Twenty-Five

Layla took a deep breath as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She absolutely loved her wedding dress. It had a sweetheart neckline with a floaty ballgown silhouette; the bodice was decorated with lacey flowers with small gems in the middle of each one that sparkled as she moved, and the skirt flowed around her. She felt like she was in a fairy-tale. In just a few more hours she'd be married to the most wonderful man in the world. Her heart fluttered just thinking about it. Her eyes locked with her friend through the mirror and they both smiled.

"You look beautiful," the brunette said, pinning the last strand of blonde hair in place. She finished Layla's look with a simple necklace and butterfly earrings. They'd kept her makeup simple; she already had a natural blush on her face. Her brown eyes sparkled with joy and anticipation. "You're all ready," the handmaid said after she'd pinned the last of the decorative flowers in the future Lady's hair.

"Thank you, Nieve," the blonde smiled, pulling her friend on the seat next to her so they were level with each other. "I can't believe this is our last day together," she added. After what happened in the courtyard, Riven had had to alter the minds of all their guests and guards so they only remembered the punishment, not Nieve using her new telepathic powers to save him. Lord Simia had had to demote the tall man; he couldn't stay head of the guard after he'd attacked a prime. Layla still found it unfair, and Ryan had been about to argue with his father when Riven said he was fine with it. He then announced that he and Nieve would be leaving Serenissima after the wedding. The brunette had never been really happy here, and they didn't want to live the rest of their lives lying. Lady Simia had started to object, but they all seemed to realise there was no way to change Riven's mind. Layla knew Ryan had promised to change the laws as soon as he was Lord Simia, but that could be years from now and, even then, he'd have a council he'd need to convince.

Nieve snuggled closer to her friend and carefully wrapped her arms around her; she didn't want to ruin the dress. "Yeah, I'm really going to miss you," she said. She couldn't say she wasn't looking forward to leaving the city that had been nothing but a pretty cage for her, but since Layla had stepped in her life, they hadn't had a day apart. It was going to be hard to be away from her friend. "But you'll have Ryan, so you'll be fine," she added, trying to keep things positive. Layla shouldn't be crying on her wedding day.

"And you'll have Riven," the blonde smiled. Seeing her friend kiss the mindreader shouldn't have been a surprise, but she'd been so used to Nieve being distant to everyone but her, that the possibility of her being in a romantic relationship had never even crossed her mind. Looking back, it was so obvious; the way they would always walk away together, or how they'd somehow found their own way to communicate without anyone else noticing, even though Riven couldn't read her mind. The brunette smiled as if she was still getting used to the idea herself.

Riven knocked on the door and took a few steps back as he waited for Layla and Nieve to emerge so he could lead them to the garden where the ceremony would take place. The gardeners had all done their best to have the shrubs fresh and the flowers bright. Candles lighted the aisle so both Ryan and Layla's powers were presented. He was sure the blonde would love the way it had all turned out.

He was about to knock again when the door opened and Nieve appeared in front of him. She looked absolutely stunning in her light blue dress. The bodice was mostly lace so her skin showed through it, the design more elaborate in strategic places. The skirt flowed around her like water and his breath hitched as she turned and showed him the back, or lack thereof. She gave him a tentative smile that drew his attention away from the dress to her eyes that sparkled and her full lips that he desperately needed to kiss. And he would have, if Layla wasn't on the other side of the door waiting for him to stop drooling, her words, over her friend. "You look…" he couldn't find the right word to describe her, so trailed off. In true Nieve style, she rolled her eyes at him and pushed the door open a little further so her friend could come out too.

"Ryan won't be able to keep his eyes off you," he turned his attention to the future Lady, making her blush a little deeper. He could hear her wonder where all that swag was when he wanted to compliment her friend and chuckled a little embarrassed as he wondered the same. He gave the blonde his arm and led her to the garden, his girlfriend a few steps behind them. He heard her take a deep breath when they were about to step out into the aisle. Soft music started playing as Nieve headed down the aisle first.

Ryan turned towards them and he was already pleasantly taken aback by how beautiful she looked. Riven, you're a lucky man, he thought, knowing his friend would be able to hear him. He didn't even have time to prepare himself, as Riven stepped out into the garden with Layla on his arm. His jaw dropped when he saw how her dress perfectly fit her and accentuated her looks. He'd never seen anyone look like they'd just stepped out of a dream, but she did. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she made her way closer towards him and he noticed a blush spreading across her cheeks. Ryan was aware of nothing but her as she now stopped in front of him. He could see her giggling, but he wasn't sure why. He looked at her, unable to ask what was going on, until RYAN! The Simia heir actually jumped when he realised his friend had been trying to get his attention.

"Take her hand, my Lord," the clergyman repeated himself and Ryan was aware that there were sniggers going through the crowd now.

"I'm sorry," Ryan told his fiancée softly as he now finally took her hand, which was being passed to him by his bodyguard.

"That's okay," Layla smiled at him, and he had to look away from her brown eyes so that he wouldn't start staring again.

The ceremony felt to Layla like it was taking forever, with the clergyman first going through the sanctity of marriage and the grand history of the ceremony in Serenissima. She had to fight back a yawn, so she focused on the soreness in her back from having to stand this straight for so long. She knew the pain would've been worse had Evangeline not been constantly on her to stand straight. Guess something good came out of her being around, she thought wryly to herself but quickly focused back on her fiancé when the clergyman told them it was time to exchange vows.

Truthfully, right now she'd promise almost anything just to get through to the good part. But before she could, his parents also had to say that they accepted her into their family.

Ryan could feel her tense up a little until his father finally said, "We accept Layla of Serenissima into the Simia dynasty." He smiled at her, only too happy to exchange rings with her now as the final part of the ceremony. He slipped hers on first, her engagement ring on her other hand for now. It felt a little strange when she pushed his on in return, but it also felt like the most normal thing in the world; it felt like they belonged, like they'd come home.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Lord Ryan, you may now kiss your bride," the clergyman finally got to the best bit.

Layla felt a tingling warmth where his fingers brushed her cheek and rested on her hip as he leaned in to kiss her, softly at first. There were more chuckles when she wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure in introducing Lord Ryan and Lady Layla Simia."