A/N: I'm actually really happy I've decided to trash all my author's notes for this story, otherwise you'd all think of me as... ADD-like. To the best of my knowledge I'm not, but you never know, so...
Just like last chapter I can't really update the quality so sadly y'all are stuck with badly misplaced characters and their horrible one-liner dialogue, but oh well! This is the lighthearted part of the story so it's gotta feel like it.
As always, thanks for reading and reviewing and favoriting and all that jazz :) I really really appreciate everybody's kind words. Here's to the rest of this story~!
"Frey, you look amazing!"
Clorica was the only one who outright said it, but all the other girls in the room seemed to be saying the same thing with just their faces. Every one of them had been helping her prepare all evening, despite the wedding not taking place for another twelve hours. It was already eleven o'clock at night and Frey was honestly a little tired.
"Ahaha, thanks," the Earthmate said shyly. She hadn't been able to see herself in any mirror yet, mainly because Margaret refused to let her so the others went along with her. Only when they were completely finished would she be allowed to glance at herself. She was a little excited. Only a little, though.
"Ouch." She winced away from Margaret's hands slightly, wondering just how much longer the older female would continue her torment.
"Jeez, sit still!" the elf girl scolded. Frey couldn't see or guess anything, but it felt like Margaret was pulling her locks of light green hair into some sort of updo, though not all of it was on top because she could feel some loose strands tickling her neck every so often.
Frey sighed. "How much longer?" she asked exasperatedly. She knew they all wanted her to be ready, but still… there were twelve hours yet and it wasn't like she was going to sleep in her dress and with her hair this way. She really wanted to go to sleep already so she could be happy and see Doug…
It'd been almost a whole day without him lingering around, and while normally that wouldn't have been an issue, having lived with him for the past almost-month really made it hard to not see him all the time. It was a rather odd change of pace to be sure.
Margaret huffed. "Oh, I'm almost done, just hold on."
"Dolly, when you get married, I guarantee you'll look just as good as Frey, if not better!" Pico's voice chimed from the other side of the room.
"Hey, that's not something you say when the people you're comparing are in the same room," Dolce said, though she did blush a bit.
Clorica turned around to face the red-colored girl in question. "That reminds me. How are you feeling, Dolce?"
When Dolce didn't respond, giving her a confused stare instead, Clorica continued.
"A few weeks ago you seemed to be feeling down. Is everything better now?"
"Oh," Dolce said, not really anticipating this. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." She smiled genuinely and Clorica decided to drop it, satisfied with the response. The other girls didn't really seem to pay attention, too focused on the bride-to-be (or in Xiao Pai and Amber's case, asleep).
"I feel this needs to be said," Forte started, unperturbed when all eyes turned to her. "It may not be my place, but just know that… If Doug touches you in any way that makes you feel uncomfortable, let me know as soon as possible." She laid a hand on her sword's sheath, bringing emphasis to her next statement. "I will personally deliver justice to the pervert."
A drop of sweat fell from Frey's forehead and she could feel more building up, wondering just what else the knight would do given the chance. Margaret wiped the wetness away and began another scolding.
"Frey! Ladies don't sweat! Especially when they look this beautiful!"
"Ha… sorry. I guess I can't follow your example that well, Meg."
Red tinted the elf girl's cheeks, though Frey couldn't see it, and she stammered. "Ah… well, that's…"
"Well, Meg always smells like flowers, so none of us can really follow her example, right?"
"Dolce, you're only making it worse," Frey told her, laughing nonetheless as she imagined how Meg's face must have looked then, all embarrassed. It reminded her of her own face whenever Doug did something ridiculously adorable that she couldn't help but react to.
"Okay, okay! Frey, just one more tug and then you're done, I promise!" Margaret nearly shouted, eager to leave all of a sudden.
She was about to respond but then she felt the "one more tug" and resisted the urge to wince again in pain. The older female was definitely more forceful than before.
A few moments passed as Meg finished up with her hair, flipping a few more layers here and there, sticking more layers to each other with pins and the like. Frey could feel her scalp being abused but didn't say anything or complain, knowing it was just about over. And as soon as she told herself that…
"All right!" Meg exclaimed at long last. "Ta-da! All done!"
She spun Frey around on the stool so she could see herself in the vanity. The Earthmate thought herself to be a bit cliché, but she nearly gasped at her own appearance staring back at her.
