Shada stared at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. She wondered if she should leave it down. She knew little of the wedding customs of Emberlene and she had no idea where Karrde was from, much less any traditions he might want to follow. He'd merely told her that anything that pleased her would please him, which had been absolutely no help at all. The only wedding she had attended was her older sister's right before Shada had dedicated herself to the Mistryl. It had been a poor affair, but her sister had worn her hair down with some flowers in it.

She decided it was rather foolish to try to look like a maiden at her age, especially with the white beginning to show in her dark hair. Besides Karrde liked her hair up and she might as well give him the pleasure of taking it down on their wedding night. She chose not to wear her zenji needles. She didn't want to go armed into her wedding. Instead, she braided her hair into a coronet, weaving in her rope of black pearls. Booster had sent her some lovely flowers to use as a bouquet. She'd always thought bouquets were rather silly so she arranged the flowers in her hair.

She was just finishing with her hair when her door chimed. "Who is it?" she called, hoping it wasn't Karrde. She was supposed to meet him in the observation lounge where the ceremony was going to be held. She didn't want him to see her before she was dressed.

"Mirax and Mara."

She opened the door and they came in both dressed in rather formal gowns.

"We came to see if you needed help," Mirax said looking her over. "But it looks like you've got everything well in hand. I don't know how you manage all these elaborate hairstyles on your own."

"Practice," Shada shrugged. "I'm glad you're here though. I'll probably need help with my dress." She grinned, "Apparently, my regular handmaiden is getting married today."

Mara laughed at that image. "Talon Karrde, Smuggler Chief, Information Broker and Lady's Handmaiden."

"This wedding is starting to sound like a bad joke anyway," Shada said laughing as well. "Three smugglers, a Jedi, the Emperor's Hand, a CorSec officer, and a Mistryl Shadow Guard are all on a red Star Destroyer…"

"I don't know," Mara said. "I kind of wish I'd let you and Karrde plan my wedding. There'd have been much less fuss and drama."

"I had the best of both worlds," Mirax told her. "An elopement and a fancy ceremony. Nothing on the scale of Mara's but still Corran and I were very nearly ready to elope again by the end of it."

They helped her into her gown. It was a pale lavender shimmer silk, elegantly simple with silver flowers embroidered about the neckline and hem. She'd had it for a while but she'd never had the occasion to wear it until now. She put on her black pearl earrings, but decided against more jewels. After that she helped Mara and Mirax put the remaining flowers in their hair.

"You told Luke not to let Booster get Talon drunk didn't you?" Shada asked Mara nervously. She couldn't help thinking something would go disastrously wrong.

"I think Karrde's smarter than that, but I did tell Luke."

Shada turned to her two friends. "Thank you both for standing up with me. I can't tell you what it means to me."

"Are you kidding?" Mirax laughed. "You think we'd miss being part of a secret wedding? It's like something out of a holonovel."

Shada headed for the door when Mara stopped her. "You might need this." She dropped Karrde's signet ring into her palm.

"Oh, I had completely forgotten about rings." Shada was horrified. "I'm a terrible bride."

"No, you're not, Shada," Mirax said. "I doubt Mistryl go to many weddings."

When they got to the observation lounge Booster, Luke, Corran, and Karrde were all standing in front of the viewports with twinkling starfield beyond. Karrde had dressed carefully as well. He looked resplendent in the dark grey suit and silver brocade vest that she'd given him for his last lifeday. She met his eyes and they shared a smile.

Mirax and Mara went to go stand off to the side with their husbands. Shada walked alone to Karrde. She did know at least that brides on Emberlene were not given away. Booster offered her a grin as she moved to stand beside Karrde.

"My dear, you are a vision." He raised her hand to his lips brushing a kiss across her fingers.

Booster swatted at him with his datapad. "No kissing until the end."

Following the ceremony, Mirax and Booster had organized a dinner for them in a private dining room, the wine following freely. Booster teased Karrde every chance he got, but Karrde took it all with good humor. Everyone just seemed tremendously pleased for them no matter how they joked about how long it had taken Shada and Karrde to finally get their act together.

All through the meal Shada kept staring down at the ring on her finger. It was of a similar though slightly more feminine design as the signet ring she'd given Karrde. However, the crest carved on the green stone wasn't the D'ukal crest.

Karrde caught her staring and asked quietly, "Do you like it?"

"Is this your family's crest?" she asked, wondering about the design.

"No. That wouldn't have been appropriate. It's mine, a vornskr on a field of green."

"Of course." She smiled, remembering the two vornskr's he used to keep as pets from the lush forested world he'd once thought of as home.

"Do you like it?" he asked again, a touch apprehensively. "Would have preferred a diamond or something else?"

"No, of course not. I have enough diamonds." And she did. He greatly enjoyed bestowing her with extravagant jewels. "Besides this is something I can comfortably wear all the time without it getting in the way should I need to fight. You did have it made up rather quickly though."

"I've had it for a while."

"A while?" she asked surprised.

He seemed uncharacteristically embarrassed. "I was waiting for you to decide to bind yourself completely to me."

She looked down at her hands, suddenly self-conscious that it had taken her so long to truly be ready to be married to him. "I'm sorry it took so long," she murmured.

He reached out and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I'm not. I'm a patient man." He leaned over and gave her tender kiss.

Shada lay in Karrde's arms enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking, her mind drifting over the events of the day. Their wedding day. She couldn't stop the smile at that thought. Although something now struck her that he'd said at dinner that she hadn't reflected on at the time. "What did you mean when you said it wouldn't be appropriate for you to give me your family crest?" He hadn't said he didn't have one, just that it wouldn't be appropriate.

He cleared his throat, stirring from his doze. "I'm not exactly a legitimate member of the family. Besides I haven't had anything to do with them for almost forty years."

She leaned up on her elbow and looked down at him so she could see his face. "Are you finally going to tell me where you're from?" She hoped he would finally satisfy the curiosity she'd had for years about his origins.

He looked amused as he reached up to stroke her cheek. "You never asked."

"You're always so blasted mysterious," she said a little irritated at both him and herself. He laughed at her annoyance and she gave him a thwack on the chest for laughing at her. "I thought you'd tell me if you wanted me to know. You mentioned a grandmother once."

"Yes, my paternal grandmother raised me," he told her the smile leaving his face. "My family was minor nobility on Condici. My father was a dissolute young man who wasted no time squandering the family fortune. Then he tried to get his hands on more money by seducing an heiress, hoping to get her pregnant so she would have to marry him. Her brothers were understandably upset and killed my father. My mother was so distraught she wanted nothing to do with me. So my grandmother took me in and tried to make me a better man than my father."

"She certainly succeeded." Shada smiled down at him.

"Well, it would have been hard for me to turn out worse than my father," he said with a self-depreciating smile. "When my grandmother died I left university, hopped the first transport offworld, and never looked back. I do sometimes wonder what she'd make of me now. She'd probably be rather amused all told."

"I'm sure she'd be very proud of you. I'm very proud of you." She leaned down and kissed him.

The End