by S. W. Gunn
Hain’s voice came through the door, “Lad if’n ya’all don’t get up soon, ya’ll will miss your own weddin’“
As he sat up he told her, “I guess we should get up then, I’d hate to be late for my own wedding.”
She giggled at his comment.
Her face suddenly shifted sadly before she said, “I don’t even have a white dress.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Jarron told her evenly.
They both climbed off of the bed and stood.
Elyse gave him a quick kiss before saying, “I’m going to go to my quarters and change into something a lot more comfortable than this horrible robe.”
Jarron nodded at her before she turned and left his quarters. Again he found himself missing her immediately. He moved to the restroom and took a quick sonic shower, which felt great after that ordeal. It took him some time rummaging through his clothing but he finally found something that would look at least somewhat respectable. The braid that Elyse had made for him had long since frazzled to disrepair so Jarron undid it and quickly brushed his hair before putting it into his normal ponytail. He trimmed his goatee and then used a laser-shaver to trim his stubble away. Taking one last look in the mirror he was happy because he looked pretty good. He turned and exited his quarters. First he went to Elyse’s quarters, only to find that she was no longer there. It was slightly confusing because he doubted that she could have gotten ready so quickly. He walked throughout the ship and could find no one. After his search he decided that they must have gone to the church so he exited the Keg, making sure to activate its security system. Jarron took a deep breath of the fresh air. Elyse was right about the air, it was a wonderful feeling to breathe it in.
“Well, time to get going.” He said to himself.
Jarron slowly walked from the Keg towards the church. He was met with many smiles from the people of the town. Jarron waved, smiled, and greeted each person as he went. They all seemed quite happy to see him, which he had no doubt had been due to his bringing back Elyse. His time in that horrible cell had been both enlightening and scary at the same time because he found a lot about her powers. Reflecting on what she could do he was quite happy that no other person using the Gift could use him like she did. He confidently walked through the town and up the pathway to the church. As soon as he approached the door he was approached by Brother Renard.
“Brother Renard, I’m very happy to see that you’re well.” Jarron said sincerely to him.
He smiled widely at Jarron’s kind words before saying, “Yes thank you young man. It was quite a surprise to awake on the floor to find both you and Elyse were gone.”
“I bet.”
“Anyways young man, I am here to guide you to the meeting hall. We have a wedding to attend to.”
“Lead the way.”
Brother Renard motioned to the door and then led Jarron through the church. Once they entered the meeting hall he was shocked at the sight of the hall packed full of people. It seemed as though the entire town below had sent as many people as the room would allow. He smiled as everyone in the room as they turned to look at him. Hands stabbed out to pat his shoulder as he walked down the main pathway between the benches in the room. Hain was standing next to the podium, with Feligrin beside him.
With a chuckle Hain said, “Welcome to your single life’s funeral lad.”
Jarron laughed at him before saying, “Thanks Hain. So what exactly am I supposed to do? I’ve never even been to a wedding.”
Father Renard, who was standing nearby said, “Just stand there. When Father Lapella asks you a question, just answer it by saying ‘I do’. Then when he asks for the ring, turn to your short friend here,” He motioned at Feligrin, “and he will give you a ring to place on her left ring finger. After just kiss her when Father Lapella says to. It’s that easy.”
Hain laughed before saying, “Human weddin’s sure are simple. When a Kalan gets married it takes a week o’ feastin’ an celebration, then the bride an groom duel bare fisted. Usually the bride’s family helps the bride an the grooms family sit backs an laughs at him as he gets a beatin’. Once that’s done, the bride has the groom hauled off to their private quarters. I’ve only heard o’ one groom that actually won the fight. He got to keep his freedom.”
Jarron could not help but laugh. He was very glad he ended things with Hain’s cousin because he knew that he could not have beaten her in a fistfight, least yet her whole family. Although reflecting on it Jarron was certain she just wanted to bed him once and probably would have went on her merry way afterward. Loud soft music began to play. It took Jarron a second to recognize the music from the holo-serials he used to watch when living with his family. It was the wedding march from Terra’s past. This meant that Elyse was about to enter the room, Jarron found himself suddenly very nervous and holding his breath in anticipation.
