The Grand Event

Cassandra had not been expecting such beautiful decor as she was left to her lonesome by Armelle. The Australian girl was outside, gazing upon the white chairs and the beautiful floral arrangements when she decided to put on her glasses to better see. The cat's eye frames did wonders for her bone structure. This all came as a result of Cassandra's love of weddings. When she had heard of Armelle's friends being wed, she had graciously accepted the invitation as the former Terre's guest.

Donning her dress and coordinating effects, Cassandra found her way to a row of chairs that didn't appear reserved for anyone in particular. Taking her seat, the girl crossed her legs and put her clutch on her lap. Glancing around, she hoped to find Jacques somewhere in the crowd.

Even after a month or so of living with the French girl, Cassandra had still not had any luck finding Mattie. It scorned her to not be able to find him. If she knew him at all, he may have found some other willing girl to subdue, but she wanted him for herself. Armelle had agreed to help her man, but the two had been unsuccessful as of yet.

With a poof, Damien arrived in Normandie, right outside the borders of the wizarding address that was in the wedding invitation. He had never been to this part of France, but he wasn't a learned wizard for nothing. Plus getting directions had been easy, for Nicolas and Antoinette knew of this place and Julian had forwarded directions a couple of days ago.

Easily sauntering over to where the guests were beginning to congregate, Damien chose a lonely seat despite being placed in the middle row. He looked around for any sign of someone he can recognize, but Julian and his siblings were part of the entourage, and Julian's parents were coming in a bit late.

It was like waiting for a movie scene to start, and Damien found himself getting bored. Even if he had come to Paris for the main purpose of attending the wedding, he wished he had brought someone to accompany him. But he was going solo for the meantime, and he'd have to wait for the main characters to come in the picture one by one until then.

The former Eau wasn't paying particular attention to what he was doing when he apperated to the wedding spot. For that reason, he payed no heed to the layout or the decorations. Imaging it was very nice, Jacques found one of the very few vacant seats left next to some woman in a purple dress. Next to her she had a few extra chairs that appeared reserved, so he took the one to her left that was empty. The others bore things like her purse and other feminine items. She was most likely waiting for a friend or a date and Jacques was not about to impose on that position. He sat hastily, putting an elbow on a knee so that he could fiddle with his lip a bit more.

"This isn't going to do shit." He was whispering to himself when he sat back, disregarding the bruises and the cut. Where Veronique was was beyond him, but she would probably be the only one willing to help him that could. The others would be much too angry to even look at him or Russel. Having it that way was the best idea. Interacting with everyone else would just make things worse as he would have to explain himself. If it came to it, since Russel looked unscathed, Jacques would claim he fell or some nonsense. He didn't see these people every day so there was no way for them to know for sure he hadn't fallen.

Jacques was beyond unobservant today. Someone he knew could be sitting right next to him and he would have to be smacked with something to even take notice. In his mind, he just wanted to ceremony to start so he could focus on the couple's love rather than his own preoccupations.

Seeing a man approaching her, Cassandra adjusted herself so that she was not in the way. At least he hadn't taken the seat she had saved for Armelle, but she couldn't help but feel that he was taking up quite a bit of room anyway. Taking a closer look, she noticed a cut lip and a black eye, things one didn't particularly see at a wedding. Yet, another glance and Cassie was on cloud nine. It was him, after all this time, sitting next to her. To her, that meant he wanted her too!

Swinging her arms around him and planting a kiss on his lower lip, she made sure that she didn't harm the busted lip up top. She dug her head in his shoulder. "Mattie, I thought I would never find you!" She didn't want to let go, as all she could grasp her arms around was his neck. His form was too wide for her to wrap her skinnier arms around.

"I've been restless." Finding him at this wedding was completely unexpected. "But what happened to you!? You look like you got into a horrible fight!" Cassie pulled her head back, letting her arms stay on him. She wasn't letting go anytime soon. She hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't mind it either.

His first thoughts were to jump away. He had just come from a physical skirmish and he was suddenly being attacked again, but the soft kiss, gently on his lip, kept him from overreacting. There were only a few women right now that he could think of that would suddenly grace him with kisses and hugs, and he currently did not object to any of them. The soft words in his ear though were something that surprisingly soothed the savage beast. The former Eau was sure he would have wanted to avoid her at all costs seeing as he had left after that one wild night, but being pursued was nice for a change. For that reason, Jacques didn't fight back.

