Chapter 3

Haru's Star

Griffin was hardly aware of the day that had gone by. Everything seemed to be happening at an extremely accelerated rate. He vaguely remembered getting dressed in the morning and noticing how ridiculous he looked in a tuxedo.

Blurred images of faces and words people had said to him rolled over and over in his mind like a great tornado. It was almost like being on some sort of amusement park ride that went around and around until one could barely see straight.

Before he knew it he was standing in the church waiting for his bride to arrive. The feeling of everyone's eyes on him was more than uncomfortable. He knew no matter what he did his hair would never behave, which always gave him the look of being unkempt. He was aware of how silly he looked and was powerfully glad that Haru had chosen Muffy as her Maiden of Honor; he did not think he had the guts to stand up in front of the village alone. Muffy wore a stunning pink dress that fitted nicely to her curves and fresh pink flowers in her hair.

"Jeez… I think Haru's mom invited a whole bunch more people…" Muffy whispered to Griffin out of the corner of her mouth as she gazed out at the crowd. It was true the people sitting in the pews seemed to be much more than the number Griffin and Haru had decided on. From beside him there was a voice.

"There isn't gonna be enough food for them all…" Gustafa joined in their conversation. Griffin smiled at him subtly, not wanting anyone else to notice they were talking. There was a low murmur over the crowd. Griffin had wanted Doug for his Best Man, but he knew that his friend of over twenty years did not approve of him marrying a girl who was thirteen years younger, so he'd asked Gustafa who was happy to oblige. Doug sat scowling in the pews beyond.

"I just don't th-" Griffin had begun to speak, but something had stopped him. Out across the aisle, dappled by the glistening rainbow light that refracted from the stained glass windows was an angelic figure. Petite and lithe, she gracefully walked down the aisle in her gossamer pink and white gown. Her brown hair swept in neat waves above her shoulders and was dotted with an assortment of pink pearls that became a tiara. She held a bouquet of beautifully bright flowers and her cheeks were lightly pink with blush. Griffin could barely breath as he watched her float closer to him, Takakura holding her arm as she went. The crowd had become hushed and all the eyes had turned in the direction of the bride.

"Oh… she's so beautiful…" Muffy's voice was teary and followed by little sniffles.

"Muffy, don't cry!" Gustafa hissed, trying to keep a smile on his face. Griffin didn't notice a thing. He was too captivated with Haru's image. The priest was smiling broadly behind the altar as Haru came close to Griffin and lightly broke from Takaura's arm. He gave her a proud look over and a small kiss on the cheek.

"Haru… You've grown into a fine young woman…" He told her in a murmur. He wore a rare smile on his face as he turned to face Griffin.

"You better take good care of her." His eyes were somewhat serious. Griffin nodded accordingly, knowing that he would be more than happy with these terms. Haru stepped up and stood in front of Griffin, smiling at him with an exhilarated grin.

The priest came to life behind them and his voice began to echo through the lofty heights and bright light of the church. The light was pouring through the stained glass like beams from heaven and the air around them seemed to be resonating with some sort of unseen energy.

Griffin could barely believe this was actually happening. He could not grasp the fact that he was actually marrying the beautiful woman that stood before him. It seemed uncommonly dream-like.

"…Do you, Griffin… take Haruka to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold until death do you part?"

Griffin didn't even hesitate for a moment.

"I do." he said with a conviction that he rarely ever used. Haru beamed back at him as he spoke.

"And do you, Haruka… take Griffin to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold until death do you part?"

"I do!" Haru's clear and bell-like voice rang out with the tiniest of echoes through the church.

This is it… She thought joyfully to herself, her heart in her mouth. Just a few more moments… and I will belong to you forever…

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife." The priest announced, giving them both a warm smile. "You may now kiss the bride."

There was some loud sobbing from the audience that sounded as if it was coming from Haru's mother. Haru knew that those weren't tears of joy, but it hardly matter as she leaned in to kiss her new husband.

Soon, her gasping sobs were drowned out by an explosion of applause that was amplified tenfold by the cavernous walls. Happy faces of people that Haru had come to know and love spun and floated around in the field of her vision for several brilliant moments. She was becoming lost in the sea of sight, sound and movement. It was like being caught in a sort of very fast spinning whirlpool as she was walked out of the church, people all around yelling and congratulating her. Only Griffin's voice stood out as they exited into the radiant midday sunlight.

"You all right, Haru?" He asked her through all the noise and excitement. She looked up at him through all the haziness.

"More than all right." Her voice was only loud enough for him to hear it. Suddenly there was a crazed sort of screaming from many different female voices.

"Haru! Haru! Throw the bouquet!" Muffy yelled up to where Haru stood. Haru looked away from her husband to see a clamoring of some of the single women in the village looking up excitedly with their arms outstretched. Muffy was leading the group, looking like she would do anything to get that bouquet.

