Fateful 2-Fractured

by Cheri Schmidt

  “You’re still beautiful, Mom.”

  Danielle’s mom smiled, blushed prettily and gave her knee a loving pat.

  “Why in the world would they do that? Wouldn’t that be like trying to outshine the bride?” Lindsey asked, again twisting an earring.

  “No, darlings, it was not for such a petty reason. It was done to protect her. It was so the bride could not be singled out by any jealous or evil wishers who might attempt to take her happiness, or even abduct her,” Sophia said.

  Nearly choking on her tea, Danielle set the cup down a little too sharply. The china clinked together and the liquid sloshed, but luckily didn’t spill. Sophia held her gaze and she knew that this tradition, even as medieval as it sounded, had been seriously considered. She wondered why they hadn’t insisted on doing it for security reasons alone.

  “I talked the men out of it,” Sophia said solemnly, appearing to have gathered Danielle’s thoughts from her expression.

  “Are they worried about people who mean Danielle harm?” Mandy asked. The tension in her voice had risen to a squeaky pitch.

  Danielle swallowed the mouthful of tea that she hadn’t realized she was holding along with her breath. Of course they were worried about that. But she couldn’t say a word about it, and she’d recognized the looks of terror brewing on Brianna and her mom’s faces as they apparently recalled her past disappearances. “No, silly, they’re not worried about that or you would be wearing white,” Danielle said, struggling to play it down.

  “Then why did they even consider it?” Brianna asked with accusation weighting her words.

  “Because they’re men,” Sophia muttered, “and they’re an overprotective bunch of chaps.”

  Danielle noticed the “overprotective bunch of chaps” stop Celeste from entering the dining room with what looked like a gift, and it felt like the air had completely left the room because she couldn’t find any to fill her lungs.

  How did she know where the shower was? And what was in the bag? A bomb? Scorpions? Or worse, spiders?

  Dessert arrived then, distracting her from the quickly defused commotion, and halting the previous conversation. Danielle could have kissed the waiter, because if he had not shown up then, the other girls might have noticed before the men hindered Celeste’s attack. French confection was enough to shut them all up, though she struggled to get the treat down her constrained throat.

  And later, as Danielle opened her gifts, Mandy brought the topic back to life. “Are there any other British traditions we need to be worried about?”

  Danielle slid the ivory lace negligee Nadia had given her back into the gift sack after thanking her for it. “Well” –Mandy stiffened at the single word— “I let Ethan select the menu, and he went with conventional English fare.” And when Ethan hears about Celeste showing up today, he may insist you all wear white.

  “That can’t be so bad, can it?” Lindsey asked.

  “No, but I’m sure you won’t like my wedding cake.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s fruitcake covered in fondant.”

  Lindsey and Mandy made gagging sounds. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Oh, it’s scrummy. I fancy it,” Brianna said.

  Lindsey and Mandy shared a look which she figured was concerning her cousin’s use of British words. And it seemed Brianna noticed as well, as she then decided to start spewing some of the English jargon that she wouldn’t normally use. “Come now, ladies, don’t get your knickers in a bunch. Once you’ve tried it I know you’ll be utterly gobsmacked. Blimy! Don’t bodge the party. Anyone need the loo? Now don’t look at me like you’re confudled. Oh, maybe I should stop waffling and belt up now.”

  They all started laughing.

  Brianna went on, “Word of advice, girls, don’t try any of those words on your own. To be honest, you’ll just sound silly with your American accents.”

  Danielle took a breath to calm her giggles and then drove the conversation back to what they’d been talking about in the first place. “You’ll like Ethan’s cake. It’s chocolate and definitely ‘scrummy.’”

  “See what I mean?” Brianna said. “Danielle, you’re not allowed to use the word scrummy.”

  “Actually,” said Lindsey, “I disagree. Dannie seems to have picked up your English accent a little.”

  “Yeah, I can hear it too.” Mandy smirked at Danielle. “That’s kind of funny. Say something else British.”

