But at least Marksinna Laurent and the other Trylle had no control over whom I allowed in my dressing room. Duncan had been waiting outside my bedroom all morning, shooing anybody away that wasn’t Willa or Matt. Everybody else could wait to see me until I was in the ballroom, with Willa’s father Garrett giving me away.
I’d been ready for hours. After my fight with Finn, I hadn’t really been able to sleep, and the sun hadn’t even risen by the time I got up and started getting ready. Willa had come over early to help me, but I’d learned how to do my hair and makeup on my own. She really only helped button up my wedding gown, and she tried to comfort me, but that was all I needed.
“You’re so pale,” Willa said, almost sadly. “You’re almost as white as your wedding dress.”
She sat next to me on the chest at the foot of my bed. The long satin train of my gown swirled around us, and Willa continuously rearranged it to make sure it wouldn’t get wrinkled or dirty. Her dress was lovely too, but it should be since she picked it out. It was dark emerald with black embellishments.
“Stop fussing over her,” Matt said when Willa once again tried to smooth out my dress. He’d been pacing my room, fiddling with the cufflinks of his suit or pulling at the collar of his shirt.
“I’m not fussing.” Willa gave him the evil eye but left my dress alone. “This is her wedding day. I want her to look perfect.”
“You’re making her nervous.” Matt gestured to me, since I’d been staring off into space.
“If anyone’s making her nervous, it’s you,” she countered. “You’ve been pacing around this room all morning.”
“Sorry.” He stopped moving but didn’t look any less agitated. “My kid sister’s getting married. And it’s a lot sooner than I expected.” He ruffled his short blond hair again and sighed. “You don’t have to do this, Wendy. You know that, right? If you don’t want to marry him, you don’t have to. I mean, you shouldn’t. You’re too young to make a life decision like this anyway.”
“Matt, she knows,” Willa said. “You’ve only told her that exact same thing a thousand times today.”
“Sorry,” Matt repeated.
“Princess?” Duncan cautiously opened the door and poked his head inside the room. “You asked me to get you at a quarter to one, and it’s a quarter to one now.”
“Thank you, Duncan,” I said.
“Well?” Willa looked at me, smiling. “Are you ready?”
“I think I’m going to throw up,” I told her honestly.
“You won’t throw up. It’s just nerves, and you’ll do fine,” Willa said.
“Maybe it’s not nerves,” Matt said. “Maybe she doesn’t want to go through with this.”
“Matt!” Willa snapped, and she looked back at me. Her brown eyes were warm and concerned. “Wendy, do you want to do this?”
“Yes,” I said firmly and nodded once. “I want to do this.”
“Okay.” She stood up. Smiling, she held her hand out to me. “Let’s get you married then.”
I took her hand, and she squeezed it reassuringly when I got up. Duncan stood by the door, waiting for us, and when I started walking, he came over to gather the train so it wouldn’t drag on the ground.
“Wait,” Matt said. “This is the last moment I’ll have to talk to you before this, so um, I just wanted to say…” He fumbled for a minute and pulled at his sleeve. “There’s so much I wanted to say actually. I’ve watched you grow up so much, Wendy. And you were a brat.” He laughed nervously at that, and I smiled.
“And you’ve blossomed right in front of me,” he said. “You’re strong and smart and compassionate and beautiful. I couldn’t be more proud of the woman you’ve become.”
“Matt.” I wiped quickly at my eyes.
“Matt, don’t make her cry,” Willa said, and she sniffled a little.
“I’m sorry,” Matt said. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, and I know you’ve got to get down there. But I wanted to say that no matter what happens, today, tomorrow, whenever, you’ll always be my little sister, and I’ll always be on your side. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said and I hugged him.
“That was really sweet,” Willa said when he let me go. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before ushering me out of the room. “But I wish you’d said that sometime in the past hour when we were doing nothing. Now we really have to book.”
Fortunately, we never wore shoes, so it made it easier to jog down to the ballroom. Before we even reached it, I could hear the music playing. Aurora had a live orchestra playing “Moonlight Sonata,” and I heard the murmurs of the guests accompanying it.
The bridesmaids and groomsmen were lined up outside the doors, waiting to enter until I arrived. Garrett smiled when he saw me. He’d always been kind to me, so I chose him to walk me down the aisle.
“Be gentle with her, Dad,” Willa said as she handed me off to him. “She’s nervous.”
“Don’t worry,” Garrett grinned, looping his arm through mine. “I promise I won’t let you fall or stumble all the way down the aisle.”
“Thank you.” I forced a smiled at him.