Growing Into You (First Draft; Unedited)

lxiv.

Jayen

My hands shook slightly as I readjusted the collar of the dress. We had found a shop in town that was more than happy to give us Mourning clothes, the shopkeeper told us to keep them since they never really sell them. The dress I picked had a collar that went up to my throat with white lace around the shoulders. I swayed in the mirror, watching how the deep black fabric followed my motions. 

Maj knocked on the door of the changing room, “We’re all ready out here, Jay. Come out when you’re ready.” Her voice was soft and gentle, she spoke to me the same way you would to a fussy baby.

I unlatched the door and stepped out. Kuna gave me a soft smile as they buttoned up the last few buttons on their shirt. Aoife was smoothing out her dress, we were both wearing similar ones except hers had black lace instead of white lace. Joshua came out a second later. I haven’t seen him wear anything this formal since his wedding, and that was a completely different type of formal.

I looked around and bit my lip, “Where’s Alexndra?”

Aoife sat down on a circular bench, “She’s outside with Devi and some other lady.” 

I pushed open the door of the store and was greeted with the orange and pink streaked sky. The sun had technically set twenty minutes ago, the pull of the starry night sky fighting with the last of the light.

Alexandra was wearing a long black dress with a black shawl wrapped tightly against her shoulders. She was talking with another woman who was quite shorter than her, maybe even my height. She had long wavy brown hair and was wearing a dark violet dress. To their left, Devi was sitting on the fountain edge, her legs crossed underneath a knee length black dress. Her long blonde hair blew around the slight breeze, her face turned up to the sky twisted in a sorrowful expression. Her pale skin gave her an unnatural look. In her right hand, she had a loose grip on a golden ball decorated with rubies.

Alexandra turned around and caught sight of me. Her face lit up as she smiled, “Jayen! My love, come over here and meet my sister, Adelaide.”

The woman–Adelaide, smiled widely at me, “Wow, let me get a look at you! My baby sister’s fiancée, I can’t believe this!” She had a thick Frean accent and her ‘th’ like ‘z’ and inflecting her ‘a’s higher than the rest of her letters.

Adelaide looked nothing like Alexandra aside from their pale skin and bright blue eyes. Where Alexandra’s face was narrow and strong, her sister’s was chubby and freckled. She grabbed my face and squeezed, examining my face closely with a wide smile. I looked over at Alexandra for help but she only smiled and shrugged.

“It’s very nice to meet you!” I tried to say with my squished mouth. 

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’m just excited to meet you!” Adelaide released me and took a step back, “I’m just sorry it has to be under these conditions. . .”

Alexandra pulled me into her arms and kissed the top of my head before letting go of me. “I suppose we should get everyone together. Adelaide, are you coming?”

Her eyes widened, “Of course not! I was just here to bring you what you wanted and maybe stay with you for a bit to catch up. I’ll wait here for you all, I promise.” She gave her sister a sad look before slipping away.

“Devi, are you ready?” I asked.

She stuck her tongue in her cheek and looked at the ground. “It’s lucky I like you all or I wouldn’t be doing this. . .”

“Thank you Devi, really. You didn’t have to do this but you’re here and that means a lot to me. I really appreciate you,” I said softly, trying to convey how much this meant to me without making her cringe.

She smiled slightly and stood up, “Ugh, hurry up and get everyone together if we want to do this on time.”

Alexandra squeezed my hand and I squeezed back as we slowly walked through the small forest path. The shrubbery clawed and pulled at our clothes, trying to get us to turn around as we used the dying light to find our way. Devi led the way, clutching onto the golden orb as she trampled our path. 

“Are you okay, Jayen?” Alexandra whispered.

“I’m okay, poppet. I’ll be okay,” I whispered back, a small stream of tears had begun to fall but I wasn’t sure if they were from guilt, sorrow, or relief. . . And I was scared to find out which one it was.

She smiled weakly, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said softly.

Suddenly Kuna stopped and I nearly slammed into them, they gave an apologetic look. We were here at the field. Kuna moved aside so we could crept past them, never breaking our contact. The field was surrounded by wildflowers and large old trees that whispered as a small breeze blew through their leaves. The gold grass rippled as my gaze fell upon a small group of guards holding lanterns just as the light faded away.