The Water is Wide

Chapter 29

Wedding Day

I was awakened by three sisters jumping on my bed, not that I had really slept much. I don't know how long I cried in the garden alone before finally wandering back to my room, but I knew it was late when I arrived. I had trouble both falling and staying asleep. In what little sleep I did obtain though, my dreams were filled with Edmund and what could have been.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" My sisters chimed as quickly as the hummingbirds flutter their wings.

"You're getting married, Airy!" Soffia said before giving a particularly exuberant bounce and her elbow landed in my stomach. I grunted and curled into a ball.

"Well don't jump on her like that, Soffia," Lucy said. "You don't her walking down the aisle covered in dark bruises." My sisters laughed but they did not stop bouncing. "Why don't you three go inform the kitchens that your sister would like her breakfast in her rooms this morning?"

My sisters found their new task to be more exciting, and so they jumped off my bed and ran for the door.

"Don't let Susan catch you running," Lucy called after them as they rushed out the door.

Then Lucy turned to me and smiled, but her smile was different. I couldn't quite place how; there was just something different about it. Did she know about her brother and me? Did she know what happened between us in the garden? How could she? No! She couldn't know. If she knew, then there would be no way she would allow this wedding to proceed. Then had she finally resigned to the fact that I was marring Silas?

Lucy looked away suddenly and went to the window where she pulled back the curtains. The sun was bright and beckoned happiness. It would not find it in me. When Lucy turned back around that something different was still there, but it was masked by another smile as she tried to hide it. Not having the strength to question her on the matter, I simply gave a masking smile of my own and pushed aside the covers.

I had a quick wash and by the time I had dried and wrapped a robe around me my sisters had returned with a few of the kitchen staff and breakfast. The five of us ate together. My sisters provided all the entertainment and laughter Lucy and I needed to get through the morning. After that, it was time to get ready. My sisters easily changed into their dresses while my hair was attended to by Lady Camille of Terebinthia.

Lady Camille lived on Silas' lands and had helped many Terebinthian women prepare for their weddings. There were some wedding traditions that were particular to Terebinthia and so Lucy and I thought it best to bring in Camille for help. Two such traditions were the way the hair was worn and the style of the dress; neither of which I was very fond of.

My hair was pulled back into a tight bun that made my head feel as though it would tear open at the strain. Camille left four small strands of hair out around my face and put them in a curl. After my hair was mostly finished I stepped into the elaborate Terebinthian style dress. It wasn't a white dress, as I was expecting, but more of a golden cream. It had a corset style bodice and a wide skirt. The bodice and down the center of the skirt were printed with green, pink, and gold butterflies. Trimming the bodice and skirt was a thin strip of green silk. The bodice had no sleeves, but it had arm bands of the same print that laced up in pink silk. At the elbow there was a white poof sleeve.

When I was fully laced up in my dress, a wreath of spring flowers was woven around my bun. My necklace, which had belonged to Silas' mother and brought over with Camille, was a simple gold chain with pale pink gems. The only other bit of jewelry I wore was the gold band Silas had given me upon our engagement. It currently sat on my right hand, and it would move to my left during the ceremony at which point it would signify our marriage.

Once I was fully dressed and ready by Camille's standards, I was allowed to view myself in the reflecting glass. I hardly recognized me. My hair pulled on my face making it look larger than it was, and the dress washed me out. Camille and my sisters, however, gushed at how gorgeous I looked. "Like a true Terebinthian Lady," Camille had said.

I didn't have much time to fret over how unlike me I looked because there was a knock on my door. Lucy went to answer it.

"Lord Silas," she sounded surprised.

"Your Majesty," Silas replied. "I was rather hoping to have a moment with Aaralynn."

"Oh, I'm not sure that's a good idea right now. I mean, in our wedding traditions it is often seen as a sign of ill fortune if the groom should see the bride before the wedding."

