Chapter 423: Chapter 423

423 Easily Distracted

Skye listened to Shasta’s horror stories about dealing with Karena as they made their way towards the front courtyard. Shasta wanted to stop and change in her and Lawrence’s quarters, but Skye had a quicker solution in mind. Quickly and quietly pulling Shasta into an empty closet, Skye grabbed a raggedy towel from the shelf..

“What are you doing?! You can’t clean blood out with a rag!” Shasta bellowed.

Skye huffed in annoyance as she focused her Earth magic, and testily replied; “Will ye stop yer yowlin’?! Ima fixin’ yer dress so we dinna gotta waste time back trackin’. Trust me, I got this!”

Shasta growled in a low voice as she bent her ears back in dismay; “Fine! But if it looks like shit, I’m heading back to change..”

Skye nodded her understanding, then asked; “Do ya still want a dress on, or do ya want me ta change it into a dress-pantsuit hybrid?”

Shasta’s whiskers twitched with amusement; “Can you imagine how pissed off Karena would get to see her future beastly sister-in-law dressed like that?”

Skye barked a sharp laugh; “Dinna say that, or you’ll tempt me into actually doin’ it.”

Shasta laughed boisterously as Skye used her magics to clean and repair her friend’s dress. It reminded Skye of when she had first met Maevis and Nicolas, and they had to stay in Warrick Forest for the night. The fight with the Nomads and meeting Petrie seemed so long ago to her now.. ‘I canna believe I’ve been married ta Tidas fer nearly two years now..’

As a soft smile touched Skye’s lips, Shasta chuckled lightly, then said; “I knew you weren’t listening.. I was officially asking you to be my Maid of Honor, and you’re thinking about your idiot husband.”

.....

Skye had just finished repairing Shasta’s dress when she looked up at her, beamed at her, then jumped up and hugged her. She was taken aback by Skye’s sudden affection, but still hugged her future sister-in-law back with a soft grin. As they pulled apart, Shasta placed her hands on Skye’s shoulders, and spoke the words she’d been secretly practicing..

“I know that I’m a catty bitch sometimes-most of the time, but you still reached out to me. You made me realize that while there’s a lot of shit people out there, there’s also some pretty freakin’ awesome ones, too. Ones worth risking myself to find..”

Shasta took Skye’s hand in both of hers before she continued; “I literally beat you so bad that you passed out, and you still wanted to be friends with me.. I just wanted to say thank you for all of it....and sorry for always being snarky. It’s a personality defect..”

Skye smiled softly up until the end. She chuckled at Shasta’s pun, then replied; “I think that ya meant ta say tis just yer personality, but I love ya, too. I had already told ya that right after our fight that I like yer snark...most of the time. I know what kinda person ye are, Shasta, and yer a good one. Dinna let that bitch on a power trip make ye feel otherwise.”

“Why do you think I’m saying this stuff because of Karena?”

Skye shrugged; “Well, ye were talkin’ about her before we came in here, and I know Karena probably almost ruined the idea of a weddin’ for ya.. But that isna a problem anymore! We are gonna getcha everything that ye want! I dinna care if ye want a fountain full of cream: tis yers and Lawrence’s day! I’ll handle Magnus: you get whatever ya want!”

Shasta’s tail began to sway faster as she thought about it, but it soon slumped. She had no idea what was required at a wedding other than the basic facts. The only details that Shasta really knew for sure were what color scheme she wanted, and what she wanted her dress to look like.

Seeing the mix of emotions play across her face, Skye grinned as she stated; “Looks like we need ta double back after all, but not all the way back to yer quarters.. We need the kitchen..”

Shasta flashed a confused expression for a few minutes before she had realized who Skye was talking about..

“Peggy! Of course! She should know all of the little details required for a wedding, right? She can help us figure out what we need to get done now, and what we’ll need to order for later and the like. That’s brilliant, Skye!”

She shook her head in the negative, but kept her smile as she commented; “Actually, Peggy’s the brilliant one in this, not me. I can only remember the superficial stuff, but Peg will know everything required. I wish Marie were here as well, but we’ll just have ta make due til she gets back from Dragonhorn. Was there anythin’ particular that ya wanted?”

Shasta barely had to think before she was saying; “There’s a tradition in Ruscovic that I would like to incorporate into the wedding. I can handle that part myself, but other than that and my dress..”

Skye looked at Shasta with a raised eyebrow; “There’s nothin’ else? I call bullshit.. Ya wouldna fought against Karena so hard if ya didna care about this weddin’..”

Shasta bent her ears back; “Can you Please talk normally? Your speech has gotten ridiculous. How does someone even change their speech pattern like you did? And so quickly?!”

