"So, you still want to go through with it?" Ajax asked with a smile towards Lara who had just wiped her eyes.
"Yes. I'm not going to let my parents ruin our Moon Ceremony. Besides, we'll have to wait another cycle until we can do it again." She replied with a faint smile, but one she was able to muster well regardless of the circumstance.
"What about Metas? I know Jyriah and Joss don't mind doing it without Myranda, but how are you going to feel if he isn't there?" He asked and reached out to move a strand of hair from her face as she sat on their large bed, and he knelt down in front of her so he could gaze up at her sullen posture.
"He owes me. I'll convince him one way or the other...." Lara began cryptically.
"Oof. I don't know, apparently he and Myranda are really stepping into their role. You think he won't get mad?" He answered playfully.
"You could give Metas the keys to the world and he'd still be himself. Trust me. He'll be there. The wedding party is so totally off, though. We broke so many taboos, and you know how I feel about that whole thing...it's a big deal... I'm only doing it once, so it should be perfect." Lara replied thoughtfully and fully sure of herself.
Ajax loved that about her. He loved everything about her. He smiled and leaned in to rest his head in her lap so he could be close to her and their baby. "I'm so excited you're pregnant, Snow. You're going to be a fantastic mother."
"You're not scared anymore? I thought you weren't ready to be a dad?"
"Nah. We won a revolution. I turned into a giant wolf thing.... I think I can handle parenting...."
"I think you can, too."
The silver-haired wolf gently stroked his mate's growing belly and then gave it a kiss. It was odd to feel so sure and stable. He'd never had it in his life, and it was hard to adjusting to it for some reason. Almost like an imposter-- but he was a true, real, dignified Prince. Now he just needed to cozy into his title like everyone else seemed to be able to do.
His thoughts were about to spiral, but luck would have it that there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," both mates said together in unison.
Jyriah poked his head in and looked astonished. He spoke with a tone to match, too. "Did you guys practice that or something? That was weird."
"You're weird." Lara shot back playfully and then stuck her tongue out at him.
"Proudly. Hey, Jhinto says its getting about that time. He says we need to get going in order for everything to work - so chop chop."
"Has Metas changed his mind at all?" Ajax asked in hopes it would take some stress off of Lara.
"Yeah, no." Jyriah replied with a sigh.
"Well too bad. He's about to." The snowy female asserted and motioned for Ajax to move so that she could get up.
"Where are you going?" Jyriah asked.
"Attending to my best friend. We'll all meet you down there." She answered with finality and nearly marched down the hallway she was so full of determination.
"Is she going to be okay?" The coal-fired wolf asked as he watched the wolf in white walked down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.
"Oh yeah, they're best friends. Pretty much siblings, really. Lara and Metas go back further than she and I do. Her parents loved rubbing elbows with the old regime, so Lara practically grew up in this castle." Ajax answered without care and put his hand on Jyriah's shoulders to guide him towards the Moon Chamber.
"If she doesn't show up with Metas, I'll be surprised. Let's go wait for them." He added and steered his friend out of the bedroom.
Lara wasn't going to take no for an answer, even if she had to wait for her own Moon Ceremony for another cycle. It didn't matter to her -- what mattered was being able to finally have her happy ending along side her best friend. They had both dreamed of this moment, and they had always planned on doing it together.
Her brisk knock on the door was met with silence for a moment, but then she heard Metas call out through the thick wood.
"Lara - shouldn't you be going down to the Moon Pool?"
"Nope. Not without you. We made this promise a gazillion times, and you're just going to /not/ do it? I refuse. You get your royal ass out here right now and bring Myranda -- we're all going to dip our rings together - like. we. planned."
The Princess Consort /swore/ she could hear the King laugh at her, and it caused her to dart her eyes and cross her arms in stubborn defiance. "Are you laughing at me?"
"Maybe," the Alpha replied with more of a light-hearted tone than before.
"Fuck off - get out here or I'm going to break the door down!" She shouted and went to bang on the door once more, but before her knuckled could hit the solid object, it opened.
"You fuck off first," Metas answered cheekily and grinned at her.
When he opened the door, he was dressed in his best suit, and had even styled his black hair back behind his ears and in a nice low ponytail. He looked handsome to her for the first time - it was like overnight he had evolved from her younger brother/best friend into a full-fledged King.
"...I was kidding... You can close your mouth now," he frowned at her expression which was just her mouth agape.
"No, it's just....wow.... Look at you all grown up. I'm going to cry - like right now." She replied and fanned her face. Her words were true, though - she did indeed begin to form tears in her eyes as her smile grew on her face.
"Don't cry, you'll ruin your ceremonial paint," he pointed out with a smile and reached out to pull her into a large hug.
"Did you really think I was going to skip out on a promise?"
"...Yes..." she sheepishly answered.
"Hah. I was. Mandy and I had long talk last night, and when I brought up our deal, she insisted I go through with it. She's waiting for both of us at the Moon Pool. Well, she was waiting for me - she thought you'd already be there. Wanted to surprise you," he revealed and again smiled widely.
"You suck!" Lara shouted out with relief and reached out to smack his chest. "I'm going to repay you for this somehow, you amazing jerk. Come on, let's go solidify our bonds with our mates. I've waited way too long for this, and I really didn't want to wait another cycle..."
"You really would have waited?" Metas asked with a bit of surprise.
"Yes, you dumb-dumb. A promise is a promise is a promise - now let's go. We're going to run out of time." She directed, and without asking she grabbed his wrist and pulled him with her into the hallway.
To say onlooking castle staff was shocked at the King's laughter in response to such a bold move was an understatement. It was unheard of for anyone other than the Luna to touch the Alpha - but then again, this was a new day.
This was a new era.