Chapter 6: 06: Vows and All
"Should I even be getting married today?" Ever asked as she put on her dress and wrapped a robe around it to prevent any form of dirt and mark forming on it. "What are you on about?" Jo scolded, "If anything, you should be even happier today. Remember, you were down when you realised Machi may not attend? He's at the venue with your future husband."
Evermore smiled and looked at herself. "And I think that dress is a statement." Ever had her black hair slicked into a bun with strands in front framing her face, minimal makeup and a silk dress which was floor length, framing her body and attached around her neck by strings in a halter style. The dress itself went straight across her dress and attached to sleeves that were off the shoulder, wide and flared, as long as her dress but had a slit around her elbows for practicality usage. Around her neck was a pearl necklace gifted to her by Zac for the wedding and she had pearl earrings to match.
"Why are you like this?" Ever asked and Jo smiled and hugged her from behind. "Because you are my best friend and I love you very much."
After getting her makeup done and her hair done (with Jo booking all of them), she took off her robe and looked at herself.
"You look elegant and like an angel." Anne smiled. Wearing baby blue dress for the bridal party, they all smiled and Jo opened the door for her.
*
Unlike the rehearsal dinner, Machi's outfit was a lot more clean and tight fitting, same for Rocco - with Machi wearing dark grey suit while Rocco wore navy blue, both wearing a white top and blazer matching their suit colour. Zac was wearing a paisley black blazer with a white boutonnière. He wore a velvet waistcoat and a white button up which seemed really crisp and a paisley tie with white accents to tie the whole outfit together. Zac had his hair styled with a middle part, curving to flatter his sharp facial features.
"You got to stop freaking out Machi." Rocco sighed as he got the message of requirements for the Citadel exam. "Oh forgive me, I didn't think that this was a big deal. Oh wait, IT IS!"
Zac looked to his friend and groomsmen Kai, and sighed. "As much as I do not want to stress Ever out on our wedding day, or you know, see her before I am supposed to, I think its worth asking her." Zac suggested. Machi felt guilty but he was stressing out since he… well was scared.
*
Machi agreed to speak to her after they had their first looks.
"I'll be around the corner with tissues." Jo yelled to them. She smiled as they turned around and watched as all the emotions hit them at the speed of sound. "Is everything alright?" Evermore asked.
"Everything is perfect." Zac smiled.
Machi watched and knew he shouldn't ruin this moment and smiled. Walking back inside, he saw the wedding party stressing. "The minister got the flu he can't come." Anne whispered.
"Machi is ordained." Rocco whispered. "He did it for my parents."
He shook his head and everyone had pleading eyes.
*
"You have to hold in any emotion." Kai warned.
"Why?"
The doors opened and Zac was walking down the aisle alongside his best friend when he froze. "What's going on?"
"The minister couldn't come and we found out he somehow got ordained most likely through the internet so he is our minister." Zac held in his laugh as they walked down and arrived at the altar and Machi avoided all forms of eye contact. "You laugh and I embarrass you." Machi warned.
*
"Your engagement ring." Anne reminded. She looked at her hand and saw the engagement ring she was given and smiled. "This is probably the last good times we are going to have for a while." Jo mumbled.
"Do not say that." Ever whined. Looking at the door, she watched as her bridesmaids went through and noticed a light chuckle leave them. She was scared someone did something and her perfectionist mind went into crazy mode. As the piano played, she arrived at the doors and everyone stood up.
Zac may have already seen his future wife in her wedding dress but as she walked down the aisle, pictures being taken of her, she tried oh tried to hide her laughter. Even though she was getting married today, seeing the one she loves at the end of the altar... it was too funny seeing Machi where the minister stood.
Grabbing the microphone, he cleared his throat and looked to them both. "If someone told me I'd be the replacement minister for my mother's wedding yesterday, I'd have laughed. The actual minister caught a cold and yes Mother, I am ordained so save the laughter for after." She smiled and handed him the bouquet and he sighed and took it. "The life of Isaac Rufus Kalona," Zac sighed and looked to Ever who chuckled, "and Evermore Harkness will forever be intertwined." He added and everyone wondered how he was so good at this, (he totally didn't just look up wedding speeches in the minutes they had to replace the minister with Machi). And they were shocked how he didn't make it as playful as they thought he would.
"They accept all aspects of one another's lives. The good, the bad, the funny and serious. They have one another to run too when life gets tough, always and forever. The fact I've been able to make two heartfelt speeches about these two really shows how much their... love... has impacted me."
Jo handed them the rings and Evermore took off her engagement ring. "Ever, hand him the ring." Zac whispered.
"It's too beautiful to be placed in some pocket." She muttered before handing it to him.
"Do you," Machi took a deep breath and sighed, "Zac Kalona," both were shocked that he didn't poke at his name, "take my mother, Evermore Harkness, to be your wife, legally and in whatever else you believe, from this day forth, for as long as you promise?"
