Gravensnod (manxman)

Chapter Four

Alexei 

The day had finally arrived. The day that I've been dreaming about ever since I first met Philo, when he fell out of that tree all those years ago. Today was the day that I would get to marry Philo, and I didn't have to worry about Genevieve trying to stop it. She had been given the max sentence as well as Ezra and Micah. They would spend the rest of their lives in prison. I definitely wasn't crying over that.

With a content sigh I sipped more of my tea while looking out one of the windows in my bedroom. All of Gravensnod seemed to already be in party mode, which made me smile. When the citizens of Gravensnod learned what had happened to Philo, they all seemed to rally around him even more. Honestly, we were getting more support than I ever thought we would. People really seemed to love him, which wasn't surprising. He was the best person that I knew.

He didn't want to hide what Genevieve tried to do, didn't want to hide in the shadows. He wanted to show people that everything was okay now. Many people wrote to him or stopped him when they saw him out and about to say how much they admired his courage. Abuse victims were coming forward, Philo stopping by their counseling sessions at the hospital. He had also started talking to those who had lost family members. No wonder people loved him so much; he was so relatable and so easy to talk to.

My eyes were drawn to the boat currently docked, all decked out in beautiful flowers. Since we had wanted the people of Gravensnod to feel welcomed at the wedding, we were having it on the mainland. From what I saw of it last night there were so many decorations already out. Especially around the chapel, where we would be married later today. That chapel was also special because my parents had gotten married there.

When soft knocks were coming from the door behind me I cleared my throat before saying, "Come in."

I watched Augustus walk in, looking sharp as ever. Even though he was in formal attire he still made sure to have his signature style present. He was wearing a very stylish black blazer that was shiny and sleek. The complete left side was decked out in an interesting design that looked like shiny tree branches all over the fabric. His pants were the same shiny black material, the shirt under his blazer a sheer black shirt with a sparkly collar.

"You look great," I said as he gave me a hug. His hair was pulled up on top of his head, many shiny earrings in both ears.

"Thanks man, so do you."

That made me glance back at the full length mirror to my side and take in my traditional formal attire. "Thanks," I said while nervously smoothing the fabric down.

"You nervous?" He asked while staring at me in the mirror.

"A little bit nerves but a lot of excitement. I just want to make sure I don't fall on my face in front of everyone or something embarrassing like that."

Augustus laughed before putting a hand onto my shoulder. "If you fall I'll catch you, don't worry. I'm not afraid of looking like an ass."

That made me turn around and quickly gathering him into my arms. "I know you're just joking, but I want you to know how proud of you I am." I pulled back slightly to look into his eyes. "You've never been afraid to live your life your own way. I know that you're going to do great things, whatever they may be. Even if you decide to travel around the world more."

His cheeks were turning slightly pink as he said, "I think my traveling days might be over."

"Really?"

"It's just... after everything that happened, I don't want to be away from my family anymore. And... I wouldn't want to leave... anyone here."