[Round 9] The Wedding

[Guest]

OOC: Hey everyone. As it seems with most of our joint sims, this one

has grown long in the telling. Please excuse the length simply as

something that we revel in as good friends who write well together and

enjoy it all the way to the end. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Ethan

Brice and Alana Devar for adding their parts to the ceremony. Their

characters, perhaps the most among many others, have played parts in

Danny and Idril's relationship in the past as well and we thank them

for this and those times, too. – David and Jenn))

((The Church of St. Bartholomew the Great – London))

::When Idril had come to this place for a tour, she had marvelled at

the place. Standing now in the foyer, her wedding dress on and flowers

in her hands, waiting to walk down the aisle, she was still amazed by

the massive building around her. The Trill race had been in space

since before the humans had figured out that their planet was round,

but the young species' cultural achievements rarely failed to surprise

her. Polished marble, a towering pillared hall and vaulted ceiling,

all constructed without the aid of even electricity. What might they

have done had they not been bickering and killing each other for

centuries? As she thought, her brother, all of two minutes older than

her, tugged at the bottom of the tuxedo that Danny's father had bought

for him.::

Halla: The idea of giving away the bride is a quaint custom, isn't it?

Doesn't it imply that the woman sort of doesn't get a choice in the

matter?

Mar: Well... I try not to think too much into it. This is for Danny's

family more than anything. I doubt these people, with their traditions

and family connections back hundreds of years, would stand for a

standard Trill ceremony that takes all of, oh, maybe 10 minutes?

((Inside the Church))

::Inside the historic building, the Wilde clan were fully assembled in

their masses along with various other Starfleet representatives. The

Ronin senior staff was seated up near the front, and Danny stood at

the foot of the altar with Ethan Brice and his father – his two `Best

Men'. They were dressed in traditional wedding garb, which was so

uncomfortable Danny was glad he only had to wear it once in his life.

His father, Sidney Wilde, clapped him and Ethan on the shoulders and

stood in between the two men.::

Sidney: Hell of a night, boys.

::Ethan blew a sigh and tried to do that thing he did... lift an

eyebrow.... but it hurt just a little too much. He didn't have the

benefit of Sydney's age or Danny's Borg implants.::

Brice: Not half. Nothing like a Stag Night to make waking up that much

more special.

Sidney: You ready for the big push, Danny?

Danny: You make it sound like a wartime campaign. It's a marriage, Dad…

Sidney: Well I've been married to your mother for all these years. War

is different. In war, each side has a chance to win. In marriage, you

never win. She always does.

Danny: Pearls of wisdom, father.

::The elder Wilde grinned and Sidney shook Danny's hand with a wide

smile.::

Sidney: Hey, I've been there and got the T-shirt so they say.

Danny: Not long now…what if she's late? Or her carriage has been

hijacked by Klingons?

Sidney: Foolish Klingons, I'd say. Look, you'll do alright. It's been

a long time coming. There's no finer ceremony in all of London than this.

Danny: What was your wedding day like? Were you ever this nervous?

::Sidney thought for a moment back to his wedding day and pulled a

sour face. He waved at Joanna, sitting in the front row with a

handkerchief to her eyes. She looked like she'd been crying with joy

all morning.::

Sidney: I was more nervous than you can imagine. The thought of

marriage was a terrifying prospect. But I knew it had to be done.

Losing her would've killed me. We were young, reckless and very much

in love. Marrying her was the happiest day of my life, aside from the

birth of my two children that is!

::Danny smiled and nodded his head.::

Sidney: You're doing the right thing, son. I wish you all the

happiness in the universe.

::Danny shook his hand and smiled. He then turned to Ethan.::

Danny: Got the ring?

::The Engineer rolled his eyes and patted his jacket breast. Then,

wide eyed horror took over and he slipped his hand into the pocket.::

Brice: They're... They're on the bedside table! I forgot them!

((A few minutes earlier -- In a small room off the main foyer))

::Idril and her bridesmaids, Alana and Amber, were putting the last

touches on her hair and makeup. The Trill woman wanted to laugh for

the absurdity of the moment, cry for joy and throw up from the stress

all at once.::

Mar: Gods, what am I going to do? I'm a mess!

::Alana smiled reassuringly as she smoothed some pieces of the red

hair into place.::

Alana: No you're not, sweetie. You're just making yourself anxious.

Just take a long, soothing breath and you'll be fine.

Mar: Well, when you and Halla get married, I'm going to remember to

tell you that same thing, ok?