"I do Kiddo. I do." Zac smiled.
"And do you, my mother, Lady Evermore Harkness, take Zac to be your husband, legally and in whatever else you believe in, from this day forth, for as long as you promise?" Ever looked at him and then at Zac and nodded. "I do." He took a moment to watch the rings go on their fingers and he sighed and smiled.
"Then, by the power vested in me, the internet, and a judge when you sign the wedding certificate, I pronounce married." Quickly turning around, he waited for the cheers to begin and cease but it never happened.
"Kiddo, turn back around."
"Just do it PDA makes me cringe."
Ever pulled her son's hand and he looked at them as they began walking down the aisle. "We weren't going to do it anyways." She told him. "That was a lovely ceremony." She relaxed her grip but remained holding onto her son's hand and he leaned forward to Zac. "How much you wanna bet she went into overdrive when she heard Jo and Anne chuckle?"
"30."
"This is my life now ain't it?" Ever sighed and they headed to the reception hall. The DJ began to play music and it was a no camera zone except for the hired photographer who recorded the entire event.
*
"Rocco seems to be having fun." Zac smiled as he walked to Machi who huddled in his seat and snacked on chocolate covered strawberries. "Yeah, not me."
"What changed?" Zac asked. He sat down besides him and watched as he fiddled with the stick which had a lollipop at the end of it. "You're happier."
"What can I say, I guess I decided to stop focusing on the bad things." Machi mumbled. He took a peek at Zac before returning to huddling himself in his knees. Zac was smiling and didn't ask for Machi to explain further.
"Hey," Kai arrived at the head table, "Eve is looking for you." Zac got up and Kai chuckled and they walked to the dance floor where Evermore swayed while Jo danced around her jamming to the music with a glass in her hands. "Hey, come on Jo, sit down." Kai and Anne helped her to a table and Rocco left the dance floor and entertain his best friend. The crowd began to leave the dance floor for the slow dance to begin and Zac took hold of his wife's hand.
"I don't get why you won't ask him." Zac said.
"I know why he's like this Zac," Ever smiled and looked at him as he played his game, "he has his own way of opening up, accepting people into his life. You said you felt like he wasn't making an effort to open up to you. From everything I've seen and heard," she smiled and clasped her hand in almost a comforting way, "he opened up to you a long time ago."
Zac looked back and saw him smiling and concentrating hard on his game. "And it seems you have a lot of faith in him." And the next words may have made Evermore very emotional.
"He has a lot of Rylan in him. Even if he doesn't know how he was," meeting her eyes, Zac smiled, "he has his mind."
Tears dotted her eyes as she smiled, "a little too much like him."
"I went to his grave," Zac revealed, "he only cared about your happiness. Even in a war, he made you smile."
"Should we really be talking about my first husband on our wedding day?" Ever asked. But Zac smiled and shook his head. "We're talking about our best friend. But if you feel I'd be a little weird about it, the Citadel messaged Machi."
Evermore didn't seem shocked. "I didn't know Zac. They're their own organisation, I deal with the agents once they've passed the exam."
"Seriously Ever, you didn't know they broke their rule by inviting a level 2.0 to the entrance exam?"
"I didn't. But hey, I am not shocked. Klaus deals with things in his own way. The excuse he'd use is he's a Harkness, he should get properly examined, and I'd be left with nothing but to accept."
Zac sighed and Ever smiled. "His package comes tomorrow. I'll talk to him about it. At least its on my day off..."
"Cause lord knows we are not having a honeymoon."
Evermore smiled and they continued to dance.
*
"Here." Rocco found the article about Freed and handed it to Machi to read. He went to grab a drink as he read it when he felt sick. What his mother went through, the names also looked familiar - Josette Black, Annalise Lowe, Malachi Loupe… Isaac Kalona, Evermore Harkness and a highlighted name, Rylan Harkness. He pressed on it and it showed a grave, and the death date showed May 19th 17 years ago. He felt a little sick to his stomach reading that.
"I'm gonna go have fun." Rocco said.
-
Machi went to get some air from the reception when he looked up at the sky and wondered. He wondered about the world's history. The war was written in books but he knows that there are some lies and some secrets hidden from the world. Maybe to make them seem more noble, maybe to hide the darkness, but he knew that one day these secrets would come to light. These secrets may hold the key to things he couldn't explain. He knew that the rest of the world was engulfed in the flames of war, their city, and the other two nations, made up for the southern hemisphere with restricted regions.
They were Ashmire and Seraph Haven. Along with Academy City, these three nations made a safe haven of sorts in the south of Earth and couldn't do anything about branching out - too risky and dangerous and they were all self sufficient so they didn't want to risk war for expansion up north.
But Machi had questions. Many questions.
Like Freed. Why he came and didn't attack. Why he attacked on his birth. All of these questions brewed in his mind, an insatiable nature to find out answers to his questions.
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