50. Bells

                                    

                                          

♟️


Hollie looks at her beautiful, deep, dark blue dress in the mirror. She swings her hips to the side ever so slightly, and the fabric moves from side to side. It looks like a starry night sky, and it perfectly compliments her brown hair. Even more than her previous wedding dress had. Much more. Her eyes travel back up to her face. She is holding a phone against her ear, and there is a frustrated expression on her face.
"I need copies of it as soon as I get back. Elsi Investment is getting far too close to us on the market and you are going to make sure that doesn't happen during my wedding." The words flow out of her mouth in a much more natural way than she ever expected them to. Two women rush around her, doing some last touches to her hair and her makeup. They must be confused. Why is she on a call when she should be celebrating her wedding? It's the life of a chairwoman.
"Yes I know that we'll be partnering with them as soon as I'm married. Don't start lecturing me about it, if we want the negotiations to go in our favour we need to be several steps ahead!" Hollie stays quiet for a while, as the voice of whoever is on the other line echoes like quiet chatter in the otherwise completely silent dressing room. The women look at each other, not understanding a thing. The sun is shining through the curtained windows. Hollie sighs. "Alright, do what you must. Email me if something comes up."
Hollie ends the call, deep in thought. A light breeze passes by outside the window. Their wedding venue is the house Elena was born in, a large mansion by the Doscorian seaside. It's beautiful, and the view from one of the second-floor bedrooms Hollie is getting ready in is also beautiful. The sky is a hazy winter blue. The wind is calm and easy. It's not raining, for a change, but the temperature is still just right. Not too cold, and definitely not too warm. Doscorian winters can be beautiful, and Hollie couldn't have imagined a better time to visit her wife's home country than now.
"Still trying to compete with me, darling?"
Startling, Hollie snaps her head around, wide-eyed. She finds Vera standing in the doorway with a smug smile on her face. Her long, sleek blue dress in the same shade as Hollie's makes her look more enchanting than ever before. Hollie swallows thickly, before she quickly averts her eyes, calms her heart and turns back around. "Vera! You're not supposed to see your bride before the wedding!"
She hears Vera laugh behind her, an amused laugh that always has Hollie feeling all weak and dizzy. The other women in the room scurry off to do other things, not wanting to disturb them. It's only been one summer and one autumn since she truly got to know Elena and Vera, and yet here she is, getting married to them. It might be a little hasty to get married so early, but one good thing about an early marriage is the nervous, crush-like feelings that still flutter in the air when it happens. Hollie holds her breath as Vera walks up to her.
"I've heard seeing the bride before the wedding means you'll have a loving marriage, full of adventures, ups and downs. That's what I want. A real rollercoaster." She feels Vera's arms sneak around her waist, and tries not to look at her through the mirror. Not seeing the bride before the wedding is a very common Esidian tradition. Hollie was raised for traditions, Vera never cared for them. And Hollie tries her very best to avoid the temptation of leaning into the sneaking touch of her fiancé. "I have enough of ups and downs at work. Now go back to your own dressing room, we're about to start!"
"What? So you can go back to scheming for your company to rise ahead of mine while I'm gone?"
Hollie can't help the smile that grows on her face, despite her eye-roll and scoff. "I would never!" Her sarcastic voice cuts through the air, and Vera hugs her a little tighter, leaning over to whisper in her ear.