Things will begin to pick up after this but this chapter has two weddings in it - one of which you've been waiting for. It also introduces some new characters of mine as well and the home planet of the Interstellar Council. I decided to go ahead and post this as my life is beginning to get somewhat busy again but that's good news. Special thanks to Heart of Demons, frankannestein, st4r hunter and darkalphawolf01 for keeping up with me on this journey.

March 4458:

Things had settled down by that March on some events and Cynthia had discovered the library and was often reading books there when not with Lion-O or visiting with Lioness-A and seeing what she did on a daily basis besides the Thundercat duties. A guard had also been set up for Cynthia as well and it was headed by a cougar named Cilla who took her job quite seriously and Oona was another one in addition to a few others. Cynthia got along with them and it helped whenever she had to go somewhere that wasn't within the palace. There were several more missions that occurred but for the main part, Lion-O had remained at the lair for those, seeing as they weren't that serious to warrant him leaving the palace for any reason.

It had gotten quiet for the most part and there was a phone call toward the end of March which had the Thundercats preparing the Feliner for a trip up to Boktor for a wedding between King Garion and his bride, the Princess Ce'Nedra and Lioness-A had known the two during the time she'd grown up on Boktor. Cynthia had never been in space before so this was a switch for her as they did a trial run for her. She was sick on the takeoff but could handle it provided she was medicated first.

"I hear they're doing some other testing while we're there," Lioness-A said to Lion-O as he shrugged.

"If that's the case then I'm okay with that," he said. Tygra was going with them as Lioness-A's date and she had taken Cynthia shopping for some outfits. The trip was interesting as Cynthia was interested in space but even more curious about where they were going. That would be something that would surprise her.

.::~*~::.

Boktor: April 4458:

The Feliner landed in the capital of Aloria on Boktor late the afternoon of the fourteenth and the four were ferried by a limousine to the Citadel, which was the palace here and separate from the Interstellar Council. Cynthia was nervous about this to be sure but these people were friends of Lioness-A's largely because of how she had spent her time here after ThunDera had originally been destroyed. The staff of the citadel escorted them to a set of rooms for them in which the girls could share a room while the guys had their own and both bedrooms had their own bathroom.

"Impressive," Cynthia said as she sorted through her bags a moment.

"It is but you'll probably get to see more of it," Lioness-A told her.

"That's good," Cynthia said. She was about to go change when there was a knock on the door and a staff member let in a short woman with thick coppery colored curls that spilled down one shoulder and dark green eyes. She was in a dark green gown and Lioness-A grinned when she saw her.

"Ce'Nedra," she said as the tiny woman grinned at her before they hugged. Somewhat surprisingly, the woman and Cynthia were about the same height.

"I heard you brought some guests along," Ce'Nedra said as Lioness-A smiled.

"Indeed, and this is Cynthia," Lioness-A said as Cynthia dropped a nervous curtsy, not exactly sure of what else to do in a situation like this. Ce'Nedra smiled warmly.

"No need to do that. Any friend of Lioness-A's is a friend of mine," she said as Cynthia smiled.

"She's here as Lion-O's date," Lioness-A said as Ce'Nedra grinned.

"That'll make Garion extremely happy to hear," she said. "He was beginning to lose faith in your brother finding anyone to be with." Lioness-A chuckled.

"I see that Lion-O's already met most of you," Cynthia said.

"Pretty much when he came here to ask King Riva who's Garion's father about getting help to send the Thunderians here home to New ThunDera. Our council was willing to help with it," Ce'Nedra said.

"Do we have time for a tour before dinner?" Lioness-A asked.

"Sure and I can show you two around," Ce'Nedra said with a grin as they walked around. Cynthia saw Garion at some point talking with Lion-O and Tygra in one of the lounges. Garion matched Lion-O on height but was less bulky with sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes and wearing mostly blue.

"Alright Lion-O which of the lovely ladies is with you?" Garion asked. Lion-O chuckled.

"You know my sister already Garion," he said as Garion smiled. Lion-O walked over and stood beside Cynthia. "This is my date." Garion came over to meet her then.

"What's your name?" he asked warmly.

"Cynthia," Cynthia said, her voice shy.

"She's not used to this much royalty at one time," Lioness-A said as Garion laughed.

"If it helps, we can skip the titles for a while," he said with a wink.

.::~*~::.

Back in the suite Cynthia got a shower and dressed in one of the dresses that she had gotten from Shayanya to wear for the first day at the Citadel.

"I always knew Shayanya would know what would work for these things," Lioness-A said. "Putting her over your wardrobe with Amnextria has been a big help."

"And I thank you for it," Cynthia said. "I feel as though Ce'Nedra and I could wear the same colors since both of us have green eyes." The dress was green with a scoop neck and reached the floor so Cynthia was wearing heels with it which helped a bit. Lioness-A chuckled as they joined the men in the hallway. Lion-O smiled warmly when he saw Cynthia and held out an arm for her.

