- Chapter Five -
Beautiful Little Bride

Julia’s Point of View:

The next two weeks went by so quickly that I didn’t actually notice that two weeks had gone by.  It was amazing, how interesting my life had become.  Yi Xing and I visited Samantha daily, so long as the nurses allowed it.  Some days she was weaker and susceptible to infections more than others, but it never broke her spirit.  She was a wonderful child and every night I prayed that she’d get better and live a long and healthy life.  Today, we were sitting in her room, drawing butterflies once again.

“Yi Xing?!  My birthday is in two days!  Are you going to get me a present?!” she squeaked.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Your birthday’s coming up?”

“Yup!” she replied.

“How old are you going to be?” I asked.

“I’ll be seven!”

“What do you want for your birthday?” Yi Xing pressed.

“Mmm I don’t know!”

“Don’t you want anything?  Isn’t there something you’ve always wanted to do?” I continued.

“Ooo!  I’ve always wanted to marry a prince!” she spoke with stars in her eyes.

“A prince huh?” said Yi Xing.

Samantha nodded her head and smiled.

“Just like in the fairytales,” she finished.

I exchanged a knowing glance with Yi Xing.  If a fairytale wedding is what she wanted, then that was exactly what she would get.  When we left her room, the two of us immediately started planning things out.  The courtyard would be the perfect place to hold a mock wedding.

“What supplies are we going to need?” he asked.

We were sitting on his bed, drawing up a list.

“Well… we’ll need some chairs, music, decorations, costumes, and a prince to play the part.”

“That’s great and all but where are we going to get a prince?”

A gigantic grin crept across my face.

“You can’t be serious,” he deadpanned.

“Oh I’m serious.”

“But I’m not ready for a commitment!” he complained.

“Look on the bright side… if it doesn’t work out you can always get a divorce.”

“FINE!  But you owe me one!” he said while stomping off to find his brother.

Yi Xing’s Point of View:

I couldn’t believe I had been volunteered to be the prince at Samantha’s fairytale wedding.   I was pretty embarrassed about it but I was willing to do it just for her.  Sometimes happiness is the best form of medicine.

Thus two days later, I found myself dressed in an overly-detailed prince costume.  Jewels and I were in a quiet room by ourselves, trying to make sure I looked the part.  She fussed over my hair until it was absolutely perfect.  As mortified as I was to be doing this in front of a large group of people, I couldn’t wait to see the look on Sam’s face.  Nobody had told her that we were doing this for her birthday.  The knowledge of that caused bubbles to flutter in my stomach.

“Are you ready?” asked Jewels, smiling brightly.

“I think I’m all set.  Let’s do this!”

We high-fived each other before walking out into the courtyard, which was completely full of both regular people and patients.  It also looked like the entire children’s wing was there as well.  I shot Jewels a worried expression and she smiled softly, giving me the encouragement I needed.  Everyone clapped and spoke kind words as I took my place at the make-shift alter made of flowers.  I looked down the aisle at Julia who was still standing at the end.  She was dressed like a beautiful woodland fairy, her large glittery wings sparkled in the sunlight.  It was truly a magical sight, seeing her look so beautiful and radiant.

A foreign thought suddenly flitted by and I got a brief image of her walking down the aisle towards me, wearing a pristine lacy wedding dress.  My heart did that weak tickling sensation inside of my chest again.  It seemed to have been happening a lot more lately.  I had spoken to Kris about it, but he had insisted that my tests were normal.  If that was the case, then what was causing me to get these odd sensations?

I snapped out of my daze when I realized that Jewels was gone.  She must be retrieving Samantha.  I fumbled with the hem of my costume nervously.  Then the music started to play.  The moment I looked up, I saw Julia wheel Sam into the courtyard.  It took a moment for everything to sink in, and then the most soul-warming smile lit up Sam’s features.  I had the sudden urge to cry.  Before me was a very sick child.  She had been in and out of the hospital since she was a baby, but every time I saw her she was never sad.  She never complained or felt sorry for herself.  In the short time that I had known her, Sam had taught me a lot of things, but most of all she had taught me to live every day to its fullest without regrets.

Julia started pushing Sam down the red-carpeted aisle.  Everyone was in awe at how pretty she looked.  Even though she had lost a good bit of her hair from the cancer treatment and was wearing a hat, she still looked like a princess.  I decided right then to play my part of the prince flawlessly because she at least deserved that much.  She came to a stop in her wheelchair next to me and I got down on my knees so I could be eye level with her.  The entire courtyard became silent as we said our artificial vows.

“I Samantha, take Prince Yi Xing as my husband.  He’s the best friend I’ve ever had, even though he stinks at drawing and gets into lots of trouble.”

The audience chucked.

“And I, Prince Yi Xing take Samantha as my beautiful little bride.  She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever known, even though she chokes the life out of me whenever she gives me hugs.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jewels gazing at me in wonder, tears b in her eyes.

“You may now kiss the bride,” said our make-believe preacher.

Then I realized that I hadn’t thought this part through.  I was supposed to kiss her?!  I hadn’t even had my first kiss yet!  I quickly made a snap decision and gave her a soft peck on the cheek.  Sam smiled back at me, a pink tint coloring her cheeks.  I exhaled in relief, glad that the hard part was over… but man was I ever wrong!  Out of nowhere, Sam grabbed my face, squished my cheeks tightly, and planted a gigantic kiss right on my lips.  My eyes widened in shock as everyone broke out into fits of uncontrolled laughter.  Even Jewels was laughing at me.  I made a mental note to seek revenge on her later.  When Sam finally decided to show some mercy, she pulled back and yanked me into a lung crushing hug.

“I LOVE YOU YI XING!!!” she exclaimed.

I patted her back, laughing at her innocence.

“I love you too.”

Both of us turned to face the audience and they all stood and clapped for the “newlyweds”.  My brother walked up to me, an annoying smirk plastered on his face.

“So when’s the honeymoon?” he teased.

Oh hell no.  I didn’t agree to that!  He must have noticed my mortified expression, because he quickly let it go and ruffled my hair playfully instead.

“Guess you’re not as flakey as I thought you were,” he said.

“Uh… thanks… I guess.”

It wasn’t much of a compliment, but coming from him made it sound like one.  Across the courtyard, my gaze met Julia’s.  She was caught up in conversation with some of the nurses but shot me an approving smile as if to say, “Well done.”  All of our planning had paid off.  I had no regrets.  Although, I wasn’t sure how I felt about my first kiss being stolen by a seven-year-old.  Oh well… you can’t be too picky… especially when you’ve already been given an expiration date.

A/N:  I thought this chapter was both cute and sad.  I wanted to cry when I was typing it.  Sam is just too freakin' cute.  Why did I made such a cute and innocent character?  :)