Elora
I thought I was prepared for the wedding. In most ways, I was. Everything and everyone was exactly where they needed to be. All our hard work, planning, and impatient waiting had come down to this moment.
Standing here, wearing my beautiful dress, my hair was done up in several different braids that connected to make one glamorous one, gloss on my lips, and my skin perfectly tanned… I was nervous.
Since the day they proposed, I’d been nothing but eager and excited to walk down that aisle and commit myself to them forever. I’d been dreaming of today for what felt like forever. I was ready–more than ready; I was ecstatic to marry them. But I couldn’t shake these pre-wedding jitters. Dane warned me about feeling this way before the wedding, but I brushed it off.
For the hundredth time, I did a quick spin in front of the mirror, ensuring I looked perfect. My dress was ivory, with a sweetheart neckline. The lace sleeves hung off my shoulders and had delicate leaves and floral patterns stitched into them. The dress puffed out at my waist, showcasing my slim figure. It had many layers of fabric, with the same lace detail and stitching as my sleeves. The dress added an elegance to me that I wasn’t used to. There was a hit of sparkle to the lace that the sunlight caught when I moved, a special request by me. I truly felt like royalty. I felt beautiful in this dress.
Soft piano music played in the yard, where everyone waited for me to make my grand entrance. Hopefully, my grooms and our guests couldn’t hear my racing heart over the melodies.
“Smalls,” Jason gently knocked on my door. “It’s about that time.”
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, letting the nerves sink in. All I had to do was walk down that aisle… I smiled, picturing my guys waiting for me right now. I opened my eyes. “I’m ready,” I responded.
He slowly opened the door, and the first thing I noticed was the impressive suit he had on. It wasn’t his typical style at all, and I was glad he dressed up for the occasion–I had some doubts. “You look great!” I gushed. “I wouldn’t even know you chase your own tail–”
“You look beautiful, Elora.” His voice was unusually calm and sincere, making me blush. He was frozen with his hand still on the doorknob as he stared at me in awe.
Wow, he must really like my dress. I did a twirl. “I know!” I giggled. “See the sparkles? I had them added,” I explained. The dress had some alterations and additions from the last time he saw me in it.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Are you ready, Smalls? You’ve got a whole kingdom of people waiting for you,” he joked.
The kingdom could wait; my seven guys were the only ones I cared about. I nodded. “You’ll catch me if I trip, right? This dress has so many tripping hazards,” I widened my eyes.
He held his arm out for me to take. “You won’t trip; I’ve got you,” he promised.
Holding onto his arm, he led me out of my room. Our house was empty.
Everyone was in the yard waiting for the ceremony to start.
My dress pooled at my feet and trailed behind me as we walked. Jason stopped and looked down at me once we got to the back door. “Look,” he nodded out the window.
Following his gaze, I looked outside. Endless rows of vampires were standing in rows on each side of the aisle. They were all dressed in suits, some from a different era.
They were sitting on long wooden benches with bouquets at the end. Several large willow trees towered over the entire area; their long vines and vibrant green leaves dangled over our guests. Twine and silk decor twisted together in an intricate design between the rows.
My grooms stood under the altar, made of the highest quality ivory and soft pink garden roses and eucalyptus greens. Each of them wore the same suit, black on black from head to toe.
I didn’t notice Jason opening the door; all I knew was I was walking down the aisle. My destination; our forever.
I couldn’t stop smiling when they saw me. The rest of the world around us disappeared. All the decorations, the flowers, and our guests; gone. None of those things mattered. What mattered was them, my whole world.
Theo put his fist over his mouth, covering his excited grin. That didn’t stop his joyous laughter as he looked up at the sky as if thanking someone in the heavens.
Eugene straightened, composing himself as his eyes welled with tears that he wouldn’t let fall. Awe, Eugene… as he should.
Lucifer stood with his hands folded behind him, with a rare, full smile that made dimples on his cheeks.
Quin and Dane gave each other a nudge, making me giggle. Quin eyed my dress, looking impressed by the fine details. Dane licked his lips quickly before smiling, adoration written all over his expression.