The hormonal imbalance in his mind due to the fighting may have contributed to it, but he was glad to suddenly get tossed back into this relationship. Turning towards her, he kissed her full on, ignoring the pain in his upper lip. Pulling back, he heard the question and accusation that he dreaded hearing. At least here and now, Cassandra did not know of Russel and the spats that could arise between Auror and werewolf. Along those lines, the lycropanthy was something that Cassandra had accepted, making her all the more appealing at the moment.

"I may have gotten into a fight, I may not have." The coy smile he had always used with Cassandra appeared on his face as he looked to her. This was so dramatic and sudden, but something in his head told him this was as good as he would get any emotion from a woman right now. Physically, she offered quite a bit too. His friends would think him insane, but he didn't care at the moment. Smoothly, he wrapped his arm around Cassandra, the bitten arm, but he let it squeeze her form as he smiled coyly and looked at her again.

Armelle hurried to the wedding venue, not knowing if the other women were right behind her or if they were going to wait until the very last minute before they left. All the redhead knew was that she needed to find where she had left Cassie, or people were going to think that she might be a wedding crasher. Finally, and just as people were starting to stare, Armelle spotted her roommate. The odd thing was that she had her arms around some dashing male.

"Sorry I took so long Cass..." She apologized to her roommate, only being cut off by surprise when she looked up to see who Cassie's arms were around. There were two things she noticed about this man. One: he was Jacques -her Jacques, even though Armelle had no real right over the man- and two: he had a busted lip and a black eye. Armelle recovered from her shock and knew she had to get between these two. She had no idea why this urge came to her, but that was what she had to do.

"Jacques is Mattie? She asked her roommate sounding quite surprised, all the time she stood up and made her way passed the embracing couple. Jacques had an aisle seat so Armelle found herself kneeling on the ground beside him. Coincidently it gave Jacques quite the view, if he even dared to look. Instead of remembering she reached her hand up to gently cup Jax's face and make him look at her. "A fight? Really Jax? And today of all days." she scolded him before she broke out into a small laugh, "This reminds me of 6th year and the whole thing with your tongue" There was something else that happened that night, but only Jacques and Armelle would know about that.

"Don't worry, I'll have Ron fix you up as soon as she gets here. So who did this to you?" Armelle inquired. All of what she did looked like things that a lifelong friend would do. Armelle hoped that was how Cassie saw it. Sure, Armelle did feel jealous, even jealous enough to make Jacques' attention focus on her instead of Cassie, but the feelings were still confused. Armelle had no real idea that she even still had feelings for Jacques.

The appearance of the Terre girl was slightly unexpected, to be honest. His gaze went from Cassandra, wrapped around his neck, to Armelle who was cupping his face. Her touch was warm, but Jacques was much too confused to take any real notice of what was going on. The baffling fact that Cassandra and Armelle knew each other was almost too much to take in at first. Slowing his gaze, he was finally able to compose himself and remove the look of total incomprehension from his visage. Subconsciously, when Armelle had put the hand on his face, his lips, however injured, curved into a smile. On that note, he also pulled Cassandra closer to him, not really knowing the reason why his arm acted in such a way.

"You two know each other?!" Jacques was still slightly shocked. He had no idea how the French girl and the Australian vixen had met. Alas, Jacques wouldn't know if there were pure blooded conventions or some such event. Heck, there could even been nonwerewolf rallies and it wouldn't surprise him. Somehow the two had met, and knowing both, there was probably some silly side story to their union. Why they were so close though, and why Cassandra had never come up in conversation with Armelle, was still a mystery.

"Oh. Um...the fight. Yeah. Russel." He muttered out the name, turning away from Armelle and ignoring her hand. He didn't want to talk about it, but she had confirmed the concern of having Ronnie check him out. He did feel a bit guilty now, having taken the last blow only because he had stepped back. Had he the gall to bite Russel or not, he wasn't sure currently. Even during the more intimate activities he had reigned supreme in back in Vichy he didn't bite or scratch. His sadism only went so far.

