"Love and Friendship"

Her eyes were still closed when she started to wake up; a light of some sort was forcing her to keep her eyes closed. The sun probably. His arm was still wrapped around her tummy as she started to move slowly and he instantly reacted by squeezing her gently "Good morning my love."

"Good morning, my Angel."

He chuckled and kissed her ear softly, whispering very gently "What I would give to always have you like this, happy, safe..."

"I am willing to bet you will give up the world's safety."

"...and why is that such a bad thing?"

Caliope turned around to see him, she was frowning and his smile faded. He laid on the bed face up but closing his eyes sighing. He then held silence for a few seconds. Finally he spoke calmly "I could take you away from here, save you from all danger, we could spend together thousands of years before they would notice we are missing... or maybe I shouldn't ask, and just take you..."

She leaned on her side quickly, and put her hand on his chest, shaking him slightly until he opened his eyes and looked at her. "You wouldn't take me without asking... because it would make me unhappy... and you respect me, at least I hope you still do... and this world is so much bigger than me, filled with people who deserve to be saved, love stories to live, lives to forge... yes, wars and chaos are part of it, but only because you know of that danger is that you want to save me as well, isn't that true? if we don't know what we are afraid of, we don't know what to fear..." she sighed and closed her eyes, only after a few seconds he ran his fingers over her face "I am sorry..." she whispered.

"Why are you sorry?"

"All this time I thought I was the one having this heavy change to accept, when in fact, it was you as well... the world you knew is not the same now, funny... is not the same for me either... so is a big change for both of us... and there are many things that confuse me and you as well, I just know one thing for sure... I love you, no matter how crazy it is, I love you, and I want to be with you for as long as eternity will last... but what made me love you, what made me who I am, is this crazy world we are trying to save, so please do not lose hope, don't give up on them, don't give up on me..."

He sighed and smiled, leaning to kiss her lips softly. His hand holding her from behind her head as he locked his lips in hers for a long time. It was a soft and tender kiss, but also a long one, filled with deeper emotions. She caressed his chest and then his face, he broke the kiss and kept his forehead pressed on hers, with eyes closed, he was breathing slowly "I helped create universes, and shape worlds... I waited patiently for eons to move beside me... but only now I feel I am alive... love is a strange thing, I am happy I finally found you."

"I feel guilty, you waited for me so long, and for me this was relatively easy... short even..."

"You were born on the right time for me to find you, and now I am not going to let anyone or anything take you away..."

Someone knocked on the door and Amra chuckled, he rolled on the bed and faced up again, looking at the ceiling.

"Who is it?" Caliope asked, her head facing towards the door.

Amra chuckled "Your bride's maid..."

Caliope jumped up from the bed and ran to the door, opening it barely as she smiled at Vanessa.

"Hi Nessa, sorry... I slept a bit too much..."

"No sorry, come on, we have tons of things to do! don't hide!" Vanessa tried to push the door open but Caliope giggled and held it only halfway. "Don't come in, Amra is still in bed... give me some minutes and I will meet you in the dining room ok?

Vanessa rolled her eyes and grinned "Hey Amra! let her go already! you are making my job harder!... you got 15 minutes lady! or I am coming in with or without him there!"

She closed the door and laughed, looking at Amra chuckling from the bed, he smiled at her and sighed "That was a serious threat, you better get dressed."

"What are your plans?"

"No plans, I don't have much to do... show up and be on the right outfit?"

"It is representative, like you dress for the occasion... and you look stunningly beautiful and handsome in a suit."

"Yes, yes, I heard all about it... I don't need convincing you know? if that is the conventional way, we will have it, and I want you to be proud of me."

"I am already proud of you, every day you make me happy..."

He smiled at her and winked as she chuckled and blushed, he was more human than anyone she ever met, yet more perfect than the rest of mankind. She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower before getting on some jeans and a shirt as she heard Vanessa knocking at the door, she ran to meet her in the entrance.

After a light breakfast, Elaine joined them and together headed outside towards the area it was being prepared for the event. There were an unusual amount of servitude busy with moving chairs, tables, wonderful drapes and her favorite flowers, calla lilies and orchids. The people seemed in a trance, she wasn't sure if they were humans or Angels, and they never turned away to look at her or anyone else but what they were doing. Caliope was stunned with so many things being done at the same time, she kept looking at Elaine and Vanessa who were whispering between them and smiling back at her.

