They set off for the manor.
Eighty Two
Over at the great hall, Maraid, who had spent a great deal of time and effort in the planning, preparation and execution of such an important celebration, was in full flight making sure it all happened as she had predicted. She'd thought wistfully of her own wedding, and given full rein for this one, wanted it to be spectacular. While she hadn’t foreseen any problems in her scrying, she was leaving nothing to chance. Mac’s flunkies were being harassed into complete submission, in preparing the flowers, the food, the hall for the ceremony, and later for the translation into a banqueting hall.
Last minute decorations were being fixed into place. Great wreaths of greenery bedecked the hall, with the Anderson blue being used for ribbons over the objections of MacLauchlan sensibilities, white roses were everywhere, and swathes of blue and white silk hung from the ceiling to the sides of the hall, giving it the impression oddly of a tent.
The Romanov two-headed eagle was much in evidence, the gold glinting against the blue and white background, and adding an element of bling in what was looking a bit like a country fair. Chairs in rows fanned out from a central red carpet, sweeping up to the dais where the ceremony would be held.
The Anderson crest was also in evidence, and each chair on either side had the relative crest on its back. Celtic knots were also much in evidence. As Anna’s friends were also Jamie’s, there would be no segregated seating, however, some standards had to be maintained, as Maraid protested when Mac had pointed out the inconsistency, not to mention the cost.
Mac's fits in public about the lavish expense, had reigned in some of Maraid’s more outlandish fancies. In private, he thought it a fair investment to showcase the Scots power in the region, its standing in Hunter’s Run society, and its setting of cultural standards.
Mac’s wife, Martha, had been thankful her duties at the hospital had meant she'd not been sucked into the whirlpool of wedding planning and preparations. Anna and Jamie had only arrived back on the Scots World a week before from Hunter Prime, and so had also been spared, although Anna was completely taken aback by the lavish spectacle. Even though she’d been kept up to date with the details, she hadn’t really been paying much attention.
She'd opposed the all-white puffed up concoction of a gown which would have made her look like a meringue, and had taken this part of the proceedings onto herself to organise. She was after all, pregnant, and showing considerably, and so while it was British tradition to wear white as a sign of purity, she had done her own research and was going to surprise everyone, much to Maraid’s dismay and surreptitious scrying.
"They should be on their way by now," said Maraid to Mac. "No not there, you fool, over there," she called to a flunky who was carrying a large vase of flowers, and changed direction suddenly according to her sweeping gesture, causing the arrangement to dip alarmingly. "I’ll see Anna is ready, and you attend to the guests."
She straightened her dress, adjusted her corsage, and patted her upswept hair. Guests were just entering the hall after gathering on the lawn, and in the gardens. Mac sighed, and moved over to where Jane was standing at the top of the hall, dressed in a smart suit jacket and skirt in the Hunter red, with her Admiral insignia on her shoulders, and a tiara of diamonds set in gold, in her hair. It was more than a circlet, but less than a crown.
The diamonds were genuine ones from the earth of the Australian sector, given to her by Jon well over a year before, in case she needed hard currency, left behind in Gaia as she'd been. She'd decided the occasion warranted using them, and had found someone to make her a proper symbol of her civilian rank.
Maraid made her way through the mayhem behind the scenes in the kitchens, checking as she went, and up the stairs to the room Anna and her party were using as a dressing suite.
Expecting mayhem, she was surprised to see the bridesmaids were sitting quietly, sipping sparkling wine, and happily chatting with each other.
Patters was wearing her own fur, neatly groomed, and a cloak of the Anderson blue, while Jenny and Lyana were wearing different styles of gown, also in blue. Sissness was wearing a specially designed cat gown, also in Anderson blue. Seasprite had been part of the design, and was also going to be wearing something similar, only in a unique colour.
