"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years.
May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth."
A picture perfect moment, private, shared, loving. White sandy beach, sparkling blue ocean, beaming sun playing on warm skin. Two people, hands entwined, gazing into each other's eyes, soft and tender as the encircling bands of diamond and white gold they now both wore slid close. Their witnesses, a brother and his own fiancee, looking on; their officiant, a venerable man native to this beautiful patch of tropical paradise, far out to sea, away from the bustle and chill of Rhy'Din in the autumn. One hand, one heart, and one last act in a ceremony that would bind them together for eternity.
"You may now kiss the bride."
The setting was perfect, like something out of romance movie or a honeymoon travel brochure. Michael couldn't have asked for a more perfect location or a more beautiful bride. He'd taken his vows very seriously, nervously repeating them back to his bride to be, as well as to the trio who'd gathered to witness. It was only now, at the end of the ceremony, that he finally dared relax enough to smile, reaching to catch his new bride around the waist and draw her close. "It's about time," he muttered, not quite low enough not to be heard by that trio. He smiled, blue eyes shining happily, hardly believing his luck, as he leaned in to brush a soft kiss against Elena's lips - their first as a married couple.
His kiss found his giggling bride - his new wife - as warm and affectionate as she had ever been, curling her arms about his neck to seal the promises they had just shared together. Who would have thought that barely three days ago, there hadn't even been an engagement ring on her finger" And now just look at them ....after years of waiting and struggling, separately and together, finally Michael Donnelly had taken Elena De Luca to be his wife.
As the bride and groom kissed, Anya looped her arm through Tony's, smiling up at her own fiance, the brother of the bride. "I do not think I could have chosen a more perfect way for them to be married," she murmured to him, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "How does it feel, to be beaten to the altar by your baby sister, milaya?"
One of those witnesses - the brother of the bride - looked on fondly, one arm linked with his own fiancee, the woman he had loved for nearly as many years as Michael had loved Elena and was planning on claiming for his own very soon. He turned his smiling gaze onto that fiancee at his side and leaned close to brush an affectionate kiss against her temple. "We won't be far behind them, carissima," he countered. "Are you glad you came?"
"Did that happen already?" his sweet little ballerina asked with an impishness she could only have learned from close proximity to his sisters. "I must have missed it. Perhaps you should try again." She laughed, rising onto her toes to kiss his cheek as the bride and groom finally broke apart to be congratulated by the native elder who had married them.
He smirked, wondering if maybe she was hanging around his sisters too much lately - especially the sister whose name started with a Mat and ended with an aya. "My sisters are corrupting you," he said as his cheek got kissed, glancing over at his sister and her just barely wed husband. "I'm happy for her. It's been a long time coming," he remarked wistfully.
"What, three days is a long time in your book, big bro?" Elena interrupted whatever Anya might have said in response as she drew Michael toward their obliging witnesses. She was happy, as he wished for her, wanting to spread that around a little as she swooped down onto Anya, wrapping her arms tight around her soon-to-be-sister-in-law.
"Congratulations, little bird," the Russian girl declared warmly as she hugged Elena in return. "It was beautiful."
"More like three years," Tony replied as his sister turned to him and Anya, drawing Michael along with her. Unable to hug his sister as Anya got to her first, he turned instead to his new brother-in-law and offered him a congratulatory hand. "I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or sympathize with you," he joked. "Welcome to the family," he added, on a more serious note giving the other man's hand a friendly shake.
Michael snorted a laugh, as he returned the handshake. "Too late to warn me." He raised his left hand upon which now rested a ring proclaiming him officially off the market. "Thanks for being here. It means a lot to both of us."
"Thank you for inviting us," Anya answered, releasing Elena easily as the youngest De Luca - now the only Donnelly woman - squealed happily and inserted herself between her husband and brother to squeeze the breath out of her oldest sibling. "I hope you will be very happy together, Mischa." Without thinking, she endowed Michael with the Russian diminutive of his name, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "Don't let her give up on that quiet little dream she hasn't admitted to having yet."
Tony wrapped his arms around his baby sister to hug her close. "I'm so happy for you, Elena," he told her quietly. "Thank you for inviting us. I wouldn't have missed this for the world." He hugged her a little longer than was necessary, but hell, he only had one baby sister, and now she belonged to someone else. If she looked close, she might even see tears sparkling in her big brother's eyes.
As for Michael, he grinned to hear Anya endow him with the Russian form of his name. He had always hated to be called Mike or Mikey, but he thought Mischa made him sound rather dignified. He hugged her back, feeling a little shy about it as he really didn't know her at all, even blushing a little. "I won't," he promised. "Thanks, Anya."
