Against The Dark

Part 1

I smiled at James as he took my hand at the alter.

I had waited so long for this day... well this night! I had planned every tiny detail to perfection, but now I was here... well all that mattered was James!

He took my breath away as he smiled back at me proudly, dressed in his smart tuxedo. He gazed over my simple satin dress.

We had decided on an evening beach wedding as it was where we first met in Hawaii.

Stupidly I got in to trouble whilst out swimming 18 months before, my leg cramped up and I went under the water, lost consciousness. But I woke up to James giving me mouth to mouth... He saved my life and we had been inseparable ever since.

"Wow!" He mouthed at me as he looked in awe of my beauty as we listened to our service of marriage begin.

My heart pounded in my chest. The way James made me feel was so complex, a whirlwind of emotion was always inflicted on my body.

His beautiful eyes smiled at me as he slipped the ring on the tip of my finger.

"Zoe... On this day,

I give you my heart,

My promise, That I will walk with you,

Hand in hand,

Wherever our journey leads us,

Living,

learning,

loving,

Together,

Forever." James said huskly, his voice thick with emotion.

Tears left me as the love I felt for the man I was about to marry felt too much to contain. James rubbed my hand with his thumb.

"I love you." He whispered, placing the ring fully on my finger.

I smiled and looked up to the large collection of friends and family that had come to share this incredible day with us, everyone looked so smart, the night time glow of the candles that lit our ceremony made everything look soft and romantic. Big smiles on everyone's faces as they looked up at me.

My turn to declare my vows to James came and with a shaking hand I placed his wedding band on the tip of his finger, ready to commit to him for the rest of my life.

"Many people spend their lives searching for their soul mate, their one true love. Some people are lucky to find the person they can truly call the better half of themselves, while others spend the rest of their lives searching and never finding." I began looking deeply in to James' eyes.

"I am happy to count myself among the lucky ones because I found you.

I love you james, I know you are the only one for me, my one true love! I am happy and I am grateful that you came into my life. now that I have found you, I shall never let you go. I promise you james, that I shall hold you and cherish you, and give you my heart, I shall support you and care for you. Faithfully, I shall always stand by your side with your hand in mine, regardless of what life will bring us. I take you now as my husband and I shall remain so for the rest of my life." I declared, my voice quivering.

I slipped the ring fully on his finger and was blown away by his smile... a smile that now belonged to me.

We shared our first marital kiss, the sweet scent of James' breath hit me. The whirlwind of emotion began swirling inside me.

A new life awaited, and it was about to begin.

"You look beautiful zoe!" James whispered to me as he parted from our kiss.