::Peeking through a crack in the door, Amber called out in a quiet

shout to the bride and her maid of honor.::

Amber: The church is packed! The priest is getting ready at the altar...

Alana: You hear that, dear? Before you know it you'll be Mrs. Danny Wilde.

::She smiled as she leaned in for a small hug.::

Mar: Maybe this isn't such a good idea... maybe we should wait a

day... I'm going back to the hotel.

::Idril started purposefully for the door.::

Amber: Oh, no you don't... Mother will kill you...

::The other women caught her quickly and turned her around back

towards the stool.::

Mar: No, no, no... I can't do this. There's a ton of people out there

and they're all going to be staring at me. I'm going to burst out

crying and probably embarrass myself to death! Go tell Danny we can do

this tomorrow... somewhere quiet. Please?

::The dark-haired Betazoid shook her head.::

Alana: I understand how you must feel but you'll be beating yourself

up later if you don't do it now. Everyone's out there, yes, but focus

on Danny and you'll get through it.

Amber: Agreed. I'm not climbing all the way out of this dress to climb

back into it tomorrow. It's now or never.

::She sat down on the stool and pouted.::

Mar: You know, if I really wanted to leave, you couldn't stop me, right?

Amber: I'd give it a bloody good go, love.

::She grinned at Alana, who still was poised to pounce on her if she

moved.::

Alana: As would I, so don't even threaten to leave.

Mar: No, not a threat... gods, I don't know. Status quo is good. I

don't need some stupid ceremony to tell me that we love each other.

::Alana moved in closer to the Trill and spoke softly.::

Alana: This wedding has been on both your minds for some time. It's a

transition to the next stage of your lives as a couple in love.

Tackle your nerves, swallow hard and go out there… for him and

yourself, and everyone who wants to see you say 'I Do'. If you cry,

you cry. You're a bride, an exquisite one at that. You're supposed

to cry.

::The Betazoid felt a little emotional in the moment, though it was of

happiness for the pair. She gave a radiant smile and tried to hold

back tears of her own.::

Amber: You could have had Admiral Anassasi do the ceremony...

::A knock at the door interrupted them. The voice of her brother came

in, slightly muffled by the heavy wood door.::

Halla: Hey Idril... you've got about two minutes before your big entrance.

Mar: Too late for that now, I guess.

::She raised her voice towards the door.::

Mar: We'll be right out.

::The redhead took a deep breath to calm herself. Get a grip, girl.

This isn't just about you and Danny... it's as much about the other

people out there as you. Suck it up and go start your lives as a

married couple. As she talked to herself the other two women finished

up attaching her veil into her hair.::

Alana: You are a vision, Idril.

Amber: All done! You look fantastic!

Mar: I guess it's time, then? I'll go slow so you guys can get up to

the front.

::She traded hugs and kisses with the other women, both who would soon

be her sisters literally. The women hurried out as Idril took a few

moments before she got up herself and made her way out to the foyer

where her brother waited.::

((Back at the altar))

Danny: Tell me you're joking…

::Ethan pulled out the box from inside his jacket and chuckled.::

Brice: You're beginning to sound like your mother on the edge, now.

Calm down, I've got them.

Danny: Ok… good… great. Tell me, do you think I'm doing the right

thing? I mean, we're nearing the 25th century for crying out loud.

Marriage is outdated. It went out with capital punishment and flared

trousers… I mean, she's a Starfleet Captain, and I'm an ex-spy who

could get killed on my next away mission…

::Ethan laughed.::

Brice: I do agree; you're no good for her. Do you want me to go back

there and tell her the weddings off? You've decided to run away with

the barmaid from the Twilight's Edge? I'm sure I could take a beating

or two while you get away.

::Danny breathed in quickly::

Danny: No…I'm fine. Just nerves is all.

::The young lad patted his friend on the shoulder.::

Brice: You've been living your marriage, Danny. All the ups and

downs; you've grown together as people and still love each other at

the end of it. That alone has got to make it worthwhile.

::As Danny began to respond, the classic Wedding March played through

the gigantic church. All the gatherers stood to catch a glimpse of the

bride as she walked by, and Sidney clapped Danny on the back again as

Alana and Amber rushed up to the altar.::

Sidney: No backing out now, son! Here she is!

((Back in the Hallway))

::The strains of the Wedding March started up, reverberating

beautifully through the bones of the 1200+ year-old cathedral.::

Halla: I think that's our queue. You ready, Red?

::She took a deep breath and nodded a tight little nod, taking his arm

and forcing a smile onto her face.::

Mar: As ready as I'll ever be.