Divine was the perfect word for describing the kiss Mattie placed on her. She relished in it, letting her mind wander to what those lips of his could do. The rest of body, though, was what was truly amazing. Seeing Mattie without his clothes on equated heaven to Cassie. She tightened her grip in a hug, then let the tension placed on his neck go. He had just been in a fight, after all, and it was probably best not to add any more strain to his body. She would need it whole later. Right then, however, Armelle came up. The words from her and her knowing Jacques utterly surprised her!

"Mattie is your friend!?" The exclamation mirrored Armelle's. "Well, isn't this a small world?" A small giggle was what came from Cassandra in this moment. She was in total bliss at the moment. Armelle was so sweet though, she seemed so concerned for her friend. Cassie would know if Armelle felt romantically for anyone as they had been living together. In fact, the two had been talking quite often, Still, there first meeting was what gave away that Armelle was okay without a man.

"Isn't this wonderful? Mattie and I are back together now!" She could take her own assumptions from Jacques' actions. He was acting so wonderfully that she just knew that they were together now. Getting Mattie fixed up did sound nice, though. He was still so outrageously sexy with the markings, but she wouldn't want to hurt them in their recreation later this evening.

Up toward the front of the gathering around about where Maria and Jacob would be getting married, Jacob stood. He was feeling much better now, having had a small nip of something alcholic to calm his nerves and being out of a room filled with tension. He did some crowd watching allowing his eyes to gaze over the crowd that had already gathered.

A few faces smiled up at him, some he did not recognise and figured them to be distant relatives of Maria or the guests of guests. A few of Jacob's own relatives came up to him to wish him well but most of the crowd remained seated, possibly wanting to congratulate Jacob at the reception instead.

His eyes drifted to the back seats hoping to find Maria standing there shortly. He could not possibly wait much longer.

Veronique walked into the church about forty seconds behind Armelle. Just enough to see Jacques a little bit beaten up. There he was with Armelle and Cassie, she thought. Armelle had mentioned her when she was moving out of her house in Nice. It was nice to see other people around her.

Then, she saw Jacob stand at the front and she knew that the ceremony was about to start. Sitting behind Jacques she shook her head and took her wand out and fixed him up in a matter of a few moments. Scratches and bruises were really nothing for her.

"Geez Jax what have you gotten youself into?," she whispered into his ear behind him, "You know what I don't even want to know."

She sat back in her seat alone waiting for Maria to walk down the aisle.

It seemed that even Dianna’s (with the help of Julian) selections of soothing classical music was not enough to put Jacob at ease. She gently touched the shoulders of the flower girl and the ring-bearer, who were Julian’s younger siblings and viewed Maria as their affectionate older sister of sorts.

“Go.” She whispered, as the composition Canon in D by Pachelbel began to play. Watching the two children move down the rose-petal strewn aisle, Dianna found herself grateful that she had not actually given Adrian the wedding rings (which were still in the care of the best man) and had only sewn on imitations.

Next came the bridesmaids, Elise and Liyya. She watched as they too moved down the aisle (Liyya, thankfully, not tripping over her dress in the process) and took their places at the front.

“Wait for the music,” she reminded the bride as she stood waiting with Uncle Richard who seemed to be the exact image of Maria when she had been petrified frozen in the dressing room only moments before.

Reaching up to kiss her best friend upon the cheek (being very careful not to crush her bouquet of flowers between them), Dianna smiled, “It’s now or never.”

Flicking her dress out of the way, the blond witch moved down the aisle, sharing a small grin with her husband Nicholas who stood near Julian, before coming to a halt beside Elise.

The white-clad brunette who was waiting beneath the shelter of a tree that she had remembered accidentally pushing Nicholas out of as a child, watched the proceedings beneath her dark lashes. She had wanted to scan the audience, find Jacob, but her father had insisted that she turn away. Keep the ‘suspense’.

“Is this what you want?”

The bride cast her amethyst eyes down to the bouquet of blushing lavender roses and tiger lilies clutched in her hands. Was it?

“More than anything else.”

Her father nodded, digesting her answer before silently offering her his hand as the music cued their entrance.

“It’s time.”

“Don’t let me fall, Papa,” she whispered as she took her first tentative step down the aisle. The delicate material rustled with each movement she made her way down the petal-strewn path, closer and closer towards where Jacob was waiting for her.

