Look with your Heart

Wedding Bells

August 15, 1885

Lily ran around, grabbing her things. "Meg, dear, can you pass me that?" she asked, pointing to a pair of earrings. Her friend handed it over, looking admiringly at girl's wedding dress, which was standing nearby.

"Your dress is beautiful, Lily!" Meg exclaimed. "How long did it take for you to make it?"

"Hmm..." Lily said, slightly distracted as she put on the earrings. "A few months, I believe, hours of hard work. Now then, I've got my makeup all done, have I not? I need my shoes, Sofia, where are they?"

Sofia came over, wearing a pale pink dress that matched Meg's. "Here they are," the girl said, holding a pair of white heeled shoes. "Aren't you excited?"

"Yes, I really am," Lily smiled. "I am, and yet I'm still rather nervous." She paused, looking over at the auburn haired girl. "And look at you; you've grown so much since we first met!"

"Thank you, but today is about you and Erik, not I," Sofia reminded her. "You look radiant, Lily!"

It was true. Lily looked as though her skin with glowing and since she hadn't wanted to lose sight of who she was, she had only put on minimal makeup. Her dark hair had been curled and styled into a low bun by Sofia, who had grown to have good taste in fashion.

"You need to put on your dress, Lily, you don't want to be late to your own wedding, do you?" Meg teased. "Oh, and guess what! Maman actually wore a color other than black today!"

"Really?" Lily gasped. "What color?" She took a small sip of tea, which the girls had made earlier in the day, then set the cup down and walked over to the dress, taking it off of the mannequin.

Sofia giggled softly and said, "It is a pale grey dress, but, still, it isn't black!" Laughing, Lily slipped on the simple, yet beautiful white wedding dress. The bodice and train had been embroidered carefully, countless stitches having gone into it.

"No bustle?" Sofia asked, lacing up the back carefully. "I've never seen a wedding dress like that before, and it looks wonderful! It seems such a shame that you'll only be wearing it once, though."

"I designed it so that I wouldn't have to use a bustle," Lily explained, stepping into her shoes. "I modeled it after my Cinderella masquerade dress from a few years ago, since that one didn't have a bustle either. I think dresses looks better without it, so I think I'm going to start doing that for the rest of my designs. And yes, it is a shame that I can only wear it once, but when Meg gets married, I'm going to alter it for her, if she agrees, of course, and then, if you ever get married, you can use it as well."

"I would like that," Meg said, smiling. "As for bustles, perhaps we ought to stop wearing them and create a new fashion!" They all laughed, then there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Madame Giry's voice came. Meg walked over and opened the door to find her mother rather misty-eyed. "Look at you, my girl," she breathed, looking over Lily. "You are so beautiful, darling."

Lily made her way over and hugged the woman, eyes bright. "Don't cry, Maman!" she exclaimed. "I'm still the same old me, just getting married!"

Madame Giry laughed softly and kissed the top of Lily's head. "Yes, you are my dear, and you are marrying a wonderful man. I wanted to let you girls know that the carriage is outside whenever you are ready. Nadir, Pierre, and Erik have already gone. Sofia, you have the rings?" she checked.

"Yes, it's here," Sofia nodded, checking real quickly. "Now, Lily come back! I need to put on your veil! Meg, don't you have her bouquet?"

Meg came over, holding a small bunch of flowers that she and Sofia had picked and arranged themselves. Once Lily's veil was in her hair and over her face, reaching down to her fingertips, the flowers were handed over and Lily twirled around.