At the reception, all everyone could talk about was how amazing it was to see Lina and Gourry take down Dynast Grausherra's priest. And while Lina was filled with pride over taking down a Mazoku in her home town and in front of her parents, she was also shaking her head over the ease with which it was done. If they had thought that was impressive they should have seen the battle with Sherra!

Still, she smiled to herself as she sat at the banquet table and dined on her sumptuous wedding feast. A string quartet had been hired to provide music, but it did not drown out the conversation buzzing around the gazebo. Even with the drama leading up to the wedding, the day itself was unfolding well. Even the unpleasantness with Grau had worked out to be a good thing in the end.

I'd better enjoy this for as long as it lasts. Lina thought as she looked around.

"Hey Lina," Gourry asked as he took a bite of roast chicken, "How did the breastplates nearly kill us?"

"It was one of the Knights." Lina explained as she sipped her wine, "They can channel their will into metals like silver very easily. They tried to crush us."

"Wow." He said as Luna came up behind them and then squeezed in to sit between Lina and Amelia.

"If it wasn't your wedding I would hit you." Luna said as she speared her salad.

"What for?" Lina asked.

"Not realizing something was up earlier!" Luna explained.

Lina squared her shoulders, "Somehow I'm not buying that you gullibly put that diamond on your head and weren't looking for the opportunity to show Gourry and me off. You and the other Knights weren't exactly bending over backwards to help us after I cast flow break. And I guess it was just lucky that the breastplates were silver."

"Once we had the opportunity for you to show your skills I wasn't going to squander it." Luna defended as she blushed, "But that doesn't mean I planned this. And if you would think I would put my sons in jeopardy then you are all too willing to think the worse of me."

Lina hummed in resignation, "Fine, you got me there. No, you wouldn't have put them in danger. But really, I've been gone for five years, and at your suggestion. How well can you expect me to know you, especially after you spent the first thirteen years of my life shocking me whenever you pleased?"

"I worked so hard to give you these nice things that I don't have." Luna pointed out.

"I earned my share of it!" Lina shot back, "I didn't see you making the sacrifices to take down Shabranigdu, twice! And there are always strings attached. I know you well enough to know that this isn't just a reward for a job well done. There's some end purpose you're manipulating me to, and so far you haven't told me what that is. Or are you going to open up now?"

"No." Luna said.

Lina sighed as she shook her head, "Making my point! This is my life, but it doesn't feel like it when I'm around you. Where is that line between influencing me towards that you want and forcing me?"

"It's always your decision to make." Luna said cryptically.

Lina sighed. "Over the past few weeks, how much was you and how much was Grau?"

"He didn't exert much control until the wedding." Luna explained. "He made it impossible for me to let people know what was happening, and he made me put the diamonds on the heads of the other Knights. I had wanted you to have an elaborate ceremony to show how far our family had come, but I was prepared to let it go when your head got too big for your shoulders in the dress shop, and he took over then. And while I am mad that you went over my head to the Eternal Queen, well, it made it very easy for him to exert influence then. Anyway, now that I think of it, I'd better talk to Mom and Dad."

Luna got up, and then put a hand on Lina's shoulder, "I am very happy for you. I made sure the best hotels were booked throughout Zeferia. I hope you enjoy your honeymoon."

Lina felt a little warm, "Thank you."

"I also hope that you enjoy your wedding gift. The person who made it is a friend, and I can always arrange for more to be sent to you."

"Well let me open it first before you go spoiling it!" Lina exclaimed.

Luna smiled, and then stooped down to kiss her on the forehead. Lina shook her head as she walked off. Gourry, unsurprisingly, looked confused. "She didn't apologize."

"She won't." Lina said. "She's infallible. Ceiphied blessed her for a reason and so forth. No, I'm more perturbed that she still didn't tell us what the rush is."

"You don't think she's hiding something bad, do you?" he asked.

"It's not that," Lina said, "But I don't like dancing on someone else's string. And it's too easy for someone with ill intent to take things over, as we saw earlier today."

"Well, for now you should put all of those worries aside." Amelia, who had changed into a fresh gown, stated. "It looks like it's time for your first dance."

"But I've not finished my dinner yet!" Lina protested.

"You can eat later, but you have to move these things along so your guests don't get bored!" Amelia insisted.

Lina growled. "Hey," Gourry said teasingly, "I'm starting to worry that you don't want to dance with me."

"Of course I do, but on a full stomach!" Lina stated as the violinist announced that it was time for their first dance and the music started up. Gourry held out his hand, and Lina took it, and without further complaint he led her to the dance floor.

Amelia sighed as she watched them. They were actually good dancers. It wasn't a style you would find at the palace, but it had its own charm. Zelgadis put his hand over hers and said quietly, "You're not regretting eloping, are you?"

"No! Why?"

"Well, it just doesn't seem right that you don't have your day in the spotlight."

Amelia laughed, "I'm a royal princess. Every birthday I've ever had has been in the spotlight! And every birthday I will have in the future will be in the spotlight! Besides, in five years we can have the biggest celebration ever for our vowel renewal."

He laughed, "I see you've thought all this out."

"Of course I have!" Amelia said as she grabbed his arm and leaned against it. "Preparation is everything!"

"It looks like we can join in the dance now." Zelgadis observed.

"Then lead the way my love."