If there had been anything on her mind except making the long walk down the aisle to Jacob, she would have noticed her regal grand-mère Ophélie in the first row with stroking Jolie, Maria’s kitten, perched upon her lap with a fresh red bow around her neck. Or the contrast of reactions from her uncle Cyril and aunt Cecile, the former with brimming over with joy, while the latter stiff beneath her husband’s casual tossed arm, handkerchief in hand. Perhaps she would have seen how Aliyya was nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet with anticipation, or the wink in which Nicholas had thrown in her direction from where he stood with the rest of the men. Perhaps it was good that her attention was else where, as the presence of a familiar dark-haired English man who surprisingly enough had come to the ceremony, might have made her falter. All this she would have seen, if her mind had not been focused on reaching her future husband as soon as possible.

The music swelled as Maria lifted her face to meet her soon-to-be husband’s, but found herself blushing, and sweeping her eyes shyly downwards, but not being able to resist before peeking up once more in awe and quiet pleasure.

It seemed eternity before they finally stopped under the flower-weaved arch. Richard Doloresta slipped his hand from his daughter’s grasp and gave a soft, almost tender squeeze before holding it out to Jacob while stepping aside as a symbol of giving away the bride.

Elise's small alongside Liyya was met with no flourish until they reached their spots in the front row. When Dianna took the spot beside her, the younger woman smiled and gestured discreetly that she was going to take her place amongst the musicians.

Taking her violin, Elise joined the group and began playing the piece as well, careful not to disrupt the harmony during her entrance. As she watched the bride continue her walk down the aisle, she couldn't help but smile at Maria's facial expression. It was so beautiful that she might have cried, but Elise felt that now is not yet the time to be very emotional. Expressing her happiness for Maria through music was more important than tears, and so the young woman concentrated all her efforts and emotions in playing the piece for her friend.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the crowd for a bit, and Elise spotted someone she didn't expect to see. Her heart skipped a beat upon landing her eyesight upon Damien, whom she haven't seen in such a long time. Was this her childhood feelings resurfacing for a bit of remembrance? Elise would have thought it cute at another time, but right now, she needed to concentrate on the music.

The music began to swell and Jacob's gaze immediately focussed on the entrance where his future wife would be walking toward him. In a breif moment she was standing there, holding the arm of her father who seemed to be looking quite happy, which was a relief for Jacob. At least he no longer felt as though he were leading his only daughter to her demise, marrying a muggleborn....

The sight of Maria was breathtaking, she never had looked more beautiful (which Jacob had always doubted could happen) in her white gown. He sucked in his breath and awaited the moment that she would be standing beside her. A loud white noise had started to ring in his ears and it took Jacob the entirety of Maria's march to realize he still needed to breathe.

"You look incredible," he said to Maria as her father held out her hand for him to take, which he did with a thankful smile.

The pair then stood, facing each other in front of everyone, about to begin the rest of their lives together.

Julian stood next to Jacob, feeling far more relaxed now that the wedding is actually starting. There were no signs of doom anywhere; the wedding entourage was complete, Julian's siblings did wonderfully, Maria didn't look as if she wanted to run away, Jacob looked frozen on his spot so there was not chance that he can run off as well, none of the guests seemed to be wearing expressions that indicate the desire to stop the wedding at all costs (never mind the expression of the infamous Aunt Cecile; her face seemed to be made that way), and of course, Richard Doloresta was able to lead Maria to the altar without falter.

All Julian could do was to wait for the wedding ceremony to continue; he can do nothing more.

"Russel." The word was spat out like it was the dirtiest thing she had ever uttered. Her infamous anger was starting to kick in again. She had never really forgiven him for breaking her best friend's heart oh so many years ago and it's not like he had proven to Armelle that he wasn't a jerk. Luckily though, Ronnie showed up in time to fix Jacques and Armelle knew that she couldn’t run off and do something stupid. Not now anyways, the wedding procession looked as if it was about to start and Armelle defiantly was in the way.

She decided it was for the best that she take the empty seat next to Veronique rather than return to the one beside Cassie. If she sat behind them then she could hide her expressions easier. Armelle really needed a distraction right now, or a drink. It seemed though that the goddess was going to bless her with a distraction tonight.

