Chapter 8

Everyone was chatting with each other as Sira and Scabior arrived at the location that the reception of Cal's wedding. Everything looked gorgeous, elegant, and yet simple. Daisies and roses were all over the setting along with a beautiful, almost mesh-like, fabric that was the colors of green, blue, and yellow, giving the entire place a soft appearance. Food was placed ornately on a group of long tables that lined one side of the canopy-covered area, looking sophisticated.

Scabior gazed down at her as she looked up at him with a little smile on her face and desire in her eyes. He led her to an empty table in the far corner, away from everyone. He pulled out a chair for her and she took it gladly, watching him the entire time. He stood behind her as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck gently. His lips tingled her skin and the sensation caused her to giggle.

"Everyone," Cal's voice called, "please take a seat." They did as they were told; even Scabior did so, sitting himself right next to Sira with his arm around her shoulders. Sira thought that she and Scabior would be alone but she thought to soon for Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy came and sat at their table. She felt Scabior stiffen and his grip on her tightened. Scabior was protective of her and Sira glad that he was. She watched Lucius carefully, noticing that his jaw tightened shut at the sight of them. At least he didn't show the signs of Scabior's lesson on his face.

"Also," Cal said, drawing the attention back to her, "Lark and I would like to thank you all for coming today and sharing this special occasion with us. We appreciate all of your support and we just wanted to thank you for it. Now, we welcome you to a lunch so please help yourself." Cal turned to Sira, looking directly at her and she headed towards her. Sira gave Scabior a look saying, 'don't do anything you might regret,' as she rose from her chair.

"Yes, Cal?" she asked as Cal came close to her. She didn't seem nervous or stressed so Sira wondered what was wrong, or if anything was wrong.

"I want you to come and meet my family," Cal said softly, barely audible. Confusion filled Sira's eyes for she thought that Cal didn't have any family. She had never mentioned them.
"Sure," Sira stated politely and Cal led her over to the fullest table of them all. A thought flashed through Sira's mind because she knew that if Scabior was here and saw the table, he would laugh in Cal's face and say that there should have been eight chairs per table for seven people sat at the table. Everyone at the table's attention turned to Cal, waiting for her to say something.

"Everyone, this is my friend, Sira," she said proudly as they all studied her. Lark turned and looked at Cal and, to Sira's surprise; his eyes didn't harden with his hate towards her. It was if nothing could ruin this day for him. "Sira, this is Hayden, my cousin." She motioned to a handsome man with brown hair and blue eyes that set next to an empty chair that was probably Cal's.

"It's nice to meet you, Sira," he said politely, his voice a bit mysterious.

"It's nice to meet you too," she replied back as kindly as she could.

"And this is him wife, Alexis," Cal stated as she motioned to the woman with jet-black hair and brown eyes who sat at Hayden's left. "And that's Max," she said sweetly as the boy, who Sira finally realized was the ring bearer, flashed them a wide grin. "Anna is Lark's sister," she stated as she motioned to the flower girl and gave Sira a look telling her that she would explain later, "and this is his father." Lark's father gave her a stiff nod.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Sira muttered gently as she smiled at them.

"Do you have any family here today, Sira?" Alexis asked her tone soft and pleasant. Sira shook her head.

"No, but my fiancé is here with me," she replied lightly, comfortable with any small talk.

"How nice," Alexis stated. "Do you know when your wedding is?"

"No," Sira explained, "we don't have a date set yet. We're waiting for our lives to be less busy." Alexis nodded in approval and didn't seem to have anything else to say or ask.

"I better get back to my fiancé," she said quickly as she felt the tension rise in the air. "It was wonderful to meet you all again." She allowed a friendly smile to form on her face as she turned and headed back to Scabior at their table. From the look on his face, she could tell that he wasn't glad about her leaving and especially not happy about the Malfoy's sitting with them.

