Chapter 30 Wedding Jitters
Pterano
"I, therefore, vow that I have set aside all my unjust causes and swear to keep the laws of the Great Valley close to my heart…."
Pterano was supposed to marry the love of his life tomorrow, but today he felt as if he was marrying a piece of land instead. Before he could be married in the Valley and considered a citizen, the elders decided that he needed to take vows promising that he truly had good intentions. He found them reasonable. Humiliating to the point that he was glad Britta was too busy to come, but reasonable if being respected as a citizen in the Great Valley was at stake. He wanted as much of this mess behind him as possible, if he was going to marry Britta.
Pterano finished his statement and cringed as Mr. Threehorn took Mr. Longneck's place and gave him a stern look. "Pterano, swear to it."
"I swear I mean no harm, and that I would like to start a new life in the Great Valley. As it is." He tried to tell Mr. Threehorn exactly what he needed to hear. Still unsatisfied, the threehorn huffed and refused to issue any further statements.
"Pterano, you are now forgiven of all your crimes and are welcome as a citizen in the Valley. Thank you for taking responsibility for your actions," Kenneth said.
"Thank you," Pterano said, nearly humiliated to the point of needing a nap. But at least the worst part of coming back to the Valley and earning respect was done. He hoped.
Just as everyone was about to disperse, they all startled when they heard Petrie's frantic voice calling from a distance. "Uncle Pterano!"
Pterano turned around and stepped back when he saw Spike and Petrie running at him full speed. He fought to hold his stance as Spike came to an abrupt stop right in front of him. The rest of their friends weren't too far behind.
Tess, who was on the council, made her way forward. She and Pterano noticed the beautiful ring of flowers Petrie was holding at the same time.
"Petrie….what's wrong?" she asked. She looked down at the flowers Petrie was holding. "Is that Britta's….because your uncle's not supposed to see that yet."
Petrie seemed stressed out. "The flowers just it, Mom! Me no know who else to bring it to! Britta spend a lot of time on it this morning, then say it all wrong and went away."
Pterano realized what had happened and rolled his eyes. "Oh, Britta can get… Let me see them, Petrie…."
"That's bad luck Pterano," Tess scolded.
Pterano took the ring of flowers and examined it. "Nonsense."
Mr. Threehorn huffed. "Well it looks like there's no need in this whole thing, after all."
"Now Threehorn…." Mr. Longneck scolded.
"Don't be ridiculous. She's just stressed out. All this planning and the only healer in the Valley at the same time…. I don't see how she handles it so far…"
Pterano ignored the rest as Tess scolded Mr. Threehorn because he knew what happened. Britta might not could handle even the small wedding they had talked about. There was nothing wrong with the ring of flowers. They were the perfect shades of peach, pink and white interwoven together and tied tight enough to stay. It was small enough to fit Britta perfectly.
"Is it…flowers, uncle?" Petrie asked, ignoring all the fussing as well.
"No, Petrie, they're lovely. It's just…."
He walked over to Tess and the others. "I should've known this would happen. Britta's been too busy lately and…our wedding wasn't supposed to be a big affair. Since I've done my oaths, could I marry her tonight, if I talk to her? The Feast sounds lovely, it's just… I'm not sure Britta can handle all this. Right now, she just needs rest and…can never seem to get enough of it."
"You can. If that is what you both want," Kenneth answered kindly.
"Or if that's what it is," Topps grumbled.
"But Uncle! We been looking forward to wedding and feast. You and Britta both been!" Petrie objected.
"Yes, you have. And you need to go on as planned," Tess interjected, surprising everyone. Pterano narrowed his eyes. He was actually hoping for someone's support.
"Well, what will you have me do, then?" Pterano asked.
"Go as planned. A lot probably happened at one time, Pterano. Here, give me those flowers. I'll fix it, then I'll go talk to her. Maybe she's stressed out because you knocked down the whole front part of her nest yesterday."
A few females in the group gasped. "Well, that'll do it," Tria said.
"But I was only making room for the new front part I built for her. I found a way to build the one she wanted and was going to put it in today while she was gone. I wanted to surprise her. As a wedding gift," Pterano explained.
"The pretty one?" Ruby asked.
Tess sighed. "Well, you go work on that and give me those flowers."
"But there's nothing wrong with-"
Pterano gaped when Tess snatched them away and turned to Tria. "Tria, you got married not long ago. Would this have been a big deal to you?"
