Sofia the First: The Rise of Rulers

Chapter Twenty-Two: Astrid

Chapter Twenty-Two

Astrid

It's fair to say I'm sick of weddings. This is the fourth wedding I have been to in four days. I have watched the bride walk down the aisle, I have watched as the groom smiles at her, I have watched as they share their first kiss, and I still watch as they have their first dance. Today's different though. Very different, because today I'm the one in the gorgeous white dress. I'm the one standing behind the large wooden doors. Today I am the bride. I feel my hands sweat and nervously wipe them against my dress. I'm not one to get nervous. I'm always quite sure of myself. Today though I can hear the pounding of my heart against my rib cage. However, my heart stops when the doors open and my eyes take in the hundreds of people here. They are turned in their seats looking at me, and now my heart is beating twice as fast. I'm panicking. I don't panic.

Everything seems to slow as my eyes catch the man in black at the altar. He's not glaring as he usually does, but he's not smiling like the other grooms were, either. He looks almost emotionless until he smirks and gives me a wink.

That arrogant asshole!

Hildegard, who I chose as my maid of honor, is already halfway down the aisle by the time I begin walking.

I can feel Axel watching me.

It really hits me as I'm walking that I'm getting married. This is supposed to be the best day of my life and I suppose it is. Though I'm not marrying the love of my life; I'm marrying Axel.

I'm marrying the man I hate. I haven't always hated him, I wouldn't even say I do now. Though sometimes he aggravates me in a way no one else can. But I don't hate him. Especially when I see the sides of him that remind me of the boy he was when we were younger. Like during the first trial.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts as I refocus on the present.

I'm mere steps from the altar. Mere seconds from being married. I take a deep breath and then I step onto that altar.

All the noise dulls as I focus my gaze back on Axel, my pounding heart the only thing I can hear. His hair is combed back and his face is freshly shaven. He looks good. There's no point in denying the fact; especially when he fills his suit as nicely as he does now. If only his personality complemented those good looks.

He doesn't lean in to whisper something to me like the other grooms did instead he just looks at me, his eyebrows furrowed as if he's confused.

The noise of the venue finally finds me again as the priest starts his declarations. Axel and I follow along, speaking when expected to. I'm surprised when Axel never lets his eyes leave mine, even as the priest speaks to him. It's when his eyes find my lips that my stomach flips, though. A normal reaction to a boy looking at your lips I tell myself; it has nothing to do with the way it would feel to have his strong hands support my back as his lips drag against my mouth and my neck and my ear.

What the hell! Astrid snap the fuck out of it.

I pinch my arm to wake myself up and watch as Axel's eyes track the movement. He cocks an eyebrow as if he knew what I was thinking. He couldn't possibly though, because even I can't believe I thought it.

"You may kiss the bride."

Wait what! I've heard that phrase plenty of times in my life and I've even prepared for how it would feel to hear it today, but it still catches me off guard. My eyes switch between each of Axel's as I wait for him to move. I will resent the way it feels to have him touch me. I will wish for it to stop. It will bother me. It will, I assure myself.