I watched my mother pace back and forth on the dirt ground. She was dressed in a short dress, and around her neck, she wore her sparkling green amulet that I recognized from our old house, which made her smell like rosemary. Every time she turned, her blonde curls would fly around her head, and she would walk to the other side of the tent, and the process would continue again and again.
Finally, I grew tired of watching her after about ten minutes. I know, ironic considering after four hundred years, listening to the dead drone on about the times they were alive, you would've thought I developed some patience, but that wasn't the case.
She could get over it. Heck, there wasn't a day that went by when I was with her that she didn't crack a joke about what I had just done to embarrass me.
I walked over to the table of food and pulled out one of the chairs positioned around it the table and began to pile food onto my plate, and began to eat it with the fork and knife that had been placed beside it. The feeling of food and water sliding down my throat felt odd and alien, but the taste of it alone was enough to get me through it.
"...and now you're eating and not paying any attention to what I'm saying!" my mother yelled, and I looked up sharply from my plate of food and into my mother's angry blue eyes.
"Huh?" I said.
Henry, who had climbed to his feet a long time ago, rubbed his face with his hand. "Glad to see that some things don't change about you after four hundred years," he said.
My mother whirled around, "Quiet!" she said, pointing at him, "You're not allowed to talk right now!"
Henry let out a short laugh, and his electric blue eyes blazed. He shook his head slowly, "I'm allowed to do whatever I want!" he shot back, "And she's allowed to do whatever the hell she wants! I think she's capable of making her own decisions by now, so do a solid and back off."
If looks could kill, Henry would probably have at least ten swords sticking out of his chest right now.
"Yes, she is capable of making decisions, but she never makes good ones!" she spat back, "Like...." and proceeded to list out all the poor decisions I had made in my life along the living, which turned out to be a lot, apparently. She finished with me, leaving her again, and I cringed.
I put down my fork, "Mom," I said, and both Henry and my mother visibly cringed and covered their ears with their hands. "Sorry," I apologized, switching back to the language of the living, "Anyways, I don't see why this is such a big deal to you. You were always the one urging me to go on dates with boys, hold their hands, make out with them..."
My mom rolled her eyes and blew a piece of her hair out of her face, "Um, yeah, that's called having FUN. What you two were doing is called making babies. And out of all men on this planet, him really?"
I nodded, "Yes, him really."
"Hello?" a familiar girl's voice floated into the tent.
"We're in here, Emily?" my mom called, and I watched as Emily, in a beautiful white dress with lace sleeves and a collar, stepped into the tent holding a little girl wearing a white dress with a blue bow with tight blonde curls.
"Miss Silver, I really can't watch her right now. I need to get re..." she stopped midsentence, and her golden eyes landed on me, "Violet!?" she cried, and a big smile bloomed across her face. She glided gracefully towards me with the little girl wrapped tightly in her arms until she stood right in front of me, "I would totally hug you right now but it just happens that every time I do that, we end up falling over and I don't want to ruin this dress, they only have one you know!" she laughed and I smiled back at her.
She stepped away from me and looked down at her dress, and when she looked up again, her face was beaming, "I'm getting married today!"
I smiled at her, and she squealed, "I see that," I replied.
"I can't believe your father actually brought you back today! He would always tease me about when you were coming home, like he would tell me he was going to bring you back on your birthday, and I would be like holy cow, yes! But then I would tell him it was my birthday, and he would say that my birthday was only a week after you were sent away and that you hadn't finished syncing yourself up with the dead. Just silly things like that! He was such a little tease!" Emily finished with a giggle. Anyway, I'm marrying Peter, remember from Elemental school? I think that I told you I was dating him before you went into the spooky portal thing. I know it's only been a year and six months, but hey, we're in the middle of a war."
I looked at her and smiled and simply said, "You look so beautiful, Emily," and she beamed brightly at me.
I touched her arm, and she raised her head and looked up at me, "What's wrong I asked.
"You don't know?" she asked.
I knitted my eyebrows together. "Know what?"
"We're going to war within the week. The scouts got word this morning that Greta's army is marching and will be upon us within days."
"What?" I said I felt another arm on my arm, and I saw my mother had moved to stand beside me.
