Meeting the parents

Seo Jun is surprised that Lilli and Shiro are already in the room. He looks at Lilli; first, there is no denying where Jasmine got her looks. He turns to Shiro, swallowing hard Seo Jun clears his throat. Shiro is an intimidating figure. His size is not overly large, but Seo Jun can tell he is very fit and muscular. His stormy grey eyes glaring makes Seo Jun's throat dry with anxiety.

Bowing his head in greeting, Seo Jun hopes to make an excellent first impression.

"It is nice to meet you both." Seo Jun says as he looks straight into Shiro's eyes. He does not want his future father-in-law to think him timid.

"I'm happy to meet you." Lilli hugs Seo Jun surprising him. Seo Jun has never really had anyone touch him as dragons are not affectionate creatures.

"Let's go out for a bit, just the two of us. I think we have a few things to discuss." Shiro leaves the room, not giving Seo Jun any choice but to follow. When the two men go, Lilli smiles brightly at her daughter.

"My, he is quite handsome; his presence fills the room. Do not worry; your father will not cause him any harm. So I think tomorrow it should be the celestials and your father and I attending. When everything is settled, we can have a proper wedding. What are your thoughts?" Lilli asks Jasmine.

"I don't know,won't the others be angry that they were omitted? I do not want anyone to be upset." Jasmine has been worried about the sheer number of guests attending if they had a proper wedding.

"Nonsense, this joining will be a handfasting with a dragon binding added. A proper wedding can come later. For a proper wedding, we cannot leave anyone out. I am good at throwing a party, but I cannot do one for five hundred people daily. Now your great aunt Norma could, but I cannot. Especially since we do not know what to expect. You know some of your family do not do well with the magical side of things. So tomorrow it will be just the ones that are needed. Then we can have a proper wedding with everyone when the time comes. Besides, how well do you think Seo Jun will do with so many constantly hugging and kissing him and you? He was trembling with uncomfortableness when I just hugged him. I think less is better for now. As it is there will be nearly thirty there." Lilli sees the sadness on Jasmine's face at not having everyone present.

"I always thought I would have my entire family by my side when I married." Jasmine sighs with dejection.

"You will when you have a proper wedding, I promise. They will all be there in spirit, or did you forget that we are always connected? " Lilli hugs Jasmine and as if to prove the point, Lilli's phone rings. Looking down, she sees it's Lotus, her sister.

"Hi, Lotus; what's up?" Lilli winks at Jasmine.

"Put me on the speaker; we have something to tell Jasmine," Lotus tells Lilli, not realizing she is already on speaker.

"Already on ." Lilli giggled as she told Lotus.

"Ok, so we have about twenty-five of us in the room. All of us have already started getting things ready for tomorrow. Jasmine doesn't worry about us being upset. We know how things can happen. All of us had different types of joining so if your groom will be overwhelmed by having all of us and our other gifts around. We can have a proper wedding and party later when he is more comfortable. We don't know how our gifts will affect him. Having so much power in one place could cause anything to happen. At least if it's only the celestials around, they can handle it. I know that not even all of them will be there for that reason. So we will start preparing things, and when the time comes, he will get to know all of us. Just know that we are all here for you whenever you need us. Remember when my baby was born, it was chaos. All because she was too sensitive to Lucian and Marbas. They had to wait six months to meet her and only after she was given dampening gems. So since we do not know what your mate will be sensitive to, it is better this way. We love you, kiddo, and nothing will ever change it. "Lotus tells Jasmine and quickly hangs up as they hear a loud crash. Lilli closes her eyes, connecting with Lotus to see what happened. Shaking her head, she begins to laugh.

"Your grandfather Astila just dropped a stack of trays he was carrying down the stairs. Nothing serious, just funny. Alex videoed it for later." Lilli smiles at Jasmine.

"Thanks, mom; knowing that they are helping and not upset makes me feel better," Jasmine tells her mom hugging her. Though her heart is still troubled, not knowing what is happening with her father.

Looking up at her mom, Jasmine wonders.

"No, I will not connect with him. He has hidden his thoughts from me for now. It's because what he wants to say is private. I cannot push my way in. We sometimes need to give our mates their privacy, and this is one of them. Your father and Seo Jun must have respect for each other. If they do not, then they will not be able to accept one another. So we will wait till your father opens his thoughts to me again. How about we portal home and help with tomorrow's preparations? That way, we both are busy and not worrying about the men. This way, you can spend the evening with those that cannot attend tomorrow." Lilli takes Jasmine's hand and opens a portal to her home. The house is loud and bustling with activity.

"Lilli, Jasmine, come help me with where to put the tables and archway for the ceremony," Lotus calls out as she walks out to the garden. She has already cleaned up the old table she made years ago and has the stone pillars polished. As Lilli walks past, she smiles.

"Lotus, what do you think of white star jasmine and hydrangea going up the pillars and archway?" Lilli ask. I think it will be beautiful with white and purple.

I will use dragon flowers for the centerpiece. Both will match them. Now, Jasmine, I was thinking of this design for the chairs and tables. What do you think?" Lotus asks Jasmine. Moving her hands intricately, she has each table leg with a dragon carved around the leg portion with a dragon head at each corner of the table. A sizeable wooden dragon in the center with a dragon flower around the base. A fox curled up, sleeping under its belly. The stance makes it look like the dragon is protecting the fox.

"Oh, auntie, it's beautiful; I love the carved foxes and dragons on everything. The white and purple flowers will be perfect with the dark wood you have chosen. "Jasmine beams happily at Lotus, giving her a teary hug of thankfulness.

"You are welcome; when you have a home of your own, the bridal table will be for your home. That is why it is so elaborate. The others will be packed away for later use." Lotus kisses Jasmine's cheek before putting her hands into the earth, having the vines move up the pillars and archway. It's not long before the garden is filled with the fragrance of Jasmine. The sun begins to set when Jasmine has a ringing in her ears. Covering her ears, she falls to her knees in the grass.

"What is it ?" Astila rushes to Jasmine's side.

"I'm not sure there is a loud ringing from the mountain top. " Jasmine tells Astila.

"Marbas, come to help me with Jasmine," Astila calls out to the celestial that is helping Lotus. Marbas rushes over and places his hands over Jasmine's ears. He can see what is causing the disruption. Picking her up in his arms. Marbas shimmers Jasmine to a cavern in the mountain. It's a few chambers away from the one in her father's room. The walls are glittering in the darkness. A bright silver blue light pulsates in the cavern's dark corner. Jasmine reaches her hand for it, and a large snake comes out of a hole near the light. The snake rises as if it is about to strike. Moving its head in a hypnotic motion, Jasmine begins to sway. Her eyes started to droop. Marbas shakes her.

"snap out of it; the snake is a distraction. " Marbas tells Jasmine.

"You stay out of it; I am the protector of the shard. I was placed here to keep the dragon from finding it. No one may touch the shard." Hisses the snake before it leaps at Jasmine. Jasmine raises her hand, and the snake freezes in the air. Jasmine walks over to the wall; closing her eyes, she calls the shard to her. It moves from the stone it is embedded in, flying into her palm. When Jasmine closes her hand around it, the snake turns to ash.

"Well, I do believe I have one less piece to find. Let's go finish the preparations." Jasmine smiles at her uncle as he shimmers her back home.