CHAPTER 31 #2
He kisses me on the forehead and goes to put on his shoes. We leave the dorm and Matt heads towards the common room in building G, sure to find the boys there. As for me, I leave the building and head towards the girls' building.
My steps lead me to the girls' common room, my eyes scanning the room in search of my cousin or our two friends, but they aren't there.
So I head towards Nancy's dorm. I knock on the door and she quickly opens it, a small smile on her face once she sees it's me.
She beckons me in and I go to her bed, sitting on it while she returns to her wardrobe and continues her task: getting dressed.
“So, how did it go with… you know,” she waves her hand vaguely.
I sigh and lean back on my hands. “He was happy that I passed the first part of my task, so that's something… But Professor Stevens interrupted the meeting. He had news. Let's just say our wedding is now on October 31st.”
She drops her hairbrush and I cringe at the incredulous look on her face, already preparing myself for her reaction, which I know will be out of proportion.
“What?” She cries, her voice echoing through the small dormitory and making me cringe even more. “But you don't have a dress! Same for the girls and I!”
I run a hand through my hair and sigh, feeling tired. “I know. That's why I'm here. I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the village with me today? With Kiara and Paula, of course.”
She smiles brightly and nods her head. “Sure. Let me put on my shoes and we'll go get the girls.”
“Great ! Oh, and the boys are coming too.”
She frowns and looks at me strangely. I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest in a defensive gesture.
“Don't give me that look. Matt doesn't want us to go alone, so he and the boys are going to take the opportunity to look for their costumes.”
She nods slowly and finishes putting on her boots.
I stand up and we leave her dorm. We knock on the girls' door, and luckily, they're ready and excited to come with us. We join the boys in the G Building’s common room, they stand up when they see us.
Mattheo gives me my coat, and I smile at him and put it on.
He intertwines our fingers, we step out into the cool, damp October air, the others right behind us.
It only takes us about thirty minutes to arrive at the sign that is the beginning of the village.
I read the name of the town I'm about to discover for the first time: Coldingham.
Mattheo kisses me, asks me to be careful, and leaves with the boys.
Nancy links her arm with mine and drags me to a shop on our left.
She's so fast that I barely have time to appreciate the beauty of the village.
I say nothing and let her guide me through the shop she seems to know well, my eyes falling on the wall-mounted racks where hundreds of dresses of all sizes, colors and shapes hang. So we start looking through all the white dresses, but I don't find anything I like.
“Oh, by the way, what's the theme of the wedding?” Paula asks softly over my shoulder as I inspect a mermaid dress.
“Emerald green and gold.”
Mattheo and I decided on the theme when we knew the date.
Well, the first one. Of course, he told his father so our wedding could go as we wanted.
It may be an arranged marriage, but we still need to have a proper reception.
The fact that we love each other adds to the desire to have a wedding that's as perfect as possible.
Luckily, the Dark Mage accepted our request.
Paula nods, the three girls search for their dresses among the store's selection of green and gold tones. As for me, I go to the employee and ask if she can help me find my dress, as I'm starting to despair after looking at every white dress on display.
I explain what I want and she nods before heading to what I assume is the back room. She goes to get some undisplayed models while I go into a changing room and wait for her to return.
She gives me four dresses and tells me to let her know if I need help putting them on. I thank her and try on the first one.
After trying them all on, I sigh in defeat. None of them are to my liking. They're beautiful, but they're not really what I want. I step out of the fitting room, and the lady smiles softly.
“I might have a dress you'll like. I'll be right back.”
I nod and she leaves. The girls come out of their changing rooms and I smile at how beautiful they look in their dresses. They're very simple spaghetti strap dresses, but the shade of emerald green is perfect.
“What do you think?” Kiara asks, smiling shyly.
“You three are beautiful. If you like it, I can only say yes!” I laugh.
They nod and go back to change. The lady returns with a dress and hands it to me. I thank her and go into the dressing room, to put it on. I turn to look in the mirror and gasp softly, my hand going to my mouth in shock. This is exactly how I pictured my dress.
The dress is made of lily-like lace, strapless with puffed sleeves. The hem is slightly loose and also features some floral lace details. The back is open.
It's perfect.
I step out of the booth and the girls and the lady gasp before smiling brightly and clapping excitedly.
“Oh my God, Aelys you are so beautiful!” My cousin seems to beam as her green eyes scan my body.
“I agree!” Kiara nods eagerly, looking pleased.
“Please tell us it's this one!” Paula asks, a big, hopeful smile on her face.
I nod, the woman claps again, happy to have found what I asked for.
I put my clothes back on, and we go to pay for our dresses.
Since the wedding will be held at Leroi Manor, we ask her if she can send our dresses there, she agrees, simply asking for the address.
Nancy gives it to her since I don't know it myself. We thank her again and leave the store.
We head towards the main square of the village, where the pub is located, and the boys are supposed to meet us, chatting happily along the way.
The boys are already there, sipping beers in a corner.
Mattheo smiles brightly when he notices me, I sit down next to him, placing a kiss on his cheek while the girls slide in next to Theodore and Enzo.
“Have you found your dress, angel?” Mattheo whispers in my ear, his hand automatically resting on my thigh.
“I found it, yes. Did you find your costume?” I smile.
He nods and kisses me gently. The bartender brings us beers, probably ordered by the boys, and we thank him. I take a sip and smile nostalgically as I look at my friends.
They seem joyful, carefree. As if the war tearing our world apart doesn’t exist and we were all just normal students. Unfortunately, the phantom pain left by the runes Darkvis carved into my skin the day before reminds me that our happiness is only a fleeting moment.
Soon we will have to satisfy the Master again so that he can win this war once and for all. We will shed the blood of our enemies, despite our young age.
My gaze falls on my fiancé, and my heart races, even more as the meaning of our union hits me. More influence and power for the Dark Mage.
Not to mention the latter's expectations for our marriage: an heir.
My grip on the beer mug unconsciously tightens as I realize one thing: no matter who wins this war between Darkvis or O'Connor, we will never be free.