And so the time had finally come: the exchanging of vows. While the majority of the crowd had undoubtedly assumed that the writer would be composing his own wedding vows, the look on his soon-to-be-spouse's face revealed a sign of shock.
"Amelia, I hope you don't mind, but I decided to write my own vows," he paused to take her trembling hands within his own, never taking his eyes off her. "And I would like to recite them now, before our friends, our family, the very heavens themselves."
"Arthur-" was all that Amelia could manage before she felt his hands squeeze tighter. A reassuring smile crossed his lips, putting forth his best efforts to stop the reappearance of tears at the edges of his eyes as he saw them mirrored in Amelia's.
"The vows recited at a wedding, ones of love and adoration until death do us part to a writer seem somewhat contrived. To a man who makes a living creating, crafting, and imagining worlds that could never be, limitations of death and life are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. For when you write words down on a page, they carry with them a kind of immortality. Indeed some of the most frequented phrases in the English language came from a few sentences on the page within the greatest and most influential books in our history. They permeate our thoughts, cross cultural barriers, and truly withstand the test of time.
In this way, Amelia, this is how I wish to symbolize our love. To place upon the page of a new book we write together and that we began the moment we met. From the very instant you said hello to the time when the fickle world decides to separate our bodies-but never our hearts-from this world. To write on endless pages of daily activities and accomplishments, of failures and arguments, of life and loss. But perhaps this book is already being written, for you have influenced me from that moment and this moment onwards. I will never be the same, nor do I wish to return to a time when you didn't.
You are, by all definitions of the word, my muse. My inspiration, infecting my words and revealing yourself on every page I write. As an author I could hope for nothing more that those who read my lines see you within them too. Your hope and light, your kindness and perseverance, your love. While some stories come and go with the turning of a page, our story we write as husband and wife-I have no doubt- will be one we'll want to read on and on. Scanning every page with depth and excitement, anticipation each new chapter for what life will bring us next.
These are the promises I make with you today: to have and hold you in my heart and in the hearts of all whom I touch with my prose; to be with you in sickness and health and far beyond the maladies of this life in hope of a brighter future; to support you and to never part, just as one can never part with the lessons and experiences that have helped shape who they are. I promise to give you my all, even if I can't manage to cook anything proper, go off on fanciful tangents describing other worldy situations, sleep in till noon or stay up far past what is recommended for any human being."
The tears flowed freely now from both of them, Amelia resisting any and all urges she had to embrace him before the time was right.
"As always, you've outdone me again, Artie." she answered, not bothering to wipe the tears away. "And I'm afraid to say that anything else I add would ruin those beautiful words."
Arthur gripped her hands tighter for support, the existence of hundreds of eyes lost on him as all he could see was the lovely vision before him. He hesitated saying anymore, fearing that he might have overshadowed her with his speech, stolen the spotlight which he had been informed time and time again had been reserved for the bride. He was just about to speak up again when Amelia shook her head and smiled a smile that spread into those dazzling blue eyes, calming any fears or hesitations he might have had.
"So I guess, since everything else has been covered, all that's left to say is 'I do'".
((WELP. I'm sorry that this installment is SO long in coming, but I will say I haven't just been a bump on a log sitting here twiddling my thumbs. To those who aren't aware/don't know the rest of the story, a majority of the "in-betweens" in these chapters can be found in comics/drawings/little drabbles on the main blog (ask-writer-arthur on tumblr). I just want to thank everyone again who's been so supportive and encouraging on the blog and on fanfiction to read through my useless dribble and still love these two as much as I do. ;3; I hope that this was a good conclusion to a story, though this may or may NOT be the final chapter. Regardless, I look forward to what the future brings, and maybe this will help me find time to work on other projects and writing instead. Hope you all have a great weekend thank you for being patient!
~Love Faux