CHAPTER 550: WEDDING PREPARATIONS (1)

They all celebrated throughout the rest of the day. Lilith and Adam’s announcement significantly raised everyone’s morals, wiping away any depressed or fearful thought.

After an hour, Hestia arrived too, and soon the smell of freshly cooked food filled the lounge room’s air. At some point, James and Mary came back as well, and finally, the entire friend group gathered together.

Valerie turned on some classical music and began singing in a slurred, drunk voice. Her wife desperately tried pushing her off the coffee table, but the giantess didn’t relent and continued her melody.

A few couples danced around a wide empty space, where once a large table stood... Lucy destroyed the table accidentally, then using her power, made all the evidence disappear...

The kids also danced. Vicky and Henry moved with grace and dignity, doing a slow waltz, which matched the music’s rhythm. Lin, Lydia and Thea tried imitating a group dance, but since none of the three knew how, they looked like a bunch of drunkards tripping over each other’s feet.

Nick and Jo tried dancing as well. The young boy kept glancing at his older sister and tried his hardest to copy her every move.

Little Josephine just stared at her feet and struggled to keep herself standing. Luckily, whenever she would’ve fallen over, Nick’s unnaturally firm hands caught the young girl.

Most people, including Sera and Bea, watched the group’s youngest dance with wide grins. Their eyes glowed with cuteness overload as they giggled and chatted.

The mood stayed high during the day and night, but it became even higher when Yvonne convinced James to change the music. With a few clicks on his watch, the calm classical music disappeared, and suddenly loud blaring guitars and drums filled the air.

Valerie glanced around in confusion, then a wide grin spread across her face. Elizabeth, upon seeing that expression, sighed and sat beside Luzia, Thea’s mother, with a bottle of alcohol in her hand.

Cheers went up as multiple people jumped to their feet and began dancing to the music. A moment later, Valerie’s singing rejoined the music, but she adapted her voice... She basically screamed her lungs out, which somehow made the music sound better...

The adults danced and jumped around while banging their heads to the music’s rhythm.

Nick, upon seeing the gathered crowd, quickly grabbed Jo’s hand and flew her to their parents. They both looked quite exhausted, since they expanded lots of energy to concentrate on the dance.

Jo sat in Bea’s lap, since her parents were currently dancing with everyone else, while Nick sat in Sera’s. Both kids ate slices of cake, which Hestia had baked not long ago, while watching the rowdy crowd.

A light chuckle escaped Sera and Bea’s lips as their friends lifted Lilith and Adam. They shouted praises while tossing the couple up into the air.

The merriment continued until morning, when even Transcended ran out of mental energy or drank too much.

Everybody took most of the day off, except Bea, Sera, Hestia and Faith, the only ones who had drunk nothing. They cleaned the entire mansion while everyone else slept until dusk.

After waking up, the friend group separated into three smaller parts. Most of the people went home and awaited the eventual wedding invite. The other two groups got separated by gender, with the men attending Adam and the women helping Lilith.

These two groups continued communicating and discussing plans, especially after Cass took hold of the wedding preparations. She might’ve been flamboyant and uncaring most times, but she became a ruthless commander if it came to parties!

"So, what venue would you two prefer?" asked Cass while sipping an iced coffee.

She, Lilith, Lucy, Sarah, Agnes and, strangely, Victoria sat inside a dress shop. A trembling middle-aged woman took each of their sizes, to later make the dresses they desired.

The poor seamstress could barely hold her excitement with many of the most powerful women of the Angelic Order gathered inside her shop in New Athens. Sera and Bea stayed home, since Lilith wanted them to wear their usual dresses during the wedding ceremony.

"I would prefer a church," said Lilith while raising her arms and letting the seamstress take her measurements. "I think one of the smaller churches would work perfectly, since there are less than fifty of us."

Cass nodded and glanced towards Vicky with a serious expression. The Princess stared at her in confusion while chewing on a piece of cookie.

"Vicky, could you open a portal to every smaller Angelic Order church, so we could browse? Bird eye view, please!"

The Princess nodded once, then closed her eyes and let her spirit free roam inside every city-state. A few minutes later, she opened hundreds of small portals, each showcasing a different church with seven-pointed stars.

