Co-written with miss mika namariya! We own nothing :)

At long last, the day that so many had been looking forward to arrived. Kuon paced back and forth nervously. After so much waiting and planning and anticipation, he was still nervous and amazed that the day had finally come.

The eggs had hatched.

Sir Hoppington and Lady Lily were proud of their fine hatchlings. The tadpoles swam merrily around the tank, consuming everything in sight. One of Kyoko's spirits kept watch on the tank, and at least four times a day it alerted its mistress that the tadpoles required more food. The Prince— now being quite familiar with the royal gardeners and groundskeepers— enlisted Tadashi to plan a series of interconnecting ponds in a quiet part of the gardens, adjacent to the pond where Kyoko and Kuon had first discovered Sir Hoppington and far away from the fountains that head fountain engineer Kaede was so determined to keep algae-free.

It was quite common for the nobility to grumble whenever the monarch showed favor to anyone in the form of gifts of land, but no complaints were even whispered over the ponds in the royal gardens. In fact, everyone in the palace seemed very eager to congratulate Kuon and Kyoko, to express their happiness at hearing the news, and hint very heavily that they were looking forward to the many happy events that would hopefully be following quite soon. Kyoko, wanting to be gracious on behalf of Sir Hoppington, gave each well-wisher her heartfelt thanks. She clasped hands and smiled and made polite conversation.

"Perhaps we should have invited more of the court to the tadpole shower," Kyoko remarked softly to Kuon after finishing speaking with a marquis from one of the southern provinces. She threaded her arm through the prince's as they strolled through the hall together. "I didn't realize people would be so excited!"

"Excited?" Kuon repeated.

"Well, I mean, of course it's very exciting news," she said. "But it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, everyone is interested now, but when I was looking for members for T.O.A.D.S., nobody was interested at all!"

Kuon looked down at their linked arms. Kyoko's left hand rested casually on his forearm, where the engagement band on her fourth finger sparkled. Realization began to dawn on the prince.

Kuon couldn't help smiling. "I think that when the marquis said he wished 'the happy couple joy on such a momentous occasion', he meant—"

"Perhaps people feel too awkward to call without a proper invitation. I'm happy to relay the messages, of course, but…" Kyoko's brow furrowed. "Do you think we should bring Sir Hoppington around with us? Or Lady Lily, if he would prefer to stay with the tadpoles?"

Kuon just acquiesced and patted Kyoko's hand. He decided not to correct her on why all the nobles in the kingdom were suddenly introducing themselves and giving Kyoko their 'best wishes'. Nor was he about to explain to any of the earls and countesses and barons that the future queen was accepting their kind words on behalf of her favorite knight, who happened to be a frog. It was probably for the best, Kuon thought, that such conversations continued to be misunderstood when the people involved left pleased with each other, albeit for entirely different reasons.

LINE BREAK

The official proclamation of His Highness Prince Kuon's engagement and his choice of bride-to-be was not a surprise to anyone who had seen the prince interact with his bodyguard even once. This group included the entire castle (nobles, bureaucrats, and servants alike), a fair number of people from the capital city, and anyone who had encountered Kuon and Kyoko on their (pointless) quest to find the prince's True Love (who had been standing right beside him at the time). There was something about the Prince when he looked at her: the softness of his gaze, his attentiveness. It was easy to get the impression (especially if you were someone who was trying to get Prince Kuon's attention) that when Kuon was looking at Kyoko the rest of the world faded away. It was easy for anyone to spot the difference. Anyone except Kyoko, since Kuon had been smitten from the get-go, and so she had never seen him act differently.

Still, with the official proclamation came the end of the second round of wagers that Duke Takarada had organized around the prince's love life. And after loudly announcing the happy news to the capital city, the official proclaimer Some Guy Ted went to see Lory about collecting his prize, for he in fact had won the pool.

"How did you know?" Lory had asked.

Some Guy Ted shrugged. "Lucky guess?"

The duke appraised the minor character with a shrewd eye. Luck was always a good talent to have. "Well, the prize was rather open - what would you like?"

"I want to be even louder," Some Guy Ted said immediately.

"No hesitation, huh? I like that!" Lory clapped him on the shoulder. "And so you will be! As a matter of fact, one of my researchers just happened to find a way to help with that. They've been working on it for at least twenty chapters!"

"What?"

"Nothing. Do you want to be louder than ever before?"

Some Guy Ted nodded enthusiastically.

"And so you shall be!" Lory wiggled his fingers, did a few fancy dance moves - distracting Some Guy Ted from the fact that Ruto snuck up behind him and placed an object into the duke's hand - and then struck a dramatic pose, because he didn't know how to strike any other type. Held aloft was… a megaphone.

Some Guy Ted blinked at the strange object held by the even stranger man.

