THE MOMENT
"It's so beautiful," Minerva said. She held Ruin's hand and crossed out of the portal onto purple grass. She looked around to take in the view properly. The dark purple grass extended about 10 feet forward before it gave way to vibrant pink sand. Sapphire blue waves lapped at the sand and the entire beach sat beneath a twilight sky.
"I think we're supposed to go this way," Ruin said. He walked toward a building with lit torches in the distance.
"Melody did a wonderful job...," Minerva commented. Her gaze alternated between the translucent ocean and a dense forest beyond the sand to her right. Then, she noticed movement; Ruin noticed too.
"Did I miss something?" Ruin asked. He nodded at the single unicorn standing at the edge of the trees. Several more pure white shapes could be seen moving in the background. "We didn't decide on unicorns, did we?"
"Oh shush," Minerva gently elbowed him as they walked along the beach. "We haven't decided anything yet; that's why we're here. This is Melody's vision for our wedding, but obviously, we're allowed to make changes. If you don't want unicorns, there won't be any." The building they headed towards was more visible now. It was an elegant wooden gazebo surrounded by torches and roses.
"If I don't want unicorns?" Ruin asked. "Do you want unicorns at our wedding?" Minerva shrugged.
"I'm not as against the idea as you are," she said. "I'm indifferent, but I know having a unicorn or few would please some of our guests." Ruin smiled and squeezed Minerva's hand as they neared the gazebo.
"Lucky for me it's our wedding, not theirs," he said. Minerva noticed Melody standing in the gazebo waiting for them. She took a moment to lean into Ruin's arms and kiss his pale cheek before they started the meeting.
"So, what do you think?" Melody asked when they reached her.
"It's amazing!" Minerva left Ruin's side to thank Melody with a hug.
"Thank you," Melody smiled at Minerva. "I made sure the environment is safe for all attendees," she said. "There's still plenty of sunlight, but it won't harm any of the vampires or other night fae. The water is engineered for saltwater and freshwater merfolk so everyone should have a great time. And, Chroma gave me access to Chroma Corp. to arrange menu options suitable for everyone."
"It looks and sounds fantastic," Minerva said. "But, so far we do have a minor change we'd like to make." Melody smiled and nodded.
"What can I edit to make your day perfect?" she asked.
"We'd prefer not to serve unicorn meat," Minerva replied. But, Melody tilted her head.
"Unicorns?" she asked. Golden stars glowed in her eyes and she turned to face the forest. She sighed and shook her head when she saw them through the trees. "You tap into a little wild magic and they start popping up like rats," she mumbled. Then, she focused on Minerva again.
"Thank you for bringing them to my attention. They're not on the menu. There aren't supposed to be any unicorns here now, and there definitely won't be any on the big day. Were there any other changes?" she asked.
"Well, we came straight here...," Minerva said. She took Ruin's hand and pulled him closer as she looked out at the beach. "...We'll keep exploring and see if there's anything else we want to be changed. We can let you know when we're done," she said. Melody nodded.
"While you do that...," Melody's hands began to glow with a bright blue light. "...I'll go deal with some rats."