I'll Protect You (Re-Edit #2, 2016)

Weddings have dances, and I can't dance

okay, so the song is called 'don't go' by exo, and it's a really sweet song (and the title fits perfectly, i think, for this chapter), but i know a good majority of us can't speak korean, so let us enjoy the sweet instrumental version. 

and i'm going to dedicate this to exo bc maybe then you guys will stop losing your members

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"I really hate weddings," I muttered as I flexed my shoulders, feeling the ache of keeping a perfect posture for over an hour and a half. "Darkwood, give me a massage."

"No, Darkwood denied, then he gave me a malicious smile. "Get your boyfriend to do it," and he nodded in Logan's direction. 

Of course that prick would use that card. He knew, of course, that there was something odd between Logan and me. It took him an hour of watching our daily activity in the castle (or lack thereof, I should say), and a few questions answered by Jasper to piece together that Logan and I had something bad going on. 

So now he made it a habit to bring up the tension as often as possible--his personal revenge for me accidentally spilling orange juice over his head after he told me my shirt looked ugly one morning. 

Key word being 'accidentally.'

"I'm not her boyfriend," Logan said.
"I'm not his girlfriend," I pointed out at the same time.

There was a voice in my head that urged me to look over at him but I refused to let my head turn to face my bodyguard. My bodyguard. Yeah, I have no emotional obligation towards my bodyguard. In a valiant attempt to forget all about the confessions Logan and I had given each other two weeks ago, I had tried to think of Logan as my bodyguard and nothing else.

 To take my mind off of the heightened awkwardness of the atmosphere, I decided to focus on the glamour and magnificence of the Whitepine wedding for the fiftieth time as a method of distracting myself. But there's only so much you can awe at the breath-taking beauty before your amazement becomes forced. 

The Whitepines were one of the twelve noble clans of Cimeria. Today, we would be standing together to witness the holy matrimony of Olivia Whitepine and Marcus Alistair, Olivia's childhood sweetheart who apparently proposed the moment the two graduated. 

The wedding was set in Helena's Garden because Olivia Whitepine was obsessed with having the perfect fairytale wedding. Technically, it wasn't even a garden. It was named such because centuries ago, Helena the Conqueror took out an entire army camp in this forest with her forces, and seated herself upon a makeshift throne before declaring this part of the woods her garden. 

My life goals right there.

With tall evergreens, deciduous giants that had the most beautiful colors on their leaves throughout the seasons, and flowers with vibrant petals that artists spent their whole lives trying to replicate, Helena's Garden was the perfect place for a wedding. Even if the ghosts of the enemy army still lingered around here somewhere. 

All the trees had been strung with golden lights, and hanging from the black cords were clear glass jars that held small candles inside, the flames dancing merrily, their light flashing against the glass. At the moment, there were white chairs set up alongside an aisle covered by a long red carpet with gold lace clinging to the edges. At the end of the carpet stood a wedding archway, wrapped with green ivy, spotted with white and red roses that patterned the green. 

I felt as though I was attending a fairy dance and I half-expected Tinkerbell to fly out and sprinkle pixie dust all over us. Maybe she could give me some and I could fly away from all my problems. That would be nice. 

Logan pressed a finger to the com in his ear, a frown upon his face. "Your Highness, I'll be back in a short moment. There's a problem outside."

I watched him stride away from our little group, already feeling the sting from the absence of his presence. The two of us rarely even stood in the same room anymore, and even though we were barely talking, at least he had been by my side.