"You look good," Lion-O said as Cynthia blushed.

The dinner went well and Cynthia met more of the royal family of Boktor. They knew Lioness-A due to her father but also in that the baroness had known them as well. Still it was interesting and Cynthia found herself enjoying the moment. Garion and Ce'Nedra were very friendly to her along with his mother and aunt.

"You are lucky," Garion said in an undertone to Lion-O.

"You think so?" Lion-O asked him.

"I know so," Garion said. "My aunt senses she's not from here and that there's a power hidden in her," he added.

"There's a prophecy on ThunDera of a special queen and one of the elders and his wife found her," Lion-O said and briefly told Garion of it.

"That may explain it," Garion said.

.::~*~::.

The wedding was the next day and Ce'Nedra had sent two maids to help Cynthia and Lioness-A get ready.

"Is Lion-O part of the wedding party?" Cynthia asked.

"No so you'll be sitting with him and Tygra," Lioness-A told her. Cynthia nodded and they went to join the others though Lioness-A went to join the wedding party. Lion-O found himself watching Cynthia in the gown she'd gotten for this. It was a dark green and sleeveless and left her back bare. She had on a matching bracelet and necklace plus the earrings. Her hair had been pulled back in a soft bun.

"How are you taller?" Lion-O wondered and Cynthia lifted her skirts to reveal heels that matched the color of her gown.

"Only way to do it and not trip over the dress and I wore a pair yesterday," Cynthia replied as he smiled. The doors to the chapel opened and he held out an arm for her. Tygra followed them inside as they were shown seats on the side where the bridesmaids would stand later. An announcement rang out on who was who and Cynthia smiled when she heard her title being used for this.

"I have Elder Linkor to thank for that on you," Lion-O said softly as they slid into the row where they were to sit as Tygra came in behind them. Cynthia found herself between the two Thunderians but it didn't bother her. They sat down as the groom and his party came into the room. All were wearing dark suits. "Who's walking with Lioness-A at the end of this?" Lion-O asked.

"One of Garion's cousins I believe," Tygra replied. "I'm impressed at how many she knows here." Lion-O chuckled dryly.

"She spent most of her time here after ThunDera exploded so it makes sense on how many people she knows but I suspect the baroness was behind part of it," he said as the tiger chuckled.

The bridesmaids entered a few moments later and Cynthia saw Lioness-A then. The dark purple gown worked well for the lioness's colors and there was a tiny gold coronet in her mane.

"For her rank as Princess," Lion-O said softly. He gently held Cynthia's hand as she smiled.

.::~*~::.

The ceremony was beautiful and Cynthia saw that Boktor had retained a few of the religious practices of her world although their god had a name. The whole thing made her wistful but she was happy regardless. Lioness-A looked just as happy from where she was at the front of the chapel.

After the ceremony Ce'Nedra received her crown now that she had joined the royal family. Everyone cheered for it and soon made their way to the ball room for the festivities afterward. Tygra found Lioness-A and the two went off together as Lion-O and Cynthia stayed together.

That was until the floor opened for dancing. Garion and Ce'Nedra were the first two out there along with his parents and hers plus his aunt and uncle. A few others trickled out onto the floor then as well. Then everyone else walked onto the floor. Lion-O took Cynthia's right hand in his left and led her onto the floor and placed his right hand on her hip and the two began to step in tune to the music. Lioness-A and Tygra were hiding their smiles as were Garion and Ce'Nedra.

"I'm glad to see you're having fun," Lion-O said as Cynthia smiled.

"Not every day that I can and certainly not like this," Cynthia said as he smiled. They danced together and enjoyed themselves before stopping to get snacks later. The food was good and Lioness-A and Tygra joined the two a moment later with their own snacks. Everything was going well so far and they went back to their rooms after the reception to hang out for a bit as Lion-O checked in with Jaguarus who was handling the lair. Cynthia changed clothes and went back to the main room and sat down beside Lion-O as he made room for her. Lioness-A and Tygra had gone on a walk outside and Lion-O laid the datapad down and slid an arm around Cynthia's shoulders.

"Those two will be walking for a bit," Lion-O said as Cynthia smiled.

"They look good together," she said as he smiled.

"I think so and I'm happy for them too," Lion-O said. He held her close.

"Will there be a wedding for them?" Cynthia wondered.

"More than likely there will be one and you'll be with me for it," he said as she smiled.

"Why did they wait so long?" Cynthia wondered.

"Political issues at the time but I told her to go ahead and plan a day," Lion-O replied.

.::~*~::.

Outside Lioness-A and Tygra were walking together and just talking about things. They were happy and their feelings for the other were deep.

