The next week seemed to fly by alarmingly quickly. They returned to the Bear Tribe, Philige spent most of his time catching up on tribe leader duties, Lolo and her team returned to their training, which for Lolo was mostly just meditation, and in between it all, Philige and Lolo found themselves caught in an avalanche of last-minute wedding decisions.

“Matron,” Lolo nearly had to shout to be heard over the hubbub of people rushing about to get things prepared one afternoon, “look, really and truly, I don’t care about any of this: the flowers, the table settings, the color scheme, the decorations…. I just want to get married. You have excellent taste and know better than me what expectations need to be met with this wedding, so feel free to use your best judgement to just get things done, ok?”

Matron smiled, “knowing you, your ideal wedding would be little more than an intimate gathering of friends followed by a party.”

“That sounds amazing,” Lolo nodded. “Unfortunately for both of us, this isn’t a typical wedding, and frankly, apart from the actually getting married part, none of this is really about Philige and me. We are planning this whole thing to meet the expectations of everyone else.”

Matron laughed gently. “I’ll take care of the details then, shall I?”

“I know that puts a lot on you, but I would appreciate it,” Lolo grovelled.

***

“Lolo! Wake-up!” Ulana’s voice was way too chipper for barely sunrise o’clock.

“Ulana,” Lolo moaned, “leave me alone. I’m tired.”

“But today is the day!” Ulana was practically bouncing off the walls. “We have to get you ready!”

“The wedding isn’t until this afternoon. We have time.”

“Lolo, you’re marrying the Bear Tribe leader. You have to look perfect.”

“Philige doesn’t care if I look perfect or not,” Lolo complained.

“But the rest of the Bear Tribe does. After today, you’re going to be their queen!”

Ulana had a point, but Lolo wasn’t happy about it. “Are you going to help me?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Ulana laughed.

“Fine,” Lolo grumped and rolled out of the bed. "Where do you want me?"

"My room," Ulana said simply.

"Alright." Lolo grabbed a blanket from off the bed to take with her, and the girls walked next door. Had Lolo been awake enough, she might have noticed that Ulana was unusually pleased with herself, but as things were, Lolo was barely awake enough to notice that she'd forgotten to put shoes on before leaving her room.

“SURPRISE!” Lolo was nearly bowled over. She was not awake enough for surprises.

“Shanti? Et’zana? Matron? What are you all doing here?”

“Girl party!!” Ulana answered for them.

“We’re here to help you get ready, Lolo,” Shanti explained a little more calmly.

“Well, ‘help’ is a loose term,” Et’zana smiled. “We’re mostly here to keep you company until the ceremony.”

“And we all want to see you in your wedding gown!!” Ulana clapped with excitement.

“My wedding gown? I thought I was going to wear my purple dress.”

“You can’t marry the Bear Tribe leader in just any old dress,” Matron smiled conspiratorially. Do you remember how I took your measurements this last winter? That was before I knew that you would need a wedding dress, by the way. Well, I sent them out with some rough design sketches to have a dress made. It arrived while you were back home for your brother’s coronation.”

Lolo was still only half-awake, and this was a lot to take in all at once.

“Well?” Ulana prodded.

“Well, what?”

“Don’t you want to see it?!” Et’zana squealed.

“I’m sorry guys, I’m not awake enough for this yet.” The girls laughed.

“How about we start with a bath to help you wake up, huh?” Shanti suggested. “We have the water drawn for you and everything. We can do the dress reveal later when you're awake enough to appreciate it.”

“Ok,” Lolo agreed weakly, very grateful to have Shanti and her level head there.

The bath was warm and pleasant, and for the first time in a long time, Lolo could simply enjoy it. While the girls chatted merrily on the other side of the privacy screen, Lolo only periodically tuned into their conversation.

“Would they be bear or wolf spirit hosts?” Et’zana was asking.

“I’m not sure,” Ulana replied unhelpfully.

“It’s likely that they’ll get some of each,” Shanti gave a better answer.

“I feel like children tend to take after their fathers in this regard, but yes, they could get some of each,” Matron was saying. “Hopefully they get at least one bear. It would be a little awkward if they only had wolves.”

“Succession might be a little tricky otherwise,” Et’zana laughed her tinkling laugh.

Children. They were theorizing about her children. “Oh, crap! Children?! I’m not ready to be a mother!” But it should have been obvious. Philige was the Bear Tribe leader. Of course he was supposed to father an heir! Just like Zhongyan was now expected to date in earnest to find someone to father his own children with.