Tess pulled a strand that made some of the flowers loosen. Tria nodded. "Well, yeah."
"Awwweeee," Topps groaned, rolling his eyes.
"That's a big deal to every future wife, Topsy!" Tria scolded.
"Yeah? Well, how come you don't even know where the remains of your flowers are anymore?" he asked.
"That's not the point. I'm not a future wife anymore. Big difference," Tria replied.
"I can fix it on the way over. But one more thing," Tess said.
"What?" Pterano grumbled.
"You never saw it! Britta will stress out and want another one if she knows you've seen it. So, everyone, Pterano hasn't seen it." She looked down at Petrie. "Got it?"
"Nonsense…" Pterano started to grumble.
"I know your whole pet peeve about how the whole bride and groom can't see each other's stuff or each other on the wedding day started because of arranged marriages and their families being afraid that if they saw each other first, they'd run away. But Britta doesn't and if you want to get married tomorrow, go work on that nest and pretend you never saw it!" Tess snapped.
"I just can't believe Britta ran off. She's usually so together," Cera said.
"I guess sometimes even the most together creatures aren't always together," Ruby said.
Pterano gave up and agreed by folding his wings. Tess calmed down and folded her hands. "Now, where can I find Britta?"
…
Britta
Britta sat on the rocky ledge behind the Thundering Falls and let the water run on her trembling hand. She wasn't thinking of anything now, really, she was just the remnants of a nervous wreck. She knew was wanted to marry Pterano, but….she wasn't sure if she could handle the wedding they really wanted. How could she tell him that?
She had so many patients to take care of, she barely had time to plan. And….why would Pterano knock out the entire front part of their nest?! On top of that, she had no word on how the baby clubtail was doing and, when she couldn't even get the flower band right, all the talk around her of how wonderful the wedding was going to be was too much.
She'd probably made it worse by leaving the kids in a panic. What had she said to excuse herself again? Did she say "Excuse me," or "I can't do this anymore"?
Britta startled when she heard Tess calling her name. "Britta?! Are you in here? This isn't my preferred spot, so if you're not here, I'm going to keep looking."
Britta's eyes widened. Oh, dear Circle of Life, I said the last one!
"I-I'm up here," Britta answered.
"Oh, good," she heard Tess sigh. Britta waited in dread as Tess came up, wondering if Pterano was now a frantic mess too.
Tess sat her headband of flowers in front of her. "I fixed it! You don't have to worry about it!"
Britta jumped up. "Did Pterano see-"
"No, Petrie brought them to me," Tess smiled.
Britta wasn't sure she believed it, but she chose to buy it. "Well, that's good. We've been separated for years. All we need is more bad luck."
Tess sighed and sat down by her. "I saw that little clubtail you treated walking with its mother today. They asked where you were, and when I said I was going to find you, they said to tell you hello. He's almost good as new, dear."
Britta felt a heavy weight being lifted off her shoulders. She honestly thought she might be coping with her failure resulting in the loss of a child soon. "H-He is? The last treatment finally worked?"
Tess nodded. "Apparently so! It was his first day out today. They wanted to catch you."
Britta wiped away a tear. "Maybe I'll go see them later."
Tess patted her shoulder. "Oh, Britta… What's the matter?"
"I don't know, Tess. I don't know if I can handle this wedding. It's all Pterano and I ever wanted and….I….I….Well, I couldn't even get the flowers right and blurted out 'I can't do this anymore' to the kids when I meant to say 'Excuse me.'"
"Well….I think it's good you did. Because the kids came and got me!" Tess said. "And here's your flowers. You helped the patient you were so worried about… So what's the problem?"
"Nothing's ready! My nest isn't even ready to go home to anymore!" Britta stressed, putting both hands over her eyes.
"Well, when the kids told us you went away for a bit, Pterano said he had it taken care of. I know brides to be don't like risky surprises, Britta, but he said don't come home until this afternoon. He's got a surprise for you!" Tess said, trying to put excitement in her voice for Britta's sake.
It didn't work. Britta slumped down and covered her beak. "Umph….."
Tess stood up and folded her claws. "Well, I think the problem is you haven't been taking care of yourself. Let's do something productive. I've got Tria, Cera, Lexie, Ella, and Ruby waiting to take you to Tria's special spot to relax."
When Britta hesitated, she held out a hand. "Come on, dear. You know you need it."