Dodgers had wanted to be a part of the groom’s party, but had been vetoed by Maraid. She'd been encouraged to shift her suit to something more gown like, but she was damned if she'd cover up her feathers, and so she was wearing a new specially designed bandolier, in the Anderson blue, over her natural feathers.
Lyana was quite bemused by the fuss of it all, but there was no way she was going to let Fred be partnered by some random floozy, even if there were only two human bridesmaids. She'd met Jenny for the first time only a short time ago, and while no floosy, she wasn't letting her near Fred. It was a rare occasion for her to be wearing a dress of any kind, but she was making concessions for a good cause. If the team started sniggering when they saw her, they'd regret it.
There was however, no sign of Anna.
"Where’s Anna?" snapped Maraid. "The guests are being seated now, and the groom’s party will be here shortly." She looked around anxiously. "She can’t be seen by the groom before the wedding, it’s bad luck."
The others all looked at each other, unconcerned.
"I think she just stepped out for something," replied Sissness. "I wouldn’t worry, she can’t be far."
"It’s your job as bridesmaids to look after her," scowled Maraid, and she rushed out of the room, with the girls looking after her in bemusement.
Maraid searched the nearby rooms, but there was no sign of Anna. Where could she be? She couldn’t be getting cold feet could she?
She quickly descended the main staircase, and met up with Mac. Mac was just moving to meet Fitzy, who was a guest, but was also coordinating the Hunter’s Run, Grand Mother, Scots World, and Mac’s own security forces, at Mac’s request.
"The bride’s done a runner!" she cried, with some dramatic license, as she didn’t really know this was the case.
"I’m sure she’s fine," placated Mac. "Are ye sure ye shouldn’t just calm down, have a drink, and relax?"
Mac winced, as he instantly regretted saying this.
"Calm down! Don’t ye tell me tae calm down!"
"Mother, everything is running like clockwork," he said, putting a firm hand on her arm. "She’ll turn up o’ course. This place is tighter than a duck's …, well, security is tight, let’s just say. Even if she wanted tae make off, she’ll nae get far."
Maraid took a deep breath. And let it out slowly. Calm. She must stay calm.
Mac spied the Grand Mother on her gravity sled moving slowly up the aisle. A special place had been made available close to the front on the Bride’s side. Thank goodness, just in time. He ushered Maraid quickly to greet the Grand Mother, and made his way to find Fitzy.
Maraid went into full flight as the Grandmother of the Bride, as she liked to think of herself, even though she was the Grand-aunt of the groom as well.
"So lovely to see you again," she exclaimed, as if they hadn’t been conversing every day for the last week, since the Grand Mother had arrived.
Mac made his escape, and left the ushers to their work of escorting guests to their seats. Seat swapping was happening rapidly and without fuss, as seats for non-human guests were needed in places where they hadn’t been put.
Fitzy was wearing his dress uniform suit, with a heavily embroidered cloak. He spied Mac, and turned from briefing some security people, whose suits looked like proper suits and dresses, so they would blend in, who he'd greeted as guests, and quietly updated their orders. They disappeared into the crowd.
Security for the wedding had been a nightmare, but was as Mac had said, tight. Not even Fitzy knew Holmes was overviewing everything, literally, from cams placed more than everywhere. He hadn’t put in an appearance, since there was so much to view, it was taking all his attention. He was
spending a lot of time going in and out of AI mode, and carefully examining single frames from each cam.
Anna, far from being a runaway bride, was taking a moment to herself to think. The only calm place in the house seemed to be the roof, behind the fake battlements. It was a glorious view of the surrounding park and gardens, and away to the city in the distance. It did play havoc with her hair arrangement, but she had kept it perfectly simple, and wore it as she always did. She had acquiesced to Maraid’s request she wear a veil, which was down in the dressing room. As was her wedding dress. She felt a bit sorry she'd kept it such a secret from Maraid, who'd done everything she could to get her to show her before the day.
