Chapter 164 Walking down the aisle

Chapter 164 Walking down the aisle
Irin had butterflies in her stomach the next morning as her sisters and Junia helped her get ready.
"I don't know why I'm this nervous," she said out loud. "I love Koth and I want to marry him." All the women in the room giggled.
"Remember how nervous I was?" Junia reminded her. "There was no question in my mind that I was making the right decision by marrying your brother. Still, I was almost petrified. Until I locked eyes with Garan, and then everything was right again." Irin smiled at her sister-in-law. She was the only one who called Junior by his given name.
"So I will have to endure this for another hour?" she complained.
"You have been very brave so far. Spending a night away from your hunk of a man must have been hard," Eliza teased Irin.
"It was," Irin agreed. "And since you spent the night talking with me and the rest of the girls, I know you didn't spend it with your hunk of a man," she shot back.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Eliza said, but she had turned bright pink. Everyone else laughed.
"Oh, don't try to hide it. We have all seen the googly eyes you have given Koth's brother," Benara teased their sister.
"Says the woman who is making googly eyes at the human wizard," Mila said. The room filled with laughter. Irin was, besides being nervous, happy. If her sisters liked Jasper and Nenhir, she would be happy for them. They were both good men, and that was all she could ask for her sisters.
"Don't go running ahead of yourself. I'm not saying that sexy wizard hasn't caught my eye, because he has. That doesn't mean you need to start planning for our wedding. I might just be looking for some fun," Benara told them. They hummed as if they agreed, but all of them would bet a large amount of money that the 'thing' between Benara and Nenhir was more than a little fun.
"Thank you for helping me take my mind off my nerves," Irin told them all.
"Happy to help," Eliza said and gave Irin a kiss on the cheek before helping Myana put the floral wreath on Irin's head.
"You look beautiful," Junia said and gave Irin a gentle hug.
"Thank you. And thank you for being here with me," Irin told her.
"We are family," Junia replied. Irin loved the answer. She had a big family, and it only seemed to grow. It was a dizzying thought to consider how the family get-togethers would look in a couple of years when all the siblings had found partners and started having children of their own. Her father and Junior would have to build an addition to the house, Irin happily thought. Before she knew it, her father was knocking on the door, asking if they were ready. Everyone gave Irin a final hug and kiss on the cheek and vanished to get a good spot.
"You look so grown up," her father told her. Irin was wearing the green cleric dress she had got in FeighSho. They hadn't had much time to organise the wedding, and she had always wanted to wear her uniform. This was a fancier version of it. The silk fabric almost sparkled in the sunlight. Her shoulder-length hair was free, and a big flower wreath that her sisters had made was on her head. "You embody your goddess, my daughter."
"Dad," Irin gently objected. "Thank you."
"Do you wish she was here?" he asked. At first, she thought he was talking about Alesseja, and felt it was a strange question. Then she realised he had changed his train of thought and was talking about her mother. Irin considered his question.
"No. I don't think I would have liked having her here," she answered honestly. "The most important thing is that you are here. Well, the most important thing is that Koth is out there, waiting for me. After that, you are the most important thing," she told him. He laughed as they walked outside.
"I like Koth. I can see why the two of you fit together, and I trust that he will keep you safe," her father told her. She beamed a bright smile at him.
"I'm grateful that you and the rest of the family have accepted him from the start."
"Of course we have. It's easy to see how much you love him. That made us love him as well."
"I didn't think I would end up here. After the disaster my romantic life was, I would have been happy to settle down alone. I thought that once I got more senior in the temple, I would get my own place and maybe adopt a kid or two," Irin told her father. He smiled.
"I knew you would end up walking down to get married. You have always had so much love to give, and Alesseja has always walked with you. It just made sense that you would find someone who saw all of that in you. And now you have," he told her.
They had arrived in the garden. A crowd of people stood waiting. Koth came walking with Jasper by his side from the opposite direction, and he looked so handsome in the robe Irin had given him, with his beard and hair braided and gold ornaments added to them. When she met his eyes, Irin felt herself smile as tears blurred her vision. They met halfway, and Koth reached out his hands towards her, and Irin placed hers in them.
"You look stunning," Koth told her.
"So do you," she answered. Flanked by Jasper and her father, they turned toward the decorated arch. The group of people parted to give them way, and Irin saw the four heads of the temples standing by the arch. Irin and Koth, holding hands, walked up to them. They nodded at each of the heads and then turned to face each other. Irin smiled at Koth and got lost in his pale green eyes. Junia had been right. Standing in front of the crowd with him felt right. There were no nerves, no hesitation. Only the two of them and the promise they were about to give to each other. The crowd gasped as one, and it wasn't a 'oh, how cute they look' gasp. No, this was a surprised gasp. Irin felt her happiness turn to fury in an instant. Who was interrupting her wedding? She had been patient; she had rolled with the punches, travelled all over the world, been away from home for almost a year, people had tried to kill her and the man she loved more than once, and she had accepted it. But interrupting her wedding? That was where she drew the line. Koth and she deserved to have a nice, quiet wedding with their family. She was ready to turn whoever was causing this disturbance to dust. Rage filled her as she turned to see what was happening. Her anger died at once, and she mentally tried to take back every bad thought she had had about the ones interrupting the wedding.