11. Tradition

I found some archives and looked up Deralia, my supposed home world, to find any sort of traditions I was supposed to follow in getting married. There were none. I wondered if the Jedi had made up my planet, too. I grew more and more frustrated, not knowing what I was going to do. Carth had most of the details figured out; I just had to get myself on track.

"What do I wear?" I asked him after being unable to find a darn thing in the archives.

"There's no real color that's traditional, you just need to look nice. You could wear your red dress from the party." Something told me that Carth had this planned out too.

"So no white like Bastila?"

"You'll have a white cloak on over it." Carth assured, "so there's no reason to have a white cloak over a white dress."

"Anything else I should know?" I raised my eyebrows. "It seems like there's a lot you're not telling me." He sighed.

"Sorry to keep you in the dark, I've just been trying to work it out." He took a deep breath. "Weddings in my family are very heavily dictated by tradition, but they aren't spoken of too much."

"How did you know I wouldn't have any ideas?"

"I looked Deralia up in the archives as well." He confessed. "Your input is still welcome."

"Let me hear your plan and then I'll decide about my input." I smiled.

"Well, the ceremony will happen around sunset. It'll be followed by a dinner, like the Ordos' was. Only family and close friends are invited to the ceremony to keep things simple. We both wear white cloaks with the hoods on, even though I'm not sure why. The friends and family of each of us stand on one side in a semicircle, facing each other. Only three or four people will be on each side. The ceremony focuses on the acceptance of each of us into the others' family."

"Okay, but what about my nonexistent family?"

"I was thinking a couple Jedi could work." He smiled. "Friends count too, remember?"

"So I have to choose three people?" I asked, aghast. "Four, minimum. And HK still won't be happy."

"Four is fine." Carth smiled. "How about sundown tomorrow?"

"I think I can do that." I smiled back. "So tell me how this works."

"I would, but I'm not completely sure myself."

"What?" I was shocked. "How are you going to do something when you don't know how?"

"Oh, there will be experts there. Like I said, only close family and friends attend, so I'd have to have a sibling or very close friends get married in this way to know about it, and I'm an only child."

"Wait, didn't you get married before?" I asked.

"Not this way."

"Okay." I was skeptical. "How do you know it'll work, though?"

"It will." He grinned. "All I know is there are, in our case, four people –family or friend – standing for each of us. In addition, there are three witnesses and a mediator. The mediator will guide the ceremony. The family members have a chance to accept or deny your request to join the family."

"What? They can deny it?" I got worried. Dustil was sure to stand for Carth. Did he know I'd been indirectly responsible for killing his mother? "What happens then?"

"Yes, they can." Carth sighed. "If there is a denial, the witnesses get to make the decision."

"Who are the witnesses?"

"Three individuals who make an objective decision on the couple's eligibility to marry. It's only really decisive if there's familial dissent. If someone objects, the couple has a chance to make a case for themselves. If the family feels strongly enough, they can join in the debate, but the final decision is the witnesses'."

"This sounds like a trial." I sighed.

"It does." Carth's face began to get nervous. "This is the way my family does it, though, and I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"So who's standing for me?"

"You have to approach them and ask."

"What if we both approach, say, Bastila?" I was glad he humored me.

"Usually, Bastila would know that she is a close mutual friend and make her decision before either one approached her. But since no one really knows what the ceremony is like, it's different. If I approached her, I'd let her know that you might and that she'd have to choose one or the other. She can't stand on both sides of the room at once."

"So mutual friends have to choose sides?"

"Or elect to be witnesses."

"So we'll have seven witnesses."

"No, you can only have three."

"But if I take four people, you'll only have –" I was confused.

"Trust me, it works." Carth grinned. "I've thought about this for a long time and figured it out."

"So if I ask—"

"Oh, you're not supposed to tell me that, in case I try to pay them off before the ceremony."

"This is weird." I sighed. "Is it ever going to make sense?"

"I don't know. It's weird to me too, even though I must sound like I know the answers. I don't."

"So who's going to mediate?"

"Jolee's getting one of his friends." I sighed.

"I guess that'll be okay. Are you sure this will work? I don't know if I like going to my own wedding and not knowing whether or not I'll come out married."

"From what I understand, since you can only have a few people there, you can choose the ones standing for you strategically. Blood relatives have to go, or else they feel betrayed."

"So I choose people I know will say yes and I'll be okay?"

"Basically, unless you have any blood relatives."

"Phew. You're going to have this easy."

"You won't have a hard time either." He grinned. "I promise."

I spent the next day trying to purge the nervousness from my system by preparing what I'd say to Dustil. I really didn't want to tell him the whole story then. I realized that I should take a break from worrying and gather my own family members. I listened at the Ordos' door briefly to ensure I wouldn't interrupt anything before I knocked lightly. Bastila answered the door.

"I have a favor to ask you." I said sheepishly. I didn't know how to do this. "I would love to have you stand for me at my wedding ceremony, as you're the closest thing I have to a sister."

"Oh, Ciara, I'd love to!" Bastila squealed, hugging me. "What do I do? What do I wear?"

"Well, you just have to tell Carth whether you accept him as part of your family, like giving your blessing. And you just have to look pretty."

"That's a no-brainer." Bastila laughed. "Anything else?"

"No. You won't have a problem." I smiled. "I'm not exactly sure how it goes, but neither is Carth, so we're all clueless together."

"That's comforting." I told Bastila what I knew about my ceremony.

"You know you can't ask Canderous." Bastila interrupted my speech about selecting family members. "Carth got to him first." I couldn't help but laugh. Canderous as Carth's brother – the image was too perfect.

