Chapter 53:
Humility and Justice
The day is finally here after a week of hellfire and brimstone: wedding preparations. I do not think I will ever have the patience to go through what I have again, from dress fittings, color choices, and cake tastings. Truly, I've come to face my own personal hell this week, and I can never wish to repeat it.
But as I prepare to walk the aisle after so much time spent preparing, I cannot help in thinking that it was all worth it. From the teasing of Thranduil to the long and petty meetings, it has led up to the moment of my utter completion as one with Boromir, the man I love. Like I said, I would do anything for this man, and if I overcame wedding preparations and Sauron I am sure we can get through anything together.
I am not wearing a pantsuit, much to my own chagrin. And though I am still hollow from this loss, I am silently rejoicing in my ability to win something over Thranduil. Despite his every intention, I will not be lugging a carpet of a train behind my wedding dress, and thus it was shortened to a mere three feet, a much more manageable length. Of course, I would do without the train all together, but I'll take a shorter train over no change at all.
And thus, I find myself waiting complacently at the doors to the Grand Hall where I will soon marry Boromir. With my arm wound around the arm of my teary-eyed father (though he is trying to hide it), my bridesmaids ahead of me, and my groom waiting for me down the aisle, I could not be more content. Even with the lace sticking tightly to the skin of my arms to the end of my toes and the tiara upon my head, I am comfortable in this moment.
This all changes as the doors to the hall open and the maids make their way into the room, looped through the arms of the groomsmen. In the background, I hear the pesky melody of the even peskier chipmunks playing the xylophone, a sound of home to be certain. The leaders of Middle Earth and the Fellowship sit in the front of the room: Galadriel and Elrond, Aragorn and Arwen. The others all act as groomsmen and bridesmaids up on the lifted stage, which I now approach.
It is a wonder that I am not tripping over the blasted fabric, but I do believe the Valar is with me today. I do not trip at all, even when I become entranced in the eyes of my soon to be husband, tears lurking in the corners of his grey orbs. Our smiles mirror one another, a promise of a bright future, as my father lays a kiss on the top of my head and passes my hand into that of Boromir's. I look at my father with a great amount of love as he returns to sit with my mother in the audience. But it all becomes silence as I turn to Boromir with soft eyes that sing of my happiness.
In the background of my thoughts, I hear the words of Gandalf, who is ordaining the ceremony as our typical minister over these things. Indeed, he has married everyone in my family, from my parents to Gimli to me. It's a tradition, and one he is happy to be part of.
"I, Boromir son of Denethor, take you, Sidel Oakenshield, to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love," Boromir recites the words of a traditional wedding ceremony, looking into my eyes with ardent love and effectively pulling me out of my trance. "I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."
"And I, Sidel Oakenshield, take you, Boromir son of Denethor, to be my husband, my friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live," I reply to his words, having memorized them in fear of humiliating both the man and myself. Though at the time, it was painful, I am grateful to know them, seeing as it is important to this ceremony.
YOU ARE READING
Of Dwarves and Men {Boromir/LOTR}
Fanfiction"Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the lords my soul to keep See me safely through the night And wake me with the morning light" ...and though that morning light is but a ghost on the Eastern horizon, it is one onto which we cling. In this dark age...