Felix looked proud. There was no other way to describe the handsome smile he wore. His arms were folded in front of him, looking perfectly content as he watched me.
Duke… my sweet Duke was wiping a single tear off his cheek. It was a happy tear, of course. It seemed as if his whole life had let up to this moment, and he was just as ready as I was.
The long walk down the aisle seemed like the shortest walk of my life. I barely even realized I was moving until Jason stopped next to them. He smiled, giving my hand a small squeeze before grabbing my bouquet and moving to the far left of the altar.
Felix was quick to take my hand, placing a tender kiss against it. I stood on the left side of the altar, looking at all my handsome men. They were standing in a curved line on the right side of the altar. I gave them a cheesy smile, showing my excitement.
“You look stunning, Baby,” Felix said in a hushed tone.
Gently moving my torso, I made my dress sway, catching the sunlight in the sparkles.
Dimitri stood behind the altar as our officiant. He looked between my guys and me with an eager smile. “Please have a seat,” he prompted the clans. “We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments and to cherish the words which shall unite humans and vampires in the marriage of our royal clan. Join me in celebrating the unity of King Felix Knight, Duke DuCarmont, Eugene Kleinschmidt, Lucifer Livingstone, Dane Arwien, Theodore Blume, Quin Doricott, and Elora Carmine.”
Theo stepped forward a bit. “With… Elora Carmine,” he corrected with a smile. “We are marrying her, not each other.” He glanced at the crowd,
who chuckled with him. “Just clarifying,” he joked.
I giggled. “Theo,” I scolded with a shake of my head. Obviously, everyone knew that.
He held his hands up in surrender and stepped back before clearing his throat. “Dimitri, carry on,” he nodded.
Dimitri smiled before looking at the book in his hands again. “Marriage is the promise between people who love each other, and who trust in that love, who honor each other as individuals, and to choose to spend the rest of their lives together,” he continued.
I fought the urge to tell him to skip to the good part. Patience had never been my strong suit, especially when there was kissing involved.
“The ceremony will not create a relationship that does not already exist between them. It is a symbol of how far you have come in these past few years. It is a symbol of the promises you will make to each other to continue growing stronger as individuals and partners. No matter what challenges you face, you now face them together, and no matter how much you succeed, you now succeed together. The love between you joins you now as one… or eight?” He chuckled at the last part.
“Felix said it best 10 years ago in his speech. The welcoming of Elora into our culture will only bring light. Just as she is an amazing friend, she will make us proud as an amazing Queen,” Dimitri gave me a heartwarming smile with tears in his eyes.
‘Thank you,’ I mouthed, appreciative of his supportive, welcoming speech.
He looked into the crowd. “If there are any objections to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.” He paid particular attention to the area behind me, but after no one objected, he chuckled. “Good, I was hoping everyone valued their life,” he joked.
I loved that he was making jokes here and there but kept the ceremony professional overall. This wasn’t a typical wedding. Eight people didn’t typically get married, especially when it was a royal wedding.
Dimitri smiled at my guys. “Do you, Eugene, take Elora as your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Elora, take Eugene as your lawf–you know what, this may take some time to get through,” he held his hands up and looked back
at my guys. “Eugene, Duke, Quin, Theodore, Dane, Lucifer, and Felix. Do you take Elora as your lawfully wedded wife and Queen?”
They all smirked.
“We do,” they said in unison, making me giggle. “Hell yeah,” Theo nodded.
Dimitri smiled down at me. “And do you, Elora, take Eugene, Duke, Quin, Theodore, Dane, Lucifer, and Felix as your lawfully wedded husbands?”
“Uh-huh, I do,” I smiled, lightly bouncing on my feet, knowing his following line.
Dimitri closed his book. “With all the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands and wife. Elora, you are now Queen of vampires,” he said proudly.
“You may kiss the bride.”
I practically jumped into Felix’s arms, with him being closest to me. He caught me and kissed me tenderly like we were in his office chair again, and it was our first kiss. “I love you, Baby,” he confessed.
Lucifer was quick to pull me away from him. He held my face in his big hands, leaned down, and pressed his lips to mine. I basked in the cheering around us and the upbeat music that began playing. He pulled away and licked his lips, filling my tummy with butterflies.