::The doors to the great hall opened and they walked slowly down the

center aisle. The Trill woman was glad for the thin white veil over

her hair, as it hid her embarrassment at so many people looking at

her. She buried her gaze in the flowers of the bouquet she was

carrying and walked, allowing Halla's arm to lead her as well. It

seemed both an eternity and an instant at the same time, but she found

herself standing at the altar.::

Priest: Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?

Halla: As her brother and oldest man in her house, I do.

::The priest nodded and the twins turned to face each other. The

brother lifted the veil over his sister's face and put it back over

her hair. He placed a small kiss on her cheek and hugged her, then sat

at in benches on 'her' side of the audience. Turning back towards the

altar, Idril took the two steps up and intertwined her fingers into

those of the man she loved.::

Priest: Marriage is a holy sacrament...

::The priest droned on for a while about the institution of marriage,

how it had come down through some creation myth, how it represented

the highest achievement of mankind on the face of the Earth. Her green

eyes sought out Danny's crisp blue eyes a couple of times, but he

seemed slightly more interested in the words of the old man than she

did. However, she finally caught them. With a twitch of her eyebrows,

she rolled her eyes and could see him almost break out in laughter.

With a smile, the redhead looked back down into her flowers, knowing

that she wasn't alone in her boredom; that was at least a small

comfort. There were readings from some holy book that Idril had read

parts of in a comparative cultures class at the Academy (a class that

failed twice before passing, and barely at that) and some that she

herself had picked from long ago to be read as well, though hers were

much shorter and more to the point. Finally, the priest reached the

important part, the vows.::

Priest: Idril, face Danny and repeat after me…

::The Trill woman looked up at the human and repeated.::

Mar: I, Idril, take you Danny, to be my husband, to have and to hold

from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for

poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this

day forward until death do us part.

::With a nod and a smile, he turned to the man whose hands she was

holding.::

Priest: Danny, repeat after me…

::Danny looked down into her eyes.::

Wilde: I, Danny, take you Idril, to be my wife, to have and to hold

from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for

poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this

day forward until death do us part.

Priest: Now both of you together.

Danny & Idril together: Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from

following after you, for where you go I will go, where you stay I will

stay and your people will be my people.

::A second set of readings, more focused on marriage than the

institution of love, followed their vows. Ugh, the Trill thought to

herself. If this had been a Trill wedding, we'd be halfway to our

honeymoon by now. Thankfully, these were over quickly, and the rings

were passed to them.::

Priest: Idril, place your ring on his finger and say…

Mar: With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge unto thee my love, now and

forever. Wear it as a sign of my love and fidelity.

Priest: Now, Danny, place the ring on her finger and say…

Wilde: With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge unto thee my love, now

and forever. Wear it as a sign of my love and fidelity.

::Finally came the one symbolic tradition from Trill, a water

ceremony. It wasn't exactly traditional on Earth, but after the fight

at the dress shop, Danny's mother had been persuaded to go along with

it. Idril's exact words, in fact, were "…or I swear we'll elope on

Risa." There hadn't been much argument after that. Ethan Brice, the

best man, handed Danny a fluted glass of blue liquid, while Idril

turned to retrieve a matching glass with yellow liquid in it from

Alana. In unison they poured them together into a large decanter on

the small table in front of the priest, the colors swirling together

and making a new color, green, symbolizing the unity of the two into a

new one.::

Danny & Idril together: Of two comes one. As the waters mix, so too we

blend our lives together.

::An altar-boy took the empty glasses away, while another took the

full decanter to the side. It would have a gelling agent added to it

later and be turned, by tradition, into a lamp, the glow of which

would remind them of the love they felt this day.::

Priest: Now, by the power vested in me by His Majesty, the King of

England through his servant the Archbishop of Canterbury and by the

United Federation of Planets, I pronounce you man and wife. You may

now kiss the bride.

;;The two came together with big smiles and shared a long kiss that

began to bring catcalls from a few of the younger members of the

audience. When they finally broke for breath, the priest cleared his

throat and motioned for them to turn towards the crowd, which was

still on its feet, clapping and cheering.::

Priest: It is my distinct honor and great privilege to present to you

Mr. and Mrs. Danny Wilde.

::That line tickled the back of Idril's brain for a moment, as she

still hadn't decided what she was going to do with her name, but it

was drowned out in the swirl of joy and emotions. The pair hid in a

side room near the door as the guests all moved outside. Then they

made the traditional run through a shower of rice to their hovercar,

which whisked them away to a life together.::

TBC

[Guest]

Yes it's long, but I still felt it needed to be added to the competition as it's such a good example of a well-written sim.