Actually, there were two. One was the beautiful male specimen sitting on the other side of the aisle. He had brown hair and such amazing bone structure. She was definitely going to search him out later on. If Jacques was happy with Cassie then fine, Armelle would continue living her life having fun with handsome men.

The second distraction was of course the bride walking down the aisle. Maria looked absolutely stunning in her white gown. The former Terre could feel a small jealousy towards the brunette. As much as Armelle didn’t want to settle down at the moment she still someday wanted to have a wedding.

The sound of hurried steps announced her quiet arrival minutes before the music started. Helene threw a few glances around, and recognized Armelle and that one girl- Elise?- before hurrying in Armelle's general vicinity. She arranged her dress carefully so it wouldn't wrinkle and sat down, nodding to them in greeting. She barely had time to catch her breath before the music began, how fortunate she wasn't late! But then she had no more time for such thoughts before the ceremony began.

When exactly the fourth young man had appeared besides the trio of males standing up at the front of the congregation wasn't quite clear. If one were to be watching, a simple blink of the eye would show a dark haired figure with a churlish tone emerging from the shadows of the groomsmen. Not exactly cordial in appearance, the fourth man merely invoked a peculiar sense of overbearing composure, something that would merely imply that not everything was what it should be, a strange plot aloof.

However, the arrival did not go unnoticed, as one female guest in particular scowled in response to his sudden appearance, the image of her vibrant hair color catching the man's eye for a moment before pushing her from his mind. Nonetheless, the man had slipped under the radar of most, as many were now concentrating on the arrival of the rest of the bridal party. In all reality, the man was an auror, one quite capable on making himself visible only when he wanted.

Granted, Russ couldn't have been any happier for Jacob, even though his dull demeanor would exhibit otherwise. Truth be told, he was currently under the effect on a calming draft tainted with a light touch of various healing herbs, causing him to be cast into a sudden character change for the time being. A second vial lying dormant in his pocket suddenly vanished however, reappearing in the hands of one Jacques Mathieu, who was now seated elsewhere, his thoughts brooding about the demise of the former Flamme.

Upon leaving the stomping grounds of their fight minutes earlier, Russel had retrieved some supplies of his own, ingesting the contents of a first vial to lessen the persona alterations of the disagreement. It was one thing to cure the physical disfigurements, but the emotional ones were important as well. Besides, there wasn't a purposeful need to ruin the entirety of Maria's wedding. Merlin help him if she ever does find out about the spat...

Music and a wave of movement distracted Russel momentarily from his nod of recognition traveling in Liyya's direction, the younger student had certainly blossomed into a beautiful young lady since his eyes had last seen her. He couldn't help but wonder if she had the same boy troubles that had once plagued Maria whilst still at Beauxbatons. There was time enough for questions about two friends reconnecting later, as Russel was very much aware of the glare being drilled into the back of his head via Gisèle. Concentrating upon the vibrant figure in white transcending down the aisle, Russel simply found the notion that Jacob and Maria were finally being married was a bit, well to say the least, a relief.

So the two of them were now back together. In all honesty, Jacques was happy with that assessment. The former Eau wrapped his arms tightly around Cassandra, squeezing so she knew that he felt the same way for her that she did for him. No one had been that attached to him since his time at the Academy and he wasn't' going to let an opportunity like this pass by him. Besides, he would probably get something really really pleasurable out of this new bond. Armelle had retreated to her seat just as the wedding started.

Veronique had healed him, but he still had a throbbing headache. Jacques didn't react to healing magic well as he had such a poor experience after the attack his sixth year that he had some mental attachment that made healing magic be a bad thing in his mind. Shaking it off, he returned mentally to the world of the living while willing the headache away.

Jacques wanted to talk to her at the reception, but he might just be a tad too distracted. Shifting in his seat, the former Eau noticed the sudden appearance of Jacob, Julian, and Russel at the altar. A vial suddenly appeared in his hands and he looked down at it and then around quickly. Even though beautiful music was playing as Maria started processing down the isle, Jacques turned his head about quickly to try to identify the source of the potion. He was no potions expert and was not sure what on earth was in his hands. Whipping out his wand, he sent the vial back to Armelle with a note attached.

