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26: Something Borrowed, Something Blue

"Rule #71: When making the seating chart for your royal wedding, don't put dwarves near the champagne fountain."

—Definitive Fairy-Tale Wedding Survival Guide
26

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

"Today is a magnificent day."
I opened my eyes but immediately had to squint because of the bright light streaming in from the window.
"What day is it today?" I croaked. My throat felt dry, like it was out of practice.
"It's your wedding day—the most important day of a young princess's life." Verte bustled around the room.
My heart nearly exploded. "I'm getting married?" I squeaked.
Verte clucked disapprovingly at me. "Don't you remember? We had this conversation already. You've spent all this week getting better for it."
I vaguely remembered the conversation now. But wasn't that yesterday? My sense of time was completely wonky, and I couldn't remember a single thing in between that chat and this moment, let alone a week's worth.
Verte continued to flit about the room, finally going to the corner and opening an armoire. Inside hung a dress that sparkled with diamonds and emerald beading. "Your mother sent it. Something came up at the Emerald Palace and she won't be able to come. She left you a letter. Would you like to read it?"
Somehow I wasn't surprised that my mom wasn't coming. For some reason, I couldn't even picture her ever leaving the palace. Still, what kind of mother didn't show up at her own daughter's wedding? "Yes, please." I swung my legs to dangle off the bed and greedily waited for my letter, since that was all I could have of her.
Dearest Princess Dorthea,
I am so sorry your father and I cannot be with you today. Horrible beasts are threatening to take over the kingdom. That's why this marriage is so important. Once we enter into an alliance with the wizard, the Emerald Kingdom will be safe. Then we can see each other again. Isn't that what you want?
I've sent you the dress I wore at my own wedding. Wear it for good luck and think of me. Your father sends his love. We're counting on you.

