"Can I make it in two' No, I can make it in fifteen. Minutes."

He would easily abandon his city guard duties for a bit to do this. This was a priority for him. He had to do his part to make this perfect, and it's ironically fortunate that he lost the Archmage Tournament so soundly. He remained the Keeper of Water as a result, and thus could still give Anya her winter wonderland.

He walked toward the Great Hall, reveling in what Sivanna had done so far. All of it was so beautiful. And to think, after he finished, it would be even more beautiful. He shook his head a little bit, to shake off that thought. It wasn't like him to think that way, but at the same time....it was expected of him. So that settled it. He pulled that thought back into his head. For Anya, he would make the Great Hall even more beautiful than it already was.

He stepped inside and looked around. A bright grin at his best friend to convey how wonderfully she had done so far. He then took a deep breath. The air behind his back started to glow and sparkle. A brief flash, and the translucent blue angel wings were there. A brief flutter, and then it was time to get to work. He looks up, raising a hand. No words were spoken, but his will was clear. Let it snow. A substantial yet gentle snowfall magically came into being, snowflakes descending slowly from the ceiling, and evaporating away about eight feet from the ground or so. That way even someone as big as Pslyder would remain dry.

He then raised both hands, index fingers extended. In fact, they were finger guns. Quiet 'pyew pyew pyew' sounds resonated from the finger tips as he fired lots of small water droplets into the air. They would remain suspended there along with the snow. And for good measure...."Freeze Lancer." He also fired a few small ice crystals to hang out with them as well.

So that was all settled. Now for the columns. He decided to go with the same thing he did for the auction. He dropped his hands, and raised them in one fierce motion. "Spread." Columns of water shot up around the Great Hall's columns, continually in motion like an inverse cylindrical waterfall in an endless loop. "Freeze Lancer." And just like before, the colums were wrapped in an upward-spiraling line of crystals, ever in motion, like the red strips on a candy cane. He reached out through the pillar. Like before, the water parted around his hand, and the ice crystals in motion disappeared and re-appeared on the other side of his hand. Excellent.

Continuing to pull from prior experience, any of the walls with blank spaces left behind were covered with magically-created waterfalls. And just like before, they were peppered with randomly yet aesthetically placed ice crystals that flowed down with the water, and teleported from the bottom to the top. Another infinite loop. He walked over to one of them and stuck his hand through it like with the columns, finding it to work just as well as the columns. Good.

Now, there had to be one last thing he could do for her. And come to think of it, he hadn't gotten her a present yet. Ocean blues fall upon the sculpted piece by the guestbook, with the lion, falcon, and phoenix. That was it. But he did not have the artistic talent to replicate it....he focuses his energy, a light blue swirl of energy flowing up around him. "I call upon the disciple of everlasting ice....Come, Celsius!" There was a flash of white nearby, from which a woman with light blue skin and dark blue hair, dressed a small bikini-like dark blue top and a dark blue sarong, appeared.

"What is it, Keeper?" "Celsius....Please recreate this sculpture here in ice....except bigger. Much bigger. Perhaps about....ten feet tall?" The spirit crossed her arms in front of her with a scoff, retorting sardonically. "Are you not capable of doing that on your own?" "Uh..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't have the artistic talent that I imagine an immortal summon spirit like yourself would..." The disciple of everlasting ice laughed. "Since you put it that way, I will grant your request. However, it will be up to you to put it somewhere else, and prevent it from melting." "That is fine. Thank you very much, Celsius."

The pale blue woman turned around, and with a wave of her hand and a swirl of ice, the sculpture was recreated in ice, ten feet tall, just as her summoner had requested. "Fare thee well, Keeper." With that, she disappeared in another brief flash of light.

Now, he had to figure out where to put it, at least for the time being until it was time for Anya to take it home with her. He then remembered that his best friend was a genius interior decorator. He walked over to Sivanna and tapped her on the shoulder, pointing to the large ice sculpture that Celsius had inconveniently (and likely on purpose) created in the dead center of the room. "Hey, uh....where should I put that?"

The cleric stared at the sculpture a moment, then at Neo. Her pale cheeks were flushed a rosy hue from almost constant movement for the past eight hours. In one swift gesture, Sivanna made to slap the oracle gently on the back of the head, to which he replied with a soft "d'oh." Exasperatedly, she snagged a passing worker by the elbow.

"Get a few of your guys, and move that table over there," the elfess ordered softly before slanting a look back at Neo. "If you can, have it take up that corner." She pointed to where the furniture was already being shuffled around.

