Page 33 of Vibing Unity

“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 liketoo much foodhas 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. Sincethe 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’reallusing 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.”

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