The wedding is to be an extravagant affair. Though it would not be a very large wedding, it would be an affair to remember to those who would attend.
Ignoring the traditional color white for a wedding dress, and taking inspiration and influence from the Japanese, I chose red. A deep rose red that was not quite burgundy kimono-styled dress.
The nerves are making me feel sick to my stomach. What would happen if when I walked down the aisle, he was not there or refused to go through with it?
Christoph's sister was whom I had chosen for my flower girl, and her mother as a bridal attendant and bridesmaid.
"Don't worry, Aria, I'm sure it will be okay," Marseille Leon reassured me. "Everyone gets butterflies in their stomachs. Even I had those nervous feelings so bad I almost retched, and I was deeply in love! Take a few deep breaths to calm yourself, mademoiselle."
All my fears are relieved as I reach the altar and Christoph is there, waiting for me… As we speak the vows, I close my eyes, preparing myself for the inevitable rejection and humiliation once again.
"Will you, Christoph Leon, take Mademoiselle Aria Guirre to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
"I do."
Those simple words, so short and common, placed together like that in this end context, shatters my fears of rejection, the wounds and scars of those past rejections, and all my uncertainties. He is willing to spend the rest of his days with me—a corpse, a monster, a thing to that does not deserve love! Me! I open my eyes, he is still there. A true smile breaks upon my lips.
"Do you, Mademoiselle Aria Guirre, take this man, Christoph Leon, to be your husband, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"
"I do, Pere Montser."
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
He kisses me deeply, passionately, and so deep that it is so unlike any kiss I have ever known. Hesitantly, I return the kiss.
The priest addresses the gathered audience: "May I present to you Madame et Monsieur Guirre-Leon, le Comte et Comptess de Guirre… Merci."