She looked at me for some kind of response. I just buried my head in my hands. “What am I getting myself into?”
She leaned into me, ready to answer my rhetorical question. “A life with one of the best men out there.”
I smiled. “You’re biased.”
“Damn right I am. Now, which room do you think you’ll be consummating the marriage in – yours or his?”
By now a handful of people had made their way into the room. It was my turn to squeal. “I don’t think that is anyone’s business!”
She shrugged her shoulders, “It is if you want the room to be ready. No matter,” she said, waiving the thought off. “We’ll prepare them both.” Susan clapped her hands twice loudly to call the attention of everyone in the room. She began barking out orders as if she had been a wedding planner all her life, sending half of them off to clean Micah’s room and the other half got to work cleaning mine. I was ushered into the bathroom – alone, thankfully, with a basket full of bath beads, razors, shampoos and soaps. All things Micah had selected. I refrained from asking, with a certain amount of sarcasm, when I was to choose his bathing supplies.
I emerged from the bathroom an hour later, feeling much less stressed. The friendly mob had moved on. The room was filled with dozens of candles waiting to be lit and flower petals that littered the floor; the scent was intoxicating. Susan walked in as if she had been waiting for the bathroom door to open, a number of dresses hanging from her arms.
“This is all I could rustle up in such short notice. Take your pick.” She laid them across the bed. “Most are mine, I know I’m a little taller, but I think they would work for you.”
I thanked her, scanning the dresses. As much as I tried looking at the others, my eyes kept reverting back to a simple, baby-doll style dress, the high waistline perfect for my extra weight in front. The neckline plunged.
That would compensate for some of my not-so-desirable features
, I thought as I lay my hand on my belly.
“That color compliments your skin tone well,” Susan commented.
I picked up the dress, trying the burgundy against my skin. The deep red was lighter at the top and gradually grew darker as it reached the hem.
“Not exactly a traditional wedding dress,” I said.
She placed a hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t exactly a traditional wedding. You’d look beautiful in that.”
The word ‘beautiful’ reminded me of what Micah called me the night before and the dress was a done deal.
By the time dusk had approached, my hair had air-dried into tight curls and, with help from Susan and company, was adorned with a band of flowers. They had even managed to weave the lily Micah had given me the night before into the band. Susan helped with my makeup, keeping it natural looking, but it definitely lent a certain glow to my face.
“Do you have shoes to match the dress?” I chewed at my lip, worried that there had to be something missing.
Susan wiggled her own bare feet at me. “We don’t wear shoes for this ceremony. It keeps us closer to the earth.”
I released a breath, and shrugged my shoulders. “One less thing to worry about.”
“Are you ready?”
I looked at myself one last time in mirror, pleased with my appearance for the first time in months. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this thing.”
Susan walked me out to the gardens. I soon knew exactly where we were going; the large boulder touted as the center of the Chakra. A perfect place for the ceremony, magical prowess and all.
Micah was waiting for me at the entrance of the path that had been recently carved out leading to the boulder.
“Isn’t this bad luck?” I asked.
He smiled, only adding to how handsome he looked in his black trousers and a matching jacket. He had no tie and the first two buttons of his pristine white dress shirt were casually unbuttoned. “We will enter the circle together, as one.” He handed me one of two candles and lit it with a small zippo he produced from his pocket. “Now you light mine.” He held the zippo out for me to take.
“Have you already forgotten whom you are marrying?” I scolded him, and lit his candle with a small amount of energy.
“Show-off.”
I smiled. “Only for you.”
“Come on.” He took me by the arm. “Let’s do this thing.”
Susan rolled her eyes, “A match made in heaven.”
We stopped just before the clearing. It was beautiful. Three large circles had been etched into the ground, each within another. The largest outer circle followed the edge of the clearing. A dozen or so people, mostly the workers from the Chakra, stood in one part of the circle. In the second circle were Alex and Vayu, and Susan went to stand in between them. The inner most and smallest circle went around the boulder, Cato stood with just enough room left for two more people.
Micah bent to my ear and whispered, “I’ll interpret the meaning of everything to you as we go.”
Rose petals, almost the same color as my dress, dotted the ground of the clearing and everyone held lit candles. That plus the moon gave enough light to see. I looked up at the sky. “It’s a full moon.”
“Why do you think we rushed to have the ceremony today?”
Cato spoke, amplifying his voice with a trick of energy so all could hear, “Will the couple enter the circle from the east?”
Micah stepped first and I followed his lead. “Entering from the east symbolizes the growth in our relationship,” he whispered. “Communication of the heart, mind and body, and fresh beginnings with each rising of the sun.”
We followed the circle around the boulder and stopped in front of Cato. We each placed our candles on the large rock. Cato began the ceremony in Irish. It sounded like a chant, though I could only catch a few words here and there. Micah didn’t bother to interpret. It would have diminished the experience. Cato’s words washed over us in a wave of love and support, and I felt the same coming from everyone behind us. Clouds moved in overhead and a light mist began to rain down. I felt Susan’s powers at work and glanced at her, worried. She gave me a knowing wink.
