Unborn Hero Epilogue 4: Another Wedding (Patreon)

Attaching the image to this reminded me I haven't mentioned the magical girl designs for a while. Obviously, the remaining three haven't happened.The artist involved got sick, and while I was hoping she'd be back in time for the story ending, it's a bit late for that now. :(

Rose winced as a maid behind her tugged on the laces of her corset, trying to eke out one last fraction of an inch and leaving her with the distinct feeling that her kidneys were being squeezed into her legs.

"Does it have to be so tight?" she complained, but without much hope.

"Sorry, ma'am," said the maid, slackening it off a little. "Is that better?"

"Much," replied Rose, before tilting her head as she stared at her reflection in the mirror in mild confusion.

"Ma'am?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just had the weirdest sense of déjà vu, and for some reason I was convinced you were going to tell me to stop being such a wuss. Wonder where that came from? Also, please stop ma'am-ing at me. I'm as common as you are. It's weird."

The maid grinned as a pair of her younger co-workers brought in an elegant construction of blue and white silks and laces that could be described as a dress only in the sort of way that a fist-sized diamond could be described as a heavy lump of carbon. Yes, it was technically accurate, but not only did it fail to convey the whole story, it didn't even get halfway through the first chapter.

"Sorry, ma'am, but in this case, I am going to say no."

"... This is my fault, isn't it?" sighed Rose. "This is because I told Grace that I thought she was weird for not wanting to wear a wedding dress, and that I was looking forward to being pampered and dolled up like a princess. She ordered you to behave like this, didn't she?"

"I couldn't possibly comment, ma'am," replied the maid, still grinning as she helped the others dress Rose.

Her installation into the mansion of fabric took some time, with Rose growing somewhat concerned around the quarter hour mark. "What do I do if I need to pee?" she asked as the relevant parts of her biology were buried under an ever-increasing number of layers.

"I don't think any royal has ever asked that question before," giggled one of the new maids. "I've always assumed they had some sort of skill that makes it a non-issue."

"I certainly don't have any helpful skills in that area," admitted Rose.

"Try not to drink very much?" suggested the other newcomer.

"Sorry, ma'am. I'd expected Princess Grace to have informed you already," said the original maid, who was apparently the highest ranked. "Please do not spread this information," she added, before whispering something quietly to Rose.

"Huh? Hey, that's not fair!" exclaimed one of her subordinates. "I want to know too! Spill!"

The head maid silenced her with a glare.

Rose stared dubiously into the mirror. "Seriously? This isn't a practical joke of some sort? If I rely on that information while surrounded by a crowd of guests, I'm not going to wind up so embarrassed that a name change and a permanent move to the opposite side of the continent would be my only hope of survival?"

"I was being completely serious, ma'am," replied the maid.

"... Nobles are weird."

"I couldn't possibly comment on that, either, ma'am."

Rose glanced at the air conditioner installed in the ceiling of the dressing room, blowing out pleasantly cool air. She'd learnt over the past few years what such a thing cost, and while it wasn't a huge amount, having one in every room was still pushing it. Besides, she had the feeling that what she considered a 'huge amount' had been warped recently.

But now she'd discovered that air conditioning entire buildings wasn't even close to the greatest length they'd go to in order to wear increasingly impractical clothing. In fact, now that she considered it, for all Grace had hated her Jasper White costume, it had never been the practicality she'd complained about; it had only ever been about public decency. The thought made her giggle as the team of maids finished lacing up the things that needed lacing up, tying the things that needed to be tied, and buttoning the things that needed to be buttoned.

"Okay, let's get your hair and makeup sorted, and you'll be ready to go," sighed the exhausted head maid, giving her brow a quick wipe. "Ma'am," she added hastily, almost forgetting her orders after the effort of getting Rose dressed.

"Now I see why we started so early," said Rose, having got up before dawn to take a bath and wash her hair. Or, more accurately, to let the borrowed maids wash her. She stared at herself in the mirror as the maids helped her sit down, which was a fairly complex operation in itself now that she was dressed. The head maid unrolled an extensive array of brushes and applicators—some of which Rose would bet were magical—and then laid out an array of powders, liquids and gels. The other pair of maids similarly took up some tools of their trade and started their attempt at bringing Rose's voluminous hair under control.

