Lunamae (30 page)

When I woke up, I noticed Theron with Caden
in his lap. He had handed him the blank volume and it was open,
with Caden scribbling over it. I gasped in surprise and hurriedly
took the book away, much to my son’s disdain and husband’s
confusion (apparently he hadn’t opened it enough to read it). I
told Caden I’d save him a few pages when he was learning to write,
and after I finished my list I would copy my thoughts down on it as
well. Perhaps someone would find it and make use of my novice
planning skills.

“You should get to bed,” Theron urged, using
his knee to bounce Caden up and down which brought forth a throng
of giggles.

“Me or him?” I asked, looking at the two of
them with fondness and love.

“You,” he started. “You’ve been buried in
wedding details enough. You’ve got enough time to plan. You don’t
need to do it all in one sitting. I’m sure it will be wonderful
regardless.”

I nodded and conceded myself to bed. I could
only hope my plans weren’t in vain and the invitations were
responded to quickly and eagerly. As with anything of late, I knew
the wedding would be upon me quickly. There was no delaying time.
It is the master of all things, set in motion by the Creator.

The entire village seemed to be scrambling
around in anticipation for the wedding. Lunamae was starting to get
incredibly nervous and bombarding me with a host of questions
ranging from where she would live to what happens after the
wedding. I was glad I didn’t have to tell her about my experience
in Fanarion.

At least now the day was finally upon us and
most of the invitations had been replied to. I was pleasantly
surprised with Chalos, but considering the invitation was presented
by a female messenger and written by a woman, they were all too
happy to come and see what all the fuss was about. I’m sure they
would have had a buzz of gossip coming from their neighbors in
Fanarion.

I expected a few stragglers—including those
who may not have had ample time to get a messenger to us. As the
wedding was planned for midday, there was still time for travelers
to arrive who might have stayed the night somewhere nearby. There
was a good amount of flat land that could be used to place
tents.

I was feeling a bit odd myself. I wasn’t sick
or anything as Theron would quickly cure me of any ailment, but I
think it was me feeling more “adult” than ever before. I felt a
stab of adulthood when I had Caden, but with the wedding plans, the
person the chief dame had appointed to watch him made him seem not
quite as attached to me. I almost felt as though I was a ruler
myself, commanding shop owners for this and that.

“Where’s the groom?” Lunamae asked me and I
quite forgot she had been standing in front of me, waiting for me
to assist in styling her hair and attach a veil and circlet to her
head.

“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere,” I apologized
as I urged her to sit down in the chair in her room in the keep.
She had been back with her mother ever since she turned sixteen as
the altram had expired. It was nice being her cousin as I could see
her frequently, and especially being the wedding planner, but she
kept in solitude for the most part. “He should be arriving
soon.”

“When can I see him?” she asked me. I gulped
as I threaded her hair through my fingers expertly. “Muirenn …”

“At the altar,” I stated. Since I was behind
her and there was no mirror where she was sitting, I couldn’t see
her face, but I was certain by her reaction, which caused her to
move forward and me to tug on her hair, she was quite upset.

“You are going to keep me locked up in here?”
Lunamae demanded, swirling around and undoing everything I had been
working on. I threw my hands down in despair and frustration.

“It’s for your own good. Your mother didn’t
want you to be upset,” I told her. “Besides, if you recall, I
did
tell you about this when you turned sixteen. You
shouldn’t be so suprised.”

“It’s the day of my wedding and you are to
tell me I will have absolutely
no
preparation or
communication with my future husband. At all?”

“Exactly.” I turned her around and began to
rework the hair through a thick sigh. The room we were in was
facing southeast, so the only arrivals we’d be able to see would be
from Chalos. All of Fanarion’s and Moir Awin’s guests had arrived
previously as they considered themselves to be family.

“How am I going to get through this?” Lunamae
asked as she began sobbing into a kerchief she had removed from her
bodice.

“Be strong. Remember, you’re going to be a
ruler. Arranged marriages happen all the time. Don’t worry—I’m sure
your mother chose well,” I told her, but even I was not confident.
After all, the chief dame had implied the person could be old or
not as gracious on the eyes. “This is not a time for sad tears, but
happy. You’ll be bringing peace to Orinda. No more fighting with
Kyrie.”

“I suppose you are right,” she answered as
her voice picked up. She was still noticeably unhappy, but at least
she’d had enough years in training to realize certain
duties—arranged marriage being one of them.

As much as I wanted to console her, I knew I
couldn’t feed her hesitation so I set to work on readying her gown
for her to get dressed after I finished her hair. The gown was
draped over a smooth and polished chair. It was simple in
construction, but it made up for that in the amount of silver
embroidery snaking through and forming vines and flowers. I had
only the slightest hint of jealousy which I quickly dismissed to
the back of my mind. I didn’t have as much time to prepare for my
own. There was a custom to rekindle the bond with a renewal
ceremony, but those didn’t happen until a couple had been married
for decades and usually their own children had grown and were
married off.

