It was beautiful.

For as logical a race as the Vulcans, they sure knew how to dress a bride. Turning around in front of the mirrors, Amanda couldn't help but think how much like a princess she looked. She smiled slightly to the Vulcan female attending her. "Oh T'Ared," she sighed happily. "It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen."

The Vulcan merely nodded in acknowledgement. "As the wife to be of our most distinguished ambassador, it is logical that you be dressed this way, Lady Amanda." T'Ared allowed herself the ghost of a smile. "Your excitement over a simple wedding outfit would be considered amusing, my lady."

Amanda couldn't help but laugh. "For as long as I live, you Vulcans will confuse me." Turning towards the window of her father's house, she looked out one last time upon her beloved Los Angeles. A sharp twinge of sadness gripped her chest. "Um, I...I WILL be allowed to visit my parents, right?"

"Of course, my lady."

"Any---anytime I want?"

T'Ared raised an eyebrow. "Is my lady homesick already? We have not even left for Vulcan."

She sighed heavily, leaning against the window. "No, it's just...well I was born here, I got my degree here, everyone I love is here---"

"--Save for Ambassador Sarek, yes?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

T'Ared narrowed her eyes. "No, I'm afraid I do not, my lady. Forgive me, but this attatchment to Earth seems illogical for someone about to marry into our culture and move to Vulcan. Does this, perhaps, suggest that you wish NOT to marry Ambassador Sarek?"

"I love him." Amanda wiped away a tear that had escaped. "I love him, T'Ared. And I know he loves me, though Vulcans don't....well, they don't show it as often as I'd like."

T'Ared shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't understand you humans and your reliance on love."

She turned away, seeing herself in the mirror again. She looked alien now, foreign. "You wouldn't, T'Ared. You just wouldn't."