She could see all the guests arriving from here, which was enormous fun, and while she still thought a quiet wedding would have been more her style, she was thrilled, and somewhat nervous at the number of people and beings who'd come.
She'd listened to Maraid, who'd said she had to have a whole series of things about her person. Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, with a silver coin in her shoe. A bit uncomfortable really. And some sort of garter thing she was supposed to throw at people. How quaint.
Maraid had lent her some beautiful drop earrings, in platinum with diamonds, which was both old and borrowed. The Talisman would be new, even though it was also very old. The blue was her suit belt, in Anderson tartan, hardly noticeable, but connecting to Jamie's colours. There was no way she was wearing some old garter though. There seemed to be a lot of throwing involved, as she was supposed to carry a bouquet of flowers, and throw it at people as well.
She hoped Jamie had recovered from his stag night. What crazy rituals the Scots had. Evidently his friends had taken him out on a night on the town, got him drunk, put up with his bad jokes, and put him to bed. She'd thought they would have tied him up naked to a lamp post at least, which seemed to be part of the tradition. Or perhaps they had, and no-one was saying.
A car pulled up, and she caught her breath. Was it Jamie?
She’d better hurry.
She ran down the stairs to the dressing room, and the girls helped her get dressed. When she was ready, she kissed the bridesmaids each, and smiled at them broadly. They were to wait for Mac to come and get them, so they could make their big entrance. What a play it all was, Anna thought. After the ceremony, there would be a banquet, with a torchlight procession, and fairy lights everywhere in the garden, and dancing, and then Jamie and she would go off together in a carriage drawn by special grey horses. She had tried to tell Maraid it was a step too far, but she couldn’t budge her. After all, what could it hurt?
Eighty Three
Jamie was standing in a ditch, up to his dress shoes and socks in mud. The driver must have been a kind-hearted sod, he thought, as he’d swerved to miss a deer which had run into the road at the last moment, and they were now in a ditch as a result. No-one was hurt, and he’d pinged for backup, with Warspite communicating directly with Jane. But it had seemed more expedient to try and get them out and get on, rather than wait for another car, and Jamie was a bit impatient.
"One, tae, three, heave!" he cried, as they all tried to lift the front of the car out of the mud, and with Warspite not appearing to exert any more effort than anyone else, the car slid back onto the road.
Warspite could have done it himself, but Jamie hadn’t given it a thought before he'd jumped out with everyone following him, and positioned themselves for the lift. It had amazed him completely at how accepting Jamie was of what he was, as seen by Jamie completely forgetting the strength he had. Everyone knew what he was of course, but it was as if they'd just forgotten, which in itself, was a form of acceptance. For the AI's, it was a brave new world.
The fauna loving driver was playing a game on his tablet, oblivious.
Before they could pile back in, they heard another car coming from the same direction as they had, and looked up as it screeched around the bend. Going at a speed well above the limit, it whooshed through the mud as they stood at the side of the road, and sent up a wave of dirty water. Even though they jumped back, they were still splashed with water and mud, and watched in disbelief as the car disappeared up the road.
Just as they were surveying the damage, another car came racing behind the first, this time a police car, with the same result. Their sartorial splendour had been severely compromised. Warspite, Fred, and Snark were fine, as they were wearing suits rather than clothes, but the others were cursing and trying to brush off dirt from their kilts and jackets, not to mention being soaked. They stood there, trying to get the worst of the damage off their clothes, before getting back into the car.
Warspite and Jamie both pinged ahead to let the house know of the police chase.
They heard a car coming from the opposite direction. It was speeding and not slowing, and they all jumped out of the way, as the first car came back the other way, at the same speed, with the same results.
"What the …" said Jamie, as he wiped a splash from his face.
They all got out of the way as the police car also followed at alarming speed on the tight corner.
"Everybody in, now," commanded Fred, and they all piled in.
"Just get me tae the church on time," said Warspite happily, in a Scottish lilt, and the others looked at him in surprise.