"What is all this?"

"I remember a few things you like, and Elaine helped me get them... you will have nothing to worry! we only wanted to show you things are on the way... now to the changing room, we asked Maxwell for a room with everything we need to prepare you..."

"You do trust us, dear... right?"

"Of course I trust you, but...

"No butts allowed, let's go... move it girl... we have things to do!"

Caliope giggled and Vanessa was grinning as she led her towards the residence again, Elaine was having a laugh as she followed them inside. On their way, they crossed paths with Amra who was accompanied by Pronab and Maxwell, he shrugged as soon as Pronab waved and lead him to another room.

"You are taking this quite serious I see. Don't you think it is a bit extreme?"

"Not at all, we have worked so hard to make this perfect for you both, I know all you like, and Elaine knows how to get it... you will love it."

"Ok, ok... I am in your hands..." Caliope sighed.

Finally they arrived to a wide room that had the curtains closed. The soft light gave hints of several chairs and someone else was moving in the room. When Vanessa finally opened the curtains, Caliope could see everything; a wide dress, her dress, wrapped by some special transparent cover, was hanging on a wall, Ariadne was smiling at her as she walked to hug her "M'Lady you will look like a princess!"

"Oh Ariadne! I am so happy to see you here, I was starting to worry about what time would I need to go pick up my dress! I wanted to hear all about your last details on it..."

"It was easy, nothing is hard when tis done by heart... but you need to prepare before wearing it, you will have to wait!"

"Prepare... what else do I need to do?"

"Ahh... leave that to me... come here, we will start with your bath..."

"...a bath?!"

But Vanessa was already pulling her to the other room, once she entered, a large hot tub was prepared and ready. The water was steaming, there were some rose petals floating amongst the soft bubbles and the air smell like spring flowers. Caliope was smiling from ear to ear.

"Now get in that tub while I prepare the oils you will use."

"...oils too?"

"Yes, go on... I am not even looking!"

She chuckled and slowly removed her jeans and shirt, looking at the side to catch Vanessa focused on a few small bottles of different colors. She found one big towel and dragged it with her to the edge of the hot tub, where the smell was even stronger. As she put a foot in, she noticed the water was hot, but not too much, it was the perfect temperature. When she finally sat inside, Vanessa dragged a chair and sat next to her, a small tray in her lap with some bottles. She picked a pink one, opened it and leaned to smell it, nodding as she made sure it was the one she wanted, and started to drop slowly the oil into the water.

"I figured we could use some time alone you and me, while you enjoy your bath... for us to just talk and you to clear your mind... I want to hear you speak..."

"Are you worried?"

"They are amazing, adorable, incredible... but I just met them, you on the other hand, I have known for years, and I want to hear what is in your mind..."

Caliope sighed with a smile "They did not brainwashed me Nessa... I promise you..."

"Oh, no... I don't think they have, I know this is the real you... but you also have changed, and I want to know what is in your mind... today is a big day... you are getting married!"

"You are right... it is a big day... and yes, I am not the kind of girl who goes through life thinking and dreaming and planning on their wedding... I never was... I also changed in other ways too."

"What other ways? As she asked, she picked another small bottle and repeated the process, the blue drops released a few more bubbles into the water.

"I am not the hero or savior kind of girl."

"What do you mean?"

"Amra's mission is a big one, don't you agree?"

"Yes, it really is..."

"Well, sometimes, he loses focus and his mind wanders to, who knows where... this morning, he mentioned he would love to take me away from here and get lost... just the two of us... away from danger... "

"Kidnap you?"

"Well, something like that..."

"I will have to give him a talk soon..."

Caliope chuckled "That is the point, exactly... I already did..."

"Hmmm... ok, explain..."

"I found myself explaining him why he shouldn't do that... what it means saving the world... what his mission is... do you see me as someone who would be taking the job as this world's protector? I found myself in the strangest place ever... I never thought I would be saying the things I said to him for him to stay focused..."

Vanessa smiled "Caly, you were always one of the odd ones... you were never selfish, nor arrogant, you were smart enough, kind enough, and brave enough to stand aside from others, and yet you were also prudent enough to keep yourself at a safe distance from any spotlight. I think you are just being you... nothing wrong with that."

