[A/N: If you're a long-time reader looking for the new chapter, go to Act 2 Pt.2. In fact, if you're a long-time reader, I'd recommend you start the whole thing over from scratch, because I've made a lot of changes and improvements to the storyline. I hope it's a lot better now, and I hope you all like the changes.]

Lilly awoke early on that morning, her excitement getting the better of her. Here it was at last, the day every little girl dreamed of: her wedding day. While the circumstances weren't ideal, nor the timing - it was now mid-September and the temperatures were starting to drop - she couldn't be happier with the man she had chosen to be her husband.

A gentle snoring sound from her left told her she was sharing a bed with Akira. It was, after all, Akira's bed. Lilly gently nudged her sister. "Akira," she whispered. "Akira, wake up."

Akira mumbled something incoherent, and the bedsheets rustled as she rolled over, but she did not wake. Lilly nudged her again, harder. "Akira! Wake up!"

There was a low moan as Akira slowly came to. Evidently she was suffering from a major hangover after last night's merriment. "Ohhh... what time is it?"

"I don't know," said Lilly, "that's what I was going to ask you."

"It feels way too early to be waking up... God, my head hurts..."

"I did say I didn't want a hen night, didn't I?" said Lilly pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I screwed up..." There was a rustling of bedsheets as Akira dragged herself out of bed. "Ugh... Lilly, it's only seven-thirty... the wedding's at midday..."

"Then it's a good thing we woke up this early," said Lilly, sitting up in bed and stretching her arms, "we have plenty of time to get up there and plenty of time to- are you getting back into bed?!" Lilly felt the bed springs compress as Akira got back on.

"Please, just five more minutes..." groaned Akira.

"No," said Lilly, shoving her sister off the bed, "we need to get going, Akira! We have to prepare! There's so much to do! Come on, let's get going!"

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up!" said Akira, clearly irritated. "Quit shouting! Let me get an aspirin first..."

"While you're up," said Lilly, slipping out of bed, "could you check on Hanako? I imagine her hangover's worse than yours."

"Yeah, sure, gimme a minute..."

Eventually, both Akira and Hanako were awake and (somewhat) recovered from their hangovers, and Akira called the limousine that was to take them to the wedding venue, a local park. They'd managed to reserve a fairly sizeable chunk of the park for the wedding, with three temporary pavilions set up; one each for the bride and groom to hide their preparations, and one to host the reception. The ceremony itself would be held outdoors, on the grass; several rows of seats had been laid out for the guests, and an elaborate floral arch took the place of the altar. There, beneath it, Lilly and Hisao would make their vows.

"If you wanna change your mind, this is your last chance," said Akira, as the limousine made its way towards the venue.

"I'm not changing my mind," said Lilly firmly. "This wedding is going ahead no matter what."

"Good," said Akira. "We spent too much time and money on this wedding for you to back out now." Akira chuckled drily. "How about you, Hanako? You ready to be bridesmaid?"

"I... I think so..." Hanako's voice was even quieter than usual, due to a combination of nerves and her lingering hangover.

"Don't worry, Hanako, it'll be fine," said Lilly reassuringly. "Everyone at the wedding already knows about you and your condition, you know almost everyone there, there's no need to be nervous at all. I promise you."

"And if something does go wrong-"

"No, Akira," repeated Lilly firmly, "nothing will go wrong."

"Yeah, but if something does go wrong," insisted Akira, "I'll be there to punch whoever dares to ruin my sister's big day, right in the face." There was a slapping sound, presumably Akira punching her own palm. "Bam!"

Lilly couldn't help but giggle. The butterflies in her stomach settled down a little.

It felt like no time at all before the limousine pulled over, the driver announcing their arrival and opening the door for them. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Lilly stepped out. Akira stepped out alongside her, and a moment later, so did Hanako. Together, the three of them headed off towards the bridal pavilion. Now that they were here, past the point of no return, Lilly suddenly felt the nerves well up in the pit of her stomach once again. "What time is it?" she asked.

There was a brief silence while Akira checked her phone. "Uhh... just gone eight-thirty. We have plenty of time to get you ready."

"Good," said Lilly. She tried to keep the nerves out of her expression, but couldn't quite manage it, as Akira's next question was, "Worried about something?"

"Just nervous," said Lilly, giving her sister a shaky smile. "This is a big day, after all."

Lilly felt a warm hand grip hers, the slender fingers interlocking with her own. "Don't worry, Lilly," said Akira. "We're here for you, all the way. You'll be just fine. Hisao, too. The both of you will be just fine."

There was a moment's silence, broken only by the soft sounds of their footsteps upon the grass, before Lilly's other hand was also, by a smaller, more tentative hand. "I'm... I'm here for you as well, Lilly..."

Lilly took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Thank you. Both of you. I feel like... everything's going to be okay."

Naomi and Natsume were already inside the bridal pavilion, something Lilly was alerted to after she heard the unmistakable click of a camera shutter. "There she is, the blushing bride!" said Naomi.

"Naomi, not so loud," said Akira and Natsume in unison. Evidently Naomi had recovered from her hangover quicker than her girlfriend had.

"I'm glad the two of you made it back safely," said Lilly.

"Mhmm," said Naomi. "Now, we'd better start getting you all ready!" Natsume clapped her hands, and a small army of professional stylists descended upon the girls and set about making them as beautiful as possible.

"Is all this necessary?" protested Akira, as the stylists started with their fingernails. "I mean, I know it's important for Lilly to look her best, but do I really need French tips?"

