9

I made over five hundred pounds of diamonds.

That was almost three hundred thousand of them.

Which was around three billion worth in diamonds… Well, what we would sell them for.

So okay, I was pretty valid in my meltdown and emergency food situation because that was crazy. Even for my magic.

Yes, I stuffed my face silly the next morning to make sure I was okay after that.

Stefanie was a bit off when we went to go look at wedding dresses, and I felt horrible that I was pressuring her into this, but she'd seemed interested in it. Which was why we ended up just staring at each other when I tried on the first one.

She sighed heavily. "I don't know how to do this and make it enjoyable for you. That dress doesn't remotely work when I've seen you be radiant." She gestured to what I was wearing. "And that was the one I loved most in the book. I should not be the one to be here."

"Well, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing either," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. I sighed when she rolled her eyes. "I'm good at styling others , Stefanie. It's harder when it's for myself especially now that everyone will judge me for any little thing and I wanted to elope."

"We need backup," she accepted. "I appreciate you wanting me here for this, but…" She chuckled. "I won't leave. I want to be here, but neither of us are girly girls for this."

"No, we're really not," I agreed. "We'd rather be looking over a collection of fairy blades." I felt better when she nodded. I sighed and grabbed my phone, calling Katrina. "Stefanie and I have no idea what we're doing. If you can keep calm and dial it down to a five on your excitement, I would like if you joined us."

Then I made the call a few more times. All the female commanders showed up, Izzy, Sasha, and Mrs. Von Thann, who seemed shocked to get the call.

Yeah, well, it was hard to call Hudson's mom and not Lucca's, even if I was way tighter with the dragon queen.

They were actually a huge help. We ruled out anything poofy fast. This wasn't something for a huge skirt or too much crazy.

"I don't want a veil when I'm going to be wearing one of my mother's tiaras," I hedged as I looked them over. "I always thought flowers in the hair were pretty, but Julian would want my hair down."

"What about flowers added to the dress?" Talila offered. "You could have different designers in Faerie add soft embellishments to include them."

"You could have a shimmery veil with magic that adds a bit of flare off your tiara," Shael added. "My cousin did that from a flower headdress and it was very pretty. It looked gorgeous in the pictures they took from the camera I had from this world."

I actually liked that, asking her to show me how it would look as I took my hair down. We all agreed it looked great, but I would need to relax my curls a bit. That worked since Julian liked that and me being a bit more natural instead of pristine? I wasn't sure how to say it, but I knew what he liked.

It took four dresses to find the style and five to find the one I loved. It was an off-the-shoulder sheath dress that was honestly simple and sort of plain compared to what else was in the store.

"I love it," Katrina said firmly when she saw my reaction. "Yes, not even a train for a simple gathering that we demanded so you didn't elope."

"Yeah? I can—people won't be mad?" I asked, checking myself in the mirror. I touched the bodice. "I kinda like the idea of some flowers here, but I'm not sure I can see it?"

She was ready and moved by me with some flower hairpieces, showing me where they would be positioned. I really like them on the "sleeves" and front.

I did a double take when she was crying. "Do you not—I can get another dress."

"This is why you were worried," she chuckled, mopping up her face. "You're such a sweetheart you'd wear whatever to make us all happy."

"Well, not whatever," I mumbled, my face flushing. "What's wrong?"

"When you and Julian came into my store that first time—the attraction between you was so—I was so jealous of your young love." She reached out and cupped my cheek. "That man would have walked into Hades for you and it was apparent then. I'm so glad he walked the path to mature and deserve you like he should have."

Once she started, the rest of us did as well. I let them all oooh and ahhh over me before confirming it was what I wanted to buy. We were at a human store since they could accommodate us, but I used one of my barriers to cover what we were saying.

Sasha started laughing when I was done changing out of it and talking to Katrina about the flower idea and which design I liked. I wasn't sure what was going on, but then Izzy started laughing as well.

And then the others.

Katrina and I shared a look before going over by them.

"You're super crazy rich and only you would—" Izzy tried to say in between laughing, not making much sense. But then she tapped the counter and gestured to the register.

I glanced at the woman standing there, clearly understanding what was going on. Then she told me the total including tax and I caught on to what was so funny.

"Only you, my dear," Katrina sighed.

I simply shrugged and handed the woman my card. "He's going to be wearing a hand-me-down suit I picked for him. Again, we wanted to elope. You all demanded to be there."

They still laughed, but I got hugs to thank me for including them.

My phone rang as I finished up and I saw it was Julian, smiling. "Hey."

"I wanted to make sure it went well and I didn't need to kick out any party crashers," he worried.

"It was great, and they're all laughing that I didn't even spend three hundred dollars," I told him.

