She stared at the mirror, a young happy woman smiled back at her. Behind her, Lacus smiled back as she placed the headdress atop her shiny golden hair. From inside her room, both heard the commotion outside and giggled when they heard Kira shouting. Once the headdress was in place, Lacus lowered her pink head onto Cagalli's bare shoulder.
"You are doing the right thing," she said. Her golden-haired friend smiled back at her, her golden amber eyes shining.
"I am, aren't I?" she asked. Her sister-in-law nodded, the pink hair swished with the movement.
"Come on. It is time to go," Lacus said, straightening herself up and holding out a hand to Cagalli. She took her hand willing and rose up. Once stood up, Lacus began brushing the white dress and lowered the veil over her face. "Ready?" she asked. Cagalli nodded and took the bouquet of white roses from Lacus. Together, they walked out of the room.
Outside, she felt the cold breeze bit her shoulders gently but ignored it. She was just too excited to feel the cold. She turned and looked up at the huge mansion behind her. She smiled when she saw a very faint image of her father looking down at her from behind one of the windows. A pearl-shaped tear rolled down her cheek when she saw him nodded in approval.
"Cagalli, time to go," she heard her brother called out from behind her. She turned and nodded, blinking her tears away. She turned back only to find that her father was gone. "Goodbye Father," she whispered and looked away. Up ahead, she saw her brother and his wife smiling at her and holding out their hands to her.
She smiled and gave the bouquet to Lacus. Grasping her brother's hand, she climbed aboard the white carriage. Seeing that she was safe inside, both Kira and Lacus followed suit. Kira tapped the roof of the carriage lightly, indicating to the driver to start moving. Outside, the driver heard the tap and lightly whipped the reins, motioning for the six white horses to move.
As soon as the carriage began to roll down the street, Cagalli scooted over to the side and waved at the very people who had taken care of her ever since she was little. She saw her nanny, Mana, wiped away her tears and the other servants waved enthusiastically back at her. She continued to wave until she could no longer see them. She moved back to her seat and looked out of the window. A little bit more and they would already reach the church. She looked down and saw the gleam of her engagement ring. She smiled, lost in her memories.
The sound of people whistling and clapping snapped her out of her dreamy state. She looked up and saw that they had already arrived. Outside, two smartly dressed men came forward and one opened the carriage door. The other assisted her down and later Lacus. Outside, her people called out to her and waved. She looked around and saw that all of Orb's residents were there. She smiled, appreciated the warm gestures of her people.
"Cagalli," she heard the soft voice of her brother. She looked at him and saw him holding out his hand to her. "It's time," he softly said, smiling. She nodded and raised her hand to grab his. Just as her hand touched his, white flakes softly dropped from the sky. Everyone looked up and was awed by the sight. She, too, looked up and through her white veil a white flake dropped on her cheek. She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling the soft caress. It felt like her father was caressing her cheek. "It's perfect," she whispered. She looked at her brother and nodded.
Kira smiled and linked her arm with his. He turned to his wife and gestured for her to enter the church first. After a while, both began to hear the music playing. Straightening herself up, both she and Kira walked in.
Once inside, she heard the melodic tunes of the song chosen by her chosen-to-be. She smiled as she caught on the meaning of the song.
Do you remember the first day we met even now?
You looked abashed, hanging your head
And turning your eyes away
She did remember the first time they met. Though he was hanging his head, she knew that he was not abashed. "But you did turned your eyes away in anger," she thought, giggling a bit.
I wonder when such a manner became so dear to me
It makes me feel a little nostalgic
Don't you feel so?
Every thing he did in the past made her nostalgic, even now. And she knew that he was feeling it too.
Many seasons have passed by
With quick steps since then
She knew that it was far too long that she had not seen him. She kept thinking about him, day and night. Though not romantically. But eventually, just thinking about him made her heart beat even faster. "Even now," she thought.
When the white snow colors the city
Let me stay by your side
Though I may bother you
Again and again
She remembered the time he proposed to her. "When the white snow colors the city, let me stay by your side," he had whispered. She sniffed a little now.
We talked overnight about our future and the moments
I felt they were so dazzling
And precious
Ever since he proposed, they had stayed up every night talking about their future, their moments together and the past. It must have gotten loud because her brother had burst into the room one night and warned them to keep it down.
Tears welled up in my eyes
When I thought it would be nice
That I could forgive my past some day
"And because of you I was able to let go of the past and forgive it at the same time," she thought, her eyes glistened.
When the white snow melts
And the city becomes vivid and colorful
I like to keep you closest
To my heart
She knew that even when the magical time of the snow had ended, he would always keep her close to him.
The days we couldn't understand each other and parted
The days of tears, the days of smiling faces
Whatever may happen and whatever mood you may be in
I'll always accept you
She was getting closer to the altar by now. She could feel the warm presence of her friends surrounding her. But she only needed one. And he was directly ahead of her, smiling back at her with those smiles of his. Her brother positioned her beside her chosen and kissed her cheek before moving away from her. She turned to her chosen and allowed him to lift up the veil. She felt his finger wiping away the stray tear that had stayed on her cheek.
She looked up and saw the love in those red eyes of his. She let her eyes roamed over his face and giggled softly when she saw his unruly black hair.
"Whatever may happen and whatever mood you may be in, I'll always accept you," she whispered, repeating the last words of the song. She saw his eyes widened slightly.
"When the white snow melts and the city becomes vivid and colorful, I like to keep you closest to my heart," he replied back. She smiled broadly and slipped her hand in his. She turned to her right and gave her bouquet to Lacus who sniffed. Before turning back, she looked back at her smiling daughter who sat on Athrun's lap. She winked at her daughter who giggled and whispered into her father's ear. She saw Athrun smiled and nodded at her. She smiled back and finally turned to the kindly blind priest who smiled at her.
"We are gathered here-" he began.
By the way, to clear things up, both father and daugther (Rosalynn and Athrun) are finally able to be a family once again. Seems like all of his effort in getting toknow his daughter had paid off! Also, how did Rosalynn know about Athrun being her father? Well, it seems that a certain mischievous golden-haired Cagalli look-alike opened a certaind drawer and saw the picture of the blue-haired coordinator. Being curious by nature, she asked a certain brown-haired uncle about the picture and he reluctantly told her everything. On side note, if you guys like a sequel or a nything like that, let me know! I just love Cagalli/Shinn pairing!