Cad: A jerk, an asswhole (pardon my language, but it works as a definition.) slimeball and low down dirty dog works as well.

Nick was giving serious consideration to adding to the eisbiber entry in his grimm book.

Caution: If the eisbiber should ever feel indebted to you or consider you their hero, be prepared to be smothered with gift baskets. And if the wives should find out you're getting married, they will make rival that of the royals. Don't try to fight them on it. Their is no winning an argument against an eisbiber woman when she has wedding planning in mind.

Ever since they had offered to handle everything for Nick and Adalind's wedding, the beaver wesen have given signs that they believed in the term, If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

The list of venue options was filled with places large enough to hold town meetings.

"I don't think we need venues this large?" Nick said to Mrs. Worstner. "Adalind and I have very little family to invite. And the people we consider friends are not going to come close to filling up half of the seats in any of these places, even with the wesen council, and the people from Adalind's law firm attending."

"Oh, Nick, dear," Mrs. Worstner said. "There are so many people that you have helped that want to see you on the happiest day of your life. There are also many members of the wesen community who want to see the union of a grimm and a hexenbiest. We must anticipate many wedding crashers. But don't you worry. We will make sure no one there has a weapon and everyone has brought a gift."

That really wasn't what Nick was worried about, but he could see that attempting to downgrade the venue was pointless.

Once the setting had been chosen, the scenering came next.

"For a spring wedding, there should, of course be plenty of flowers." Mrs. Worstner said. She then looked at Adalind and asked. "Since you want it to follow an ancient custom, are there special flowers needed for the ceremony?"

"Ivey, roses and lilies are essential. Each represent something different." Adalind informs the woman.

"Any special colors in mind?"

"White for both, but other colors can be added."

Nick piped up, "We could get every color of rose and lily that exists."

Adalind furrowed her brows at him, "Nick, do you know how many different variations of roses and lilies that there are?"

"No, why?"

Adalind was about to explain to him that there were far too many to have in one place, but Mrs. Worstner spoke up and said, "Nick, dear, that is a wonderful idea. I have no doubt we can make it look very tasteful."

The look on Adalind's face at the eisbiber assurance made Nick wonder if he had given the woman a very bad idea.

But, it was too late. There would be no changing her mind.

Well intentioned party planners making his wedding far more extravagant than he had ever thought was really necessary.

Nick had always thought a wedding should be about the couple and their commitment to one another.

It was more and more starting to feel like this wedding was some sort of political statement.

Back at home, when he mentioned this to Adalind, she smiled and said she felt that way too. And that it was interesting, since marriages used to be political moves. They almost never were about love.

So, in a way, there wedding was even more traditional that they had planned.

Nick got a flash of memory at that comment. He was standing in a room with walls covered in intricate images.

Adalind, having been bound to his mind thanks to Diana, was pulled under with him as they remembered the Renaissance Era.

It was a time of great turmoil for wesen kind. The dark grimms had spread a plague of death and destruction in their wake.

With the effects of the black plague still lingering in some places, the people were feeling as if the world was coming to an end.

Which might explain why Nick's guardians had deemed it necessary to not only arrange for him a marriage, but to make it the most lavish affair to be seen.

Having been orphaned at twelve, Nick was sent to live with his wesen godparents. He had grown up knowing all about his grimm heritage. They had made sure to protect any and all documents and weaponry handed down to him by his ancestors. His Blutbad godfather, Monroe, had even had made a beautifully carved full covered carriage, to store all of those items. The theory being that, in case of fire or war, he could easily hook the wagon up to two horses and get the items to safety.

He had also known that he would one day be made to marry a wesen woman. Grimms were rare enough as it was, not every child born to a grimm would inherit the gift. Some dying in the line of work, was another issue. But there were also too many who had chosen to live a life of solitude, never having a family, never being intimate with anyone, never having children.

Godfather Monroe had said that there was a belief that if a grimm had children with a wesen, the chances of the offspring being grimms would increase.

Nick wasn't sure if he believed that, but he loved his godparents and never wanted to disappoint them.

Godmother Rosalee voiced that she feared him being alone. Too much vulnerability in being alone. She feared he would be a greater target, that he would be seen as vulnerable, or he could be seen as a potential threat, unless he married a wesen and had children.

Nick thought his godmother was the smartest woman in the world. He loved and respected her more than anyone else in his life. And so making her happy and fulfilling her wishes became a great priority for him.

Then he met the young maiden of whom they wanted him to marry, and it took all of his self control not to tun up to them, hug them tight, and promise to name every child he would ever have after them, in thanks for setting this marriage up.

She was the most beautiful vision Nick had ever laid eyes on. He thought she was a celestial being sent to earth. Certainly, only the heavens could have created such a being.

Lady Adalind blushed at the look of amazement she saw on her intendeds face. It was quite obvious that he was taken with her face. The smile on his own big and bright enough to rival the sun.

Adalind would admit that she found him to be pleasant to look upon, as well. His face held kindness and mischief. She sensed in him a sweet nature. His black hair looked so soft, she yearned to run it through her fingers. And his eyes were so deep and so blue, she could almost drown in them.

Nick's godparents were relieved to see that he was happy with the woman they had chosen for him.

They made arrangements for Adalind's family to stay at their estate for two weeks, so the potential couple could get to know eachother better.

Nick had been told that his future bride and her family were biests, when he had been told that he would be meeting his possible future bride.

Being surrounded by wesen his whole life, and having told all about and seen drawing of hexenbiests, Nick understood what he was getting into and saw no problem in it.

