Chapter 55: United
"How about this one?" Ruby asked, holding up a white dress with an awful lot of glitter and the likes. Serena made a face at the dress, shaking her head while Ruby hung it back in place with a sigh. "Okay, how about this?" she tried again, holding up another one.
Serena eyed the garment carefully. It was a beautiful white gown, the sleeves made out of lace and the top nicely carved to fit her figure while the bottom fanned out. The matching veil was also made out of lace and would reach to just above her behind, a good length for the girl.
"It looks nice," she said, contemplating it. "Let me try it on," she finally said, holding out her hand. Ruby handed her the dress and off she was into the cabin. It was surprisingly easy to put on and the only help Serena needed was with the zipper at the back. After Ruby had helped her, she put on some simple white shoes with heels and stepped outside. "What do you think?" she asked, turning in front of the mirror.
"It's perfect!" Ruby exclaimed with joy, her eyes sparkling like never before. "You have to take this. Adam will love it!"
"You think?"
"Of course!"
Looking herself over once again in the mirror, Serena thought that, yes, this dress was definitely beautiful. So, without wasting any more time, she went back into the cabin, put on her red hoodie, black top and jeans with ankle boots again, and went to the cashier to pay for it. She bought the same white heels that she'd worn when she was trying on the dress and off the two girls were.
"I can't believe that the two of you will really be getting married," Ruby said, eyes sparkling and having a happy smile on her face. It felt like it was only yesterday that she'd met the girl beside her.
"Neither can I," Serena replied, pushing back her hair. It had grown longer again and she was mentally searching her mind which coiffure she could wear for the big day. "How are the others coming along with the preparations?" she asked.
"I think that they're almost done. Weiss wanted to have some more tables put into the school hall, but other than that, I think she's satisfied."
"And the church?"
"All done. You'll see, you'll just love it. Blake and Yang were so excited to decorate it and I think that they know what you'll like," Ruby said with a grin. "So, are you already nervous?" The young girl glanced over at the woman walking beside her.
"I'm dying of nervousness. I can't believe that the wedding is already in two weeks. I still don't know if this is really happening." Then, in a more uncertain voice, "Are you sure that this is alright?"
Ruby stopped and turned, looking the girl in the eyes. "What do you mean? You're not getting cold feet, now are you?" she lightly teased.
"Of course not! But, it's all happening so quick. I mean, he only proposed to me a month ago and the wedding is already in two weeks. And Adam and I are both still so young. What if we're moving on too fast, or if it's just a thing of the moment and it'll be over soon after?"
Ruby grabbed the girl's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze before calmly saying, "It's all going to work out alright. The others and me can see how much the two of you love each other and I can tell you that, whatever you might think now, it's all going to be alright. You'll see."
"Thanks Ruby," Serena said, hugging the girl, thankful for her encouraging words.
"Now, about the baby…"
"Are you ready Serena?" The head of Ruby popped into the small room in which Serena was sitting, her hands wringing nervously on the fabric of her dress. Ruby could see the tension and walked up to her friend, settling a hand on her shoulder. "Ready?" she asked again, silver eyes calm and settling.
Serena gulped once before giving her a nod. Standing up, she accompanied Ruby out of the room and just to in front of the double doors that led to the principal room of the church.
"Miss Caldron," Ozpin greeted her, offering his arm. Serena shakily placed her hand on his and gave him a nervous smile. Since she had no family, she had no father to walk her to the altar. So Ozpin had volunteered to take over that part and was now leading the nervous bride down the aisle.
Serena looked everywhere but in front of her. She could feel the multiple eyes of people on her and decided to stare at the floor as long as possible. If she didn't, she feared she would trip over her own two feet in her frenzy. She had invited a lot of people, and she guessed that most of them had come, which would make about fifty guests.
