“Ugh, you are impossible,” Kira complained, but at the same time, it felt nice knowing her hair was back to its familiar style once more. She still wanted to find a new one, but the urgency had worn off as she found peace within herself.

A peace that had been reflected by a notification earlier.

Congratulations, you have found inner peace through the actions of your beloved and your own realizations. Your class, ‘Retributionist’ can now evolve into a new unnamed class. Would you like to select this new class as a path upgrade? As the first user, you will be allowed to name it.

YES / NO

She still hadn’t made a decision and had left the annoying message dangling in her vision ever since. That was one thing Gaia hadn’t fixed. There was still no option to minimize the notifications for later viewing. All someone could do was move them to the edge of their vision, where they were the least obstructive.

At least they had never popped up in the heat of battle that she could remember. That would have been bad. Still, she had no idea what to do with this one. It sounded like a good thing, yet at the same time, she wanted to talk it over with Charles before deciding.

It was something that had the potential to change things going forward, and since they were a couple and about to be married… This seemed like one of those things they should discuss together before she decided.

Sierra glanced around the room and then up at the ceiling. “Okay, here is what we’re going to do. Since Vegas is out of the question, and Kira would have undoubtedly nixed that plan anyway. How about we play a few board and video games and eat some pizza? We’ll keep it simple but fun. It doesn’t need to be extravagant or anything. The party is supposed to be about bonding, after all.”

“Are you sure about that?” Kira asked doubtfully. “According to the movies, it’s more about getting arrested and being complete idiots.”

“Like I said, there is no way you would have let us go to Vegas.”

“No, I guess I wouldn’t have. Now, what games do we want to play?”

Sierra began cooking the pizzas while everyone else began gathering up some games for them to play.

An hour later, Krystal knocked on the door to the apartment with the dress in her inventory. She was ready to complete the last-minute sizing alterations.

“I think you just got your wish, Silvi,” Kira whispered, taking in her wedding dress.

It wasn’t white; it wasn’t silver either, at least not entirely. It was an aqua-marine blue, with silver strips where her mother had needed to add to the small dress she had found. There was even a gossamer veil all around the outside.

In truth, it was a gown fit more for a prom than a wedding. However, to her, it was perfect, if for no other reason than because her mother was the one who had helped make part of it. This was no off-the-rack wedding dress; this was something her mother had worked on. Granted, it hadn’t been for very long due to time constraints, but the effort and thought were there.

Kira wiped her eyes, mentally berating herself for growing so sentimental in her old age. Old, that was a term that was going to need to be redefined soon. She didn’t know about everyone else, but it seemed like several of the people she knew would be living for a very long time to come.

She was among those numbers as well. Which meant that this marriage, even if it only lasted until death, could be for a very long time. Not that it necessarily had to end even then with what Charles was. Living for that long meant that she needed to be certain about this wedding. And for someone who she had only known for such a small amount of time, she was.

It took her a minute to change into the sleeveless gown and open the bedroom door. “Well, how do I look?” She had already seen herself in the mirror and loved it.

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“You look beautiful,” Krystal said proudly through the hand clasped over her mouth. Her emotions were getting the best of her, now that it all seemed real. “Now, show me the spots that are too loose or too tight, so I can fix them really quick.”

“She’s right, sis, it looks great on you. I do wonder what kind of size nothing girl wore this dress originally though. I don’t think I could have worn this thing before mom modified it.” Kate said from the side.

Beth took in the girl next to her’s skinny frame and then Kate’s older sister’s only slightly bulkier, leanly muscled frame. “Whoever it was must have been either small or really unhealthy.”

“They couldn’t have been small,” Silvi pointed to the hem of the dress that was nearly the perfect length for the tall woman. “Kira is five foot nine, so unless that dress was always dragging…”

The girls nodded; unhealthily thin it was.

Krystal made the last few alterations while the other girls got ready in their own scavenged dresses. It was easier to find normal dresses that could fit them than it was to find a wedding dress. The only one who this presented some difficulties for was Silvi, because of her tail. Thankfully, Sierra was competent enough with a needle and sewing machine to help them out this time.

Finally, they were all done. Each was dressed and ready to leave the apartment.

“Has anyone told Charles or Charlotte yet?” Kira asked suddenly, as she wrapped a shawl around her shoulders. It matched her dress and even had little silver accents sown around the edges.

Silvi nodded. “I told him right before I changed into my dress. All we need to do is go down and meet him at the gazebo. He said his mom and everyone else will be there when we arrive.”

Kira smiled fondly at the girl and quickly hugged her. “Let’s be on our way, then. It would be best if we didn’t keep Cassy waiting for too long.”

There was a round of snorts from the girls that left Myri, and Silvi confused. “Usually, the bride is the one you don’t want to keep waiting, not the mother-in-law or officiator,” Sierra explained to them as they walked out of the dorm building.

Moments later, they saw the crowd gathered around the gazebo and heard the traditional music begin to play with their appearance.

Kira handed her shawl to her mother as Sierra joined Charlotte near the front as dual Maids of Honor. Across from them, standing behind Charles, was simply Scott. He wasn’t particularly close enough to anyone else to invite them to be a part of his wedding.

Sitting near the front were his father and grandparents. Along with the ghostly projections of Gaia and James, who she had brought along for the ride.

“Go sit down mom, we’ve got this,” Kira assured her mother.

Silvi and Myri were acting the part of her flower girls, even though there were no actual flowers for them to throw. Both she and Charles had simply wanted them to be a part of the ceremony. They felt it was important to make sure they knew that they were a part of what was happening that day.

The music changed and the two girls fell into step next to one another as they walked down the aisle.

Then it was Kira’s turn, and she had to remind herself to breathe, take a step and breathe. No, that would take too long. Take two steps and breathe. Better, but now she looked like she had a stutter. It was better to switch it up again. Three steps now and breathe.

Charles grinned as he realized what she was doing. It was adorable when her nerves got the best of her like this.

It took both too little time and far too much for her to reach the pedestal.

“Are you both ready?” Cassy whispered. “In case you didn’t know, our versions of weddings go a little different than your mortal versions. So be prepared.”

“I’m ready,” Charles breathed out.

“Same, let’s do this.” Kira agreed just as softly.

“You look beautiful in that dress,” Charles managed to tell her before his mother began the proceedings. “What’s with the lipstick though?”

“Myri chose it,” Was all she could manage before being cut off with a glare.

“To those who don’t know, I am Cassy, Charles, and Charlotte’s mother. I will be conducting this wedding ceremony today.” She reached out and placed her hand on top of their joined hands. A red string wrapped around their pinkies was revealed when lifted her hand. The High Goddess winked at them and explained what the string meant to everyone else. “The red string of fate binds them together already. Upon the completion of this ceremony, the string will become golden, and your souls will be bound together forevermore.”

Kira flashed back to how she had felt during Charlotte’s ceremony. Back then, there had been a sense of wistful yearning combined with fear. What if she never managed to find her proverbial soulmate?

Since then, she had learned a lot. The string had little to do with fate unless you had already lived once before. In which case, she had no idea how that worked. No, it had more to do with both parties putting in the work and being determined to keep putting in the effort for the long haul.

It didn’t work if one of the people involved wasn’t truly committed. If even a small part of them thought about straying, that string would never form.

Cassy tapped both their hands at the end of the ceremony, allowing the now golden string to vanish. “You may now kiss the bride.”

The crowd erupted in cheers, while Silvi and Myri ran to hug them.

Gently, Myri tugged them both down to her level. “Is it alright, if I call you mommy and daddy now?”

Kira began crying while she hugged the little girl tight. “Of course you can, Myri. Both of you can call us that.”