Cadance modestly sipped a glass of orange juice as the Great Hall around her was brimming with the chatter of breakfast. Some students were still half asleep, others were eager to get their day started. Some were trying to finish their homework and eat at the same time, while others were in animated conversations with their friends. Those around her were a mixture of every bit. She sat next to Charlie Whitman, the man who would one day be her husband and across from her cousin Xavier. The two were having a debate over some Quidditch Match that may or may not have happened recently, Cadance wasn't really paying attention.

The screech of an owl announced that the morning post had arrived. An elegant Snowy Owl stopped in front of Cadance and bowed, letting go of a parcel wrapped in brown packaging. She stroked the gorgeous bird under the beak, gave her a nibble of Charlie's bacon and the bird flew off. She pushed her plate aside and pulled the parcel towards her. In an instant she recognized her mothers handwriting, as if the bird hadn't been an indicator that the package had come from home. She untied the string and unwrapped the brown paper. She let out a cry of surprise when she saw what was inside.

Aside from a piece of parchment with a letter written by her mother there was a stack of at least five different magazines, everything from Witch Weekly to Runwitch Magazine and every single of one of them was the Special Spring Wedding Edition. Cadance tore her eyes from the horrid things and scanned the letter from her mother.

Dearest Cadance,

I've been in talks with Gwendoline and we've finally set a date for the wedding! I know it's still a year away, we want you and Charlie to graduate at least but I was so excited I just had to send these to you. Your Grandfather's already making preparations and he says we can use the Manor grounds for the ceremony. We're still working on the guest list but as I'm sure you can imagine, it's been a nightmare. There's just so many Whitmans and Wentworths to invite! Anyways I won't bore you with the details, we've got everything under control. The only thing you need to worry your pretty little head about is your dress. Now I circled which ones I think you'll like, let me know as soon as you've made a decision.

Can't wait to hear from you,
Love Mum

Cadance felt her chest tighten and was suddenly worried that her perfect facade was about to shatter. With numb fingers she opened the top magazine and thumbed through the moving pictures of gorgeous Witchs displaying the most popular gowns of the season. She paused on one that had been enthusiastically circled with colour changing ink, obviously the work of her mother. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Charlie place a hand on her knee and lean into her, "You'd look stunning in that one."

A rare sight greeted the great hall this morning.  Erin Dark, for once in her life, not hyper.  By mutual agreement, her roomates had successfully managed to hide all forms of caffeine from her including chocolate, much to her displeasure.  Still, she knew she should not be eating high calorie sweets since she wanted to keep her figure.  She sat down at the Slytherin table, and began filling her plate with a modest but well balanced meal, making sure she did not eat too much.  Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted X. Tawse.  For a second she wondered if they had a match today.  She did not think so, but Erin was not the person who would have kept track of that thing anyways.  She barely kept track of her own class schedule.

Erin was minding her own business - when she heard someone comment about clothes.  She then looked over at Candace, and saw the stack of magazines.  Almost immediately, the hyper Erin was back.  Though she was in magazines often enough, she never really got the chance to brag about it.  Her feet almost did not touch the ground as she grabbed her plate and moved to sit next to her upperclassmen.  She had no idea if her presence was needed, wanted, or desired...but since when did that ever stop Erin?

"Oh - I think I'm in some of those...not the wedding dresses - yeah he's right, you would look good in that.  Maybe you should consider modeling wedding dresses?  Now that I think of it, doesn't your mother design clothes?  I might have done some work for her.   Is that Runwitch?  I think I am wearing a god-awful turquoise getup in that one.  Almost rescinded payment on that one.  Almost.  Sometimes I do things for money I wish I did not have to do.  Should be good for a laugh," Erin started.

 She remembered THAT outfit.  The adjective definitely deserved capital letters.  The barber had put half a dozen peacock feathers in her hair, and the dress faded from turquoise blue to turquoise green from the length of top to the bottom.  It also had bows in places that Erin didn't even know bows went.  If Erin was a gambling woman, she would have put money that the designer put bows on the inside of the dress as well but was stopped by someone with pragmatism or common sense.  If that wasn't bad enough, in that photo she also wore  a red-orange vest with sequins in that photo as well.  All in all, Erin actually did look like a half-baked regurgitated potion wearing that thing.  Still, she needed to change topics before they actually went looking for that photo.  Her hyperactive mind obliged her.

 "Oh - Witch Weekly - I think I have a couple of sundress shots in that one - though I am not sure if its in that issue or the one coming out," continuing on in a relatively cohesive manner.  "So what are you looking at dresses for?" Erin asked, curious.

Cadance let the shock of the situation ebb as she composed herself once more. She really couldn't fault Charlie for any of this, he had been pushed into this arranged marriage just as much as she had and if he disapproved of her as a wife he certainly didn't show it. He wasn't a horrible guy and there were certainly worse Purebloods she could have been tied to but she didn't love him and she didn't want him. She just wanted to be free to make decisions for herself, something she hadn't been allowed to do most of her life.

While regaining her composure Cadance was treated to the whirlwind that was Erin Dark. While much more easy to endure than her older sisters (though Bella had seemed to be coming around a bit the last time they had talked) she was still exhausting just to listen to. The younger blonde was going on about her modeling career outside of Hogwarts and Cadance had to admit she had seen her in a few magazines that had been sent her way. She hadn't been expecting to see her in these though but sure enough she was there in some rather interesting dresses at that, though most seemed to be reserved for the bridesmaids.

Cadance let out a cordial laugh, "Model Wedding gowns? I'm sure my mother would love that." Speaking of her mother, "She wished she were a designer though she is rather friendly with most of the best known designers for witch's couture." Cadance chose not to comment on the fact that even Erin thought she would look good in the dress that had been recommended for her. For all the things that she had no control over in her life, her Wedding Gown was supposed to be her own decision but it appeared she wasn't even going to get that, even if she didn't want the wedding in the first place.

