His World

A Traditional Wedding (17)

It only took a week for Alice to throw the wedding together, keeping it as simple as she could given her eccentric personality. Rosalie and Leah got along surprisingly well when it came to defending Lily and what she wanted. When Carlisle had mentioned Alice was a planner, he wasn't kidding. Alice always wanted to go over the top with decorations and dresses and flowers- everything. Lily wanted something simple, in the church she went to as a young girl. She wanted a slim fitting dress with a train no longer than four feet behind her and an empire waist. Lily would have been fine wearing heels before the leukemia came back, but now she wasn't confident about her footing. She would wear flats, which was a fight in and of itself. Alice had insisted she wear heels and it was only when Leah and Rosalie stepped in with their large tempers that Alice backed off with a frustrated sigh. Her visions were murky and frustrating enough as it is, and it only increased as limitations were placed on her.

"Are you sure about the flowers?" Alice asked, sketching out some irises. "Daffodils would be really pretty."

"Irises are my favorite," Lily insisted with a small smile. "My dad used to always get them for my mom when I was little. I remember the house smelling of them almost constantly."

Alice smiled at the image. "Alright. As long as you're sure."

"I am," Lily said.

"Vera," Rosalie said kindly. "I drew a bath for you."

Lily smiled and Leah helped her to stand. "You all are so sweet. I'm not sure I can ever repay you."

"You make Carlisle happy," Rosalie told her. "That's enough."

"And if it weren't for you, I'd still be listening to Embry moan and groan about Jake and Quil," Leah added.

"I got it from here," Lily said, turning to face the women who had been on either side of her. "If I need anything, I'll call."

The two women stopped outside the bathroom door, only turning away when Lily closed the door behind her. She knew they were both listening closely, waiting for the smallest sign or sound of distress.

The next day was the wedding. Alice had Lily up early to prepare for her big day. Carlisle and the other guys had already gone to the church to double check that everything was ready and nobody would be set back because something was out of order. Alice spoke as she painted Lily's nails. Leah was doing her hair was Rosalie was deciding on a look for her makeup. Lily let out a soft sigh. "I wish he'd tell me where we're going."

Alice giggled to herself. "You're going to love it."

Lily gave Rosalie a look, nearly begging her to share. Rosalie offered a small smile. "I can't tell you. Carlisle's been so great to me for a long time. It's only fair to give him this."

She's going to love London, Alice thought to herself, trying to figure out where exactly Carlisle would take Lily.

Lily blinked and her head snapped to look at the pixie, causing Leah to pull her hair with the unexpected movement. Lily winced, blinking as she cleared her mind, and relaxed back into the chair.

"Leah, I think you might need a little hairspray to keep it in place," Alice suggested.

Leah gave Alice a dirty look but said nothing. She didn't want to upset Lily on her wedding day. The wolf took the hairspray and delicately sprayed Lily's hair. She smiled at her masterpiece. "Done. We should leave soon so we aren't late."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Just a few minutes for her nails to dry. We can take the dress with us."

"Carlisle won't be able to keep his eyes off you," Rosalie said with a smile.

"Or his hands," Leah giggled, wagging her eyebrows suggestively. "Just wait until you see yourself."

Lily blushed at her friends. "You guys..."

The women packed up what they had each been using and the room was cleared by the time Lily's nails were dry. They packed her into the back seat of her own car before heading to the little church in town. Alice was rambling on about the day and how she hoped everything would be perfect. She was frustrated that she couldn't see around the wolves, no matter how many times she tried or thought her vision was getting better.

"Momma!" Elsie burst through the room Lily was now in. She turned from the mirror in front of her and smiled at her daughter in the little lavender dress. As if remembering something, the girl suddenly stopped short of hugging her mother. "You look so pretty. Alice said to be careful."

Lily offered Alice a grateful look. She smiled down at her daughter. "Aren't you beautiful?"

Elsie smiled and spun to give a full view of her dress. The flowers in her hair nearly fell out as she giggled. "Leah helped me. Embry said that I'd be the prettiest girl, other than you."

"Elsie, can I help fix your flowers?" Rosalie asked kindly. She was sitting in a chair across the room.

"Yes please!" Elsie agreed and bounded over to her. The girl stood in front of the blonde vampire, bouncing slightly with excitement as Rosalie secured the flowers more. "Embry tried, but he doesn't know very much about girl stuff."

Rosalie offered a slight smile at the comment. Emmett was the same way, no matter how many times she'd shown him how to secure things into Renesmee's hair when she was smaller.

"Everyone is ready!" Leah said as she came into the room. She stopped when she saw her best friend. "Lil, you're so beautiful. It really suits you."

"You think?" Lily asked shyly. She turned to the mirror again, smoothing out the silky fabric of her dress. It was exactly the way she had imagined it, and the style of it complimented her ring in a way she never thought possible. "It's good? I shouldn't have gone with something else?"

A sense of nervousness filled the room. Leah blinked before shaking it off and placing a gentle, hot hand on Lily's arm. She smiled at her friend in the mirror. "Of course. Carlisle is just as traditional as you are. Besides, I don't think huge ball gowns were really a thing back when he was... well, human."

"Actually, this style is more from the 17th century..." Alice started. She cleared her throat when everyone looked at her. "Sorry. You look beautiful, and he's going to love it. Isn't he, Rosalie?"

Rosalie smiled her soft, kind smile. "Yes. I've known Carlisle for a long time, and he's going to love it. More than that, he loves you. I bet you could be wearing a potato sack right now and he'd marry you just as quickly."

Lily giggled and the atmosphere relaxed. "Thank you. So, I guess we have a wedding to start."

The wedding began with Edward and Bella, Jasper and Alice, then Rosalie and Emmett walking down the aisle. Jacob and Renesmee followed. Then Leah by herself, followed by Elsie who was the flower girl. Carlisle had asked Edward to be his best man, and he had the wedding bands with him. Embry walked Lily delicately down the aisle, moving at her pace and sure not to let her fall or trip, and the room was full of a nervous excitement. Lily hardly paid attention to the vows, and she would've missed saying her part if Leah hadn't slyly nudged her elbow just before. She was more than entranced by her soon-to-be husband, and the look of pure love in his eyes. She couldn't look away if she'd wanted to. Lily started the iconic kiss between man and wife, but Carlisle finished it with a chuckle to himself. Rather than walking back up the aisle side by side, Carlisle lifted his new wife into his arms with a cheer from the crowd and carried her. Everyone thought it was sweet, but they didn't know he was half doing it because he could tell how tired Lily was becoming of standing. He wanted her to save some energy for the reception. She was already thinner than when they'd met, and his perfect eyesight allowed Carlisle to see exactly how taut her skin was over her bones and soft muscles. It worried him more than he was willing to admit.

"I love you," Lily said, arms around Carlisle's neck as he carried her through the church.

Carlisle smiled down at her. "I love you. Thank you for agreeing to marry me."

"I couldn't imagine it any other way."