"Behold!" he proclaimed, despite the fact that Some Guy Ted was already beholding. He lowered the object to use it, amplifying his voice. "THE MEGAPHONE!"

Some Guy Ted could have wept from joy. It was beautiful. He would be the loudest proclaimer the kingdom had ever heard.

And so he was.

LINE BREAK

After retreating to a safe distance, Kyoko and Kuon shared an amused grin over the deafening nonsense. That grin turned into laughter. After a few minutes of laughing, pulling themselves together, catching each other's gaze, and then bursting out laughing again, the two finally calmed down enough for Kyoko to say, "How absurd!"

"That's the duke for you," Kuon replied.

"Yes, but to think that so many other people were involved!" Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Honestly, how could they have known how you were going to propose?"

"I mean, that was literally my seventh attempt, so -"

"What?"

"...Did you. Did you not notice?" He shook his head, then kissed the top of hers. "No, I know you didn't. You're too busy noticing everything else."

She looked up at him, eyes full of an odd kind of despair. "What else have I not noticed?"

"Well, you know those throwing knives you were keeping safe for my True Love?"

"Yes! It was a really fun coincidence that I was able to keep them!" She beamed up at him, but then her smile faltered at the look on his face. "...Or… not a coincidence…?"

"Nope."

"How long have you known?"

"Er…" Kuon hesitated, momentarily debating between being cool and being honest. Then he thought of all the horribly uncool things he had done in front of Kyoko. "Since about the day we met," he admitted.

Kyoko frowned. "The day we met, I held a knife to your throat."

"I know." Kuon coughed, muttering something.

"What do you mean you were into it?" Kyoko looked aghast. For the first time in a while, she was seriously concerned for the Prince's safety. "There was a knife at your throat-"

"I've had that ring since a week after I met you," said Kuon, hoping to distract her. "Look, True Love is a powerful thing. And it's not my fault you didn't realize it as quickly as I did."

"Well, I didn't think it was a thing for me," the bodyguard said thoughtfully. Kuon gave her hand a comforting squeeze, and she smiled at him. "It wasn't until I spoke with the Duke at the ball that I realized…"

"You mean you found out we were True Loves and kissed me minutes later?" Kuon was in awe of her bravery.

"Well, in hindsight, it made a lot of sense… I mean, my feelings…" Kyoko mumbled. She was turning a delightful shade of pink. "It happened so gradually I don't know when exactly I fell in love, but probably since the forest," she admitted.

"What?"

"Or maybe when we first found Sir Hoppington?" Kyoko continued, unaware that the Prince was having a mental breakdown right beside her until he stopped walking. She turned to look at him. His face was screwed up and he was pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"You're telling me you've been in love with me for months." The Prince's voice was eerily calm. He took a deep breath.

"..yes?"

Kuon exploded. "YOU MEAN I HAD TO READ ALL THOSE HANDKERCHIEFS FOR NOTHING?!"

"It wasn't for nothing! I thought we were going to find her!" Kyoko said.

"It was for science!" Kijima exclaimed, having been mysteriously summoned by talking about love. "It was foundational to our understanding of courtship! And the delicate feelings of—"

"Stay out of it, Kijima!" they yelled in unison.

"Okie-doke," the knight said, acquiescing. "I wouldn't want to get involved in your lover's quarrel. Congrats on finally locking her down, by the way."

Kijima gave the indignant prince a fistbump (grabbing his wrist and forcing him to complete the broship ritual), then respectfully bowed to the to-be-queen and scurried away. The knight frantically prayed the two royals wouldn't remember all his failed attempts at flirting with Kyoko — he didn't want to be uninvited from the royal wedding.

Kyoko turned to Kuon, who had calmed down slightly but still seemed pretty worked up. Still, she wasn't going to apologize for the handkerchief idea. "It was the best I could come up with at the time. And it wasn't just you— I had to collect and sort and read them all, too!

It wasn't like you made things easy, you know, with your list of requirements."

"A list describing you. All you had to do was look in a mirror."

"You could have just told me."

"I tried. Several times. More times than I want to admit…"

"Wait a minute," the bodyguard said. Her brow furrowed as she put something together. Accusation crept over her face. "So you've known this whole time, but you made me traipse all over the kingdom looking for a girl you knew we wouldn't find?"

"It was your idea!" Kuon countered. "I just wanted to spend time with you!"

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?! You were looking so dejected!"

"I WAS! BECAUSE YOU KEPT REJECTING MY ADVANCES!"

"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT ME!"

"OBVIOUSLY!"

"Ah, your first lover's quarrel," Lory said, sauntering up. He gave the pair an indulgent smile.

"You! You've known about this from the beginning!" Kuon said, pointing a finger at the Duke.

