Tess's POV
The dress is absolutely stunning.
It isn't heavy at all; in fact, it's almost as light as air. The embroidered bodice laces at the back like a corset, but thank God, I can actually breathe in it. Well, as close to breathing as I can as I'm having a near anxiety attack. The skirts fall down around me like a thick, white, waterfall, and it conceals my strapped heels. It almost seems unfit for a princess, to be dressed so modern, but I love it, and so does the country (they did vote for it, after all).
My hair is pinned up, and soft tendrils fall around my face. My makeup is still kept light, but my lips are painted a dainty red. My maids place the tiara Mom gave me, and I wear my infinity necklace. I even wear my anklet from Maria.
All my mothers are in here with me, in the dressing room—Laura, my foster mother; Queen Rosalinda, my biological mother; and Queen America, my future mother-in-law, my official mother-in-law in, like, thirty minutes.
Oh, my gosh.
They fuss over me meticulously, arranging pieces of hair, or rearranging my jewelry. They tell me I'm beautiful, that they're proud of me, and I almost cry, but I'm so overcome by the anxiety.
What if Matthew decides to back out?
It's a silly thought, but it still horrifies me.
If I add two letters and subtract two words to that thought, everything becomes more terrifying: What if Matthew blacks out?
No.
Stop.
"It is time, Teresa," Mama says in Italian, leading me out.
Maria joins me and gives me a hug. "You ready, Sis?"
I take a breath and take my bouquet of red flowers. "I'm ready."
Matthew's POV
I refrain myself from pacing at the front of the aisle. The entire basilica is waiting for Tess, and I'm afraid she's not going to show up.
What if she decides to back out?
I change some words, and the second question becomes more horrible: What if she blanks out?
I catch Father's eye, and he smiles almost imperceptibly. Most eyes are on him, but I'm betting all eyes are on me. And I'm not even being cocky.
Then the orchestra begins, and I stand straighter as everyone else rises. The big doors open, and my God, I have never seen a more beautiful thing in my life.
Tess walks in, holding herself in a way that she's never done before. She looks so sure and so happy, like she finally has everything she's wanted. She looks at me and then looks down. Is that a blush I detect? I half-smile and half-smirk, laughing at the mere thought of wanting to tease her.
She walks forward, and all I see is her. No cameras, no people, just her, like my peripheral vision has stopped working and all I see is her. She looks spectacular in her dress. Tess looks frail and strong in such an oxymoronic way (I'm not even entirely sure if oxymoronic is a word, but I'm going to use it). A tiara adorns her head, yet her eyes sparkle more than that superficial item.
Both her fathers bring her to me—King Lorenzo, as well as Alfonso, her foster father.
Before I know it, she's right in front of me. Alfonso, who is holding her right hand, places her hand in mine. She grasps it tightly, smiling like she couldn't be happier.
"Take care of her," he whispers.
King Lorenzo nods in assent. "Che Dio te benedica."
I smile and nod, and they walk away.
"Nice seeing you here, love," I whisper to Tess, soft enough so the microphones don't pick it up.
She breathes a laugh, mindful of the microphones thing too. "You, too, Matty"
I relish every minute of the ceremony; after all, it is for us.
Finally the vows come, and I turn to Tess, trying so hard to conceal my smile, to suppress my laugh.
Tess's POV
"Do you, Matthew Sebastian," says the pope, "take Teresa Francesca to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only to her forevermore?"
"I do," Matt says, never leaving his eyes off me.
"And do you, Teresa Francesca, take Matthew Sebastian as your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only to him forevermore?"
"I do," I say, my voice quivering a little.
The pope then places my hand in Matthew's, and I'm so nervous I swear he can feel my sweaty palms. But he seems to be doing the same thing, and it reassures me to no end.
"I, Matthew Sebastian," he begins, "take Teresa Francesca as my wife." We actually haven't heard each other's vows yet, so this will be a bit interesting to hear. "I will love you for so long as I shall live. I will cherish you in every way that I can. I will hold you till death do us part. For, Tess, you are the sun who rises in the east and graces the earth with her presence. You have made me a better man, and I plan to be the best husband."
My heart beats faster with every word he speaks. I can see the faint traces of a smirk upon his smile, and I would raise my eyebrow, except I am near tears at hearing the intense sincerity in his eyes and in his voice.
"I, Teresa Francesca," I start, and I notice my voice wavers. Matt comfortingly squeezes my hand in his, but not so tightly that it will be obvious. "Take Matthew Sebastian as my husband. I promise to care for you as you have cared for me. I will love you for the rest of my life, and I vow to be your everything, because you are mine."
He smiles a bit, just a small one that's meant to be surreptitious and only for me.
He puts the ring on me, a simple wedding band of gold with our names engraved in the interior. I do the same to him, and I'm afraid I'm doing things in the wrong order, but everything continues without interruption.
We kneel to sign our names, and a bunch of things happen, and all I want to do is leave because I want Matthew all to myself, away from prying eyes and eager faces.
"You may now kiss the bride," I hear, and Matthew turns me gently.
I take a breath, and he pulls my lips to him softly, almost timidly. His lips linger on mine for the shortest amount of time, but it promises more. I can almost decipher the word "tonight" as he pulls away.
Matthew's POV
The reception at the palace is warm and heavy. People are loud as they congratulate us,
We're finally married. And I didn't pass out.
