Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Prissy POV

I awake in my room. I feel much better. Everyone is making too much of a fuss over me. Everyone needs to focus on the wedding, Willow, and the children being safe. There is no time for fussing over me.

I get out of my bed. I need to get dressed and help Willow continue to plan her wedding. There is too much at stake to waste time. After she is married to Lazarus, maybe they will leave her alone. Once they both transition into hybrids, they will both be safe. They will be far more powerful than any one of the council members or those who choose to try to stop this union.

“Mother, you need to stay in bed,” Lazarus says as he enters my room.

“My son needs to learn to knock,” I say to him.

“Sorry, mother. I assumed you would still be resting,” Lazarus says.

“Well, you assumed wrong. We still have a wedding to plan,” I say.

“About that,” Lazarus begins.

“The wedding goes forward,” I demand.

“Yes, Mother, but we thought we would have someone come and marry us tonight,” Lazarus says.

“What did the council say?” I ask.

“Willow has decided not to tell the council until after we are married,” Lazarus says.

“I like her. She has balls,” Prissy says.

“Mother, such language for a lady,” Lazarus says jokingly.

“You know it is true. The girl has spunk,” I say.

“That she does,” Lazarus says.

“It was Lester and his goons that took the children. He hit me on the head, but I saw him. He will not stop until he ends this union,” I say.

“We know. It is important to Willow that we do this tonight. Then she can focus on getting the children back,” Lazarus says.

“She needs to focus on the crown. You need to focus on getting her siblings safe no matter where or how,” I say.

“Maybe you should tell Willow that,” Lazarus says.

“I will speak with her. Who will be here tonight?” I ask.

“Only you, me, Willow, and a priest,” Lazarus says.

“Well, when things settle, we can have a big wedding for the two of you,” I say.

“I do not think the bid wedding is important to her. She only wants us to be married quickly,” Lazarus says.

“That was the original plan. We had agreed it would happen immediately after Willow arrived, but then hell arrived behind her,” I say.

“That it did,” he says.

“The rouge members of the tribe will settle once the wedding takes place and she is crowned,” I say.

“I hope so. Willow has more than enough on her plate,” Lazarus says.

Lazarus and Willow are both right. This wedding needs to take place now. I will do what I can to help her prepare.

“Go be with your bride to be. Leave me to dress. I will be down in a few to help,” I say.

“I will tell her you will be joining her for breakfast. Mother, there is something you should know,” Lazarus says.

“What is it, son?” I ask.

“Toby attacked her last night. He was working with Lester,” Lazarus says.

“No, there is no way. He has been with us for so long,” I say.

“She is fine. She only wants to get past all of this,” Lazarus says.

“I will be done shortly,” I say.

Lazarus leaves me to dress. I am not a frail old fairy-like, they think. I have a lot of spunk myself. I now have to help Willow prepare for her wedding. I wonder if the two will allow me to have a wedding party for the two of them after things settle. We can invite all of the tribes, both vampires and fairies. Maybe we could finally have some unity.

I dress quickly. I go into my bathroom to look at my head. I have some slight bruising, nothing too drastic. Maybe no one will notice. If they do, they will not say anything. There is no need to worry. The focus is not on me today.

I go out of my room. I take the stairs down to the kitchen. I need to eat for energy for the day. I know Willow, and I are going to be swamped today to get everything in order. I have to remember she wants everything simple. I am sure if I overstep, she will let me know.

I walk into the kitchen. Willow is waiting on me before she eats anything. She looks up to see me. Her face lights up.

“Prissy, I am so happy to see you are up and moving around. I was so worried about you,” Willow says.

She rushes to me. She wraps her arms around me. “Careful,” I say to her.

“Oh, I am sorry. Are you okay?” Willow asks.

“I am good. I’m a little sore from lying in that bed too long. Thank you for sitting with me yesterday,” I say to her.

“I made us pancakes, and I poured some orange juice,” Willow says.

“She cooks,” I say jokingly to her.

“She does,” Willow says.

“Everything looks good,” I say.

“I tried. I did not know where everything was, but I was able to wing it,” Willow says.

“Lazarus tells me that there is to be a wedding tonight,” I say.

“Yes, I have not said anything to anyone. Lazarus gave some of the staff the day off. We do not want anyone to find out. We invited a priest over to discuss marrying us on Saturday. He does not know why he is coming,” Willow says.

“Sounds good. What can I do to help?” I ask.

“You can help me get ready tonight. I will need help getting into my dress. One other thing, I know it is not traditional, but I thought you could give me away,” Willow says.

“I would be honored. Are you sure you want to wear my dress?” I ask.

“Yes. I am planning to attach purple ribbons to it,” Willow says.

“Do you have shoes?” I ask.

“I am planning to be barefoot like the early tribes married,” Willow says.

“It sounds like you have everything planned out,” I say.

“We talked for a while last night about all of this. Lazarus thought it was a good idea to get married in secret. The council will have to deal with it,” Willow says.

“That they will. I am sure the council will understand why you are doing it this way,” I say.

“I hope so. I promise you can plan the biggest wedding party after,” Willow says.

“That would make me happy,” I say.

“Willow not to pry, but have you and Lazarus discussed children?” I ask.

“We have. We decided we would start trying as soon as we are married,” Willow says.

“What about your transition?” I ask her.

“After the coronation, we both plan to start our hybrid transition,” Willow says.

“I will be here for you both, but after everything is done, I think I will move on,” I tell her.

“Why?” She asks.

“You two do not need me hanging around. You need to start your lives,” I tell her.

“Prissy, as queen, I will not have it. I want you to stay here,” Willow says.

“As queen, you are going to make it a royal decree,” I ask her.

“As a matter a fact, I am. I decree that Prissy is to stay with us as long as she wants,” Willow says.

“Then so it shall be,” I say.

“Willow, my dear, you have more grit than I thought. I am so happy you are the one Lazarus is marrying,” I say.

We finish breakfast. There is a lot to do. I plan to help her take care of everything today, no matter what it is.