"Oh! I almost forgot… haa okay… here's goes…" Haru turned around so she couldn't see anyone who might want it and hurled the bouquet back with all her might. There was a chorus of high pitched screams above the chattering of the crowd and Haru turned to see the bouquet sail over all their heads and land haphazardly onto Nami's head. She had been talking seriously with Gustafa and becoming very disconcerted as the flowers crashed down on her head.

"Hey!" She squawked as she noticed what it was. Muffy turned to Haru with a wide and dejected stare.

"You could have at least tried to cheat."

--

Ann and Doug were nearly beside themselves. The food that they had prepared earlier was nowhere near close to how much they needed after Haru's mother had invited so many new guests. The two of them could be seen charging back and forth through the kitchen doors, their hands covered in flour and stains on their shirts. The inn had never been so full in it's lifetime.

"Who are all these people?" Muffy asked Haru as they wandered around through the crowd. Haru had changed into a sleek crème colored evening gown and was looking around.

"Well, most of these people are the company owners and important business people my mother works with." Haru explained.

"Whoa… I didn't know you rubbed shoulders with the rich and snooty." Muffy noted a corpulent man with a dangling pocket watch that appeared to be made out of solid gold and was encrusted with diamonds.

"Well, technically I am one of the rich and snooty." Haru laughed with Muffy and they sat down at one of the only empty tables in the building. "My mother owns the 7th largest company in the country… You've heard of Ma Belle cosmetics, right?"

"Heard of it? That's all I use! Jeez, Haru! You wait till your wedding day to tell me." Muffy giggled, "Or should I call you Haruka?" Haru grimaced slightly.

"I hate it when people call me that…" She told Muffy, her eyes squinted slightly.

"Haha, I can tell." As Muffy finished speaking, a looked of sudden excitement appeared on her face.

"Oh! Akira!" She called out from behind Haru. Haru looked back and saw her brother passing by. He stopped when he saw them and greeted them both happily as he sat down.

"Hey, you two. How's it feel to be married, sis?" He asked Haru amiably. She smiled.

"Feels pretty good. I think my husband's already turning into a drunkard, though." She gestured towards the bar area jokingly, where Griffin and some of his friends were playing a high-spirited drinking game.

"Haha… I've never seen him look so happy. You two are going to have a really good life together, I can just tell."

"So, Akira!" Muffy interjected, "Anything new?" She looked at him expectantly. Akira paused for a moment.

"Well… I just added on another chicken coop…. Got four new birds… soon I'm going to get another renovation to my house, too…"

"Are you?" Haru asked genially, "Dang, Akira… you do work hard… My house needs some expanding now, too…"

"Is that all…? There's no… new plans… for anything…?" Muffy continued to ask Akira as if Haru hadn't spoken. She had a somewhat hopeful tone in her voice. Akira began to look a little disheartened.

"Uh… yeah… that's all."

Haru was beginning to pick up on some odd tension between the two and was about to inquire when there was a small tap on her shoulder.

"Haru…" A tiny voice said in her ear. When Haru turned she saw Flora standing behind her looking terribly distressed.

"Flora, what's wrong? Aren't you enjoying the party? Did Ann not bring you any food or something?" She asked when she saw Flora's expression.

"No, no… Haru… the party is great… Oh, and congratulations!" She added as if it were a last minute thought, then leaned in close and whispered into Haru's ear, "I just… I really need to talk to you about something…"

Haru felt a mild undertone of worry as she nodded and rose from her seat.

"Of course." She obliged, then turned back to Muffy and Akira. They were both sitting quietly and fiddling with their forks.

"Excuse me one second, guys. If Griffin is looking for me can you tell him I'll be right back?"

"Sure…" Muffy murmured. Flora and Haru weaved through the rowdy crowd trying to get to a quiet place to talk. They passed by a disgruntled looking Ann who was carrying plates laden with food and found a sort of lonely corner by the stairs.

"Ok, Flora. What's the matter?" Haru asked in a sisterly sort of way. Flora took a deep breath and looked at her shoes.

"I… I didn't know who else to come to… I… I just thought since… well, since…"

Suddenly a hand clapped on Haru's shoulder.

"My dear Haruka… I haven't seen you since you were a child." Said an oily voice in her ear. Haru was forced to turn and see who was talking to. Flora looked desperate as Haru faced a tall, spindly man dressed in a jet black, pinstriped suit. He had a thin and wiry mustache that curled up at the ends. His hair was also ebony colored and he wore it greased back.

"Mr. Worthington!" Haru immediately recognized him from her youth. He was another business tycoon and a friend of her mother's. She felt a sense of sinking dread…she knew if he was here, his son wouldn't be far away either.

"You looked stunning today, my dear. Congratulations on your marriage." He spoke to her without an ounce of truth in his voice. His eyes were working around the room as if he were thinking of something.

"Thank you very much, Mr Worthington. I'm sorry to be so rude, but-"

"OH, Haruka! Look who it is!" Came her mother's voice from a short ways off. She was pushing a tall, slender young man forward in the crook of her arm. He had chin length, sandy blonde hair that was full and grew is soft waves around his face. He looked very timid.