As she sank into her chair, Scabior's arm was automatically around her shoulders and she felt everyone's gaze on her. After giving them a little shrug, she looked at Scabior, who was looking at Lucius wrathfully. Lucius looked at both of them with disgust as Narcissa and Draco watched him. Tension was thick around their table. "Cal and Lark's family seemed nice," Sira said carefully, almost like she was treading on thin ice, "and I never knew that Lark had a sister."

"Who is she?" Narcissa asked, obviously uncomfortable with the silence.

"She was the flower girl," she stated slowly, trying to get Scabior's attention anywhere than Lucius. "Her name is Anna, but what I really didn't know either was that Cal has a cousin. His name is Hayden and his son, Max, was the ring bearer."

"Interesting," Narcissa said gently as Sira nudged Scabior with her elbow, finally getting his attention. Puzzlement, mixed with a bit of anger, shone in his eyes and she gave him a look that begged him to stop.

"Yes, very," Lucius drawled as he took his wife's hand and stood. Draco did the same and they all left, to Scabior's relief. Sira shook her head as she looked away from him.

"What's wrong, my lovely?" he questioned as he pulled her closer to him.

"I'm sorry but can you please just stop being all defensive and aggressive towards Lucius?" she asked softly, her voice almost pleading.

"'e never treated you right," Scabior growled, "and I don't want 'im trying to take you away from me." As she shook her head, she let out a sigh.

"Even if he does still long for me, Scabior, I won't allow him to take me. I love you and, even though I do have a past with him, I won't fall back into his arms. I've made that mistake once and I'll never do it again."

"But-."

"Just promise to me that you'll stop," she stressed, her eyes glittering with her fear. He let a sigh out of his chest and brushed his hand against her cheek.

"I promise," he whispered and she smiled at him. Happiness filled her and she rested her head on his chest, grateful for his cooperation. She loved him for that.

"If I could have your attention please," Seth called as everyone hushed and looked at him, "it is time for the first dance of the bride and groom so, Cal, Lark, the dance floor is all yours." Applause filled the air as the sweet sounds of the orchestra mixed with it, starting the dance. Lark led Cal out gracefully as a smile formed on both of their faces. All eyes were on them as one of her hands interlocked with one of his, placing her other on his shoulder as he placed his other on her waist, pulling her close to him.

Each step, each beat brought them close and closer together, her head rested on his shoulder as her ice-blue eyes closed. No one mattered to them, nothing mattered to them. They were two beating hearts slowly becoming one, two people just losing themselves in each other. Sira watched her friend dance with her new husband from the table where she sat with Scabior. There was a loving smile on her face. She leaned into Scabior as she gazed up into his eyes. They sparkled in the light, making them seem bluer than she had ever seen them before.

After a while, the music came to a soft stop and the applause started again. Cal and Lark finally came back to them, smiling soft but joyous smiles as they gazed at each other. Hayden and his wife stepped onto the dance floor, followed closely by their son, Max, and Lark's sister. Sira watched them carefully and fondly, until she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Her eyes found Seth standing behind her, looking at her hopefully. "Sira," he said softly as his hand reached out to her, "may I have this dance?" She tilted her head a little as the smile wiped off of her face. As she looked at Scabior, the look that entered his eyes told her to go.

"Yes, Seth," she said kindly as she put her hand in his and stood from her chair and he led her like a true gentleman to the dance floor. His hand moved into the small of her back as he moved her into him a little and her hand went to his shoulder.

"So, you want me to guess who you are engaged with," he stated as he looked into her eyes with a warm seriousness.

"Yes, I want you to guess," she said with a light laugh and a playful smile. She thought it would be obvious, especially since she was sitting right next to her fiancé when he asked her to dance. Seth's eyes examined the room blankly, as if he was lost in thought. Soon, his eyes filled with confidence as they focused on a person.

"Is Lucius your fiancé?" he questioned and she had to fight back the laughter that so desperately wanted to escape from her chest. He gave her a puzzled look.

"No," she said quickly as some of the laugh broke out. "Why would you think that?"

"I did have to drag you off of him in Azkaban," he replied cockily as she rolled her eyes, wanting to forget her past affairs with Lucius. "So, is it the one Lestrange that isn't married to Bellatrix?" She shook her head quickly, this wasn't that hard. "Is it Selwyn?"

