Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

The three days leading up to the wedding were the absolute perfect weather. The sun was shining, the temperature was not too hot with a nice breeze rustling the trees, clothes and hair just right and all over the castle there was a flurry of industrious behavior. The beloved princess was getting married and everything had to be just right for her and her future husband.

Then the day of the wedding dawned and what began as a light drizzle from a slightly overcast sky gradually worsened and turned into a pouring rain that threatened to become a full-force thunderstorm. Many in the castle were concerned about how this unfortunate weather would affect the princess since there were superstitions about how stormy weather on a wedding day would mark the marriage to be the same way. However, word was quickly spread by the attendants of the princess that there was no need to worry. Princess Momo was in high spirits in spite of the weather and was as anxious and giddy as any other bride would be on her special day.

In Princess Momo's chamber, Orihime stood off to the side and watched in awe as Rangiku organized all the attendants and transformed the already blushing and beautiful princess into a radiant, angelic creature all in white. The dress was made of silk with a form-fitting bodice and a flowing train behind her. The sleeves reached her elbows and then hung down about a foot or so from there. The bodice of the dress was laced with ribbons of azure blue, glittering gold and peach-pink before they were wrapped around behind her back and braided until they reached almost the end of the dress's train. The cut at the top of the dress showed off Princess Momo's collarbone and a little of her shoulders, but was still quite modest. Around her neck was hung a long string of coral pink and white pearls with four sapphires set at even intervals around the strand.

As for her face and hair, Rangiku almost magically captured the look of a girl becoming a woman and a princess becoming a queen. Princess Momo's brown eyes were gently encircled by azure kohl to match her ribbon, the slightest hint of blush enhanced the already beautifully flushed cheeks and a deep red stain was lightly applied to the lips to enhance their fullness and to show off the white teeth when she smiled brilliantly. The princess's bangs were teased and curled so that they framed the oval shape of her face. Her normal practice of catching her hair up in a bun was altered slightly so that half her hair hung loose and curling about her shoulders and down her back, while the other half was caught up in tiny braids and curls with a small string of pearls and pins with sapphires interwoven in the bun.

Finally, Rangiku heaved a deep sigh of exhausted satisfaction as she said drily, "My brother had better make a comment on how you look today or I'll just-" but she was cut off from finishing that thought when the princess threw her arms around the older woman's neck.

In an awed and grateful whisper, the princess said brokenly, "You are so wonderful…it's all so perfect…so grateful…everything…everyone…you…Toshiro…"

Rangiku returned Princess Momo's embrace for a second or two before she gripped her shoulders and told the princess sharply, "Don't you dare start crying on me! It's nearly time for the ceremony and I have to finish getting ready, so I don't have time to fix you up again. You hear me?"

The princess nodded furiously and started waving her hands frantically in front of her face before Rangiku rolled her eyes in mock exasperation and thrust a fan into the younger woman's hands. Turning her back on the princess and heading over to where her dress was laid out, Orihime saw clearly the soft expression on Rangiku's face and the slight sparkle gathering in her eyes.

About a half hour later, Orihime was happily situated in the castle's cathedral (which was connected to the castle so that one could walk from one to the other without getting caught in the rain) in the front row with Norainu sitting next to her in the aisle. The princess's court was settled in the pews along with various dignitaries from various other parts of the kingdom to extend greetings and congratulations on the princess's nuptials. The castle staff was also in attendance, with some of them who had been serving the princess since her birth making absolutely sure that they had handkerchiefs ready to go.

Then, crammed into every available crevice and even standing outside in the pouring rain, were the princess's subjects. Farmers, millers, cobblers, bakers, blacksmiths, weavers and on and on it went. All with beaming faces, waiting for their princess to appear.

At the front of the church, Toshiro stood tall and stiff with an unreadable expression on his face while a kindly looking priest stood smiling serenely at the gathering. However, Orihime could see by the way he was almost imperceptibly tapping, clenching and relaxing his fingers at his side that Toshiro was nervous.