Margaret had managed to pull most of her hair up into a twisted bun on the back of her head; when she tilted her head to different angles she could see the different braids that worked together to keep the hairdo intact. At the sides of her face, a few stray locks of her hair had somehow curled thanks to Meg's magic, following the curve of her face to her shoulders. Coupled with the color of her dress, which matched her hair color to a tee, Frey could honestly say she looked like a princess.
She laughed at herself mentally. This was the first time she could truly fit and wear her title properly and proudly, she realized, despite living in Selphia for around three years now. She had tried several times to return the status to Arthur, the rightful member of royalty in the small town, but he refused it each time, insisting that she would fit in much better than he would - and that he rather enjoyed the time off, relaxing and working in his own way.
Frey sighed happily, staring at her reflection. It was starting to sink in that in just a little under half a day she would be married to the love of her life. She watched as a huge grin spread across her face, realizing just how excited she was.
"Aww, look, those three are out like lights," Meg commented softly, gesturing towards Xiao Pai, Amber, and Clorica, all three snuggled together on Frey's bed. It was unusual to see Clorica actually lie down to nap, so she must have been tired from the day's events – the girls took Frey out to pick up her specially tailored dress, shopping for accessories to match it, and have something of a bachelorette party. Frey blushed at the memory of seeing a half-naked man that wasn't Doug, instead being an "entertainer" from the next town over. She had of course ended the party early, being just a tad uncomfortable, but the thought was appreciated, anyway.
Frey followed her gaze and giggled, wondering how they were going to get them out so she herself could get some shut-eye before morning. She already had to wake up early to complete all the preparations. Volkanon and the rest of the villagers volunteered to help but she insisted that because it was her wedding she should get to pick out everything that went everywhere. It was one of the first times in her life, that she could remember, that she'd been that bossy.
"So, how do you like it?"
The green-haired girl turned her attention back to Meg, who was staring at her with a determined expression. Frey smiled warmly.
"I love it. Thank you so much, Meg."
"Well, time to get moving, ladies. There's a long day for all of us tomorrow."
Forte's voice carried throughout the room and Frey, Margaret, and Dolce watched wordlessly as she heaved the three sleeping girls' forms on her shoulders.
"How does that even work…" Dolce voiced for the two others, wondering how three girls could fit on her two shoulders. Even though they saw it with their own eyes, they couldn't believe it.
"Forte's right, though," Margaret said. "We should get going." She offered Frey a small smile before standing up. "I'll be here to wake you up at six, okay? No dilly-dallying! Get some sleep as soon as we leave."
"Well, Lin Fa is keeping the bath open late for me, but other than that, there's nothing else I need to do tonight, so yeah, I will," Frey retorted, seemingly having a conversation with herself rather than Meg.
Dolce and Meg waved their farewells and Forte offered a nod, and soon Frey was left alone to her thoughts and herself in the castle room.
…
After stepping out of the bath, Frey thought it was a bit of a waste to undo all of Meg's hard work, but she'd back in the morning to do it all over again so she didn't let it bother her too much. Besides, it wouldn't do to have a smelly bride at a wedding. Of course, she wasn't sure if she really did stink, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially if she was worrying this much over it.
She didn't want her newlywed husband to think she'd let herself go just because they hadn't been together for a day or two.
Frey caught herself blushing at the thought and told herself to forget everything. Just a few more hours and she'd be able to see him again and then -
She stopped her racing thoughts before they could get any racier, and soon she forced herself to just go back to the room and get some sleep.
A sigh slipped past her lips as she rested her head on the pillow, contemplating what to do when she woke up in the morning. Would she even be able to have some time to herself or would she instantly be bombarded by Meg and the others? It was sweet how much they cared, but… Well, in any case, it was probably better she wasn't left alone, judging just on how tonight made her thoughts run wild.
She felt her consciousness begin to slip away after she cleared her mind, only one thought remaining.
In a few hours she would be married to the love of her life.
…
"Good moooorning, Frey!"
The Earthmate sat up groggily, not looking forward to opening the door for whoever that cheery voice belonged to. She took a quick glance at her alarm clock, which eerily read six in the morning. Of course, she was normally up at this time on a normal day anyway, but on a day like today –
"I'm getting married today," she said without really realizing it. She knew there was something different about the day when she opened her eyes but now that she actually knew what was going on…
Frey sprang out of her bed and raced to the door, greeting the girls. She really only expected Margaret, but hey, the more the merrier, right?