"Fair enough. I have to get the others before he does." I grinned mischievously. "Just come to my room at three tomorrow afternoon. Bring stuff to make yourself – and me, if you feel like I still need work – pretty." She gave me a look that told me I was going to need work.

"I'm so proud of you!" She beamed. "I can't believe how far you've come since I met you!"

"So have you!" I pulled away. "I have to go get Mission before Carth does."

"Hurry, run!" I did, speeding down the corridor like I was swoop racing. It was interesting to think of gathering family members as competition. I pounded on Mission's door. Juhani answered. Mission and Big Z were playing Pazaak on the floor.

"Perfect, just the people I need to talk to!" I grinned. "I'd be honored if each of you would stand for me at my wedding ceremony. You're like family to me."

"Shut up!" Mission squealed, jumping up. "I'd love to!"

"The honor is mine." Juhani said calmly. "When do you want us there?"

"Three o'clock tomorrow at my room. Just look pretty and be prepared to tell Carth what you think of us."

"You got a deal!" Mission grinned.

"What about you, Zaalbar?" I asked. The Wookiee hadn't moved.

"Carth asked me to be a witness." He said, "And I accepted, or else I would."

"Thanks, Z. I'm glad you'll be there. You'll be perfect as a witness!" I beamed. I sat in the room, chatting for awhile. Juhani was trying to hide her excitement. Mission insisted that I pick something for her to wear, modeling her dresses for me. I chose the one she seemed to like best.

"Wow, this is my favorite!" She exclaimed. "I'm so excited! Can I do your makeup?"

"I was hoping you'd ask." I laughed. "If I had to do it myself, Carth might change his mind."

"Do you want me to brush Z?" Mission asked. Zaalbar yowled.

"I think he'll be fine." I smiled. "He knows how to groom himself for special occasions."

"Thank you for sparing me." Zaalbar said. "I hope she doesn't try to brush my teeth."

I left an hour later, feeling exhausted and happy. I had three people, Carth had two, and Z was a witness. The only crew members left were the droids and Jolee. I had a feeling that droids would be best as witnesses, so I ran to Jolee's chamber and banged on his door, cringing.

"Do you think I'm deaf?" He grumbled loudly.

"No, I'm just excited. I have a favor to ask." I panted. "I'd love for you to stand for me at my wedding."

"You got it, kid." Jolee smiled. "Since I don't have to get pretty, I'll just wear some nice robes and be at the ceremony room at four. Carth told me about it already."

"He didn't ask?" I was bewildered.

"Nope. He told me to expect you to ask. Is there anything else?"

"No…" I trailed off.

"Don't be so confused, kid." He chuckled. "You'll be fine. See you at dinner." The door shut. I wandered back to my room, where Carth was figuring something out, but I couldn't tell what.

"Hey, beautiful." He stood up and gave me a hug. "Where've you been all afternoon?"

"Finding my family." I hugged him back, still confused. "It doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?" He asked, concerned.

"Can droids be your family?"

"Not usually, no. They're good witnesses."

"So T3 and HK are the other witnesses?"

"Do you need to have this figured out?" Carth laughed.

"I want to know what I'm up against."

"Trust me," Carth looked me in the eye. "It's nothing you can't handle." I looked at him warily.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." He smiled. "I've had to move the ceremony around to make sure everything's right. Whether or not you could handle it has always been a factor."

"Okay." I resigned. "What are you working on?"

"I'm just killing time." He sighed. "I was hoping you'd be here this afternoon. We've been so busy; we never got a chance to do anything."

Understanding dawned on me. "This is about taking it slow, isn't it?"

"Sort of." Carth blushed.

"You know, some people wait until the wedding night." I smiled.

"You devious little—" I gave Carth the best "shut up" kiss I could manage.

"That's my line." I said firmly. "Next thing I know you'll be saying you look like hell."

"You're rubbing off on me." Carth grinned. Youth glinted in his eyes. "And if you want to wait, I'll wait. It's only one more day."

"It just seems fitting." I mused.

"I guess it does." He agreed. "I found out when my promotion ceremony will be."

"When's that?" I asked.

"A week after we arrive on Telos. Does that work for you?"

"Sounds great." I smiled. "I'm getting kind of sick of this place."

"Me too, but I'm a bit nervous about returning to Telos." Carth confessed. "I have so many memories, especially of Morgana. I want them to go away, but I can't forget."

"I can't understand what that would be like." I said, concerned.

"I don't want you to." He added. "I'm not too excited about going back, even though we'll be with everyone. I don't know how different it'll be."

"Only time will tell." I assured. "Sometimes you have to face the past to get over it. I know it'll be hard for you, but you have a chance to build a new life on the ruins of your old one. It's a chance not everyone gets."

"You're right."

"As usual." I smiled. "Seriously though, I'm counting on being there for you through the hard times as well as the good times. You promised you'd protect me, and I vowed I'd do the same to you. If we have each others' backs, we're pretty close to invincible."

"You didn't tell me that before."

"I was afraid you'd tell me not to protect you." I explained. "I don't like the idea of one-sided loyalty, so I made a habit of being loyal to those loyal to me."

"I wouldn't be able to do this without you." Carth sighed. "I'd go crazy on Telos by myself."

"I'll do whatever you need me to." I promised. "Even if it's just standing with you while you do what you need to do. My vows to you come before my vows to the Council. I won't let you down."

(standard disclaimer goes here...) Thanks to all reviewers! You people rock my world!