"Ready Camelia?" Jasmine asks as she fluffs Camelia's dress and veil one last time in the master suite in the castle they were having the wedding.
It was one of many castles located in France. The château was historic, situated on a high cliff miles and miles away from the major city and the perfect location for a magical, royal wedding.
"Yes, as ready as I'll ever be." She responds and takes a deep breath to calm her nerves.
Jasmine giggles behind her. "You're nervous aren't you?"
Camelia exhales loudly. "Is it that obvious?"
Jasmine nods and comes to stand beside her little sister. "Don't over think it. You deserve to be happy, Camelia. Brace the moment and enjoy one of the happiest days of your life."
"You sure I look okay?" Camelia asks nervously, smothering the non-existent creases on her gown.
"You look like a Princess! Stefan's going to have a heart attack when he sees you!"
"God forbid." She mumbles, a slight frown forming between her eyes brows.
Jasmine laughs full heartedly and gives Camelia a side hug.
All of a sudden the sharp sounds of a helicopter's rotor blades vibrate the air. Jasmine and Camelia advance toward one of the elongated windows in curiosity. The helicopter was coming towards the castle and slowly makes it's descent, slowing down and hovering, it's intent to set down on a helipad some distance from the castle itself.
"Expecting someone important?" Jasmine asks, her eyes glued to the newly landed helicopter. The ignition is shut off and the rotor blades slow and quiet.
"Stefan said one of his friends was arriving in just in time for the reception."Â Camelia answers, she too looking out into the field and narrowing her eyes to get a closer view of the occupants.
A figure gracefully eases out of the helicopter's door and jumps out. It was a man. Even from their distance they could tell he was incredibly handsome. Tall, dark and dressed in a black elegant suit.
The mysterious man slicks back his black hair and adjusts his suit, striding off the helipad.
Jasmine releases a slow whistle.
"For the first time in my life I'm impressed."  Jasmine says softly. "Who is he?"
"I can't remember his name..." Camelia murmurs. "All I can remember is he's Italian." She adds. "I think I heard Stefan saying he owns several winery's and shipping businesses that span the globe."
"Hello Mr. Gorgeous." Jasmine purrs. "I've heard Italian's take lessons in kissing."
Camelia laughs. "Yeah right."
It dawned on her then and there. Remembering the wish she made for herself and Jasmine before blowing out her candles for her birthday.
"Could this be the guy you've been waiting for to fall out of the sky...?"Â She said, voicing her revelation.
Jasmine silently contemplated what her words meant.
"Oh. My. God." She turns to her with wide eyes, gripping Camelia's arm and squeezing. "On your birthday I recall asking you to....Seriously?!? You think? I sensed something inside me shift when I saw him...and he literally came right out of the sky!"
Camelia shrugs her shoulders. "Could be. You know what they say: wishes do come true."
"Then you should be wishing more often my dearest sister, cause I think I just fell in love."Â Jasmine sighs, laying a hand over her speeding heart.
Camelia eyes her beautiful sister. Light brown hair woven delicately in a unique hairstyle, her skin as clear as porcelain with a pair of energetic gray eyes, any man would be lucky to catch her attention. The elegant, red satin mermaid Bateau-neckline evening dress she choose for the reception radiated brightly like the hope reflecting in her eyes.
"I know we're supposed to waiting in here until they come up to summon us but it won't hurt if we get a move on and meet everyone at the head of the stairs. Your Prince awaits, after all...and quite possibly mine!"
Just as the girls were turning, the door bursts open revealing their brother Zayn. He shuts the door abruptly and leans against it before straightening his suit jacket, his side ways bow tie and smoothing his jet black hair with a stroke of his hand.
"You girls ready? Everybody is waiting out there." He declares, gesturing with his thumb to the door, striding towards them.
Camelia and Jasmine eye him curiously. "Why were you in such a rush?" Camelia inquires. "Is something wrong?"
The butterflies in her stomach fluttered erratically. She places both her shaking hands over her stomach.
Zayn's dark eyebrows rise innocently and he blinks repeatedly as if thinking of how to respond. "No...no nothing is wrong." He answers quickly. "I was just..."
"You have a smudge of lipstick near the corner of your mouth, Zayn." Jasmine notes and walks to the night stand to snatch a tissue, handing it to him.
