Operation Phoenix

Chapter Twenty-One

Merida had endured pinchy heels, tight, scalp-pulling hair-dos and suffocating corsets. She'd spent nearly all day listening to Honey Lemon's suggestions, trying to be as polite as possible, but when the woman brought out a wedding dress complete with pearls, frills and puffy ruffles of lace, she drew the line. She hadn't even wanted a big wedding, and this was proving to be larger than she'd ever imagined. Not only were her parents not going to be there, but a bunch of random people from Lighthouse were accompanying—like it was some sort of sport, or play set up just for them.

"Stop!" Merida shouted as the dress seamstresses jumped and fluttered about, nearly hiding from the redhead's sudden outburst. "Thes es wae too much! I don't want any ef thes!" She exclaimed breathlessly, her hands bunching up in her many, many curls. It was all so stressful, and it felt so overwhelming to have millions of garments and different colored shoes shoved in her face. She'd been a runner for so long, she'd forgotten that people who aren't in constant fear of death, worry about trivial things—like what color napkins to use or whether 'eggshell white' is more flashy than 'ivory white'.

"Oh," Honey Lemon said understandingly. She could tell that the bride-to-be had not been enjoying herself, so Honey was doing everything in her power to do something she thought Merida might like. It was actually rather helpful that she'd finally admitted how she felt, though a little over dramatically. "That's alright, just tell us what you would like and we'll start getting everything for you."

Merida had not expected that answer. "Wait, really?" She asked, a little taken aback. The woman before her seemed like someone who knew exactly what do and when—at least it looked that way when she was laying out the plans. She'd been holding her tongue for so long, worried that Honey was going to burst out with another angry response like 'I'm just trying to be nice!' Or 'I just don't want you to look stupid!'—but that was not the case.

"Yes of course!" Honey Lemon smiled, "It is your special day after all. What do you want your dress to look like?"

Merida thought a moment. She wasn't exactly someone who went for the extravagance and excessive frills. "I want ah simple, green dress. An-an I want all theh other girls teh wear casual stuff."

"Got it."

"Let Hiccup choose teh wear whatever he wants. Ets our special day, not jest mine. I don't care ef et doesn't match." She stated firmly, looking quite confident in her decisions. She knew exactly what she wanted and she was getting it. "I want only theh staff members who helped out teh be there—and mah best friends ef course."

"Rapunzel and Jack? Will they be your—"

Merida nodded vigorously. She was aware that Zel and Jack were not getting along, in fact they were all very aware, but she was hoping that this 'best man' and 'maid of honor' position would help them move it along. If she was being honest, she could see from both their perspectives of the argument, and it bothered her that they couldn't just make up and move on. They were always the two that got along the best out of the whole group, they never, ever fought but the night before only proved that there's a first for everything. More than even cake tasting, Merida only wanted to see them okay again—and she hoped that they'd have already moved passed it by the time her and Hiccup got home for the evening.

According to Hiccup, Jack did not look very good this morning.

"How's this?" Honey Lemon asked, holding up a pretty, emerald green dress. It went to the floor, was loose and had a small V neck line. It had originally been a bridesmaid's dress, but the blonde had figured it would help put the casual mood into place.

Merida nodded while she crossed her arms in her seat, watching as the other seamstresses rushed about the room, pulling garments from racks and hangers. It felt weird, having so many people move for you—almost unnatural. Mer was so used to doing things herself, she hadn't expected others would actually be gathering things for her. In truth, it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She was a well made, independent woman who relied mostly on herself to do anything and everything, so having all those people scuttle around the floor like mice at her command only made her feel... almost bad.