  “Um, knickers?” she said, pulling her brows together as she listened to herself.

  “Yeah, totally!” Lindsey laughed.

  “Hmm,” said Brianna. “Now that you mention it, I see what you mean.”

  “Weird, how come I never picked it up from Dad?” Danielle asked her mom.

  “Probably because you were surrounded with people without it.”

  “Mm. And I’ll probably lose it whenever I go back.”

  “Most likely.”

  “Anyway, back to the cakes—Why does he get chocolate and you get some holiday travesty?” asked Lindsey.

  Danielle laughed. “I have no idea. But I’m certain Ethan will love them both.”

  “Any good traditions?” Mandy asked.

  Nadia jumped in this time. “There’s the ribbon pull. That’s done before the bride and groom share their first slice of cake. The bridesmaids each pull a ribbon with a sterling silver charm attached to it from the cake. Each charm represents a different future promise. A heart charm means that you’ll find true love, a horseshoe means you’ll have good luck, and a ring means you’ll be next to marry, and so on and so forth.”

  “I thought that’s what tossing the bouquet was for,” said Mandy.

  “There’s that too, but the charms are only for the bridesmaids.”

  “Oh.”

  After the gifts had been opened and stored in their suite, they went to the spa, which helped Danielle to relax after having seen Celeste. That, and the fact that the wicked vampire never showed her face again that day.

  After their spa treatments they had the bachelorette party back in the suite. It wasn’t too exciting, Danielle and her friends would have preferred going to a dance club. Unfortunately, Danielle had to find excuses to avoid that because she’d been told that her guards wouldn’t allow it. Instead, they played a few games, ordered room service, and watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. What a funny old film that was! They’d watched it out of nostalgia because it had been one of their favorites when they were younger.

  Chapter 9

  Solidified

  It was a cloudy day in London…. Not that Danielle noticed or even cared as her hands traveled over the satin fabric of her wedding gown. In the upper bride’s room of the cathedral, she peered at herself in the cheval mirror, admiring how the dress had turned out.

  Because it was irresistibly inviting, Danielle couldn’t seem to stop sliding her fingers over the white material. With a sweetheart neckline, the bodice was covered with ornate beadwork consisting of tiny sequins and pearls in a design that was much more intricate than her ball gown had been.

  Ruching at the sides of the skirt made it swoop in the front, adding a vintage touch to the mostly modern design. The sides were then embellished with a continuing spray of the same delicate beading as on the bodice. The fabric rustled as she turned to eye the chapel-length train which was gathered up at different points. Each gather was accented with more pearls and sequins.

  The sheer veil fell down her back like a waterfall of lace and was almost as long as her train. Crystals glittered and flashed from the tiara Jean Claude had insisted on. Feeling like a princess, she was glad he had. Maybe what she had was even better than anything she’d read in Austen’s books. But fear of being attacked on such a special day did dilute the joy struggling to burst inside her chest.

  “Danielle, you look absolutely breathtaking,” her mother said as she fastened the pearl necklace that she and Grandmother had worn at their weddings around her neck. The family heirloom complet
ed her pearl-themed ensemble. Danielle smiled and touched the cameo hanging from the pearl strand, and slid her fingertips down to the pearl-drop hanging from the base of the setting. She also wore the pearl earrings that Ethan had given her.

  “Are you ready, Danielle?” Nadia asked while inspecting Danielle’s hairpins to make sure they all securely held her curls in place.

  “I’ve never been more ready,” she replied, hiding the fact that she was worried about Celeste or Lucas crashing the ceremony.

  Brianna set a pair of beaded shoes down in front of her and Danielle slid them on. After a few more adjustments to her train, the ladies escorted her from the room.

  Her father beamed down at her as she took his arm. “I’m so proud of you, princess,” he whispered, and then kissed her on the cheek.

  “Thank you, Daddy.”

