Chapter 391
CHAPTER 391
EVERAFTER
The massive platform, over five miles wide and eight long, was currently packed to the point people were piling on top of each other . No walls were cradling the floating floor, the entirety exposed to the night sky decorated with thousands of shimring stars . It was a breathtaking sight, compounded further with the floating, golden and coral lanterns hanging from seemingly nothing above the platform, illuminating it . Though thousands of souls stood there, not a sound could be heard, shifting it all into the eerie silence .
Cutting through the central point was a long, beautiful, red carpet leading up to a slightly elevated altar where Val was currently standing, dressed in a gorgeous, twilight-dyed dress, holding a book in her arms . To her right stood Lino, for a change cleaned up; he no longer wore rags, but a hand-knit, black coat that pronounced his build ever-so-further . His hair was tied up into a falling tail, his beard, though still present, no longer rough and rampant but neat .
Above the two hung a beautiful arch decorated with gems, the centerpiece being a two-heads-sized diamond at the very center that shimred in faint purple . Standing so ways off of them, yet not quite within the crowd, was a group of roughly ten people, both n and won, holding onto all assortnts of musical instrunts, each dressed exactly the sa -- white shirts, pants and boots .
There wasn’t a single chair to be found, as everyone, both the lowly smith and the recently-arrived Alex, had to stand . Glancing up at the moon, Lino smiled brightly before nodding toward Val, who quickly nodded back, opening up the book and placing it on top of the altar . The light soon blasted off in a pillar-like shape before spreading out conically, washing all souls present with a warm and pleasant glow before withdrawing back into the book .
The music suddenly cascaded into the night, the strings of violins mixing with the flutes, harps and lutes . It slowly swelled into a crescendo as, on the other end of the carpet, a figured draped entirely in white, fluffy dress appeared, accompanied by a tall, well-built man . Hannah couldn’t hide a wide smile from her face as she glanced sideways, at her Father’s figure, who looked back at her, smiling back .
" . . . you’ve caught soone rather spectacular, cherry," the man said, chuckling . "Mom taught you well . "
" . . . I still can’t believe you are here . " she said, her eyes growing watery . "Thank you . . . thank you so much . . . "
"Neither your mom nor I would have missed it for the world," the man said, wiping the tears from her cheeks gently . "Are you ready?"
"Yeah . " she said, taking a deep breath .
"He’s waiting . " the man said, taking the first step forward and pulling Hannah after him .
Thousands of eyes turned and shifted, gazing at her, yet she couldn’t move her own away from the figure standing in the far distance, awaiting . Even the loud music that had turned the night into a day hardly registered with her as, in her world, there was only him and silence and the bounding colors encompassing him . He smiled, and she smiled back, reaching the halfway point .
From the corners of her eyes, she spotted the entourage upfront awaiting her; there was her mom, a handkerchief in her hand . There was her Master, standing right beside her, sporting one of the rare smiles . There was Arch Patriarch and Patriarch right there, and an assortnt of Elders from her Sect . She didn’t know how he did it, but Lino sohow managed to convince them . She had found herself shellshocked just a few hours prior when she saw them . Even now, she still believed she was rely imagining it all .
Yet, the soundless, beating heart in her chest proved her otherwise . Smiling at the group, her eyes shifted sideways where she saw Alison standing next to Lucky, smiling as brightly as the sun at her . Her golden hair was tied up into a bun, her eyes watery . She was here too, Hannah choked inwardly . All because of him .
Her eyes soon found his once more, as she approached the altar . He still had that playful smile of his plastered, the sa smile he had that day by the lake, and every day after . Despite reaching his fortieth decade of life, Hannah realized, core parts of what made her fall in love with him hardly changed .
Walking up slowly, her father let her go as Lino pulled her over, bowing toward her father as she took place opposite of them . The music swelled up briefly before dropping down and slowly going silent .
Lino stared at the veiled figure in front of him, his calm facade nearly crumbling entirely . No matter what he did, he couldn’t calm his heart, nor stop his palms from sweating . He couldn’t rember the last ti he felt this way, yet he didn’t mind it .
In his mind, there was no world past the few square ters around her . Her crimson hair spilled out of the white veil like blood, falling freely over her shoulders and chest . The pair of green eyes that he could never forget peered from behind the curtain, the disarming smile wound up, causing dimples to appear on her rosy cheeks . He couldn’t quite put it into the words, but, to him, even Ella paled in comparison . Perhaps, all won currently present here altogether couldn’t add up .