"Nope," she whispered as he continued to scan the room, "guess again." He exhaled his breath in a hiss, agitated with himself for not guessing right.

"Amycus?" he asked and she shook her head and he looked more agitated. "Dolohov?" Her head shook again and he sighed. "I give up," he hissed. "Who's your fiancé?"

"Scabior," she said with a smile that showed her passion for him. Confusion filled his eyes as he looked at her.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "I was certain that you were going to wed another Death Eater. Why him?"

"Seth, Seth, Seth," she said softly as she shook her head again, "I'm in love with him, Death Eater or not. He has changed me, I'm not the girl you met in Azkaban, and hopefully, I'll never be that girl again. I can't live without him for he has helped me through so much. And just look at him, he's just so handsome and he's really caring and he's such a gentleman."

"So, are you still seeing multiple men?" he asked as a spark of desire burned in his eyes. Her jaw dropped a bit as her face showed her shock, she couldn't believe he just asked that. It was very rude and inconsiderate of him to ask, it made seem like a selfish jerk and, to top it off, she was just beginning to tolerate him and now she couldn't stand him.

"If I wasn't here at a wedding," Sira snarled as everything about her became wrathful, "I'd slap you for asking me that." The music stopped and she pushed away from him, heading as far away from him as she could as quick as she could. Fury and disbelief filled her, gleaming in her eyes as she gazed around the room.

"Sira," Hayden said as he walked up to her, "what's wrong? You look upset." She turned and looked at him, his blue eyes examining her.

"Oh, nothing," she sighed, "but thank you for asking." She gave him a tiny smile as her fury dissolved away. "I hope I'm not being rude and I don't mean to offend," she said after a long period of silence as she studied him, "but Cal never told me that she had family." She watched his face; he didn't look offended or surprised about what she said, which relaxed her.

"I would be surprised if she did," he stated as he sat down at the empty table that they were standing by. "I'll tell you her past, Sira, if you want to know." The prospect of knowing forced her to sit beside Hayden, she had wondered at times but she never dared to ask Cal in fear of upsetting her. Sira thought that she would tell her when she was ready.

"Cal's father," Hayden explained gently to her, "impregnated Cal's mother and then left her because he didn't want to have anything to do with her or their child. A few years Cal was born, her mother started bringing undeserving and abusive men to their home and she would forget that she even had a daughter when she had a man in the house. Her mother was also a heavy user of drugs and a heavy drinker and always seemed to be high or drunk. She would leave Cal alone and unsupervised and, when she did notice that she had a daughter, she would tell her that she was ugly and would never amount to anything and she'd never find anyone to love her. Then, one day, she left Cal alone and never came back; we never knew what happened to her.

"So Cal came to live with my family and I was like a brother to her," Hayden stated as his eyes gleamed with his remembrance. "She had changed so much, for the better, when she was living with us but her mother's words still bothered her. As she grew older, she became more eager to prove her mother wrong, to prove that she was beautiful and that she would amount to something, but most importantly, that she would find love." He smiled as he looked at Cal and Lark dancing. "Finally, she has proved her mother wrong." Sira looked down at her hands on the table, she couldn't believe Cal's past. It was so horrible; she thought that it was worse than hers.

"My uncle told me that I was scum and that no one would ever love me sometimes," she whispered as she looked at Hayden, "but I was never told that constantly and it was only because I'm a half-blood. I can't imagine what she had to go through." Hayden's eyes locked with hers, his were so warm and welcoming.

"But you've proved him wrong too, for you are engaged to be married," he stated politely as she smirked and laughed softly.

"Yeah," she said proudly, "and I appreciate that you told me this. Thank you." She turned her head to see Scabior walking towards her, his entire focus on her.

"You know," Hayden muttered, drawing her attention back to him, "you're not who I expected you to be, Sira Volkov." He smiled as he stood, noticing Scabior's approach. "You're a wonderful friend to Cal and you're going to be a wonderful wife to your fiancé." He left her there, walking away slowly. There was something about him that baffled her but she didn't know what it was. It was almost like he seemed old for someone so young. She wanted to talk to him more but she knew she shouldn't stop him or ask any more questions. He was interesting and yet so kind, she liked it.

