Chapter 53 – Wedding Preparations
The next chapter is done. Now, this isn't the largest chapter of the story by far. It's just to set up the wedding that'll take place in the next chapter. Still, I hope you enjoy.
;-
Ahsoka Tano smiled as she enjoyed a cup of tea along with her sister Aisha. They had just finished another round of lightsaber practice. Ahsoka was really happy with the way Aisha was picking up the basics of Form I. With how she was doing, she would get the hang of it in no time. Then, they would be able continue with the more advanced forms, as well as dual wielding.
Moving on to the more advanced forms did pose her with a slightly difficult issue. Aisha's lightsabers were designed to be able to combine into saberstaff. She didn't have that much experience with saberstaffs herself, so teaching Aisha how to use hers would be a bit of a struggle. Still, it would be a welcome challenge. They were planning on learning together, so they would do just that.
They also had the warriors of the royal guard to ask for help if necessary. She remembered Aisha saying that her father used a double-bladed weapon similar to a saberstaff. Shaden and a few of the others probably knew more about the fighting styles for the weapon.
Considering she was already planning on learning more of the fighting styles and try to create a new Form of lightsaber combat combining the ways of the Jedi with those of their people, it would probably serve them both well to study more with the warriors. Apart from that, they were also great company to be around, so training with them was also a lot of fun.
Aisha had already expressed her eagerness to help her with creating her new lightsaber Form. With the two of them working together to create it, along maybe with some instruction and guidance from the royal guards, she was certain that they would be able to make a strong new Form.
"Mom, Lilo and I are heading out," she heard Marina's voice call from the hallway. "We'll be back in a little while."
"Alright, we'll see you later," their mother called back.
Ahsoka laughed a bit. With her wedding drawing ever closer, Marina was having quite the little nervous breakdowns. There will still a few minor things to plan out and she was getting a bit anxious about it. Everything was going fine and would be ready well in time for the wedding, but she just couldn't help it.
Lilo had been really enjoying her predicament. Of course she had been helping their oldest sister, but she had been messing with her quite a bit as well. With all the stress from her wedding, Marina was really easy to work up.
"What do you think the wedding will be like?" Aisha asked next to her.
"I'm not sure, I don't have any experience with them," she replied. "Weddings weren't exactly something that the Order had much use for. I imagine that it'll be a very big wedding though, considering she's marrying the future king of Shili. It's bound to be a large celebration, especially if Lilo and Zaa have anything to say about it."
Aisha giggled at that. "I sometimes wonder who's happier, Marina and Zolar or Lilo and Zaa," she said with a smile. "They sure seem to enjoy teasing them, that's for sure."
Ahsoka laughed as well. "Lilo and Zaa are definitely enjoying themselves with it, that's for sure," she replied. "But rest assured, Marina will have her revenge."
Aisha laughed. "Yes, I'm sure she will," she replied.
"Now then, shall we do some more meditation?" Ahsoka asked. "It's important that you learn to focus at different times, such as before sparring, but also after it."
"Yeah, okay, that sounds good," Aisha replied with a hint of her usual eagerness for learning about the Force. Ahsoka smiled and they made their way upstairs.
;-
A short meditation session later
"You were floating at the end, what was that? Was that also some form of meditation?" Aisha asked excitedly as they walked back into the living room.
"Well, it's called Rising Meditation," Ahsoka replied as they sat down on the couch. "It's a really deep and advanced state of meditation wherein you're connected very strongly with the Force. I have to be honest, I don't really know how I'm doing it."
She had only done the Rising Meditation once before, while she was on Onderon. Back then, she definitely had no idea how she did it. She knew now that she was getting a lot stronger in the Force as she became more and more accustomed to Daughter's powers, but she was still a little clueless on just how the Rising Meditation worked.
"It sounds pretty amazing," Aisha said. "But you really don't know how you're doing it?"
Ahsoka lightly shook her head. "Many things about the Force are still a mystery," she replied. "It's not always as clear about its intentions." She thought about it a bit. "I remember that Barriss was able to do Rising Meditation as well, maybe we can ask her someday. She might know more about it than I do."
Aisha nodded. "It would be nice if she could stop by sometime soon," she said with a smile. "But being a Jedi, she's probably very busy."
Ahsoka nodded as well. "Yes, a lot of Jedi from the Order are constantly running around the galaxy these days. And not really in the ways they're supposed to," she replied with a bit of mixed emotions.
At that moment the door opened and Marina walked in. She smiled and joined them on the couch.
"Are all the preparations for your wedding done now, sis?" Ahsoka asked her. "Were you and Lilo able to get everything sorted out?"
