Her Runaway Prince

Chapter 12

Amanda stood in front of the mirror and couldn’t help but admire her reflection. She wasn’t really one for vanity but she had to give herself some credit, because she looked absolutely perfect. In fact, everything about the day was perfect. She stood in the centre of the chamber and simply absorbed everything.

The perfect curvature of the wooden arcs above her head. She traced the beam from one side to the other. She made little mental notes of every unique pattern and marking.

The rainbow coloured windows that decorated every single wall. She noted the beautiful mosaic style of them. Each one carried a different picture of some important religious event, but what she enjoyed the most about them was the light. When the sun sent its rays of light through the windows, it would create the most beautiful aesthetic ambience in the room.

Even the normal bricks that were used to build the place drew her attention. Everything about it just seemed so… Perfect.

And that’s exactly what it had to be. She had dreamed of this day since she was a little girl. She would tell her Nana all about how she would one day marry Prince Charming. How she would stand there in her beautiful white dress ready to just scream “I do!”

“Don’t be in such a rush, my little one. The best things in life, the actual real and honest things, come to those who let it happen naturally. This is especially true for love, my dear. When you force love, it never turns out well. When you force yourself to love someone for any other reason than you unconditionally loving that person, it will end in hurt.” Nana had told her upon hearing of her eagerness to get married. At 7 years old, she didn’t quite understand what her Nana was telling her. She was so confused. After all, she was taught that love was good and hurt was bad.

“I don’t understand Nana. Hurt comes from things like ouchies and ouchies are bad, so hurt is bad. But Nana said that love is the greatest and most strongest thing in the world. So how can love be bad?”

“Oh, you little cutie pie. Nana’s not saying love is bad. Real love is pure and beautiful. It can move mountains and drain oceans. But only when it comes naturally. The moment you force it, it turns bad.”

She only realized now what her Nana had meant when she spoke of true love and false love, because she had experienced both.

First there was James, her ex-boyfriend. He treated her so well in the beginning. Bought her all sorts of gifts. And she had told herself that, because this man was so good to her, she had to love him. And besides, she was lonely. So she had forced herself to love him. She’d convinced herself that she did. Look how that had turned out.

Then, on the polar opposite of the spectrum, there was Petro. There was none of the cliche and awkward “let’s get to know each other over coffee” shticks. They got to know each other by being around each other. They got to learn what the other was like by actually paying attention to them. There was no “So, let’s be exclusive” talks. If just happened. He just arrived one day, and before she knew it, she was head over heels. That was what real love felt like.

And there she stood, in her beautiful white dress. It may not have been the exact same dress she dreamed of when she was younger, but it was pretty damned close. She wondered what seven-year-old her would say if she could see where she would end up. In a beautiful, massive chapel, wearing her frilly white dress, about to be get married to her Prince Charming. Well, maybe he wasn’t Prince Charming, but he was a pretty damn charming prince. Amanda had to giggle softly at her own wordplay.

Suddenly she heard the church bells ring and she counted along to quiet the sudden nerves. One gong. Two gongs. Three gongs. Four gongs. The fourth one woke up butterflies in her stomach that were the size of pterodactyls.

With the ringing of the bells, it was officially noon. She walked towards the door. Her nerves were still shot, but she didn’t feel the urge to even once second-guess her decision. This was the moment she’d dreamed of ever since she was a little girl. The time had finally come.

*****

Petro glanced at the gigantic clock affixed on the wall by the chapel’s gargantuan doors. Afternoon was rapidly approaching. The time was drawing near. In a few moments, his life would be drastically changed again. However, this time it was a change he had actually planned out. A change he was actually beyond excited about. He thought that he might have felt nervous at that moment, but he had honestly never felt more serene. He had never been so certain of anything in his life. He loved Amanda with all that he was, and she loved him, and he knew wholeheartedly that she was the woman he wanted to grow old with. He glanced at the clock again. Two minutes left.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Manro’s niece. Six-year-old Alexi was standing there in her little flowery dress, dancing along to the hymns the attendees sang as if they were the latest club hit.

“Hey Alexi, you having fun?” He knelt down onto one knee beside her.

“Uncle Patty!” She excitedly wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Say, how would you like to carry the rings for us?” he asked her softly.

“But I don’t like work.” She crossed her arms and pouted at him. Petro chuckled softly and pulled out a candy bar from his pocket.

“Not even for some candy?”

“Candy! Yes! I’ll do it,” she enthusiastically told him.

“That a girl,” he remarked and playfully rustled her hair. He took out the little pillow that carried the rings and handed it to her. “Now just remember, when the priest asks for the rings, that’s when you come down and give them to us,” he explained to her. She just happily nodded.

Finally, the bells rang. It was time.

The nerves that Petro thought he didn’t have before suddenly made themselves very noticeable. He stood at the front of the aisle, all eyes on him. He only realized then just exactly what he was doing. A complete cascade of emotions rolled through him. He felt excited. He felt terrified. He felt safe. He felt anxious. He felt happy. Most importantly, he felt so damn in love.

Everyone’s gazes turned away from him when the music started. Loud gasps were heard throughout the entire chapel. “Oooh’s” and “aaaah’s” were in abundance as every saw Amanda in her dress for the first time. Even Manro and Petro couldn’t help but stare with their jaws wide open. She looked so… Nobody knew exactly what word to use to describe her. “Beautiful” didn’t do her any justice. Not did all the others, such as “gorgeous”. She was something so much more. She was radiant. She was perfect. She was like some ancient Goddess of Beauty, and he was the mortal she had decided she wanted. As she started to walk down the aisle, everybody’s eyes followed her. A variety of different gazes traced her every move. Like vultures watching their prey from above, every single person stared at her hungrily. Petro could easily see and read all the expressions on their faces.

The variety of emotions on display was so intriguing. There was pride, there was joy, there was jealousy, there was spite, there was insecurity. Every emotion he could think of was on display. But no emotions were felt more powerfully than the happiness and love that Amanda radiated as she walked down the aisle. When she finally reached Petro, he found himself speechless. He wanted to tell her just how amazing and perfect she looked, but his voice continuously failed him. He felt a tightness in his chest that was indescribable. His mouth had turned to cotton and his throat to sandpaper. He felt himself start to perspire. He felt like a teenager who was going on his first ever date.