Christy and Bianca awoke to the most delicious smell emanating from the kitchen they'd had the pleasure to scent recently. Pulling robes over their pajamas, the pair slowly shuffled their way into the dining area where they were met by Warren holding out a cup of coffee for each of them. "Good morning," He beamed, fully awake, "Sleep well?"
"I will never understand how you can be so chipper first thing in the morning," Christy grumbled, taking a seat at the dining room table with her cousin, who silently nodded her agreement, and began doctoring her coffee.
The group was soon joined by Lynn, fully dressed in an off-the-shoulder pale violet blouse and white lace skirt. "Good morning," She sang, stealing a piece of bacon off the plate where Warren had them degreasing.
"Dear Goddess, there are two of them," Christy groaned.
"She has good reason to be so joyful," Bianca smiled gently at her cousin, "She's going to be a beautiful bride… that is if your brother doesn't fatten her up to the point where she cannot fit her dress. Warren, do you think you made enough sausage and bacon?"
"Why, should there be more?" He asked, heading toward the spare cooler in the pantry.
"No!" Bianca chuckled, "If anything there may be too much."
"No such thing," Christy grinned, "I don't have to fit into any kind of dress, believe me, Warren and I can take care of whatever you lightweights cannot."
"I still don't understand how the two of you can eat so much and not gain an ounce," Roselynn chuckled.
"It's a Wolf thing," Her fiancé shrugged, dishing up scrambled eggs, toast, and a couple rashers of bacon before setting the plate in front of her, "Now eat up, you need your energy for whatever these two have in store for you."
The small extended family were just finishing up when they heard a knock at the door. "Maureen and Evelyn must be here," Roselynn rose to answer the door.
"We should probably get dressed," Christy suggested, taking one last sip from her cup before leading her cousin into their room to prepare for the day. The two emerged a little after, dressed in jeans and blouses, looking like any other Tenth Kingdomer on the street. Noticing their reappearance, the Grant sisters quickly finished up the breakfast left overs they'd been nibbling on and joined the rest of the women in heading out the door.
The women had been to three dress shops already and still hadn't found a suitable dress for Roselynn. They had just about lost hope when Evelyn spotted a boutique down the block, "Why don't we try one last store?"
"Alright, but this really must be the last one," Roselynn sighed, she was nearly running out of hope that she would find anything that would appeal to her.
"Good Afternoon, Ladies," A foppish man greeted them, "Welcome to An Enchanted Affair, do you have an appointment?"
"No, we don't," Christy shook her head, "We just stumbled upon your boutique and thought we would check it out, I hope that's not a problem."
"No problem at all, as you can see, it's a slow day," The man flicked his wrist indicating the nearly empty store, "We would be more than happy to assist you. Now, what are you looking for?"
"A wedding dress," Maureen spoke up, "Our friend is getting married in a couple weeks, we've been to a few different boutiques and haven't found the right look yet."
"Cutting it a bit close, but no matter," The man clapped his hands twice and suddenly two women appeared, guiding the women to a couch and handing them each a glass of champagne. "Which one of you is the blushing bride?"
"That would be me," Roselynn smiled awkwardly.
"Wonderful, and what is your name, Darling?" The man cooed.
"Roselynn, but my friends call me Lynn," She offered her hand to shake as she had learned to do when meeting new people here.
"My name is Marius," The man kissed her hand, "And I will do my best to find you the perfect dress." He guided Roselynn up onto a small rounded platform, "I need you to turn for me, Darling, let me get a good look at you." He slowly paced counterclockwise while Roselynn made a slow right turn on the platform. "Hmmm, trim, but not too thin, with a subtle figure. Fair skin and hair, so nothing too bright to avoid washing you out. Good posture, graceful and strong perhaps something with a bit of movement. You may quit spinning now."
Lynn turned to face her friends and stopped her slow rotation. Marius stepped up to her, eyes thoughtful, "Now, your wedding, will it be indoor or outdoor?"
"We are hoping to be married in the garden at my husband's uncle's home," Roselynn answered.
"Will it be a fancy or simple affair?"
"We are hoping to keep it simple, although some of his uncle's staff may not allow it to be."
"I see," Marius hummed, "I find brides tend to fall into two categories. The first want the big, heavily decorative, 'princess dresses,' with the fullest skirts and crinoline they can get. Others prefer something simpler, clean lines and a classic look, something that can become an heirloom one day to be passed down to future generations."