Lolo slid down the side of the tub to bury her head under the water. How was she supposed to be a mother with a war going on and her primordial responsibilities? And she didn’t even have her own mom around to ask questions of or talk about these things with. Lolo felt a sharp, deep pang of sadness. “If she were still alive, mom would be here right now. She’d have loved helping me dress up for my wedding and speculating about whose eyes my babies would have.” Lolo emerged from the water fighting a losing battle against her tears. It had only been four and a half months since she’d lost her mom, and so much had happened since then. In some ways, four and a half months felt like a lifetime. In others, it felt like yesterday.

“Lolo?” Shanti poked her head around the screen. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Lolo lied. She didn’t want to worry people on her wedding day.

“Can I come sit with you for a minute?”

“I was just about to get out,” Lolo said. “Could you hand me the towel?”

Shanti collected the towel and brought it to Lolo, respectfully averting her eyes.

“Thanks,” Lolo said, standing up to wrap it around herself.

“Lolo,” Shanti took her hand and smiled gently, “I know it’s your wedding day, and that’s a wonderfully happy thing. However, it’s still ok to feel sad if you need to.”

It was like she knew. Lolo didn’t know how to respond, but the tears welled-up on their own. Sopping wet and clothed in nothing but a towel, Lolo was pulled into a tight hug where she cried a lot harder than she meant to.

Feeling a little better for having a good cry, Lolo was given a bathrobe to wear while her friends fussed with her hair, joking and laughing as they dried, combed and styled it. Lolo listened to their chatter, allowing their joy to fill her heart. Somehow, they seemed to have known that she would need them today, and Lolo was so, so grateful to have them there.

With her hair coiffed to perfection and her make-up immaculate, it was time for some lunch. How literally hours had passed, Huo Lohse had no idea. Matron had ordered a picnic lunch to be brought to Ulana’s room, and the girls lounged about eating sandwiches and admiring their handiwork.

“I need to go take care of the last few details,” Matron excused herself after they’d eaten. “Guests should be filling the west courtyard by now. But before I go, I want to show you your gown, Huo Lohse.”

“I’ve been waiting all day for this!” Ulana squealed. “It’s been hiding in my wardrobe for over a week.”

Lolo smiled and followed Matron to the wardrobe, and the rest of the girls followed.

“Now, Huo Lohse, this is a wedding gown for a queen,” Matron fussed. “It’s a lot more formal than what you’re maybe expecting.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it, Matron,” Lolo smiled. “You do have excellent taste.”

Matron opened the wardrobe and beamed as Lolo gasped at the dress in front of her. Made from a rich, royal blue silk, the gown was floor length with a short train at the back, angel sleeves that fell to the floor, a wide square neck, and a black leather belt with a silver clasp at the waist. The sleeves and hem were elaborately decorated with leaf-shaped dagging and embroidered silver flowers. The bodice was similarly embroidered at the neck. As Lolo studied the flowers, she realized that they were “apple blossoms?” Lolo looked at Matron.

Matron smiled. “That was the Bear Tribe leader’s input. He thought you’d like them.”

“Philige knew about this?”

“Well,” Matron smiled, “I suggested it and asked him if he had any design input.”

“Thank you, Matron,” Lolo gave her a great big hug. “It’s gorgeous. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“You sweetheart,” Matron chuckled and patted Lolo’s cheek before taking her leave.

“Well,” Ulana was back to bouncing, “aren't you going to put it on?!”

“I’d better not until it’s nearly time to go,” Lolo laughed. “I don’t want to ruin it.”

“There’s only about an hour until the ceremony,” Et’zana tried to persuade her. “Besides, we should make sure that it fits you properly.”

“Yeah,” Ulana added, “it would be a real shame if we found out with only minutes to go that you needed a seam altered.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Shanti answered it. “Wolf Leader! Erm… sorry. What do I call you now?”

“Dad!” Lolo rushed to hug him.

Ming Lang stepped back to get a better look at her. “I hope you’re not planning on wearing that to the ceremony,” he laughed, indicating her bathrobe.

Lolo grinned. “Matron had a dress made for me. I just don’t want to ruin it.”

He nodded. “I brought you something, Lolo.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“What is it?”

“Open it.”

Inside sat a tiny, silver chain necklace with a crescent-shaped charm.

“It was your mother’s. I gave it to her on our wedding day. She wanted you to have it on yours,” Ming Lang smiled sadly at his daughter.