I helped Lunamae into her gown and made sure
she didn’t catch her hair on anything. I was not about to take it
all down and redo it. The only mirror in the keep was in Angharad’s
room and she was not to be disturbed as she was readying her own
self, so only I was able to see the masterpiece before me. Lunamae
looked as perfect as any bride could be.

“Do I look nice?” she wondered, turning to
twirl the grown around her legs.

“I don’t think nice describes you well
enough, but you will definitely turn everyone’s eye,” I said to
her.

“How long do we have now?”

I hadn’t heard the bell ringer in the keep
recently, and the last had been ten rings. With the wedding set to
start at midday with a great feast soon after, I knew our time was
quickly approaching.

Before I could answer Lunamae, the ringer
could be heard chiming eleven and there was a knock on the door. As
I opened it, I was greeted by Lunamae’s mother. She looked her
daughter over to see if she looked presentable and then nodded in
approval to me.

“I shall have Adelle come up and escort you
down when the time is right. You can then make your way behind her
to the chapel.” The chief dame turned and left.

“Does she always have to be this cold?”
Lunamae wondered. I could see she was upset at the lack of
acknowledgement she wanted. “Her only child is to be wed and she
doesn’t say anything other than she’s sending your mother to guide
us to the chapel?”

“She’s a woman of duty first,” I said softly.
Even though I’d never been a dalta and taken away from my mother at
an early age, I knew how Angharad was in just being an attendant of
hers. “She
does
love you, you know.”

“She has a funny way of showing it,” Lunamae
said as she rested on the chair in the room. If the fabric could
have been easily wrinkled I might have told her to stay standing,
but it was a heavy material given the time of year. “So what am I
to do for an hour?”

“Read from the Text of Illumination. I’m sure
it will give you some peace,” I told her, reaching for the book on
the opposite end of the room. I brought it to her so she didn’t
need to get up again. As I stood in silence watching her read, my
mind drifted off once again. I suppose it was a diligent way to
pass the time.

As I walked to the chapel with a veiled
Lunamae and my mother in front of me, I couldn’t help my eyes from
wandering around to see if I could anyone lingering outside the
doors from the distance I was, probably a good hundred feet. A man
at the door held a wind chime I could see, and upon seeing us he
started to move it so it would make sound.

I was glad the journey was in a decent
temperature and the solis was not hidden by clouds. As it hit the
silver of Lunamae’s circlet, it looked as if the piece of jewelry
across her head was glowing. Well, as much as I could see being
behind her.

As we approached closer, I could hear harps
strumming delicately from inside the chapel. I had orchestrated the
music myself and decided to bring in some musicians who used the
famous wood from Harper Wood’s trees outside Moir Awin. The magic
from the wood resonated through the harps’ frames and no tuning was
required for them all to be perfectly pitched.

“Are you ready?” I could hear my mother ask
Lunamae, who nodded in return. “Let us go in, then. Muirenn, come
in front of us. You should stand by Lunamae at the altar to assist
her gown and veil.”

I hesitantly walked forward as they stopped
for me and I came in front. I was both impatient to find out who
the groom was myself, and nervous at the thought of how many people
were inside. The chief dame had required all persons not able to
fit inside the chapel to wait outside the village and in their
homes until the ceremony was complete. She didn’t want to stress
out her daughter more than she had already done by making her
travel through a throng of people in order to even get to the
chapel.

As I entered, the entire occupancy turned to
view me and I gulped and took a long breath to prepare myself for
the walk down the aisle. I noticed a man standing next to Friar
Barri, but realized he was wearing a mask. It was made out of green
dyed leather, with jewels decorating the border. I couldn’t help
but wonder when the mask would be removed. Would the chief dame
make them wait until they’d already committed to each other? It was
something I wouldn’t be surprised of.

I walked up and stood to the right of Barri,
facing the groom. Even the eye slits in the mask were darkened.
Who was this man?

My mother entered next and took her place on
a bench next to my father, in the very first row. The chief dame
was sitting along with them. As she sat down, the harpists changed
their melody to a processional and Lunamae came into full view. Her
veil, while long and covering her face, was still rather sheer. She
gracefully moved forward down the aisle and calmly stood next to
me.

I stooped to adjust the train of her gown and
smooth it out. As I stood, Friar Barri began the ceremony. The
faces of the bride and groom remained covered, although Barri
explained why and it was just as I thought. He was more delicate in
his explanation though, mentioning it was part of the unconditional
unity of the nations.

The words of the friar droned out as he said
the vows. Instead of a repetition from the parties, they were
instructed to nod. Apparently the chief dame didn’t even want the
groom’s voice to give away anything such as age or decrepity.

“Then it is my pleasure to welcome you both
to your matrimonial kiss.” The friar smiled and instructed the
newlywed couple. “You may remove her veil. Lunamae, you may remove
his mask.”

Lunamae’s veil was tossed as well as the
groom was able, over her head. I smoothed it out behind her. Then
she placed her delicate fingers over the mask. She lifted it
slightly, as if to peek to see under. I could hear a quick gasp
from her as she quickly flung it off and embraced him.