“C’mere, Love,” Eugene held my hand, spinning me around before stopping me with a toe-curling kiss. “There has never been a more beautiful Queen or bride,” he complimented.
My waist was grabbed, and I was pulled flush against Quin’s chest. “You’ve never looked as happy as you do right now, Doll,” he held the back of my head as he kissed me. His tongue gently licked my bottom lip and I giggled, breaking away from him before we got carried away in front of all these people.
“Angel,” Dane started, and I turned to him. He placed his hand under my chin, lifting my head as he kissed me. “I adore you,” he said before kissing me again.
After a few seconds, I pulled away and smiled at Duke. His eyes were glossed and filled with raw emotion. “I’ve waited a hundred lifetimes for this moment with you. I love you, Elora. I was put here, on this earth, to love you,” he whispered.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and smashed my lips to his. His arms went around my waist as he lifted me, making my legs dangle. He put me down, gesturing to Theo.
Being passed around was something I could get used to.
The boyish smile on Theo’s lips made me giggle. He laughed before he grabbed my waist and dipped me down. “I have the hottest wife,” he smirked before he plunged his tongue into my mouth in a jokingly passionate kiss.
Giddy butterflies filled my tummy as I laughed against his lips. When he broke away, I noticed his fist in the air, like he was cheering while kissing me.
Turning to the massive crowd of vampires, I felt pride as they cheered and clapped for us as the reception began.
 |
Eugene spun me around the dance floor as our night came to an end. Most of the Clans had left by this point, of course, after congratulating us and leaving their gifts. Many of them had a long trip home, wherever that may be. Our reception lasted nine hours, and I was partied out.
The day had gone perfectly, just like I planned it to. Our cake was beyond delicious, as was the fancy food that Dane insisted we have for the wedding. The day went by faster than I expected, and it honestly felt like a blur. All I remembered was the number of times that I laughed and how happy my husbands made me.
Jason approached Eugene and me as the song ended. He cocked an eyebrow at me, and we both laughed as I hugged him. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
“Duty calls,” he joked. “Congratulations, Smalls. You’ll make a great Queen… a ditzy Queen, but great nonetheless,” he jabbed.
“Don’t you have butts to sniff?” I shot back.
Jason pulled away and nodded. “I do, actually,” he smirked. “You’re gross.”
“You know it.” He waved behind his back as he walked away. “Later, Smalls!”
“Bye! Thanks for being my man of honor!” I giggled.
Quin wrapped his arms around my shoulder. “Are you ready for your wedding gift, Doll?” He smirked down at me.
My other guys surrounded me with eager smiles on their faces.
I raised my eyebrows, not knowing that they had got me something. Technically, everything I had or wanted was already a gift from them. My life itself was a gift from them.
“Yes! But you get your gift from me first,” I gushed. I’d been planning their gift for almost two years now, and I knew they’d love it because I did.
Felix looked perplexed, almost guilty. “You got us a gift?”
“Uh-huh, come look!” I kept my grip on Quin’s hand as I led them inside.
Dane grabbed my other hand. “You didn’t have to get us anything, Angel–”
“It’s your money,” I giggled. “Hush, you’ll love it,” I dismissed.
I led them through the long halls of the castle until we got to our living room. I had their gift delivered to Jason’s house, and he kept it in his car until they were all outside for the wedding. He must have set it up sometime during the reception, just like I asked him to.
Hanging above our fireplace was a massive one-of-a-kind painting of all of us. I stood back as they all gawked at the masterpiece. I folded my hands in front of me and swayed, loving their shocked expressions. They used to have these in all wealthy households, at least according to movies and books I’d read. I hoped this would remind them more of their past, but now with me included in it.
After many moments of them staring at it, probably seeing the tiny brush strokes that my eyes couldn’t, I decided to break the silence. “I told you we needed more pictures of us,” I explained.
“It’s perfect, Baby,” Felix breathed out, still entranced by the art. “Damn… I’m a good-looking dude,” Theo joked, kissing my cheek. “I think your gift may have ours beat, Doll,” Quin smiled.
