you don't tell, neither will we." Savage winked.
Connor smiled. "Thank you, Father."
The priest clamped a hand on his shoulder. "My pleasure. How could I miss out on a wedding this interesting? Don't worry, son. You'll do fine. Just say the vows like we practiced last night," Savage said and the vows went shooting out of Connor's mind. He had had them firmly in his brain up until that point. Savage glanced up at the crystalline blue cloudless sky. "You don't get days nicer than this. Usually it's pissed with rain. Though, I'm glad you opted out of the full mass. It'll be a bit warm for your bride. Just don't tell anyone I said I was happy to skip mass." Savage gave him a conspiratorial grin.
Connor wasn't sure why it mattered but he was happy to help. "I won't."
"I'd better go check on how things are progressing," Savage said.
"Nervous?" A feminine voice chimed in.
Connor turned to see Ailsa behind him. Her dark hair fell in a loose mass of curls topped with a crown of flowers. Her silver gown fell in a straight simple line except for where it was gathered just under her breasts in a wide band of blue Celtic knotwork. She and Dawn had wanted him to have a cummerbund of knotwork but Giles came to his rescue and settled the matter; his tux was very traditional black and white and horribly uncomfortable to someone who had never worn formal clothes. "Not until you just asked that."
She smiled. "Giles, you have Dawn's ring?"
He patted his pocket. "Safe and sound."
Connor could see his ring tied to one of Ailsa' curls with a white ribbon.
"Connor, you remember your vows, right?" Ailsa' blue eyes caught his.
"I wish people would quit asking. Every time they do, my mind goes blank," Connor moaned as a dragonfly landed on his boutonniere. He waved it away.
"You forget them up there." Ailsa jerked a thumb at the oaks. "And I'll give you a Slayer ass-whipping, got it?"
He nodded frantically. "I'll remember them. Dawn made me rehearse them a lot."
"Oh, and Dawn wanted me to tell you, if she's crying, it's not because she's sad, okay?" Ailsa gave him a look like he was completely foreign to human ways.
"I know tears of joy," he assured her.
"Good. Remember what I said." She kissed his cheek and fled.
"Giles." His voice shook.
"Yes, Connor?"
"Why won't my hands stop doing this?" Connor held out his trembling hands. "I've never felt like this, like my bones are trying to climb out of my skin and go running off."
Giles smiled at him, patting his shoulder. "It's called nerves, Connor. You've never been nervous before?"
"Not like this." Connor was afraid to tell him he felt a little queasy, too, which was another new sensation. He was never sick. "Why am I scared? I've faced all sorts of demons."
Giles chuckled. "None of them are as scary as a wife can be."
Connor's lips skinned back. "That's not helping."
"Probably not. Let's get you to the altar. I've have to be with Dawn as well," Giles said, playing the roles of best man and father of the bride.
Connor felt very alone under the shade of the oak trees, even with the calming and rather humorous presence of Father Savage. At least the priest's sense of humor was helping to ease the feeling he should run far and fast, but the shaking wouldn't stop. Connor tried to concentrate on Rhiannon's lined face as the hundred year old and then some Watcher sat waiting patiently. He had quickly grown to like her. The tall dark haired woman with Rhiannon, her granddaughter Saeth, another Watcher, intrigued him. Off to the side near a thick oak tree, one of Savage's relations played the bagpipes, a strange noise that Connor wasn't sure he liked. Elsewhere was were two women, also Savages, one with a camera and another with a video recorder. He had never felt more on display.
"Here we go," Father Savage whispered then moved back to the unlit candle that sat on a grey, craggy rock in the grove. A crystal decanter rested next to it. He motioned to the few people sitting and waiting. They all stood.
Connor turned as the bagpipe music went from a soft background noise to loud, demanding and almost lyrical. Ailsa came out of the tent and walked slowly and purposefully down the aisle. He was struck at how pretty she was. He hadn't really noticed in all the times they had been sparring. She spared him a wide smile then took her place opposite him in front of the priest.
Connor's heart felt as if a hand had reached inside and stopped it for just a moment as he saw Giles leading Dawn out of the tent. Like Ailsa, a ring of flowers encircled Dawn's head. Her sleeveless gown fell like fire to her feet. Dawn had told him she hadn't felt right wearing white and he hadn't asked why. As Giles walked her towards him, she was like flame coming to devour him. The velvet gown - she had told him that much - was iridescent gold over red and as she neared him, he could see the knotwork around the neck in bright red, blues, greens and purples. It was beautiful. Dawn never looked lovelier than she did at this moment.
