A few months later

“You look beautiful, honey.” Dad stood in the doorway, smiling and clicking away on his camera as I finished pinning a tiara to my head. He had insisted I wear it as a subtle reminder to the town that I should be allowed to be Princess.

Of course the whole town wouldn’t be attending my wedding, but dad said the pictures would speak for themselves.

“Dad, let me put the dress on before you run out of storage,” I laughed.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting downstairs. Maybe I should see if Vox needs any help with that tie…” dad mumbled to himself as he wandered down the stairs. I chuckled. Vox definitely would.

While they were putting the finishing touches on Vox’s tux, I stuffed myself into the lacy dress. But once it was on and properly belted, I gasped when I looked in the mirror. Never mind Princess, I felt like a queen!

I slowly descended the stairs to the living room, where dad resumed his obsessive picture taking. After a moment, Vox came from around the corner and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“Hey, you were supposed to wait until we did the first look.” Nevertheless, I smiled and embraced him.

“Sorry, but it’s impossible to wait when I’m about to marry a girl as beautiful as you,” he replied.

“That was so cheesy,” I laughed.

“But true.”

“Perfect!” There was a click! as dad took yet another picture. He strode over and put a hand on each of our shoulders. “We better hurry if we want to start the ceremony at sunrise. Ready to teleport?”

We arrived at the wedding venue just in time to do our ‘official’ first look before the guests arrived.

“Vox, don’t look so scared! This is a wedding, not a funeral,” dad said, squinting through the lens of his camera.

“Um, yes Prince.” Vox twisted his nervous frown into an even more nervous smile. Have I mentioned that he’s still a bit awkward around my dad?

“How many times do I have to say it? You don’t have to be so formal around me. Call me Elijah, or father-in-law, or – Oops, hold on. We’ll resume this conversation later.” Dad refocused his camera. “Go ahead and look, you two.”

We both turned and, upon making eye contact, burst into giggles.

“Have I told you that you’re beautiful yet?” Vox said. I laughed and batted his shoulder.

“You’re pretty handsome yourself.”

From the corner of my eye I saw the wedding guests start to file in. Lily and Mackenzie led the group, while Elubarin and Vox’s mother trailed behind. Vox made a face when he saw her. I, on the other hand, was glad to not see a certain face among the crowd. I’d invited Duncan out of common courtesy, but he had never returned the RSVP.

Vox took his place at the arch as dad and I began walking down the aisle. “Walk slow, big smile,” dad whispered. “Remember, the whole town will be seeing these pictures.”

“That’s very reassuring…”

He chuckled, and for a moment I thought I saw his eyes glisten. “I remember the first time I saw you,” he said. “I’d already missed so much time with you. I never knew I wanted to be a father until that moment.”

“Dad, stop… You’ll make me cry.” I felt my throat grow thicker as I tried to imagine what this felt like for him. One day I would be doing this for my children.

“I wish your mother was here so she could see how amazing you are,” he added softly. The lump in my throat grew. He never talked about mom.

We parted with a hug when we reached the wedding arch. Vox immediately took me in his arms, beaming from ear to ear. I started to say my vows:

I, Karissa, take you, Vox, to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.

Vox said his vows and we exchanged rings. Dad, acting as the officiant, rose from his seat and said, “As Prince of Svartur, I pronounce Vox and Karissa Dunair husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

The crowd cheered as I stood on my tiptoes and met his kiss. We’re actually married!

As we broke apart, I grinned and looked my husband in the eye for the first time. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Vox, super eager to get his hands on some wedding cake, practically dragged me away from the arch while the crowd was still cheering.

“Slow down! I can’t – walk this fast – in heels,” I panted as I stumbled along behind him, trying to hold my dress out of the way so I wouldn’t trip. That sure would be embarrassing…

“Sorry, sorry. I hate being in front of large crowds.” He slowed to a more reasonable pace. “And I want cake.”

We cut the cake together and ate while walking around and mingling with the guests. I caught up with Mackenzie inside the venue. She was standing by a ‘Recipe for Love’ poster, casually plucking a few dead leaves out of a vase of vibrant orange-red flowers.

“Mac, you look gorgeous!”

“So do you!” she squealed and ran to hug me. “Congratulations! I’m still surprised you got married so soon… I didn’t even know you were engaged.”

“We were going to wait a while, but…” Blushing, I glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then gestured downwards and cupped my hand under my stomach.

Mackenzie gasped and covered her mouth. “No way!”

“Shh,” I laughed. “Most of the people here don’t know yet.”

In fact, the only other person that knew was my new husband. I found him a little ways from the venue in a tight embrace with his mother. He was repeating “I’m sorry” over and over, and I quickly guessed what he was making amends for. Deciding this wasn’t the right time to go to him, I went to find my dad.

Dad was making small talk with Elubarin and when I approached, he insisted we take a picture together. Elubarin set down his tiny glass of champagne and agreed.

“So what have you been up to?” I asked. “Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Oh, just the usual wizard duties. I visited Earth for a spell too. Got reacquainted with some people.”

“Wow, you’ve been busy.”

He gave me an undecipherable look, then finally said, “I think you’ve been busier.”

I was trying to figure out if there was any hidden meaning to that when dad whisked me away to take more photos.

We managed to take a brilliant picture in which dad and Lily looked stunning, while Vox and I were trying not to laugh because he had just whispered something about noodles in my ear. Honestly, this guy…

We did manage to get some beautiful shots though, and I chose one to be framed so I could hang it up at the safe house. If I was going to be confined to those walls for the rest of my life, I might as well make it my home. And my home would always have a place for Vox.

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A/N: I couldn’t resist including these pictures too, so let’s say that these are the ones Elijah took. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of Vox’s proposal, I just freaking forgot to take any >.< Also, I’d like to mention that I didn’t write their vows, so credit goes to the actual author!