B3 Chapter 15

Lucan stood on the dais in the keep’s hall, his father looming behind him. The hall was full, crowded with a score of guests, yet it was quieter than a grave. Barely a whisper echoed out of those in attendance as they waited.

Most of those in the hall were nobles. Considering its modest size, their aides had been left outside to take part in the latter end of the ceremony. Among those present, Lucan met Winton’s eyes, his cousin winking at him. Lord Harold Zesh had, as expected, not arrived, owing to the coming war. However, he’d thankfully allowed his son to represent their estate. Lucan was happy that his cousin and brother-in-arms was here. All the nobles of the alliance were likewise present. Lord Thornvale, Sir Caerlyn, Lord Sergrave, Lord Drummond, Lord Cassius, Ren Arden, Sir Wolfe, Sir Upton, and Lord Ravencroft. All were in attendance, lining the long tables on both sides of the hall.

Sir Ryder was also in attendance, and Joel had arrived to represent Lord Serys, who was–like Lord Zesh–occupied by the coming conflict.

The hall was so full of folk that Lucan’s own men couldn’t all attend the beginning of the wedding. Thomas, Cordell, Sawyer, and Helena were there, but most of the men-at-arms were in the bailey, waiting with other aides and men for the latter part of the celebration.

The silence was suddenly broken by the echo of moving wood. The double doors of the hall shook once, then were pushed open by Heath and Tomis, allowing the awaited three to enter.

At the fore, Master Saltner and his son, Bertram, marched like guards, hiding Lilian with their frames. They both wore doublets and hoses, though Lilian’s father had a mantle hung on his shoulder, covering most of his garments.

As soon as they stepped into the hall, all those attending stood up and turned to face the small procession as it moved towards the dias. Lucan finally caught a glance of his betrothed from above as they drew closer. As expected, her face was covered by a thin veil cascading down from above. She wore an elegant blue dress, fitted at the waist and studded with precious stones that complemented its shade.

His eyes followed her until her family reached the stairs to the dais, then he had to lend his focus to her father as he ascended the stairs. He and his son soon stood across from him with Lilian still hidden behind them.

Lucan didn’t have to tell his father anything as the latter must have felt the arrival of their lawfamily. He stepped forward ahead of Lucan, facing where he expected Master Saltner to be, which was a sliver off, and said, “We of House Zesh ask to take your daughter, the pure Lilian Saltner, as our own, to be wed to my son, Lord Lucan Zesh. Do you, Maris Saltner, accept?”

Master Saltner did not immediately answer. Instead, as was custom, he turned to Lucan and asked, “Shall you protect my daughter no matter whence harm comes?”

“I swear it,” Lucan said solemnly.

“Shall you provide for my daughter at the worst of times and at the best of times?”

“I swear it.”

“Then, with this, I give you my daughter to be a loving wife and a nurturing mother for your forthcoming progeny. May you prosper together.” Master Saltner took the mantle off his shoulders and draped it across Lucan’s. Then he turned halfway on his heel, as did his son, opening a path towards Lucan’s betrothed, who soon stepped forward.

Lilian raised a sheathed ceremonial dagger studded with small gems, presenting it to him. Lucan accepted it into his hand, signifying her safety, with which she now entrusted him. In exchange, he handed her a golden mask with solemn features, signifying his dignity and face, with which he now entrusted her.

Lucan tied the dagger to the belt wrapped around his jerkin, and Lilian hid the mask somewhere in the folds of her dress. Then, slowly, she lifted her veil. Her face was powdered sparingly, and her eyes were drawn with mature black lines that made them more charming than he’d ever known. He smiled in spite of himself, and she smiled back.

Then a servant brought a plate of grapes for them. Lucan picked one and brought it to her mouth, and she took it on her tongue, chewing delicately. Then it was her turn. She picked one grape and brought it to his mouth. He took it carefully between his teeth and chewed the juicy fruit into a pulp, trying to look as dignified as he could while doing it.

Done with this, they both waited for the gesture, and after a few moments, Master Saltner gestured forward with a hand, allowing them to embrace. Lucan stepped forward, taking her in his arms and pressing her gently.

“Now your union is complete,” Master Saltner and his father echoed.

After a long embrace, Lucan let go of his wife, and they met each other’s eyes with genuine smiles. Normally, they would sit on throne-like chairs and watch the feasting in the hall, but considering the size of it and the need to allow all those waiting in the bailey to partake in the celebration, they would instead continue outside.

Lucan offered Lilian a hand, and she took it. Then he led her down the stairs and towards the doors. Their family and their guests followed behind them as they emerged from the keep into the evening chill, carefully treading the walkway down towards the bailey.

Already, celebrations were beginning, and Lucan saw bonfires roaring in Twinstead outside of the town. Thomas had arranged for the harvest festival to be merged with the wedding’s celebrations, which would make it a rather grand affair in the whole estate.

In the bailey, they were met by men and women who showered them with flower petals of different colors and smells. Many were drinking or dancing, making merry whichever way they could. A cup of wine found its way into Lucan’s hand, and he drank it with heart as Lilian wrapped her arm around his.

