Erin's Awakening (16 page)

Ari squeezed her hand.  "It's okay.  Like I said you are safe.  We wanted to tell you so you wouldn't be shocked if something happens while you are here,” Ari told her.  "There will also be things that you will see at the wedding which this will explain."

Julie cleared her throat.  "Okay, this is some kind of joke.  You're putting me on, some kind of Irish thing, right?"

Erin smiled at her.  "Nope.  We are witches, Wiccan descent.  It's all very cool actually."

Ari looked at Sheela.  "She needs a demonstration."

Sheela nodded and then placed a wooden bowl on the coffee table with some paper in it.  Then she pointed her finger at it and it caught fire.

Julie jumped.  "Holy shit
!"

Then Erin wiggled her finger at a glass of water and the water jumped out to float in mid-air.  While Julie watched, the water floated for a moment and then poured over the fire to put it out.  Ari twirled one of her fingers and the ashes began to form a tiny tornado, then slowly settled back into the bowl.

Julie sat there looking stunned at what they had done.  Then she looked at Ari.  "I can't believe this.”  They all thought she might cry and then she burst out laughing.  "This is all so cool."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't going to lose it like they thought she might.  They began to fill her in on a little of their history and she listened
, fascinated by what they told her.  They explained a little of what each of them could do and what would happen at the wedding.  She swore to them that she would keep their secret.  They decided beforehand not to tell her about the threat hanging over them as it would only worry her and they were trying to keep everything in a happy mood for the wedding. They did show her their marks, which she declared as 'awesome'.

They c
ontinued to drink and dance the night away.  Laughing and joking about men and weddings in general.  Julie had taken everything well and Ari was happy, which was the main concern of the sisters.  When the night was over, the women were all very tipsy and tired.  The men came in, laughing at their condition and helped cart all of them off to bed.  They made sure each woman had water and aspirin by their bed for in the morning as they shook their heads over their condition.

The day for the wedding dawned beautiful and bright.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky and that was a clear sign of the goddess' blessings.  The night before had been a new moon and in the Wiccan culture, it was good luck to have the wedding twelve hours after the new moon.  So the wedding was set for noon.

The sisters all gathered in Ari's room while the men were all banished to the pool house to get ready.  Everyone was getting ready, helping Ari get dressed in her gown and placing her flowers in her hair.  She was wearing a ring of wild flowers and herbs in her hair, which symbolized fidelity to her new husbands.

Their grandmother came into the room as they were finishing getting Ari ready and she handed Ari her bouquet.  Then she held up a sprig of rosemary with a tiny bell on it and tucked it into her bouquet.

"This symbolizes your parents are with you during this special day
,” she said.

Ari got tears in her eyes and said, "Thank you, Mamo.  This is very special."

Both women hugged and their grandmother said, "You look so beautiful.  Just like your mother."

Erin wiped her eyes and said, "Now let's not start this or we will all have to redo our makeup."

The women all laughed and then Julie stepped up and said, "I did a little reading and also noted that this will also be good to have.”  Julie showed her a little bell, which she secured in Ari's bouquet.  "The bell is to remind you the vows you say today are sacred and bring you honor."

Ari was touched and hugged her.  "Thank you, Julie.  You are right and it is important."

They continued to get ready as Erin told Ari she was going to go downstairs and make sure everything was perfect.  She went down to the kitchen area where Mrs. O'Leary was setting up the food.  It smelled so good her mouth watered.  Then she saw the cake.  It was a lovely four-tiered cake, chocolate of course, Ari's favorite, and had the Celtic knot design on it to bring good luck.  Erin knew the top portion of the tiered cake was an Irish whiskey cake that Ari and the men would freeze to eat when their first-born was christened, as was tradition.  Erin complimented Mrs. O'Leary on the food and cake as she headed out the back doors to check the garden.

When she stepped through, she knew the garden was a sight to behold on an everyday basis
, but the sheer beauty of what greeted her shocked her.  Kira and Sheela had been in charge of the garden and she had to give them their due.  It was stunning.  All around the flowers were in full bloom and bright in color.  The trees even seemed greener and more full.  Erin looked all around in shock.  An archway had been set up toward the back of the garden and it was completely covered in the wildflowers that grew in the meadow they all loved.

As was tradition in an Irish-
Wiccan wedding, all the guests would be standing so as to surround those marrying with their love and support.  Erin walked all around the garden to make sure everything was as it should be and to make sure there wasn’t a speck of trash or any bad vibes.  Then she went by the pool house to check on the guys.

Myles opened the door when she knocked and yanked her into his arms.  "I knew you would miss me too much."

She laughed and said, "Oh yeah, that's exactly why I'm here.  How is everything?"

"Good.  I think the grooms are a bit nervous now the time has come.
”  He chuckled.

She looked over his shoulder and saw that Reilly and Lachlan were sitting down with their parents who had arrived the day before.  They were lovely people, very kind and she could tell they loved Ari.  They had also brought Reilly and Lachlan's two brothers with them.  Their older brother, Liam, was married to a pretty woman named Lacey.  Their younger brother who was still in college, Ryan, was a real card.  It seemed he had fallen in love with Calli at first sight.  He had followed her around like a puppy dog the day before and
had done anything she asked him to.

The Parsons
' family sat together, talking quietly, as Aedan walked up to stand beside her and Myles.  "Did you miss us, sweetness?” he asked as he planted a kiss on her lips.