Cass and the others skimmed through each picture until they selected a few with the best placement. They then showed the dozen churches to Lilith, who chose her favorites. Those favorites were then shown to Adam, and together they decided on the best!

"Huh... I didn’t expect to find a hidden gem inside Wien. I never felt like there were devoted worshippers inside that city-state." said Cass, as they all looked at the chosen church from different angles.

"It’s also quite new. By the looks of it, the building is barely a few months old... It’s strange how many new churches appeared inside Wien, especially in strange, inaccessible places like this..." said Agnes with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, it even has snow! It’s only October, but it’s already covered in frost! Where even is this church?" asked Sarah, and a moment later, Lilith answered.

"Part of the Alps is enclosed within Wien’s borders. This church is right atop the tallest peak, overlooking the entire city-state! You can only reach it by climbing the mountain, which makes it an irrelevant tourist destination...

"Only a handful of Brothers and Sisters live there, but they certainly won’t bother us! As for what Agnes said, I think Vicky can give us the reason!"

Vicky glanced towards the group of women, while standing on the small podium with the terrified seamstress.

"They began building those after me and Henry saved the city. The citizens also built statues of us in tandem with my mom and even Faith. However, we aren’t worshipped like Mom, thankfully... Anyway, that church will be perfect for the wedding!"

The others nodded as well, and soon the conversation’s topic moved away from the wedding preparation.

"When do you think your partners will propose?" asked Agnes while walking towards the podium and taking off her clothes. "I mean, you’ve been in long-term relationships for the past two years or longer. I think you should begin thinking about the future! Even Vicky will get married soon!"

Lucy smirked and spoke with a light chuckle, "Soon my ass! They might’ve proposed to each other, but their marriage won’t be held for another five years! Anyway, I would rather live in the moment than play about with future ideas!"

"So you won’t ever get married to Will? Don’t you want kids?" asked Sarah, her voice full of surprise.

"You don’t need to get married to have kids, but actually I don’t want children anytime soon and neither does Will. We’re perfectly fine as the cool uncle and aunt, isn’t that right, Vicky?"

She asked with a wide grin while holding her hand for a high-five. However, Vicky’s next words shattered the Reaper’s confidence...

"Uh, Cass and David are my cool uncle and aunt. You and Will are the drunk ones. Even Faith is cooler than you two!"

Lucy’s grin melted off her face as she slowly lowered her hand. The others tried holding their laughter, while the Reaper’s face blushed from embarrassment.

"Well, you most certainly don’t like to sugarcoat... What exactly makes them cooler than me?"

Vicky crossed her legs while leaning back in her chair. She yet again didn’t hold back...

"They actually care about my feelings and interests. Also, they don’t spam my messages with dirty jokes I don’t even understand! I barely know what sex is! If I didn’t ask Aunt Cass about their meaning, I wouldn’t even know what they were supposed to be!"

This time, Lucy stayed quiet for a lot longer and eventually she sighed...

"I’m sorry, Vicky. You act much older than your actual age... I’ll be more considerate in the future!"

The Princess nodded in appreciation, yet she knew exactly that nothing would change. Lucy’s personality didn’t bother her much though, and while their connection wasn’t close like with Cass, she did love her Drunk Aunt and Uncle.

"How about you, Sarah? Are you and Leslie planning to get married?" asked Lilith, so desperate for a change in conversation.

"Yeah, I want to... I really want to... But Leslie hadn’t proposed yet, and I want him to propose!"

Sarah’s face glinted with determination, but a moment later something vile seemed to take over her mind...

"Then after he proposes, I can plan my own marriage!.. Then after that we’ll have our wedding night, where he won’t wear any protection!... Then we’ll do it until my oven is full, and the bread begins baking!... Then after the first bread is ready, we’ll make lots more!"

The silence in the room felt like a living organism. However, soon Vicky’s whispering voice broke the quiet as she leaned towards Cass and asked, "Was that a metaphor for sex?"

"Yes, a very vivid one..." Cass whispered back, and quickly changed the topic...

"I also want to get married to David, but like Sarah, I want my love to propose. That’s much more romantic!... Also, I don’t want kids until I can live a peaceful life with my husband!"

The conversation continued inside the dress shop. The women, after getting measured, began browsing between colors and styles late into the night...