Free Within The Shadows by Julieanne Lynch Page A

of life.”
His smile was gentle.
    Leonid was
last. Standing at my feet, he replied, “May your feet be blessed so
that you may walk alongside the Goddess, and always place your
trust in her.”
    Alex helped me to my feet. Atarah walked over to us,
her face serious and full of passion.
    “ Tonight, you, Giselle, will pledge your commitment to the
Goddess. You will walk with her beside you, and ask her to guide
you on this journey. Do you pledge to honour her, and ask her that
she allow you to walk alongside her?”
    Alex nodded,
and I weakly whispered a small, “Yes.”
    “ As you will,
so it shall be.”
    The four
candles were blown out, and applause followed.
    “ Is it over?”
I whispered in his ear.
    “ Almost done. There is just one more thing.” He held my
hand, and we walked towards the altar.
    A man stood
in front of us. He took my right hand, and placed it in Alex’s
left.
    “ Welcome all. We are here on this extraordinary night to
celebrate the joining of Prince Alexander and Giselle. They ask for
your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support for their
decision to become one. Giselle, do you come here of your own free
will?”
    I hesitated.
I did not know what to make of this, and felt awkward by lying.
Deep inside, it was still a lie. “Yes.”
    “ Alexander, do you come here of your own free
will?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ A ring is an unbroken circle, a symbol of harmony, of
unending love, representative of this greater circle of life in
which we all are spiritually connected. Giselle, do you carry with
you this symbol of love?”
    Atarah placed an engraved
silver ring in my hand.
    Another lie.
“Yes, I do.”
    I kept
thinking, I have no choice.
It is either this, or something worse.
    “ Please, place the ring on Alexander’s left hand, and repeat
after me, ‘You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself, but while
we both wish it, I give to you that which is mine to give. You
cannot control me, for I am a free person, but I shall serve you in
those ways that you require, and the nectar will taste sweeter from
my hand. This is the vow I pledge to you. This is the union of
equals.’”
    I
hesitated , and faltered, stumbling on
some of the words. The gravity of the situation caught within my
throat, and I felt the urge to scream and cry.
    Alex
repeated his vows, and placed the ring on my left hand. Holding it
tight, he refused to let go. I could not fight, although I thought
about hitting him right across his face.
    “ Giselle and Alexander, tonight the moon stands witness to
your union. You have made an eternal commitment to one another. You
are bound by that commitment. You must honour each other for
eternity. Having joined in this sacred union, I may now pronounce
you, husband and wife. Alexander and Giselle Baranski, you may kiss
each other.”
    What a load of horseshit ! I thought.
    Alex
interrupted my train of thought as he
placed his hands on either side of my face, and pulled me to his
lips. His lips met mine. I tried resisting his mouth, but soon
found myself falling for the same sweet aroma that poured from
every crevice of his body.
    It was
irresistible. He was irresistible.
    Hell. What
had I gotten myself into?
    ‘ Hell’ was
the operative word.
     

 
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    THE NEXT
FEW hours before sunrise were a mixture
of misery and confusion. I smiled pleasantly as I was wished well.
Congratulations flowed out of every mouth, and all the while,
Atarah and Leonid sat back with smug grins on their faces. Well, on
her face.
    I felt like
a fraud. I did not love Alex. I could not bring myself to think of
him as anything other than a vampire. I did not see him the same
way I once did. He had forced me into an impossible situation, and
he was now wholly responsible for my fate.
    As dawn
approached, weariness got the best of me. I wore it well upon my
face, getting the attention of an unwanted admirer.
    “ Dearest
Giselle, you made a beautiful bride, but I dare say the events