Amelia noted with some amusement that rather than leave the dance floor after their song had ended, Lina and Gourry were so besotted with dancing with each other that they stayed on for the next one rather than leave to return to their plates. By the time they had moved on to opening the presents their dinner had gone cold and had been removed. Yet fortunately the cake cutting ceremony distracted their attention from that fact, even if it didn't fill them up. By the time the reception broke up and Lina and Gourry were taken to the inn where a honeymoon suite had been prepared for them, they were both heady with happiness and exhaustion.

Why did I let Amelia and Kate talk me into buying this ridiculous thing? Lina wondered as she stared at herself in the mirror. The black lingerie had covered less than anything she had ever worn before, and while on the one hand it shouldn't have been a big deal considering that Gourry had already seen her naked, she was also terrified that if she entered the bedroom wearing it and attempted to be sexy he would laugh.

And I shouldn't even be worrying about that! I have a bigger problem on my hands. Lina thought to herself as she tried to stifle a yawn. Suddenly it made sense how she was able to travel with Gourry for so long without getting together with him sooner. Fighting Mazoku was exhausting, leaving little energy for carnal desires. Add to it the weeks of planning and the family drama, plus the hours of partying, and all Lina really wanted to do was sleep. Which would be a pathetic way to spend one's wedding night. But it would be less pathetic than spending it in the bathroom because she was too nervous to go into the next room and show herself off to her newly wedded husband.

She took a deep breath and grabbed a chocolate from the box that Luna had given her for a wedding present and remembered how Gourry had cried during their vows and promised to tell her she was beautiful more often. Surely he wouldn't laugh. And she knew he would be patient and gentle at least. She exhaled, popped the chocolate into her mouth and swallowed, and opened the door, and then froze as she saw him sprawled out on the bed asleep. She shook her head for a moment as she gave a small smile. Looks like I'm not the only one who's tired.

She walked over to the bed and crawled in bedside him without extinguishing the light. He instinctively wrapped her to him but stayed asleep. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again it was several hours later, and it was soon apparent that Gourry was awake and aware, judging by the way his hands were exploring the lacy material that covered her. She looked into his eyes, and found that they were filled with lust as he grinned knowingly, "You've been shopping."

A rush of energy charged through her, and she was glad that they had both taken a nap. She now felt rested enough that having sex sounded like a very fun idea. "Do you like it?" she asked.

He kissed her passionately as his touch became more daring. She gasped and, with some difficultly, put her arms up between them, "Wait."

"What?" he said, his voice heady.

"The flow break spell I cast earlier." She said quickly.

"What about it?" he asked, his eyes trailing her body appreciatively. So appreciatively that she wondered if he was really listening.

"It would have returned my body to it's normal state." She explained.

He looked both confused and pained, "What does that mean?"

"It means…" she started as she blushed, "It means I can have my time of the month again, or we can make a baby now if we do this."

He propped himself up on one arm as he looked at her, "Is that what you're wanting to do?"

"Sometimes I think so." She said.

He was silent for a moment before he said with a forced neutrality, "If it's a sometimes things, then maybe you aren't ready?"

"It's just, I tried to cast the spell again when I was getting ready, but it doesn't feel right to do it right now. But part of me feels that this is something Sis really wants me to do, and when that happens, it's hard for me to tell if I'm doing what she wants or avoiding her punishments."

"Has she said anything?" he asked as he focused his eyes on the window rather than on her and his hands started fidgeting with the sheets.

"She's implied." Lina said.

"Well, how did you feel before you got home?" he asked.

"Creating life, it was a power I wanted to explore after all of the loss we suffered. But I also didn't want to be tied to home and hearth like most women after they have a baby. So, conflicted, really."

"Well, now you know you can have both, right?" he asked, "Luna didn't put that idea in your head. It was already there. And she provided the means for you to have a life after having a baby."

"That is true. But I'd still be doing what she wants. And after today…"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. But we were attacked, at our own wedding ceremony! And just because you can make a baby doesn't mean you will. I don't want to go back to losing my powers for a few days every month again if this doesn't happen quickly!"

He kissed her gently on the forehead, "In some ways, we've never been safer. We have so many friends here now, powerful ones. And you're still strong even without your powers. When that Mazoku sealed them, you made it through all right. And you know I would die before I let anything happen to you."

"I guess." She said, but she couldn't stop thinking about how the last time she'd had her period she had ended up hanging from a rope surrounded by her enemies. And it wasn't a position she'd ever wanted to be in again. "I don't like relying on others, though. It just sucks that I have to put myself in such a vulnerable position to do this."

"When have you ever let that stop you from getting what you want?" he asked. "You know what I want. And if this is what you want then let's go for it. But either way, please make a decision soon. Laying here beside you while you're wearing that and having to talk about a serious topic is driving me out of my mind!"

She grinned deviously as she fingered the laces on her bodice, "So this is driving you wild?"

"I won't complain if you buy a whole closet full of them!"

She gave her dilemma only a few more moments of thought. Surely she was overthinking this. When had sitting on the sidelines fretting ever gotten her anywhere? "Come and kiss me then before you explode."

AN: Whew! Whenever I think a chapter will be easy to tackle, life proves me wrong. Between an influx of business and my computer failing to save some updates I'd made this little chapter was more difficult than anticipated. Wedding arc is finished, onto the honeymoon arc and it may take me some time to work out some plot points, or it may not.

Anyway, I got the idea that the flow break spell would nullify sterility spells from Anna Nimmie Tee's fic Kind and Kind

I also forgot to mention I got the idea of Gourry taking Lina's name from maidens-wanderlust's fic It's (Not) Just a Name