When Britta came out of the waterfall, she found everyone Tess had gotten together at the end of it.
"Surprise!" they said together.
Britta smiled slightly. "Wh-what are you…"
"Well, you've take care of all of us, so now we want to help take care of you," Lexie said.
"We're taking a day to go to my secret relaxation spot, right here in the Valley!" Tria said excitedly. She ushered Britta forward before the flyer had any time to process what she just said.
Sometime later, after a full hike through the deep trees of the Valley, Tria pulled back some vines to reveal a hidden watering hole that had flooded the ground near it so much that one side of it was a huge mud pool. Britta blinked. This wasn't how she pictured someone like Tria spending her afternoons.
Everyone but Ruby and Cera looked surprised, too. Britta gestured to him. "Uhrm…mud? Are we in the right place? Maybe we took a wrong turn…."
Cera rolled her eyes. "Britta, you're one of the relaxation queens around here and it looks like you haven't slept in days. You taught me how to block everyone around the watering hole out and take a nap, remember?"
Britta sighed. "Yeah, but Cera…"
"Then get in!" Britta stumbled when Cera gave her a push with her horn.
She wasn't sure about mud this deep. "Wait, children, I…"
Ella, who'd already decided to try it and waded in ankle deep, took her by the wings. "Come on! Get in!"
Britta gasped as she and Ella both fell back into the mud. At first, she felt hot…sticky…grimy…mud sinking her in all around. She struggled to free both wings and pulled herself up with a gasp and shivered. "Ugh…..!"
But then, the warmth of the mud began to relax her hands and feet. It was like they didn't have any weight. Compared to that, Britta couldn't even remember her wedding plans at the moment.
Everyone waited for her verdict. She flipped herself over so the other side was in the mud, too. Now she was completely covered. "Huh, well, it feels surprisingly good after the first few seconds."
All the other girls laughed and eventually worked their way in. Britta worked her way to a rock in the middle of the mud pool and leaned on it as she soaked, letting her mind go blank.
"Okay, Britta, you can't leave this spot until you're together again," Ruby said innocently.
"Yes. No more wedding jitters!" Tria agreed,
Britta turned around with a smirk. "What, that was me? What was I doing, now?"
They all laughed and allowed the carefree nature of the mud pool to take its toll.
…
Pterano
Though reluctant at first, Pterano was glad that Tess and Mr. Longneck volunteered to help him move the front part of the nest he'd built up to Britta's ledge. Mr. and Mrs. Longneck were able to take it by the ends and hoist it onto the ledge with little trouble. Pterano, carrying the part he still needed to put together, watched it awe as Mr. Threehorn pushed away the rubble that was left from the old nest.
"Are you sure that's all you need?" Mr. Longneck asked.
"Oh, yes… The rest of it is short work…" Pterano laid the rest of the stick he'd chosen down and dusted himself off. "You've all made it so easy. It would have taken me several times before I got that front part up there… And Britta would have still come home to all this rubble… Thank you." He smiled and Littlefoot's family.
"Now, how would you have gotten that nest up there?" Threehorn grumbled.
Pterano pointed to some vines he'd set on both sides of the nest. "I would have had to use these to pulley it up there. It would work… But it would take so much longer, and…The nest might have been broken. I would have had to repair it. Then clear the rubble, which takes forever… You've made short work of this."
"Humph," Threehorn grumbled, walking away.
The Longnecks went to leave. "Well, anytime you're doing something like this, feel free to ask for help. Everyone in the Valley always help each other with things like this," Mrs. Longneck said.
Pterano waved to them, leaving only him and Petrie behind. "Thank you!"
Petrie turned to help his uncle pick up the other parts. Pterano handed Petrie some vine. "I'll carry the heavy things, Petrie. You carry these."
"Um, okay." Within moments, all the rest of the sticks were up in Britta's nest. Pterano, in a much better mood now, rested his hands on his hips.
"Well, what shall we do first?"
"What these for?" Petrie asked.
"I'm going to use part of my design to brace the nest to the ledge. To keep it from blowing off if heavy wind comes through." He picked up a piece and started to weave vine around it. "It won't be hard, Petrie. Your friends' families did so much… Are you sure you shouldn't be with your friends?"