“I don’t stand in corners that often, do I?” Lucifer asked, tilting his head at it.
“You’re a professional lurker,” I teased. In the painting, I had him standing in the background, leaning handsomely in a corner, like he would
in real life. He wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to be seen, so I added that aspect of his personality into the painting. He was still very much so visible and just as prominent as the rest of us, just darker.
Duke grinned. “It’s just what this room needed.” He turned and held my face in his hand. “I think we should get a new one every… hundred years or so?” He suggested.
“We’re going to have so many paintings,” I joked. Forever contained a lot of hundreds of years.
“That’s the plan,” he agreed.
“Your turn, Love.” Eugene smiled, and they all got eager again.
“Okay!” Surprises were always my favorite. I was practically bouncing on my heels with excitement.
“Close your eyes,” Quin ordered. “Oh… this is gonna be good,” I gushed.
Closing my eyes, I felt Eugene and Dane take my hands and lead me through the castle halls again. I didn’t know where we were going, and the suspense was killing me.
We stopped walking, and I smiled. “Can I open my eyes now?” I questioned, letting my impatience show.
“A few more seconds, Princess,” Theo chuckled.
I groaned sarcastically, hearing them rush around at vampire speed. I turned my head a few times, trying to figure out which room we were in. The pitch black behind my eyelids got lighter like they turned a light on in a dark room.
“Open your eyes, Baby,” Felix kissed my ear.
Immediate confusion hit me as I opened my eyes. Our library…? My eyes shot around the room, not noticing a single difference. There were no boxes with a bow, no new decor, nothing. Just our massive library with our hundreds of thousands of books.
I tried not to look disappointed or confused as I looked at them. “The library… I do love this room,” I smiled.
“You love the concept of this room,” Quin corrected. He had a massive smile as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You hate this room more than any room in the house, Doll. Remind me why?” He hinted.
Even thinking about it made my brain feel like it was on fire. It made my skin crawl. I sighed. “The books are all out of order, there’s absolutely
no organization whatsoever, and it’s impossible to sort through them all to fix it,” I said in a duh tone. I’d thought about this for years.
Dane tilted his head to the side. “It took us ten years.”
Slowly but surely, I understood. “Wha–” I widened my eyes, placing my hands over my mouth. Realization dawned upon me, and goosebumps covered my entire body. “You… you organized the books?” I looked between them all in awe.
Eugene pressed his lips together to stop his smile. “Every last one is in alphabetical order,” he assured.
I couldn’t believe it… they spent ten years organizing… for me. I knew that none of them cared about the order of the books in here or organization in the slightest. They truly did it just for me. I had no idea that anything in this room had even changed.
Still unable to process the change, I walked over to a random shelf I could reach and pulled out a book. It started with a C. The following few books also began with a C, and the subsequent ones started with D, then E, F, G, and so on. I spent ten minutes looking through different shelves, only to confirm they were all perfectly organized.
My eyes welled with tears as a weight somehow lifted off my shoulders.
I’d never been more comfortable in our library than I was now.
“We didn’t know what to get the girl who has everything,” Dane explained gently.
“If you hate it, it was Quin’s idea,” Theo rushed out.
My eyes rounded as I stared at him in bewilderment. “Hate it?” My voice cracked. “I love it.”
Theo grinned. “In that case, it was my idea,” he joked.
Quin’s smile reached his eyes. “It was a joint effort,” he winked at me.
I knew that it was Quin’s idea. The rest of them wouldn’t have thought to do this. They didn’t understand my OCPD as well as he always had. It didn’t matter who had the idea; they all spent years of their busy time doing this.
A lump rested in my throat as I spoke. “When did you have the time to do this?” I asked, pressing my hands against my chest, feeling overwhelmed. I’d never noticed them sneak away or spend any suspicious amount of time in here.
Lucifer smirked. “You sleep a lot.”
With tears in my eyes, I wore my brightest smile of the day, which was saying a lot. “This is… the best gift I could have ever gotten,” my voice cracked as I tried to keep it together. “I can’t believe you did this for me. Thank you,” I whispered.
