Sorry for the short chapter. Think of it as a way to progress the story….

Anna was again in front of the mirror in her wedding dress. Today was the day. She and Yoh were going to be married. They were going to be husband and wife from this day forth. Anna took a deep breath, fiddling with her veil. She felt sick and tired and excited all at once. It made her bit nausea as Tamao hurried around her to finish up every last detail of her dress. Everyone was busy trying to get everything perfect for the wedding. Perfect and private. Just a few people from town and of course their friends.

"You look beautiful, Anna," Tamao said as she took a step back and admired her. Anna had to agree that she did look otherworldly and beautiful. Her long blonde hair was curled and cascaded down her shoulders. A modest silver necklace adorned her neck and pearls hung from her ears. Tamao had done her make-up that added color to her pale cheeks and made her sparkle like a princess. Her nails were done in a pearly color that looked iridescent in the light. Anna brushed a stray hair from her face, the silver bangles on her wrist clinked against each other.

"I do, don't I?" Anna said without a hint of modesty. Tamao giggled, dressed in a beautiful pale blue sundress.

"Well at least you are in better spirits today!"

"Yeah. It is my wedding day after all."

"Well you have an hour before you walk the isle. What are you going to do?"

"I am going to see how everything is going then to the garden to get my bouquet."

"Okay. See you." Tamao went to cleaning up. In her wedding dress, Anna peered out of the room to make sure Yoh was not there. She did not want him to see her. It was not like she was superstitious. She wanted it to be a surprise when she walked down the isle and he saw her dolled up like princess in her wedding dress. The halls were empty. Yoh must still be with his friends for his bachelor party, she thought, stepping out. She picked up her skirts and hurried toward the backyard where the ceremony was to take place. It was beautiful.

A temporary gazebo was placed at the end of a long trail of white fabric. It was strung with lights and white ribbons. There were a few chairs on both sides of the little runway. Unlit candles were placed around the gazebo as well, securely settle between rocks. The view from the mountains made a beautiful background. Anna smiled and gazed loving at the simple yet beautiful scene before her. Suddenly a wave of nausea took over and she nearly sunk to her knees. Thankfully it passed quickly and did not ruin her beautiful dress with sickness. Her nerves were such in a tangle. She was excited for her wedding but a feeling of foreboding was settling in her stomach. Or maybe she was coming down with something.

Anna made her way carefully through the house to get to the garden. Every once in a while, she would catch a glimpse of someone moving about either getting food prepared or to fix up messes. She was actually glad that Yoh had gotten his mother and some other people from Silent Village to prepare the wedding. Of course he did a lot himself to before his party. Anna was glad she did not have to lift a finger today. Except for gathering her bouquet. The flowers she was aiming for were the perfect finishing touch. And they were blue, which complete the funny little rhyme that Tamao had told her that was essential for her wedding day.

"A bit of advice, Yoh. The wedding is a special occasion and all but so is the wedding night…," Anna hurried HoroHoro's loud voice instantly. Though her fierce temper wanted her to surprise HoroHoro with a nice slap, she quickly ducked into the house. She peered out to see both HoroHoro and Yoh in their tuxes as they made their way across the deck. Yoh looked handsome and distinguished in his tux. His dark brown hair was combed but it still managed to look messy. Anna smiled to herself before hastily going toward the little garden. It was in a hidden pass not far from the house, just in a little cattycorner on the path that lead to the village. She liked to go there every once in a while for peace and the more time they were able to stay, the more peaceful and safe the little garden became.

Anna left the house, her white slippers making soft thumps on the stone ground. There was a little pathway that led to the house. Yet at the foot of the entrance from the pass, it disappeared and Yoh and the boys spent time making sure it looked worn and unused yet easily accessible for them to move through. The garden was just a few feet away the entrance to the house area and on the far left of the path in another little cattycorner. Anna made her way there, careful not to ruin the bottom of her dress or her pretty little slippers. Like a ghost, she was nimble and quick to hurry to her little garden. If anyone had seen her, they might have thought her a ghost just running through the mountains. She had to laugh about that.

The garden, which really was just something she stumbled upon, was one of those natural beauties Shielded from harsh winds but open enough to receive rain, the wild garden was beautiful and untouched. Not even Anna dared to tend to it and letting it grow on its own. The lovely blue flowers swayed in the gentle breeze that filtered in and a trickling waterfall from the rocks feed the small stream cutting through the flowers. The breeze fluttered through her hair and veil as she carefully selected flowers for her bouquet. She felt like a child eagerly picking up flowers and arranging them perfectly in her hands. And like a child, Anna was unaware of the dangerous that was lurking around, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

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"So…what do you have planned for to night," HoroHoro asked deviously. Yoh looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Ren's hand smashed down HoroHoro's head quickly and painfully.