We spend hours drifting past people who greet us. We are urged to dance, and we walk to the middle of the ballroom. I pull her close to me and whisper in her ear all the things we're planning to do during our honeymoon. Her ears warm beneath my lips, and I take pleasure in the way her breath stutters.
"Let's leave," she whispers breathlessly.
"Maybe we should."
The song ends and more people join the center of the ballroom to dance. I lead Tess by the hand to the room where I stay. She laughs, albeit nervously, as I close the door behind me.
I take my time looking at her, brushing the hair of her neck. "Hello, beautiful," I whisper, smiling.
She looks in my eyes. "Hello to you too, handsome." She buries her hand in my hair, tickling my scalp. She tiptoes a bit to kiss me, and I can feel the shy smile playing on her lips. She kisses me like she's never been kissed, like she wants to take her time, and it's doing funny things to my heartbeat, to my breathing.
"We're married," I say into her mouth, slowly leading her to the bed.
She smiles again. "We're married," she repeats.
The kiss gets deeper, hungrier, and I practically rip the dark blue uniform off me. Soon my undershirt is gone and so are our shoes. I set her carefully on the bed, and she laughs, and I laugh too, because we are both so nervous our laughter is uncontrollable. We try to stop, but we end up laughing again.
"What are we doing?" she laughs, tracing my lips lightly with her fingers.
"We are being husband and wife," I say, grinning, and leaning down to kiss a soft spot beneath her ear. She sighs, and I just want to rip her dress open, but I have enough restraint.
"Are we really doing this?" she whispers again, trailing her fingers up and down my arm.
I nod, my nose brushing her collarbone. "Unless you're not ready," I say quickly. "We don't have to do it tonight."
She laughs, as if the mere thought is silly, then we hear a door slam, and our eyes widen like the moment has been shattered.
"That could have been any of our family," she says, still keeping her eyes on mine. "I...I don't know if we should do this here. I want to do it, just...not now."
I nod, a bit upset. I smile weakly to compensate for it. "Alright, love."
"Tomorrow night," she whispers, and she kisses me more heatedly than before. It disappoints me that this is the farthest we will be going tonight, but at least I know she wants it too.
We woke up fairly early this morning, so we are both exhausted. I lie beside my wife, my love, and turn off the lights.
And we fall asleep.
How anticlimactic was that? Nah, I'm guessing no one was too upset. If I got anything wrong about the order of weddings, forgive me; the last wedding I attended was six years ago.
HAPPY MEAN GIRLS DAY! IT'S OCTOBER 3! I meant to update my Mean Girls fic but I wanted to update this instead, because this is ending sooner. I think I'm just going to end all my stories because I'm losing inspiration and writing abilities. Sigh.
And, oh, if this story ever becomes the most reviewed story in this site, I will dance and sing my throat out and eat chocolate. Thank yoooou!
QOTD ("stolen" from Please-and-Thankyou's): What movie do you really want to watch? I want to watch Clueless and Paper Towns so badly.
Answer to previous QOTD: I don't think I have a weirdest dream. They're all pretty funky.
Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm so, so sorry I haven't responded to them as of late, but I'll try to change that.
miaforevez- Haha hate the phone but come on it's a phone :P I'm so glad you love this story! Thank you so much for still reading!
Theoneforever- I hope you liked the wedding :) I'm so glad you're still reading this! Thank you so much!
Please-and-Thankyou's- Lol short circuiting. My brain does that more often than I'd like :) Ooh movie? I really want to see If I Stay. Idk why, I just do. Um, I want to see Paper Towns next year (!). What about you? What movie do you want to see? Thanks so much!
Kiren- His heart doesn't fail. At his wedding. :) Thanks so much!
SJWrites2014- Ooh good title. And no suckage :P Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter!
PokemonLuver151- I hope you liked this chapter! School is getting better :) Thanks so much!
Guest- Aw I'm so glad you love this story! Thank you soooo much!
Olive- Awww this review is sooooo sweet! If this was a movie, it would be the greatest :) Romantic honeymoon, eh? How romantic, though? Jk you don't have to answer that one :P Thank you so much!
ReadLikeYouMeanIt- Lol "What am I going to do with my life now" is a question I ask all the time. That is a fascinating dream :P Thank you so much for still reading and reviewing!
winterprincess- Aw I'm so glad you appreciated the part sadness and part happiness :) I love how you said can't see but feel. That makes me so happy as a writer, because I feel like my writing "skills" are getting...I don't know the proper word...deficient? And I recall your saying you found my figurative language in some chapter particularly good in "The Fire" and I want to thank you so, so much because I swear you have been the one who reviewed from like the very first chapters of my first story and that is so invaluable :) Thank you so much! P.S. I'm so excited for The Heir ahhhhhhh! And don't worry, I knew :)
ItsjustSam- New reviewer! Aww this was sooo sweet :D Thank you sooooo much! Your emotional journey sounds so great hahaha. STOP READING FANFICTION AND GO STUDY! Just kidding, I procrastinate all the time. It would probably take me an hour and a half to read and annotate three chapters a night, but I get so distracted (thanks Vine/Instagram -_-). So yeah. There's that :) Just do your best at school and you'll be fine...I should really take my own advice. I have anxiety attacks over the smallest things, I swear. Alrighty, I'm boring you to death now. Thank you so much!
LittleMissTori- Aw always perfect? Thanks gurl! I totally get what you mean about high school! I totally love it but the work is jank ugh. Oh, well. Friday night, I don't care. Imma do my homework on Sunday *thumbs up*. Thank you so much!
Love ya!- AcademicGirl
