Sometime after Chapter 11. Cordelia

Today is the day...

I gazed at myself in the mirror. My wedding dress was simple yet beautiful, fitting for my personality, as Sumia said. I decided to forego a veil and wore an intricate braid with flowers woven into it.

"You look amazing!!!" Sumia squealed. My bridesmaids wore red dresses to match my hair. I was originally against the idea, but Sumia and Maribelle got me into it. Aesthetic, they said. Sumia was my maid of honor, as I was in her own wedding. "Are you excited to finally be married to Stahl?"

My heart fluttered and cheeks flushed. "Y-yes! I can hardly wait!"

Months ago, I would have wished that I was in a different position. I would have an elaborate wedding dress, attendants helping me, a huge celebration, and Chrom my groom. But now... I cannot believe that I ever wanted that. Stahl was truly the man of my dreams. The one I truly loved.

Wait, speaking of... "Where's Lissa and Anna?" I asked, looking around the room. The only other bridesmaids there were Maribelle, Sully, and Panne.

Sumia rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Um, Anna's in the bathroom throwing up and Lissa's holding her hair."

"Oh, er, right." My dear friend was in the first trimester of her pregnancy and the fact that my ceremony was in the morning did not bode well for her.

Maribelle got up and nudged my side. "That may be you in a few months, eh?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

Heat rushed up to my cheeks. "Wh-what?! N-no!" I exclaimed. "We're not even married! Besides, we want to wait a few more years until we have kids! Right now, I want to focus on becoming a better Pegasus Knight. The last thing I need is to be pregnant!"

Anna could be heard hurling in the distance while Lissa encouraged her. "Yeah, I can see why you're hesitant," Maribelle shuttered.

I giggled nervously. "Still, I would love to have kids someday, but when Stahl and I are both good and ready."

"Enough talk of babies! This is your wedding!" Sully barked.

"R-right!" Thank you!

A few minutes later, Anna emerged from the bathroom, chewing on a mint leaf. "H-hey, guys..."

Panne's eyes immediately went to Anna's stomach. "Your little one is restless this morning." We all knew that she wasn't saying that to dote. She was stating a fact. She can sense heartbeats, after all. I assumed that she could hear mine beating out of my ribcage.

Lissa soon popped out of the bathroom. "She'll be fine!"

Anna quickly collapsed on one of the couches. "Sorry for ruining the morning, Cordelia," she muttered. "I promise that I won't disrupt the wedding with my sickness."

I smiled at the queen. "Don't worry about it. Do what you need to do."

"Yeah, you can't make Cordelia's wedding more embarrassing than Sumia's!" Maribelle laughed.

Sumia was not amused. "All I did was trip down the aisle! Is that a crime?"

Anna giggled. "Hey, no shame, Sums. I was close to tripping if it weren't for Basilio!"

"Alright! Alright! That's enough clumsy-talk!" Maribelle clapped her hands. She grabbed a tray full of sparkling cider. "I propose a toast before we begin the final preparations."

Sully took her flute. "Where did you even keep this?"

Panne sniffed hers, recoiling. "I have no doubts that this will make my stomach turn inside out," she huffed.

Anna nodded, setting hers down. "Same here."

I smiled, taking mine. "That's alright. You don't have to drink it," I turned to Sumia. "You're the maid of honor. You get the honor of making the speech."

She cleared her throat. "I'm going to save the embarrassing stories part of the speech until the reception. But, I'm going to be cliché. Cordelia, you are my very best friend. I've known you since diapers and you are like my sister. I am beyond happy for you and Stahl. And if he breaks your heart, he won't see the light of day again."

"Here here!" Sully tipped her flute.

"Very nice!" Maribelle clapped politely.

"YEAH!" Lissa, not knowing the etiquette of toasts, downed her entire flute in one gulp.

Anna braced herself on the sofa, laughing. "Oh, boy. I see things are already going well!"

A knock on the door. "Are you ladies almost ready?" Chrom asked.

Anna perked up at the sound of her husband's voice. I can't wait until that's me! I mean, I'm already happy with just Stahl's presence, but there's a certain intimacy with the simple things when married! "We'll be out in a second!"

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Sully barked, heading towards the door.

Sumia sighed. "I really hope she takes her own wedding more serious."

As we exited the room, my heart plummeted a thousand feet. Oh, gods. This is actually happening! I don't think I can do this!

Sumia and Anna noticed me in my hidden panic. They exchanged a look. "You three head on out. We just need to do something real quick," Anna said. Sumia took my arm and lead me back into the room.

"Nervous?" Sumia rubbed my back.

"H-how did you two do it?! How?!" Gods, I don't want to cry! It took forever to do my makeup!

Anna smiled at me. "This is totally normal. I was an anxious mess before my wedding as well."

"So was I!" Sumia exclaimed. "Trust me when I say that what you're going through is 100% normal."

I fidgeted with my hands. "What if it appears as if I'm having cold feet?"

"It doesn't." Anna placed her hands on my shoulders. "You are going to be fine. Having nerves is fine. It means you care."

"But how can you be so confident?"

She rolled her eyes. "I just do. I have intense maternal instinct, especially right now." she placed her hands on her stomach. "When I see you two together, I see a couple who will thrive. A couple who are happy."

"Yeah, you are going to be just fine." Sumia pulled me into a hug. "We're all so happy for you, but I don't think anyone is as happy as you are. Well, save for Stahl."

I smiled, returning the hug as Anna joined. "Thank you both so much. I love you."

"We love you, too." Anna pulled away. "Now, let's not keep your groom-to-be waiting!"

I nodded, grabbing my bouquet of white lilies. "Right! Let's go!"

...

"What are you thinking about?" Stahl asked me as he pressed his forehead against mine, gently swaying us to the music.

I sighed happily. "I'm thinking about how lovely everything is." I glanced around, smiling. The reception was held in the garden of the church. Fairy lights were strewn everywhere, people milled about and socialized, and some of the couples joined us on the dance floor. It warmed my heart to see them so happy. Sumia and Frederick were giggling about the height difference, Lon'qu twirled a smiling Lissa around, Sully and Virion were doing a dance that did not fit the music, Maribelle and Ricken danced normally, and Chrom smiled softly as he held a tired Anna against him.

He took my hand, smiling at the golden band around my finger. "Are you happy?"

"Very," I giggled as he kissed my finger. "And I'm going to be happy for many years to come."

"I'm so glad to hear that."

*****

SHE DESERVES HAPPINESS. So the Stahldelia ship was always one of my Awakening OTPs and they're just so perfect for each other. Also, it's kinda nice to change things up and not do Chrobin for a change. ...Although I'll be damned if I didn't at least add a hint of it. XD Anyway, Stahldelia is OTP and no one can tell me otherwise. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

Next Prompt: July 20th - Mystery 

Link: https://youtu.be/TOv4LtOC68A