"How do I look?" Ringabel asked for the fifth time in fifteen minutes, examining his hair in the mirror he'd found to hang on the wall.

"You look great," Tiz replied for the fifth time. The younger boy was currently fidgeting with his coat. Ringabel doubted it was very often the younger boy had dressed in something so fine; perhaps only for special occasions and events. It looked good on him either way, a creamy tailcoat with a light blue waistcoat underneath. His hair was even slightly groomed and a little less fluffy. Ringabel was so proud.

Braev was watching him. Being under the eye of his future father-in-law was a bit unnerving. Ringabel swallowed and adjusted his cravat, trying not to glance at Braev out of the corner of his eye.

"Everything will be fine, Ringabel," the older man told him. "Though, I am pleased to see that you've adopted a more appropriate hairstyle for the day."

"Yes, sir." Ringabel gingerly lifted a hand to his head. Instead of his usual extravagant pompadour, he had instead slicked his hair back over his head, with only a small portion pulled neatly over his forehead. It looked clean and classy, something that he might have styled daily back when he was Alternis.

The door to their small, somewhat warm preparation room was cracked open, for air, and to hear the guests for the wedding as they began to arrive. At the noise of the small crowd Ringabel bounced on his heels and went to peek out the door, watching them all trickle in to sit.

There was Barras and Holly and some man he couldn't quite recognize from this distance. Odd. He'd thought they'd kept the guest list short and sweet, limited to people they knew quite well. The Venus sisters were coming in as well, and he watched Einheria try to herd them to the proper seats. Lord DeRosso, Sage Yulyana… or at least the Sage's staff, it was very hard to see the short old man in the crowd. Datz, Zatz, and the Proprietress were toward the back of the room, where she could watch the food and they could watch the door.

He wanted to continue to watch the proceedings, but instead the door swung open. Yelping in surprise, Ringabel stepped back as his future mother-in-law entered.

"Oh, look at you," Mahzer said, her hands over her mouth. "You look quite charming."

"Thank you," he said awkwardly. Could he call her Mother yet? Everything else didn't seem to fit.

Mahzer rounded on her husband next, brushing off his pauldrons and ensuring that his cape was fastened tight. She reached up to touch his face, her hand brushing his beard for any hairs that were out of place. Braev stood there with the air of a man who was used to such scrutiny from his wife. Once she finished, the woman stepped back. "There you are, Braev. And our lovely girl is ready for you. She's in the room four doors down."

Braev took a deep breath. "Very well. We shall see you all shortly." He gestured to Tiz to follow him as he made to leave the room. Tiz, as Ringabel's attendant, would need to escort Agnes, Edea's attendant, to the altar. Privately, Ringabel thought it was also because it was very likely Agnes would get lost on her way up there.

"Wait just one moment," Mahzer said, stopping her husband in his tracks, and she turned to Tiz. "Tiz, dear, come here."

Tiz, who had experience with doting mothers, seemed to know it was pointless to argue and immediately walked over to the waiting woman. Ringabel watched with bemusement as Tiz's hair was patted down further and his cravat straightened and tucked in, the young man closing his eyes at the attention. Once Mahzer had deemed it acceptable, she nodded at him, patted his cheek, and Tiz and Braev finally went on their way.

Then Ringabel was left alone with his mother-in-law. Future mother-in-law. Very soon to be mother-in-law. He looked her over, smiling at her dress. He'd never seen her in anything that looked so nice, not even as a child. It had been a long time since they'd had occasion to dress up...

"You look beautiful," he started, then faltered. What was most appropriate to call her? The usual 'Lady Mahzer' now seemed too formal for his soon to be mother-in-law, but she wasn't yet his mother-in-law, and oooh, he was probably overthinking things.

Luckily, Mahzer didn't seem to have noticed his internal monologue. She smiled warmly up at him, and he was reminded painfully of the woman he had not seen in so, so long. "Thank you, Ringabel. You've always been so kind." She reached up to touch his cheek now, and push some of the strands of his pale hair back into place. "You're going to be a wonderful addition to the family. Though, you've always had your own place in it, you know."

He took a deep breath. "I… I know that now." He hadn't known that as a child. Alternis had been eternally grateful for the love and hospitality that the Lee family had shown him. He'd been in disbelief that people could be so kind to a wretch like him. But he'd never seen himself as part of the family, had never known they truly wanted him to be part of the family. He sighed, and reached up to touch her hands. They felt cool and soft. "I'll do my best," he promised.

Again, the woman smiled, but this time, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. Carefully, he returned it, leaning his head against the top of her head. He hadn't been hugged like this since he was young. After a few warm moments, she leaned back, and immediately fussed over the wrinkles the hug had created in his clothes.

From the slightly open door, he could hear music begin to start. He swallowed.

"We should get in position," Mahzer suggested, and took the arm that he shakily offered her.

"Yes," he replied, his heart starting to pound in his chest. She would be standing in as the family member to give him to the union. It was the best they could do, given the circumstances, but he didn't mind in the least. She was the closest thing he would ever have to a mother.

Now, he could hear Tiz and Agnes being announced as attendants to the bride and groom. They would walk up to the altar and be part of the wedding, a symbol of the couple bringing their old bonds to their new marriage.

"Let's go," Mahzer told him, patting his arm sympathetically as he halted at the door.

"Yes, let's go," he replied, and led her out the door. Now, it was time for him to finally be married to the love of his life.