Neo looked over to it, then nodded back to her. "Thank you," he said, punctuated with a smile. He then walked over to the ice sculpture, where two workers were already struggling to pick it up. And failing. "Move, I'll take this one." The workers looked over to the angel and quirked their brows like he was crazy. An insistent "move aside" gesture with his hands. They backed up, and watched in surprise as with another gesture of his hands, the Keeper of Water levitated the scupture of ice, walked it over to the corner, and set it down. He smiled gratefully at each worker as he walked out to the center of the room and looked around.

That would do it. If there was anything else he could do, he didn't have the decoration know-how to consider it, or it might be too much anyways. With a satisfied nod, he waved to Sivanna and walked out, to continue his city guard duties until the time came to prepare for the wedding.

Collie was not yet dressed for the ceremony, she was busy running crowd control with catering crew. "Look alive, people!" She clapped her hands. "This not just a catering job, this is a family event."

Feet moved fast and many hands worked. The crew was setting up and filling the warmer trays as Collie set out the menu cards at each place setting. The menus noted the names of the bride and grooms across the top. In small print on the bottom was catered by Lasher's Italian Restaurant. They were made to match the invitations Sivanna had sent out. It was a buffet style meal, but some people liked to keep menus and other things as keepsakes for their scrapbooks and memory boxes. Colleen was one of them.

Marion, the head of the crew approached. "We have everything ready, Lady MacLeod. We had to send back to the shop for more soups. There was a minor accident."

"Anyone hurt?" Collie studied her crew chief a moment.

"No, ma'am. Just broken crockery. Easily cleared up." Marion shook her head.

"Good, I'm going to get dressed now. We have people ready for serving duty at the buffet as well as those going about with appetizer and drink trays."

Menu

Appetizers

Garlic Bruscetta: Garlic bread topped with tomatoes, bacon, mushrooms, peppers, and green olives.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp: Shrimp marinated in garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, fresh basil, salt and cayenne pepper. The shrimp are grilled and served on skewers.

Deviled Eggs: Hardboiled egg whites filled with a mixture of boiled egg yolk, mayonnaise, mustard, finely chopped green onion, salt, paprika, and black pepper.

Soups

Italian Wedding soup: Endive, escarole and spinach with miniature meatballs and postina in a clear chicken-based broth

Minestrone: Tomato broth with beans, onions, celery, tomatoes, and carrots, sprinkled with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Gazpacho: A cold Spanish soup made from a pureed mixture of fresh tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions, celery, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice topped with bread crumbs.

Borscht: Russian in origin, this soup is made from onions, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, beets, garlic topped with sour cream and garnished with parsley and dill.

Salads

Insalata Caprese: A simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, plum tomatoes and basil. It is seasoned with salt, black pepper, and olive oil.

Rainbow Pasta Salad: Light rotini pasta salad in three flavors with bell peppers, celery, and green onion topped with Italian dressing.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad - Tomato, cucumber and fresh mozzarella salad, drizzled with olive oil and red wine vinegar, and sprinkled with oregano.

Entrees

Veal Parmigiana: Veal cutlets dipped in garlic butter, breaded, and fried until golden brown. Served topped with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.

Tuscan Venison - Fresh linguine in a bacon and sundried tomato Alfredo sauce and Tuscan venison steaks, flavored with grape tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.

Char-grilled Chicken: Char-grilled, marinated chicken breast topped with lemon served with string beans and roasted potatoes.

Vegetarian Moussaka: Eggplant, onions, zucchini, and potatoes are baked in layers mixed with spices, and topped with crumbled feta cheese and grated parmesan.

Sides

Pasta Carbonara " Spaghetti al dente cooked with egg, bacon, garlic, freshly ground black pepper, salt, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and garnished finely chopped parsley.

Stuffed Baked Potato " Baked potato mixed with salt, shredded cheese (choice of mozzarella/ cheddar /parmesan) and butter. Additional available toppings: Grated carrots, sliced pickles, green olives, black olives, sweet corn, chopped dill, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and sour cream.

Additional item available as sides or toppings: bacon strips, pepperoni, cubed ham, sweet sausage, spicy sausage, string beans, sweet corn, baby peas with pearl onions, red beets, and roasted potatoes.

Desserts

Prianki - The prianik is the oldest of the Russian sweetmeats. The cakes are made with flour, sugar, eggs and a variety of spices.

Crescent Cookies - Italian shortbread cookies with almonds and hint of vanilla dusted in confectioner's sugar shaped like crescent moons.

Turkish Mushroom Cookies " A sweet buttery tea cookie with a hint of cocoa shaped like a mushroom.