The Dominant Demon (Finished)

22. Rulers of the Realm

My eyes grow wide as I take in my appearance. The long, black, dress flows down past my feet. My hair lays in loose curls just above my shoulders, and Jade did my make-up to perfectly match the entire look. "Now for one more thing," I mumble.

"What's that?" She asks, looking me up and down.

"Colvin said that it's customary for me to have my wings and horns out. Could you spread the back of my dress a little so that I don't rip it?"

She does as I say, and slowly, I will both my wings and horns out. I groan, shifting a little. "The dress is pressing against the wings, but I'll deal."

"So, you're ready to go?" She asks, excitedly.

I take one more long look in the mirror and then smile, confidently. "Yes, I'm ready."

***

"What if I trip?"

"You're not going to trip," Rory says, reassuringly.

"OK, but what if I sneeze and then it makes me trip?"

Rory scoffs. "Don't sneeze."

My forehead creases. "How do you not sneeze?"

Rory glances out into the crown in the ballroom, pulling back the red curtain, slightly, and then he glances back to me, smiling. "You're not going to sneeze, Dork, now come on. Stand beside me. It's time."

I shift, nervously. "Are you sure it's time? Maybe the clock is running fast."

He rolls his eyes at me, and then grabs my hand, pulling me towards him. His arm loops into mine, and I turn my head, looking up to him as he speaks. "You look amazing, and Colvin loves you more than you could ever understand, Sis. There is no reason to be worried right now."

My head falls a little, and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. "I know. I'm just not good with crowds."

He laughs. "Just look at Colvin. I'll be guiding you there the whole way."

A soft melody begins flowing from inside the ballroom, and I feel myself tense, going over my vows again in my head that I had to write just last night. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest as the curtains begin to glide apart, and all heads turn to me. I gaze out at the dozens of eyes staring back at me, just before my gaze finds Colvin's, and then, the moment I see him, the rest of the room falls away.

He stands in the middle of the ballroom, right in the center of the dark, red, rose, smiling down the isle at me. I can't help but to smile back as Rory begins to walk beside me, leading me towards the man I am about to marry. The closer I get, the more at ease I feel, and all I really want is to be standing in front of Colvin.

We finally make it to the end of the isle, and Rory turns to give me a tight hug just before walking to the other side of Colvin. I glance over my shoulder and smile brightly at Jade. She returns my smile with a wink, and then I take my spot beside Colvin.

His hands reach out for mine, and I take then, smiling up to him. "Are you ready, Love?" He whispers, grinning.

I let out a short, emotional, laugh, nodding. "Yes, finally."

He chuckles, and then takes a deep breath. His eyes stare deeply into mine as he begins speaking. "Salem, on this day, I wed you as my queen," he says, reciting the line that you typically start out with in a demon marriage. "You have been the only thing that calms the storm inside of my mind, and the only one that has ever truly lit up my life. You are the one thing in my existence that I have ever full-heartedly fought for, and I will continue to fight for you, protecting, loving and respecting you, until our universe is nothing but the ash and star dust that created it." His thumbs begin to gently graze the tops of my hands as he continues to stare down into my eyes, lovingly. "You are the soul from which mine split, and now that we are together, they will never have to part again, so with this crown, my beautiful bride, I thee wed." One of his hands drops from mine as he takes the queen's crown from Rory. He nods in thanks, and then turns back to me, carefully placing the crown atop my head.

I take his hands back into mine, and then, with a shaky breath, I begin to recite my vows, trying to remember not to talk to fast or stutter. "Colvin, on this day, I wed you as my king. You have shown me what it really means to love someone. Though this wedding happened rather fast, I know that our love is a flame that will never flicker from existence. You will never leave me in the dark, and I can say with every shred of confidence inside of myself, that I wouldn't rather anyone besides you be standing in front of me today." As I say this, Colvin's jaw flexes, and I notice his eyes begin to water. I squeeze his hands for support, and then finish the last line. "So with this crown, I thee wed." I turn back to Jade, and she hands me the king's crown. I notice that she is already in tears, and I fight back the urge to snicker at her.

One the crown is placed on top of Colvin's head, he quickly loops his arm around my waist, and then scoops me up, using his other arm to support my lower half. I almost forgot about this part of the ceremony, symbolizing that the king will carry his queen through any hardships they may face, and a gasp escapes my lips, just before Colvin moves in, kissing me deeply.

As our lips touch, the crowd erupts in cheers and applause, and I feel my cheeks begin to burn, but as Colvin begins to walk, pulling me in tighter to his firm chest, my body begins to relax, and I smile into the kiss. I don't notice that we have completely exited the ballroom and are walking down a long hallway until Colvin pulls away.

"Finally," he breaths, grinning. "You're finally mine."

I smile up to him, on the verge of tears from being so overcome by how perfectly the ceremony went. "We may have had a bumpy road, but I've always been yours, Colvin. Always."

He leans down again, planting another soft, warm, kiss against my lips, and then we begin making our way up the winding, castle, staircase for our first time as king and queen of the demon realm.

"Sometimes endings are happy; sometimes, they turn out sad. However a story closes though, it's never truly over. It's a whole new beginning, promising a million new opportunities for the future that lies ahead."

~

Haley Sturgeon

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading. I really didn't want this to be the end. I love this story! There wasn't really much more to it though, so I hope that you enjoyed it, and thank you for all of the comments, votes, and views!