The two shared every meal together. They would go riding together. And they would read to each other from their favorite stories. The more they got to know each other, the more they like about the other.

Adalind's parents were relieved to see that the young man was quite taken with their daughter.

There had almost been a scandal, and they needed their daughter to be married to an honorable man, to show that there daughter had not been tainted.

Adalind had sworn that her virtue was still intact, but her parents were more worried about possible rumors and gossip that could be spread, unless their daughter was seen as obvious marriage material.

It had been discovered that a man with his eye on wealth and status had been flirting with a too large number of noble maidens. He had promised marriage to every single one of them. Vowed that he loved and would always be faithful to them.

His trickery and ill intentions had finally been discovered, when one poor girl had run crying to her father, after she had seen her beloved cad speaking romantically to and vowing to marry a another young maid.

The nobles had gotten together and compared notes. The suitor, Sean, had come to each one of their houses, asking for permission to court their daughters. He had seemed charming, and highly educated, obviously from a prominent family.

That is until they dug a little deeper and discovered that he was a fraud and a charlatan.

And that he was already married.

His wife, whose family had all of the money and owned all of the businesses, was living in her family's estate, fully expecting her husband to come home after taking care of whatever errand her father and brother had sent him on. The woman's parents had allowed they're daughter to marry a man with nothing of his own, so that they could keep his precious little girl safe at home.

Sean had wanted a chance to gain more money and have more power. And so he had left out a number of facts, in order to convince some other noble woman to marry him.

The first thing the nobles did, was to send the cad running back to his wife with his tail between his legs.

The second thing was to find honorable men for their daughters to marry. To save the girls' reputation and to preserve the family name.

Adalind had been one of those poor girls whose heart had been manipulated. And while she had never given her body to that man, she still felt violated. She had placed all of her love and trust in him. Believed all of his sweet words. Only to have them turn sour at the realization that he had spoken them to many others. That they were all nothing but lies.

Adalind hoped that her new intended did not often speak in poetic phrases, but that his actions would make it clear that he cared for a woman.

And above all else, Adalind desired fidelity.

With how easy the young couple got along, their families felt that they could officially begin wedding preparation.

Unfortunately for the couple, their families wanted the most extravagant affair. Adalind's mother insisted on inviting every noble and every royal that she could think of. Nick's godfather had many friends and associates that he felt he had to invite to his godson's wedding, as well as his and his wife's entire family.

That all meant that the couple would have to wait an entire year from the time of their meeting, before they would be married.

A whole year where if they even wanted to kiss, they would have to sneak away from their overly dedicated chaperone. A woman who, in Nick's opinion, took her job as protector of Adalind's vertue a little too seriously.

The eisbiber woman would hunt the couple down within minutes, then proceed to beat Nick with her walking staff, that Nick was certain she didn't really need, every time the couple tried to have a moment alone together.

The more time that passed, the more the couple wanted one another. Each became certain they would go mad, if they weren't aloud to be with the one they loved soon.

Finally, at long last, the wedding day arrived.

Inside the church, as the priest said prayers and placed a blessing over the union, the couple became completely certain that their union was ordained by God.

Everything just felt right.

Everyone celebrated the union with great merriment. Toasting the couple and offering blessing of a long and happy marriage with lots of healthy children. There was plenty of music dancing and feasting.

But as much fun as everyone seemed to be having, Nick and Adalind desperately wanted the evening to end, so that they could retire to their bed chambers and consummate their new union.

Nick revelled in the fact he would finally get to hold Adalind in hi arms, without fear of being attacked by a mad woman with a cane. That he still swore she didn't need.

The celebration came to an end for the couple and they headed to their room.

Waiting for them, was a newly and intricately carved bed. A gift for the newlyweds.

The bed was made from solid oak and the blankets and cushioned were of the finest and softest materials.

But neither one much cared to notice any details at the moment, all attention was on each other.

Almost an entire month passed before the couple left their chambers.

When they did finally emerge and they had a meal with Nick's guardians and Adalind's parents, Adalind's mother kept casting them glaring and disapproving looks.

Adalind shrank into Nick, seeking his comfort from her mother's non verbal wrath.

Not liking how his new mother in law was treating his bride, Nick quickly came to her defence.

"Adalind is my wife now. Our marriage has been consummated. I am her husband. There is nothing you can do to change that. And no punishment you can give her if she upsets you. I would suggest, if you wish to continue to be allowed in my wife's presence, that you refrain from looking at her with such contempt. She has done as a good wife should and stayed by her husband's side. If you don't like her behavior, there is nothing you can do about it. No church would end a marriage just because the brides mother didn't want her to stay in her husband's presence."

Adalind's mother had no doubt that her new son in law would forbid her from seeing her daughter if she displeased him, and so she bit her tongue.

Adalind looked adoringly at her husband. No words could describe her joy that he had come to her aid so quickly and had stood up so bravely to her mother.

Nick returned her look of affection with one of his own.

That same look of affection was on his face as he gazed at Adalind, them both drifting back from remembering past events.

"I guess this isn't the first time our wedding as been hijacked by well meaning loved ones." Nick observed.

"At least if you kiss me, you won't be hit by a cane." Adalind giggled.

Nick wrapped Adalind in his arms, growling playfully and nuzzling her neck.

He whispered suggestively, "And we don't have to wait for our wedding night to be alone together either."

Moaning softly as Nick's hands roamed over her body, Adalind responded, "I was hoping you would realize that."