The murmuring of the crowd immediately died when the large pipe organ began to reverberate around the cathedral. All eyes turned towards the door and they stood simultaneously, waiting with bated breath. A chorus of soft gasps and murmurs of pleasure from the back told Orihime that the princess bride had arrived followed by her attendants. However, because of the large crowd and the fact that she was on the far left of the cathedral, Orihime could not watch the processional just yet. Her eyes, though, were fixed on the groom and his reactions as he turned around to wait for his bride to make her way to him.

Even though it seemed like a long time to her, Orihime was positive that the wait for Princess Momo to reach Toshiro must have felt like an absolute eternity to him. Finally, the princess walked slowly but purposefully up to the altar and the groom was able to turn and face his bride.

At first, Toshiro looked at the princess as if he didn't know who she was, so his eyes darted from her hair, to her dress, to her jewelry before his gaze halted at her eyes. Even though from where she sat Orihime could not see the princess's gaze, she was sure that those deep, brown eyes were looking into the teal ones with all the love and excitement that Orihime could feel radiating from the princess. Toshiro's response was to give Princess Momo a half grin, take both her hands in his and raise them to his lips. Even though the sound did not pass her ears, Orihime felt the crowd give a sigh of contentment at the tableau of love and affection before them. A second later, Orihime did catch the sound of sniffles being muffled by handkerchiefs.

Beaming at the pair in front of him, the priest allowed a few more seconds to elapse before he officially began the ceremony. Vows were repeated, rings were exchanged and hands were joined while outside the rain continued to fall unheeded even by those it was drenching.

Then the priest reached the end of the ceremony and declared in ringing tones, "May you always need one another, not to fill an emptiness, but to help each other know your fullness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you embrace one another, but not encircle one another. May you succeed in all important ways with each other, and not fail in the little graces. May you have happiness, and may you find it in making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it in loving one another. Go forward from this place with my blessing and the blessings of all those gathered here who have borne witness to your vows to cleave to one another from this day until your last as husband and wife."

There was a brief pause as Princess Momo and the newly made Prince Toshiro stood looking at one another. Outside, the rain began to abate and the clouds grew lighter, but everyone's attention was riveted on the couple in front of the altar.

Then Yachiru (who better to break the spell cast over everyone?) whispered loud enough for her voice to reverberate all over the cathedral, "Kenny, why are Princess-Peachy and Prince Frowny-Face just staring at each other? Are they going to do something or just stand there all day and make us wait even longer to eat? I'm starving!"

At those words, Princess Momo flushed and ducked her head, while Prince Toshiro's eyes darted briefly to where Yachiru was sitting before he smirked and looked back at his new wife. Orihime could have sworn she also heard him give a small snort of laughter as well, but the next moment she was too absorbed in watching the prince gently grasp the chin of his princess and raise her face until she was looking at him again.

As one, the prince and princess leaned towards each other until their lips met. At nearly the exact same moment, the clouds broke apart to reveal the sun, which shone through the stained glass windows and threw a blaze of multi-colored light on the newly married couple. The wondrous and glorious sight fully broke the spell of silence placed over the crowd as they erupted into cheers, whoops and shouts of excitement that seemed to make the walls of the cathedral tremble.

Standing up to applaud the royal wedded couple, Orihime found her gaze drifting over to where Rangiku stood off to the side and beaming at her adopted brother and the young woman she could now call 'sister'. The older woman's smile was bittersweet and Orihime could tell that while mostly Rangiku was celebrating with the young couple, a part of her was remembering the young man whom she had loved dearly. Thus, it was no surprise to Orihime to see two small, glistening objects moving down Rangiku's cheeks.

Orihime felt a tug at her own heart as the image of her own beloved Ichigo passed before her mind's eye. Only one pair of eyes observed the twin tears that fell from Orihime's eyes before they were swiftly dealt with…a pair of brown eyes looking at her with a gaze that understood completely what she was thinking and feeling since they were thinking and feeling the same way.

The usual standard for celebrating a royal wedding in those parts was about a week…in honor of Prince Toshiro and Princess Momo's marriage their subjects extended the period of revelry for almost a month's time. Day after day, presents from well-wishers would pile up in the castle courtyard. One fine Wednesday the courtyard was so packed with packages that one could barely walk anywhere without almost knocking something over.

