HIS CROWN OF ASHES

Hearing him speak she rested her head against the door and she ached to touch him, to let him wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Right now it just didn’t feel possible. It felt like everything was falling apart like fate was once more keeping them from their happily ever after. All she wanted to do was break down in tears as memories of standing at the edge of that small stadium watching Rowan beat Vince in that final battle, of seeing him for the very last time before she married the other man. Her heart ached at the very idea that today they might not get what they’d waited all these years for. It was completely irrational, a part of her mind knew that but she couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in her stomach.

Stepping back from the door as he announced himself, her muddied wedding dress was draped over the chair of the bridal suite and she stood there in the middle of the suite dressed only her white slip as he entered and she was ready to protest until she saw his eyes covered and she breathed a sigh of relief that came out a little shaky and riddled with emotions. When he finds hers in rests her hand against the side of his strong face and lets his words wash over her trying to let them calm her. “It’s just.. its just…”Sophia stumbled over the words and she could feel the tears at the corner of her eyes. Taking a deep breath she reached up to pull the fabric from his eyes. She wanted to see those blue eyes that gave her so much comfort. “I just want to marry you, Vincent Nygaard, and I just wanted everything to be perfect and nothing is going right,” Sophia said with another heavy sigh as she looked towards her ruined dress now. “Why is fate always trying to ruin this for us? Why can’t things just go right for once.” She vented through her tears as she looked up at him with a defeated expression.

To look back to the beginning of their millennium, it really did seem the universe was hell bent in keeping the pair of them apart. Between her father, Rowan, the loss of their child, becoming a vampire and walking away from each other, there were times where Vincent wondered if they could’ve tried harder to make it work back then. Perhaps he could’ve convinced her father to let them marry, be a higher standing man in Viking society than the son of a widow who had refused to marry again, perhaps he could’ve killed killed Rowan in combat and ended their troubles there, or even prevented their village from being pillaged, that somehow he could’ve found a way to prevent the witches from picking the Greysons for the spell so that perhaps their child could’ve been born or did what he could to stay a werewolf -- he went through all the scenarios. But had any of those things not happened, they wouldn’t be here right now either. Because somehow, the universe had brought them together too. That he was blessed with the particular privilege of loving someone so deeply that he refused to go another thousand years without her. These last two years in Hollow Grove had reminded him that he never loved anyone the way he loved Sophia Greyson. And instead of looking at the past, he knew they needed to look to their future because nothing else mattered but that they were together now. And for that reason, he knew the rain didn’t bother him much. It wouldn’t stand in the way of marrying this woman today. 

But he hated the idea of Sophia shedding tears over the mess it had left. As he neared her with his blindfold, there was nothing like just being in the same room with her, being able to touch her that calmed his heart. She had always given him strength and he would stand by her through anything. He knew they had their traditional ways and so, it surprises him when she pulled off his makeshift blindfold and his eyes fell on her blue hues, his lips twitched into a soft smile. Even without her dress as she stood in her white slip, he was in awe of how beautiful she was. God, he was so lucky. His eyes flickered over to the stained wedding dress as he sighed. As Vincent listened to her, he stepped closer, hands on the side of her face. “I could marry you a thousand times over, Sophia.” He murmured softly as he spoke with the truest of veracity. They’d probably be the type to renew their vows every decade. “But we just have to get through this one. And I know, it’s not what we were expecting. I know it might seem like someone is giving us a hard time but hey look at me,” He caressed her cheek before pressing a kiss against her forehead, “This is nothing we can’t handle, my love. If it’s anything I have to believe, we can go against fate.” Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye and he pulled away briefly, with scissors in hand, without another second -- he snipped off the end of his tie. “But if fate wants us to go down the isle looking a little messy then so be it. So long as I have you -- so long as by the end of the day, I get to call you my wife, my beautiful, gorgeous and brilliant as all else wife, nothing else matters. What do you say?” He said with grin.  

