What was the usual etiquette involved in notifying your friends and neighbours of your upcoming wedding?

Maya had no experience in the matter. Obviously Pearl knew that her cousin was officially engaged to Phoenix, along with the occupants of the Wright Anything Agency, but she hadn't quite gone about shouting it at everyone she encountered.

Telling anyone back in Kurain would be as good as demanding a storm of criticisms and arguments about her priorities. The person she was marrying was one thing, and the timing was another. Maya had a lengthy journey coming up in her spiritual training schedule, and obviously the wedding couldn't come first. Kurain tradition demanded an elaborate ceremony held back in the village, as much as Maya sometimes wanted to just find some cheap locale in the city to rent out for an afternoon and hold whatever unambitious ceremony the Wright Anything Agency's budget could manage.

She'd convinced Pearl to keep quiet about it as well, at least when she was home in Kurain. If Maya could manage it, the council of village elders didn't need to know a thing until she was back from her training once again.

Telling others about her engagement was definitely not going to be near the top of Maya's priority list until then. It was so far off, after all. She was going to leave within a month, and she wouldn't be back for just shy of six months. She hated knowing that she would soon be spending that long away from Nick, just as they'd made their relationship closer than ever before.

Still, she could handle it. Nick could, too. They'd been through much worse. Spending as much time as she could in and around the Agency until she needed to leave would help.

"So, if you aren't telling anyone else for now," Maya had been asked by Athena during a talk about their plans, "When is everyone gonna get the message?"

Maya shrugged. "I figure I'll just decide on a time toward the end of my trip. Call up the elders and drop it on them out of the blue. That'd be fun."

The reply earned a laugh from the young attorney. "Do they even know that you and the boss are dating? I've never gotten the impression that either of you guys like talking to them much."

"No way." Maya answered, grinning. "They didn't want me to have anything to do with Nick after he lost his badge. 'Screw them', I decided. They have plenty of say in the decisions we make in Kurain, but it comes down to me in the end. I kept the heat off Nick by telling them that I hadn't talked to him since before that whole mess. Me and Pearly made a whole show of acting like that case made us finally realize how awful a guy he really was. Just a selfish crook of a lawyer who'd finally been exposed for what he was."

"Uh huh…" Athena replied with a little frown, "Because that sounds so much like Mr. Wright…"

"Yep. Total BS all the way down." Maya said. "Still, they seemed to buy into it. They didn't ever bother him, no matter how many times I came to the city for reasons definitely totally unrelated to him."

"How do you think they'll react when you tell them that you're marrying him?" Apollo chimed in.

"Oh, that's gonna be the best part. I'm gonna plan out exactly how to slip that particular detail in. It'll be great."

The day she left was hard.

Phoenix and Trucy went out to the airport with her, not a single one of them able to keep their eyes dry. Pearl was there as well, as she would be accompanying Maya for certain parts of her journey.

"I'm gonna miss you two so much…" Maya said when at last her emotions overcame her in the airport's entrance area. She threw herself against Phoenix, dragging Trucy into her embrace as well. It was fortunate that they weren't in the middle of one of the more crowded areas of the building, or they'd likely be quite the obstruction.

Maya wasn't wearing her ring, for the sake of their secret. She'd managed to procure two of the beautifully-made rings reserved for the main family of Kurain from the village with some help from Pearl, and she hoped no one would notice until she returned. Phoenix had his on all the same. Maya's was kept in a sealed box secured in her luggage, and she was planning to check on it every step of her trip, wanting no possible risk that it might be lost.

Once they finally separated from their hug, Trucy grabbed Pearl in a tight embrace as well. Both girls had tears streaming down their faces, even if they were smiling.

"See you, Pearly…" Trucy could be heard saying softly. "I promise I'll keep you caught up on everything back home."

Hearing that comment made Maya wonder about something - now that she and Nick were by every definition an item, what poor soul might Pearl's matchmaking efforts switch focus to? Apollo and Athena were the first two faces to spring to mind. She felt immediately sorry for them, just in case.

When it came time for Maya and Pearl to head off for their first flight, the group stopped once more at the gate.

"OK." Maya said, placing a palm against Phoenix's cheek, prompting him to set his own on her wrist. "One more before we go."

Phoenix shifted on his feet as Maya jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him with fervor that left Pearl and Trucy unable to contain a few choice shrill noises of glee.

They broke off again and smiled at one another. Trucy stepped forward, still grinning widely, to give Maya one more hug for herself.

"I'm looking forward to a big show to welcome us home." Maya said.

Trucy hugged her tighter without saying anything for a moment. Maya was about to release her hold when she caught a quiet response.

"I'll make sure you aren't disappointed... I love you, Mommy."

In retrospect, Maya thought she shouldn't have been quite so shocked to hear Trucy calling her "Mommy". After all, she was marrying the girl's father, and since she'd first met the young magician at the age of eight, she'd certainly felt as attached to her as she expected a mother would.

Maybe it was just her embarrassment over nearly breaking down again right in front of the gate and needing to be led away to the flight by Pearl that made her feel that way.

Day nine. I'm glad I've kept up so far.