He was quiet a moment. "I like that we grew up without a lot and still appreciate that. You got what you liked, right?"

"Yeah, it's a bit plain, but I think it's pretty," I answered.

"The woman who will be wearing it shines brighter than anyone or anything in any world, so any dress would look plain next to her. All I care about is if you like it and it's comfortable for me to dance with my bride in."

Even the woman at the counter who clearly heard him swooned.

"Love you," I mumbled and hurried off the phone, smiling when he chuckled because he probably knew I was blushing.

Katrina took my dress and promised she would handle it to my taste with the fairy designers. Also, that she would send me pictures.

Awesome.

I went to wake fairies and was careful to check my magic as I did. I also didn't go through the nearest portal or ones I normally did after. I stayed in Faerie for a bit as I refueled… And drew up battle plans.

But the fun kind that involved food.

I might not be handling anything for the wedding now that I had my dress, but I was helping the dragons give us the gift of food for the Faerie Guardians. Once I had a plan roughly drawn up, I had teams of fairies join me where I was staying.

I had them start at Costco. Easy. Cheap. Good quality.

Had to be ordered in person which was annoying. Ara was heading that team and would teach them how to walk into Costco, show the card, and fill out the form. They wouldn't all have cards, but they had glamour, so they'd be fine. They just needed to fill out the order forms for everything Saturday and fast.

Oh, and cakes. The bakery couldn't make enough dessert for that many fairies plus my reception, and Costco had great cakes. So we were buying them.

Especially when we were ordering from just about every Costco there was. Then it was coordinating where everything would be delivered in Faerie. It wasn't going to be every city because that would get too confusing, but it would still be easy for Guardians to swing by and get food during their breaks or quickly.

We had portals after all. Some could even sneak off with trays for a group of them. I didn't care. I was just working on making this easier for coordination.

After Ara and her team handled all of that, they were going back together with her Costco card and my credit card and buying more pop, water, and drinks than anyone would have thought possible. She said we should also get extra desserts now and put them in the freezers that held the sorbet. We were also going to be having sorbet since that was an easy option to have access to.

I agreed with her and told her to go crazy.

The dragons were handling getting kegs, so that was nice for those off for the day.

Next was every Walmart. Mostly the Supercenters, but they had a nice catering array and wouldn't care to ask questions. They also had donut platters, and someone just had to call in and leave a credit card on file.

Good thing mine had no limit.

So there was a team handling that, mapping out all the pickups, and getting it to the correct spots in Faerie.

Next was Chipotle. They had great catering options of premade burritos or build-your-own bowls bar. Oh, and cool chips and dip spreads. Which we could even order online for pickup.

And we did.

At every single Chipotle in the country.

Smashburger had a build-your-own burger or chicken tenders bar. We got multiple of both.

Wingstop had hundred-piece packs with fries. We got several hundred wings from each location.

Popeyes had catering on lock. Trays of a hundred and fifty pieces of chicken or two hundred tenders. Trays of all the sides and even trays of chicken sandwiches. We talked to the manager of each store and gave the same story that the caterer for the wedding stole our deposit and ran off, so we knew Saturday was last minute, but whatever they could put together would be better than nothing.

They could put together a lot it seemed and most didn't care why.

Fair enough.

I was just glad this wasn't through a human bank or there would be a lot of questions about how much and where I was spending. Seriously.

We ordered party boxes of sandwiches from Jimmy Johns.

Ara told me the drinks were all handled while we were finishing that plus extra desserts, but when we talked sandwiches, it made me realize something. Chips. Yeah, we needed more sides and fillers. Potato salad. Cole slaw.

Fuck.

Potbelly had sandwich packs, mac and cheese for a group, and salads… But they kept pushing where to deliver. It was weird, and I was glad I wasn't the one dealing with the calls.

Once we also ordered from Olive Garden, Applebee's, and On The Border I felt like at least everyone would get something.

And finally, we hit up every BBQ place we knew of. We went with food for fifty at each one and whatever else we could comfortably add. Fairies loved our meat and every Guardian I knew was totally into BBQ.

Plus, sushi. So there was a ton of that ordered as well.

"Okay, I think you did way more than I did for our wedding," Julian mumbled as he walked in with our dinner and saw what we were in the middle of… And barely had made a dent in by then.

"Yes, well, the royal dragons' gift couldn't fall flat when they're our allies especially after all that's happened. Plus, it would ruin our day if people were talking about how there wasn't enough to eat. That would be embarrassing."

"Yes, but they all know it's a gesture, not a buffet they plan to completely fill up on, Tams," Neldor muttered as he glanced around at the boards and maps. "Did you seriously order catering from every Chipotle in the country?"

"Not yet, Your Grace," Wyn grumbled, using his laptop to continue doing just that. "I'm only through about three hundred of them so far. But at least I can do this online. I would hate to be the one doing all of the phone calls."

