CHAPTER 38
“Dahling, it’s so beyond,” gushes my fairy godmother Armando, wearing a gold brocade caftan and matching beret.
He fluffs the fountain of sequin encrusted ivory tulle that pours down from my waist to my ankles. I look down. He’s right. My wedding gown is a work of art. And so are my matching shoes, custom made by Elz. Believe me, it wasn’t easy convincing her to keep the heel size down to three inches.
Armando stands back and admires his creation. “When the Fairytale Tattler gets wind of this gown, knockoffs will be showing up everywhere.”
Holding a large straw basket full of fragrant petals that surround Lady Jane, Calla, my flower girl, gazes up at me. “You look like a Princess Bride,” she beams, referring to “Uncle Occhio’s” new blockbuster doll line.
Bending down, I kiss her in the center of the floral garland that circles her golden curls. A few tendrils of my hair, now several inches longer, escape my matching garland and fall into my face. My stomach bunches up with nerves. It all seems so unreal. I’m about to marry My Prince.
The Queen wanted to do a lavish event in the ballroom of their castle. Personally, I had experienced one too many weddings there. And so had Gallant. We insisted on to doing it right in our own backyard—in Snow White’s rose and lily garden. And to keep it small. More like a Faraway reunion plus some close family members and friends of the royal family. Winnie, God bless her, handled every detail, right down to the icing on the cake.
For a moment, I think about my first wedding—if you want to call it that—a loveless, perfunctory arrangement—witnessed only by a little girl hiding in the back of a somber, damp chapel. Snow White. The bittersweet irony of it all sends a shiver up my spine. And then I relax. How different today is. Where there was dark, there is light. Where there was cold, there is warmth. And where there was emptiness, there is joy.
The sound of harp music outside signals my cue. A tingling mixture of nerves and joy races through me. Calla hands me my bouquet—a single white lily that Gallant handpicked. The symbol of everything I love. The French doors swing open and in walks the man who will give me away to my Prince. Standing proud and tall. The Huntsman. Beau. My father.
My eyes meet his in a warm embrace as we lock arms and take our first steps across the threshold. His strong hold and steady gait make me feel at ease. Calla follows us, tossing petals from her basket.
The high noon sun is shining brilliantly; the white blooms glisten, and chirping birds circle in the sky. My feathered friends who woke me up every morning at Faraway are singing me a love song. I smile, and then my heart skips a beat.
Straight ahead of me is the man I love. Gallant, in his billowy white blouse and creamy leather britches, more beautiful to me than ever. Standing to his left are his best men, Hook and Charming and to his right, my maids of honor, Elz and Winnie, both beaming. Behind him is King Midas, his gold crown gleaming.
Holding onto my father, I walk toward them slowly, taking in everything and relishing each magical step. I catch glimpses of the small crowd out of the corner of my eye. Shrink is hovering in the fragrant air between Grimm and the Badass Fairies. Gothel, Hook’s date, is seated in the back. Rump, who’s promised to take Elz on her long awaited high seas adventure—a honeymoon cruise—is seated in the second row next to Winnie’s husband John and their children, Hansel, Gretel and Curly, whom they adopted. Pinocchio, who graciously declined being a best man, is seated next to Peter Pan, whom he met at Shrink’s book signing party. They’ve become inseparable and do volunteer work at the Midas Orphanage for Lost Boys. Occupying every seat in the front row are the Seven Dwarfs; wearing matching hooded robes. Wow! They actually dressed up. The tiny mute one gives me a thumbs up as Cinderella breezes in, late as usual, and takes an empty seat next to the disgruntled Queen. That seat was originally meant for Oscar, the Queen’s new croquet partner, who unfortunately had planned a retirement party from wizardry.
The walk up to Gallant feels something between eternity and the blink of an eye. His whole face lights up as he takes me from my father. He clasps his hands firmly around mine, and my smile meets his. The butterflies inside my stomach flutter away. I’m floating like a feather as Midas begins.
“Royally beloved, we are here to unite two people who have magically found each other. I will let them speak for themselves.”
Gallant’s piercing blue eyes burn into mine as he delivers his vow.
“My beloved Jane, where there has been cold, you have brought warmth; where my life was dark, you have brought light. From this day on, I promise to laugh with you in good times; to struggle with you in bad; to wipe your tears with my hands; to comfort you with my body; mirror you with my soul and love you until our lives shall come to an end.”
It’s my turn. I swallow hard, forcing the rising lump in my throat to go away.
“My beloved Gallant, I enter into this marriage with you, knowing that the true magic of love is not to avoid changes, but to embrace them. Let us commit to making each day of our lives more different and beautiful than the one before. Let me be the light inside your heart that brings out the best in you always until death do us part.”
Gallant squeezes my hands. Elz is positively bawling, and there’s a chorus of sniffles in the crowd as Midas envelops us with his burly arms.
“Do you, my son, take this woman…?”
“I do,” says Gallant with a bright smile.
“And do you, Jane…?”
“I do,” I say without the slightest tremor.
Midas removes two identical gold bands that are stacked on Hook’s hook and slips them on our ring fingers. Inscribed inside each of them is one word: Forever.
“I hereby pronounce you husband and…”
Before Midas can say “wife,” Gallant’s lips consume mine. I surrender myself shamelessly. Neither of us pulls away.
Amid applause and cheers, Calla runs up to me and gives me a huge hug.
She reaches into her basket, still half-full with petals, and pulls out something from under Lady Jane.
“This is for you.” Her chocolate eyes twinkle.
My heart swells with joy. It’s another one of Rump’s woven name bracelets. But this one says “MOMMY.”
As my sweet little girl slips it over my hand, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. I no longer need a mirror to tell me who I am.