"Let's not think about now, Emily, today is your wedding day," she said and reached towards the little girl.
"Wait!" I said, and my mom stopped mid-reach, and her arms fell to her side. I peered into the little girl's face. She stared back at me with big violet colored eyes, "Lilly!" I cried and reached towards her, knowing instantly she was the baby sister I had never met.
The little girl widened her eyes even further, and she screamed when I touched her. She only clung to Emily tightly when I tried to rip her away to hold her. My mother gently nudged me aside and scooped my baby sister into her arms.
I stared at Lilly in dismay, while my mother snuggled her into her chest, and she looked up at me, "Don't worry, she's going through her stranger danger phase, she'll get used to you eventually."
"But I'm not a stranger, I'm her sister!"
My mom raised her eyebrow, "No you're a stranger, "she said simply and turned towards Emily, "Now what are you doing!? You need to hurry my dear! You still need to get your hair done, you're getting married in less than thirty minutes !" she exclaimed and let go of Lilly with one of her arms and begins to push Emily out of the tent.
"But you just handed my Lilly and-"
"Go," my mother interrupted and took her hand off Emily, "and take Violet with you and give her the dress you've been saving for her, and let's do this wedding! "
Emily blinked, "Okay..." she said, and she looked back at me before she exited the tent. I followed her outside, and she walked straight to one of the tents and stepped inside. When we entered, everyone who was in the tent, about six women, including Mrs. Howl, Emily's mom, looked up.
One of the six women was struggling into a blue dress, two were already in their dresses and looked to be frantically trying to sew the bottom of a third girl's dress, who was facing away from me. The last girl was not wearing a dress, a blue dress, and was just standing there. I saw that the girl struggling into the dress was Kami, Emily's sister.
"There you are!" Mrs. Howl cried and ran over to Emily and began to drag her towards a chair that had been set up in front of a mirror with a bureau with a brush, various hair clips, and flowers were placed.
"Wait!" Emily said and ripped herself free from her mother, "Violet needs to be fitted into her dress, go help her!" she said.
Emily's mother froze in her tracks and turned towards me. Her golden eyes widened when they landed on me, "Oh my gods! Violet! She really brought you back!" she cried and rushed towards me and wrapped me in a hug, and pressed me into her soft body.
"Told you I would!" the girl said, and from the stand and she turned her head, and I saw it was Santana. She turned the rest of the way around, and so did the girls, trying desperately to fix her dress, and I saw that in her hands she held a glowing orange sphere.
Emily's mom looked over at her, "Sorry if I have trouble trusting in a girl who thought it would be a great idea to climb a tree in her bridesmaid's dress the day she is supposed to wear it to a wedding."
Emily rolled her eyes, "It's only because I'm better at using my powers when I'm in a high place, which Neeva decided I need to use at that very moment so if you're going to blame anyone, blame him," she pointed to me, "And thank you for endangering her safe passage home by dragging me in here just to get a little rip in this stupid dress fixed and-"
"You think my dress is stupid?" Emily said, and Santana gave her a horrified look.
"No, Em, I'm just-"
"Did she just call you Em!?" I said, and Emily turned to me with a horrified look.
"Um..." she said.
"I'm the only one that can call you Em besides the man you're going to marry, so that makes me and Peter the only ones who can say it! "
"Well, since you were gone, me, Santana, and I became really good friends, like good as in on Em term friends..." Emily said and gave me a guilty look, "Actually, all the girls in here are friends I've made from camp."
" I should've really expected that you replace me too, " I said, depressed, "I've been gone two years of your time."
"Well.." Emily said and walked across the room to a trunk. After a moment of digging, she pulled out a blue dress and handed it to me, "I still don't have my maid of honor she said and held it out to me. I looked and her and back at the dress and reached out and took it from her.
It was this snippet of time I held to my mind dearly, Emily offering me my maid of honor' dress, because it was one of the last truly happy memories I had made before I had lost so much, watched so many of the people I love die, and watched my world crumble away to dust. Because in a couple of hours and not a couple of days, that would all happen. I didn't know that at the time, and I'm grateful. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this, one of my dearest memories.