The twenty eighth day came, and preparations for the wedding rushed onwards in full force. Staff arrived from the Tae holdings to offer assistance, the rust colour of their robes mingling with the navy of the Mina. The official ceremony was to be held in the Mina's ceremonial garden, a sacred, specially maintained plot of land for only rituals of the highest importance. The celebrations afterwards were sure to drag on throughout the night, with invitations extended to even the lowliest of nobles.
Saera waited in anticipation at the front gate. Her hair was neatly pulled away from her face by small braids, and she wore a white robe patterned with pink flowers, a sash cinching it at the waist. Her sandals tapped impatiently on the hard earth floor, and Risa, standing beside her, chuckled.
"It hasn't been so long since you left home," she reminded her.
"Oh, but it feels like it has been," Saera said. "So much has changed."