Identify this please. -Jacques

At least a bit of notation would alert that recipient of what they were getting. Jacques was just magically handed a potion with no explanation on it. Sure, he wasn't the auror at the wedding, but he was still too intelligent, having graduated early with honors, to just ingest a potion with foreign origins. He waited for Armelle to identify whatever was in the vial, seeing as she could probably do so with a simple whiff, while he watched the wedding party gather together.

Armelle smiled to herself after she read the note attached to the vial. She was glad Jacques' still trusted and relied on her for things that Cassie would never be able to give him. The smile suddenly left her face when she realized what she had just been thinking. 'Where is this coming from?' she asked herself, not really expecting an answer. Not unless she suddenly become completely crazy and developed multiple personality disorder.

She gently pulled the cork out the vial, making sure not to spill anything. It didn't look poisonous but looks could always be deceiving. Take Armelle for example. No one ever expected such a tiny, beautiful woman to have studied under the great Andre Castel and to have the knowledge she did about the art of potion making.

Hesitantly the red head sniffed the contents of the vial. It was something Andre had made sure she learned. It was one thing to identify a concoction in a lab with time to spare, but another thing to be able to do it in the field with no equipment. She always took a chance though. Not very many potions were toxic just by their smell but there were a few.

This one, however, was not toxic in the slightest. Completely opposite in fact. It was a calming draught with hints of healing herbs. It was well done too, whomever made this knew what they were doing. With a satisfied smirk Armelle replaced the cork into the vial and sent it back with the following note:

Jax,
It's nothing harmful at all. A calming draught with a dash of healing herbs. Should be able to heal anything Ron missed. It's well made.

- Ellie

After Veronique had finished healing Jacques she then began to watch the guests assembling, and finally, the wedding party. Seeing the three boys standing there she smiled at them. Then the music started to play and she watched the bridesmaids walk down the aisle with grace and poise.

The music changed and smile beamed on Veronique's lips. Maria had to be one of the most gorgeous creatures on the planet. Secretly, Veronique had always had a slight jealously for Maria's looks and her ability to entice men. She watched the bride and her father walk down the aisle with absolute joy and happiness, hoping that maybe one day she would have a wedding of her own.

As the bride reached the front she noticed a slight flutter of movement beside her courtesy of Armelle identifying the potion that Jacques handed her. She ignored it and focused her attention back on the wedding party she noticed that there was now four men standing there instead of three.

Jacob, Julian, Maria's cousin, then a fourth. Veroniqie stared at the fourth man for a second, noting to herself that he was extremely handsome and oddly familiar. Cathching a glimpse of his soft brown eyes the brunette felt butterflies in her stomach. Could it be? It was actually Russel, there in the flesh right there. Suddenly, there was a flashback to when they had their 'last kiss' years ago at the Academy. It was when she said good-bye to him, thinking that it would be the last time. Sure. since Veronique had gotten older she had dated a couple of guys throughout her university years but it was never the same.

Veronique set her jade green eyes on the man, hoping that maybe she would be able to catch a glimpse of the person that she saw years and years ago.

It would always remain one of life's biggest mysteries. That scary notion of being watched was something of an internal alert system, like a an alarm clock ringing on the hour. No matter who you were, or where you're from, that extra sensory ability inside everyone was the same. There was no science behind it, no magic, no reason either, it was just fact. Pure and thoughtless, you can never doubt the hunches your body implies, for those who ignore them simply play the fool. It didn't take an expert to explain the means behind it, everybody just followed their gut feeling.

Aside from the blaring gaze Gisèle was burning into the side of his face, her wanting for Russel to only notice her so she could be the very bitch she wanted to be, Russel had the strange urge to steal a look in the other direction. As he did, that all too familiar sense of being watched came over him, throwing his newly created instincts into the driver's seat. With a cautious reminder, Russel held himself at bay. Of course he was being watched, he was a member of the bridal party, with a countless number of eyes staring him down all at once.

Something was off though, and Russel began to give way to his urge to steal a glance at the audience. Whoever it was, they were persistent, not even following the action taking place between Jacob and Maria. With a prompt bob of his head, Russ gazed out at the sea of people, finding nothing in particular. His piercing gaze sought out Armelle and Jacques, who surprisingly weren't staring him down in return. A moment's pause at the sight of an old face almost took Russel by surprise however, the female seated next to Armelle had been the mind in question.

