Lyra~
As I walked in the center of the hall, approaching the altar with pure gracefulness, I couldn't help but give a bright smile.
At long last, I was finally escaping my dreadful past. The entire hall felt alive as guests rose and flashed warm smiles at me. As I moved closer towards the altar, I caught my soon to be husband's face.
That handsome face that I fell in love with at first sight. Old memories threatened to surface but I pushed them down. Nothing was going to ruin this day.
My heart fluttered in my chest as I finally reached the altar. He stepped forward as his eyes warmed. That smile, the same one that made the entire room disappear, stretched gently across his lips. His gaze swept over me, lingering with a quiet awe that sent a soft heat rushing to my cheeks.
"You're so pretty," he murmured.
My breath caught in my throat and I blushed, avoiding his gaze. He took my hand in his as he led me to the top of the altar. His thumb brushed slightly against my finger as the officiant began to speak.
As the vows began, our fingers intertwined naturally, and there were several sniffles and gasps from the audience.
When it was my turn to speak, he gently squeezed my hands, as if to tell me that he was here. That it didn't matter if I didn't have a father to walk me down the aisle, that it didn't matter if none of my family members were in attendance.
He was all I needed.
"I choose you," I said softly. "Today, and forever."
A proud smile touched his lips but in that moment, the door burst open with a force and everyone naturally shot their head in that direction.
A sharp gust of wind followed the crash of the doors as it rattled the carefully arranged flowers. Conversations died instantly and even the candles seemed to sit still.
I stiffened.
A lone figure stepped into the hall and guests gasped, their hands flew to their mouth instinctively in pure horror. At first, she was only a silhouette but as she came closer, she became clearer.
She shut the doors close behind her with a boom that echoed through the hall. I flinched.
This cannot be happening. Why now? Why me?
Her skin shimmered under the chandeliers, her ears were pointed as they peeked through strands of her dark hair. Claws, actual claws had replaced her fingernails. And her eyes, they were golden, and ferociously locked onto me.
She was half wolf, half girl but entirely terrifying.
A murmur of fear rippled through the guests as she walked forward on her bare feet. It seemed like everyone was rooted to one spot, no one moved, no one said anything, we all watched as the creature got closer and closer towards the altar.
Everyone froze, everyone except my soon to be husband. He shielded me, staring at the creature with coldness. The creature however, didn't meet his gaze as her eyes were solely focused on me.
A low growl escaped her throat as she witnessed the scene, she sounded almost disappointed.
"Sister," she rasped and my breath hitched. "Sister…"
My chest tightened so violently that I thought my ribs might crack. I looked around at the guests.
No, please. Please not here. Anywhere but here.
My husband stiffened, his grip on my wrist tightened, but not in a hurtful way, as he shifted my body closer, shielding almost my entire body behind his.
I could hear his breath grow unsteady, his muscles looked like they were locked in, as if preparing for a fight.
The creature finally stopped at the foot of the stairs to the altar.
"Sister," she murmured again. Her tone this time was softer, almost as if she was pleading with me. Her golden eyes glimmered with something complicated. My mouth opened but no sound came out. Instead, I continued to hide behind my husband.
She lifted her chin, as her features tightened with frustration.
"Why did you do that to me?" she asked softly, betraying her appearance. "How could you?"
"Leave, Eva," my husband said in a low voice. How voice was oddly calm, and he didn't seem at all scared of the creature in front of him.
"Sister," Eva whimpered again, not at all bothered by my husband. "Please tell me, sister. What did we ever do to you?"
She suddenly broke down and fell to her knees, sobbing violently.
"What did I ever do to you, sister? Why did I go through what I did?"
A chill crawled down my spine as I felt a flicker of irritation.
Her sobs sounded animalistic, and this made guests shrink back even further into their seats.
I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself but her wails only made me more frustrated. Not because she was crying, but because she dared to cry here, on my day.
I finally emerged from behind my husband and stepped forward. I stopped at a reasonable distance between us as I called her name.
"Eva," I whispered.
Her head shot up toward me, and she immediately stopped crying.
"Sister," she said again as her voice cracked.
"This isn't the place."
She stared at me as if she didn't understand what I was trying to say.
"Why now, Eva? Why today? I'm getting married. And how could you come looking like that? Did you not think…?"
"I," she interrupted me, "I just escaped death, sister… because of you."
I scoffed.
"LYRA!" she thundered and I flinched. My husband immediately rushed to my side as he signaled to someone.
In the next second, two heavily built men pinned Eva down. Eva thrashed the moment their hands touched her, snarling like a cornered beast. Her claws scraped against the floor as she twisted and fought, but to no avail. They were stronger than she was.
I heaved a sigh of relief as they dragged her towards the door, her cries echoed through the halls as she twisted desperately.
"SISTER! LYRA!"
I turned my gaze away.
"LYRA! PLEASE! SISTER! NO! PLEASE! SISTER!"
The door slammed shut behind them and silence followed.
I stood frozen as my knees trembled, the guests looked at each other in confusion as to what had just happened. My husband slowly turned to me with a smile as he led me back to the altar and the shaking officiant.
"Well," my husband said with a smile. "Shall we continue the ceremony?"