"Damn." He whispered, a twinkle of mischief entering his dark blue eyes, wiping his slightly swollen lips from the left over evidence of the last lady he had a dalliance with.
Camelia and Jasmine laugh quietly.
"That's Zayn for you...leaving a string of broken hearts behind him." Jasmine whispers close to Camelia's ear.
"A modern day Casanova." Camelia whispers back.
"You do realize I can hear the two of you." Zayn remarked, shaking his head silently in admonishment. "Come on, let's get this show started, mom and dad are on their way up here." Offering both his arms for his sisters and straightens his back and holds his head high, keeping a straight serious expression on his arrogant face.
"Such a gentleman..." Jasmine murmurs with a small smile, laying her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Zayn scoffs out loud.
"We love you Zayn." Camelia says, placing her hand softly in his awaiting arm.
"I love you guys too." He mutters so quietly, the girls had a difficult time hearing himâa pink tint coloring his cheeks.
"I've never seen you blush like that, Zayn!" Jasmine exclaims with a laugh.
"Stop it." He reprimanded.
Camelia stayed silent but it didn't stop one of the widest smiles to appear on her face.
Sammy bursts in all of a sudden, without knocking, looking all glam in a sharp black suit and red glittering bow tieâcoordinating with the theme of the wedding.
He claps twice drawing their attention. "This is a disaster!"
Camelia's stomach performed it's hundredth somersault that day.
"We're a minute behind schedule, people!"
Her entire body flooded with relief.
"We're ready Sammy, just waiting on our parents." Jasmine replies, with a roll of her eyes.
Sammy grunts and strides forward, ruffling Camelia's veil. "There, now it's perfect."
"Thanks." Camelia answers with a grateful smile.
Sammy held true to his words and his amazing accomplishments by coordinating everything. He turned out to be the perfect wedding planner. Just like the energizer bunny that kept going, and going, he was a perfectionist and nothing would have turned out as perfect as it did without his expertise.
"You think Superman will be nicer to me after today?" He asks, his kohl-lined eyes inspecting her dress.
"He's putting the effort, Sammy. You just get on his nerves sometimes, that's all."Â She replies, turning her head and watching him.
Stefan still had difficulty dealing with Sammy's eccentric behavior at times.
"Maybe it's because he's over worked and under fücked."
Jasmine and Camelia gasp.
"I'm sure he'll be calmer once you twoâ"
"What the hell, man?!?"Â Zayn intervenes, cutting Sammy off from completing his sentence. "I don't want to hear that kind of stuff about my sister."
"Is this comin' from the most notorious player that's ever walked this earth? Oh, pleeeease! You screw anything that walks in heels!" Sammy accuses with a snap of his fingers and snippy attitude.
Zayn shoots him a lethal glare. "No wonder Stefan can't stand you."
"Ah, ah, ah playboy, you commit the crime, you do the time." Sammy taunts back, strutting around with a hand on his waist.
Before Camelia and Jasmine could formulate a response, they spurted into action trying to hold Zayn back from attacking Sammy.
"Jesus! I was just teasing! Can't anybody take a damn joke around here?!?" Sammy exclaims, pulling at his collar. "I need a martini right about now!"
To their relief, the door opens for the third time in less than five minutes to reveal their parent's in the doorway. All four of them straighten up and smile as though nothing ever occurred.
Her mother was dressed in the most beautiful fuchsia gown made of fine silk and lace. It hugged her slender figure perfectly, enchanting the tone of her peach skin and strawberry-blonde hair. Her father was dressed in a navy suit, white shirt and a silver colored tie that matched his eyes perfectly.
They both looked so young it was difficult to believe they had three grown adults as children.
"You all look beyond amazing..." Annie compliments. "Camelia, you look like you jumped out of a fairytale just like you always dreamed."
"A diamond of the first water, beside your mother." Julien adds tenderly.
"Thanks mom, dad." Camelia replies, feeling herself blush under her make-up and ducks her head out of embarrassment.
"I still remember the day I caught a first glimpse of her on our special day." Julien squeezed his wife to his side. "The best day of my life. I wish for you the same happiness your mother and I share, love."