Warspite had recalled an old Earth musical in his files, and was finally getting into the spirit of the day. Snark held his grin in, with great difficulty.
They set off again.
Eighty Four
Maraid took one look at the sodden groomsmen, and let out a wail of despair. Mac hurriedly ushered them to a downstairs cloakroom, and bathroom. Fred caught Warspite and Snark's eyes, nodded, and the three of them shifted their suits, all the water and mud falling to the floor. Fred grinned, Warspite followed, and Snark saluted Jamie, the three of them walking out, leaving Jamie to think using suits was maybe the better idea after all.
Mac provided fresh socks and cleaning aids for the others. Maraid fussed about trying to remove stains from kilts and jackets, but she was more like a clucking hen getting in the way, than affecting any improvements. Finally, Mac asked her to let the bride’s party know what was happening. With her gone, the men affected an almost miraculous transformation, and followed the first three out.
Mac looked at Jamie with a grin, and slapped him on the back.
"Ready?"
"Ready!" returned Jamie.
The groom and his party made their way to the front of the hall, stopping to greet friends as they went, responding to some banter about keeping the bride waiting, and stood in place, facing the dais, Jamie nearest the aisle, and Snark next to him as best man.
Just as Jamie was taking a deep breath, the drone of a piper could be heard outside the hall. The drone became a wheeze, and then a skirl as the pipes started to sound 'The Cradle Song'. There was a gasp from the guests as the piper came into view in full regalia, followed by the bridesmaids one by one. Jamie turned, and looked for his first sight of Anna.
There was a slight pause, and the piper, standing to one side of the dais where Jane was waiting, started to play 'The Rowan Tree'. Everyone turned to the back, where Anna appeared holding Mac’s arm.
Even though Jamie knew how beautiful Anna was, he was slightly taken aback. She was a vision in silver and white, her black hair straight over her shoulders and down her back, a silver circlet in her hair holding a shimmering but simple veil of almost transparent white, shot with silver, which was pulled back over her head and cascading down, as she’d told him she wouldn’t be into a modesty display, and the 'revealing' of the bride’s face nonsense.
The gown was modest, fitting, but shimmering with a silver over gown and a white under gown, stretching behind her in a short train.
And around her neck the Destiny Stone glowed, multi-coloured in its setting in the Amulet of Truth, the Talisman of Tomorrow.
Jamie swallowed, and remembered to breathe. Anna smiled at him, and he
smiled back, suddenly not nervous at all.
They came up beside Jamie, and Mac, resplendent in the MacLauchlan colours, kilt and all, stood aside, and joined Martha and Maraid, who was already sniffing and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
Jane addressed the room.
"Welcome everyone to this happy occasion. It is my great pleasure to be officiating at this wedding in my capacity as Queen of Hunter’s Run."
She gazed out at the room filled with most of her friends, family, and some important guests indeed, from across three sectors and more, indicative of the strong bonds which had been forged over the last few months. The guests were more than two thirds human, but the alien species were spread through the entire crowd. It was what she wished, but hadn't needed to try and organise. The Kingdom was truly multi-species in nature, and it reflected well with a crowd such as this not resorting to clumping by species.
All of the Dukes were here with their families, her Hunter family was here en-masse, and many of the sector ten council ambassadors had attended, including the other top fifteen species ambassadors. To her surprise, so had the ambassadors from sectors eight, nine, and eleven. Even the Human Federation ambassador was here.
"All of you know Jamie and Anna, and their quest to find the Talisman of Tomorrow. This great venture, and the events which followed, have brought us all together here for their wedding. Family and friends, both new and old, to celebrate their love. But this is also a symbol of the Kingdom of Hunter's Run, of our acceptance of diversity, and our ability to love each other without reservation. That so many from sector ten and beyond have also attended gives up great hope for the future."
A.I. Destiny 6 Leader Jane Page 23