Ask the Sinners

In summer

  As she walked out, I held my breath. Clarith wore a pure white dress with a large bouquet. The flowers were pale pink, yellow, and blue. White ribbons were the side of her long, flowing veil.

  I felt like my heart would explode. This day was finally here. Clarith was getting married. To Michaela, too.

  Clarith stood in front of me, head bowed. I sidled up to her. "You look really pretty," I told her.

  Her face went pink. It turned several shades darker when Yukina, the flower girl, waved at her. And as if it couldn't get any darker, it managed to when Michaela blew her a kiss. Clarith closed her eyes, probably wondering how she had ever fallen in love with someone like Michaela.

  "Thank you," she said in a low voice. "And thank you for being my maid of honor. I know it's traditionally for girls older than fourteen, but I thought you would like it. So, thank you, Ri-Riliane." She caught herself on using my second name.

  I patted her arm. "You're welcome. I'm just happy for you." My eyes met with Allen's, and he grinned goofily.

  Allen was the ring-bearer. Ayn was the best man. Gumillia and I were the only two bridesmaids. Neither of the brides knew a lot of people to ask, so that left us. I was fine with it, to be honest.

The priest rambled on and on about marriage, what it meant, the actual definition of it, some random passage from the Levin Bible, and more. I was half-asleep by the time he was done. Even Gumillia was closing her eyes.

Michaela took Clarith's hands in hers, staring into her eyes. Clarith fidgeted for a second, but she stopped.

Finally, he said the best words possible, "Michaela Arklow, do you take Clarith to be your lawfully-wedded bride?"

She was bouncing on her feet. "I do! I love you, Clarith!" she basically cheered.

Clearing his throat, the priest continued. "And do you, Clarith, take Michaela Arklow to be your lawfully-wedded bride?"

Clarith inhaled and then exhaled. "I do," she said, voice echoing around the room.

"You may now kiss one another." The priest bowed his head, his job finished.

Michaela put one hand on Clarith's lower back, causing her to...I guess bend backwards. It sorta looked like when two people are dancing, and one of them kisses the other. That's was it looked like.

The applause was astounding. It was on-par with when Lemy's friend Rin-Chan finished a song. Some of the people in the audience stood up. Nemesis grabbed Nyoze's arm and pulled him up with her. Gammon followed, half-dragging Lilith with him.

I found myself clapping as well. A small tear ran down my right cheek. Ignoring it, I watched as Clarith turned bright red. When the girls were done, Michaela let out a gleeful scream.

  "I LOVE MY WIFE!"

  "I love you, too!" Clarith screamed in response.

  Laughter broke out from the audience.

~*~

  The reception was nice, with lots of food. I sat at my table, too busy eating to talk. Allen was next to me, telling a story to Michelle. The Marlon girl was watching him with a fascinated expression.

  Clarith and Michaela sat down, both looking exhausted. The dance had passed, so it made sense that they were tired. Kyle and Ney followed them, filling up the table entirely.

  "Oh, my god," Ney said. "This reception is so nice. I love it." But her eyes never found Michaela's.

  We all knew why. In fact, it had been a shock when she had been invited here. But Michaela was more forgiving than most people. She didn't hold a grudge against Ney.

  Clarith smiled shyly. "Thank you. The Freezises helped out a lot. Since we worked for them and all." Her eyes lowered to the ground. Her fingers traced circles on the table. "We'll have to thank them again for all they've done."

  "I should go see what Dad's up to," Michelle said suddenly. "I think he and Nems were at the same table. If they're fighting, someone should stop them." She got up carefully, making a face that I recognized. Her legs had fallen asleep.

  "Bye," Allen said.

  Gumillia and Ayn stopped by, with the mage sitting down in Michelle's spot.

  "Wow, you two were...." She paused, her eyes searching around, "great. Good job."

  "Yeah, I think my soul almost left my body. I'm so happy for y'all," Ayn told the newlyweds. He grinned childishly. "I don't have anything left to say."

  "Thank you," Michaela said, her eyes tearing up. "It means so much to us."

  Kyle suddenly coughed. "Ah, yes. Many wishes to you." He raised his glass for a second before downing the contents nervously. Even in this world, he could get a bit anxious. His mother had trained him too well. I felt bad for him.

  Ney raised her glass before lowering it again. Something told me it was liqueur. She had a tendency to drink whatever was supplied at parties. Luckily, that was the only time she ever drank alcohol or anything like it.

  A slow, familiar song began to play. I couldn't quite name it, but I recognized it. Michaela grabbed Clarith and pulled her to dance. As they waltzed around the dance floor, I found myself watching them.

  Allen looked at me, a smile on his face. Kyle and Ney also looked at us. For a second, everything was normal in the way I had grown used to. That's all I needed.