Hope. Sophia had been beyond hopeful for this day. Everything had come together so easily and things had quieted down on the Clave front that Sophia thought maybe, just maybe, they would be able to enjoy this special day with no hiccups. Given their luck, however, she shouldn’t have been so hopeful, honestly, she should have been prepared for this. The store came out of nowhere, they had been out on the grounds taking pictures before doing any first look pictures when the clouds grew dark and the sky opened up and pour downed on them. From there, things had only gone downhill. In a panic to escape the rain, they had run for cover only to find some of the grassy areas had flooded and gotten muddy rather quickly. 

It wasn’t until they reached the main house that things took a terrible turn, they had thought they’d escaped the ran but when Lola came running into the house covered in mud one fateful shake left Sophia’s white dress splattered in mud. For a moment she stood there in shock staring down at the dress and then suddenly she was struck with the realization, she couldn’t get married without a dress. At that point, her meltdown came and she found herself standing in a muddied dress unable to find a solution. Her tear stained face had caused her makeup to run and at this point, she wasn’t sure how she was going to get married today.  Hearing the knock at the door her eyes grew wide as she hears Vince’s voice. Sniffling she tried to wipe at her eyes and regain her composure as she moved to the door. Clearing her throat, she pressed her hand against the door. “I’m okay,” her voice came quietly but it lacked the confidence needed to be convincing. “You shouldn’t be here, it’s bad luck.” She said meekly and she could feel her hands shaking as tried to get some kind of composure but the truth was she was breaking down.

Sometimes it was expectation that brought upon disappointment. Because he knew them and how they both wanted today to be absolutely perfect. Placing meaning into every aspect of their wedding to represent what they wanted their marriage to be -- the venue was at the estate of the family he was joining who he would now consider home. Vince asked that his ring be fashioned to be his new daylight ring because to him Sophia would always be his light and every single person that mattered to them in the length of centuries was invited. They had hoped and prayed and sometimes when things didn’t go the way they planned, it was hard to not be upset about it. And for that reason, the vampire knew the only place he wanted to be was near her regardless if it was only one hour away from their ceremony. As she answered him through the door, his lips tugged into a slight smile. ”I just had to hear your voice.” He returned softly with a chuckle. “That and it’s bad luck to see you but I haven’t yet so I think we’re okay.” Vince teased lightly. Nevertheless, he knew Sophia like he knew his own soul, he didn’t have to see her to understand that she was on the brink of having a nervous breakdown. 

And for that reason, he doesn’t hesitate to say, “Sophia, I’m going to be right back.” Moving away to go to the other rooms he doesn’t come back until he found something to cover his eyes with. Tying a knot in the back before securing it properly, Vincent knocked again. “I’m coming in. I’m not looking, I swear my eyes are closed.” He promised, jiggling the door knob before slowly entering. Without his sight, he could use his other senses to realize Sophia was there as he breathed out softly. “My love, you look beautiful.” Vincent declared although there was no way his blindfold would allow him to sneak a peak of his wife to be. Attempting to find her in the room, when he did, he placed his hands on the sides of her shoulders, rubbing them slightly to give her some reassurance. “And I don’t have to see you to know that.” He said before shaking his head, “Soph, I know things might seem a little rocky but it’s just rain. And I know, I know we planned an outdoor wedding but inside is just as good. Everyone’s here, no one’s been struck by lightening as far as we know.  As for the dress --” He sighed before offering her a sincere smile, “Darling, you say the word and I will go outside right now and roll around in the mud.” He attempted a joke in hopes to hear her laugh. Partners, equals, best friends -- to him, they were always going to be that. Moving to hold her soft hands in his, “We could be married in plastic bags and it wouldn’t matter to me. Or in our old furs with some goat sacrifice waiting for us like the Vikings we are. All that matters is that despite this, I still feel like the luckiest man in the world getting to see you walk down the isle today. We’ve waited a thousand years for this. Everything else be damned.” He declared proudly, a hand finding the side of her cheek before brushing it lightly, “You know that, right?” 

Vince and Sophia Wedding Album

Vincent Nygaard and Sophia Greyson, request the honor of your presences at their wedding celebration Saturday, August 4th, 2018.