Petrie thought about it. "Um, no. The others go because Sand Creepers wonder into Chomper's parents' part of Valley. His mom no like them, so they go to find Scuttle to take them home. He on the other side of Valley, so no danger. But he tell long stories. Me rather stay here and learn to brace nest."
"You don't know how?" Pterano asked.
When Petrie shook his head, he beckoned him over. "Well, watch me do this one and I'll help you with the next one…"
A little later, with some trial and error, Petrie and Pterano made the first brace. Pterano inspected it. "Very good. You've made your first brace! Now all we have to do is the other side, and…"
"Uncle Pterano? How you learn this?" Petrie asked, taking the last piece of vine.
Pterano thought about how to answer. "Well, when I was going up, we had a flying instructor, Mrs. Ria, who taught us. Everyone had to build one. Most flyers hate it, but I enjoyed it. It's a kind of…hobby for me."
When they tightened the last brace, Pterano shook the nest to check it. It barely moved. "Well, Britta should be pleased. A few more finishing touches, and all we have to do is see if she comes home."
"She come home, Uncle. Wanna go get lunch?" Petrie asked. Pterano smiled and nodded.
Later that afternoon, Petrie's friends had solved the Sand Creeper problem and stood back with Petrie and Pterano, examining the nest.
"It's the prettiest nest I ever see'd. Yep, yep, yep…" Ducky said quietly.
"How'd you make it work?" Littlefoot asked.
Pterano chuckled. "A lot of time and effort, that's certain."
"What if Britta doesn't like it?" Chomper asked.
Pterano scoffed. "Well, it's her design! But if she doesn't, I'll tear it down and she can build me a nest."
The kids laughed as Petrie pointed to the horizon. "Look! It Aunt Britta and Mama!"
Pterano allowed himself a long sigh of relief before getting up and hurrying to meet his wife. When he got to her, she surprised him by giving him a tight hug.
Pterano briefly lifted her off the ground, pleased to see her as he looked as his sister over her shoulder. "Well, I don't know what my sister and the ladies did… But I believe it worked." He gently lifted Britta's chin. "You look like to feel so much better, dear."
Britta sighed. "I do… Pterano, I'm sorry, I…"
"Nonsense." Pterano covered her eyes from behind. "No peeking. I have a surprise for you." Britta gradually played along and let him help her forward. "We've been working on it all day."
Pterano finally moved Britta into place. "Ready?"
"What have you done to the nest?" she asked calmly.
Pterano moved his hands to let her see. Britta gasped. "Oh." She paced the bottom of the nest, looking up at her design made real. She turned to him and the children. "How did you make this work? I thought…."
"I had help from the others. And I worked with it. Do you like it, dear?"
Britta flung herself into his arms. "I love it! I can't wait to keep living here!" He smiled as she nuzzled him and looked around at everyone. "I feel so lucky." She look up at Pterano. "Thank you. Thank you all."
Cera waited a moment before stating the obvious question. So you're getting married…tomorrow….?"
Britta nodded. "That's what we planned."
"YAY!" Pterano and Britta startled as they all ran in different directions to go home.
Tess laughed and took Petrie. "Well, I think we should leave these two alone. Britta, remember. Tomorrow morning. Not evening. We will come wake you up."
Britta laughed and waved to them. Pterano smiled at his sister. "Thank you, Tess."
When they were alone, Pterano took Britta's hand. "Now then, can I take you to dinner? Since you won't let me see you tomorrow?"
Britta nodded. Pterano wrapped a wing around her shoulder as they went to find food. "I didn't realize how hungry I was…" she said.
"You? Not hungry?" he asked, surprised.
He laughed when Britta elbowed him in the side. It was good to have her back.
Thanks for reading, guys. I've had a lot of time to write this weekend, thank goodness. As usual, review and let me know your thoughts.
**IMPORTANT NOTES**
I plan to do two more chapters that take place the same day this is going on, with other characters. I'm thinking I'll be introducing Topps' story soon.
I think I am also going to split this into Book 1 and Book 2. Book 2 should be titled something similar to this to prevent confusion. I'll give the title when I think of it. Also, if I am right, I might have two versions of Book 2.
Book 2 should be centered more around the kids and omniscient point of view. You will find Spike-centric and kids' chapters there. But only this part will explain why. Adults' points of view will serve a purpose in the story and still be space here and there throughout Book 2, which is why I'm introducing Topps' story so late. More of the kids' parents should be found there, as well.
Look for Chapter 31 soon!