"Ahh… I see you've found my son, Fuyuko." Mr. Worthington noticed as Yuko moved forward with the uncomfortable looking boy.

"Father…" The boy's voice was mild and soft. He looked quite out-of-place and Haru was shocked. This surely wasn't who she remembered from her childhood.

"Phillip, won't you come and say hello to little Haruka?" He waved towards Haru with one long, bony hand.

"Oh… yes, of course…" Phillip removed his feather hat and bowed to Haru. "Haru… it's a pleasure to see you after all these years. Congratulations on your marriage."

Haru was utterly confused. The Phillip she remembered was a wild, unkempt and brusque child who's only concern was exploring. She could recognize his face, though it was mature and developed now, but the person underneath seemed to have changed entirely.

"Phillip is studying to be a cartographer, did you know, Haru?" Yuko flitted her eyelashes at Phillip. He was quite a handsome boy, but definitely not Haru's type. "Funny to think you two were once engaged to be married, isn't it?"

Haru felt another surge of anger. She knew what her mother was doing and it left a nasty taste in her mouth. She turned to Flora for help and saw that she had stepped away while they were talking.

"What did you say your husband's profession was, Haruka?" Mr. Worthington asked in his silky voice.

"Oh… he's a bartender." Haru answered a little distantly, looking around for Flora or any other diversion she could use to escape from these three.

Mr. Worthington made an indistinct noise and turned his nose up slightly. He wore a small sort of sneer.

"Well, isn't that… charming." His voice falsely interested, "Well, I have some news that might interest you. My Phillip will be staying in Forget-Me-Not valley for a while, isn't that exciting?"

"What?" Haru snapped back into the conversation.

"Oh, yes… he was intrigued by the valley, so he'll be staying at the Inn for sometime. I hope you two can rekindle the friendship you once had."

"Of course… It'll be a pleasure." Haru had to grit her teeth a little. She shot a venomous look at her mother who smiled back at her daughter smugly. Haru knew that she was behind this.

"Oh, we must be going." Mr. Worthington said then, "It was very nice seeing you, Haruka. I hope we can meet again. Phillip waved at Haru and gave her a little smile as he was pulled away by his father into the crowd. Almost as soon as they were gone, Romana, Lumina, Rock and Sebastian rushed her and began thwarting her with their congratulations. Haru responded accordingly, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Mother… why do you always have to do this…

--

It was well past midnight when Haru and Griffin finally reached their home on Haru's ranch. They were both exhausted, but felt giddy with happiness. It was a satisfying feeling as they went into their house together for the first time as a married couple. They passed through the living room and into the bedroom together, chatting contentedly. Haru had renovated her house to make it bigger for her new family while Griffin was away at his trial. It now had two bedrooms, a kitchen, bath, and living room… but there was still barely enough space for a family.

"I thought you'd be a little more tipsy… You nearly beat out everyone of those guys in your drinking game." Haru commented with an airy tone as she flopped down on the bed. She was so tired she could barely move. It was hardly believable that so much had happened in one day… She was actually married now…

"A bartender must be able to hold his liquor." Griffin said as he sat down beside her one the bed, smiling down at her with a small look of wonderment. She stared up at him for a long time, still hardly believing that her wildest dreams had actually come true.

"We're married…" She said out loud, just to say it, "I must still be in shock." She giggled. Griffin suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh… I nearly forgot." He stopped for a moment and pulled something out of his pocket carefully. "I wanted to give it to you earlier, but there was just too much going on. I hope you like it." He held out something in his hand and Haru got up on one elbow to see what it could be. Shining on his hand was a sparkling, bright silver chain with a star-shaped pendant at the end of it. It was gleaming with an ethereal sort of brilliance.

"Oh my… it's beautiful!" Haru exclaimed as she picked it up to examine it more closely. It sparkled and shone in the light as she held it up in front of her eyes. Suddenly she frowned at Griffin.

"Hey, how much did you spend on this!? I thought you were barely getting by after that stupid Skye took all you money? I know you don't have enough-"

"Ha. I thought you might say that." Griffin laughed. "Don't worry… That was given to me a long time ago when I was just a kid. The person who gave it to me told me that I should give it to the woman I love. It supposedly has some sort of magic power… It makes your dreams come true, or something…" Griffin explained. "Like it?"

Haru was relieved. She was glad Griffin hadn't spent anything on her and thought that it sounded rather romantic.

"I love it! Thank you so much!" She kissed him sweetly on the cheek and gave him a hug before putting it around her neck and fastening the clasp. It shone just like a real star. "I'll never, ever take it off!" She told him proudly. Griffin began to look a little sentimental.

"Thank you for being my wife, Haru. I always-"

As he began to speak, Haru suddenly lost all control of herself. The love and passion in her heart was overflowing and she could hold it back no longer. She pounced forth onto Griffin chest and kissed him fully.

Haru hadn't truly known what it had meant to be happy before that long and wonderful day.