Before:
Once everyone was at their seat and settled, Edaline gave a little speech, and called out for Jolie and Brant to enter.
A gentle melody, filled with sounds of nature, began to play.
And Jolie and Brant appeared at the end of the aisle.
The crowd, which had been murmuring quietly, fell silent.
The couple rose into the air.
Elves used telekinesis more than other skills, and one main use was for weddings. This way, everyone could see the special occasion without having to crane their necks around one another.
The couple levitated in front of and above the crowd (Jolie wore tight pants underneath her dress) as they twisted toward one another and held hands. Lady Vera, the person in charge of the wedding, rose up as well, and began her speech.
Sophie tuned her out.
She was focused on Jolie and Brant, holding hands and gazing at each other as though no one else existed. Edaline, sitting beside her, wiped at her teary eyes. Grady blinked a few times to clear his own misty eyes. Sophie held in her own sniffles. But she kept her watery eyes trained on the couple as Vera moved on to the main part.
"Do you swear to love each other always, and never forget how your love brought each other together?"
"Yes," Jolie and Brant answered, tears streaming down their faces as they kissed.
The crowd cheered and clapped, happy for the newly married couple.
The two elves gently floated down, landing right in the circle that Edaline had marked, and Edaline snapped her fingers. Red and white petals appeared and began spiraling down, showering them with soft beauty, and silver butterflies fluttered around them.
Laughing, Jolie and Brant shouted together, "Let the party begin!"
Elves didn't have afterparties. They had PARTIES. They began immediately after the ceremony and continued long into the night. Guests could mingle and eat and drink as they pleased.
A buzz of conversation and laughter immediately spread through the crowd, and Sophie stood up and started looking for her friends. But the crowd was HUGE, stretching past the pterodactyl enclosure to the mastodon field, and Sophie couldn't catch a glimpse of any of her friends. Unfortunately, she did see someone that she was sure wouldn't come.
Stina sneered when she caught Sophie looking at her, and haughtily turned her nose up. With her parents, she held her crystal up to the light and leaped away, heading home. The Hekses had stayed for the ceremony, and then left, not wanting to attend the party of a bad match.
A hand landed on her shoulder, and Sophie jumped.
"Oops, did I scare you?" Biana didn't give her a chance to answer, saying, "We all have a table over there, come on!"
Sophie let Biana tug her to the table where all of her friends were. Sitting next to Keefe, with Fitz on her other side, she saved her spot and stood up again to get some food, which her friends had already gotten.
After waiting in line for AGES, she picked out her favorite foods and dessert and hurried back to her table, where everyone was in the middle of a discussion.
"We should totally do it!" Biana was saying, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.
"Um, no," Fitz protested. "I know if we do end up doing it, then you'll want to play truth or dare, and that is ALWAYS a bad idea."
"Um, what?" Sophie asked.
"Biana wants to have a group sleepover!" Keefe said. "Which, by the way, I think, is an awesome idea!" He held his hand out to Sophie for a high five, but she ignored him.
"And by group sleepover, you mean everyone at this table?" Sophie checked. Having a sleepover with Fitz, Tam, Linh, Keefe, Dex, Biana, Maruca, and her would be a horrible idea, and was a recipe for disaster. All the drama in the group plus sleeping in the same room could only have disastrous consequences.
"Yup!" Dex confirmed her worst fear. "I'm all for it, personally."
"Seriously?" Tam asked. "Where would we even sleep over?"
"Everglen would be fine," Biana supplied. "We could sleep in the reception hall, and there would be plenty of room for everyone!"
"We could invite Marella, too," Linh added quietly. "She's one of my best friends."
"Okay..." Sophie knew that although she didn't know Marella that well, she was really close to Linh. "But is this actually happening?"
Fitz said, "No!" at the same time Biana said, "Yes!"
"Okay, how about we vote?" Dex suggested.
"Boring! I say we just have the sleepover!" Keefe interrupted.
"No, voting is a good idea," Sophie decided. "If you want to have the group sleepover, raise your hand."
Biana, Keefe, Dex, Linh, and Maruca raised their hands.
"Okay, now if you don't want the sleepover, raise your hands."
Sophie, Fitz, and Tam raised their hands.
"I guess we're having a sleepover!" Keefe cheered. "Get ready for truth or dare!"
Fitz groaned, but he was smiling.
"Alright... I guess we'll make further plans later." Sophie tried to control her nervous butterflies, but they were fluttering around her stomach like someone was playing pinball in her belly.