Tears were already trickling down her face. As Giles left her by Connor's side, he walked behind the young man and patted his shoulder. Connor saw Giles looked ready to cry himself and that oddly made him feel much better.
"My dear friends," Savage intoned in a voice much more loud and commanding than he had been using with Connor earlier. "We have come together to bear witness to this marriage between Dawn Summers and Connor Skerret."
For a moment, Connor didn't know who Savage was talking about then he remembered that was his new last name, the one Angel had made Wolfram and Hart put on his papers. He wondered if that truly was Angel's last name. He had never asked, never really caring to know. Suddenly, it seemed important."
"As God has already abundantly blessed you with his love, he shall now enrich and strengthen you with this special sacrament as you take on the duties of marriage in a mutual and lasting fidelity. So, in the presence of the beauty that God has created," Savage gestured at the serene woodlands around them, "I ask you to state your intentions. Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to each other in marriage?"
Dawn's "I have" was as clear as a bell and loud enough for Buffy to hear wherever in the world she might be. Connor found his own voice almost gone, like a Riswoljo demon had wrapped its tentacles around his neck. Dawn smiled at him, her laugh barely audible. He concentrated on her big, sweet eyes, which kept the swirly darkness that was threatening to take him at bay.
"Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?" Savage asked and Connor was certain he had lapsed into a tongue he had never heard before. He squeaked out an "I will" just because Dawn did so commandingly.
Savage paused, smiling encouragingly at them both. "As Connor and Dawn have expressed a desire to have a simple ceremony, we won't be having a full mass but that doesn't mean you get to escape my witty homily." Savage grinned broadly and the audience laughed. Connor wasn't quite sure what homily was and his shaking grew just a tiny bit worse. "There has been so much wonderful poetry written about love. I don't doubt it was one of the first things man ever did once he learned to write. Probably long before he even accomplished that feat, men were whispering declarations of their love. I turned to someone far more eloquent than I to find the right words for Connor and Dawn. I ask that you all think on these words of the bard and pray that you all find cause to feel this way in your own life."
Savage took a few steps closer, laying his hand along Connor's chin and did the same with Dawn with his other hand.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.
Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
Connor listened to the words, his eyes never leaving Dawn's. He understood every word of it, felt them resonating deep within him. From her soft gaze, he knew Dawn felt it, too.
"Since it is your intention to enter into this marriage, join your right hands and declare your vows," Savage instructed.
Connor wasn't sure his hand would have moved if not for Giles and Ailsa stepping in as rehearsed to place Dawn's hand in his. He looked at the woman who was going to be the mother of his child and all thought left his mind. He was a blank slate and if he didn't think of his vows soon, he wouldn't have to worry about Ailsa kicking his butt. Dawn would kill him first. Time stretched out. The bagpipes whirled softly in the background. Connor wasn't sure if time had actually stopped or not but seeing the smile still on Dawn's tear-dampened face he figured only a heartbeat's time had actually passed.
"I am the sky," he said as the words Dawn had written for them flooded back. "You are the earth. Together we are life. I pledge that like a star, my love will be bright and constant. I will be the shield that protects you as you will be the shield that I shelter under. It will be your name on my lips as I drift off to dream each night and in your arms, I shall wake."
"I am the earth," Dawn said, her voice nowhere near as shaky as his had been. "You are the sky. Together we are life. I pledge that like a stone my love will be firm, weathering any storm. I will be the love that rides the waves between our souls. My heart will beat because of you and I shall love because of you."
"As a symbol of this unity, we shall now light the unity candle." Savage said. "May we have the flame."
Rhiannon, leaning on her cane, stood and came forward, standing before them. She cupped her gnarled hands and said one word, "Tanau." A small ball of fire danced on her skin. Connor's eyes widened. He had seen magic before, of course, but he hadn't been expecting it here. "Take it together, children," Rhiannon instructed.
Connor's fingers brushed Dawn's as they took the fire from her. It was cool to the touch and tickling. Together they walked to the candle and looked back at Father Savage. He nodded. "You know what to say."
Together they touched the ball of fire to the candle. It flared and disappeared, leaving just a remnant behind dancing on the wick. This time Connor found his voice first and together they said, "We swear by peace and love to stand, heart to heart, and hand to hand. Mark, o' spirit, and hear us now confirming this our sacred vow."
Father Savage waved them back before him. "May I have the rings, please."
Ailsa stepped forward, untying Connor's ring from her hair. Giles set Dawn's in Savage's big hand. The priest went to the rock and took up the crystal decanter, splashing holy water on them then made the sign of the cross. "May the Lord bless these rings which you give to each other as the sign of your love and fidelity." Savage put Dawn's ring in Connor's hand and nodded at the girl.