Scabior's hand gently touched her shoulder, causing her to turn and smile at him. In his blue-grey eyes, love and compassion were sparkling. "Sira, who was that man?" he questioned, his voice not holding any suspicion.

"Cal's cousin, Hayden," she answered as she touched the hand that rested on her shoulder. He nodded his head approvingly, satisfied with her answer.

"May I 'ave this dance, beautiful?" he asked with a little smile. She nodded as her eyes filled with her answer. Gracefully, she stood as his hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her lovingly to the dance floor, his eyes gazing into hers as she followed him, never wanting to stop following him. His hand drew her near to him, moving her into him with his lightest touch in the small of her back. Her hand, the one not in his, found his shoulder as her eyes grew soft. She looked up into his face, letting the soft sounds of the music to fill her, to sooth her.

He led her around the floor, swaying gently and each soft footstep perfectly on the beat. Her body mover closer and closer to his, her hand sliding to his chest as her head rested against it. The feeling his hand on her back drew her towards him, wanting the softness that was present in his touch. Slowly, her eyes began to close as she listened to his heartbeat.

Each move he made, each breath he took, brought her closer to him and farther away from the rest of the world. Nothing except him mattered to her right now. He was everything to her. His head rested against hers as her breaths became deep and slow. They felt as if nothing in the world could ever separate them, could never tear them away from each other. Nothing could touch them, nothing could stop them from loving each other and nothing could harm them. She rubbed her face in his shirt as she drifted farther away from the world.

Her mind wandered and a memory flashed into her mind, the memory of her crying in his arms. She had just murdered her best friend, Anastasia, and he had comforted her, just as he'd done hundreds of times before. She remembered the promises that he spoke to her and vowed to fulfill. She remembered his question and she remember her answer. She didn't regret anything from that time in his arms, for it all was so natural, so perfect. She didn't regret what she said to him.

"I love you, Scabior," she whispered to him as she opened her eyes gradually as the music started to slow. He dropped her hand and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her near into a hug, still swaying slightly to the music. "I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"I don't know either, beautiful," he said softly, his head still resting against hers, his face in her hair. The last note faded away but they didn't stop. They continued their silent dance, lost in some other world as they held each other, never letting go.

The night outside their bedroom leaked into it, causing everything to become dark. Exhaustion drove Sira to the bed, making her climb in it as her eyelids grew heavy. It had been a long day but it was a happy one. She settled herself in between the cover as her head rested on the pillow. The door of the room opened and closed quietly, barely making a sound. She heard his footsteps coming towards the bed; he was trying not to disturb her.

He pulled back the covers and climbed into the bed, settling himself beside her as he pulled her near. "Scabior," she exhaled as he did so. She turned to face him, moving into his chest as she looked into his face. His eyes studied her with a bit of concern but they were mostly full of love. A longing welled up in her chest, the same longing she had felt earlier just that day. "I love you so much and I know that you are the man that I want to spend the rest of my life with." Her hands went to his face, rubbing his jaw caressingly. "I don't want to spend it with anyone else. Can we promise each other something, something that binds us together for the rest of our lives?"

"Yes, beautiful," he whispered as her hands moved to his bare chest, his eyes filling with his desire, "you can." With the lightest touch, he pulled her even closer to him as a smile, soft and devoted, formed on her lips.

"Until death do us part," she said, her voice rich with passion, confidence, and certainty. His hand moved up to her face, brushing her hair away as his eyes filled with his answer, consuming him, overpowering him.

"Until death do us part," he repeated and then his mouth moved onto hers, making her heart flutter with her joy. Her hands weaved into his hair as he pulled his body half-way on top of hers. She could feel his promise in his touch and in his kiss just as he could feel it in hers. The need to be bound to each other was satisfied with their words and now a new need flared within them. The need to make it official, to consummate it.