Pirate Chronicles

We headed back at dawn and Stella was already waiting for us at the shore with her hands on her waist. She was NOT happy. 

"You've done it now, Jacob," I told him as we neared the shore.

Jacob just laughed. When we got off the boat and Jacob began securing it, Stella began hitting him.

"I told you that you can't see her until this afternoon. Why can't you just follow that simple instruction? It's tradition!" Stella said as she continued to hit Jacob with his palms. 

When Jacob seemed to be unaffected, Stella took her slipper off and hit Jacob with it. "Why aren't you listening to me?"

I put my hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter. When I did that, Stella turned to me and pointed her slipper at me, "Same with you, Editha. You should've said no."

Jacob was in between Stella and me in an instant, "Don't blame her. It's on me," he said.

Stella sighed loudly and put her slipper back on her foot. Then, she pulled me away from Jacob and grimaced at him, "We have a ceremony to prepare for," she said and dragged me away from Jacob.

I looked at him as Stella pulled me away. Jacob smiled and waved. He mouthed, "See you later, I love you."

I nodded and mouthed, "I love you, too."

He smiled as he watched me leave. 

"Eyes forward," Stella told me sternly.

I chuckled and obeyed. In no time, we were at the governor's house. After we ate breakfast, the preparation for the wedding commenced right away. Several of the island's women came to the governor's house to help me prepare. Brenlyn helped with my bath preparations.

Tradition in Canupeer states that I need to soak in a bath filled with white petals and lavender oil for an hour. I could not complain as it was really relaxing! I submerged my head in the tub and washed my face. When I came up, Brenlyn scrubbed my hair with soap and oil. I felt so pampered I chuckled.

After the bath, I put my robe on and when I came to my room, there were about seven women with flower bouquets and flower baskets in their hands. They gave me the bouquets while some dried my hair. I was made to sit down and they styled my hair using the flowers from their baskets.

When they were done, they left me with Brenlyn and Stella, them being the closest ladies to me. They made me eat lunch before they helped me put my dress on. The dress was not as extravagant as the one I wore in Palavana but I was so much in love with it. It was an off shoulder white flowy dress with laces on it. I wore a pair of white sandals since the wedding will be on the beach. My heart was pounding as the ceremony began.

There was a horse drawn carriage waiting for me when I walked out of the governor's house. All the Labyrinth pirates, including the complete Geles brothers, were there as footmen and drivers.. They will serve as my protectors according to tradition. They cheered and hooted as I walked towards the carriage.

Paco held out his hand and helped me climb up. And the procession started. There were beats of drums and melodic music from stringed instruments. But, the cheers of the pirates were the loudest of all.

Queen Catherine attended together with Prince Bernard, having the Geles brothers as their guards. As a matter of fact, Prince Bernard did the honors of walking me to Jacob. When Jacob saw me heading towards him, I could see tears forming in his eyes. I swallowed hard as my heart beat faster.

"Last chance to run away," Prince Bernard said teasingly.

I shook my head, "Never."

Prince Bernard chuckled at my response. My eyes were fixed on Jacob and his were on me as if we were the only ones there. And when Prince Bernard gave him my hand, I felt him gripping it tightly before linking my arm into his.

This is it! We are finally getting married for real! It was a happy celebration. My only regret was that my father was not there to witness the event. The minister asked us to say our vows.

"Editha…" he began then smirked. "... Or should I say Darling.." 

We chuckled together and the pirates cheered. Jacob gave them a signal to be quiet.

Then, he continued, "I never thought my heart would love again until I met you. You have awakened in me unknown emotions that I have never felt before. As a matter of fact, YOU are the ONLY one who can aggravate me beyond measure and at the same time make me the HAPPIEST man in the world…" My eyes filled with tears. 

"Without you, I'm lost. You are my present and my future and as God is my witness, I will protect you with all of me. With my strength, I promise not to let any harm come to you and our family in the future. I will protect your heart by being faithful. I will be here even when we are distant. It may be impossible but I'll make it work. I cannot promise a life filled with happiness but I promise to make you happy as much as I can. I love you and that would be until I die," he said.

My tears fell. I cannot contain my happiness. Jacob wiped my tears away. I cleared my throat so I could speak, "Jacob…" I began. "... my pesky arrogant pirate…" the audience laughed at what I said. "I thank God that I met you though our first meeting was not my idea of a romantic first meet." Jacob smirked. "You showed me my purpose and taught me to be the woman that I wanted to be. You have proven over and over again that you are always there for me. You battle anyone, even ghost and mythical beings just to get to me and I… and I cannot imagine anyone in my future but you. You will have all of me.. my love and loyalty… all the good together with the bad… you will have it all. I am willing to live the life you wanted as long as I could be with you. You said you'll love me until death? Jacob, if I die and was given a chance to live again, I'll find you and love you again. You are my forever," I said.

A smile formed on Jacob's lips. He was about to bridge the gap between our faces but the minister stopped him.

"Not time for that yet," the minister said. However, Jacob did not listen. He kissed me. The minister sighed and said, "Alright, you are now man and wife, go on and continue kissing your wife."

Everyone cheered!