March 27, 2004 – 15:45
Coralis grabbed her shoes, slid her arm around Kief's elbow and let him lead her toward the elevators then to the limousine waiting for them.
"Ahhh Blue Thunder! You have no idea how honoured I am to be the one driving you to your wedding."
"Petaan! It's a good surprise to see you as my driver."
"You got three CMMA elders attending your wedding," said Petaan as he drove to the church, "believe it or not, you are writing history today."
"I probably will never understand why. I am not the first elemental being to marry a human, and I'm sure I won't be the last. High Mage Finnas said that High Fay Ellya and High Elf Yalor were attending to discourage anyone from trying anything."
"It's a sign of the times we're in and a clear indication of what you've become," said Kief.
"Sebastian did the same thing 3 months ago," said Coralis as she put her shoes on.
"Like you, Sebastian Larameer has made a name for himself in the flyball circuit and he is well-known, but you know very well that he doesn't represent the same thing you do to our people and he isn't as targeted as you are. Humans are actively hunting you down, and it's not stopping you from marrying one of them in the middle of their witch hunt. What you do unites factions, and it isn't just humans and elementals," said Kief.
"Human authorities want you dead and here you are, uniting yourself with a human, despite everything they put you through. You give us hope and our people are standing behind you," said Petaan, as he pulled in front of the church.
"Ready?" said Kief.
"No, but I need to be and I need to do this. Let's do this before my brain wakes up," said Coralis, looking at her wrist binds hidden underneath white-laced bracelets wrapped around her wrists.
She was glad she could hide them underneath her wedding attire. Even her EBEE branding on her left arm was concealed. She knew her emotions were all over the place.
With her arm wrapped around Kief's, Coralis entered the church. If the human custom was for the bride to walk down the aisle with her father to symbolize him giving her away to the groom, she could only think of Kief doing that for her. Besides Frank's family, who had accepted her as she was, the Fullemons were the closest thing she had to a family. She knew they would have adopted her if they could and to her, Erik and Henry were her brothers.
She couldn't read Frank's expression as she walked closer to him, but she knew he probably thought the same about her expression. He probably couldn't read her at this moment. She briefly glanced at Mark and Carlos next to Frank, then at Maribel, Victoria and Veronica on her side. Before she realized it, she stood at the altar, facing Frank.
The pastor started the ceremony, but she could barely register what he was saying. She looked at him, but her mind felt numb. She saw him turning his face to look at her, and she read the word vows coming out of his lips. He was asking her a question. She wanted to ask him to repeat it but knew she couldn't. She knew what he was asking her. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them back up, looking at Frank.
"There is a part of me that wants to run out of here. I always refused to live my life with regrets."
She paused and Frank got nervous. He frowned, hoping she would not say what he feared she would.
"I grew up learning about twisted versions of love. I learned that love meant pain. People come and go, people hurt, and I became cold toward it. I grew up struggling to understand what love meant, not knowing how to handle it. I learned to fear love."
Coralis started to read worries and confusion over Frank. She closed her eyes for a second and tried to think of how to better convey her thoughts. She didn't want to read negative emotions on him.
"My biggest regret would be to act on that fear of mine. I never ran from my fears and I will not start now. The love you have for me is helping me understand what it is about, and what it should be about. It never mattered what I would do, you always stood by me and supported me regardless. When I felt at my lowest, when I wanted to end it all, you were there, standing next to me. It never mattered if I didn't understand why. You were there with me."
The guests released a breath they didn't realize they were holding. For a moment, many thought she was going to call it off. They were relieved to hear it wasn't the case.
"Your love keeps me grounded in what truly matters. Your love reminds me every day of what I'm fighting for. Without your love, I would lose my way. Without your love, I would be lost within myself. To keep your love, there isn't anything I wouldn't do."
She paused and stared at him, remembering what the traditional vows should be. She hoped what she said made sense because she couldn't think clearly.
"You're mine to cherish, and I will adore you no matter what you become. You're mine to protect, and I will burn down the world if harm comes to you."
Whispers of giggles could be heard through the sniffles. The majority of the witnesses knew she meant it literally.
"You're mine to trust, and I will proudly stand by you through hardship as your wife, no matter what people say. You're mine to love, 'til death do us part and through the next life. Yes, I do take you as my beloved husband."
Frank only wanted to kiss her when he heard all those words coming out of her mouth.
"I love you so much," said Frank.
He was about to kiss her when he heard the pastor coughing and giggling coming from the crowd. Coralis softly chuckled as she took the ring from Victoria and passed it along Frank's 4th finger on his left hand. She couldn't remember what she said but was glad to see it came out right, in the end at least.
She saw the pastor asking Frank the same question he asked her. She could hear the sounds of sniffles and admiration coming from their guests. She then realized that she misunderstood what the pastor asked her and didn't need to say all that she did, but it didn't matter. It was said and done.
"Yes, of course I do," he said as he took her ring from Mark.
Frank couldn't remember if he had prepared a speech. He could barely respond to the pastor when he addressed him. He couldn't contain himself and swore to himself that he'll always remember what she said that day. That's all he could think about.
Before the pastor could officially pronounce them husband and wife and kiss the bride, his lips were on hers.
Their guest cheered loudly, as they wiped their tears, but giggles could still be heard. They were moved, and many were still teary from Coralis' speech.
Once out of the church, she heard Audrey mind-linking her about what she needed to do next.
Coralis threw her bouquet behind her, and Veronica caught it.