"I've worn enough fancy gowns to last a lifetime," Lynn shrugged, "I think for this, I would like something simple and classic."
"A debutant, I figured as much," Marius nodded, "One last question and I'll start looking for something for you. You mentioned this would be a garden wedding, are you planning to wear heeled or flat shoes beneath your dress? Since your wedding is so close, we won't have much time for alterations so, we need to make sure the hem is the right length.
"I haven't decided yet," Roselynn shrugged, "Either flats or none at all."
"Very well, I am off," Marius flitted away.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that man is part fairy," Bianca chuckled.
"Ironically, that word means something a little different here," Maureen grinned, "But I'm fairly certain it applies to him as well."
The women sat, sipping their champagne and nibbling on finger sandwiches until Marius and his assistants returned, carrying a few dresses each, "May I have our bride follow me, please?" He turned toward the curtained dressing area, not pausing to see if Lynn was following him.
With a shrug, Roselynn stood and followed her temporary dressers to try on the pieces they had selected for her. The first few dresses she tried, while beautiful, didn't quite look right on her. Some of the next had parts that she liked, but other bits she didn't, most of the points her friends agreed with her on. Finally, the seventh dress she tried on near took her breath away. "I think we may have a winner, personally this one is my favorite," Marius whispered in her ear, placing his hands on her shoulder and meeting her eyes in the mirror. "Shall we see what your friends think?"
Roselynn nodded, and started toward where her friends were seated, looping her hand through Marius' bent elbow as he escorted her back toward the platform. "May I present the bride!"
It was like a wave as her friends caught sight of her, going from amicable banter to quiet awe and captive reverence as they saw the joyful look on Roselynn's face. "Oh, wow," Evelyn whispered.
"You look absolutely beautiful," Grinned Bianca.
"Warren is not going to be able to take his eyes off you," Christy beamed, "He may just howl at the sight of you."
"I love it, it truly is the perfect dress for you," Maureen smiled softly at her friend, "But I think it's missing something."
"I agree," Christy nodded, "But what?"
"Nothing too fancy," Bianca mused, "No tiaras or vails."
"What about this?" Evelyn lifted a garland from a nearby display rack. It had a variety of colorful flowers interwoven with pearls and a soft blue ribbon that trailed from the back. Marius accepted the wreath and reverently placed it on Roselynn's head.
"Perfect, alterations won't even be needed," Marius smiled, "You, my Dear, outshine Titania herself. That man of yours will not be able to resist you once he lays his eyes on your lovely countenance."
"That's very kind of you," Roselynn gave him a soft smile as he kissed her hand, "What do you ladies think? Yay or Nay?"
"If you could see your face right now, you wouldn't have to ask," Bianca grinned as she pulled her friend into her arms, "Not that you need a fancy dress to live Happily Ever After, but if there was ever a dress to get you there, this would be it for you."
Roselynn looked to each of her friends who nodded their approval before she turned back to Marius, "I'll take it, but just the dress, I'm thinking I should use fresh flowers."
"A wonderful idea," Marius smiled up at her warmly and offered his hand, "Now, your highness, let's get you out of this dress so we can put it into a bag to take home. Wouldn't want that groom of yours seeing it before the wedding."
The bridal party all looked at the man in shock, "What?" He demanded with a puckish smirk, "Do you think I don't know a daughter of the House of Red when I see one? Or one of the House of White, for that matter. Although why you are here with a Wolf, is beyond me."
"Her parents were two of the Four who Saved the Kingdoms," Bianca informed him.
"She's marrying my brother," Christy added, "And just who are you that you can recognize us so quickly?"
"As I said before, my name is Marius," The man bowed deeply, "I am descendant of the great Titania and Oberon who formerly ruled in the Seventh Kingdom. Some of my people immigrated here a few generations ago to what you now call England. One of my grandfather's relatives settled in Stratford Upon Avon, the rest of us eventually came to North America."
"But if your family has been here so long, how do you even know who we are?" Christy gestured to her cousin and then her friend.
"I still have some family in the Kingdoms," Marius shrugged, "One of my distant cousins, twice or perhaps thrice removed, is a member of the Council of the Fourth Kingdom."
"Let me guess, Lord Rupert?" Bianca chuckled.
"The same," Marius nodded, "Now, we really must get this dress back into it's bag, wouldn't do to wear it home. Would you care for a hand down?"
