Unraveling Selena, Marisa Maichel [13 ebook reader TXT] 📗

few weeks. Crystal and porcelain dishes and silver cutlery was ordered.

I had to try on a tuxedo, and Chris took Sarah to buy her dresses. I was amazed when they returned with a beautiful navy-blue evening gown with ruffles on the skirt and pearls around the breasts. Chris said it was by a Danish designer that I knew personally; Sarah was amazed when I told her that. Chris also purchased a gift for Sarah herself-a beautiful short dark crimson minidress with rouching and short puffed sleeves. She also purchased a gardenia to put in Sarah’s hair and matching shoes-kitten heels.

Chris was becoming attached to Sarah. Something about her made the older women want to nurture and mother her. Maybe it was her experiences with her parents and Nales and Cirino.

I bought Sarah a set of pearls; necklace, earrings, ring, and a bracelet. She bought another set of shoes to go with the blue dress, classy navy pointy-toed heels in the same shade.

I was most surprised when Father asked me to sing.

“I beg your pardon?” I asked.

“I want you to sing at the Holiday Ball. Choose any song you want, it can be about any topic, any artist. Choose wisely.”

With that, he strode off. I went through my phone, my iPods, iPad, everything, searching for any songs. I decided to do a song by an artist that Sarah liked as well as my own. I would play the guitar, possibly the piano. I had gotten better at it. I went through thousands of songs, and came across a few that I liked.

“Love/Marriage” by Jacob Pavek. “Without” by Jack Savoretti. The Star Wars main title song. “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. “With You” by Jessica Simpson. A few songs by Johan Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Leonard Bernstein. “Warm Whispers” by Missy Higgins. “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana.

I had a few more in mind, but I stuck with this as the main list. Most of the vampires there would be old, very old.

I sat at my desk and thought. I decided to check on Sarah.

When I approached her door, I heard the clicking of a keyboard. No doubt she’d brought her laptop. Chris greeted me as I entered. Sarah was on her bed, typing away on her laptop.

“I’m stuck,” she said. “My character, Melody, has just found out her best friend’s a witch.”

“Oh, you’re working on your book?”

“Yeah. And now I’m writing the conversation. My question is, should I have Veronica yelling at Melody or be remorseful for lying to her?”

“Whatever would make the plot more interesting,” I said. “How does Melody feel?”

“She feels betrayed, obviously. She’s always been taught that witches are evil. Her parents are, well, her dad’s a Christian and her mom’s Jewish. Like my parents. My mom always said that witches didn’t exist and that anyone claiming to be a witch was in with the devil. My dad said that it makes all kinds, and witchcraft was around for thousands of years, as long as Christianity. Technically, Jesus was in Heaven before he came to Earth, we just didn’t know about Him yet.”

“I’m confused,” I admitted. “I never really studied Wicca or Christianity, because I’m Asatru.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“It means I worship the Norse gods.”

“Aha. Religion is a big theme in my book. Melody herself doesn’t know what to believe. As for me, I believe in Jesus. I’d like to think he’s out there, watching over us. If that makes me stupid, so what?”

“Today, religion is seen as foolish, but only idiots mess with the gods and goddesses.”

“Does that make me an idiot?”

“Certainly not. You believe what you believe. I believe what I believe. That does not change the fact that we are together.”

“Hey, listen,” she said, closing her laptop. “I’m really sorry about what I said the other day. It was insensitive and stupid. It’s true, I’m bored, but I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

“Hey, baby,” I took her face in my hands. “Honesty is the best policy. It doesn’t mean you’re a whore or a bitch. Truthfully, I was getting bored, too. And I’m sorry that I upset you, too.”

She leaned into me, moaning, almost purring.

“I don’t know what’s happened to me. It’s like I’ve become a totally different person.”

“I know. Me, too. That’s what experience does. It’s not your fault, or mine. It just happens.”

She bit her lip. “Your dad asked me to sing at the Holiday Ball. He’s going to introduce me as the princess.”

“I wish he’d discussed that with me, first. He also asked me to sing a few songs, as well.”

“I don’t know what to sing.”

“Sing anything you want. I’ll love it no matter what. I have a few songs picked out. I can give you a full list.”

“I’m into this song called “Riptide”. It’s by Vance Joy. Have you heard of him?”

“No, but we listen to different music. I prefer hard rock and heavy metal. You prefer pop and soft rock.”

I told her all the songs I was planning to sing, and her eyes grew wide.

“A lot of those are songs I introduced to you,” she said.

“Exactly,” I said. “You’re my inspiration.”

“I’ve got another idea,” she said. “Have you heard the song “Topsy Turvy” by Family Force 5?”

“Isn’t that from Alice In Wonderland?”

“That’s where I first heard it. Anyway, I’m going to go through my song list and find some more. Or we could do a duet. We never did one for the talent show.”

“Yes, we could. We could sing that song from Aladdin, the one he sings with Jasmine. Or we could do a song from Beauty and the Beast. You like that movie.”

“My dad used to call me his Belle. He called Sabine Little Belle.”

“That’s beautiful. But anyway, what song do you want to do?”

