MoonLife (18 page)

In the middle of the room hung the most regal and gorgeous wedding gown I had ever seen. It was crimson red, with a corset top that led down to a beautiful full skirt. No, full isn’t enough of a word for the skirt
…
it was an
amazing, Cinderella, dear-god full skirt, with a train that looked as if it went on for miles. There was delicate gold beading around the corset neckline that made it look even
more regal
. Walking around the dress, I could see that the back completely laced up with velvet ribbons, much like the new shoes I
had
just purchased. It was breathtaking, easily the most beautiful dress I had ever seen.

Wendy came over and hugged me. “I have been dying for you to see it.”

“Wendy
,
I just am speechless. It’s fantastic! I hope it fits me, you know the kind of trouble I have with clothes.” I can never get clothes to fit right. I have decided I am made differently than most girls. My shoulders are too wide and so are my hips. I just don’t have the average girl’s proportions. Oh
,
I am curvy
,
but not in a bad way
.
I just have to try everything on and hope for the best. I never buy dresses because they never fit. I usually have to wear two different sizes for the top and bottom.  “It would be a disaster
,
Wendy
,
if my dress didn’t fit on my wedding day. I mean, this is a traditional dress right? Something all the Manduragos have to wear for
the Turn
?”

Wendy looked at me like I was stupid. “Sadie
,
you seriously think all Manduragos get married in a dress like this? Come on. From what the girls have been telling me, they do wear a version similar to this, but since you are the Kali Princess, and they have never had a Kali Princess become a Mandurago, they weren’t sure what to do about the dress. So Sebastian stepped in and personally had this one made for you, down to the hand beaded corset. It should fit like a glove. “

“When did he have time to do that? We have only been planning this for a few weeks.”

“I don’t know
,
but it arrived last night from Milan.” With that Keket walked over and started to dry me off, taking away the wet towels and using new warm ones on me until I was thoroughly dry. I stood there in front of them bare naked, trying to strategically cover my now fully hairless body with my hands and arms. Wendy giggle
d
at me and told me to lighten up, but she should try standing there naked. The girls came over and began the ritual of preparation. They tied my hair up in a towel so it wouldn’t hang down and touch my shoulders. Then in a bowl they mixed dried herbs and the most beautiful smelling flower petals. They took a marble mortar and pestle and started to grind up the mixture into a fine powder. Hera then brought in a beautiful golden bowl and poured the mixture into an awaiting liquid and mixed it together.

“This
,
Sadie
,
is an ancient tradition of Mandurago women. It is said this perfume is what brought the
g
ods to their knees and made them beg to make the maiden
s
into
Mandurago
s
.” Hera said
,
placing the bowl near my nose so I could smell it. The aroma was musky, with an undertone of exotic riches. It was something I had never smelled before, but that I knew Sebastian was going to love. She smiled and took the mixture and poured it into two bowls. Taking one bowl herself, she handed the other to Aman.

“Princess
,
I need you to keep your arms out to your sides so we can apply the lotion.”

With hesitation, I moved my arms out to my sides while the girls went to applying lotion to me. Aman took the front of me while Keket took the back. They started at my neck and worked their way down, ensuring that the lotion was worked fully into my skin. It was a little
uncomfortable
after what I had been through with Talia
, but I tried to think of how much Sebastian was going to enjoy this. They certainly were thorough, didn’t miss any spots, even spots I was hoping they were going to miss. I mean, did I really need lotion there?

When they were finally done I had been waxed, bathed in oils, cleaned and
covered in
lotion. I was as soft as a baby’s butt and smelled incredible. They smiled at me and wrapped me in the golden linen robe again. Hera led me to a seat in the middle of the room. Wendy unwrapped my hair and began brushing it out.

“Sadie
,
remember when we were kids and we used to talk about what our lives would be like when we grew up?”

“Yes
,
I wanted to be a rock star and you wanted to be a
d
octor.”

“It was easy at
nine
to say that
,
but as we got older things changed. I knew I couldn’t afford to be a doctor and
,
well
,
you couldn’t sing or play any instruments.”

“Yeah
,
that makes it kind of tough to be a rock star. You know Wendy, I’m not broke anymore. My
m
other has left me all her money, and Sebastian is loaded. I would be more than happy to pay for you to go to medical school.”

Wendy looked at me surprised. She was taken back at my offer. I knew then that she still secretly wanted to go to med school. Her grades in college were amazing, but she was from such a poor family and they couldn’t afford to pay for school. She could have taken out student loans, but it was going to be almost a half a million dollars to get the degree. She felt she would never be able to pay that off. Also, she was accepted to Harvard
M
edical
S
chool and that made the prices even higher.

“Oh
,
Sadie
,
I couldn’t let you do that. That’s too much.”

“Wendy
,
I know you love flower arranging. I know that, but you could help so many people with your healer abilities. Imagine being licensed, and being able to fold in your
Wiccan
abilities with the knowledge you would learn in medical school? You could save the world. Not to mention we might need a doctor at the Village. Oh
,
Wendy you could come live with us if you like, in Shangri-La! Think about it!!”

I could see the wheels turning in her head. I knew I had to make this happen. Wendy was family to me and if I could do something for her like this I would. “Doctor in the Village, I actually like that idea
,” she
said.

“It’s settled then. After the honeymoon, Sebastian and I will make it happen. Harvard still okay?”