Connor slipped the ring on the tip of her thumb. "With this ring, I thee wed." He moved the ring to her index finger. "With all my worldly goods, I thee endow." The ring moved to her middle finger and quickly to the finger were it would rest. "Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen."
Dawn repeated the ceremony with his ring. It was then he noticed how hard she was shaking. He barely realized he was crying. Savage clasped his hands over theirs then stepped back, raising his hands to the heavens.
"Let us pray. O Eternal God, Giver of spiritual grace and everlasting life, send your blessings upon this man and woman whom we bless in your name. As Connor and Dawn have pledged their troth each to the other and by the giving and receiving of a ring and by the joining of their hands, I pronounce them husband and wife. May they remain ever after in perfect love and peace together in your name, amen. You may now kiss the bride."
This was one cue Connor hadn't forgotten or froze up for. His lips touched Dawn's softly and the world melted away. In that moment, only she existed and it wasn't until he heard Savage saying, "I present to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Skerret," that the rest of the world filtered in. Connor wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now and stood rooted as the piper started a rousing song and the people clapped for them.
"The ceremony is over, you may go in peace, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit amen," Savage said and Giles nodded up the aisle to the tent.
Dawn had to hold Connor back at a dignified pace. All he wanted was to get away from all the eyes. To his horror, he had forgotten the part where he had to stand and shake the hands and receive kisses from everyone who had stood witness before Dawn bundled him into the car with Giles and Ailsa. As the driver pulled away, Ailsa popped the cork on a bottle.
"Fake champagne," she said, apologetically, "But better for us. So, how does it feel?"
"Wonderful." Dawn rested her head on Connor's shoulder. "But I thought Connor was going to faint on me."
"You weren't the only one worrying about that," he assured her, not the least bit embarrassed by it.
"But you survived admirably," Giles said.
"And just wait until you see the hotel," Ailsa bubbled.
Connor was all for that, wanting to be alone with his wife even though he knew he still had a dinner to make it through. Dawn's breath caught as the hotel came into view. It was all pale brown-grey stone like some ancient fortress.
"It's beautiful," she squealed excitedly.
"The Talbot hotel," Giles said, "It's Elizabethan. Parts of it came from Forthinghay Castle."
"Elizabethan?" Connor asked as the car pulled up to the building.
"It was over two hundred years old when your father was born," Giles said. "Your luggage has already been brought around and dinner should be waiting."
"It's like a fairy tale," Dawn burbled.
Connor wanted to get to the dinner. Instead he had to pose for pictures. By the time that was done, most of the wedding guests, including Father Savage, most of his family, Rhiannon and Saeth were inside by a stone fireplace that made Dawn squeal some more. That meant more photos. Connor felt wiped out, adrenaline having ravaged his system by the time he and Dawn sat at the head of the table closest to the unlit fireplace.
"Did you see that oak staircase?" Dawn asked.
"Let me guess, photo time?" Connor managed a smile and Dawn kissed his cheek.
"After dinner. That staircase is so beautiful."
"It came from the castle," Ailsa said. "Mary Queen of Scots walked down it...right before they executed her. Best not to think about that."
Dawn's lips puckered. "She doesn't like haunt this place, does she?"
"Well," Giles hedged.
"Giles! You got us rooms at a haunted hotel?" Dawn let him a consternated look.
"It's quite a lovely place. I'm sure a simple haunting won't disturb anyone," he said. "Besides, the Watchers keep rooms here."
"Forget about the ghost," Ailsa said. "Time for a toast. Giles."
Giles stood up and everyone quieted. "Dawn, Connor, your lives together may have had a tumultuous start but may you have much calmer waters to sail on here after. For you, I hope that the saddest day of your future is no worse than the happiest day of your past. May the lamp of love burn brightest in the darkest hours and never flicker in the winds of any storm that may come. May your years together be many and happy."
"Kiss, kiss," Ailsa chanted as others clinked fork to glass.
Connor was only too happy to oblige then and many times throughout the dinner and the dancing. Savage's family provided the music and other entertainment. Dawn looked thoroughly exhausted as he carried her up the stairs and into their room. He gently placed her on the bed.
"I can't believe it," she said, taking the flowers off her head, him helping her with the pins. "We're married."
"It was..." he trailed off, trying to find the right word.
"Touching," she said, kissing him.
Dawn stood and tried to get out of her dress. He helped her, carefully folding the gown over a chair. He knelt at her feet, kissing her belly.
"You will be such a lucky child to have such a kind and gentle mother," he whispered. Dawn's hand, rested on his head and at that moment he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.