There was no use in denying it, Russ could pick out those eyes anywhere in the world and know just exactly who they belonged too. Not everybody with green eyes had that same sparkle of wonder and innocence as the pair in particular had. An odd feeling washed over Russel as he reverted his gaze backs towards the soon-to-be bride and groom. A sense of shock seemed to strike him, but the thoughts of memories long since passed clouded his mind, visages of the years he had strained to forget during his training. A half-smile graced his lips however, as he was sure there would be one on hers as well. Veronique. Her name echoed in his mind, and he knew he was in trouble.

The time had come to say their vows and Jacob had long since memorised him. He recalled the lines to his mind and while looking into Maria's eyes, he spoke.

I, Jacob Lucas Daniels take you, Marianna Eleanor Doloresta to be my wife, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us."

"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."

He finished his vows and waited for Maria to say hers. He squeazed her hand tightly in his own hardly believing all this time she had decided to be with him.

The former Eau was anxiously awaiting Armelle to return the potion. If someone had been trying to give him something harmful, he would know just who it was. Jacques had graduated with honors and was not about to fall for anything as dimwitted as consuming a randomly appearing potion. Tapping his foot impatiently, the werewolf tightened his grip on Cassandra and sweetly planted a kiss on her cheek. If no one here wanted to accept him as he was, then it was a hell of a relief to know that this Australian wonder would take him in stride. His quirks and major issues were just attractors to her so he figured that he might as well stick it out in this relationship for as long as he could. Finally, with a few more taps of his gyrating foot, the vial and another note appeared in his lap quickly. Glancing down at the neat scrawl, the man guessed he could manage dealing with a calming drought. For some reason, however, his foot continued tapping while the marital bliss exploded around him.

Uncorking the vial with his thumb, Jacques tipped the potion back as he continued to tap his foot. Within a matter of moments, however, the pace of his foot slowed and eventually stopped. The man doubted that Ronnie had missed anything when it came to her healing, but the man did feel much more serene. His grip on Cassandra loosened slightly and he felt calm enough to glance up at the ceremony after giving a backward look to Armelle. Mouthing 'thank you,' the man listened attentively as Jacob recited a profession of love for Maria. While not feeling the bubbly anticipation and hope that a female might experience upon this moment, the man did envy the union slightly as he was a drifter and constantly left lingering elsewhere.

The pause was romantic as the werewolf awaited Maria's response.

Finally joining Jacob beneath the flower-strewn arch, Maria gazed up through her thin veil and listened as he began to recite his vows. She knew that she should probably be concentrating on recalling her own vows, but the only thing that crossed her mind was the sincerity and love that rang so clearly through Jacob’s words.

There was silence before Maria realised it was her turn to speak.

“I, Marianna Eleanor Doloresta take you, Jacob Lucas Daniels to be my husband, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the man you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us."

"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.”

She paused long enough to give a breath-taking smile, before finishing, “I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."

There was a shifting sound from behind them as the gentle voice proclaimed,

“Then it is now my great honour to present Mr and Mrs. Daniels. You may now kiss the bride.”

Heart swelling with love and devotion for his now wife, he lent down, wrapped his arms around Maria Daniels and swept her into a very long and dramatized kiss, dipping her slightly before bringing her back up to stand beside him. The kiss was different, he had a sense of realization that he was not kissing his girlfriend anymore, but that she was now his wife. Maria Daniels. His wife. He took her hand in his and grinned not caring or giving any thought for how goofy he most likely looked.

His eyes gazed over at the crowd of people who had gathered to witness the ceremony and looked for the faces of his friends, smiling at each one of them. They had done it, after all these years of being off and on dating, they were now together, joined by the magical bonds of matrimony.

Together, hand in hand, they marched back down the aisle that Maria had walked with her father, what seemed like moments before. They had arranged for a photographer to take some photos of the happy couple together with their families, as well as a flying horse carriage to take them to the reception where the party would be joining them for celebrations.

Everything seemed to be flying by. But whenever he looked at Maria, time seemed to stand still, she looked so radiant, his nerves that he had felt so long ago, it seemed had completely diminished and he felt completely at ease now. What had he been nervous about??

