The guests who had never seen anyone from the Heroux were at a loss for words. The Heroux family owned multiple companies that had changed the world. From their makeup empire that they collaborated with her family on to their bakeries. The Heroux was a powerful dynasty that had signed their names into the history books. And she was about to join them. But the name and the power and the fame didn't matter. Because once all those things turned to dust, all that would be left was the love she and Colin shared. The link was their bond through the legal route of marriage and the inner route that was their bond. She was enamored.
Colin's mother let him go and went off to the front of the pews. Right next to the rest of the Heroux family. Her family sat opposite, and they exchanged a spare glance. The families had been tied together for years. There were numerous engagements and romances before. But none had been this well planned out before this. Colin and Morwenna had become husband and wife the moment her mom was confirmed to be having a girl. Alice and some old schoolmates called the whole thing creepy, but she waved them off. They didn't grow up in the type of family she did, even the wealthy ones. So, they didn't know how her world worked outside of school. They didn't know about all the responsibilities she had.
Colin walked up and stopped as the priestess glided over. In her hand, Morwenna could see she had a bundle of black sage. A symbol of the God of Night, who her fiance and his loved ones followed. Contrary to the Sun Goddess, the God of Night was seen as having created the world from scratch. He spent a single night bringing everything and everyone you've ever known into existence. His followers sacrificed a plate of food for him on the last night of the month. This represented the hunger and pain he underwent to create his people. The priestess waved the sage around Colin, who bowed his head and closed his eyes. The man entered a brief state of prayer as Morwenna watched, holding her sign of belief tight to her chest.
The priestess looked at her fiance from under her veil. “You have been blessed by the God of Night and all his consorts.” She did a half bow with one arm folded under her chest while the other was outstretched. “Please. Stand before your bride-to-be.”
“Thank you.” The blonde nodded at the woman, who ushered herself behind the couple. His attention soon focused on Morwenna who blushed at the silent man.
She bowed her head before speaking. “You look so handsome.” The woman could see every part of his face being this close to him. Every freckle that popped out beneath his makeup to the way his eyes creased like a half moon. “Your hair's crooked.”
Colin raised an eyebrow and touched his hair. The platinum blonde tresses were in a wolf cut that framed his face perfectly. He cracked a smirk you would miss if you weren't her. “Is it now?” He tilted his head. “Why don't you fix it?”
The man was playing with her even at the altar. Morwenna laughed to herself and lifted her hand. It touched his soft hair delicately, her fingers briefly playing with one of his longer strands. She was reminded of back when they were children and would sneak away from their nannies. They would wander into Colin's great-grandmother's garden and go sit in the middle of it. The woman had passed away before they were even born but her garden never wilted. It was as if the woman’s spirit presided over the piece of land and took care of it. This was at least what Colin’s great-grandfather believed to that very day. But as children, they weren't too sure and decided it was a great place to escape their responsibilities for an hour.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
One specific afternoon, they had escaped from a gathering between their families and four others. Colin had been struggling to resist pummeling a brat who called him girly for his long hair when Morwenna scurried over. The then nine-year-old pulled the angry boy away from the ongoing temper tantrum to their secret place. They sat together in lush plum trees and bushes with bugs biting at their ankles and the hot sun sticking to their skin. She felt hungry but didn't want to risk being spotted by her cheek-pinching aunties. And he was still mad about the teasing, even when Morwenna complimented him endlessly. In that moment not knowing what else to do, she reached up and touched his head. Placing it on his head and smiling.
She reached back and looked at Colin in the present. “All fixed. Now hurry up and marry me. I feel like you've been edging me for hours.” She watched him laugh.
That laughter was music to her ears. The couple quieted down once the priestess gave them a look. The wedding was going over schedule and they hadn't even said their vows yet. The vows they shared had two sets, with the first being traditional, having been tailored to their belief system. Morwenna promised to walk in a fire for Colin and to give birth under the watchful eye of the burning sun. Colin swore that no matter how dark and treacherous their life may become, he would stand by her. After this, they joined hands and were showered in the warm water taken from a holy well by the priestess. The well water was meant to wash away any pain and any damage that was currently attached to their souls.
Morwenna wasn't too sure if she believed in the ritual, but she felt something when it hit her head. Being drenched with a large pail while Colin held her tightly was leaving her teary-eyed. She didn't know if she was going to be able to hold herself together once the pouring stopped and she was told to look up. The guests all broke into applause, the couple turning and seeing their smiling faces. Charlotte looked at the dove with her eyes shining with firm approval. The woman had undergone the same soul-cleansing ritual forty years prior. And so did Morwenna's mother, in a unique form, by bathing naked in a pool of the well water. The confident woman was helped out by her father, who immediately hugged her and sobbed.
The priestess raised her wet hands behind them and boasted. “The Gods have smiled upon this marriage and accepted it. Now, they will ask you to open your ears and stare straight ahead as they speak. Listen close to this holy bonding experience.” The room smelled of thick, burning wood as baskets were lit aflame nearby.
Morwenna felt her chest move sluggishly as the smells and colors hit her full force. Colin rubbed her fingers and squeezed her hands as he confessed his love for her. He talked about how he had fallen for her the moment they met. Back as toddlers, he knew that the arranged marriage was right. And he promised to love and care for her until they lay together in their grave. She felt so thankful to hear such sweet promises come from him. She could see out of the corner of her eye Alice staring at the two with a tense expression. Morwenna could tell that Colin's words didn't sit well with the woman but she didn't give a damn. Right now, all that mattered was knowing that the blonde loved her so passionately.
So she made her words just as potent. With her whisper of a voice, she told Colin that she would burn the world down to be with him. That she would walk on water if not go through hell and back to be with him. Alice, by this point, had a sullen look and was staring down at her lap. The dove wanted to go to her best friend and ask why she was acting so bold but she couldn't. She had to show the entire room just how much she loved this man. This was the boy she had grown up with and gone to school with. The loving man who stole her first kiss, her first ballroom dance, and her first crush. Morwenna cried one too many times about him. She had always wanted to just run away from the world and be with him.
The priestess smiled at their words. Young love is so sweet. “The Gods have accepted your vows to another,” She looked at Morwenna and Colin with a stern stare. “You will honor one another under the laws of the human and spiritual realms. Yes?”
Colin cleared his throat and looked Morwenna in the eye. Her heart skipped a beat at how intense the stare was. “Correct. I promise to never, ever break your heart.”
“I promise the same.” Morwenna whispered as she felt herself become choked up.
The woman motioned for the couple to kiss, and the dove practically jumped into Colin's arms. The couple's hand-holding broke, and she was hoisted into the air by Colin, who then hugged her tight. The guests erupted into applause as she was-