Playing the part she needed to play, Cadance took Charlie's hand and gave it a squeeze eliciting a smile from him before he went back to talking Quidditch with her cousin, "The date for our wedding had been booked. My mother wants me to get a head start on picking out my wedding gown."

Erin did not really know Candace that well, so she was surprised that she was getting married and that she apparently already had a date selected.  Erin wondered about all of her classmates who seemed to be engaged.  It seemed a bit young in her opinion, but she did know that purebloods still kept up with the tradition of marrying girls young.  Not that her dad cared enough about her for that, but sometimes it seemed like she was one of the few girls in this school without a boyfriend, let alone a fiancé.  Still, one could never accuse Erin of picking up subtle clues or being subtle herself. 

"Don't know why you are so concerned if your mother approves of your career choice.  If you don't want to model, do not model.  Trust me, I can tell you of a thousand reasons why not.  I can also tell you of a thousand reasons why.  If you want to model though, I can probably give you an address to owl to though.  Have you ever wondered why owls?  Why not pigeons?  Or any other bird for that matter?  I wonder if the owls get more of a hoot out of it or something.  Is that why they hoot?  Oh what were we talking about - weddings.  Congratulations.  You have successfully removed an eligible bachelor from the dating pool.  Did that sound too cynical?  Eh - not like we talk a lot anyways.  So onto more important matters - are you having a bachelorette party and am I invited?  What was the other thing we were talking about?  Dresses.  I know enough people in tailoring and fashion that if you want a dress - talk to me first.  I might be able to get you a good deal on one.  Speaking as someone who has modeled bridesmaid dresses before though - please stay away from the pastel colors.  Your bridesmaids will thank you for not making them look like something resembling an easter egg."  Erin somehow stated in one breath.

As Erin finished her thoughts, she began to look at the food.  Taking a couple of helpings of fruit, a measured amount of grains as well as swallowing back a bright green nutrient potion, Erin began to dig into her breakfast.  She really did want to eat more, but she always watched what she ate.  She also made sure to drink a couple of cups of water as well.  She began playing with the silverware since it was slightly shiny, before she remembered she was eating and in a conversation.  Sometimes Erin forgot things like that.  After briefly remembering what they were talking about, she finally added in, "So it seems your excited about it - have you made any other arrangements yet?" Erin half-asked, half-commented, not really thinking through her comment, one way or the other.

Cadance gave a genuine smile and shook her head playfully. Listening to Erin Dark talk was as hard as it was amusing. Cadance could never figure out how she ever managed to fit so many words into one breath. She shuddered to think what the girl would be like if exposed to any sort of caffeine. She merely waited for the girl to be done, her own thoughts riling around about as quickly of the younger Dark's lips. This all seemed to be too real now and happening too fast. She always knew that things would happen as soon as she graduated, at least that had always been her Mother's plan but now she was able to actually count the number of months until her wedding and the urge to break free and run away was more poignant than ever.

While screaming inside she chuckled softly having been given a pause to finally respond to the other blonde, "No not yet. Though if I know our mothers, most of the arrangements have already been done," She glanced over at Charlie who returned the squeeze she had given to his hand. A small part of her felt bad for him. He was being forced into this as much as she was but he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. He got along well with her Brother and her Cousin. His family completely adored her and over the past few years after puberty had hit he seemed to genuinely care for her. She had a feeling that if she did manage to break free from the archaic chains that shackled her freedom she would actually break his heart.

"Though I'm hoping to at least be able to pick my own Bridesmaids. Can't imagine how many of my cousins my mother would assign to the task."

Erin - though not the shiniest snake in Slytherin - could from on occasion pick up subtle clues in conversation that normal people took for granted.  She had the distinct sense that her upperclassmen was not wild about her nuptiuals even though she appeared to like the choice of groom.  She could certainly understand family issues though, since she was not lacking those herself.

"Well - it seems you like the guy.  No one is forcing you to have a grandiose affair with relatives you do not like.  Though to be honest, I have always wondered about things with formal invitations.  Granted, I've only been on the hook for one, but it seems like they should have more than one way to RSVP. When I get married, I am going to have multiple ways to respond: I'm not coming and saying I'm coming, saying I'm coming but not showing up, arriving with a guest everyone hates, or I'll show up for the free food.  In all honesty, I think you'd get a more accurate count that way.  If the planning is bugging you...why not elope?  It is not exactly what I'd want for my wedding...but some of the other models swear by it," Erin rambled off her relatively coherent tangential thoughts on the matter.



 

Cadance laughed sweetly at the younger girl. That was definitely an interesting way to look at things. She could just imagine the look on her Mother's face if she had managed to put those kinds of options into the wedding invitations. If she were to go ahead with this whole affair she might as well have fun with it. She tucked that little nugget away, just in case. She was going to do everything she could to run away from her family and get out of the bonds that had been forced upon her but there was a very real possibility that she wouldn't quite make it, or Salazar forbid, she might actually grow to like the idea.

She let out a loud, "Ha!" When Erin suggested eloping. Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake. She could run away and still get married. She doubted she could talk Charlie into it (even if she wanted to) it was doubtless that her Grandfather was willing to sink thousands of Galleons into the whole ceremony, not to mention whatever the Whitman's were wiling to throw in. It made her envious of her cousin's easy inheritance. Xavier was the eldest Wentworth, as soon as he graduated he would be entitled to his inheritance (or at least as much as Arathorn would allow him until the old man passed away) He could toss aside his silly sullied Tawse name and do his family proud and he didn't have to marry someone he didn't love to do so.

"Now that would be something."