The Flower Girl - Part 1 (Patreon)

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"The... flower girl?" Jaida did her best not to sound disappointed, seeing from the look on Violet's face that she was reluctant about this whole thing as well.

"We're trying to keep it small," Violet shrugged apologetically. "We want you to be involved, we really do, but between me and Rex's sisters, we already have too many bridesmaids."

"I understand," Jaida nodded; she did, on an academic level. She would have loved to be picked for one of those spots, of course, but, at the same time, she knew Violet had to stop somewhere. "It'll be fine," she forced a smile. "I'm just glad you found something for me to do!"

"Of course!" Violet gave her a hug. "We wouldn't dream of doing this without you!"

Jaida felt a tiny bit guilty, though that was certainly mitigated by the role she'd been assigned. Truth be told, she'd been a little afraid when Violet had asked to meet, so they could talk about the wedding; she wasn't sure if it would have been worse to have asked to be the maid of honor, or for Violet to tell her she wasn't invited. 

The former had been a long shot, and even if she would have felt bad if it happened, it still would have been a thrill for someone to ask her to do that for them. It made perfect sense that she'd go with one of her sisters instead, but, long ago, they'd been very close friends... They'd drifted apart at least partially for the same reason that Jaida had feared the latter.

It had been a long time ago, so she could have seen Rex deciding it was time to come clean before the wedding, to tell his fiance why her best friend had stopped talking to her as often. He probably thought it had been long enough that Violet could even forgive Jaida, look past it... Jaida knew Violet better than that. Sure, it was practically ancient history by now, sure, it had only been once... or twice... but Violet wouldn't let any of that stand in the way of her anger if she knew.

As the wedding approached, Jaida began letting herself feel more and more excited about it. She'd never actually been in the wedding party before - she joked with her friends that was why Violet had made her start at flower girl - though she loved going to them, so she was certain experiencing them from the inside would be even better. And, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she had the best role to play.

There weren't a huge number of bridesmaids, but there were a few, certainly enough that she could easily have gotten lost in the shuffle, especially since they were all dressed alike, all accompanied by equally identical groomsmen. She, on the other hand, got to go down the aisle by herself, in her own dress - similar to, but not exact copies of, the bridesmaids dresses - something that not even Violet would get to do, since her father was escorting her. She would be the center of attention, and, even if she had to be tossing flower petals like a little girl, she was still determined to enjoy it.