"I think you should talk to my parents, Tams," Hudson hedged. "She talked to the other queens about how many Guardians there are and they made battle plans as well."

I smiled at him. "I figured. I'm not—I'm not trying to insult them, beastie. I just know how much we eat." I nodded when he gave me a look to trust him and called Sasha… Who wanted to come see it all.

She wasn't the only one. All of the queens were at my house within the hour… And looked affronted.

"Wait, why am I in trouble for helping?" I asked, glancing among them and taking in the mood. "It's not like too much food has ever been a problem for fairies."

Onas snickered. "No matter how much we plan, we always run out and have to get more. Being garbage disposals is our nature."

I gestured to him to say he got it.

"Tamsin wanted to err on the side of caution so no one looked bad or there was talk that there wasn't enough food at her wedding celebration," Hudson said diplomatically. "She offered to help when it was clear none of us knew how many Guardians there are. That was where the conversation left off."

They lost their upset then and Mrs. Diaz took over. "Well, it is last minute, and of course you have too much on your plate. We have been coordinating with others in Faerie, mostly Irma, who has mobilized the hobgoblins and volunteers to help. Since the rest stops will be closed that day. Just about every grill and roaster in Faerie is going to be busy."

Okay, but that was still kind of vague.

Sasha seemed to understand where my mind was and pulled out a fancy notebook. "We've purchased a hundred full pigs, fifty lambs, a thousand turkeys, ten thousand pounds of chicken thighs, five thousand pounds of ground beef, and we've hired two of your best fishers to catch whatever they can in Faerie to be served."

"I thought we were doing more ground beef for burgers?" Mrs. Diaz muttered.

"That's all we have as of now," Sasha replied. "That was the most they could provide, and we didn't like their sausage options."

I nodded. "Wyn start making the bowl options one protein instead of three. Any of that grilled can be tossed on for a richer meal."

"Yes, Your Highness," he mumbled, sounding beaten to the bone.

I really didn't blame him but focused on the others. "Switch the catering to compliment. More salads. More sides instead of meals. Especially Applebee's and Olive Garden. Everything can be tossed on top to have a plate full of num." I thanked them before turning back to the queens. "We can detail all we've done and ordered and fill in with your generous gift."

"We appreciate that, but we can more than handle this, Your Highness," Mrs. Gui said with a tight smile.

Our relationship was strained, so I didn't take offense, but we needed to handle this. "I ate twenty large, heavy fruit tarts yesterday. Just while doing paperwork." I glanced at Hudson. "How many pizzas did I eat after refueling from magic?" I looked at Ara. "How many racks of ribs and pounds of sides did I have in Faerie to recharge?"

"Yes, but you're the heir and use more magic," Sasha hedged.

"Yes, but we're all using our magic to repair Faerie is the point the princess is making, Your Majesty," Onas cut in smoothly. "And you cannot think to have all these helpers and they don't have a sandwich while working or whatnot? The princess is not trying to insult your gift or make it known she helped. She wants to make sure everyone knows the relationship is strong."

"On that note, fruit is covered," Neldor told me. "Teams of fairies who wanted to give you a wedding present but didn't know how worked together and have all of the groves picked and regrown. There will be fresh fae fruit for your wedding and the Guardians."

I glanced at him with a frown. "All of the groves?"

He smiled. "Every grove in Faerie, even the private ones with permission. The farmers market is also Saturday, and they want to make sure it's the biggest ever on your blessed day to show the gods how your marriage is supported by your people."

"That's ridiculously sweet," Sasha whispered.

I nodded, my eyes burning with tears. I glanced at Julian and he blew me a kiss. That really was awesome. I got myself together and looked at Ara. "The teams picking up all the catering at Costco—what about potatoes and corn?"

"That would be lovely to help our gift and easy to throw on the grill," Sasha accepted. "We basically wanted to provide all the meat and beer and the rest allow your people to handle it as they would."

"It's an amazingly generous gift," I said again. "I couldn't even do the quick math of it all and my head not explode. I'm really touched especially that it's not a royal mating but a small wedding."

Mrs. Courtenay pulled out her phone and smiled. "And we have another forty cows fully butchered. Two different ranchers were able to come through with twenty to be picked up Friday."

They jumped in and helped us get everything organized, and the commanders even arranged more teams to help shop and pick it all up. It was a real help, but I shot Julian a look that we were on the same page… And we were annoyed.

This "gift" was a huge fucking hassle, not to mention fucking expensive for me. While I understood that and having to do this for appearance's sake… Just fuck everything.

"So much for getting some honeymoon before the honeymoon," he grumbled as we collapsed into bed later.

I couldn't have agreed with him more.