The Lion King In The Human World Part 3

Wedding Dresses.

KIARA

Mom hugged me as I came out in my dream wedding dress. "You look so beautiful my little princess," she said, "How are you getting married already? I swear, you were a little tiny baby in a tutu yesterday."

I sighed. I knew Mom was going to get emotional, and yet I brought her anyway. She's my mom, she has to be a part of choosing my wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses. Well, I really just choosing my bridesmaid dresses.

Sara and Fina were my two little flower girls, Vatani, Kion's girlfriend Rani, Anga, and Kopa's girlfriend Evie were my bridesmaids. Mom was the mother of the bride, though I wanted her to be a bridesmaid too. She refused, saying she would just cry throughout the whole thing. I had also asked Fuli, but she would have to get her dress at a later date because she is currently getting ready for the Olympics.

My dream dress looked amazing on me. The butterflies were made of little crystals and they shone when I moved. It was poofy and sparkly and beautiful. Just like I imagined it. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and smiled. "I hope Kovu will like it," I said.

"He should," Rani said, "You look so pretty."

Rani's little cousin spoke her native language. I was surprised to meet her when Kion brought her and Rani over the day after he returned from collage, but she's sweet. I think, I don't speak Swahili, but she acts sweet. Rani spoke to her and little Amahle seemed to understand something. 

"What's she saying?" Anga asked.

"She doesn't understand why wedding dresses have to be white," Rani said, "I explained to her that it shows purity. Brides wear many colors where she comes from."

"That's weird," Evie said.

"Not really," Rani told her, "It's just how they do it. When you think about it, wearing white can be weird too."

Evie tilted her head. "White wedding dresses are normal. Why would anyone wear another color?"

"Because that's how they do it," Mom said, "Anyway, what do you have in mind for bridesmaid dresses Kiara?"

"Either this light pink or dark blue," I said, taking the color swatches out of my bag. I showed them to Mom. "I still can't decide which one to choose. They both look so good."

Anga looked at both of them. "Maybe we see if they even have these colors first?" she suggested.

"I called ahead," I told her, "They have both. Apparently baby pink and royal blue are big bridesmaid colors. But I do have flower girl dresses picked out for the twins."

"Dwesses!" Fina cheered, "Pweety dweeses!" She clapped her hands. She loved anything that sparkled. If it was shiny, it was her best friend.

I smiled at her. "Alright," I told her, "Let's get you and your sisters your dresses. You'll love them. They sparkle."

Both of my little sisters cheered at the mention of pretty sparkly dresses. They were so cute. I turned to Mom. "At least my sisters are still your little babies," I said, "You still have them."

Mom sighed. "They aren't babies anymore, they're toddlers and growing up too fast."

"Enjoy them while you can," Anga said, "Sooner or later, they'll be taking you dress shopping for their wedding."

Mom whipped away her few tears. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that," Anga said, "Sorry."

I wrapped my arms around my mom. "I'm still your daughter," I told her, "I'm not going anywhere."

Amahle spoke again to Rani. "Amahle wants to know if she's getting a dress," Rani translated, "I don't know what to say now. You didn't ask her to be a bridesmaid, and she's too old to be a flower girl and you have two anyway. Anyone have any ideas."

"She could be a bridesmaid," Evie said, "A little one, but still." 

Maybe I could add another bridesmaid. What could it hurt? Amahle was coming to the wedding anyway. "Ask Amahle if she'd like to be a bridesmaid," I told Rani, "I'd love a joiner bridesmaid at my wedding. Do they have bridesmaids in Africa?"

Rani shrugged. "I didn't go to a wedding there," she said, "I'll ask her. Thanks Kiara."

I smiled. "You're welcome. I can't wait to be sisters."

Rani turned to me. "Who told you?" she asked.

I was taken back. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Who told you Kion asked me to marry him?" Rani asked, "Kion and I were keeping a secret until after your wedding so you and Kovu would be the stars."

What? "I didn't know," I said, "I meant it as a joke. You're marrying Kion?"

Rani blushed. "Yeah," she said, "He asked me the same day we found out about Asher, I went to Africa to think about it, and said yes when I got back. We didn't want to take attention from you and Kovu on your wedding so we were keeping it a secret."

"Wow," Mom said, "First my daughter, now one of my sons."

"Kopa better ask me soon," Evie grumbled.

I gave Rani a hug. "Welcome to the family," I told her, "Don't worry, we'll keep your secret. Thanks for not stealing the spotlight though, little sis."

"I'm two months older than Kion," Rani said, "And since you and Kion are twins, that makes me two months older than you. So I'm your big sister."

I'm going to love having Rani as my sister.