*Chapter 25- A Wedding
“Alright people, let's move!” one of the Feachd ushers bellowed over the crowd that had gathered at the front of the Castle Brady gates. They all obeyed, and the flock followed their shepherd to the front doors.
That morning had been hectic, trying to get everyone organized, running between the two flats, bumping into each other on the landing between them. There was a lot of, “Where's my tie?” and, “I can't find my earring!” with a sprinkle of, “Have you seen my underwear?” But, after several hours of confusion and stress, both the Glencross's and Paisley's made it on time, underwear in place.
The halls to the Great Hall were swung open with majesty, and Sonja thought her eyes had deceived her. Gone were the crescent tables, the dreary old tapestries, and any remnants that would indicate a battle had taken place there only months prior. In the center of the ceiling was an intricate crystal chandelier that certainly had never been there before, but Sonja recognized it as the one from the third floor. Of course Ahava got them to bring an entire chandelier from the complete opposite side of the castle, she thought to herself, smiling, knowing Ahava's convincing ways. Stretching from the chandelier were long, billowy strips of white fabric, which were attached to the ends of the beams, and flowed down the walls like milky water falls. In the space between the fabric, there were twinkling lights, draped in the same manner, following suit with the fabric.
In place of the crescent tables at the head of the hall was a lifted platform, adorned with more white fabric and lights. At the center of this platform was an archway, constructed of interweaved birch branches, wildflowers, and of course, more lights. The were set up in front of the platform to create and aisle for Ahava to walk down. The aisle was lined with mason jars filled with wildflowers, surrounded by little nests of birch branches. The chairs were covered with white fabric, tied in place with burlap bows. Sonja had never seen something so beautiful.
“Please, be seated! The ceremony will begin shortly!” Guiscard's voice echoed around the Great Hall, calling everyone to attention as he did in Comhairleach meetings. Everyone flocked to their seats as quickly and orderly as possible. Guiscard simply stood at the front, looking smug.
Sonja looked around to see many faces she recognized, such as Jude and Genoveva, and many she did not. She assumed they were friends from Maiseach or other council members she hadn't met. Somewhere in the castle a clock struck on the hour and music began to play. Sonja tried to find the source, but, knowing the castle, it could quite literally be coming from anywhere. She turned her attention to the back of the hall where a door to a back hallway stood ajar. First to come through the door was an older man and woman, both quite dark in complexion. Sonja assumed those were Ahava's parents, whom she had never heard anything about, thus also assuming they were just here to show face and nothing more. Following them were a similarly aged couple, but much fairer in complexion. They were undoubtedly Gunnar's parents as Gunnar looked so much like his father they could be twins. Sonja hadn't heard much of them either, making the same assumption about the reason for their presence. Next was her father. Gunnar had asked Robert to be his best man several months before, around the time of their engagement. He had joked and said it was because he had no one else, but really because Robert was the closest thing he had to a stable father figure, seeing as his relationship with his own parents was nearly void besides a few cordial words here and there. Robert had taken the young man's hand in his own, tears brimming in his eyes and accepted his offer. He wore a suit vest with a light turquoise tie, which Sonja had only ever seen him wear once to another wedding years before; it was a bit more snug around the middle than she remembered. Robert winked at Sonja and Jennifer as he passed their row and took his place at the alter.
A girl the Sonja recognized from description as Karishma followed her father up. She was dressed in a strapless, light turquoise dress that flowed elegantly around her knees. The cut was very flattering on her and she looked like a princess herself, Sonja could only imagine what Ahava looked like. Following Karishma was Gunnar, dressed in a custom made suit vest, which had strategically placed buttons to comfortably fit around his wings, all tied together with the same turquoise tie that Robert wore. He walked confidently to the alter and shook Robert's hand. As soon as he was in position, the music changed and the attention turned to yet another door. Everyone stood in preparation for the bride's entrance. Sonja suddenly wondered who would be walking her down the aisle, since her parents had already been seated. She would quickly get the answer to both of her questions as the door creaked open and the bride entered.