Camelia lifts her eyes. "I wish that too." She whispers.
"Come along, Stefan's waiting for you."Â Annie announces.
"Before we forget!" Sammy picked up the bouquet of red roses lying on the dresser. Camelia reached out and squeezed Sammy's hand, taking the large rose arraignment and burying her face in their delicate blossoms.
Like two little Princesses and their older brotherâthe Prince, Camelia, Jasmine and Zayn follow their King and Queen, holding onto one another just as they did when they were children.
Sammy was apart of the entourage, naturally, holding Camelia's long majestic train.
*****
Clinging to her father's arm, they marched toward the entrance. At the far end of her walk Stefan was waiting for her by the entrance of the ballroom, framed by the dramatic Crimson rose arch, surrounding the gigantic doors.
Stefan's tall, powerful silhouette came into focus. Feet planted shoulder length apart and hands clasped behind his back, he stood with a high royal air about him at the door of the ballroom. His hair was trimmed with his wavy brown hair clicked back and his bare face was recently clean shaven. He was dressed in a black tuxedo made of the finest material Armani could buy. His undershirt was a customary white while his tie and matching vest was a deep burgundy-red.
Their eyes met as she walked beside her father. His blue-green gaze moved softly, possessively over her. Camelia kept her gaze fixed on Stefan and nothing else beyond.
He stepped forward with a soft, tender smile of reassurance.
Gently, he took the edge of her glittering veil between his fingertips and lifted it over her head passed the brilliant custom made tiara Stefan gifted her and requested she wear for the reception. Her gown was a sparkling masterpiece of elegant splendor. Thousands of crystals sparkled from every direction showcasing the traditional white in a silver hue.
Resting slightly below her shoulders, the front plunged into a deep V. The hem was constructed with white hand-stitched flowers while another cluster started in the back of her waist, forming a trail down the middle until it reached the train. The veil flowed luxuriously over her shoulders cascading down her back and falling into a long train behind her. Her feet fit snugly in the Cinderella Jimmy Choo's Ricky gifted her.
She looked like a sparkling diamond in her bridal dress.
"I hope this is the last mask that ever stands between us." He whispers, speaking only to her.
He curled her gloved hand over his fingers and carried it to his lips, brushing a lingering kiss over her knuckles. Camelia sighed, amazed at how the simple brush of his lips made her tingle in so many places. Peering up at him she blushes slightly from beneath her thick dark lashes. Her face felt like it turned into a bright cherry.
"You are by far the most fairest of maidens, my princess Camelia. Too beautiful for words to describe." He says, kissing her hand again.
She gives him one of the sweetest smiles she could muster, flickering her gaze nervously behind him to the throng of countless men and woman waiting in the reception. Stroking his thumb over the back of her hand he tugs her towards him.
"What is it Camelia?" He asks gently.
"I'm nervous, that's all." She says with a small shrug.
"I'll be here to protect you." He winks.
"I've dreamt of this moment since I was a little girl. It just....feels too good to be true."
"I've been waiting for a woman like you all my life, Camelia. I promise you this is all very real."
As family tradition started with her parents long ago, Camelia and Stefan exchanged vows just days before in Paris, before they arrived at the chateau. It was intimate and very low key without the hustle and bustle of a customary ceremony as they were surrounded by a small handful of family and close friends in a quiet and private celebration of love. Shortly after the ceremony, they celebrated with dinner at a private A-list restaurant.
A coordinated lantern release took part in the park as the sun began making it's descent in the distance. It was the most beautiful sight to see as dozens of lanterns floated off together as the sunset disappeared. They looked like shooting starsâa beautiful sign of unity and love for their new marriage.  And at last, the biggest and most precious of days has come to complete their unionâ the party, the celebration in one of the glitziest castles in France.
A dream coming true.
Unaware she was holding her breath, they walked slowly, step by step, across a white carpet strewn with rose petals. It seemed to stretch a mile before them into a ballroom decorated entirely in gold and redâto echo the colors of Beauty and the Beast.
The dizzying sounds of a harp, flute and violin played nearby while wonderful aroma of food and perfumes coming from the hundreds of red roses filled in gold antique looking vases. A thunderous applause silenced the music while a couple hundred of their guests stood as they entered.