Many happy returns on this most blessed day,
Queen Em
"Are you all right, my dear?" Verte sat down on the bed next to me.
I attempted to summon a smile. It would have been easier to tell the suns not to rise. "It feels like I haven't seen my parents in ages."
Verte patted my hand. "As soon as today's important business is settled, everything will be exactly as it should." She got off the bed and opened the door. Rexi stood in the doorway with a tray of food. "Eat your breakfast," Verte said as Rexi brought it in. "Every bite. Once you're married, you'll need all your strength." Verte cackled at her own joke and hobbled out of the room.
Rexi set the breakfast tray down on the table and motioned for me to take a seat. The tray was brimming with all sorts of goodies: mini cheesecakes, burrberry croissants, chocolate wands, and an apple. They looked and smelled delicious. Adorning the tray was a white agave lily. All of my favorite things—and I was extra pleased that I remembered that these were my favorite things.
I looked around the room to see what else I could glean about my life. The walls were bare and sterile. The nightstand held a single vase of gardenias. The room seemed...empty. "Weren't there a whole bunch of red flowers here earlier?"
Wearing the tight smile again, Rexi plucked a flower from the nearby vase. "Yes, but I find white to be much more appropriate for a wedding." She started plucking the petals off to emphasize each word. "It symbolizes new beginnings, a blank slate, if you will." Her smile got big and toothy, like she was doing a commercial for sparkle toothpaste. I had the urge to say, Grandma, what big teeth you have.
She called for Nikko, who had brought a satin pillow. On it was a silver hair comb adorned with a large, white flower. She clapped in pleasure. "Let's get you ready for your big day."
A loud commotion came from outside my window, and I peeked out to see what was going on. People were running around yelling like Munchkins while some kind of animal roared and reared up. The huge beast was being led by chains—kind of. Even with ten men, they had a hard time getting the big, winged creature to cooperate.
"What in Grimm's name is that?"
I wondered if that was one of the beasts threatening my kingdom.
Rexi looked out the window too, her face set into hard lines. "That is dinner for the feast." She stomped to the door. "Nikko, help the princess get dressed and make sure she eats. Everything. I'll take care of preparations for the barbecue."
She stayed by the door for a minute more, watching me expectantly. Picking up one of the chocolate wands, I took a bite. Apparently satisfied, she turned and left.
As soon as she was gone, I pulled a face and tossed the wand back on the tray. The candy tasted sour and a little funny, like maybe it was stale or had gone bad.
Nikko set about pinning my hair into some intricate style. He was surprisingly nimble, considering he had big apelike hands, and but he probably got a lot of practice since he so much hair of his own—all over his body, not just under a hat, which looked like some kind of upside-down takeout food box. In fact, I didn't want to be rude, but he looked rather much like a gorilla. While he worked on my hair, I gingerly examined the flowered headpiece he'd brought up. I'd never seen anything like it. Delicate white petals shot up through the middle and seemed to cascade over like a waterfall.
"Mind the thorns, Lady Emerald. Sometimes even the most beautiful things can bite," Nikko whispered. It was the first time I had heard his voice. It didn't really match the oafish old man.
Following his warning, I looked closer at the bloom. Sure enough, hidden beneath the flower's head were sharp, spindly thorns.
"It's called a lotus rose." He continued to whisper as if he were afraid to be overheard even though we were the only two people in the room. "It used to be the symbol of a powerful sorceress. I haven't seen one in many years. Did you know that if you tried to grow it in a garden, it would never bloom? The flower only blossoms in the most horrendous conditions. But when it does, it's strong and almost nothing can kill it." Nikko gently took the flower from my hand and pinned it into my hair. "There. All done."
"Is there a looking glass handy so I can see it?" I asked and glanced around the barren room.
"I'm sorry, but the wizard has sent away all the mirrors. They had some sort of magical malfunction." Nikko pulled the wedding dress out of the armoire and laid it on the bed. He looked from it to me, then back to it again, blushing.
I took pity on him since I didn't think that ladies handmaiden was in his typical job description. "You really don't have to stay while I get dressed. I'm sure I can manage myself."
He looked around, distressed, probably worried his boss would yell at him for leaving me alone. "I don't—"
Placing a hand softly on his arm, I gently nudged him out. "You can stand just outside the door, and I'll knock when I'm ready for you to come in."
Looking relieved, Nikko bowed and scurried out the door, closing it. I think I heard the snick of a lock. Honestly, what was everyone so jumpy about? Worried that I would become a runaway bride or something?
My memories were starting to come back to me. I remembered bits of my childhood, like tagging along with Verte because everyone was always too busy for me. And the desperate desire to please my parents but always falling short.
Well, not this time.
I picked up the dress and thought of my mother's wedding portrait that hung just outside the ballroom. Hopefully, the borrowed dress looked half as good on me. Slipping it on felt, in some small way, like she was here with me. This was what she wanted—no, needed me to do. But I would have been lying if I had said I didn't have cold feet.
Speaking of, where were my shoes? I opened the armoire to check and see if my mom had sent some. When I bent over to look along the bottom, I got dizzy and sick to my stomach. The piece of chocolate wand I had earlier came back up.
Yuck. It tasted even worse the second time.
It seemed important to both Rexi and Verte that I eat, and it was clear from the sampling of my favorites that they had put a lot of thought into preparing it. I didn't want their feelings to get hurt, but I was too nervous to keep anything else down. And throwing up on my intended's feet would not make a very good impression.