"Think we can finally nail down a day?" Tygra asked.

"Yeah," Lioness-A replied. "Seeing how well this was done makes me want to plan ours for May if it's entirely possible to do it."

"From what I recall of some of the royal weddings in the past, it's usually a small private affair with a ceremony to crown whoever joined the family," Tygra said as she nodded. "It's alright with me to have a small one and I would think that Princess Karena and Princess Talia would know how to set it up."

"It might be enough to give Lion-O an idea of what to expect for his as we know that a simple and private ceremony with just the High Elders in attendance is the best way to go on this," Lioness-A said. "I can see how fast the relationship he has with Cynthia is developing and I know that he wants to take it further."

"A lot of people have noticed that when it comes to how he is around Cynthia," Tygra said. "Personally, it's the best thing that's happened to him in a while and it's a change to see him happy."

"Yeah," Lioness-A said as he hugged her close. They shared a kiss before going inside to join the other two and they went to bed a short while later.

The following morning Lord Durnik came and got Lion-O and Cynthia to follow him to the medical wing of the Citadel where his wife was ready to do a few scans. The bloodwork was already there and she was reviewing the results on that after performing an exam on both of the two.

"I have some good news for you your Majesty and that's to let you know you're both compatible and that's due to the presence of some human DNA in your genetics my king," Polgara said as Lion-O sighed in relief. Cynthia blinked in surprise but she was also relieved by this as well. The results were sent to the main hospital on New ThunDera and the four went home not long later.

.::~*~::.

May 4458:

Things picked up significantly after that and Cynthia found herself busy hanging out with a few people while the Thundercats were doing their missions and other important tasks. Cynthia didn't understand most of it but she was learning things still though and that kept her busy. She was also able to join Lioness-A a few times to see what sorts of duties the lioness had and also how she handled herself. It gave Cynthia a chance to meet most of the wives to the High Elders and then the wives of the Royal Elders below them. These were tedious things but by learning about them, it gave Cynthia a greater understanding into what happened with the Thundercats on a daily basis.

"These missions and tasks take up a lot of your time," Cynthia said as Lioness-A chuckled.

"Downside to it," she said. "And I stay busy with them and also seeing to this as well." She frowned. "In time that will be relegated to whoever Lion-O marries as the queen usually handles a lot of this and she's got to be as shrewd as her mate is when it comes to matters of the throne."

"Point noted," Cynthia said as the lioness laughed.

'You catch on quickly," Lioness-A said as Cynthia shrugged.

"I listen mostly and remember things," Cynthia said as they entered the dining room. They got their meals and found a place to sit down as Lion-O came up a moment later. "You've been busy," Cynthia said as he sat beside her.

"Lot of work going on and some maintenance stuff," he replied.

"No meetings?" Lioness-A asked as Tygra joined them. Lion-O shook his head as he sipped his tea.

"Not for a few days," he said. "We're joining up with the Mutants to do a few training maneuvers in space later this week and I've been trying to get that set up."

"Ratar-O good with that?" Lioness-A asked.

"He's the one who asked for it," Lion-O told her. "As long as the alliance is holding, I'm not complaining. There's a Mutant on the Interstellar Council now where there wasn't one before."

"Seems like some big news," Cynthia noted.

"Very big as the last Mutant that was on it was around thirty or so years back," Tygra said. "That one was a brother to their leader who was a friend to the twins' grandfather, Katoff."

"So what led to this squabble between the three races then?" Cynthia asked.

"I don't think anyone really knows," Lion-O said. "It was going on while Father was on the throne."

"He was also trying to broker a peace agreement with Ratilla, Ratar-O's father at about that time but that brother to Ratilla interfered with it which kept things hostile with them until they were able to kill off that rat and let Ratar-O take control as he should have done," Tygra said. "He's been open to the idea of peace as it means better things for his people."

"And these Lunatacs?" Cynthia asked.

"Their numbers are down thanks to the explosion when ThunDera was originally destroyed. They've been working with the Interstellar Council most of this time and were the first to push for the peace between us and the Mutants," Lion-O said as Tygra nodded. "Where are Lynx-O and Jaguarus?" he asked.

"Lynx-O was working with Tillen on some things and I think Jaguarus was getting a briefing from a few of his people on some new intelligence," Tygra told him. "You're supposed to get a new security briefing in the morning." Lion-O grunted.

"The joys of being a king," Cynthia said as he sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder about it," he said.

.::~*~::.

After lunch Lion-O and Cynthia went walking for a bit before arriving at his office. Lion-O went to his desk to check something on it as Cynthia wandered the room to look at the shelves that lined one wall. The map of the planet was above those and she eyed it closely.

"Curious?" Lion-O asked when he saw her. She smiled.

"Just checking out my new home," she replied. She saw one area and eyed it. "What's this one?" she asked at a dark, shadowy place to the far south.