She had to admit she looked good, but it wasn't the sort of procedure she wanted to go through every day. As a special treat, for a special occasion, it was fun. Perhaps, had she been forced to go through it on a regular basis, her opinion would differ, and she'd have ended up like Grace.

Perhaps the pair of them were more similar than either cared to admit, differing only in their upbringing.

Something else Rose looked, as she gazed into the mirror, was fifteen. Despite it being years since the purification of the demon lord, her appearance had barely changed, [The Final Cycle] ensuring that she aged little more than one month per year.

Not that she was completely unchanged. She'd grown out her hair to be the same length as her Aster Blue form, which was contributing significantly to the maids' difficulties. Yes, it wasn't completely practical, but since she always used [Magical Girl Transformation] in combat situations, practicality had become less important.

"So, how's our precious little..." started Platus, barging in through the door, then freezing as he caught sight of her. "... Woah."

"Your precious little woah?"

"I assume he wanted to say 'daughter'," said Melody, entering behind him. "Although looking at you, 'princess' would certainly have been fitting. You look beautiful! Judging by your father, you are literally stunning."

Melody succeeded where Mystery had so often failed, causing Rose to blush. The maids, still fussing over final touches, beamed proudly at the praise of their work.

"I can't believe my little girl is all grown up," sighed Platus, giving a faux sniff. "Well... I say grown up, but..."

"Dad!" complained Rose.

He grinned shamelessly. "You found yourself a good partner," he declared.

"Hah. If you told me back when I first met her that we'd end up here, I'd have laughed in your face."

"That's not what I'm talking about," he said, looking distant for a moment. "But don't let me spoil your big day with my melancholy."

"Melancholy?" asked Rose, confused. "Are you that sad about giving me up?"

"He's still thinking about what would happen if you fell in love with someone who didn't have [The Final Cycle]," sighed Melody.

Rose paused to consider that. "Oh..." she agreed.

And then she moved on to thinking about children of her own, and the picture grew even worse. She would outlive all of them.

"Dammit, I said not to spoil her day," complained Platus, attempting to ruffle Melody's hair.

Melody grabbed his wrist. "Don't even think about it," she ordered, squeezing.

"I won't!" squeaked Platus, his voice considerably higher pitched than normal and set against a background of creaking bones.

He'd already achieved his objective, after all, with Rose smiling again at their antics, her brief bout of existential horror forgotten.

"Come on. Let's get to the temple," she said, trying to stand up and failing. "Uh... I may need some help. This dress is quite heavy."

"You have adept-level [Increased Attributes]!"

"Sorry. Correction: this dress is very heavy."

"I know there's a skill for this one," chimed in one of the younger maids. "A sub-skill for [Etiquette]!"

The three maids, working together with the duo of adventurers, eventually managed to get Rose into the waiting carriage without needing to enlarge any doorways, smudge her makeup or wrinkle the silk. A carriage that was soon trundling up the street towards the day's venue, containing the bride-to-be, her parents, and the head maid.

"Didn't you measure doorways and such before getting dressed?" asked Platus, who for a brief period had thought he was going to need to knock a hole through a wall.

"Nah. If it didn't fit, I'd have just cast [Magical Girl Transformation] to magic the dress away, ran to the temple, then hid around the corner until it expired."

"... Cheater."

"Pfft. After a few years of being a [Magical Swordsgirl], do you really think I haven't got used to dealing with impractical clothing?"

The carriage stopped in the middle of a crowded street, the citizens of the capital lined up in every open space to get a glimpse of the royal wedding. The driver stood down from his post, opening the carriage door for Rose and offering a hand.

Rose didn't move. She didn't visibly pale, either, but only because the layers of makeup masked it.

"Rose?" asked Melody.

"Why are there so many people?!" she squeaked.