"It's all right, Lucy. He can come in if he wishes," I said. How much more ill fortune could I face than marrying anyone but Edmund anyway?

Lucy relented without any further hesitation; perhaps she too could think of nothing worse than what was already happening. Silas entered but hesitated at the door when his eyes fell on me. He slowly looked over me, his eyes taking in every detail. When his eyes reached mine, I noticed a peculiar gleam in them: adoration. I'd never seen such adoration from him before; I always felt he simply tolerated my looks. Now, for the first time, I had the feeling that he truly appreciated them.

"You look beautiful," he said a little breathless. "Unbelievably beautiful."

"Thank you," I replied softly, a blush forming against my will. Silas continued to stand and admire my beauty which began to make me a little uneasy. His mannerisms seemed strange for him.

"Was there something you needed me to do?" I asked.

"No. No you're fine. Everything…everything is in order. But I was hoping…Perhaps we could have a moment alone, please, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." I looked to Lucy, a little worried, but she didn't seem to know what this was about either. She quickly gathered up my sisters and Lady Camille however and they all left the room soon after.

"You truly are a beautiful bride, Aaralynn."

I only smiled my thanks this time. Silas fell into another awkward and silent pause. Suddenly I had the sinking feeling that whatever it was that brought him to my room was weighing heavily on his mind.

"Perhaps we should sit?" I offered.

Silas gave a relieved smile. "Yes, perhaps we should."

I sat in Peter's study reading over the transcriptions of the talks with Silas. Peter was standing nearby watching me carefully. I was trying my hardest to keep my thoughts on anything other than Aaralynn's marriage to Silas. Peter's cautious and worried eye was not helping. Granted, I suspected that there was truly very little that could help me at the moment. The wedding was only a few short minutes away.

"What are you doing, Ed?" Peter asked, his voice as filled with worry as his eyes.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Peter? I'm reading," I replied dryly.

"It looks like you've been reading the same page for the last hour."

I had been doing that, but I did not want to confirm Peter's suspicions.

"Ed…."

"I'm fine, Pete. Really."

"I know better than to believe that. How can you be 'fine' when this farce of a wedding is about to occur?"

I had never heard Peter sound so undiplomatic about an unpleasant occurrence before, and I looked up from the transcripts. "Well, what do you want me to do about it? I cannot come between them. I cannot be the reason the wedding is called off. How would that look to our allies, that a King of Narnia had an affair with the wife-to-be of a Terebinthian Lord? It would ruin us, and what's more, it would ruin Aaralynn."

At last, Peter looked less worried and more sympathetic. He knew how I felt about the wedding, and yet he knew I could not rightfully stop it. With his quiet resignation, I tried turning back to my distraction; it worked no better than it had before. My attempts at distracting myself didn't last long either, as Susan entered the room.

"Peter, you need to get ready, you too, Edmund. The guests have already begun to arrive and they are looking for their Kings to greet them."

"I'll never be ready, Susan, but I am dressed. As soon as Peter is good to leave, then so am I."

"Then Peter, you need to hurry. We…"

Susan was interrupted as the door burst open to reveal Aaralynn standing in the doorway. I quickly stood at her arrival so that my eyes could better take in the sight of her. Her hair was pulled tightly from her face and her dress hugged and pushed her in a manner that was very unlike her. However, she was still remarkably beautiful and my heart beat a little faster at seeing her in a wedding dress.

Aaralynn's eyes quickly sought my own, and once she had them she began making her way towards me. No one said anything, or if they did, I did not hear for the blood pumping in my head. I moved around the desk to meet her, though it hurt to be so near her. When she stood before me, she said nothing, as though she were afraid to speak or as though she didn't know how to begin.

"Aara…Aaralynn, what are you doing here?" I asked. "You shouldn't be in here." Aaralynn did not respond, but I saw frantic movement below my eyes. I looked to her hands and saw that she was fiddling with her engagement ring. I knew at once what she was trying to do.