"How can you be even more perverted? That is a private business."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Ren! I mean do you have anything romantic planned? A dinner or just by the fire. I mean you will have the house to yourself, anything to top off this day. And I don't mean sex," HoroHoro quickly turned to Ren before he could open his mouth. "I mean Yoh and I already discussed this…ow Ren will you chill! It is a girl's most memorably day…how are you going to top it off tonight?"

"I never gave it any thought. We had to house to ourselves seem to be my first priority that I never really thought of anything else." He suddenly felt guilty for not planning anything. He had been planning the wedding and bribing the guys to get out of the house so they could have a night of privacy after the wedding, he had not thought of really doing anything. He thought they would just relax and enjoy the events of the day in silence.

"Miss Anna won't care," Ryu comforted, his large arm rested upon Yoh's slender shoulder and nearly toppled him over. "I think she is just happy being able to be married and have a wedding than anything else. Don't worry Master Yoh."

"You are right," Yoh grinned. "I still cannot believe Anna and I are getting married today. I know this day would come but now that it is here, I still cannot believe it."

"Yoh…you most likely won't stop believing it until you have been married for fifty years," Chocolove cracked. Yoh smiled widened as Chocolove playfully hit him. Actually, he was most likely right. It was like a dream, this day. He was going to marry Anna, the Anna. She was not the cruel, ruthless and aggressive ice queen she had been when they were younger. Though her some of cold qualities still remained, she become something more…a light, a strong foundation and simply just a beautiful woman. He truly did love her with all his heart and wanted to make her happy. He could never get over that she was his fiancée and soon to be his wife.

"Hello, earth to Yoh. Don't zone out know…you are getting married in twenty minutes!" Yoh shook his head and looked at Ren with a look of confusion.

"Huh?"

"If you are late, Anna will murder you." Yoh grinned sheepishly.

"I…twenty minutes? Oh!" Yoh jumped up as the realization dawned on him. Everyone followed suit and they all rushed to get ready. The wedding guests were already arriving, filling in the chairs. Tamao was rushing about in her bridesmaid dress, seeming a bit frantic and flustered. Yoh swallowed hard as his stomach tightened. He fiddled with the blue flower in his jacket, trying to make everything perfect. He and the rest of the guys took there places at the front of the walkway as the minister prepared to deliver his infamous speech. Everything was set up nicely and perfectly as the candled flickered in the gentle breeze, filling the air with perfumes. Humans as well as shamans from the village sat in giddy excitement. A wedding was a bright light in the midst of all this chaos.

"You ready, Yoh. From this day forth, you will be a married man," Ren whispered. He gave an encouraging wave to his sister, who had come from China to see the wedding. Pilica was behind her, pretty is her dress and hastily talking to Tamao. Jun was brought into the conversation as well not soon after, nodding at a very red-faced Tamao. The three girls calmly made their way back toward the house, explaining they needed one last detail before the wedding. The tension was heavy with Yoh; never in his life remember feeling so unease and nervous. A white figure moved from the house and the music began to swell. However as the green-haired shaman stepped forward to the celebration, with a female companion at his side, it did not take long to realize who it was.

"Greetings and salutations, Yoh," a familiar greeted casually and pleasantly. Each head of the audience turned to see the tall, crisply dressed figure of Lyserg in the doorway with Jeanne at his side. Static shot through the air and everyone was quick for a defense. However, most had no spirits, save for HoroHoro and Chocolove, since they had been human and sent back far beyond even Anna could reach. Lyserg simply smiled as Mick and Kororo were suddenly ready to attack.

"I am not here to fight. Unfortunately, I would win. I came here with a proposition for you, Yoh." He stepped closer to the group with Jeanne close in step.

"No." After the shaman fight, Lyserg had hounded Yoh and the rest of them to join the Neo-X's to dethrone Hao. Yoh had enough of fighting and anything associated with the X-Laws or Hao, he turned him down. What even became more of an outrage were the acts that the Neo-X's performed to scare Hao and show someone wanted him dead. Many innocent shamans lost their lives to the Neo-X's foolish pursuit of revenge. The old X-Laws might have been dead, but there twisted methods still lingered behind. Something Yoh wanted no part of.

"Quick to answer. Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." Lyserg nodded elegantly, shrugging and made a turn to leave. His hand gently rested on Jeanne's to guide her out. The boys exchanged glances at each other as the crowd began to fidget and whisper. There was a suspiciousness about his easy withdraw. And when he stopped, it was evident he had another card up his sleeve. "I give you my condolences on your marriage. I hope you have a fine wedding….without a bride."

I debated whether or not to make a cliff-hanger or not….I decided to do it.