"Take your choice. Royal wedding? Both participants are hero's party members? Slayers of the demon lord? Mythical achievement holders? A chance to see all five original magical girls and their mascot together?"

Rose looked out again, this time taking in just how many young girls there were in the audience. Not all of them, but the demographics were definitely skewed, and their colourful, impractical outfits gave away why.

"Mystery has a lot to answer for," Rose murmured, finally taking the footman's hand, and with the aid of her parents and her borrowed maid, managed to execute the complex geometrical challenge of exiting the carriage.

The crowd burst into cheers.

Rose took a deep breath as she walked towards the doors, other servants conducting a complex logistical dance as she approached, ensuring that everything was prepared. Mercy and Faith were already waiting outside, beaming at their future sister-in-law, having been helping Grace get ready all morning.

Rose got on well enough with them, but they were very... princessy. If Grace had never been broken by Mystery, there was no chance this wedding could ever have happened. "Well, Dad?" she asked, holding out an arm to link with his.

He couldn't quite reach it, on account of all the dress in the way.

"... I'm getting déjà vu again," said Rose, before giving up and holding hands instead. "Maybe it was a dream Grace was telling me about?"

The doors swung open, Mercy and Faith stepping through, Rose and Platus following behind.

Her eyes were fixed on the front of the aisle, where the [Magical Princess] Grace stood with her father, the [King]. He was in full royal regalia, while Grace was, as threatened, wearing something incredibly practical. She only had a small amount of makeup on—done by the trio of princesses, rather than anyone who actually knew how to apply makeup—but the result, along with the white tailored suit, was still dashing in its own way.

"Trousers," snorted Rose, before noting Grace's reaction to her own appearance, jaw hanging open.

Beaming proudly at successfully stunning her girlfriend—and even after a few years, it still felt weird to call Grace her girlfriend—she walked slowly down the aisle in time to the music. The place was packed, and she had no idea who practically any of the visitors were, but she did spot Rrillandral near the front, seated next to Kellela and Hayedalf. Kellela was finally looking visibly pregnant. Mystery herself was perched on Kellela's head, as if she was some sort of fuzzy purple hat.

And then Rose did a double-take as she spotted Rrillandral seemed to have a slight baby bump going on, too. She peered suspiciously at the ex-demon still sitting on the elf's shoulder, wondering if he could possibly be the father. The pair did seem inseparable, after all, however much they both denied any sort of relationship.

Then again, did it need to be a relationship? Did the ageless races have their own equivalent to a one-night stand, that lasted a mere decade or two? But even if that was true, what about the logistical issues? He was three inches tall!

The entirety of the royal family, or at least those not playing a more direct role in proceedings, occupied the front couple of rows of one side. Her own extended family occupied the other, but given they'd moved around a lot as adventurers, it was only recently she'd seen any of them with any regularity. As for everyone else... Rose assumed they were nobles, but with Grace doing her best to insulate them from politics and high society, there were few she recognised.

By the time she reached the front, Grace seemed to have recovered. "You look amazing," whispered Grace, causing Rose to blush again.

"And you look like you don't need to rely on bloomers with carefully positioned item box enchantments in order to pee," replied Rose under her breath. "There are pros and cons."

The pair giggled as the ceremony got underway, and managed to get through the whole thing with nothing going wrong. Grace especially enjoyed the bit where she got to kiss her bride, even if a small amount of acrobatics was required to reach her lips.

Rose enjoyed the dancing that came after. Unlike her first ball, no noble, no matter how snooty, would dare call her a complete beginner any more.

"I have to say, I'm surprised," commented Rose as she and Grace were entering a carriage late at night, which was somewhat easier now that Rose was no longer taking as much effort to protect her looks. After all, she expected her dress to get very rumpled once they reached their destination.

"Hmm? What about," asked Grace.

"We got through the entire wedding without Mystery doing anything Mystery-ish."

Grace pondered suspiciously. "That does indeed seem to be the case. Although the entire event was kind of her fault in the first place, so maybe she's content with that...?"

But as the pair rode off into the night, neither of them suspected the contents of a particular pair of long, thin packages hidden among their wedding gifts.