Chapter 356: A promise is to keep
"Did Reubon say something upsetting?" Silas leaned closer to her ear.
"It is Reubon Sterling," she let out a sweet chuckle, "He said a lot of upsetting things, of course,"
"No, of course, how dare I expect any better from him?"
As per his usual when in public, Silas’ features remained rigid and seemingly offered no warmth, but Arabella knew better than to think her husband was being serious.
In hindsight, for all the struggle she believed to have gone through with him, Silas was relatively easy to read, considering... Well, they’d only met two months prior.
"But fortunately!" he inhaled deeply at those words, "I believe I have the perfect way to lighten your mood after such ordeal,"
"Really?" her eyes glistened even more than they already did.
In response, Silas looked ahead, over her head and gestured towards Calistro who returned a graceful nod from her seat before standing up and heading to the door.
Arabella’s gemstones curiously followed the witch’s figure up until it disappeared behind the wall. Although questions riddled her mind, time allowed for none to be voiced as a cluster of sparkling fairies led by Floriel zoomed their way only to surround the couple.
"Is it time?" a tinier fairy, no doubt one of the youngest among the lot, had asked.
"Yes, it is," Silas confirmed.
"Yayy!" the shrill chirping increased exponentially and at once, giving Arabella no time to prepare her ears.
"Time for what?" the young woman quizzed.
"Oh! You’ll see, you’ll see!" Ariel dove behind Arabella’s back and pushed as if her little arms would manage to move a whole grown woman.
Well, one fairy stood no chance, but the entire horde? Arabella’s feet started slipping on the marble flooring as they shoved her towards the door.
Remus ran to her side and took her hand in the process. As they were halfway to the ballroom door, the trumpets blared, cutting the music off altogether.
That was when Lady Persephone cleared her throat to speak, "My dear guests," she caught everyone’s attention, "If you, please, stand up and follow us outside to the gardens we will...,"
The Lady’s words had been declining in volume the further away from the hall Arabella was pushed, until they faded in the distance.
A puff of fresh air hit the bride in the face as soon as they’d traversed the threshold leading out to the gardens.
The stars graced the sky that night and shone the brightest Arabella had ever witnessed. It was as though those who lived among them bestowed their blessing upon their union... Her mother came to mind at that thought.
The musk wafting from the flower beds enthralled her senses, forcing her eyes to shut just so that her brain could allow her olfaction to operate at full capacity.
"Do you feel cold?" Silas brought her back to reality.
"No, the air is just sweet on my skin," she smiled, "What are we here for?"
The vampire looked back at the manor to make sure the guests had, indeed, followed them out there before turning around, raising a hand in order to point at a certain, empty spot up in the sky.
And just then, the first spark darted up in a straight line. White and small at first, only to explode in a deafening boom upon reaching its peak of height.
The light born from it shattered into thousands of little glimmers that shot out of the center in thin streaks, painting a giant sphere of many colors.
"Woah!" Remus’ voice rose with the fireworks as he leaped in his spot.
Though, he wasn’t the only one marveling at the sight. In fact, the fairies filled everyone’s ears with oohs and awes.
But that was only the beginning! The second round kicked in only seconds after the quiet had claimed nature around them.
Twin sparks rushed the sky, culminating in a double, simultaneous eruption that yielded not a static shape but live ones.
Two majestic, enormous birds of fire mirrored each other’s dances, one blue as ice while the other was of a bright, fiery orange.
They swirled and turned, intertwined then separated before bolting in opposing directions only to then travel all of that distance back for their beaks to collide first. The rest of their bodies followed, connecting in a blinding flash that colored the night sky with a brilliant day time blue.
"Oh, my world!" Ada had one hand on her chest, eyes refusing to blink, clearly out of fear to miss any second of the spectacle.
The third image reflected a serpent, the fourth, a thousand bats.
After multiple, beautiful renderings, the rest of the fireworks were simple shapes, but no less breathtaking than the complex ones.
"This is... Just amazing!" in complete awe, Arabella’s mouth remained agape.
"These are some of the demonstrations that can be found at the performance square in KasselMoon," Silas put an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her against himself.
"Yes! The last time I was in KasselMoon, I wanted to stop and admire the fireworks, but time was running out and I never went back there," her eyes reflected every color that exploded in the sky, every shard of light.
"I figured so," he nodded, "You will be able to go out there and enjoy what the world has to offer without any fear. That is a promise I intend to keep,"
After the show, Persephone invited everyone to return inside for a good meal that no one seemed to enjoy more than Remus.
Arabella chose not to eat and instead requested to dance for longer.
They danced until she complained that her feet hurt, by then, it was time to accept gifts and thank the guests for coming before their exit.
"I want to stay with you!" Remus took a hold of Arabella’s hand.
"No darling, you may not do so tonight," Persephone wrapped her arms around him and lifted him up.
Physically, he did not resist, but made sure to protest verbally, "But why not?" the boy pouted.
"Because, darling," Persephone smiled, "Because you can’t," she turned around and walked away with Remus in her arms.