Your Dimension Or Mine? (25 page)

She could laugh at him later. The plume in the hat itself was worth at least fifty good jokes. For now, she needed to figure out how to calm herself. “There are over a thousand people in there,” she hissed. “How can I walk past them all?”

He gazed over at the door and then around. “Have you nobody to walk you down the aisle?”

Embarrassed she shook her head. “No. Terrian’s dad couldn’t because he officiates part of the ceremony. I didn’t know Vane would be here until a few minutes ago, and I don’t even really know him.”

“Well then,” he said pompously as he held out his arm. “Might I escort you down the aisle to Lord Terrian, Lady Arwen?”

All thoughts of making fun of his outfit left her head as she realized he was the closest thing she would find to a father. As her mentor for those short few weeks, he made more of an impression on her than she could have imagined and knowing he was actually her grandfather made everything just fit. The smile started out small, but finally it spread across her face. Placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, she nodded. “I would like that, yes.”

The aisle was so long she couldn’t even see the people at the end of it when the doors opened. If Mayir was not holding on to her hand, she wasn’t sure if she could make it to the end. After fifteen minutes of walking, she finally saw him. Standing at the end of the aisle, in front of his father, Terrian was striking in silver trousers and a silver jacket with a golden sash over his right shoulder. A few medals decorated the front of his jacket. His dark hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, and Ari found herself staring into his bright silver eyes.

The last fifteen minutes of walking seemed instantaneous to her when all she could see was him. She was aware of him taking her hands and of turning to face him. She was also aware of his father speaking beside them, but those were only mere fragments of images in her mind. Instead, all she really saw was the handsome man in front of her.

Terrian, who she had met on an online dating site.

Terrian, who loved her so intensely he gave up his own protection to keep her safe.

Terrian, the man who did everything he could to make her happy when all she really needed was him.

The ceremony was in Darinthan. While she had learned a few words of the flowery language, most of it was still foreign to her. Thankfully, Terrian and Ishlie had practiced everything she needed to say so when her part came up, she was able to repeat the words back without a stumble. When Terrian spoke his vows, it felt as if he was saying them directly into her soul and she fought the tears stinging her eyes.

Terrian placed a silver metallic necklace around her neck and a bracelet on her wrist. There were no wedding rings on Darinth. In return, she affixed a pin on the front of his jacket as well as replaced the earring in his left ear with one she had picked out for him. Blessings were spoken by both Prince Joreth and Princess Ishlie, and then finally, Terrian took her chin in both of his hands and kissed her. Cheers erupted from both sides of the aisle, and she laughed even as tears of joy dripped down her cheeks.

The rest of the evening felt like a fairy tale. Lines and lines of people came up to offer their congratulations, but she was so happy it did not feel overwhelming at all. The hardest part was when Abigail, Cory, and the triplets came up. This would be the last time she saw her nieces. It was highly doubtful Jane would allow them to travel to another dimension again. She dropped to her knees and hugged them, reminding them to be good and to hug their mother for her.

The goodbye to Cory was no less emotional. “Shh,” Cory said, hugging her tight. “This isn’t goodbye, little sister. I’ve always kind of poo-hooed the whole interdimensional thing, but now that you are here, I might have to come visit more often. Besides, have you looked at Darinthan males? Ari, they are hot!”

“Cory!” she laughed, pulling away. “Are you forgetting Brent?”

“No, but I am an Agastion. We have no idea how long I will live. I could outlive him easily. As such, be prepared in about forty years for a visit from your sister.”

Abigail was warm, but brusque, which was normal for her. “Vane was here,” she informed her, “but he did not want to cause issues on your wedding day. Contact him when you are back from your honeymoon. He will come visit then.”

It took over four hours, but finally she and Terrian were allowed to leave. Darinthan rose petals were tossed over their heads to shouts of “K’Lei Lei!” embarrassing her. She knew the phrase wished for strong healthy offspring. Grasping her hand, he lifted her up onto the back of his mount, Abriethon, and quickly mounted behind her. Brie, as she called him much to Terrian’s amusement, immediately broke into a gallop, and they headed for the small house he had chosen for their wedding night.

The ride was easy, much easier than riding a horse, as Brie’s gate was fluid no matter whether he was trotting or running full out. She leaned back against Terrian, smiling when he chuckled. “Was it too much?” he asked softly in her ear.

“Not as bad as I expected,” she admitted making him laugh. “Did you catch sight of Mayir?”

“He brings out that old thing every time an official event happens,” he told her. “Some think he is an idiot, but I disagree. I think he does it for two reasons. The first is because he can. Can you imagine someone laughing at him to his face? Well, except for you,” he added making her laugh. “The second is because he has a lot of respect for how things used to be before interdimensional shifting became common place. Mayir is a constant reminder to think first, act second. Unfortunately, most individuals do the opposite.”