Marina nodded and smiled, a bit too much for Ahsoka's liking. "Yes, they are," she replied. "That is, all but one last thing."
"Which is?" Ahsoka asked carefully. She wasn't very comfortable with Marina's smile.
"Why, we still need to get you a dress, remember?" Marina replied with an eager smile.
Ahsoka groaned, she had been able to avoid it so far, but now it seemed that Marina was no longer having any of it. "I still have a good dress, remember Marina?" Ahsoka replied, hoping to talk her sister out of it. "The one I wore to the ball on Naboo will do fine. I don't need a new one."
"Nonsense Ahsoka, that dress is worn, you can't wear that one again," she said with a little devious smile. "You're going to need to look your best for my wedding right? Don't worry, I'll help you with finding a great dress."
"That's not necessary, is it?" Ahsoka asked, still hoping to talk her sister out of it. "I'll just borrow one of yours or one of Lilo's dresses, you have plenty of them. Besides, your wedding is in a few days. Won't it be really difficult to find something now?"
"Oh, don't worry! I know the perfect place!" Marina replied eagerly. She would not be talked out of it. Her sister wouldn't win this one. "It's where they're making my wedding dress too, they'll definitely have something wonderful."
Ahsoka was about to say something, but Marina cut her off. "We can leave in an hour, don't worry, I'll help you find something nice," she said as she got up and left the room.
Ahsoka sighed and sank into the couch. Aisha giggled next to her. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked her younger sister with a bored look.
Aisha nodded. "I think it's funny how much it bothers you," she replied amused. "Marina and Lilo took me shopping as well when you went to Naboo. It's not so bad as you make it seem."
Ahsoka shook her head and turned to Aisha a little. "I've just never really cared for such things," she told her. "Growing up in the Order, there was never any need for fancy dresses and other stuff like it. I never really saw the point either. I just liked the simpler things."
Aisha thought it over a moment, then shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with that," she replied. "I remember seeing people who had all kinds of expensive jewelry or fancy speeders as well, it all seemed a bit pointless to me as well."
Ahsoka gave her sister a smile. "Yeah, I've never cared for that either," she said. "I'd rather use that money on something useful or productive. Maybe something to help other people with, but not some pointless trinkets to show off with." She shrugged. "Oh well, to each their own I guess."
She stood up. "I'm going to look at some other things before Marina drags me off," she told Aisha. "I wanted to try to remake a training device that the Order uses, but I'm not sure yet about what kind of components I'll need to make it."
"What kind of device?" Aisha asked. "What is it used for?"
Ahsoka smiled at the near instant question. "It's a training remote used for lightsaber practice," she replied. "The Order uses it to practice deflecting blaster bolts. If I can make one, we can use it later to practice more with lightsaber use and the Force."
"That sounds exciting," Aisha said with a smile. "I hope you can make one."
"Yeah, me too," Ahsoka replied. At that moment Rosette ran in the room. She ran up to Aisha and almost started dragging her off to play. Aisha smiled and left with Rosette. Ahsoka laughed a bit before heading up to her room.
;-
Marina was smiling just a bit too eagerly for Ahsoka's liking as she led her into the large dress store. Ahsoka sighed a bit as Marina dragged her lightly towards two of the store workers.
"Ah, good afternoon Senator Tano," one of the two women greeted her. "Here to check on your dress? Well, don't worry, the last small changes will be completed tomorrow and then you can pick it up. I'm sure that you will look amazing in it."
"Thank you, I'm sure that it will look great, but that's not why I'm here," Marina replied. She looked at Ahsoka. "We're here because my little sister Ahsoka still needs to get a nice dress for my wedding."
"Ah yes, lady Ahsoka, we've heard a lot about you," the other store worker said with a smile. "It'll be our pleasure to help you find something that looks great on you."
"Oh, that's really not necessary," Ahsoka replied a bit uncomfortable. "I just need something that looks nice, nothing too fancy."
"Nonsense Ahsoka!" Marina said next to her. "It's going to be a royal wedding. My wedding! You need to look your absolute best and we're not leaving here until you do." She smiled widely, excited at the idea of using her little sister as some form of dress-up doll.
Ahsoka groaned a bit. She knew she wasn't going to enjoy this. Her sister was probably going to make her try out every single dress this store had and they had a lot of them. "Let's just get this over with," she replied with a sigh.
"That's the spirit!" Marina said, ignoring the obvious displeased tone in her sisters' voice. "Now, you did look pretty good in that white dress you wore to Naboo. But that blue dress you wore that other time to the palace worked nicely too. I guess we'll start with those colors."