After being halfway down the aisle, she felt the nervousness become over-powered by curiosity. What did Adam look like? Was he smiling? Was he even looking at her? She hadn't seen him once in his suit, neither had he seen her in her dress. And it was because of her natural curiosity that she found her eyes traveling upwards, along the floor and the benches that lined the aisle, until they landed on her soon-to-be husband.
Adam was standing there, tall and handsome as ever. He was wearing a black suit, with a red tie, arms crossed behind his back and head held high. She'd never seen him look more proud yet also nervous than in this very moment. And the look he was giving her… It made her heart melt and she forced herself to keep her tears at bay, lest she want to destroy the makeup job that Yang and Weiss did on her for at least an hour.
His eyes were bright, the brightest red possible, and they were laughing at her with such tremendous joy that she felt a smile garce her lips. He returned the smile and suddenly, she was standing in front of him and he was taking her hand in his and leading her up the few steps to stand beside him. She was sure that her hand was shaking and squeezed his hand, which he returned.
"You look beautiful," he lowly whispered, half-listening to the preacher who was reading the usual wedding reciting.
"You do too," she returned, her eyes briefly glancing at him. He gave her that small grin that most wouldn't even notice, so subtle was it. But she saw it nonetheless.
"Do you, Adam Taurus, take Serena Caldron to be your wife." The voice of the preacher suddenly became more clear and Serena, with a shock, realized that this was the big moment. "Do you promise to love her and hold her dear in sickness as well as in health until death shall make you part?"
"I do," Adam replied, his eyes gleaming down softly on the petite female in front of him.
"And do you, Serena Caldron, take Adam Taurus to be your husband-"
"I do," Serena immediately said, interrupting the preacher and earning herself a few laughs from the assembled guests. The old man only smiled good-naturedly before blessing the both of them and officially making them husband and wife. Serena immediately got up on her toes and kissed Adam, surprising the male with her sudden boldness, but she could feel the smile that formed under her lips. Parting, she turned to the cheering crowd of people. The members of Team RWBY all had tears in their eyes and even Ozpin looked like he was about to shed a few tears.
The party was being held in the school hall, where the student ball had been held for the graduates only last month. Balloons were floating around and beautiful white flowers were decorating the grand hall, white banners hanging from some balconies.
The happy couple was currently receiving congratulations from Raven and Oobleck, who'd come together, and even some former White Fang members (a man named Perry to whom Serena took an instant liking) and other students congratulated them. Ozpin and Glynda did as well, and the students cheered when the two danced their wedding dance, clearing the dance floor so that they would have enough room.
Now, Serena was standing by the bar, which was manned by Junior, and sipping on some orange juice for she was still pregnant and knew that drinning alcohol right now would be bad. The man had opened his own restaurant next to his club and turned out to be a formidable chef. He had volunteered to cater for their wedding and even given them a reduction on the prize (it wasn't every day that an old friend of him got married, he'd said).
Ruby had, against all odds, danced with Torchwick not long ago and was now animatedly talking with him. Serena couldn't help the smile that crossed her face when she saw how well the two of them seemed to get along now.
A tap on the shoulder made her look to her left to see Blake standing there. For once, she wasn't wearing her bow, her cat ears now open for everyone to see. She'd come with a boy named Sun, a student from Vacuo and she could see that the two had a thing for each other.
"Blake," she greeted the girl, setting down her drink. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to thank you. About Adam."
"What do you mean?" the raven head questioned, not getting the young female's point.
"I wanted to thank you for saving him from himself. You know what he was like, how ruthless he was. I just wanted to thank you for changing him. It's thanks to you that he didn't become a monster," the girl said.
"Oh Blake, you don't need to thank me for something like that. I didn't do anything to him."
"But you did. You should've seen him back when he was still one hundred percent behind the White Fang. He was about to become a monster. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't so I ran away. Like always." The girl bowed her head in shame.
