Xiao ran down the halls of the Wu home. It wasn't the castle, but "anybody who mattered" as Jian had put it, agreed that both she and Da would live in Wu instead of having to travel through the forest again. It was the night before Da's wedding, as it was decided that Da would marry first, and Xiao was not going to miss anything.

Already, she was anxious. They all were. Jian, on one the day that Ce was allowed to walk around without any bandages what-so-ever, had declared that they would go through the whole ceremony. It was rather comical, seeing both Ce and Yu drop their jaws and stare at Jian for a moment before both of them exploded. Da and Xiao had watched, stiff ling giggles as both men, at the same time, tried to convince Jian otherwise in their own manner.

Ce leaned forward on the table, almost in his fathers face, yelling as much as talking. Yu on the other hand, took a deep breath with clenched hands to collect his thoughts. Releasing the air, he started debating with the silent Jian. His words spilled out even quicker then Ce's, and Xiao personally didn't understand a thing the two said. She couldn't make out one word between the two.

When both of them fell silent, staring intently at Jian, he finally spoke again. "It is final. We, as the noble men of Wu, shall show the Qiao family the respect it deserves. Or are you two saying that those two magnificent girls don't deserve the respect of a proper marriage ceremony?" At that both men's shoulders slumped, and they stooped to silently glaring at Jian. Seeing no more arguments, Jian had gotten up and left to go eat.

Both girls had gone off giggling, but it had been short lived. One soldier, one of the ones they had befriended (the one that had watched Xiao's tent), had come over and told them that both of the men were off to 'train'. Da had made a face, a face that meant nothing good for Ce if he didn't comply with her wishes (Xiao had seen the face many times meant for many people) and both Xiao and the soldier had followed her as she stalked to the 'training' grounds (an open patch of snow covered ground).

When they had gotten there, both men had already chosen their weapons. Xiao and the solder, named Chou, stood at the edge as Da made her way over to Ce. All soldiers parted to allow her passage. As she neared Ce, she smoothed her features. It wouldn't do to have him feel threatened by her. One soldier at his side pointed to her, and Ce turned to raise an eyebrow at her, missing Yu's snicker.

"My lord, you should not be out here. You have only recently healed," Da said, staring off the conversation. She made sure her voice was laced in worry, not anger at his stupidity and lack of anger management.

"What? Da, I'm fine. Don't worry yourself over it. I can't get out of shape, now can I?" he said, avoiding the real reason.

"But Lord Ce, you-"

"I'll be fine Da. I won't over extort myself, I'll be careful, and nobody here except maybe Yu is going to be able to touch. Not in the mood I'm in." Ce said the last part under his breath. Da stared up at him, seeing the fire in his eyes she knew she would not win through words alone, and sighed. She nodded her head, bowing it in defeat. She folded her hands, and walked to the edge of the grounds. Ce beamed in male pride of being in control of the relationship.

Xiao had to choke back laughter when Da strolled over to a soldier who had been eyeing Da lately in that look. The look a man who hadn't seen a woman in months and then spots one of the prettiest rumored in the land would give. Everything fell silent as Da stared up at the soldier through her lashes. "Excuse me sir, but I was wondering if you would escort me during a walk. I am weary of the camp grounds, and with Lord Ce so insistent on training, I need another strong man to protect me on this walk. If you are not training as well, would you be as kind?" Da batted her eyes up at the man. To have asked Ce straight out for a walk, instead of being sneaky, would have led to him pouting during the whole walk. Da was no fool in the ways of Ce.

She did not speak loud, but everybody watched with silent baited breath, allowing Ce to hear every word. He was at Da's side before the soldier could say a word. Ce gave the soldier the deadliest glare, one that might have deterred Lu Bu for but a moment, before grabbing Da's hand and pulling her way. Doing so, he missed the look of total and utter smug satisfaction Da had on her face. Ce pulled her away, probably giving her a lecture about not asking him. When all the other soldiers started talking again, Xiao and Chou broke out into fit of laughter that had them holding their stomachs and wheezing for air.

So, they had to wait for all their ancestors, and all the fortune tellers to approve their wedding. Then they had to exchange gifts back and forth. But, months later, Da was getting ready for her wedding. Xiao couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She entered the room, and quickly found a seat. Da watched her silently, having a just as large smile on her face. Next through the door was the Good Luck Woman, Ling, and Shang Xiang, their soon to be sister-in-law.

"You're wearing a dress!" Xiao screamed, pointing at Shang Xiang, who was, indeed, wearing a dress.

"Sadly. But, it's better then some of the things I'm seeing the guys wearing, so I'm not going to complain. The whole wedding process, bride and groom sides both is a hassle. So, I'm not going to complain about being woman for this one event, since women actually have an up. We get to dress nicer," Shang Xiang said with a grin. Xiao broke out into laughter, and Da giggled.

"You are Lady Xiao? Jin warned me about you," the Good Luck Woman said with a huff. "You do know you aren't supposed to be here correct?"

"Really? I can… um… leave?"

"Don't bother. She'll only go hide in the banisters," Shang Xiang said, finding a chair, and pointing to the ceiling.

"I wasn't going to make her leave. I was just saying," the Good Luck Woman said before turning to Da. "Now, let us turn you into a wife." With that, the process started of styling Da's hair into that of a married woman's. The Good Luck Woman murmured words to ward away evil influence as she styled the hair. Da flinched when her hair was pulled too tight, but never once complained. When all was done, she turned her head in the mirror to marvel at the new style. Xiao silently clapped in the back, smiling broadly.

