The Ambassador's Daughter

Chapter 42

Despite what she said, Louise found it difficult to plan her wedding. Bucky seemed to be content with the idea of an intimate ceremony consisting of the two of them and the officiant, neither Steve nor Louise liked this plan. Steve wanted a blow-out similar to the birthday party ball T'Challa had organized months ago, neither Louise nor Bucky liked this plan. Louise wanted a modest affair, and as the bride she knew she'd probably win. The problem was she didn't know where to begin her planning, and Steve, Bucky and T'Challa were no help.

Louise would hole up in her room for hours and try to plan something, but she would emerge frustrated and snappish, but no closer to having anything definitively planned. Oh, she had lots of ideas, but she didn't know how to pull it all together into a cohesive event. She tried to bring Bucky in, but as their ideas of what the day should look like, that wasn't very helpful.

One day, Louise slipped from her room and went down to the ballroom. She was feeling very discouraged and lonely. She sat down at the piano in the orchestra pit and gently began to coax a tune from the keys. She closed her eyes and let the music flow from her. Her fingers danced across the ivories until she hit a sour note. "Well, that obviously should have been a C sharp."

Louise smiled sardonically, keeping her eyes closed as she repeated the phrase again. "Clint Barton, you are so tone deaf! There isn't a C sharp here." Suddenly, her hands stopped moving and her eyes flew open. She spun around and with a shriek of delight threw herself across the room and into Clint's arms. Clint laughed and hugged her tightly. "Where's Laura?" Louise asked, pulling back.

Clint Looked hurt, "No, 'Hi, Clint', no, 'What's up, Clint', no 'What are you doing here, Clint'? Just 'where's Laura?'" Louise playfully punched him in the stomach. He grabbed her hands and laughed. "She's currently interrogating your intended. Trying to see if he's good enough for you."

"Where?" Louise demanded. Clint shrugged and motioned towards the rest of the palace. Louise ran for the door dragging Clint behind her. "Show me!" They didn't have to go far to find Laura and Bucky in the garden. Bucky was smiling, but in a reserved way that Louise had come to recognize as his get me out of here smile. "Laura!" Louise screamed and came flying across the garden. She flung her arms around her cousin. As the girls hugged tightly, Bucky quietly slipped further into the gardens. Louise hid her smile in Laura's shoulder.

"What are you guys doing here?" Louise demanded.

Clint laughed and leaned against a tree, "You think that Laura would stay in America once she got word that her favourite cousin was getting married in Wakanda and that her family had abandoned her?"

Laura shot a look at her husband. "I just thought that maybe you might be able to benefit from my experience."

"Oh!" Louise cried, "This is perfect! I need your help! I can't seem to get any plans down." Laura nodded.

"I had the same problem when I started planning my wedding, but then I went home for a weekend and had some time with my mother and the wedding came together like a dream." She took Louise's arm and led her back into the palace, discussing colors. Clint shook his head and turned and followed Bucky into the garden.

With Laura's help and focus, Louise was able to plan the wedding in a few weeks. The guest list was the last thing to be planned and ironed out. Louise and Laura agreed on an intimate gathering. After discussing it with Bucky, they decided to invite Louise's mother, Natasha Romanov, Steve, and Team Cap and T'Challa.

As soon as she received her invitation, Natasha showed up. She helped with little details in decorations and meal planning. At first Louise didn't know what to make of Natasha, but after seeing the enthusiasm with which she threw herself into planning her ex's wedding, Louise couldn't help but love her. With Laura and Natasha to help, the wedding came together quickly. It was with confidence that Louise told Bucky that she could have everything set up and ready to go by the end of the next month.