"You never know, Akira," said Lilly, "you might meet someone at the reception."

"And having French tips is gonna be the difference between scoring and not?"

"Well, you never know..."

Akira sighed. "Fine, whatever."

With the manicures and pedicures complete, and their nails painted (with much protesting from Akira about the pointlessness of the exercise), the girls' hair and makeup were next. Lilly wanted a natural look, with not too much makeup on, but enough to enhance her features; Hanako bravely asked that her scars not be covered up by foundation; Akira felt she was fine as she was and eventually just applied a coat of lipstick herself.

After the application of various perfumes, it was time for the dresses. Lilly had decided not to put hers on until the last possible minute, in case something were to happen, so she sat around waiting while Hanako and Akira changed into theirs. Naomi and Natsume were already wearing their dresses, and had spent the entire time so far taking photo after photo (although thankfully, not while the girls were changing).

Finally, with about an hour to go, Lilly began to change into her wedding dress. Hanako and Akira helped, and as she could not see, they would have to judge for themselves how it all looked.

"Trust me, sis," said Akira as she finished securing the back of the dress, "you look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Hisao is a really lucky man."

"Mmh." Hanako nodded. "He really is..."

"I know he is," said Lilly, smiling. "And I know I look great."

"You do?" said Naomi, in a surprised tone.

"Well, I must do," said Lilly. "So much effort has gone into all of this, so much planning and thought, that now that it's all come together, I can't possibly not look beautiful, right?"

"Well, you're not wrong," said Natsume.

Lilly felt one last tug on her waist. "There," said Akira, "all done." There were footsteps, as the pair stood back to admire their handiwork, then a whistling sound, probably Akira. "I've never seen a more perfect-looking bride," said Akira.

Lilly remembered the description of the dress from the shop, and conjured it in her mind: the flowing white silk, the lace details. Today there were the additions of white, elbow-length, fingerless silk gloves, white stiletto heels that Lilly found hard to walk in, and of course, the traditional white bridal veil.

Lilly span once on the spot, feeling the hem of the fabric swish around her. At that precise moment, she felt like a princess, like a perfect woman. And shortly, she would be with her perfect prince, and all would be right with the world. "I feel so beautiful," she gasped.

"You look beautiful, sis," said Akira.

"Lilly?"

Lilly turned round at once, so fast she nearly lost her balance in her towering heels. It was her father, come to walk her down the aisle. It was time. She could hear his footsteps as he slowly approached her. "My God..." he whispered. "You... you look... oh, Lilly!"

Suddenly a pair of arms were thrown around her, as her father wrapped her in a tight embrace. Either he'd crossed the room supernaturally quickly, or he'd been a lot closer than she'd thought. Unsure quite what to do, Lilly returned the hug.

"I know I... haven't always approved of your choices," said her father softly, "but I want you to know that I will always love you, and I will always be there for you. Always."

"I know, father," said Lilly, smiling broadly. "I know."

Her father released her, gently taking hold of her shoulders instead. "You look just like your mother on our wedding day," he said. "Doesn't she, Akira?"

"Ehh... kinda," her sister replied, and Lilly could imagine her shrugging as she did so.

"Well," said her father, "it's time to go. We wouldn't want to keep Hisao waiting, would we?"

Lilly shook her head. "No, of course not." She offered her gloved hand to her father. "Lead the way."

Lilly's father gently took her by the hand, and together they made their way through the pavilion with the others in tow. Lilly could still hear the occasional click as Naomi and Natsume continued to take photographs.

"Have you... seen Hisao?" asked Lilly suddenly.

"I have, yes," said her father, "on my way here. Why?"

"Could you... describe his outfit to me, please?" asked Lilly.

"Well, I didn't really look at it in detail," her father replied, "but I'll try. He was wearing a tuxedo - black jacket and tie, white shirt, black pants - nothing fancy, but he looks very smart indeed." They stepped outside into the crisp autumn air, a light breeze tugging at the hem of the dress. "There's a velvet handkerchief tucked in his breast pocket. Are you imagining it?"

Lilly nodded. "I am. And it's simply gorgeous. Thank you, father."

"Hey, if you hurry you can still bail before he-"

"Akira!" whispered Lilly sharply.

"Just kidding, sis!" grinned her sister. "Go on, go make him the happiest guy on the planet."

"We'll be right behind you," said Hanako quietly, as if to reassure Lilly that she were still there.

Lilly took one last deep breath. "Okay... this is it. Here we go."

As they turned the corner into the aisle, the unmistakable first notes of Here Comes The Bride filled the air, accompanied by the sounds of a hundred people standing up respectfully. Lilly clasped her hands in front of her, letting them rest on the place where, within her, a new life was forming.

As the seemingly interminable walk continued, Lilly couldn't stop herself from whispering a seemingly stupid but vital question to her father. "Hisao... is standing at the altar, isn't he?"

"Ask him yourself when you get there," her father whispered back.

Sure enough, as she finally reached the altar, she turned to where she expected Hisao to be and felt his hands clasp hers. She could tell they were his. They were warm, and a little sweaty; no doubt he was just as nervous as she was. As the violins finally halted, the priest began the service. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today-"

"You look amazing," whispered Hisao. "Absolutely amazing."

Lilly beamed from ear to ear. "Thanks," she whispered back. "So do you."

"But... you can't see me. So how do you-"

Lilly almost winced. Even now, the idiot still didn't know how to handle her blindness in conversation. She gently put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "I just know," she whispered.