It was all Lolo could do to not burst into ugly tears again and ruin her make-up. Her dad took the necklace out of the box to help her put it on before giving her a tight hug.

“I love you, my princess.” Ming Lang kissed her forehead and retreated out the door.

Matron had thought of everything. The high profile nature of this wedding meant that there would be way more people in attendance than could fit in and around the west courtyard where the ceremony was to take place. Knowing that most people would be coming just to get a glimpse of the new Bear Queen, Matron had set up a long path for Lolo to walk on her way to the courtyard. The masses crowded around it.

“You look beautiful, Lolo,” Qingchi said as he was the first to hug her, “even if you are wearing Bear Tribe blue,” he winked.

Lolo scrunched her nose up at him and got passed around the circle for hugs.

“Well, are you ready?” Zhongyan nudged Lolo’s shoulder. Her brothers had all been assigned as her escorts to the ceremony. Where Zhongyan was the Alpha now, he got the honor of walking next to her, arm-in-arm, while the rest of the Lang boys took their positions in front of and behind them.

Lolo took a deep breath and nodded.

“Hey, Lolo,” Haowan teased, “don’t forget to smile!”

The seven Lang siblings were quite a sight. The boys were dressed in their formal Wolf Tribe military uniforms of black and silver, and Lolo’s blue gown contrasted magnificently against them. It became evident pretty quickly why Matron had insisted that all six of her brothers escort her to the ceremony. Innocent though it was, onlookers kept crowding the pathway, and the Langs had to pause several times to push them back so Lolo and Zhongyan could get through.

As emotional and tired as she already was, Lolo had a hard time keeping her claustrophobia in check and kept needing to bury her face in Zhongyan’s shoulder to breathe with her eyes closed.

“Lolo, are you ok?” Zhongyan checked in with her as yet another mass of people blocked their path.

“I just want to get married,” Lolo grimaced, trying not to let her anxiety show too much.

“Almost there, Lolo. You’re almost there,” he tried to assure her.

Philige was waiting on the platform for the Lang boys to deliver his bride. They were late, significantly late, and the crowd was getting restless.

“Standig,” Philige called him over discreetly, “she might need help....”

Standig nodded and started wading through the crowd. When he found her, Lolo was obviously in distress as she had become completely stuck, surrounded by over-eager well-wishers and curious citizens. Her brothers were doing the best they could to clear some room, but their success was limited.

“EXCUSE ME!” Standig shouted over the chaos. The people silenced pretty quickly. “You’re making our new queen late for her own wedding. Please clear the path.” Somewhat ashamed of themselves, the crowd parted. Standig smiled as he watched the wave of relief spread across Lolo’s face. With the giant bear on point, the rest of the pathway cleared automatically to make room for them to pass.

Philige’s shoulders relaxed the tension he didn’t know he was holding when he saw his brother return even though he couldn't see his bride through the sea of much taller Bear Tribe citizens. He chuckled internally at how short Lolo was relatively speaking, but he couldn't deny that the anticipation of seeing her in that blue dress Matron had helped him design was slowly killing him. It didn't help that Standig, walking in front of the bridal procession, made a terrible window.

Philige caught glimpses of the rich blue fabric of her gown as she climbed the stairs of the platform, but it wasn't until Standig walked past him that Philige finally managed to see the girl wearing the gown.

Yes, the dress was beautiful, but the bride was stunning. Frankly, Lolo could have been wearing a potato sack and looked just as gorgeous in Philige's eyes. It hit him all at once that this beautiful, wonderful human was standing there to marry him. Him! The reality of that was pinch-me worthy. Philige found Lolo's right hand and kissed it while everyone around them took their positions on the platform.

The ceremony was brief, and Lolo was honestly too excited to remember most of it. One of the senior council elders officiated the marriage. Huo Lohse and Philige were both prompted in turn to say “I swear” to accept their marriage vows of loving each other faithfully through whatever struggles life may throw at them and…. Philige was more than happy to kiss her while the crowd cheered as soon as they were pronounced husband and wife.

Finally married, Lolo was looking forward to leaving, but Philige shook his head slightly at her to suggest that things weren’t over quite yet. Confused, Lolo turned to see another elder approach her with an ancient ceremonial staff and a magnificent, newly forged sword. Reverently, the elder handed her each item and turned her around to face the crowd.

“I present to you your new queen!” he shouted, and the Bear Tribe bowed to her on bended knee.