"Meg, make me pretty!"
The elf girl giggled. "I guess it's sunk in finally, huh?" She walked into the room, the other girls trailing behind her, each looking just as tired as the next, not used to being awake at the crack of dawn like this.
"Are you excited?" Forte asked, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.
Frey just grinned and laughed goofily, feeling like a five-year-old, while Meg took the liberty to answer for her.
"Of course she is! It isn't every day that a lady gets married, you know! And what's more, she's even marrying the love of her life…" She sighed contently, already setting Frey down into the stool and beginning to mess with her long hair, ratted from the night's sleep. "It's probably like a dream come true."
Forte glanced down. "O-oh? I had no idea. Truthfully, I am unsure of how something like this would feel…"
"Ahaha! Forte, you're so inexperienced, but that's what makes you cute," Margaret said with a laugh. "I'm not sure which of you is cuter right now: Frey for being so in love or Forte for being so inexperienced at love."
"They're both adorable," Clorica said, awake for a second, a silly grin plastered on her face. The next moment she was out like a light, however.
"It is most certainly Frey who is beaming with cuteness and female pheromones today. There is no possible way I could match her on her wedding day," Forte retorted, though she did blush a bit.
Dolce, Xiao Pai, and Amber sat on the bed, watching the others with half-lidded eyes. They wondered what was going on but were too tired to bother asking or watching more closely to find out for themselves. Only Dolce remembered how she got there, so the other two were probably dragged out by Forte.
But Frey sat still on the stool, this time allowed to watch her reflection in the mirror since she already knew what her hair would look like. She was very excited, to say the least, but knew if she started talking she wouldn't be able to stop, so she kept quiet lest she annoy somebody.
Besides, mere hours from now she would be able to bother the living daylights out of everybody in town – everybody who would be attending, anyway, she told herself sadly, thoughts of the late Venti entering her mind unwillingly.
It wouldn't do to be sad on a day like today, though, she reminded herself. This was one of the only days that belonged to her, just her and Doug, and she definitely wasn't going to let that go to waste.
She felt her body start to shake in what she thought was a mixture of nervousness and excitement, and Margaret chided her for moving when she should've been sitting still so she could do her hair. She apologized half-heartedly and tried to calm down.
It proved to be rather hard.
…
"I can't believe you're taking my Frey away!" Porcoline sobbed from the other side of the room, sitting uncharacteristically in the corner and brooding.
"Heheh… I'm sorry, I think?" Doug responded, unsure of what else to say. He turned his head around in an attempt to look at Porco but soon got scolded for doing so.
"Honestly, Doug, how am I supposed to fix you up if you won't sit still?"
He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "S-sorry, Granny Blossom."
Blossom smacked his hand away. "Sit still already! Sheesh, just because I let you dress yourself, you come out looking like this! I knew I should have kept my eye on you last night to make sure you didn't look ridiculous – which you do!"
The old woman mumbled and muttered to herself for a few more moments while Doug stood there, not knowing what to do or say except apologize some more. Truthfully, it damaged his pride a tad by being chided with all of his guy friends there. Well, Kiel and Vishnal felt like the only real friends he had in the town, minus Frey of course and maybe Clorica.
Speaking of the guys…
"Doug, you look really good! Rather dashing, if I dare say so without accusation of being associated with the opposite sex in a discerning way."
Arthur's long comment was only further elongated by Dylas. "Why can't you just say gay?" He glanced towards Doug. "And speaking of that word, it looks like you've finally proven yourself to not be, so congrats."
"Aw, Dylas, there's no reason to be jealous," Leon chimed in. "I'm sure Lo – Frey wouldn't mind letting you borrow him every once in a while." He wore his signature smirk.
Dylas only glared back, further amusing Leon.
"What were you about to call her?" Vishnal asked, normally being slow but for once actually catching on to something.
The jackal froze for a second, not anticipating that. "Call who what? You must be imagining things, silly delusional butler boy."
"Hmm? No, I'm almost positive you were about to call Frey something else before you called her by name," Kiel piped up, interested as well. "It started with an L or something, right?"