"Known is a bit strong— let's say I had a hunch," the Duke replied. "Really though, you two shouldn't fight. Of course things could have gone more smoothly, but this is True Love after all. And what fun would that have been?" He shrugged. "It wasn't like your journey was a waste of time, after all. It was an adventure! Though for what it's worth, if you were to write it down, I would tighten it up a bit — you did really meander there sometimes," Lory added.

"Duly noted," the prince said, with a razor-sharp smile. "Is there anything else you wanted to say?" He added sarcastically.

"Now that you mention it, yes," Lory said, blithely ignoring the Prince. "Their Royal Highnesses want to speak to you both about the guest list for the wedding."

Kuon and Kyoko looked at each other, smiled - their irritation handily transferred onto the Duke - and nodded at him.

"Excellent. I believe they were in their private sitting room— shall we take the tunnels?" The Duke walked three paces down the hall, then pressed one of the stone tiles on the wall to reveal an entrance. He turned back to look at the happy couple.

Kuon stared. "How did…"

"Come now," Lory scoffed. "You two were gone for months. Did you really think I wouldn't find them eventually? I was her teacher, you know," he added, gesturing to Kyoko.

"Can't be a teacher if it's not really a school," Kuon grumbled.

Once again, Lory ignored it. He gave Kyoko a thumbs up. "Very well built, by the way. I must confess— the traps almost got me. And I did get lost for a few days once. Now, let's not keep the King and Queen waiting," he said, sweeping into the tunnel.

Kyoko looked at Kuon, playfully gave him one of his own shrugs, and followed Lory into the tunnel.

Kuon gave up. He huffed, then followed after Kyoko, grabbing her hand as the door to the secret tunnel closed behind them.

LINE BREAK

"Kyoko, darling, your guest list has to have more people," Julie said, looking at the sparse list Kyoko had written. In the background, Kuu had his mid-afternoon, post-lunch feast. "Half of your invitees are, well, frogs." The few humans on the list included Moko (of course), Chiori, and the witches (whom they had no real way of contacting). Other non-human invitees were Yogurt the library cat, the garden's fairy population, and the long-suffering pack horse from their unnecessary journey.

"Well, I figured my fellow castle staff was already invited," she replied, reaching over to take back the list.

"Well, of course." Julie pulled the list away, looking over it again. She didn't notice Lory making no-stop motions behind Kyoko. "But honey, don't you have anyone else to invite? Family?"

Kuon glanced nervously at his betrothed. For everything they'd talked about concerning her origins, she had yet to talk about the woman whom the girl called "mother." And judging by what little he knew, this was a woman whom he did not want within ten miles of their wedding.

"None," she replied far too calmly for Kuon's taste. "I don't know my birth parents, or where Mother is." She thought for a moment. "I suppose if you want more people, we could invite Chiori's crew. They were fun."

"You mean the pirates?" Kuon asked, remembering the battle at sea.

"Privateers," she corrected. "Plus, they're a musical theatre troupe! And we need entertainment for the wedding, right? Two birds with one stone!"

Unwilling to argue this further (plus, they did put on some great shows), he nodded his agreement. Besides, it was her guest list. Heck, if she wanted to invite the raccoons from the forest, who was he to say anything?

"Or - oh, remember the town with the harvest festival?" At his nod, she continued, "We met a lot of really lovely people there, we could invite them."

"What was it called?" Kuon paused, then asked, "Do we even know where it is?"

While the betrothed couple discussed this, the queen sat with her quill hovering over the paper. Could she even address an invitation to a whole town? Granted, she was the queen, so no one could really tell her no. But what was she supposed to even write? Town with a harvest festival, on the edge of the old forest?

"I'm sure someone in the palace must know the name," Kyoko said. "Wait here." She whistled for a guard to relieve her, and then vanished.

Someone did know. Some Guy Ted recognized the town from its description immediately. "Quaint village, on the edge of the Wild Forest? Of course I know it - Trovahale! My cousin works there." And indeed, it would be Some Dude Fred who delivered the news to that town that everyone (including the chickens) was invited to the royal wedding.

LINE BREAK

Another group that made the cut was, perhaps unsurprisingly to some, the scholars with whom Kuon had consulted for the tadpole shower. They jumped at the chance - well, not really, because scholars don't tend to have the most agile knees - to attend. Not because it was a royal wedding, but because they could get closer to Kyoko. Again, not because she was the queen-to-be, but because she held the knowledge that they sought. Namely, the knowledge of Sir Hoppington and his moss.

Kuon went to deliver the invitation himself (and return the research material they'd lent him). Kyoko tagged along. Sir Hoppington and Lady Lily elected to stay with their tadpoles. After all, they were freshly hatched, and had a lot to learn about being the Official Frogs to the Throne. Someday, future historians would be very confused about where the Official Frogs to the Throne came from. The answer is, of course, older frogs.

