A Fight to Remember

Fairytales and Magic Pt. 1

A/N: Picks up at nearly the same time as last chap. This is the girls half. 

Zola.

"Okay, this is everything, right?" Ellis double checked the pile of stuff in the little red wagon.

"I think so," I carefully folded our plastic wrapped dresses over my arm.

"Cause I'm not hiking all the way back to the house." Ellis huffed as she began down the trail, the wagon rumbling along behind her.

"Relax!" I called after her, while I struggled with the heavy bulge of the dresses. We trudged in silence for awhile, boots crunching on the gravel path that sashayed through the trees. There was a small spot in the trail where a wooden plank bridges over a tiny stream, no more than a foot long. Stopping at the mini-bridge, Ellis looked back at me, her blue eyes flinting in the sunlight,"I can't believe my big sister is getting married," she said.

"I can't believe our parents are getting married," I muttered, catching up behind her.

Ellis paused, considering the new obstacle in front of us, and the loaded wagon full of make-up and goodies for our 'girl time'. She looked up, and her face scrunched into a scowl, "it better not rain."

"Don't say that word," I followed her gaze to the partly cloudy sky.

"Rrraai-"

Ellis! "No-"

"-Aain!" she laughed, and yanked the wagon through the stream. I shook my head, lifted the dresses higher over the water and tromped after her. The trail opened up to a small clearing where our beloved ancient trailer rested. Ellis dropped the handle of the wagon and bounded up the steps of the deck. She rapped on the trailer door. "Hey, we're here," she said.

I stopped a few feet behind her, shifting the heavy load in my arms. One second later the door swung open, and dad stepped out, lips spread out in a wide grin. "Good morning!" he said, happy and chipper.

"Morning?" I teased, "It's noon!"

His crowsfeet crinkled, and he glowed. I'd never seen him happier. He gave Ellis a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. "Hey," his happy gaze shifted to me, and I shivered. "I'm so thrilled, so proud." He pushed past my sister and embraced me tightly in his arms. I felt so... loved. "You're getting married today."

"You're getting married today," I replied, shifting the heavy bundle so I could move in closer.

"Mm-hm," he hummed. Leaning into him, the nostalgic, comforting smell of his aftershave swelled feelings of love and safety in me. "Here," he scooped up the dresses and carried them inside.

Ellis and I waited at the door, not wanting to crowd. Dad appeared a moment later, swinging a jacket over his shoulders and jingling his car keys. "I can't wait to walk you down the aisle," he said. He caressed my cheek with a happy sigh and was about to exit when Mom appeared behind him.

She grabbed his hand, "Hey."

Pulled back to her, he took her other hand and they shared a gaze I'd seen a million times, a gaze I'd begun to give Julian, and one he'd given me before I'd realized what it was. Longing. Love. Desire.

"One for the road?" she asked.

"Hm," he smiled. Their lips touched, once, twice... and then they melted, becoming lost in each other for an endless moment. Dad pulled away, breathless. "I can't wait," he pushed hair behind her ear.

"Me neither. Be safe," she squeezed his hand.

"Okay," Dad returned her smile and nodded. He stepped back and walked off the deck. "I'll see you all in a few hours." He waved and trudged down the path we just came from, back to the house.