“I have a few more ideas.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – THE MARRIAGE OF MARINA SANTORINO AND ALEXANDER NICOLAI

Soon, it was the day of the Winter Solstice. I went with Alexander into a private room to help get ready for the wedding, which would take place right after dusk. I wore my new tuxedo, including a stupid bow tie. I hate those things.

Alexander wore an all-black suit. His hair had been washed and combed, the wavy black locks shining.

When dusk fell, we met out in the garden, where our family waited. Sarah looked gorgeous in the short red dress and heels, her hair curled and sprayed with sparkle. Alexander stood at the pulpit with the officiant, a dark man in his fifties.

Music played and swelled, a mixture of different tunes and melodies. Mother appeared before us, looking unearthly in a white gown that sparkled. Her veil covered her face, her curls had been straightened a bit, her makeup done perfectly. She approached her groom with anticipation. When she reached him, she turned toward him, and then smiled at me behind him.

“We are gathered here today to witness a lifelong matrimonial ceremony that these people will remember forever. Their love will be immortalized in the throes of unlimited time and space. Under God, these vampires will now make their vows. Ambrogio?”

“Marina,” Alexander began, “I know I’ve made mistakes before, we both have. But now that I have you, I will never let you go.” He took a ritual knife, and sliced his palm open with it. Sarah and Sabine gasped, and Sabine tugged on Selena’s sleeve.

“I am your soulmate,” he continued. “And you are mine. I will love you for eternity. The moment I bit and turned you, I knew you were mine. And although you found me repulsive at first, I knew you would come around. I love you, Marina Aphrodite Santorino. I always have, and I always will.”

He held out his bloodied hand. Mother took the knife from his other hand, and sliced open her palm.

“Ambrogio, I did find you repulsive at first. I thought you had turned me into a monster. When I was human, I had problems with my pregnancy. I lost my baby. But now I have six wonderful children, all from different fathers. My children are what’s most important to me. You are next in importance. My children need a proper father, and I cannot think of a better husband and father than you. I will love and cherish you for eternity. I will right the wrongs I’ve done and make sure that you are cared for and cherished until my death or the end of Earth.”

Their bloody palms touched, and they gripped each other. A blueish, silvery aura encompassed their hands and wrists as they touched. They were connected forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was speaking with Mother’s longtime friend, Anna Chekov, when Sarah approached me. She and Anna briefly greeted each other, and then Anna went off to speak to Mother.

“Why did they…?”

“Why did they slice their palms open? It’s a blood ritual. Our blood is now connected forever, so we are connected forever. The aura you saw was a sign that they are true soulmates.”

“Ah…see, I didn’t know what was happening, and Sabine won’t stop asking what it meant.”

“Now you know.”

“Right.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah looked drop-dead gorgeous in her navy-blue dress and matching shoes. Her hair had been curled and primped, gold makeup applied by top makeup artists. Her lips were a nice peach color, gold glitter surrounded her minty orbs. Her eyelashes were long and thick and black, her eyes lined perfectly, some gold shimmer on her cheeks.

Sabine looked beautiful in a cherry red dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves and more ruffles. She wore gold flats and gold jewelry. Sarah wore her pearl set.

I looked dashing, according to Mother and Selena. My tuxedo had been tailored to fit me, as I had appeared to have gained weight. I wore black shoes and socks, a white shirt, a black jacket and pants, and Father forced me to wear a bow tie. I felt completely ridiculous wearing the stupid thing, but Father had threatened to get Sarah involved, and I did not want that.

Mother and Selena both wore black dresses, Selena’s dress style was slightly more elaborate. She wore silver jewelry and silver pumps; her hair had been brushed and blow-dried. Mother’s curls had been tamed, her blue eyes lined with black and white. On her feet she wore classy black heels.

Most of the guys wore the same thing as me, except for Louis, who wore a green bow tie, much to Uncle Soren’s irritation.

It was a busy time getting set up; the past few days had been filled with planning, preparations, practicing, and participation requests.

The day arrived, and everyone looked their best. I even wore a bit of eyeliner, to bring out the yellow of my eyes. I had my hair brushed until it shone, my teeth cleaned and polished, especially my fangs. I resisted eating, not wanting to destroy my new teeth and clothes. The werewolf side of me was starving for meat, and the vampire side of me told him to shut up.

“Smile, son,” Father said, as we prepared to greet our guests. “You look handsome. Your mate is here. So is the rest of your family. You’ve done this seventeen times. And for Odin’s sake, straighten your jacket.”

I straightened my jacket and smiled weakly. The first guests arrive, and soon, the hall was filled with vampires, humans, fairies, and werewolves, talking, drinking blood, eating. This was the first year they allowed more than just vampires here, to my surprise. I was expecting only vampire guests.

Finally, when the last guests arrived, my father clapped his hands a few times to get everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for coming. My son, Reese, is going to sing a song for us.”

All vampire eyes turned to me. Everyone else looked confused, until I grabbed my guitar and started singing.

I was lost

I was alone

I understood the cost

But I still went for you

You set my heart alight

You awakened something bright

And I can finally call myself whole

It’s not just my heart you stole

My whole family loves you

You’re like a ball of sunshine

 

I finished the song, singing the same words over and over again.