Chapter 18: Cake and Confrontation
Hey fans! Sorry this took so long! Kind of... lost motivation to write for a while. Not exactly sure why, but... that doesn't matter now. The good news is that I got over it, and should be getting more chapters written for all of my stories. =) Once I get this essay done for class, I'll be writing as many chapters as I can before my hands give out. =P Hope you enjoy this chapter!
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"I'm sorry about all the things I said to you, and I know I can't take it back." –Sorry, Buckcherry
After all the pictures were taken, all the guests were greeted, and everything else that led up to the reception was taken care of, Audrey decided then that before she would enjoy the rest of her night, she needed to confront her mother. Admittedly, the girl was not expecting her mother to show up at all, but now that she had, Audrey wanted to know why she had changed her mind. Last she knew her mother did not condone the marriage, along with her father. Audrey was determined to figure out why the woman came.
The girl snuck away from her guests, most of which had already taken their seats at the round tables scattered throughout a section of the grounds at Artemis' manor. Luckily for Audrey, she didn't have to search long; her mother hadn't moved far from where she was standing when Audrey and Draco left the altar. Audrey approached her with single-minded determination. Audrey stood before her, trying to figure out what words to use.
"So you came?" Audrey asked, admittedly a little unsure of what she was supposed to say in a situation like this. "I... thought you didn't like him." The girl shifted her weight to her left, admittedly feeling the most awkward she had ever felt in her life.
"Regardless to whether or not I like the man she's marrying, I'm not going to miss my only daughter's wedding," Fianna answered her.
Audrey didn't say anything for several moments. She wasn't sure if her mother was honestly there for her, or only to make herself look better. "Well... thanks for coming I guess," she muttered quietly.
Audrey sighed as she turned away from her mother, about to head back to her party and her guests. The girl had taken about two steps before she heard her mother call out, "Audrey, wait!"
The brunette turned on her heel, facing her mother once again. "What?"
Audrey watched her mother hesitate for a moment before speaking again. "Look... I'm really sorry about what your father and I said about Draco. We were wrong to judge him the way we did, based off his name alone. I know there's nothing I could say to you to make it up to you, but... I truly am sorry about what happened." She took a deep breath before she added, "I couldn't convince your father to come, but... I knew I would hate myself for not coming."
Audrey shut her eyes, trying her best to remain calm throughout this situation. So much was running through her head, so much she wanted to say. "I don't think you realize how much you both hurt me. All I wanted was for you to be happy for me, and you couldn't even do that. I knew you two were going to hate Draco, but I never suspected that you were going to be so... vicious about it," she began. "He means the world to me, and as I've told you before, he's changed and in fact saved my life. When he proposed to me, I thought I would be able to plan everything with you- just like we had always talked about when I was younger. But instead, I had to rely on people I had just met, and his mother to help me." Audrey paused to bat a few tears from her eyes. "You missed out on a lot of things, mum. So much has happened in the past few months, I can't even being to explain it all to you in this conversation. You have a lot to answer for."
"I'm really sorry, Audrey, I truly am," Fianna pleaded with her. "I know I messed this up for you, big time. I just wished I knew how to make it up to you."
Audrey gave her mother an intense look. By no means was she happy, and she was fighting to hold the tears back in her eyes. This was not the day for her mother to be yanking her emotions around. "Don't mess the rest of this day up for me, and give Draco a chance to prove himself to you," she finally answered her. "You can stay, but just... don't start anything."
Fianna nodded, finally understanding the gravity of the situation she had put her daughter through. "I won't," she said quietly. Audrey turned to walk away again, but Fianna stopped her again. "By the way, darling, you look beautiful."
"Thanks mother," Audrey answered. "You can thank Narcissa for that."
"Go have fun," Fianna replied, winking at her daughter. Audrey admittedly didn't know how to react at first; her mother had never winked at her before, so she found it to be rather unusual. The girl just smiled and made her way back to the banquet and dancing that were already occurring.
She walked over to the dinner tables, where she saw Draco and Artemis talking aimlessly away about something. Audrey took notice to the curly, blonde-haired woman sitting next to Artemis. Audrey had never seen her before, so admittedly she was curious to know who the stranger was at her wedding. Audrey took her seat beside Draco, placing her hand on his, immediately catching his attention.
"Oh hello, darling," he said. He caught Audrey's curious glance, and immediately knew what she was thinking. "Artemis was just introducing me to his date, Minerva."
Artemis gestured at the girl seated next to him. "Audrey, this is Minerva, my, err... friend. Minerva, this is my cousin's wonderful new bride, Audrey."
The blonde girl waved slightly at her before speaking. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you," she greeted. Without being told, Audrey knew the girl was French; although Minerva did not have a strong accent, it was all too obvious to ignore.
"Nice to meet you as well," Audrey answered her.
Before the girls had time to begin any type of conversation, Draco looked to his new wife, and asked, "Shall we cut the cake before it gets any later?"
Audrey nodded. Honestly, she had forgotten about the cake amidst all the chaos. The girl took her husband's hand as he led her over to the buffet table where the three-tier cake sat majestically and alone. In a display of flashes from only about a dozen cameras, the couple delicately cut into the cake in typical ceremonial fashion. Audrey was tempted to smash cake in his face when they fed each other a bite, but the girl thought better of it. She was sure somewhere later someone would be getting caked.
After some length of time, and of course enjoying some cake themselves, Audrey and Draco were to have their first dance as a couple. The girl already knew the song that was going to be played; Draco had left that up to her to pick since he wasn't as musically inclined. Admittedly, Audrey struggled to find one that spoke to her, and then one day while listening to a Muggle radio station, she heard a song that couldn't have been more perfect.
Draco led her to the dance floor in silence. As the song gently started to play, the two of them slowly began to follow the beat, swaying slowly with it. Audrey rested her head against Draco's chest, thoroughly enjoying being with him. As the words started to be sung, Draco asked, "A country song? Why did you pick this song?"
Audrey smiled. "I'm glad you asked. Just be quiet for a moment and you'll see why."
Draco didn't reply to her, and began to listen closely to the words. He was curious to know why on Earth his wife picked a song from a genre she hardly listened to. He didn't have to wait too long for his answer.
"...I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you. Every long lost dream led me to where you are; others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars, pointing me on my way into your loving arms. This much I know is true: that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you..."
There was her reason. Audrey remembered everything that led them up to the point that they were at today. Neither one of them had exactly had things easy before they had gotten together, and even once they had gotten together they had faced a lot of adversity. And now that everything was the way it was, she knew she was certainly glad she had him in her life. She was wondering if Draco had caught that little bit, too.
"Alright, I see why you did," he finally answered her, resting his head on top of hers as they continued to dance leisurely. "It wasn't easy for us to get here. I mean... look at it. There was obviously our crazy exes, the war, your parents... but regardless to that, here we are." He kissed the top of her head. "And now we have the rest of eternity together. I couldn't be happier about that."
Audrey's smile grew wider, although she felt a few happy tears escape her eyes. Right now, there was nowhere else she would rather be than dancing with the love of her life. For once, despite all the chaos and uneasiness in her life, she was completely and truly happy.
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