Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

After dinner we went straight to the ballroom that had been transformed into a wedding hall. I never realized how many people could fit in that room until I saw the hundreds of white chairs perfectly lined up. A red carpet ran straight down the center, the brightest spot of color in the room.

Mother fussed with Franny’s hair, tucking loose strands into submission like it even mattered for the rehearsal. Brendon stood off to another side near his parents, the helmet on again now that he wasn’t eating. Kit leaned against the wall next to him.

The Good Wizard appeared at the front of the room in a puff of gray and purple smoke. I caught a flash of his starry sleeve before the smoke thickened and billowed out, morphing into a huge, room-eating cloud. It stung my eyes until they watered but smelled and tasted pleasantly like blueberries.

“Can someone—cough cough—open a window?” Mother asked.

“I’ll get it!” I called. Two steps forward, I crashed into one of the chairs and almost took a whole row out as I righted myself.

“No, no, you’re too close to the center,” Franny said, sounding like she’d somehow ended up on the other side of the room. “Let me—ack!” Clatter, bang, slam. “I’m alright!”

“Good Wizard, could you please?”

Some muttering came from the front, but no answer and the smoke remained as thick and soupy as before.

Hands out in front of me, I moved slowly forward, sliding my feet on the ground to reduce the chances of tripping. My fingertips brushed against something solid and cold. I flattened my palms, tracing the object, hoping it was the glass of one of the windows or maybe the decorative doors that opened onto the garden. Where is the latch again? I guided one hand up and the other down, frowning as they both followed an odd, curved path. I was pretty sure none of the windows were convex.

A triumphant exclamation and a loud clap of thunder preceded the smoke being suctioned out of the room.

I blinked tears out of my eyes and looked up to find myself groping Brendon’s chest. I snatched my hands away and jumped back, almost crashing into another row of chairs. At least he probably couldn’t feel me through the armor, but everyone else had seen me.

“My apologizes,” the Good Wizard said, his voice echoing in the cavernous room. Holding up his staff, he wiggled it demonstratively as he explained, “It appears something has been nibbling on my tools.”

“Nibbling?” Mother repeated, grabbing her skirts as she rushed down the aisle. The Good Wizard stood next to a temporary podium installed at the front of the room. “Will everything be alright for the ceremony tomorrow?”

I tensed, hoping against all reason that he was about to announce that no, it was beyond repair, unfortunately we’d have to postpone the wedding for weeks—months, possibly.

Instead the bastard said: “Yes, yes, not to worry, not to worry, this isn’t the same staff you see. Well, it is, but a later version.”

Mother blinked up at him, glanced around at all of us to see if anyone understood what he meant, then replied carefully, “I’m glad to hear that. Are we ready to proceed with the rehearsal?”

“Yes, absolutely.” The wizard tossed his staff carelessly to the side and clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “Now, which of you—” He hesitated as he looked between the four unwedded people in the room, trying to figure out who was actually getting married.

“Francesca and Brendon,” Mother supplied, taking Franny’s elbow and guiding her forward, then gesturing for Brendon to step up next to her. Kit and I took our places at their sides, waiting for our instructions as the Honor Attendants.

The wizard’s lips pressed into a thin line, and he looked all four of us individually in the eye long enough to convey a silent message. I was so busy trying to interpret what he was saying to everyone else that I missed whatever he was saying to me. It was probably something along the lines of: didn’t we discuss this?

Which we had, but I hadn’t had the chance to discuss it with Brendon—or anyone else, but really Brendon was my main focus right now.

Turning to Brendon, the Good Wizard asked, “Are you going to get married in that ridiculous contraption?”

“No, I have formal attire prepared,” he replied, the amusement clear even amidst the muffled, tinny quality of his voice.

“I thought not, but it’s best to ask. Let’s begin.”

What followed was a long, tedious night of instruction and ‘repeat after me.’ Francesca spit out her vows so quickly that they all ran together into one long word: “BeforethesewitnessesIFrancesca-CeciliaBernadetteRosalieWoefulthesecondtakeyouBrendonBanesasmylawfullyweddedhusband.”

Brendon’s words were slower but not much clearer.

The real ceremony would involve kneeling, but the wizard chose to skip it when Brendon started to follow through and almost collapsed in a heap of metal. The wizard allowed them both to stand as he wrapped brightly colored cords around their wrists, explaining the meaning of each color as he bound them together.

My eyes snagged on the red one, the same shade as my own magic ropes. I remembered Brendon and I bound together, his low, teasing voice. Now the wizard wound the rope over, under, between, inextricably tying Brendon and Franny together. I couldn’t breathe, like the rope had wrapped around my neck instead of their wrists. “Stop.”

Silence followed and I blinked hard, coming out of a daze. Everyone looked at me in confusion until finally Mother asked, “Frederick, are you quite alright? Do you need to sit down?”

I shook my head, then nodded, then kind of shrugged because I’d done everything else already and still hadn’t adequately conveyed my spiraling emotions. “Maynoarg.”

“What?”

I swallowed thickly and forced my words into something resembling a sentence. “Maybe. I … do you still need me? I think I understand my role enough—hold onto the bouquet while Franny is tied up.”

“Frederick!” Mother gasped.

“Sorry, no, that came out wrong—” I snapped my mouth shut, worried about what else I’d say if I kept talking.

The Good Wizard eyed me carefully. “It might be good for you to understand the full ceremony … but no, it isn’t necessary.”

“Then if you’ll excuse me.” I turned and ran down the aisle, ignoring the protests behind me.

“Wait!”

“Fred!”

“Rick!”

“Frederick Chandler Marshall William Woeful you get back here right now! No, not you, honey. Why would I be yelling at you?”

I ran all the way out the room, the front entrance of the castle, and made it a few steps into the woods before I realized I’d been running to the tower. I stopped abruptly, leaning on a tree for support as I tried to catch my breath.

“Ah, there you are,” a pleasant voice said behind me.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing my watering eyes. “I know I shouldn’t have left—” I cut myself off because I really didn’t have an excuse.

“Between you and me, I expected you might.”

Confused, I turned to look at them and got a face full of sparkling purple. I coughed and blinked my stinging eyes. I had about two seconds of clarity to think, Oh fuck, fairy dust, before the world went all soft and fuzzy.