Doug eyed Leon suspiciously before the blue-haired man started again.
"Well, in either case, that doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is the fact that we probably shouldn't talk about Doug's sex life out in public anymore." The smirk returned to his face, confident he had gotten them off of the other subject for good.
"W-what?!" Doug asked, his face ten different shades of red.
"Doug!" Blossom scolded, both for what she just heard and for his sudden movements. "Honestly, just what kind of child have I been raising?" she muttered to herself, though Doug could hear it.
"Jeez…" he said exasperatedly. "Nobody wants to hear that anyway," he added, only low enough for himself to hear it unlike Blossom's voice.
He wasn't sure how much more tormenting he could take. Was it time for the wedding yet?
…
"And off you goooo~!"
Amber pushed Frey into the town square from her bedroom after making sure each of the girls was satisfied with her appearance, especially Frey herself. All the other girls wore their respective bridesmaid dresses, despite it being rather odd to have six bridesmaids. Frey trusted each of them with extremely important stuff, and besides, it wouldn't feel right to leave anybody out, so why not have all of them participate? Clorica and Margaret were already included in the traditional wedding ceremony, anyway; Clorica and Vishnal waited at the end to send the two newlyweds-to-be into the castle to begin the real ceremony while Margaret played her music, either on the harp or piano.
"Eh… okay," Frey agreed reluctantly. Was it really already time for this to start? She felt so nervous, she could almost feel herself sweating through her gown. "That's kinda gross," she muttered, though she did laugh a bit.
She steeled her reflexes and mind, though, telling herself there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Doug would definitely love how she looked, and there was no doubt in her mind she would be amazed by his attire as well.
Frey took a deep breath and followed the flower petals to the middle of the town square, waiting for Doug to come and meet her so they could start their walk through town. In the distance she could see the silhouettes of all her friends, helping to calm her nerves a little. Everybody here was behind her to back her up whenever she needed it, especially on a day like today. There was nothing to be nervous about.
She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind of every thought that passed through. She inhaled the crisp afternoon, ignorant to anything and everything around her. It felt so serene, just being by her lonesome self like this, if only for a few moments of peace and quiet.
"Ah!"
Frey gasped and opened her eyes, not fully realizing just who was in front of her. "A-ah what?" But as soon as she asked she could understand why he was confused – or shocked or surprised or whatever other adjective could describe the way she felt.
Doug was dressed head to toe in the traditional white wedding tuxedo, a light green handkerchief exchanged for the blue one to better match Frey tucked into the collar, every button but one done, so Frey could catch the slightest glimpse of the undershirt he was wearing.
She instantly blushed, not expecting him to look this good at all.
"Ah… I was expecting a black tuxedo, but I don't know why, since white is more traditional and it wouldn't match my dress anyway. Ahaha…" she stammered, suddenly nervous once more.
"Yeah," was all Doug said in response, causing her to think she didn't look the best, her female brain overworking itself.
"It doesn't suit me at all, does it?" Frey asked sadly, a lopsided smile on her face, trying to hide her pain. At first he seemed like he was speechless because she looked good, but apparently that wasn't the case.
"What – no! That's not what I'm saying at all! Believe me, I'm just an idiot who doesn't know how to say what he's thinking. Please don't take it that way."
Her heart was wildly racing, wondering if he really meant what he was saying. She knew that whenever he got embarrassed he would start stuttering and ranting like there was no tomorrow, though, which seemed to be the case here.
"Er.. uh... you, uh... um... You look..." He averted his eyes as far away from her as he could. "...Incredible. I mean, you always do, of course! But today is special and you look really really good and stuff." He blushed as if he had a fever, covering his face and glancing away so she wouldn't see him like this.
Frey giggled like a schoolgirl. "Thanks. You look really good yourself." She laughed. "I didn't know you could clean up this well. We look like that good-looking couple everybody's always so jealous of."
"Because we are!" Doug countered, his thumb held high.
She nodded and smiled, her nerves and fears suddenly diminished just from looking at Doug.
"Well, shall we go?" he asked, face red as he outstretched his hand towards her.
"Indeed, we shall," she answered, grinning like a fool. She took his hand and linked her arm with his, ready to face the onslaught of other grinning faces they would no doubt be facing throughout the day.
~CGA