Caliope blushed, looking at her friend who was always a honest and sincere soul "I know... it is just a part of me I wasn't aware I had..."

"We are constantly evolving, becoming a better version of ourselves..."

Caliope nodded "That is true, so I guess, the circumstances are making me this way, just a better version I hope... I had my share of mistakes, I hope I don't make bad choices, it feels like a heavy weight on my shoulders as well. He is so intense."

"Every relationship has its up and downs, and every now and then you need to remind yourself what was that made you love him, in order to keep your mind and heart at the same place..."

Caliope smiled "Since when you became such a good therapist?... it is hard to explain, but since I met him, I felt different... it was the strangest and most confusing thing ever! And I know it was a shock for him too..."

Vanessa poured two bottles at the same time, a yellow and a green one. The bubbles increased and Caliope chuckled as she continued "I think things went fast, yes... but the intensity of our feelings helped... Even tho I think there is so much of him I don't know nor understand, and he for sure has a lot of me to learn about... the only real and undisputable fact is, I am not happy away from him, to me it is just as simple as that... and I have tried, trust me... the old independent and self sufficient me has had strong arguments with the new me; the most intense discussions in my head had only end up in my old self giving up... I am better, physically and emotionally, with him around me."

"And that is what I wanted to be sure... I wanted to know if you really were in love... as your best friend, it is my job to make sure you are happy, and no matter how powerful they are, they wouldn't stop me from getting you out of here if you felt just a bit hesitant about all of this."

"Oh Nessa, I do... I love him... and this idea of marriage, to consolidate what destiny has prepared for us, it feels a bit surreal, but I don't care... I want to be with him, in all legal ways possible... by our laws and theirs... and I am so happy my best friend in the world is here and part of this, I couldn't have really done this without you."

Vanessa smiled again and leaned to hug her, not caring how wet she became after their embrace. Once she finally let her go, there were tears in both of them, of joy and gratitude. After a few more jokes around, Vanessa finally let her walk out of the hot tub. She went to the curtains and pulled a bag hidden there, giving it to her.

"What is this?"

"Lingerie, darling... you can't get into a fancy dress in the night of your wedding and not wear something sexy bellow, you must know sooner or later that dress will come out and... ok, I don't want to think on that but you know what I mean..."

She chuckled and hugged Vanessa once more, kissing her on the cheek and whispering Thank you. She opened the bag and pulled a nude toned simple but elegant lace lingerie. After making sure she was completely dried, she stepped in her new lingerie and then allowed Vanessa to wrap her in a different dry towel. Together they came out to the big room where Elaine and Ariadne were waiting for them, both smiling.

"I want to make sure your dress is perfect, so we will put it on you last... now, we need to do your makeup and hair... Ariadne will do your hair, I already asked Vanessa if she was ok with this..."

"But I will do her makeup, no one else is touching her face!"

They all chuckled, Elaine led her to a chair and quickly Ariadne stood behind her, brushing her wet hair. Vanessa sat down in front of her, a big suitcase with an impossible amount of make up, and instantly Caliope gasped.

"You are not putting all of that in me!"

Vanessa chuckled "oh I am! even if I need to tie you on that chair!"

"Nessa!"

Vanessa laughed "I am joking! cheer up a little!"

Caliope sighed and shook her head, Elaine sat next to her and took her hand, caressing it gently as she smiled at her "Do you need me to help you relax? I know you will say no, but... I have to ask..."

Caliope shook her head and smiled at her "All of this is just amazing, I know that if it only depended on me, I would have ended doing some barbecue and that would be all."

"Oh my! no!"

Vanessa nodded "She would have... but only because she just has no clue on how to do this... things are different now, we are doing things... putting together what she likes and her visions about the place, so is coming up better than just a barbecue..."

Caliope chuckled "Oh that I know... the sunset in that hill is beautiful... and I knew that it would be the place for the perfect moment... and I saw you are decorating with my favorite flowers, that is work of art itself... I remember having a few inputs here and there, so I am excited to see the result..."

"You won't regret it... now chin up and stay still, time to put some powder on those cheeks... I said I was joking, but you still are going to get some color in your face..."

Caliope chuckled a bit more but finally stayed still on her chair. Vanessa started to work immediately on her face as the soft fingers of Ariadne started to work on her hair.