Micah leaned into me. “Rain is good luck at a wedding.” Just before the mist could reach us and extinguish our candles, a thick wind jetted in overhead. The wind and rain formed an orb around the outer circle, cutting us off from the rest of the world, like the reverse of a snow globe.
Cato converted to English so smoothly it took me a second to realize the change. “Micah and Kaitlyn, do you enter this union of your own free will in perfect love and perfect trust?”
In unison we answered, “We do.”
“Then declare it to the Gods and Goddesses of our beloved planet.”
Micah led me through the next steps, giving me verbal as well as mental clues on what to do. We faced the east and recited together, “Before the maiden of the East we declare our love for one another and ask for a blessing of the air.” A small breeze blew in our direction, filling our lungs with the breath of one another. We turned to the south. “Before the mother of the afternoon we declare our love for one another and ask for warmth of hearth and home and a light to illuminate the darkest of times.” The moon burst through the clouds, penetrating the orb of water and wind, reflecting the moon’s rays high above us, warming us to our toes. Facing the west we chanted, “Before the of twilight we declare our love for one another and request the refreshing cleansing of the rain and all the encompassing passion of the sea.” Some of the mist was allowed to escape the wind, lightly touching our faces. Finally, we faced the north. “Before the dark of the night we declare our love for one another and ask for a firm foundation on which to build, and the fertility of your fields in which to enrich our lives.” We felt the soil beneath us bubble up in response and exude energy willingly into our bodies.
Cato smiled as we turned back to him. “The Gods and Goddesses that command the elements have blessed your union. Be understanding and patient with each other. Be free in giving your affection and warmth. Be sensuous with one another and have no fear, for you are stronger together now. The elements are with you now and always.”
Cato looked over our heads to address Vayu. “Bring forth the cord.”
As Vayu stepped forward with a dark red, braided cord, Cato produced a knife from the folds of his coat.
“He will make a small cut in our wrists so our blood fuses into the cord and mingles together, strengthening our bond,” Micah explained, unconcerned as Cato made a small cut in his wrist. The same was done for me before I could protest. Anyway, I figured refusal of the task would have been a bad way to start our marriage. He turned us to face each other, and began wrapping the cord around our hands. Our blood streaked parts of the cord turning it an even darker red. They reached out to each other, as if they couldn’t wait to merge.
As they did, Cato commanded, “Exchange your vows.”
Micah went first, “I take you, Kaitlyn, to be my wife and to be my constant friend, my partner in life, and my true love. I will love you without reservation, honor and respect you, protect you from harm, comfort you in times of distress, and grow with you in mind and spirit.”
I copied him, “I take you, Micah, to be my husband and to be my constant friend, my partner in life, and my true love. I will love you without reservation, honor and respect you, protect you from harm, comfort you in times of distress, and grow with you in mind and spirit.”
Together we ended the vows, “We are man and wife for a year and a day; that space gone by, each may choose another mate, or, at our pleasure, stay.”
Cheers and clapping from the small crowd rang in our ears as we leaned in for a kiss. It went longer than I was comfortable with in front of a crowd, but Micah was insistent.
Cato untied the cord. “The circle is open but unbroken. May the peace of the Old Ones go in our hearts. Blessed be.” He stopped with the cord only partly undone, leaving us bound together by one hand each.
I started to pull on it as we left the circle.
“Don’t. We aren’t supposed to untie it all the way until the marriage is consummated.” Micah winked at me. He led me to his bedroom, ignoring the others, and we spent several hours joined together, bonding in ways I never thought possible. When I fell asleep out of pure exhaustion I was still tied to the headboard.
Blue Eyes
The dream was lucid; clearer than a dream should have been. He was leading her by the wrist away from the bedroom, into the gardens. The dream was so real she could feel the cold grass beneath her feet and actually shivered. The night smelled of oncoming rain.
“Is this your dream or mine?” she asked him.
“Both. It is better that way,” he answered without turning his head. “Faster – I want to show you something.”
They continued to race through the gardens. She giggled at his excitement. They were both naked and she felt like Eve, being pulled away from her sins by Adam. “What is it? Let’s go back to bed.”
Finally he stopped and turned suddenly, holding her so close his face was blurred. She looked away and realized they were at the large boulder, the ceremonial spot. He whispered, “Have you ever made love outdoors? It heightens the experience, so close to nature.” He nibbled on her ear. She tensed at the unfamiliar feeling. It almost hurt.
“No, but maybe we could do it for real? Not in a dream like this.” A half owl, half cat flew by as if to emphasize her point.
“Oh, no Princess, the dream also heightens the experience.”
She stopped, paralyzed by his words. “What did you call me?”