"I guess so," Fitz smiled his perfect smile, and the flutters burst into a full-scale hurricane.
"How about tomorrow night?" Dex suggested.
"Ugh, no, I'm gonna be busy cleaning up all day tomorrow." Sophie groaned. "But the day after that?"
Everyone nodded, and the plans were set.
"Other things..." Sophie searched around frantically for a subject. "Keefe, where're your parents?" She instantly knew that was the wrong thing to say, as Keefe looked down and said,
"They're over there," Keefe pointed to where his parents were sitting stiffly, talking to two adults that Sophie didn't recognize. "They didn't even tell me they came, but I saw them." He laughed bitterly. Then he looked up and saw everyone staring at him with concern. "I just overshared, didn't I."
"No, no, it's fine."
"No, you all have the head-tilted-with-sympathy-thing going on. So how about this." Keefe grabbed a gnomish fruit that looked like yellow grapes. "I bet you I can catch thirty of these in my mouth in a row. If I win, you have to dye your hair green and spiky. And wear it to school for one day."
"You're on," Fitz said, grinning.
Sophie ignored the fruits that began to fly into the air, and focused on Maruca.
"What's wrong?"
Her friend was unusually quiet. She hadn't said a word since the meal began.
"Oh, um. I'm fine, I'm just not feeling super well. Like, kinda achy."
Biana leaned forward, looking concerned, but before she could speak, the lights on the table burst into effect, sending a wave of applause through the crowd.
"Yes!" Keefe crowed, as the last fruit landed in his mouth. "Get ready to be Fitzy cactus head!"
"I can get you the elixir!" Dex's smile was evil.
Fitz groaned. "I guess I brought that upon myself."
Linh giggled.
The friends continued bantering and talking and laughing for the rest of the meal.
Then the REAL party started. The tables were removed, and luminite lanterns were hung from the trees. Jolie and Brant swirled around the fields in an intricate dance that Sophie could never have managed.
Most of the crowd joined the couple in dancing, and music started to play, dwarven by the sound of it.
Keefe held his hand out to Sophie, smirking, but she slapped it away, laughing. It was probably better that she didn't dance. That could only end in injury.
Her friends talked and laughed with her long into the night, until most guests had begun to trickle out of the entrance, tired but happy. Keefe's parents were long gone, and so were Maruca (still not feeling well), Marella (her mom couldn't handle much), and the twins (their parents glared at them until they left, apologetic smiles on their faces as they waved goodbye).
Eventually, Keefe, Dex, Fitz, and Biana said their goodbyes and made their way toward the entrance. Jolie and Brant's friends followed, and finally, the grounds were empty, leaving only the family and the new Arethy's.
Jolie had decided to take Brant's name for the same reason Juline went with Dizznee. She wanted people to know she wasn't ashamed of her husband.
Sophie turned to the house, ready to shower, change, and collapse in her bed. But Jolie didn't follow her. She turned back, about to ask why, before remembering; of course Jolie wasn't coming in! She had her own house now. She wouldn't be staying at Havenfield anymore.
Sophie hugged her sister, saying her last goodbye before continuing into the house as Grady and Edaline hugged their daughter, wiping at their eyes. It wasn't the last time she'd see Jolie, after all. She would see her tomorrow, in fact, for the cleanup! But this felt so final, somehow. Even when Jolie had gone to the elite levels, Sophie had known that she was coming back to live with them again in two years... but this? This was forever. Sophie blinked away the burning in her eyes, but two stubborn tears still dripped from her cheeks. Suddenly, she turned and rushed back to her sister, squeezing her with all her might. Jolie startled, and then laughed and wrapped her arms around Sophie, squishing her.
"Gonna miss you," Sophie whispered.
"Me too," Jolie murmured back, before letting go with one last squeeze. "But I'll be there, whenever you need me. Just give me a hail, or drop by Mistflame. Anytime. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Sophie wiped at her eyes and went back inside the house. She looked back. And saw Jolie and Brant raise their crystals to the faded light.
When she blinked, they were gone.
The Jolie/Sophie sisterly relationship? Yes please? I love it so much and I would've loved to have seen them bond in the books.
Also! If you are reading and you have something to do, whether it's sleep or homework or chores, this is a rest point! If you are procrastinating by reading this, stop! Close the tab! Don't click that next chapter! It will still be here!
This is a good transition point; use it!
(but uh. also come back and read later cause I do like it when people read this-)