Chapter Six: The Wedding
Yuna was ecstatic. It was the day she'd waited for her entire life, and it was about start. There were no giant flying fish trying to crash her wedding, not a fiend in sight, and everyone, even Lulu, was happy. She smiled and twirled in front of the mirror, admiring her dress. Arianna and Lyra had constructed it out of sea mist and stardust. The veil had been made from "a bit of northern wind and a splash of fire-heart for colour". It had turned out beautifully. The dress was floor-length and strapless. The fabric was fluid between Yuna's fingers, like water just barely solidified into satin. The hem was dotted with tiny sapphires and amethysts, which, according to Lyra, symbolized peace and joy. The veil was simple, just a circlet of lavender rose buds placed gently on her head and a long piece of white fabric, but it was gorgeous in itself.
"Jeez, Yunie. You're so lucky," Rikku sighed. Yuna smiled at her cousin. Rikku had changed out of her usual shorts and tank top into a long sky blue satin dress that accented her blond hair.
Arianna and Lyra swooped in, arm in arm. The two wizards had been inseparable since Tidus had proposed two weeks ago, just a week after they'd mind-wiped both Kilika and Besaid, which was much easier, according to Arianna and Lyra, than Bevelle. Size, apparently.
Anyway, the two girls waltzed in and gasped. "Yunie, you look fantastic!" Arianna exclaimed.
Lyra nodded fervently, her red ringlets tied back in a ponytail that bounced everywhere. "Tidus is going to keel over when he sees you!" she laughed.
"What have you two been up to?" Rikku asked suspiciously. Yuna had wondered about that, too. The wedding was supposed to be held on the shore, and the pair had been down there since the day before working.
"We've been…decorating," Arianna said mysteriously. She glanced at her counterpart and they burst into giggles. Rikku rolled her spiraled eyes and sat back down. The wizards examined themselves in the mirror and said a few words in that language they'd used for the mind wipes. Instantly, the two were decked out in dresses that matched Rikku's. Lyra's was a pretty yellow, and she pulled her hair out of its band to let it fall to her shoulders. Arianna's was a lavender that complemented her auburn hair and brought out the red tints in it. They looked each other over carefully, like best friends usually do, and nodded. They walked back out, chattering happily. Yuna laughed at the pair's retreating backs.
Rikku slung one arm over Yuna's shoulders. "With us on the team, nothing can go wrong," she assured her with a broad grin.
Yuna nodded and Lulu sailed in, looking positively thrilled, for what was possibly the first time in her life. "It's time, Yuna. Your wedding's about to start!" she exclaimed, taking the younger girl by the wrist. Rikku followed as they walked out to the shore, stopping just out of sight. Lulu tucked a piece of hair behind Yuna's ear. "You'll do fine," she whispered. Then she grabbed Rikku's elbow and dragged her down the aisle, leaving Yuna on her own. She took a deep breath as the wedding march began to play and was about to walk out when an annoyingly familiar voice said from behind her,
"Hello, Yuna." She spun around, fear gripping her. Seymour stood there, looking as irritating and ugly as ever.
Yuna glared at him. The fear was quickly replaced by pure anger. "Oh, you little-" she began, but fury kept her from going on. She just mouthed wordlessly at him, unable to find the words to express his awfulness.
He smiled at her. "Cat got your tongue?" he asked. She screamed in wild fury at him, for the first time in her life feeling absolutely hateful.
Rikku rounded the corner, sand flying. "What's-oh, it's you." She glared at Seymour.
"What, no welcoming wagon?" he asked.
Arianna and Lyra came flying around the corner, eyes wide. They stared at Seymour. "Who's that?" Arianna asked.
"Looks familiar…" Lyra squinted at him, as if trying to place him.
"Can we kill him?" Arianna interrupted her friend's efforts.
Yuna nodded. "Go ahead." She gestured at him.
"I wanna watch," Rikku growled. Arianna and Lyra stood side-by-side and started chanting, in English this time.
"Ashes to ashes, spirit to spirit, take this soul, banish this evil," they said the spell over and over, and each time Seymour got a little smokier. Finally, with one last scream, he exploded, leaving only a bit of blue fabric on the sand and splashes of blue blood on the rock walls. Rikku cheered loudly. Even Yuna was infinitely satisfied.
The wizards turned to her, smiling triumphantly. "Let's get this show on the road, girls," Arianna said. The three bridesmaids walked back out and the wedding march struck up again. Yuna walked out, the sand warm under her bare feet. Tidus stood there, his sapphire eyes glowing fiercely in the noon sun. Wakka was squirming around and looked extremely unhappy that Lulu had forced him into a tux. Yuna grinned at Tidus and blushed as the villagers that were standing around began to whisper. She stepped up onto the platform and the ceremony began.
She barely remembered a lick of it, when questioned later, and the next thing she knew the priest was saying, "You may kiss the bride." Arianna and Lyra's handiwork decided to reveal itself in the form of flowers that suddenly burst into bloom everywhere, giving off the thick perfume of a garden in summer. Tidus leaned down and kissed her just as tiny sparkling cherry blossoms began to float down from the sky. And in that moment, she knew what paradise felt like. It was that moment, there with her beloved Tidus she'd fought so hard to save, just as he'd fought to save her on her pilgrimage, surrounded by friends and flowers and stardust, and knowing that, at least in her corner of the world, everything was completely…perfect. And no matter what happened, no matter how many tears would be shed over the years, she wouldn't be alone. She wouldn't have to become that withdrawn girl who never showed her emotions she'd been the year before. This summoner, at least, would cry no more tears of stone.