"You didn't run away. You did all you could and when it didn't help, you tried to change him by leaving. He told me a lot about you, and believe me when I tell you that you are one of the main reasons why he didn't turn out how you feared him to. Trust me. You did all you could and I'm thankful for that. If you hadn't done what you did, I'm sure that not even I would have been able to get him back. So, I'm really the one who should be thanking you," Serena said with a gentle smile. The girl gave her a nod of the head and hugged her briefly, an uncharacteristic gesture for someone who was normaly quite distant towards people, before heading back to her own date.
"You really did save me," the calm drawl of Adam came from behind and Serena slightly jumped at his sudden appearance. Turing around, she saw the male staring off at his former partner before his eyes lowered to look at her. "Thank you."
"You saved me as well." Serena smiled and kissed him once, no words needing to be said. It was the two of them who saved each other. He had saved her from her grief and sorrow. She had saved him from his anger and pain.
And now, they had enough time to keep it that way.
"Uh, Serena, we have a little surprise," Ruby's voice jerked the young female out of her reverie. Looking over at the girl, she saw Ruby and the others grinning at her while Roman, Junior and some other guests looked quite uneasy.
"What is it?" Serena asked as both she and her husband walked up to the girl.
"Just look out there," the girl replied, pointing at the double doors that led outside. Serena gave a confused look before grabbing the fabric of her dress and hurrying outside, anxious that something bad was going on.
She didn't have to worry for long though.
"Guys!" she exclaimed, running to Napoleon, Ajax and Loki. She almost fell against the oldest Ursa as she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in the part of his body that wasn't covered by spikes and bone. The Grimm gave a content purr, nuzzling her head before letting go of her. Stepping back, Serena saw that the entire pack was there, plus some other Grimm. Even Aeolus was there!
"What are you doing here?" she asked breathless, amazed by the sheer number of them.
We came to congratulate you, little one. I wasn't there last time to do so, but I will now, Napoleon answered.
"You didn't have to!" she said. All the Grimm snorted once, showing their disapproval.
Of course we do. It is not every day that a human who has done so much for us gets united with his mate. It is an honor to be here.
"What the hell?!"
Serena whirled around to see Torchwick staggering backwards. He'd probably just gotten out of the building and was shocked by the presence of the creatures. Ruby gave a snort and caught his arm when he was about to land flat on his butt. Other guests were coming out as well, some more cautious, while others were already used to the animals and only greeted them with a wink or said 'hi'.
Ruby went over to Ajax and patted him on the head while being slobbered on by Loki who was hyper at the prospect of seeing this bubbly girl again. The young female grinned at the orange-haired man when he looked at her with his jaw practically touching the floor.
"Don't be such a baby and come say hi. They don't like it when you stare at them like that," the youth teased the man. Torchwick shut his mouth and hesitantly took a step towards the beasts, before being close enough and giving a hesitant wink.
Ruby simply laughed at seeing her ex-arch nemesis be so flabbergasted and gave him a push and, after a short yelp, the man had his face full of slobber. He blinked a few times before wiping the saliva off him and lightly punched the girl in the arm, his form of revenge for pushing him.
"Remind me not to cross your way again, Red," he mumbled to the girl, still in awe.
"This is great!" Yang suddenly exclaimed, gaining all the attention. "Now we can party together!"
Some people sweat dropped while others gave a nervous laugh. But, after some time and because it was a warm July evening, they eventually decided to follow her idea. Now, both humans and Grimm were dancing to the music that was blaring loudly from the inside of the hall. They laughed and talked and some even started to play with the Grimm.
"This is the weirdest wedding I have ever seen," Serena said to Adam, staring at her friends that all enjoyed themselves.
"Tell me about it," the male replied, before grabbing her hand. "How about joining?"
"You're on," she replied with a smirk and off the two were, dancing with Napoleon, Loki, Ajax, even Deion was there and for once being friendly to humans.
It really was the weirdest wedding, but it would remain in the minds of everyone for a long time.
A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.
Only one more chapter guys and then it will be the end. So look forward to the last and final chapter!