Love Is Never Ugly

Chapter 73

Warning: Minor sexual content.

The ceremony was held in a golden hall, engarlanded with roses while perfumed oil was burning in costly silver lamps on all the altars. The windows were opened to let in the warm light of sunshine and the gentle winds of summer which sighed odorously. Butterflies and white moths floated by, doves and nightingales perched themselves upon the edge in preparation. At the alter there stood the honorable minister, the bridegroom, and his loyal groomsmen who's attire was most sophisticated and refined.

The groom himself, Alastor was dressed in a becoming black suit in which the main jacket was worn underneath, a tight-fitting garment with long sleeves and rich golden looped decorations in front. Along with jacket and shirt, he wore long black pants and boots. He looked so very handsome and so very befitting of his new title. A true prince.

Finally the ceremony officially began, the bride made her way down the isle with her father as her guide. As soon as she took her first step, the nightingales proceeded to sing of her arrival. Her faithful bridesmaids were dressed in cream-yellow garments made from muslin silk, carrying bouquets of yellow roses. They looked radiant but they made certain not to outshine the bride. However with beauty like Charlotte's, not even a king's daughter could cause her to be overlooked.

Her wedding gown had previously belonged to her mother, a simple long-sleeved yet bellow the shoulder white dress made from hand beaded and embroidered silk. It was pretty but it didn't exactly say Charlotte, so Anthony made a few alterations to suit the new wearer. He added the softest and prettiest lace to the gown along with little handmade two toned silk white roses gently placed in the crevices. White rose designs were also embroidered into the fabric and the skirt was made fuller like an elaborate flower. Her blonde hair was crown braided, around her neck she wore the pearls Alastor had given her, and upon her head was a wreath of red roses, to match her red rose bouquet and to serve as a perfect contrast to the white roses on her dress. The veil was lace and connected to a long a train which was carried by flower girls in lavender-pink, satin dresses with pink rose wreaths on their heads.

When the guests saw her they were speechless with awe. Though the invitations had said that the bride was the most beautiful woman in all the world, they assumed it to be an exaggeration of the groom's love and affection for her. Oh but how wrong they were in their assumptions. Neither man nor woman had ever seen such beauty. They were sure that she just had to be a princess.

But the bride's sister knew that she was no princess, at least not by birth, and that made her all the more angry and jealous. Her envy was furthered when she realized that her older sister was about to wed to a handsome young prince at the alter. Their father on the other hand was gobsmacked when he reached the end of the aisle and noticed the groom's new appearance.

"You?" Lucifer said. "You're the...The...Did I miss something?"

"I can assure you sir that I'm the very same beast who nearly killed you over a rose." Alastor whispered in a chuckle, flashing him that grin that he knew Lucifer would never forget.

"Oh sweet virgin mother of Christ. It is you." Lucifer almost shouted but he kept his voice down. "But how did-"

"I'll explain later Father." Charlotte whispered. "Now is not the time for explanations."

Though confused, Lucifer consented to wait til the end of ceremony. He also consented to bittersweetly give his daughter away to Alastor and take a seat by the bridegroom's aunt. A hush fell over the crowd as the couple spoke their sacred martial vows and exchanged rings. The whole time, not once did the angelic beauty and the beast turned prince take their eyes off of each other. And when the minister declared the husband and wife, they tenderly kissed in a way that made their love evident to all who witnessed the two wedded together on that day.