“I dinna ken. All I know is that tis easier fer me ta speak like this versus,” Skye cleared her throat, and changed over to her ‘courtier tone’; “Speaking like this. I have to talk like this in front of the nobles, and the court in general. Do I really have to speak like this in front of you, too?”

Shasta grimaced, not liking the rigidness in her words and voice. She sighed in defeat and told her friend to speak however she liked, which made Skye hug her again. She mostly did it because she was happy, but also because it obviously frazzled Shasta, and she wanted to get her back a little.

Once she had pried Skye off, they opened the door to the closet just in time to see Maevis and Nicolas flying by. They were heading towards the main entrance to the palace, which meant that they were on their way out somewhere. Before Skye could ask, however, Shasta had launched into a description of Skye slapping Karena.

She made it a point to keep her voice down any time someone came near, but Shasta was still far too enthusiastic about the event not to draw attention. When Skye warned them of the loitering gossipers, the four moved down the hallway, and out of the palace. When Nicolas excused himself and flew off, Skye asked if he would be back in time for lunch..

“I’m not sure.. Depends on if he gets what he wants when he gets to where he went,” Maevis replied evasively.

Skye stared at Maevis as the stable hands brought Skye and Shasta’s horses around; “If he gets what he wants from wherever he went, will he be back in time, or will he be later?”

Maevis grinned cheekily; “Oh, sweet lass.. You don’t want to get into a word game with a pixie. We never lose.. But aye, Nic will be back on time if he collects what we paid for.”

“You paid for it, huh? What could-Oh shite! I forgot to pay Murdoc and Amara the money I owe to the other Highlanders! I gotta remember that..”

Shasta clapped her hands together with a frustrated expression; “Hey?! What are we doing?! What are you two even talking about?! We have things to do, so let’s get started!”

Skye nodded, then turned to climb on Thoth when Shasta sighed loudly out of exasperation; “Again: what are you doing?! We still have to go get Peggy!”

Looking around, Skye remembered what it was that they had originally set off to do when they had opened the closet door; “You do realize that You were the one going off to them about what had happened in the ballroom, and led us out here, right?”

Shasta went to say something, but stopped herself, and turned her head to the side to think. As she went over the events, Skye knew that she was right, and added; “S-Stop talking like that: it’s distracting. And I didn’t lead us out her, they did.”

As Shasta pointed at Maevis, she scoffed and replied; “We were heading out here on our own. It’s not my fault that you followed us all the way out here..”

Shasta huffed with irritation plain on her face; “Y-Yes, well, you could’ve stopped to listen. Now we have to go back for Peggy again! Come on, Skye!”

Maevis perked up; “What are you three up to?”

Skye smiled; “Wedding stuff! Wanna come with us?”

“Talk normal!” Shasta yelled at Skye, then looked towards Maevis; “Tell us where Nicolas went, and you can come. Otherwise Skye won’t be focused at all during our shopping trip.”

Skye scoffed; “I would’ve been fine! ...After an hour or so of guessin’..”

Maevis chuckled; “I guess I have to tell you, then.. It’s a present for Zazzy, more or less. It can’t be comfortable for you and Tidas to ride her, and hold on to her scales, so we asked Athena to help with it. You’ll see it tomorrow after the banquet.”

As the three went back up the stairs and into the palace, Skye looked at Shasta and asked; “So what was the other thing ya wanted in the weddin’? We’ll help ya find whatever ya need.”

“What do you still need? Isn’t the wedding a month away?” Maevis asked, confused.

Shasta let out a low growl as she explained how Karena had earned her slap from Skye by taking over. They were heading towards the kitchens as they talked, and saw Peggy coming out just a few feet from them. After Shasta had told her about what’d happened earlier, and why they needed her help, Peggy instantly agreed to help..

“I have two conditions if ye be wantin’ me help.. The first is I want it in Writin’ that that bitch canna interfere with the wedding anymore!”

They all agreed, then Shasta asked what Peggy’s second stipulation was..

Peggy grinned mischievously; “I get to make yer weddin’ dress..”

The three looked at Peggy in silence, waiting for the punchline, but one never came. Once they had realized that she was serious, Shasta bombarded her with questions. After Peggy had answered most of them, and was clearly starting to become irritated, Skye ended the argument..

“Look here, Miss Priss. If ye want Peggy’s help, then this is her deal-breaker. She makes beautiful dresses, and she is the one that made that teal-colored dress I brought from Moonshire. The one that You like so much.. I dinna think you’ll be disappointed.”

Shasta looked Peggy up and down with a worried expression..

“I will agree to your condition, but understand this, Peggy: if you mess up my wedding dress, you’ll be finding hair balls on your carpet and in your shoes for the rest of your life..”