  Danielle’s vision blurred with the tears she’d managed to fight off earlier as she approached Ethan who was standing at the front next to the bishop smiling. Struggling to blink them away, she clutched her bouquet and her father’s arm tighter. Please don’t make a mess of yourself before the ceremony even starts!

  Focused on Ethan, she barely noticed the music playing as her feet moved across the petal-covered aisle. Ignoring the many guests she sensed seated in the pews on either side of her, Danielle returned his smile. Stop being so emotional! she thought irritably as she shoved an escaped tear from her cheek.

  Her eyes widened when she realized—as she got closer to her groom—that she was setting his emotions off as well. He said nothing, though his love-drenched gaze said everything.

  Their eyes locked as Ethan took her hand and that same familiarity washed over her. This was meant to be, they were meant to be. They’d been together before this life began, and would continue long after that, whether they were living on Earth or in Heaven. It was something she knew deep down, something she couldn’t question because it could always be seen when she looked into his blue gaze.

  Danielle swallowed as the clergyman began. The whole experience felt like a dream. She said “I do” when she was asked, and so did he, but it all went by in an unbelievable, and wonderful blur. Until the bishop said, “You may kiss the bride.” Her focus then landed on Ethan’s handsome mouth, anticipating the kiss that sealed the deal.

  The crowd of friends and relatives sighed, cheered and wept, as they generally do at weddings when the groom kisses his bride, and then she was whisked away with Ethan to begin the reception which was to be held at their new home amongst the ruins.

  After they arrived, her mother bustled up the train of her dress so that she and Ethan could begin their first dance together. The music rose into the air as Ethan took her left hand into his right, and placed his other at the small of her back. After soaking in the look of pride and happiness surrounding his expression, a line formed between her eyebrows when she noticed that the melody was that same strange mix of historical music touched with that earthy fairy twist she’d heard when they got engaged. “Same band?” she asked.

  “I thought it fitting.”

  “Yes, it fits.” She traveled his face with her gaze again, then said, “I love you, by the way.”

  “I certainly hope so, because if you don’t, it’s too late now. There’s simply no escape because I’ll never let you go.”

  With her mouth lifting into a soft smile, she looked up at him and shoved any worries lurking in the back of her mind aside.

  He dropped his mouth to her ear. “When I saw you walking down that aisle on your father’s arm, I swear, my heart stopped beating again.”

  Danielle moved her hand to his chest. “I still feel it thumping away—okay, so it would still be thumping away because it’s daylight, but you get my meaning...”

  “I don’t think you’d like being married to a cursed man.”

  “True. I remember how cranky you were right after you’d, er … eaten. Now, after a meal, you’re such a happy guy.”

  Ethan chuckled closing the distance between their bodies while he pressed on her back, and then kissed her.

  As he left her lips and went for her neck, she giggled and tipped her chin to the side, then blinked when a moving light caught her attention. Her gaze landed on the shifting lights amongst the roses that adorned the ruins surrounding them. She wondered how they were showing up so well in the daylight. Yes, they were in the shade, but….

  “Is that—?” She captured his gaze with hers.

  He smiled wider and she could see the lights twinkling in his eyes, they were so bright.

  Ethan steered her closer so she could get a better look. The lights flickered like real fireflies as they appeared to move on their own … no, not fireflies, fairies! Danielle sucked in a breath when she recognized little Alora amongst them with her tiny mouth on a golden flute and her fingers tapping along the top edge of it. The fairy stopped playing, and lifted a finger to her lips.

  Looking over her shoulder to make sure her mortal relatives hadn’t seen this, Ethan spoke softly in her ear, “They’ll never see them. Don’t worry.”

  “But the music—”

  “Is coming from the band over there.” He winked.

  She recognized the vampires from the ball as Ethan tantalized her neck with soft words and more kisses as he took her about the waist and moved her back to the dance floor.

  They fed each other bites of wedding cake after her bridesmaids had pulled their ribbons. She knew from the look on Ethan’s face that he couldn’t bring himself to smash the messy confection into her face, and she couldn’t do it to him either.