Leaning against her husband, she closed her eyes as the sun slowly set. The air turned cooler, and she could hear the change in the wind as they left the city behind and Brie was able to run full out. “Up ahead,” he whispered into her ear and she opened her eyes. They stood on the crest of a hill overlooking a valley. With the moon at its brightest, they clearly could see the scene below them.

A small house sat right in the middle of a large meadow covered in Darinthan moon flowers. They only bloomed under a full moon and their silver leaves glistened in the light. A small light shone in one of the windows of the house. “It’s so pretty.”

Brie made his way down the hill. A half hour later, Terrian let him loose before they walked up to the door. The house looked odd to her, and it took a couple minutes to realize why. “This is an Earth cottage!” she exclaimed, delighted.

“But of course. I know you like our houses well enough, but I thought I would build you something from your home. When you miss Earth, you can come here and indulge in it.” Grinning, she watched him pull out what appeared to be an old fashioned key and insert it into the lock. The automated click told her it was a Darinthan electronic key, but she wasn’t going to mention it. As the door swung open, revealing a warm, inviting living room with a fire burning in the fireplace, she took a step forward, stopping when his arm wrapped around her chest. “Not yet. I have researched Earth customs, and it seems that on one’s wedding night, the groom carries the bride across the threshold, yes?”

Blushing a little even as a bit more of her melted at her romantic husband’s gestures, she nodded. Instantly, he lifted her with his arms supporting her back and legs and carried her into the room. The living room was decorated in soft taupe. A simple long sofa faced the ornate fireplace. “This is your living room,” he said. “And in here is a kitchen.” He chuckled as he walked in and she looked around.

“It looks like home!”

“Of course, I told you this would be your little taste of Earth. Much of the technology is ours, but they hopefully look and feel much like home.” He carried her back through the living room to the one bedroom. “And this is ours,” he murmured, setting her on her feet. Her eyes fell on the bed and she began to laugh. Grinning, he stood back and watched as she ran and jumped, landing flat in the middle of it. “Okay, so not everything is from Earth.”

Giggling, she lifted up her head and beckoned him closer. “It’s perfect.” Ever since the first night they made love, she had developed a deep appreciation for Darinthan furniture, especially Terrian’s bed, a huge four-poster that had something no Earth bed would ever have. Intelligence. It woke them up in the morning, lulled them to sleep at night. And the best part was that it became almost a third partner in their sensual escapades. She really loved that bed. Even though he had Earth’d out her little cottage, he understood her enough to give her an exact replica of the bed in his, now their, room.

Crawling up next to her, he leaned over her slightly. “Now, this is a new bed. It will need to be trained,” he said with a glint in his eyes. “As such, I think we should do our upmost best over the next seventeen hours, until we go on our honeymoon, to put it through its paces. What do you think?”

Squealing, she attacked him, laughing as the bed bucked and rolled underneath them. As she straddled his body, her wedding dress flowing out around her, she nodded. “In fact, maybe we should stay here the whole time. I’m sure it needs a lot of training.”

The sound of a rip made her jerk as she realized he was literally ripping off her dress. “Terrian! Your mother will kill me!” she squealed, trying to grab hold of his hands before he did any more damage.

He paused and looked at her in confusion before the confusion left and he burst out laughing. “A replica of the dress is already in the archives, and you can visit it anytime you want, my dearest Ari. Quite honestly, Mother would be disappointed if anything was left of this dress to salvage. She is hoping for her next grandson in eleven months.”

“So…you are supposed to destroy the dress?”

“It’s a Darinthan tradition. The more the dress is destroyed, the better the chance for a fruitful union.”

Relieved and amused, she released his hands. “Well, then…rip away!” For the rest of her existence, she would always remember that as the night they destroyed their first bed, something the family never let them forget.

Eleven months, two days and thirteen hours later, Crown Prince Joreth and Princess Ishlie announced the birth of their two newest grandchildren, Lord Noran and Lady Celie, their very first granddaughter.

A word about the author...

Ever since she learned to read, Cynthia Kimball has been imagining stories. As soon as she learned to write, she started penning them down. A bibliophile, she enjoys many genres of books including sci-fi/fantasy, romance, erotica, non-fiction, and all things Shakespeare.

As an artist, she knows ideas can strike at any time so she carries a tiny book around to make notes on as inspiration hits.

Her last novel,
L’Amore Perfetto
, was what she called “Romance meets modern-day fairy-tale.” It was the first Dating Service novel. Currently, she is working on the next Dating Service story and two young adult books.

She is just getting started releasing the wonderful books, novels, and novellas she has written. Stay tuned for more coming your way.

http://www.cynthiakimball.com

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