Chapter Twenty-Three: The Dream Wedding...

Ray was sure that he wasn't supposed to be nervous. He's been engaged to her close to a year now... and they've known each other for years! So, why was the palm of his hands sweating so badly? He spun in a circle as he continued to pace, worry eating away at him. "I can't do this... this is a bad bad idea... what if she changes her mind and decides that she doesn't want to get married!?"

"Ray... I can't understand a word that you are saying...but obviously you are going through what Mother refers to as the Wedding Jitters." Wu appeared in the doorway, one eyebrow lifting up so high that it had disappeared into the brim of his hat.

"So...this is totally normal?" Ray blinked rapidly, vaguely wondering how it was that marrying one's true love could be so... frightening. Shouldn't it be more exciting?

Wu shrugged, moving further into the room, gesturing for Ray to step in front of a floor length mirror. Ray sighed as he moved in front of it, tugging nervously at the loose tie that hung around his neck. "Let me help you with that..." Wu grasped the tie in his capable hands, quickly tying it up properly. "There. Now you are ready... you do remember how to breath, right?" Wu coughed into his fist, a smile twitching on his face.

It took Ray a full minute before he realized that he had stopped breathing, thus why Wu was asking if he still remembered how to breath. Ray gasped loudly as he began to gulp in large amounts of air into his lungs, trying to get much needed oxygen in him. Giving his head a quick shake, he sank into one of the chairs that was in the small guest room that he was getting ready in. "Wu... what if we're not ready for this? What if we're rushing things and we need to work more on getting to know each other..."

"Ray... the two of you are perfect for each other! And how can you not be ready to get married? You've been living with each other close to a year, and that is just here in Ninjago! You must have been together for a while before you arrived here since you had little Hope already." Wu paused, guilt flashing across his features briefly, "Sorry about that. I forgot that it hasn't been long since..." Wu tripped over his words, turning red in the face, before finally changing the topic. "If the two of you could handle being parents to Hope before you were married, you are totally ready for that step in life." Wu still looked highly embarrassed for bringing up Ray's dead daughter.

Ray thought things over, recalling how, even though they weren't married, he was already the one that was providing the income for the two of them. That, and Wu was right. They had proven themselves ready with how they had handled the whole Maya getting pregnant with his kid situation. "You're right. We're ready for this step." Ray nodded slowly, as if he were trying to convince himself about that detail.

Wu shook his head at his best friend, a chuckle escaping him. "Come on... time for you to get to the altar." He probably shouldn't have said that since Ray started to hyperventilate again.

Ray grasped the chair's arms, his face paling rather quickly. "I cannot believe we're actually going through with this!"

...

The Bride's March (A/N: I think that is what the song that plays when the bride walks down the aisle is called...) played clearly as Maya floated down the aisle, a beautiful bouquet of red roses and white water lilies clutched tightly in her hands. She was wearing a gorgeous gown of blue and white silk that fell to the floor, with off-the shoulder sleeves and a delicate lace veil and train. Four of their female friends were right behind her, carrying said train since it was so long that it dragged across the floor.

Stopping next to Ray, Maya turned to face him, a large smile on her face. "I am so excited about this! Aren't you thrilled that we decided to do this?"

Ray numbly nodded, taking in the dress that she was wearing. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

The preacher cleared his throat loudly, before speaking directly to the happy couple. "If you are done complimenting each other. We need to start the giving of the vows."

"Of course!" Ray smiled broadly at that, excited to trade vows with his beautiful bride.

"Anyone that believes that this young couple should not join together in holy matrimony please speak now or further hold your peace." The preacher looked out over the crowded cultural hall. Was it just Ray, or did there appear to be more people here than they invited?

"I object! That girl is the enemy!" A horribly familiar voice roared out, as a familiar man that Ray thought he would never see again sprang to his feet near the back of the room. It was when he did that, that Ray realized most of the guests was his father's army.

"Father...Please! Don't do it!" "King Henry?!"

Wu sprang forward, promptly yelling at the infuriated ruler. "¡Déjalos en paz! ¡Solo quieren casarse!"

Unfortunately... that appeared to infuriate him further. Ray was too busy trying to figure since when did Wu speak Spanish when Maya screeched loudly. Startled, Ray spun around to find his father plunging a sharp sword into Maya's chest. "No!" Ray lunged forward, trying to pull his father off of his love, only for a guard to grab a hold of him...


"Maya!" Ray woke with a start, to find that his face had been plastered to the table that he had been sitting at. Blinking rapidly, he rubbed his cheek in an attempt to bring life back to it, while scanning his surroundings.

Garmadon sniggered at the sight of him, a hot cup of cider in his hand, while Wu lowered his cup of tea. "Nightmare?"

Ray tiredly nodded in confirmation, now trying to figure out where the rest of Garmadon's guests were at. He had somehow fallen asleep at Garmadon's bachelor party. Last thing he remembered was... Pevsner singing a lullaby for the karaoke competition. "I think I still have wedding jitters. I keep having the same nightmare about it that I did three weeks ago."

"Dude! You've been married for two weeks now. Chillax!" Garmadon burst out laughing, swatting Ray hard on the shoulder.

Ray winced, glancing over at Wu for some support. Wu sighed, sitting his cup down as he turned to face his brother. "Garmadon... Ray does not need advise from you. Just worry about your wedding day later this week, okay?"

"Fine... fine. I get it. No advice from me." Garmadon grumbled turning away from Ray. Ray shook his head, glancing around one more time.

"Where is everyone?"

Wu winced at that, guilt flashing briefly in his eyes. "You've been asleep for the past six hours. The party only lasted for four hours. We would have woken you up...but we called Maya first and she said that, well, you haven't been sleeping well due to nightmares and that we should just let you sleep."

"Great... my wife as been discussing my sleep habits with my friends." Ray allowed a small smile cross his features as he noted that he could call Maya his wife now.

A/N: Done! So...who thought I was actually going to kill off Maya? Next up: Maya makes a little discovery... any guesses? So with the spread of the Coronavirus I am going into quarantine any day now... fun. Not. I am going to get the go bug so badly...

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SkyTalon