They were soon dragged apart, however, each driven to dance with their peers. Lucan found himself spinning around with men he didn’t recognize, and ones he did. He caught a glimpse of Ryder once, then he was dancing with Winton. A blur of people followed, and he couldn’t help but get dizzy after a time. And that was when he found Lilian in his arms again, and they were dancing in the middle of a merry crowd that barely gave them territory to turn about.

The merry-making only stopped for food, when, instead of trays, whole tables were carried out filled with food of every shape and kind. Lucan found himself seated with his wife on a table that had everything from baked chicken to a large roasted bird that he’d never seen before. Oils and spices lined the sides, and an ovenburied goat occupied the center of the table. Some of the farmers followed the practice of cooking meat in underground ovens. They would salt it, oil it, stuff it, and, on rare occasions, spice it before wrapping it in some kind of leather and burying it in a pit that would sometimes cook the meat for a whole day.

They ate in a blur of hunger, sharing smiles as they did. Hastily, and before they could eat their fill, they were dragged away from their table to dance again, this time leisurely and dignified. The whole celebration seemed to slow down as full bellies weighed down their owners, and people began to sip their drinks instead of draining them in one breath.

Lucan found that he had more room to lead his wife around as they danced. He did, and as he pulled her from a swirl of blue, their eyes met.

“You are quiet,” she said, her voice level but still too low to be heard by anyone else over the din of the crowd.

“I am?” Lucan cocked his head.

“Yes, you have been quiet since the ceremony,” she said. “Are you feeling any misgivings?”

Lucan nearly choked, regaining his bearings after a moment and saying, “Would you believe such a thing?”

“It is quite the uneven union.”

Lucan shook his head. “Had I, like every noble my age, gone out seeking the most proper wife I could find, I could not have found a better woman.”

Lilian’s lips pressed into a small smile, and she squeezed her eyes somewhere between smiling and crying. “Nor I a finer man.”

His hand left her waist and found her face, caressing her warm cheek. With the swirls of hair framing her features and his hand touching her beauty, he felt unimaginably blessed.

They danced on, revelling in the celebrations, then they were eventually led back to the keep, even as the harvest festival continued in the estate.

Back in the hall, Lucan would receive the gifts of his guests, but before that, the dowry was announced by a cheerful Master Saltner. Two thousand gold.

Eyes bulged, particularly Lord Cassius’s, as a small chest was brought into the hall and presented to Lucan. Inside, he saw forty Royals stacked on top of each other, distilling the large sum into the small, artificed coins.

Lucan thanked his lawfather and accepted the dowry with a smile. Then he began accepting the gifts of his guests. A bottle of spiced wine, half a century old, from Ren Arden. A ceremonial sword from Lord Cassius. Five pouches full of five different, colorful spices from Lord Ravencroft. Another ceremonial sword from Lord Drummond, this one studded with jewels that Lord Cassius could not have spared. A finely-crafted oak shield plated with steel from Lord Sergrave. A hand-sewn carpet from the Heaven Isles from Lord Thornvale. Then Winton came forward with the day’s most marvelous gift.

“My father, Lord Harold Zesh, wishes you a blessed marriage and plentiful progeny, Lord Lucan,” Winton said as he came upon the stairs. He gestured behind him as two servants came carrying a large pillow with armor on top. A back plate rested atop a breastplate, both made of bronze. However, that was not all, for Lucan did not miss the minute runes carved into the metal. A few gasps and whispers rose and ebbed as Winton took a breath and continued, “A bronze breastplate enchanted to weather the cruelest of blows. May you live long and prosper, Lord Lucan.”

Lucan stepped down from the dais and embraced his second cousin, accepting his family’s gift. It was not a cheap one, and he had not expected his father’s cousin to send something so valuable, even after how much he’d provided for the Wilderlands’ excursion, and with war drawing so close, too!

Afterwards, the knights’ gifts came. An obsidian dagger from Sir Ryder. A marble sculpture from Sir Upton. A bronze-tipped spear from Sir Wolfe. A great mirror from Sir Caerlyn.

Once the gifts were received and the guests feasted, the hall began to empty, Lucan and his father seeing its guests off with proper honors.

Then, soon, it was time. Lucan arrived back at his bride’s side and met her eyes. She looked away shyly, and he smiled, taking her hand.

A few moments later, they were at his chamber’s door. He opened the door for her, and she looked at him, and then, gingerly, she stepped inside for the first time. He followed, closing the door softly.

She turned around then and faced him. “What do you mean to do?”

“Surely, you are not so ignorant, my love,” Lucan said, giving her a gentle smile.

“I am not,” she said as he locked the door.

He stepped forward, caressing his cheek once more, and this time, her own hand came up to his face, touching it, trying it. “Then may you not know that there is a need between man and wife?” he whispered.

“I do,” she whispered back.

“And what, my love?” he asked as their faces drew closer and Lilian’s lips quivered.

“And true is the promise between us, for my need is great, my lord.” Then their lips found each other.