One of the store employees looked her up and down a bit. "I believe a darker shade of red will also look good on you," she told the two sisters. "I'm certain that we can find something that makes you look stunning, please, right this way." She gestured to a different area of the store and she and her colleague began leading the two sisters there. "We'll get you measured up and then we can try out some different dresses.
;-
About three hours later
Ahsoka sighed tiredly as she and Marina finally left the store. This had taken a whole lot longer than she had expected and hoped for.
"Thank you for shopping with us," one of the store clerks told them. "Your dress will be ready tomorrow. We hope to see you again."
Marina smiled at the woman. "Thank you, your help was fantastic," she replied as she glanced over at Ahsoka. "I'll see if we can't stop by again."
Ahsoka turned around and rolled her eyes. Marina had enjoyed this far too much. Her sister had used her as a fitting doll and had her try on just about every dress in the store, not to mention all kinds matching gloves, shoes and other accessories. Next time, if she was in need of something like a dress, she would go shopping on her own. It'd go a lot faster that way.
"You have an amazing dress now Ahsoka," Marina said as she walked up to her sister. "Aren't you glad that we went here? You'll look amazing."
"It wasn't necessary to try on that many dresses you know," Ahsoka replied with slight annoyance. "And we did get one of those dresses I tried on first. I told you that it was fine, didn't I?"
"You can't just pick one that soon, sis," Marina said with a smile. "You have to look around and see what else there is. Who knows, there could have been something better."
Ahsoka lightly shook her head. She would probably never convince Marina in this. She knew full well that Marina only kept looking on for dresses to mess with her. She'd get some payback on her sister and soon. That thought brought something she had seen earlier back to her mind. "You go ahead and get back home Marina, I wanted to look at something else while I'm here," she told her sister.
"Are you sure?" Marina asked. "I can come with you if you want to."
"No, that isn't necessary," Ahsoka replied. "I wanted to look at some mechanical items, to maybe make something to help with the practice Aisha and I have been doing. I don't think your immense knowledge of dresses will be of help there."
Marina chuckled a bit. "Alright then, I'll see you later," she said as she waved a quick goodbye. She then turned around and started making her way back home.
After Marina left, Ahsoka began making her way to the store they passed earlier. Thoughts of payback for her sister's endless dress-up session moving through her mind.
;-
Later that day
The entire Tano family was back at their home, enjoying dinner together and talking some more about Marina's upcoming wedding and all of the preparations for it.
"So Ahsoka finally has her dress?" Lilo asked with a teasing smile aimed at her sister.
Marina nodded and smiled. "Yes, she has an amazing dress now," she replied. "But it took us quite some time to find one. She just wanted to try out so many different types of dresses. It was very difficult to convince her of the right dress." She and Lilo laughed at her words. Everyone at the table knew that it was likely the other way around.
Ahsoka merely glanced at her sister, not bothering to respond right now. After all, she was about to get some payback on her sister.
Marina smiled at her before she took another bite of her food. Then her eyes went wide with shock and she groaned loudly.
The rest of her family, with the exception of Ahsoka, looked on with confusion and concern as Marina gasped loudly and grabbed her drink, emptying the entire glass in one go. Then she grabbed Lilo's drink as well and drank all of it as well. She put the glass down again, her face red and breathing heavily.
"A-are you alright Marina? What happened?" her mother asked concerned.
Marina coughed a few times. "I-I don't know," she replied. "Suddenly I felt like my whole mouth was burning. What was that?"
"Ground up Mandalorian ghost peppers," Ahsoka commented calmly as she placed a bottle on the table. "For if you really want to spice up your meal."
"You… you put spices in my food?" Marina asked stunned as Lilo and Aisha burst out into laughter. "Why did you do that?"
Ahsoka gave her a mischievous smile. "Consider that a bit of payback for not listening to me," she replied. "And don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from."
Marina looked carefully at her plate. "Is it all spiced up?" she asked.
"Hmm, oh no, only that one piece," Ahsoka replied. "No, I wouldn't waste mom's cooking like that. But there still is plenty left for another time."
"You can be horrible you know that?" Marina said with a sigh. "I hate spicy food. Please just think of something else next time, alright?"
"Hmmm, maybe…" Ahsoka replied teasingly as she put the bottle away again. Marina shook her head as the rest of her family laughed again.
;-
That'll be it for this chapter.
Like I said, not that much happened. The next chapter will be Marina's wedding and that one will be a lot larger than this one.
I'll be making a new chapter for Gift of Light next. Ahsoka and the others will march on the palace to overthrow the current 'ruler'.
Until next time.