  Danielle was surprised to find it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be. This fruitcake was lighter than how she remembered that horrible stuff her grandmother liked. And realized Ethan had made certain of that when she saw the knowing twist of his lips. She couldn’t help but smirk, however, at the look of ecstasy on his face as he tasted it. Apparently wedding cake wasn’t something he’d tried yet. After licking his fingers clean, he eyed her sugar smeared thumb and finger with a hungry gaze. He captured her wrist gently and raised them to his lips. She laughed as he removed the mess from her skin as well.

  Danielle tossed the bouquet not caring who caught it, but was pleased to see that it was her friend, Mandy, who did. The smile on Mandy’s face told Danielle that her friend was ironically pleased with the idea.

  Ethan looked just as hungry to remove the garter with his teeth as when he’d eyed her cake-covered fingers. Danielle was too embarrassed by that to even notice which man caught it.

  When her girlfriends from Colorado smothered her with hugs, she lipped a “thank you” to Ethan just as he was wrangled into a conversation with her mother that, it seemed, he wasn’t fully interested in, but he was being polite and listening regardless.

  “Oh, D’, we’re so happy for you,” Lindsey said.

  “Yeah, but does this mean you’re not coming back to Colorado?” asked Mandy.

  “No, I’ll be back. Ethan bought a home there too. It isn’t far from my parent’s.”

  “Really? You really did manage to snag a guy with money.” Mandy bumped her hip into Danielle’s.

  Danielle blushed. “He does all right for himself,” she said, trying to sound modest, and added, “I plan to sell paintings to make my own money.”

  “But you don’t need to.”

  “Actually I think I do need to.” She lifted her hands to her chest. “For me. I’d like to have funds that are mine and not all his.”

  “Good for you. Because I think I’d just take advantage of what he has. Does he have any brothers?” Lindsey asked, not hiding the fact that she was eyeing Ethan’s backside right in front of her.

  “I’m afraid not,” Danielle replied. “And quit ogling my man, would you? I’m standing right here.”

  Lindsey winked, and of course Danielle knew her good friend was only teasing, as she frequently did. “Congratulation’s, D’, I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thanks, Lind,” she re
plied, and hugged her friend.

  “How about a hug for your one and only?” a male voice said from behind her, and she knew that voice as well as any.

  She threw herself into his arms. He lifted her feet from the ground, gave her a spin, and a big kiss on the cheek.

  “This had better be your one and only brother, Danielle, or I’m afraid I’m going to have to deck this bloke with his hands on my bride,” Ethan said, going for a menacing tone.

  She and her brother, James, laughed and then James set her feet on the ground, but didn’t release his hold. “You’d better take care of my sister, or I’ll have to smash your British face in.”

  A shadow passed over Ethan’s jovial expression, and Danielle knew it was because he was still troubled by the fact that he couldn’t protect her by himself any longer. She watched his face darken further as three guards, posing as his family, passed by, inadvertently reminding him of his weakness. Her friends and family had no idea that pretty much all of the guests on Ethan’s side of the family were really just their security detail. They’d pumped up their guard just for the wedding. Clearly worried that Celeste and Lucas could have heard about it and then attempt something, just as Celeste had at the shower.

  Ethan laughed, and then clapped his new brother-in-law on the back, rather roughly. She understood he was really just attempting to cover up what she knew was secretly irritating him.

  “Mind if I dance with the bride?” Danielle’s father asked having no idea that he’d just unwittingly broken up the rising tension.

  “Be my guest,” Ethan said. His tone sounded much more gracious than the tight line of his lips told her he was feeling. Twisting to face her, he said, “I’m going to get something to eat. So if you need me, that’s where I’ll be, darling wife.”

  With the way he breathed the new endearment, Danielle’s heart melted, and she wanted to follow him instead of waltzing with her dad, but succumbed to her father’s wishes when he took her hand and began leading her to the dance floor.