It all happened so fast, Huo Lohse couldn’t process it. No one had thought to tell her that her wedding would also be her coronation ceremony! As the crowd rose to their feet again, they seemed to be expecting something from her. Lolo turned to glance at Philige who at last realized that she had been taken completely by surprise by this series of events.

“Say something,” he whispered.

“Uh.” Lolo turned to look at the people, now, her people. No words. Nothing. She was not prepared for this at all.

“Brain not working, huh? Repeat after me.”

“Fortus?!” Lolo’s relief could not be calculated as she carefully repeated the succinct speech that Fortus fed her. “Thank you all for coming to celebrate with us today, I feel humbled to stand here before you. I promise that, as your queen, I will do my utmost to fulfill my duty to serve and to protect you. It is my hope that we may work to strengthen our tribe together.”

The crowd applauded and Philige, relieved, smiled at her.

Lolo closed her eyes. “Have I told you recently how epic your ultimate is?!"

"You could stand to mention it more often."

"Fortus, you saved my butt. I owe you big time.”

She seemed to hear Fortus laugh. “Consider it a wedding gift. Congratulations, Lolo!”

***

Lolo woke up the next morning and realized there had been a major oversight. Her clothes were all back in her old room. She got up quietly as Philige was still asleep, and started poking around, looking for something besides her wedding dress to wear. In a large chest of drawers, Lolo found a collection of Philige’s shirts. She found the longest one and put it on like a dress that fell a little above her knees, tying a belt around her waist to give it a modicum of shape. She then bustled around looking for something to make for breakfast.

Matron, wonderful, wise Matron, had brought in a bowl of fruit and a basket of bread and eggs for their breakfast. Lolo found a skillet to set in the fireplace and worked to cook some eggs and toast the bread. While she was slicing up some fruit, Philige woke up and rolled out of bed to hug her.

“Good morning,” he said sleepily and kissed her neck.

“Good morning!” Lolo paused to turn and hug him back.

“What are you wearing?” Philige asked, becoming aware of how terribly her dress fit her. “Is that one of my shirts?”

She laughed. “My clothes are all back in my old room. I improvised this morning.”

He looked at her mischievously. “I’ll send for your clothes after breakfast.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not talking about toast and eggs, are you?”

“I’m glad we’re both on the same page.” He picked her up and set her back down on the bed.

Lolo locked her hands behind his neck. “I love you.”

Philige had just started kissing her when they heard voices outside the front door. They froze to listen.

“Boys! Get away from there! Right! Now!” It was unmistakably Ulana’s voice.

“She’s late for practice and I don't want to try connecting with her in case… you know.... But I’m worried about her,” Fortus said.

“Don’t be an idiot. It’s the morning after her wedding; of course she’s late for practice. She has other things on her mind!”

Lolo and Philige suppressed their laughter.

“That’s my point. What if she had another night terror? Or what if Philige triggered a panic attack?”

Lolo’s laugh was replaced by embarrassment.

“Her husband will help her through either.” Ulana was irritated. "Besides, her wedding night is not even sort of the same thing as an assault."

"What's so different?" Fortus asked.

"Everything! There's a huge difference between giving yourself to someone and being forced," Ulana explained. "If you're still confused, I can explain it to you later. Now, let's go!" Fortus clearly wasn't convinced because Ulana felt the need to continue. "So help me, Fortus, if you so much as think about knocking on that door, I will light your face on fire! And I won’t miss this time; I've been working on my aim."

"I'm just going to make sure-"

"FIVE!"

"Come on, Ulana!" Standig's voice tried to reason with her.

"You too, Standig. FOUR!"

"You wouldn't really, would you you?"

"THREE! Keep in mind that Jadu isn't here to patch you up."

"But-"

"TWO! Don't make me, boys!" From inside, Lolo could hear the crackle of sparks. Ulana was serious. Lolo rolled off the bed to prevent disaster.

"Guys, you know that we can hear you right?" Lolo said, opening the door.

All three of the invading primordials froze awkwardly.

Fortus cleared his throat. "Uh, will you be at practice today?"

Lolo gave him an amused look. "Don't count on it. Next time, and, let's be honest, there'd better not be a next time, listen to Ulana. She has more sense than both you and Standig combined."

"Uh, ok." Fortus started walking away.

As Lolo shut the door again, she could hear Ulana scolding the boys. "You're a pair of nincompoops, ya know that?!"

"Sorry about that!" Lolo spluttered through laughter.

"I think it’s kind of sweet that they're so worried about you," Philige grinned. "Now, where were we?"

"Something about breakfast?"

"Ah! That's right."