"No. Aaralynn, stop. I can't let you do this," I said. "Not for me."

Aaralynn softly slammed the ring on Peter's desk and covered it with her hand.

"Put it back on, Aaralynn. Please, we talked about this." My words were weak without any conviction behind them. More than anything I wanted to be with her, but to do so would cause great harm. "Aaralynn, we…"

"I've been released," she said softly. My eyes flew up to hers. They were moist with unshed tears, but not ones of fear or sadness. The tears she held were full of excitement and potential joy.

"I've been released," she said again, a bit firmer. "Lord Silas has released me from our engagement."

I couldn't speak, or move, or even breathe. Had he somehow discovered our secret? Did he know what had transpired between us in the garden? I searched Aaralynn's face again, but still I saw no fear.

"H…how? Why?" I asked, unable to believe what I had heard.

"He said he couldn't marry me. He…he said he loves someone else." She laughed softly as her tears began to fall. "He said he met her after he had already made the arrangement with my Papa. He decided not to pursue it because of the promise he had made, but when he thought I was dead…he…he couldn't help but to fall in love with her. Then, when I returned, he felt he still had to honor his promise. He said he tried to do what was right by my Papa; he tried to honor him. But this morning he realized he couldn't. He had to be true to his heart, and then he released me."

Aaralynn laughed again and brushed the tears from her face. Meanwhile, I was still trying to process everything she had said. It was as though my brain functions had been dulled by the words, "I've been released." Could all of this really be happening? Could it be true?

Somehow my mouth caught on before my brain could, and I asked, "So you're not getting married?"

"No. Not today. At least….not to Silas." She bit her lip as though suddenly nervous. I replayed her words in my mind again. Was she insinuating what I thought she was?

"We…we couldn't…could we?" I tried to withhold the hope I felt from flooding my words. I turned to my brother. "Peter?"

Peter threw up his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me. This is far from my domain. Susan?" He turned the question over to our sister.

"Well…" Susan hesitated in thought. "The people have gathered for a wedding, some of them traveling quite far. And technically they have gathered to see Aaralynn's wedding; it would still be hers regardless of who the groom was. If Silas has released Aaralynn, then her honor remains intact. And finally, there has been a lot of time and effort that went into planning this day; it would be a shame to let all of this be for naught."

That was all I needed to hear. I took Aaralynn's hands in my own and stepped in closer to her. She turned her eyes back to me at the action, a hopeful smile playing on her lips. My heart raced in my chest. Though this was not how I had desired to do it, I asked the question I'd been longing to ask for months.

"Aaralynn, will you marry me?"

She gave a sweet laugh before replying. "Yes. Yes I will marry you."

Not caring who was around to see, I wrapped her arms around my waist and caught her lips with my own. That familiar fire burst within me again as she deepened the kiss. Her tongue rolling over mine was nearly enough to send me toppling off the edge, but our delight was cut short.

"Well you two sure are cutting it close." I pulled back from the kiss to find that Lucy had joined us in the room and stood with her arms on her hips and a smile on her face.

"Sorry our timing couldn't be more convenient for you, Lu," I said.

Lucy dropped her hands from her hips. "That doesn't really matter now. You can make it up later. But now, we have little time left." Lucy rushed forward and grabbed Aaralynn's arm. "Come on, Aaralynn, we have to get you dressed."

"But Lucy, I'm already dressed," Aaralynn stated.

"In your dress for Lord Silas, yes, but you can't marry my brother wearing that monstrosity."

"But I don't have any other dress to wear, and there's no time to make another."

Lucy grinned. I knew that look too well. "Lucy," I said warily. "What have you done?"

"Don't you worry about that, Brother. Now come on Aaralynn." Lucy freed Aaralynn from my grasp and began leading her back towards the door. "Peter, Susan, you have your instructions." And with those parting words, she was gone.

Well, I hope that was a pleasant surprise. :) So, I think there's only about one chapter left, but I suppose we'll see. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.