ALMOST EVER AFTER

PROLOGUE

2 d a y s a g o ~

"Do you take Edwin Callahan as your lawfully wedded husband..."

Madam Shanbury's voice floated through the chapel.

"-to love him through shadow and light, through this world and the next-"

Rosemary barely heard the rest. Her fingers still twisted from the ambience spell she had just woven over the room.

This is it, she thought, her heart skipping a beat. She had spent three weeks orchestrating every single moment. Years of dedication had finally lead her to this moment. Yes there were some mishaps in the past, but today? Today was finally her day.

Everything was going according to the plan. The lilloes bloomed in the exact way she had envisioned them, the candles lit the room with a soft orange glow. The music, oh the music filled the room with a different kind of serenity. The ambience spell that rosemary had cast was working perfectly. It was peaceful.

And most importantly she had dealt with the Eleanor problem. Rosemary had done her research. Eleanor Petford was a woman of high drama and low self-control. The kind that attended their ex's wedding to burn the chapel down. It didn't matter now. She had dealth with it. How? Well that was a long story.

Rosemary closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of pure hope. In a few hours, she would go back to Aethera Academy for fairy godmothers and the headmistress Madam Shanbury would finally place the wand of obsidian into her hands. She would no longer be called a fairy-in-training. No more pitiful looks, no more sly remarks.

For now, everything was perfect.

Which meant ofcourse it was not.

"I do." Edwin said smiling.

Rosemary closed her eyes, a smile tugging at her own lips. It was Maribel's turn now.

"I-"

"I OBJECT!"

A scream erupted from across the aisle, and Rosemary froze. It was a sound of pure rage and vengeance.

Rosemary's eyes snapped open just as the music stopped. Every head in the chapel swiveled towards the large mahogany doors in the back. Standing up there framed by the evening sun was Eleanor Petford, and she looked like she came alive from Rosemary's worst nightmares. Her mascara ran down her cheeks and her hair looked like a bird's nest with all the tangled straw. She panted heavily as she gripped the door.

The air that had been humming with harmony and joy just a few seconds ago was filled with a thick tension.

Oh heavens, rosemary thought. How did she get our of the barn? She had been so careful. So, so careful.

The groom, Edwin Callahan, turned a deathly shade of white. His hand dropped from Maribel’s as if it had been burned.

​"Edwin! " Eleanor screamed frantically, her voice echoing off the now silent chapel. "You promised me! Two weeks ago, in the moonlight, you swore you would marry only me! And then you have me kidn*pped? Have me locked in a stable with a flatulent cow?"

​"What is the meaning of this, Edwin?" Maribel’s voice was thin and sharp. "Is she... is she saying the truth? Did you kidnap her?"

​"No! No, Maribel, I swear!" Edwin fumbled, his eyes darting around to find Rosemary like an injured animal. "I don't even know how she—I didn't—"

Yes, that part had been true. Because it was Rosemary who had cast a sleeping spell on Eleanor and locked her in the barn. She meant no harm though, she was going to release her as soon as the wedding was over. And in her defense, it was Edwin's idea.

"Liar!" Eleanor thundered and marched down the aisle with her mud covered gown. "You promised me you would leave this simpering little doll and come back to me."

Maribel gasped and sneered at Eleanor. "What did you call me?" She jabbed a finger at Eleanor. "How dare you barge in here and try to ruin my special day? How dare you try to make a fool out of me?"

"Oh honey," Eleanor scoffed. "You are already making a fool out of yourself if you think this man loves you." Eleanor laughed loudly.

Then the unthinkable happened. Maribel swung her bouquet at Eleanor which landed on the woman's face with a wet thud. Eleanor shrieked. And just like that the two women were at each other's throats while the crowd gasped and murmured like it was the most entertaining scene they had ever witnessed.

Edwin, the groom, tried to break the women apart but an elbow to his nose sent him reeling away.

Rosemary stood there for a few seconds in shock. Then she caught Madam Shanbury's watchful eye.

'Fix it Rosemary' Madam shanbury, the principal of the fairy school and the officiant for the day said slowly.

Fix it. I have to fix it. Rosemary looked around frantically, bile raising in her throat.

Her hands trembled, but she tried to cast a calming spell. She could almost feel the control in her hands, but then the magic slid off her hands right as her feet slipped on the marble floor. And just like that, the ambience spell was lifted. The beautiful white lillies shriveled into dried up stalks in a matter of seconds.

The lights flickered and were replaced by a harsh sickly glare.

The violinist who was trying to hide in a corner let out a startled cry. Smoke surrounded him and there was a large confused goat in the place of a man in tuxedo.

The whole chapel was in chaos.

Madam Shanbury, the officiant of the wedding and the headmistress of the academy, walked toward Rosemary disappointment clear on her face.

Good heavens, Rosemary muttered under her breath. She knew with a sinking certainty that she had failed again.

"Madam Shanbury... I... I can fix-" She started in panic.

"Fix this how, Rosemary?" Madam Shanbury let out a weary sigh. "Just look around you" She said.

The wedding looked like a graveyard. The groom's nose was bleeding. The bride was unconscious and the ex girlfriend was laughing hysterically. And the goat was chewing the curtains.

There was nothing Rosemary could say. She looked down with shame.

"Go. Now." Madam Shanbury said. Rosemary did not look back. She couldn't. She fled the chapel, her chest crushing with shame.

She had failed. Again.