A MAZE OF GREED

Thea was pacing back and forth in nervousness. The clock was ticking fast, indicating she had only two hours left for her wedding ceremony to start. And yet, she had no wedding dress of hers.

"Where is Ruth?" She asked her mother.

Mrs Green, now worried just like her daughter, glanced in Mrs Payne's way.

"I am sure Ruth and Ida must be on their way and... look they are here!" She sighed in relief at the sight of Ida and Ruth walking into the house.

"Ruth!"Thea ran to her. But instead of asking about her dress, she was amazed at how beautiful Ruth looked.

"I am sorry we are late. We just had to do some work before coming here." Ruth smiled apologetically.

They rushed into Thea's bedroom to get her ready.

"Ruth, at least now let me see the dress, please!" Mrs Green called from behind.

"Sorry Mrs Green. But you need to wait some more." Ida called before closing the door behind her.

Thea was so nervous and feeling jittery that her hands shook in the mixture of nervousness and excitement.

Ida closed Thea's eyes with a handkerchief. Even though they had less time in their hands, they wanted to make it special for Thea as much as possible. With the help of her over-enthusiastic bridesmaids, Thea managed to finally get into the dress.

Her heart was thumping in nervousness. She wanted to see herself as soon as possible, but these two girls were too adamant about keeping her on wait.

Ida opened the knot of the handkerchief but warned Thea to keep her eyes closed. Ruth and Ida worked wonders on Thea's face and hair. About an hour later, they both smiled satisfyingly, proud of their job.

They had to put up with Thea's incessant questions and complaints, yet they excelled in the task. Now was the time to show the bride how gorgeous she looked.

They both walked Thea to stand her in front of the mirror.

"Ready?" Ruth asked.

Ida heard how loudly Thea's heart was beating. She could feel the nervousness radiating out of her. Ida was yet to find her mate as she was yet to turn twenty. But looking at smiling Ruth, she wondered if she would also feel the same on her wedding day?

"Yes!" Thea whispered, holding her breath.

Ida and Ruth exchanged a glance with each other, and then Ruth said, "open your eyes."

Thea slowly opened her eyes. The moment her vision cleared, she was astounded to see the beautiful bride in the mirror. Her eyes first noticed her face. She was wearing not much make-up but just enough to accentuate her facial features.

Her hair was styled perfectly in a loose bun. Small white flowers were arranged on her bun to beautify it more. The next thing she noticed was the diamond necklace that Elsie had gifted her. It complimented her dress so well that she wondered if Elsie had seen the wedding dress before choosing that necklace for her.

And then her eyes travelled down more, and it just made her realise a shaky breath. Ruth had completely transformed her mother's wedding gown into a new dress, yet she had preserved the characteristics of it- that Thea loved.

Ruth had replaced the fluffy sleeves of the original dress with semi-transparent long sleeves. She had done excellent embroidery on the sleeves, giving them a striking character.

She had also plunged the original neckline that showed Thea's collarbones and long neck very well. The top was heavily embroidered with white threads. And then the tight bodice turned into a flare from her waist.

Ruth had added some more layers to the dress's bottom to give it that princess-like look.

"Say something please!" Ruth said after Thea's five minutes of silence.

She thought Thea did not like her dress and thus was silent, but soon her doubt was cleared when she saw Thea's moistened eyes.

Without a word, Thea turned and hugged Ruth tightly.

"Ruth! Thank you, thank you so much for such a beautiful dress! I... I am at loss of words!"

The bride made the two women emotional. A minute later, they pulled away, now smiling at each other.

"Come on, let's show everyone!" Ida said giddily.

The bedroom door was opened by Ruth. She and Ida first stepped out of the room to see Mr and Mrs Green along with some of their relatives and Mrs Payne waiting for the bride.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attention please!" Ida said dramatically after clearing her throat, the thing that she had seen Augustus doing every time he hosted a celebration in 'the great manor'.

The house turned silent as every pair of eyes, trained on the two women.

"Let's welcome the most beatutiful bride of Vincardine- Miss Thea Green!" Ruth announced with dramatic pauses with a high and low tone of her voice.

Thea shyly stepped out of the room followed by a loud gasp from the crowd. Everyone was gawking at her like she was a princess.

Thea stopped in front of everyone then smiled, looking at her parents. They were stunned. Both of their eyes were moist.

"Th-Thea!" Mrs Green stuttered, recking her daughter up and down with her mouth covered with her hands in awe.

"How do I look mother, father?" Thea asked, crossing her fingers that they liked how she looked.

Mrs Green was the first to come back to her senses, and she ran to gather her daughter in arms.

She cried tears of happiness, hugging her daughter and showering her with praises.

"You look more beautiful than your mother did, Thea! I am a lucky man to have two beautiful women by my side!!" Mr Green said, walking towards his daughter.

The little family moment made everyone so emotional that their eyes were moist.

Someone then reminded them of the running time. The carriage was waiting outside the Green's home. Thea rode the carriage with her parents as she wanted to share some more moments with them. Other guests rode the other carriages, and soon they were at the wedding place.

Ruth stepped down the carriage along with Ida and Mrs Payne. The wedding was taking place in a nearby church. And the reception was arranged in the backyard of the church. Ruth was surprised to see the number of carriages and the people at the place.

People from the bride's side looked distinct from the people from the groom's side. Ruth noticed how most of the men from Rees's side were tall and looked physically fit than the average men. The women were all swift in their movements, and not a single woman she saw was shy. They all held the confidence that Ruth had seen on Rees's mother and the women of the O'Dell family.

She looked at Ida to see the same confidence oozing out of her. She was puzzled how did she had not noticed that before.

But then, she failed to notice many things till this morning.

"Ruth, are you alright?" She heard Ida's voice that startled her.

Putting up a fake smile on her face, she replied, "yes."

Ida did not believe it a bit but did not pester more. "You still have not told me what took you so long then? I was waiting for you for almost half an hour."

"I just had to done some work for Lady Elsie. Now come on, we have to get in the church." Ruth dodged the topic conveniently.

Ida was not given much chance to ask more about it. But Mrs Payne was observing Ruth keenly since she entered the Green's house. She instantly knew something was off with Ruth. She needed to be more alert and ask Ruth about it after the wedding.

As Thea walked towards the church door, her nerves started jumping in nervousness. Her eyes searched for Ruth, and as if sensing it, she was instantly by her side.

Taking her hand in hers, Ruth whispered in her ear. "Everything is going to be fine, Thea! Forget about anything else and only focus on the man you love and is waiting for you behind that door. I am there for you... always!"

Thea mouthed a thank you with a small smile.

"Okay, girls. It is time for you to get in." Mrs Green told the bridesmaids.

Waving at Thea, Ruth, Ida and two of Thea's cousins walked inside the church with flowers in their hands.

Ruth was astonished at the number of people sitting inside the church as it was more than the people she expected from outside. She was instantly aware of the all eyes trained in her direction.

The only thing that kept her moving was the fact that it was not only her who was under the limelight. Ida and the two other bridesmaids were also there to share it with her.

Ruth wished she had the confidence Ida carried. She was the only one amongst them who walked, holding her head high and a wide smile on her face.

Ruth kept her head a little low to avoid the crowd's eyes, but then she felt some movement in her chest.

Wide-eyed, her head snapped up to look ahead, and her breath hitched when she saw the most beautiful cerulean blue eyes looking straight at her with a strange look in them.