His hand squeezed Maria's and as she looked up at him, he smiled, sharing a secret smile with her.

Cassandra had no real clue who either of these folks were, but she felt so moved by the obvious love between them. Her eyes were streaming with tears. Each word that was expressed was more moving than the one before. She latched on to Mattie's arm. The ceremony was truly beyond words. If she had to sit here another second, she didn't know how she would handle the sheer beauty of each passing moment. Usually, Cassie was the one that was used to being in the spotlight, but at moments like weddings, she felt perfectly at ease to know that the celebration was focusing on something as beautiful as love. Her tears streamed and glanced off Jacques' sleeve. She wanted to get married, but she had to let time pass before she was even ready for such a commitment.

Although, sitting here, she was fairly certain she had found the right man. She clapped loudly as the two had their intimate embrace. Cassandra made sure to rise with the rest of the onlooking crowd, clapping still as they exited the main area. The outdoor wedding had been so very lovely and tasteful. The weather, thanks to magic most likely, had been magic and temperate. As the couple exited, Cassie grabbed her purse, adjusting her decorative glasses so that she could properly see through them. Mattie looked better than ever. It must have been the warm, loving environment of the wedding, but he was already dashing.

"Mattie, should we be off to the reception then?" She still clung to his large, muscular arm. The mood that weddings put single women in was sweeping over Cassie. She was definitely going to treat Jacques to some nice, frisky action later this evening. The reception was probably going to be too long for her taste, but she could keep herself controlled. Perhaps a few glasses of champagne would calm her down.

Maria could feel the blood pooling to her cheeks in a rosy flush as Jacob set her upright after a long, incredibly wonderful kiss that signified their union as husband and wife.

She was married.

She was no longer just Maria, but Maria Daniels, Jacob’s wife.

Five years ago, she would have balked at the thought of being married, not only to Jacob, but anyone. But now…oh how things changed. Maria couldn’t imagine herself with anyone else. Laughing, the pretty brunette allowed her new husband to lead her away to the carriage that would take them to the reception where the festivities awaited.

Or as Julian might call it – “Party time!”

The name 'Maria Daniels' honestly sounded strange to Jacques. He knew that only moments lasted before the Maria Doloresta that he had known for so many years would vanish, becoming a new person, bound to her husband for all eternity. He clapped politely as the two were bound through the finishing words of the ceremony. Cassandra seemed absolutely glued to him as he tried to rise from his position, gazing fondly upon the couple as they recessed from the wedding area. The reception was quickly approaching, where everyone could join in the frivolities involved with such joy on this occasion. Joy hadn't been Jacques' strong suit for a very long time, but he could probably fake it for the sake of his two friends on their wedding day.

"Yes, I guess we should go to the reception now." It seemed they would be getting their by apperation, but Jacques didn't mind that type of transport. He waited for the bridal party to leave the grounds before taking leave of the rows of chairs. He quickly glanced to the side, looking at Armelle. To describe his facial expression would be quite difficult. It was one of pain and normal expression. He smiled, but he seemed to look at her apologetically as well. It was strange, but there couldn't be any possibility of feelings after all these years of separation and anger. They had parted on harsher terms. He had made his point and successfully pushed her away. Wasn't that what he wanted?

When Cassandra grabbed his arm, the man turned away and continued walking. He was with Cassandra now, and it seemed things worked with them. She didn't care about his ailment in the slightest. Things hadn't been horrible, and hopefully they would remain that way. With Cassandra on his arm, the man continued walking until he apperated and vanished from the very place he stood.

Nicholas watched the touching ceremony smoothly unfold from where he stood with the best men. An amused smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he recalled Jacob’s cold feet before the wedding. The comparison between now, and then was most entertaining.

Dianna appeared by his side, and Nicholas leant down to brush his lips against her hand in a tender kiss, “Come dear, we wouldn’t want to be late.”

Catching the eye of Brandon and his parents exchanging greetings with Uncle Cyril and the sniffing Aunt Cecile, Nicholas inclined his head mockingly towards his brother before offering his arm to his wife and Apparating to the reception.

Perhaps Brandon would get lost on the way there.

At least, one could always hope.