Shang Xiang stepped forward, and bent down for Da to crawl onto her back. The bride's feet could not touch the bare ground. The Good Luck Woman and Xiao had to be directed else where, and Shang Xiang, as the oldest sister in law, carried Da to the main hall. There Da donned a lovely red jacket and the red skirt, both finely decorated. She smiled as the Phoenix crown was placed on her head, and the red veil was dropped in front of her face. Swallowing, Da bowed to her parents and to her ancestral tablets. The wedding had truly begun. Da couldn't help but feel thrilled and scared at the same time.

Ce bowed before his families alter, letting his father placed the cap on his head. Ce had to resist tapping his fingers on the floor. After his father stepped back, he stood and bowed to his ancestors and then to his parents and family assembled. As Jian reached to remove the ball on his shoulder, a quiet conversation was passed. "Impatient son? Afraid your wife shall be stolen before you can marry her again?"

Ce gave Jian the most dead pan stare. "Sun better damn well rise soon," was all he said. Jian held in his laughter as he set the ball on the bridal sedan chair.

Da fought against the want to play with the veil. She did not like having problems seeing. She had to trust the Good Luck Woman to carry her to the sedan chair. The mirror around her neck to ward off evil spirits felt heavy, and all Da really wanted to do was fidget. As she was placed under the red coverings around the sedan chair and she found a way to sit in the red dress, she allowed herself to play with one of the bracelets she had on.

The ride to Ce's home was nothing except a way to make her even more stressed. She chewed on her bottom lip, almost dropped the bracelet a few times and had to resist scratching her head and ruining her hair or makeup. When the chair finally stopped moving, Da turned to the opening of the curtains. She stepped out onto the mat as gracefully as she could, and glanced around the gathered people for those she knew.

Jian was standing behind Ce, smiling like any father would at a wedding. Huang Gia was behind him, arms crossed, grinning just as broadly. Yu stood next to Xiao, who was jumping in place, pointing to Da, and saying things to Yu. He would smile and nod to her before returning his attention to the wedding. Her healing father was on the other side, her mother next to him. Both of them smiling, as happy as they could be.

Da stepped over the lit stove, another tradition to cast away evil influence, with as much grace as she could muster. She could make out Xiao mentioning to Yu that at that point she was going to fall flat on her face, and Da herself could only thank her ancestors that she didn't do just that. Smiling, she walked to Ce, who's expression was a mix of impatient and happiness. As she stood before him, nerves running wild and heart going at a rate that couldn't be healthy, she waited for him to raise the red veil.

When he did so, both of their brown eyes met. The rest of the world disappeared as they stared at each other. He smiled down at her, now only in love, and Da felt all the pressure lifted. It was all going to be okay. It wouldn't all be easy, but she would pull through with everything she wanted. She'd pull through with all the love she could ever want. She would have a loving husband, her reliable sister, a new brother in law, an amazing father in law, and a whole new family even beyond that. Yes, she would be fine. She smiled back at Ce, and the two turned to complete the wedding ceremony.

So, here is the epilogue everybody wanted. Its their wedding. Xiao's would be just the same, so I didn't do it. Just replace Ce's and Da's name 'kay? I decided to make it more oriental than western, even though that is how Yu proposed. Oh well. Pretend it would fit. This kind of centers around Da and Ce, cause they are my favorite couple. And it makes sense for them to wed first. Everything following this is kind of a preview for my Little Red Riding Hood project next. It won't be uploaded for a bit. The start is always the hardest part for me, and I'll need a good start before I upload. So, The End for Hideous Beast. Yay!

Little Red Riding Hood

She sat by her open window, brushing her long dark brown hair over her shoulder. The warm summer nights were refreshing after the long winter, and she planned on enjoying them. Her similarly dark brown eyes stared at the large wall that the sun was setting behind. The Wall had surrounded the town, isolating them from everything east of the giant wall. In fact, nobody in the town could remember the large walls being built; everybody only knew that outside the walls was mortal danger.

Monsters lurked outside the Wall, and with out a greater force, their town was to be isolated from the rest of the continent. Every once in a while, she would question the good the Wall did. She would wonder if it was worth loosing land, advancement, and intelligence over monsters so few had seen. Then, at night, she would hear the howls, or a soldier would be dragged in a bloody mess from an attack. At those times, she would suppress a shiver and sneak back to her room. Having never seen the beasts that roamed outside their Wall, she could only imagine what a gruesome sight they were.

Her thoughts were brought to a stop when she looked down to see a small figure climbing down the side of their mansion. The little figure hopped to the tree and dropped down to the garden beneath. She could only role her eyes and sigh, already knowing who it was. Her sister, Xiao, had always been one to sneak out. Whether it was to avoid lessons or because she was meeting that mysterious admirer, Xiao did not stay in her room for very long anymore. The older Qiao, Da, could only hope that her sister was making the right chooses.

Setting down the brush, and braiding her hair, Da rose from her seat and closed her window. Locking in shut, she blew out all of the candles in her room and slid into bed. She slipped into her dreams, unknowing that her sister would once again make her question all she believed in, but with the added bonus of putting her life on the line.