She smiled at them both.  "You know I miss you both every second I'm not with you.
”  When they rolled their eyes at her sarcastic tone, she laughed.  "I just stopped in to make sure everything was okay.  Do you guys have enough snacks and drinks?"

"You know we already took care of those arrangements, kitten.  Now, go on with you before we drag you into the changing room.  You look gorgeous
,” Myles told her.

She smiled and blushed at his sexy threat.  "You think so?
”  She stepped out of his arms to twirl around for them.

"You look like a ray of sunshine straight from the goddess herself
," Aedan said.

"Thank you, honey
," Erin told him and kissed him again.

"Hey, what about me?" Myles pouted.

She laughed again and kissed him, too.  Then she said she would see them later and headed back to the castle.  Once inside, she went to the ballroom located in the east wing and checked to make sure the tables were all set up in the proper layout that Ari had requested.  She also saw that the ocean blue tablecloths had been laid with the beautiful silver candles in the center.  The candles were set in candleholders that were in the design of the love knot.  There was a section in the back of the room for the band to play, which was made up of Mrs. O'Leary's sons who were really talented.

For the ceremony, one of her sons was playing the Uilleann pipe, a miniature version of bagpipes,
which emitted a gentle, sweet tone.  He would play the traditional songs to guide people to their seats and then the Irish Wedding March to bring Ari and her men down the aisle.

As she passed through the main house to head back upstairs, she greeted some of the guests that were arriving and then went up to report to Ari that all was perfectly beautiful.  Then everyone cleared out to give Ari a few minutes alone with their grandmother
, as was tradition.  The sisters and Julie all went down to help guide people to the back garden.  Just before the wedding was to begin, the men came in after walking their family to the front near the arch.

Reilly and Lachlan looked handsome in their suits.  They refused to wear kilts that were the fashion now in Irish culture but swore that since it came from Scottish history, it was not truly Irish.  They were wearing perfectly cut suits with their family's tartan draped over their right shoulders.  The tartan was a representation of their family with the family colors, a deep blue and green.  They were pinned to their suits with stunning gold Celtic knot pins that had been their grandfather's before them.
             

Just as everyone in the wedding party had gathered, their grandmother escorted Ari down the stairs and Reilly and Lachlan got their first look at their bride.  Erin watched their faces light up with love as they watched Ari descend the stairs.  She was radiant in her gown and
the love shown in her eyes as she took in her men.  She smiled brightly as they each went to meet her at the bottom and hooked her arms through theirs.  Their grandmother kissed Ari on her cheek and each of the men got a kiss as well, then she headed out to the garden to join their guests.

All of the sisters gave Ari a kiss before heading out to stan
d at the front where Una, Queen of the Fairies, had arrived and was waiting.  All of the sisters gave Una a little bow to acknowledge her as an honored guest as they stepped to the side.  She was a stunningly beautiful woman with long, blonde hair flowing down her back.  She had on a deep blue gown that flowed down her body.  She, too, was wearing a wreath of flowers on her head with ribbons entwined throughout.

The music started and Julie walked down the aisle first, moving to stand to the left of the arch while the Parsons family stood to the
right.  Then Ari and her men began to walk together to the arch.  Once they stood in front of Una, she began to speak.

"
Welcome, friends, as we gather to celebrate the marriage of
Adrianna, Reilly, and Lachlan
.  Divine One, I ask thee to bless them, their love, and their marriage as long as they shall live in love together. May they each enjoy a healthy life filled with joy, love, stability, and fertility."

Then she turned to the East and said, "
Blessed be by the element of air.
May you be blessed with communication, intellectual growth, and wisdom.”  She turned to the south.  "Blessed be by the element of fire.  May you be blessed with harmony, vitality, creativity, and passion."

She t
urned to the West and continued, "Blessed be by the element of water.
May you be blessed with friendship, intuition, caring, understanding, and love.”  To the North she said, "Blessed be by the element of earth.  May you be blessed with tenderness, happiness, compassion, and sensuality."

She then turned to the guests and said, "
In all the eons, the long slow climb of evolution has no greater culmination than the union of people in love.  From the time the first amoeba fissioned into two, there has been the possibility of companionship—and the possibility of loneliness.  From the time Nature invented sexual reproduction, love has been a quickening.  In humans as self-aware beings, sexuality provided a way that love can conjoin the bodies, hearts, minds, and souls of those who love.

"
Humans have sadly turned away from Nature's harmony for most of our lives.  There is war, loneliness, and desolation, and the soul of Nature mourns.  So when there are those of us who love enough to make a commitment such as this one tonight between
Bride
and
Grooms,
the very stars rejoice at the rediscovery of love, joy, and bounty.  Love has its seasons the same as does the Earth.  In the spring of love is the discovery of each other, the pulse of the senses, the getting to know the mind and heart of the other; a blooming like the buds and flowers of springtime.

"In the summer of love comes the strength, the commitment to each other, the most active part of life, perhaps including the giving of life back to itself through children; the sharing of joys and sorrows, the learning to be humans who are each complete and whole but who can merge each with the other, as the trees grow green and tall in the heat of the sun.

"In the fall of love is the contentment of love that knows the other completely.  Passion remains and ease of companionship.  The heart smoothes love into a steady light, glorious as the autumn leaves.

"
In the winter of love, there is parting, and sorrow.  But love remains, as do the stark and bare tree trunks in the snow, ready for the renewal of love in the spring as life and love begin anew.

"
Now is the time of summer. 
Bride
and
Grooms
have gathered before their friends to make a statement of their commitment to each other, to their love."