That morning had been hectic, trying to get everyone organized, running between the two flats, bumping into each other on the landing between them. There was a lot of, “Where's my tie?” and, “I can't find my earring!” with a sprinkle of, “Have you seen my underwear?” But, after several hours of confusion and stress, both the Glencross's and Paisley's made it on time, underwear in place.
The halls to the Great Hall were swung open with majesty, and Sonja thought her eyes had deceived her. Gone were the crescent tables, the dreary old tapestries, and any remnants that would indicate a battle had taken place there only months prior. In the center of the ceiling was an intricate crystal chandelier that certainly had never been there before, but Sonja recognized it as the one from the third floor. Of course Ahava got them to bring an entire chandelier from the complete opposite side of the castle, she thought to herself, smiling, knowing Ahava's convincing ways. Stretching from the chandelier were long, billowy strips of white fabric, which were attached to the ends of the beams, and flowed down the walls like milky water falls. In the space between the fabric, there were twinkling lights, draped in the same manner, following suit with the fabric.
In place of the crescent tables at the head of the hall was a lifted platform, adorned with more white fabric and lights. At the center of this platform was an archway, constructed of interweaved birch branches, wildflowers, and of course, more lights. The were set up in front of the platform to create and aisle for Ahava to walk down. The aisle was lined with mason jars filled with wildflowers, surrounded by little nests of birch branches. The chairs were covered with white fabric, tied in place with burlap bows. Sonja had never seen something so beautiful.
“Please, be seated! The ceremony will begin shortly!” Guiscard's voice echoed around the Great Hall, calling everyone to attention as he did in Comhairleach meetings. Everyone flocked to their seats as quickly and orderly as possible. Guiscard simply stood at the front, looking smug.
Sonja looked around to see many faces she recognized, such as Jude and Genoveva, and many she did not. She assumed they were friends from Maiseach or other council members she hadn't met. Somewhere in the castle a clock struck on the hour and music began to play. Sonja tried to find the source, but, knowing the castle, it could quite literally be coming from anywhere. She turned her attention to the back of the hall where a door to a back hallway stood ajar. First to come through the door was an older man and woman, both quite dark in complexion. Sonja assumed those were Ahava's parents, whom she had never heard anything about, thus also assuming they were just here to show face and nothing more. Following them were a similarly aged couple, but much fairer in complexion. They were undoubtedly Gunnar's parents as Gunnar looked so much like his father they could be twins. Sonja hadn't heard much of them either, making the same assumption about the reason for their presence. Next was her father. Gunnar had asked Robert to be his best man several months before, around the time of their engagement. He had joked and said it was because he had no one else, but really because Robert was the closest thing he had to a stable father figure, seeing as his relationship with his own parents was nearly void besides a few cordial words here and there. Robert had taken the young man's hand in his own, tears brimming in his eyes and accepted his offer. He wore a suit vest with a light turquoise tie, which Sonja had only ever seen him wear once to another wedding years before; it was a bit more snug around the middle than she remembered. Robert winked at Sonja and Jennifer as he passed their row and took his place at the alter.
A girl the Sonja recognized from description as Karishma followed her father up. She was dressed in a strapless, light turquoise dress that flowed elegantly around her knees. The cut was very flattering on her and she looked like a princess herself, Sonja could only imagine what Ahava looked like. Following Karishma was Gunnar, dressed in a custom made suit vest, which had strategically placed buttons to comfortably fit around his wings, all tied together with the same turquoise tie that Robert wore. He walked confidently to the alter and shook Robert's hand. As soon as he was in position, the music changed and the attention turned to yet another door. Everyone stood in preparation for the bride's entrance. Sonja suddenly wondered who would be walking her down the aisle, since her parents had already been seated. She would quickly get the answer to both of her questions as the door creaked open and the bride entered.