His Blessed Bride

The Blessed Baby

Gabriella sometimes wondered just what it would take for her to fall from grace and become the same as everybody else. It wasn't that she hadn't tried but rather that her attempts had only made her more of a saint. Her mother was convinced that she could do no wrong and that the angels were smiling down on her, while her father thought that she was his little princess and walked on air. They couldn't be further from the truth yet to Gabriella it seemed she was cursed to be this perfect little angel.

She'd been born as part of a set of two. The problem was that her twin sister was her complete opposite in every way and everyone had always known it. Lissa had been born screaming and grabbing attention and had remained that way ever since. Their parents had never been able to give her the attention she craved and neither had the media who followed her round hoping for a juicy story. But where Gabriella could do no wrong, Lissa could do right. It seemed like everything she did turned in to crap and yet Gabriella couldn't help but be jealous of her. Every time that Lissa achieved something it was huge and celebrated, when Gabriella achieved something it meant nothing because it was expected of her. Not that Lissa had many achievements or celebrations.

Gabriella had been trying for years to prove she wasn't this goody two shoes that everyone believed her to be but the more she tried, the harder she failed. She'd coloured on the walls when she was little and her mother had been proud as punch because she'd declared that Gabriella would be an amazing artist when she grew up and that design was still on the wall to this day. When she was a little older she'd gone out on her own when she'd known she wasn't allowed to and had gone to the river where she was definable you not allowed. She'd been certain she'd get in trouble then as she knew her father walked that way home and would undoubtedly catch her. But just a few moments before her father was due to walk past she had seen a young boy fall in to the river and had jumped forward to pull him out. Her father had walked past at that moment and rather than getting in to trouble she had been hailed a local hero and given a bloody medal. It had only gotten worse as she'd gotten older. She'd tried everything she could think of to try and tarnish her good reputation but it always backfired and she came out looking better than ever.

The problem now was that she had taken the exercise too far and now she was in serious trouble and she didn't see how the curse would be able to save her from this one. Her current situation wouldn't simply tarnish her reputation but would well and truly destroy it. She didn't know what to do and she knew that there was only one person who would be able to help her. Lissa had handled the weight of disappointment all her life and surely she would be able to help or at least offer some advice.

It had been a long time since Gabriella and Lissa had met up for dinner. When they'd grown up and moved out they'd gone their separate ways. Lissa had gone out of her way to shock and had succeeded admirably while Gabriella had faded in to the background since nothing she did shocked anyone. The different lifestyles had led them in separate directions and they weren't as close as Gabriella wished they were. Lissa had seemed surprised to hear from her when she'd called but had accepted the dinner invitation and that was all that mattered.

Gabriella had been sat in her lounge waiting for the doorbell to ring for what felt like forever. She knew that Lissa was expecting a dinner party or something fancy but the truth was that Gabriella needed her sister and she couldn't tell her what it was about until they were face to face. Her nerves were on edge and the waiting was driving her insane. She was just about to give up on her sister ever making it when the doorbell rang and she jumped to her feet in a hurry.

She rushed through the menial small talk and ushered her sister in to the lounge where she handed her a glass of wine and sat down watching her sister warily. Lissa seemed surprised by the suddenness but smiled all the same.