A picture perfect moment, private, shared, loving. White sandy beach, sparkling blue ocean, beaming sun playing on warm skin. Two people, hands entwined, gazing into each other's eyes, soft and tender as the encircling bands of diamond and white gold they now both wore slid close. Their witnesses, a brother and his own fiancee, looking on; their officiant, a venerable man native to this beautiful patch of tropical paradise, far out to sea, away from the bustle and chill of Rhy'Din in the autumn. One hand, one heart, and one last act in a ceremony that would bind them together for eternity.
"You may now kiss the bride."
The setting was perfect, like something out of romance movie or a honeymoon travel brochure. Michael couldn't have asked for a more perfect location or a more beautiful bride. He'd taken his vows very seriously, nervously repeating them back to his bride to be, as well as to the trio who'd gathered to witness. It was only now, at the end of the ceremony, that he finally dared relax enough to smile, reaching to catch his new bride around the waist and draw her close. "It's about time," he muttered, not quite low enough not to be heard by that trio. He smiled, blue eyes shining happily, hardly believing his luck, as he leaned in to brush a soft kiss against Elena's lips - their first as a married couple.
His kiss found his giggling bride - his new wife - as warm and affectionate as she had ever been, curling her arms about his neck to seal the promises they had just shared together. Who would have thought that barely three days ago, there hadn't even been an engagement ring on her finger" And now just look at them ....after years of waiting and struggling, separately and together, finally Michael Donnelly had taken Elena De Luca to be his wife.
As the bride and groom kissed, Anya looped her arm through Tony's, smiling up at her own fiance, the brother of the bride. "I do not think I could have chosen a more perfect way for them to be married," she murmured to him, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "How does it feel, to be beaten to the altar by your baby sister, milaya?"
One of those witnesses - the brother of the bride - looked on fondly, one arm linked with his own fiancee, the woman he had loved for nearly as many years as Michael had loved Elena and was planning on claiming for his own very soon. He turned his smiling gaze onto that fiancee at his side and leaned close to brush an affectionate kiss against her temple. "We won't be far behind them, carissima," he countered. "Are you glad you came?"
"Did that happen already?" his sweet little ballerina asked with an impishness she could only have learned from close proximity to his sisters. "I must have missed it. Perhaps you should try again." She laughed, rising onto her toes to kiss his cheek as the bride and groom finally broke apart to be congratulated by the native elder who had married them.
He smirked, wondering if maybe she was hanging around his sisters too much lately - especially the sister whose name started with a Mat and ended with an aya. "My sisters are corrupting you," he said as his cheek got kissed, glancing over at his sister and her just barely wed husband. "I'm happy for her. It's been a long time coming," he remarked wistfully.
"What, three days is a long time in your book, big bro?" Elena interrupted whatever Anya might have said in response as she drew Michael toward their obliging witnesses. She was happy, as he wished for her, wanting to spread that around a little as she swooped down onto Anya, wrapping her arms tight around her soon-to-be-sister-in-law.
"Congratulations, little bird," the Russian girl declared warmly as she hugged Elena in return. "It was beautiful."
"More like three years," Tony replied as his sister turned to him and Anya, drawing Michael along with her. Unable to hug his sister as Anya got to her first, he turned instead to his new brother-in-law and offered him a congratulatory hand. "I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or sympathize with you," he joked. "Welcome to the family," he added, on a more serious note giving the other man's hand a friendly shake.
Michael snorted a laugh, as he returned the handshake. "Too late to warn me." He raised his left hand upon which now rested a ring proclaiming him officially off the market. "Thanks for being here. It means a lot to both of us."
"Thank you for inviting us," Anya answered, releasing Elena easily as the youngest De Luca - now the only Donnelly woman - squealed happily and inserted herself between her husband and brother to squeeze the breath out of her oldest sibling. "I hope you will be very happy together, Mischa." Without thinking, she endowed Michael with the Russian diminutive of his name, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "Don't let her give up on that quiet little dream she hasn't admitted to having yet."
Tony wrapped his arms around his baby sister to hug her close. "I'm so happy for you, Elena," he told her quietly. "Thank you for inviting us. I wouldn't have missed this for the world." He hugged her a little longer than was necessary, but hell, he only had one baby sister, and now she belonged to someone else. If she looked close, she might even see tears sparkling in her big brother's eyes.
As for Michael, he grinned to hear Anya endow him with the Russian form of his name. He had always hated to be called Mike or Mikey, but he thought Mischa made him sound rather dignified. He hugged her back, feeling a little shy about it as he really didn't know her at all, even blushing a little. "I won't," he promised. "Thanks, Anya."