"That's the Bannad Svaedi or Forbidden Zone as it's where Mumm-Ra's pyramid was," Lion-O told her.

"There was one here?" she asked.

"He followed us here when we were in the process of setting up our world for the people to return and I battled him about three years ago," Lion-O replied. "Whether or not he's still gone remains to be seen though."

"As someone once said years ago, evil never really sleeps," Cynthia said.

"Well said," Lion-O noted as he came to her side for a moment and showed her where the capital was on the map in addition to the village.

"Your world sounds amazing," Cynthia said as he smiled.

"Glad you think so," he said before they gently kissed. He wrapped his arms around her then. "I'll try and show you more of my world soon." He looked down at her a moment. "I forgot to ask this but when is your birthday?" he asked as she chuckled.

"It's the eighth of September," she said as he blinked.

"Very close to when Lioness-A and I have ours as it's on the twelfth," he said as he nuzzled his nose in her hair. She was soft and warm in his arms. Cynthia leaned back against him.

"We can find gifts for the other then," she said as he softly purred.

"Yes," he murmured.

.::~*~::.

That May was the wedding for Lioness-A and Tygra and it was up in the Barbary village. The Thundercats that were friends of Tygra and Lioness-A plus the High Elders were all in attendance and one of the most prominent guests on the list was Cynthia, largely for who she was dating but also because of how she had lived there for a short time. It gave Cynthia a chance to observe the Thunderian wedding traditions of which there were many and varied from clan to clan on what they were. The Barbaries used a special dagger to forge bonds between the couple in addition to rings and as Cynthia already knew there was a mane-cutting for the males. Tygra wouldn't have to go through it due to him being a Sumatran but he would go through the ritual blood-bond with Lioness-A.

Lioness-A also had a pure white wedding gown for this and Cynthia went with the dark green one she'd worn for her reveal at the palace back at the Christmas ball as it seemed that green was becoming a common color for her. She didn't mind it and Lioness-A liked the idea as Cynthia wasn't part of this party.

The wedding was held in the afternoon on the fifteenth and it was a beautiful day as it was held in the village square which was open and the Barbary priest was present along with a Sumatran priest. Due to Lion-O escorting his sister down the aisle to Tygra there would have to be someone present to escort Cynthia to her place to watch and where he would join her. That task fell to Lynx-O who was only too honored to do so. Cynthia had developed a friendship with the old lynx during her time at the palace and he was delighted to escort her. The rest of the Thundercats were all smiling as they watched him escort Cynthia to her place.

Most of the entire wedding was solemn, again due to the parties involved and Cynthia saw that Elder Tyland and his mate, the Princess Talia were watching with pride as Tygra was a cousin to the elder. The elders would get a chance to visit with Cynthia again later at the reception but they saw how regal she looked. Tygra was standing at the front with the priests and Panthro as his best man.

Lion-O escorted his sister down the aisle and passed her hand over to Tygra before joining Cynthia and Lynx-O as everyone sat down as the Barbary priest spoke first. Cynthia had gone to a few services within the village so some of the religion was familiar to her in a way but some elements were different. The blood-bonding involved the cutting of the right wrists and that had her going a bit pale with it. Under his fur Tygra was also pale but he got through it as Lioness-A smiled up at him.

At the reception later Lion-O danced with Cynthia as he held her tightly in his arms. She was content to be with him as they moved across the floor along with the other couples. It reminded Lion-O that he needed to get her a special gift and he knew the time was approaching on when he could present it to her.

"What's Tygra's new title going to be?" Bengali asked later as a meal was served in the square. Lion-O frowned when he saw that Elder Tyland and Elder Linkor were talking.

"I think we're working something on that out now," Lion-O said. "More than likely it'll be Duke based on how his family falls under Elder Tyland's. Lioness-A will keep her title."

"Seems appropriate," Panthro said. "It won't change his duties but it'll expand them some for him."

"And it will take some getting used to as well," Lion-O said. He saw Cynthia talking with a few of the wives of the elders then.

"She's doing fine," Lynx-O said quietly as Lion-O nodded.

"Elegance personified is what I've heard from a few of the attenders about her," Jaguarus observed when he came up to them. He took a glass of the wine then.

"It seems that I have a choice or two to make fairly soon," Lion-O said as the two grinned at him. Lion-O took two glasses of the wine and went over to Cynthia and presented one to her. She smiled and took it as they walked over to where Lioness-A and Tygra were talking with several members of his family. They were all excited about his marriage and they clearly loved Lioness-A which warmed Lion-O's heart.

Once everything was done Lioness-A and Tygra went on a honeymoon to the royal family home on the outskirts of the village while everyone else went back to the palace. Lion-O spent part of the time on the flight back with Cynthia and pondering the next step in their relationship.