The scholars fell all over themselves trying to get Kyoko's attention. After, of course, they made sure that their research was properly filed away. It was their life's work, after all. Kyoko also had great insight into their research (she'd read it all), and was delighted to meet people who were as enthusiastic about frogs as she was. "You know," she said, turning to Kuon, "we should reinstate T.O.A.D.S.!"

"T.O.A.D.S.?" a scholar asked, intrigued.

"The Ovation Amphibians Deserve Society!" Kyoko said with a beaming smile. "We tried to form it ages ago, but no one at the palace was interested."

The scholars made appropriate noises of outrage.

Just like that, T.O.A.D.S. was born anew.

LINE BREAK

"So," Kuon said on their way back to the castle, "I was wondering…"

"Mmm?" Kyoko leaned against him in the carriage Julie had made them take. She had to admit, while it was awful from a strategic standpoint (so obvious!), it was comfy.

"How are we going to get the invitation to Chiori and her crew? They're on a boat."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll just send one of my team."

"Your… team." Kuon thought back to the time her team had "helped" her scry for his True Love.

"I think I actually have her letter with me," she said, rummaging in the letter bag. "I can send it now." Her minion took the offered letter and ate it, then zoomed away.

Kuon blinked. Had that letter just disappeared into thin air? "Did you just… teleport that letter?"

Kyoko rolled her eyes fondly. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous."

"...Would it really?"

Kyoko was not paying attention, and was instead rifling through the letter bag. Most of them were for nobles she knew only from her team's reports - people they had to invite in order not to cause drama in court. She pursed her lips and looked out the window. She had to admit, it was more comfortable traveling like this than on foot. Traveling… that made her think of their journey. "Oh! You know who else we should invite?"

"Who?" he asked, having just accepted that yes, the letter disappeared, and that no, he would not be getting further answers about it. Behold, the power of True Love.

"The fortune teller! The journey may have been more for Sir Hoppington's sake than ours, but it did bring us closer!" She smiled up at him from where she was leaning against his side.

He was not sure whether to laugh or not. "Darling… love of my life…."

Kyoko turned a bright pink. "What?"

"That was my mom."

She stared at him for a moment. "I didn't know the queen was a fortune teller."

LINE BREAK

An indeterminate amount of time later, the member of Kyoko's team bearing the invitation flew into the captain's quarters of Chiori's ship. It promptly recited the invitation, word-perfect, in Kyoko's voice to a bemused Chiori. Then it spat out an only somewhat slimy RSVP card into her hands.

Chiori, used to Kyoko's antics, just accepted this and ticked off the little "yes" box. Her crew would have to find a good musical to perform. After all, it was for the royal wedding!

And besides, it gave her another chance to flaunt what used to be Lory's sapphire ring. And here's the thing about it: The sapphire ring is glass. It's not even a real sapphire. It's pretty but completely worthless. Lory knows this. Chiori knows this. That's why Lory wants it back so badly and Chiori will never return it.

Because Chiori, like any good pirate, has the cleverness of a crow but the morals and daring of a seagull.

LINE BREAK

Sir Kijima was in a crisis. He'd just received an invitation to the royal wedding - that was not the problem. He was thrilled for his friend, and couldn't have wished him a better True Love match. The problem was that he had to pick a lady to escort to the wedding - and at least four ladies who were expecting to be asked! He lamented this fact to one half of the happy couple, lying on Kuon's fainting couch.

"You know, if you weren't such a skirt-chaser, this wouldn't happen." Kuon rolled his eyes from where he was standing next to the (now extremely large) knight - er, frog - habitat.

"Hey! I've never chased a skirt that didn't want me chasing her!" he protested.

"You could still stand to do it one at a time." He dropped in some mealworms, watching as the noble knight and his lovely lady feasted on them. Taking care of tadpoles was hard work.

"Hey, not all of us have found our True Loves! I'm just… searching for her. Carefully. Sometimes it doesn't click right away, so I have to check a few times." He grinned, thinking about checking. "Very, very thoroughly - EW!"

Kuon had dropped a mealworm on his forehead. "Well, here's your solution."

The knight shook off the mealworm and sat up. "Grubs?"

"No, dumbass, frogs." He crossed his arms. "We need someone to escort the Frog of Honor to the ceremony."

"You're making a frog your best man?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

They stared each other down for a moment before Kijima sighed and turned to the tank. "Very well! I'll escort you, froggo ol' pal."

Sir Hoppington let out a disgruntled ribbit from around his meal.

LINE BREAK

"So," Kuon said one afternoon, when he and Kyoko were watching the tadpoles, "could I maybe. Um. Have what's left of Princess Rosa for a little while?"

"What? Why?" She looked up at him in confusion. "She's just a hilt now."

"I promise it's for a good reason." He smiled gently. "You'll like it. I checked with the Archive, and she said that you'd approve of my plan."

She squinted at him, then extended her little finger. "Pinky promise?"

He fought back a smile and hooked his finger through hers. "Pinky promise."