Roselynn nodded, taking Marius' hand as she stepped down to the main floor and allowed him to guide her back to the dressing rooms where she quickly removed the gown and pulled her skirt and blouse back on. A short time later, Roselynn's purse was a bit lighter, but her heart was nearly full to overflowing. She was just that much closer to the day she would pledge her life to the last man anyone would have expected her to fall in love with, and she couldn't be more thrilled.
As soon as the ladies left, Warren set to cleaning up the kitchen before grabbing his keys and heading into Central Park. As he predicted, the moment he crested the last small hill toward the thicket wherein lay the passage to the Kingdoms, he felt the familiar tingle of magic making his hair stand on end as he spotted the small piece of forest that didn't quite fit. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he stepped through, hearing breaking glass with each frame he passed on the way to his Uncle's home. Moments later, his foot hit solid ground as he cleared the frame of the traveling mirror.
There was a guard standing by near the mirror, as there always was when the mirror was activated, to prevent people from stumbling from one realm to another. Warren gave the man a quick nod and made his way toward his uncle's office, where he hoped the man would be at this hour of the day.
"Good Morning, Lord Rupert," He greeted the foppish advisor as he stepped into the wing of the castle which housed the King's office as well as the offices of the advisors and the conference room.
"Lord Warren!" The older man's eyes widened in surprise, "Did we know you were coming? I don't seem to remember you being on the calendar for today."
"I'm not, I just came to speak to my uncle about something," Warren continued toward the door to his uncle's office.
"He's a very busy man," Rupert protested, "You can't just drop in on him like this!"
"Warren may visit whenever he likes." The baritone voice of the king rang out in the hall as he strode towards the two men and pulled Warren into a firm embrace, "Family is always welcome. Warren it is wonderful to see you. We haven't seen you in a dogs age!"
"Your majesty, again you may want to avoid such phrases," The advisor warned.
"Nonsense, I am the king, I may use whichever verbiage I see fit." Wendell gave the man a dismissive flick of the hand and, placing his arm around his nephew's shoulders, guided him into his office. "Now what has brought you here to disturb Rupert's strict scheduling of my day, which I must thank you for."
"You're very welcome, Uncle Wendell," Warren smiled warmly at the older man as they took their seats near a large fireplace to the side of the office. "I came to ask a favor of you. I wish to be wed in the garden that is at the center of the hedgerow maze."
"Don't you think you should find a bride first?" The older man smirked.
"I have, actually," Warren grinned, "She is the most beautiful mate a Wolf could ever ask for, inside and out. We ran into each other, quite literally, in Central Park, and have been together ever since."
"And you wish to marry her here?" The king gave his nephew a puzzled look, "In another dimension, does she even know from where you hail?"
"Yes, she knows who and what I am and from where I come," Warren assured him, "We're very close, as if we've known each other our whole lives. We knew pretty quickly that we were each other's Happy Ever After; I just think the garden would be a lovely spot for the ceremony."
"I think something can be arranged," Wendell replied thoughtfully, "When would you like this event to be? I know how quickly you Wolves like to be married."
"Two weeks," Warren shrugged, "We wish to celebrate under the full moon."
"That's awful quick, even for a Wolf," Wendell shook his head, "She isn't…"
"No!" Warren shouted before quickly composing himself, "I mean, no. She most definitely isn't, not that it wouldn't be happy news, but we aren't. What I mean to say is we have decided to follow her people's traditions of a virginal bride."
"Very well," Wendell nodded, "Are we to meet your intended before the happy day?"
"Yes, she's out with Bianca, Christy, and some friends from New York right now, shopping or some such thing, it was all very secretive," Warren shrugged, "I want to introduce her to everyone at once, Bianca and Christy just happened to show up at my place yesterday, so they've already had the pleasure. I figure a day or two before the ceremony, that way we have time to send word to my parents to meet us here."
"You know we can get word to them faster than that." Wendell pointed out.
"I know, but trust me it's for the best," Warren assured his uncle before quietly adding "Less time for Papa to protest, that's for sure."
"Very well," Wendell nodded, "I will send a messenger to your family to join us in a week and a half."
"Thank you, Uncle Wendell," Warren shook the older man's hand.
"You're welcome," The King smiled warmly at his nephew, "I can't say I fully understand the ways of Wolves, but I can see you are happy and deeply in love, I wish you the best and look forward to meeting your bride."
"I'll see you when I return," Warren nodded and turned to leave the room as his uncle resumed his own post behind his large writing desk to attend to matters of the Kingdom.