“Ah, well, I don’t know Sadie if I can. I have Ludwik and our apartment. I have to think about it.”

“Ludwik would go with you, you know that. The Protectors Guild is everywhere and he can work at any of them. Plus we could just hire Ludwik to keep you safe while you’re gone. You are going to need protection anyway; you are the Queen
’
s closest friend.”

She smiled at me and then leaned down and hugged me. “I will think about it Sadie, thank you.”

With that, she started to brush out my hair. It had been wrapped a while, I was a little concerned my bangs were going to dry sticking up in the air. They proceeded to dry my hair and fix it into a beautiful loose up do. It was wrapped around in the back, much like a French twist with a little sweep at the top with little twirls in the back. Little beads of gold were placed throughout the style to adorn my hair, they said. They styled my bangs down sleek to make a statement. It was beautiful.

The women then went to work on my makeup. Aman gave me big dark, pouty eyes. They were smoky in the bottom corners and on the top lids. They were the kind of eyes I always tried to do
,
but they never came out, like I always saw the models wear in the magazines. Keket used pale blush and natural matt lips. My makeup was flawless, as I looked at the reflection in the mirror I wondered who that girl was staring back at me.

Chapter
Sixteen

I took a potty break real quick before they put me into the dress. We were down to less than a half an hour before the binding ceremony and the butterflies in my stomach had turned to bats. I was afraid I might throw up. Thankfully the commode area had a door, so I could shut everyone out and be alone. I paced in the small room, thinking about what I had to do. I knew I had to have the
K
ing of the Manduragos feed on
me;
I knew that I had to say a vow of love in front of everyone. We were not supposed to write them ahead of time, the tradition states we are to say what we feel during the ceremony. No stress there
,
right
?
A
nd then there was the act of making love with Sebastian for the first time. I have been waiting so long to be his, to fully give myself to him in every way. I could not wait to feel the intimacy of being connected to him. The only problem was that after that, I didn’t know how long we would have before I started
the Turn
. It truly scared me. Scared me to the point that I thought I was going to hyperventilate. Come on
,
Sadie, you can do this I told myself. You just need to take a deep breath and go with it. It‘s just going to happen to you, not something that has to be planned. Enjoy the good parts, I thought, let the hard stuff fall to the wayside. I paced a bit more, went to pee and then asked the girls for a Diet Coke.

The dress…the dress, all I could think was wow. As they put it up over my head, I knew that I had not actually appreciated it enough on the hanger.
What can I say?
It was immense, voluminous
…
it just went on forever. If I was a smaller girl, it would have been wearing me rather than the other way around. They pulled it down over my bodice and the skirt fell down around me. It felt like something a real princess would wear, I instantly felt special. The material was made out of some kind of taffeta, but I knew that wouldn’t be good enough for Sebastian. So whatever the material actually was, to my eyes it looked like taffeta, shiny and beautiful. The bodice was tight like a corset, with heavy boning sewn into it to keep its shape. It went tight down to my mid hip then there were yards and yards of fabric. There was even an underskirt that made the dress keep its shape as it fanned out slightly around me. After feeling the fabric of the dress more, I thought it felt more like a shimmering tulle skirt, it was lighter than taffeta
,
but so shiny. It was beautiful.

They pulled and pulled the laces up the back of the dress, so tight I could barely breathe. Then Aman took the velvet straps and tucked them around holders in the back so they would stay tightened, and made the remaining ribbon into the perfect bow. Once the dress went over my head they hadn’t allowed me to look in any mirrors. They went so far as to cover the ones in the dressing room so I couldn’t sneak
a
peek.

Wendy came up behind me and told me to close my eyes. I could feel the flurry of activity around me. The women were fussing with my hair. It was the veil, I hadn’t even thought of a veil. Do Manduragos even wear veils? I could feel the weight on my head and after a while I felt the material streaming down my back. It took a little while
,
but then they told me that I could open my eyes. I went to reach up for my head to feel it when they stopped me, not allowing me to touch anything. Hera took my hand and straightened out my arm. Wendy then handed her the gloves, they were beautiful satin red ones that matched the dress perfectly. I was of course not allowed to put them on myself, so Hera worked her magic getting my hands into them and pulling them up my arm. They were exceptionally long, coming up to about two inches above my elbow.

“Now you are ready and look like the Princess that you are. Would you like to
see yourself
?” ask Hera smiling at me.

I nodded my head and in unison the four women pulled the curtains off the mirrors surrounding us. I was speechless. I looked in the mirror and saw a woman starring back at me. That was not me, that couldn’t be…in my place stood a
p
rincess. A beautiful, confident and attractive
p
rincess, that looked much like my
m
other wearing a beautiful dress. 

The dress was even more spectacular on then I could have imagined, and they had pulled the laces so tight my waist looked amazingly small. (Note to self
–
maybe the Victorians were on to something.) The cut of the dress made my shoulders look stunning, sleek and not as broad as they normally did. Then I noticed setting regally upon my head was the most gorgeous gold crown.  It was encrusted with emeralds and rubies, and had a glorious golden mesh veil cascading off the back, down between my shoulders and then running the length of the entire dress train. They had remembered the blue lapis lazuli earrings for my “something blue” and around my neck was my mother’s locket, it matched beautifully with the crown.