"Hey . " he mumbled faintly, smiling .
"Hey . " she replied, chuckling . "How do I look?"
" . . . like it’s going to be a hell of a task to undress you after . " he grinned .
"Oh, you have no idea," she grinned back . "It took four won and three hours to get this on . So, you’ve your work cut out for you . "
"Khm . " Val suddenly coughed, startling the two, as Hannah glanced at her and smiled apologetically . "Dear friends, family, and the rest of you less important ones, welco . Today we have gathered to bring these two souls together," she raised her voice slightly . "As a reminder to all of you lone ones out there . . . that there is hope . " laughter resonated for a mont as Lino chuckled, shaking his head and glancing at Val . He had put a lot of burden on her shoulders over the past few years, so this must have been her way of getting back at him .
"As I’m certain everyone here is just waiting for the free booze, let speed things up slightly," Hannah pouted for a mont but said nothing, rely sighing . "I’ve known both of them for quite a few years now, and, to be honest, they never made sense to . Whenever together, they would quibble and fight and it was easier to build a tunnel through a mountain that to get them to agree on anything . Yet . . . it didn’t matter . At the end of the day, they were always right beside each other . And, really, that’s all that matters in the end . Now, these two have decided to write their own vows, so I’ll give you guys a few seconds to bolt as far away as possible if you’re as terrified as I am . "
"Ha ha ha ha . . . "
"Eh, I guess not . " Val shrugged, pulling slightly back as Lino grinned at her .
"I vow to finally find soone for this embittered, lonely grandma," Hannah burst out into laughter as Val sighed, shaking her head . "Because she is terribly wrong . I never write anything . Write vows? I wing that shit!"
" . . . you seriously didn’t write your vows?" Hannah exclaid in faint shock as murmurs spread throughout the crowd .
" . . . what for?" Lino said, smiling widely . "Even if I took every word in the language and used it, and gathered all the bards and poets and writers of the world to help , the sensation you leave with cannot be described . The truth of the matter is that, every day, every ti I see you or hear you . . . you leave both breathless and wordless . Each ti I think I’ve got you figured out, you turn around and smack my self-important ego . Every day with you is a journey, and every mont a tale . Rather than put it into words, I’ll show you later . " he winked at her as groans quickly shuffled out from the front rows .
Ella and Eggor plastered their foreheads, looking away in sha, as young Cae stared at his big brother with wide eyes, cheering him on silently . Alison’s cheeks flushed red like blood as she looked away as well, while Lucky rely grinned, as she entirely expected he’d say sothing like that . Alex smiled wryly as he looked sideways at Hannah’s parents both of whom had their mouth gaping .
" . . . you’re right," Hannah smiled gently, ignoring the murmurs, laughter, and groans from the crowd . "No word or action will ever be enough . "
"Oi--"
"--so, instead, let it be a mont," she added, ignoring Lino’s hurtful expression . "Any and every mont . Embroiled into everlasting mories . All I know is that I love you," she continued, knitting her fingers together . "And that you love . If there were two lone things I was certain of in this world, it would be those . "
" . . . alright, so, the vows have been spoken," Val chid in from the side after a few monts of silence, taking a deep breath . "And, as expected, she was wonderful, and he was dreadful . "
" . . . perhaps I indeed should begin embodying the all-the-ti-mad image of an Empyrean," Lino mumbled, glancing at her . "Then, you might think twice over spitting on my crumbling grave . "
"I now pronounce you a husband and a wife," Val said, ignoring him . "May the everafter happen for you two . You may kiss the bride . "
Lino chuckled faintly before stepping forward and lifting Hannah’s veil, exposing slightly flushed face and dreamy, hazy eyes . He leaned forward, his arms grabbing around her waist and pulling her forward . She gave in, closing her eyes and tenderly wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his . Though the cheers and applause exploded from behind them, neither paid them much heed or even heard it all too well . To them, there was only that sliver of space within which they stood embraced, cradled inside each other’s arms . Both wished to hold onto the mont forever, and practically chuckled at the sa ti as they pulled away, Lino pressing his forehead against hers .
" . . . I’ll make you the Queen of the world . " he mumbled faintly into his jaw, just loud enough for Hannah to hear him .
"You already have . . . " she mumbled back, corners of her lips lifting up once more .
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