She stared about her, wide-eyed. It was like entering a dreamland. Everything was so beautifully enchanting. She and Sammy had inspected the ballroom hours earlier and made sure everything was ready and in place, but to see it in a different perspective the reality of it set inâit was truly magical.
The chandeliers looked like mountain of carved ice. The floor below her was white marble, the color of snow. The walls were lined with heavy golden silk. Tilting her head back, she looked up, past the gold colored rain of confetti hanging from aboveâthe ballroom lay directly under a soaring dome at least a hundred feet high above the guests.
The tables were complete with porcelain white plates trimmed in gold. White napkins with the words written in gold read:
It was a touching tribute to their love story.
Red candles swayed on the tables while high center pieces filled with several dozen of red roses. Every bouquet held three tall gold standing candles sticks placed between the centerpieces. In between the center pieces, a round glass dome held a suspended single red rose, exactly portrayed in the Disney-inspired rose arraignment.
The beast's last single enchanted rose held suspended in time.
The narrator of the story's voice from the movie echoed in Camelia's head....
"The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose...if he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time..."
The side of Camelia's lips lifted in a ironic smile as she recalled her dream long ago. The red rose was Stefanâthe beast. He was the wilted flower that shriveled and dried after it touched him. Her love broke the curse he believed haunted him.
Stefan squeezed the hand curled into his elbow. She shifted her pointed gaze and found his eyes dancing with happiness. She blushes as he reached forward and brushed her cheek with the tip of his finger.
His lips twitched as he lead her to the dance floor. He took her quickly into his arms as he fell in time to the music. The rendition was of Beauty and the Beast'sâTale As Old As Time.
Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the beast...
Camelia recited the words in her head as she and Stefan danced feeling like she was floating on air as she followed his lead. The flashing multi-colored lights spun over them in circles with a spotlight traveling behind as they moved. Projections of red roses outlined the floor all around them. Four standalone-indoor pyrotechnics suddenly sprout silver fountains forming a square around the entire dance floor, enchanting and creating long lasting light in the dimness.
The special effect was dazzling and spectacular. The guests were heard in the background clapping, whispering murmurs of approval amongst themselves.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Camelia asks, her eyes reflecting like fireballs from the sparklers.
"You're the one that's beautiful. I can't take my eyes off you." Stefan whispered close to her ear. "My grandfather would have been proud of me for finding someone like you if he were alive today."
Camelia's lashes fluttered upward at the gentleness he conveyed through his words, and as their eyes met, he offered her the warmth of the smile she knew.
Tears stung her eyes. "He's watching you as a angel in heaven Stefan, and he was proud of you regardless."
Stefan smiles, placing a kiss to her forehead, whirling her around the dance floor. They danced and danced suspended in their own little bubble, with love shining from their eyes while camera flashes flickered feverishly. Every eye in the ballroom was glued to the couple, a few minutes of hushed silence descends over the audience, completely entranced by the beauty and love shrouding Stefan and Camelia.
As the song finishes, a loud standing applaud rumbles throughout the room.
The music changed and Camelia's father took her into his arms for the customary father and daughter dance. They spun around the dance floor while Stefan and her mother followed their lead. Her siblings, Aunts and Uncles soon joined them.
A third bout of slow dancing began. Camelia watched on as Stefan asked her sister for a dance as Camelia was tapped on the shoulder. She spun around to come face to face with the last person she expected.
Kivanç.
Camelia was struck speechless.
She couldn't keep the look of surprise cross her features. She spent one frozen minute in silent distraction. He was dressed in a black suit and black tie, his dark blonde hair brushed back from his face perfectly as he smiles at her tenderly.
Where she thought nothing could shock her ever again, especially on her special day, Kivanç's uninvited presence did the trick.
To Be Continued. . .
_______________________________________________________________
So this is not the end of the scene. Obviously.
This chapter originally went over 7,000 words and than some, so I had to chop them up. I'm not even finished with it anyway so I decided to publish the first half instead of make you all wait a few more days.
The next update should be in 48 hours or less (keep your fingers crossed). I have so many ideas to include that I can't keep up! More fun surprises to come. This update was only the topping on the cake :)
Stay tuned for Part 2!
Thanks for reading, commenting and voting!!!
-Shaz