In that time, Orihime spent her days playing games with Kenpachi and Yachiru, helping Rangiku organize the presents before putting them in their proper places, and then spending the evenings chatting with Yachiru, Kenpachi, Rangiku and the royal couple for hours on end while sitting on the floor and leaning against Norainu, who would always lay down behind her.

As more and more time elapsed, Orihime found herself becoming more and more torn between the feeling of duty that she must continue on with her quest and the strong urge to remain here with her new friends in safety and comfort. Unlike before, there was no one there telling her when she had to leave and Orihime was positive by the way Rangiku, Prince Toshiro and Princess Momo tactfully avoided bringing up the subject of what had brought her here in the first place that they didn't want her to leave any time soon.

Then one night as they all sat one night gazing into the soothing fire in the hearth in companionable silence, Norainu said one word in a low, rumbling voice that spoke with conviction and yet a hint of reluctance.

"Tomorrow."

There was nothing more to be said after that, only preparations to be made so that by the time the sun began to rise, all Orihime's belongings had been packed up neatly (her wardrobe had been significantly added to during her stay in the castle) and packages of food had been prepared that would last for about a month or possibly longer if rationed properly, all of which were piled up on three horses. At first, Orihime tried to protest that it was all too much, that they had been more than generous already, but Rangiku quickly cut her off.

"If you think for one instant that we'd send you off into the Great Unknown without some basic provisions and a few creature comforts, then you obviously don't know us very well," declared Rangiku with one hand on her hip while the other wagged a finger under Orihime's nose as she went on, "We wouldn't send even someone we didn't like away with only the clothes on their back, so what makes you think we'd let you leave in that condition?"

Before Rangiku could really begin lecturing the wide-eyed Orihime, Prince Toshiro laid a hand on his sister's shoulder and said in a low voice, "All right, Sis. I think she gets the idea. They need to get underway."

With that remark, they all fell silent for a few moments before Yachiru crept forward, hugged Orihime tightly around the middle and said quietly, "You have to promise."

Looking down at her young friend as she wrapped her arms around the smaller body, Orihime asked, "Promise what?"

Yachiru's bright green eyes gazed up into Orihime's with a determined yet pleading expression as she replied, "Promise that when you find your Mr. Frowny-Face that you'll come back and play with me and Kenny again. And that you'll bring Wolfie-Poo too."

Squeezing her a little tighter, Orihime bent down to kiss the top of the girl's head as she said in a whisper, "I promise."

Slowly and almost torturously, Orihime extracted herself from Yachiru's embrace and turned to her other friends. No other words were spoken as they took turns embracing their young friend and then helping her to mount Norainu.

As she felt Norainu shift for a moment underneath her before walking out of the courtyard, Orihime kept her eyes riveted on the road in front of her. She knew that if she turned around to face her friends once more that the single tear making its way down her cheek would immediately multiply a hundredfold.

Author's Note:

My goodness, I'm so slow...anyways, I hope to finish this story very soon. At this point, I think I have about one more set of characters to introduce in the next chapter and that might be about it. Wonder if any of you would care to guess who they might be?

Now, I am going to do something that I haven't done since 'Transforming Love', but I'd like to thank everyone specifically who has favorited/followed this story either since the beginning or recently. I respond to all signed reviews, but I'd also like to show my appreciation and gratitude to those who have supported me in the aforementioned ways: BeInfanitexx, Devil's-Butterfly-Maid, Fer-chan.7, Generalhyna, JaNnY-jEaH-jAcY, JustPlainDontAsk, Magdalena88, MissLadyK18, Neon Spirit, OnePrincess, The Failing Shadow, Vodka21, amichalap, foxfang27, naleah, rocknrolla575, Renting, TheWorldOfJub, c83gilles, naruhinasauluv, sunflowerspot, witchsoul531. Also, to each anonymous reviewer whom I could not respond to personally, thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think of my story. It means more to me then I can possibly say.

This chapter had some fairly lengthy descriptions and not a lot of dialogue, and I hope that was fine to read. Let me know if anything didn't quite add up and I'll try to help out as best I can.