I looked out the window. The beast and his handlers were gone. The only thing directly below was a litter of golden retriever pups.
"Here, puppy puppies," I called, rapping on the open glass.
They all looked up, ears perked, tilting their heads.
"Are you hungry?" I held the tray out the window and tipped it over, allowing the food to fall to the dogs below. They gobbled it rabidly.
With that little piece of ingenuity taken care of, I set the tray back down and restarted my search for shoes. There was one thing I knew for sure: I had a lot of them. "One pair must be around here..."
A twinkle under the bed caught my eye. There's no elegant way to squat down in a wedding dress, but I managed. Aside from a few dust gerbils, there was a pair of silver slippers with two-inch ruby heels. I loved them on sight.
"They're gorgeous." I stroked the sides and felt a little electric charge run down my spine. Setting down the shoes, I lifted my gown and stepped into them. Immediately I felt better; my head even cleared a little.
I lowered my dress. The hem barely grazed the floor, meaning the shoes would stay hidden and no one would see that the ruby clashed with the emeralds sewn onto my dress.
A tepid knock on the door. "Princess, all your guests are waiting. May I come in?" The quiet voice was muffled even further through the wood.
"Yes, Nikko. I'm ready." And I was. I felt better than I had in days—I think. Putting on those shoes had clicked something into place. Things were going to be all right. I could feel it.
Nikko stepped in the room and gasped.
I chuckled awkwardly and toyed with my skirt. "Hopefully that's the good kind of shock as opposed to the 'emperor's new clothes' kind."
His eyes brightened and the corners crinkled in. "I see you found the shoes I snuck in for you." He stared at me for another moment before his eyes clouded over as if he remembered something. "Have you finished your breakfast?"
I proudly pointed to the empty tray. "Every bite."
"Then there's nothing left to do, is there?" Nikko chewed his lower lip, like he wanted to say something else. "I really wish I could be of more help." His golden bucket hat flashed a bit.
Taking a deep breath, I rolled my shoulders back. "It's okay. I'm ready. Let's go."
Nikko still looked hesitant but held out his arm to escort me. "As you wish." He led me up the stairs to the top of the tower. Off to the right of the landing, there was a large hole in the marble wall. And just underneath the hole was a single tawny feather.
I picked it up and twirled it through my fingers, playing with the soft, downy end. "What the hex made this hole?"
Nikko stumbled slightly, tripping over his shoelace or something. When he straightened, he said, "A bird, Your Majesty."
Must have been a big bird.
"There you are! What took you so long? Everyone is waiting." Rexi hustled toward us. She couldn't go very fast since she had somehow squeezed herself into a little silver lamé cocktail dress—that was two sizes too small.
"Rexi, please don't take this the wrong way, but is there any way you could change your clothes? That dress looks really tacky, and your opal necklace, while lovely, is a little much, and the bright red clashes, don't you think?" I tried to put it as nicely as I could, but still, it had to be said. After all, it was my wedding—the only one I was ever going to have—and I didn't want anyone looking like they got dressed at the Three Blind Mice Boutique.
Rexi's jaw dropped so low she looked like a boa constrictor. Nikko turned paler than Snow White's tuchus and slowly backed away.
She snapped her mouth shut with an audible click. "I'm sorry but that's not possible; there is simply no time. Here." Shoving a bouquet of flowers into my hand, she next turned her anger to the man at my side. "What are you staring at, Nikko? Go outside and check on our other royal pain." Her curled lip attempted to smile sweetly. "I mean guest." Then she stormed back in the direction she had come from.
"She is so not my maid of honor anymore," I muttered, fluffing up the flowers in my bouquet. "Ouch." Blood welled up on my finger from the thorn.
"I did try to warn you, Highness," Nikko said but wouldn't look me in the eye.
I shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. Just a little blood. But I did just think of a way you can help. If there is another royal guest, will you please send them up?"
A smile broke across the gentleman's face. "Yes, Your Majesty. I can do that." Then he bounded down the stairs, some two at a time.
Rexi gestured impatiently from the double doors at the end of the hall. No reason to delay the inevitable. As I walked down the hallway, the old superstition entered my head. Something borrowed, something blue. Something magic, for love so true. I had the borrowed dress and I had the magic shoes. I didn't have anything blue though.
Wait, maybe I did. I think my fiancé's eyes are blue, a lovely but unusual shade. I remembered the first time I had looked into those eyes, and with a deep breath, I pushed open the doors.
Inside was a grand ballroom, everything opulent to the point of excess. There were floating chandeliers, a champagne waterfall, even a five-piece orchestra that was playing itself.
The guest list was small and intimate, just the major heads of the fairy-tale families. Cinderella sat with Charming. Behind them was Jack with his plus one, the goose. Beauty sat closest to the door.
That wasn't right. She shouldn't be here... I just couldn't put my finger on why.
My stomach twisted and coiled like a snake ready to strike. Now I was extra glad I had chucked the food. Clutching my bouquet for dear life, I walked toward the man standing in the front of the room. His cream-colored tux had twice the amount of diamonds that mine did. It attracted the light and made him difficult to focus on from far way.
Staring down at my bouquet, I kept walking. The satin ribbon that bound the flowers together had crimson spots from my pricked finger. The stark contrast of red against the white was unsettling. It reminded me of another party.
I heard the chandeliers shatter onto the floor. But when I looked up, they were still floating. I stared back at Beauty, but the Beast was wearing her yellow dress. I blinked and Beauty sat there again.
Looking now to the front, there were two thrones with a crown resting on one. My breathing quickened. I looked up into my groom's eyes. They were deep sapphire—the wrong color blue.
My bouquet went up in emerald flames.
I remembered everything.