Brother Renard declared, “Its time.”
The doors opened and standing there was Elyse, holding the arm of Father Lapella. She was radiant looking. Jarron did not know how she managed to get a white dress but she wore one. It was pure white with full length white sleeves. The dress fell all the way to the floor. Her hair was heavily curled and pinned loosely against the back of her head. Most of her hair flowed from that point downwards and then gently rested on her shoulders. She had a tiara made of small white flowers resting atop of her head. The dress scooped slightly over her chest to allow a small pendant to rest on her skin. As she slowly walked closer, with a small bouquet of white flowers in her hand, Jarron could tell that the dress was some sort of silky type material. Elyse bore the broadest smile that he had ever seen on her in his time knowing her. As she approached Jarron noticed that for the first time she appeared to have a light pinkish lipstick and some mascara. She was a vision of beauty to him.
Hain whispered over to him, “Lad your lass sure is a lookin’ lovely.”
Jarron could only nod his head. Father Lapella escorted her up the one step and onto the podium. He released her as she reached out and took Jarron’s left hand. She turned towards him, which he felt was a hint so he turned to face her. Their eyes met and Jarron was absorbed deeply into her hazel eyes immediately. Father Lapella started to speak and Jarron could not hear what he was saying, he was drawn too far into her eyes. After a few moments of staring at her Jarron was startled when Hain lightly nudged him.
“Yes?” Jarron asked him.
“Lad ya need to answer the question.” He replied.
Sullenly Jarron asked, “What question.”
His words caused the entire audience to laugh.
Father Lapella then said, “Do you take this woman to be your wife?”
Jarron blushed heavily. He was so entranced by Elyse that he had forgotten what he was doing.
He took a moment to remember what Brother Renard said before responding, “I do.”
Father Lapella turned to Elyse and asked, “Do you take this man to be your husband.”
“I do.” She answered with a beaming smile.
Father Lapella announced loudly, “Is there any man or woman who objects to this union?”
The room was silent for several moments before Father Lapella instructed while looking at Feligrin, “The rings please.”
Jarron remembered this part so he turned to Feligrin who extended his hand which he had sitting in his palm was a small open box. In the box was a thin golden ring. Jarron took the ring from the box and then turned back towards Elyse. He saw that she had a ring of her own.
“The groom will now place a ring on the finger of the bride. The ring signifies their eternal bond.” Father Lapella stated evenly.
Jarron reached out with his hand holding the ring and softly slid it on Elyse’s left finger as he was instructed. She looked down at the ring and then back at him.
Father Lapella continued, “The bride will now place a ring on the finger of the groom. This signifies that same bond as well.”
Elyse reached her hands out and took Jarron’s left han
d. She slid her ring on his ring finger and then squeezed his hand tightly.
Father Lapella then declared loudly, “I know pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride.”
Jarron pulled Elyse close and then kissed her on the lips. The audience all reacted loudly with heavy cheering, hoots, and howls. He stopped kissing her and they both turned towards the audience.
“There will be a reception in the church’s dining hall. All are invited and thanks to the best man we have cake.” Father Lapella announced to everyone in the room.
The rest of the evening was a blur to Jarron with plenty of food and loud celebration. It was not until the event had finally come to an end in the late evening that Father Lapella escorted them to a private area of the church.
“For the rest of the time that you are here visiting us you can stay in this room. It is meant for the head of our order, if he ever came to our planet. No one will disturb you for the rest of the evening.” He announced.
Elyse hugged him tightly and said, “Thank you Father.”
He opened the door for them and then left. Jarron looked into the room. It was probably the only decently designed room in the whole building. It had a massive bed, a small table with some chairs, a large dress, a cabinet, and a door that Jarron theorized went into a private bathroom. All of the furniture was a reddish brown color and appeared to be some sort of wood. There was a thick brown rug on the floor of the room and the walls were the stone of the church. He turned to look back at Elyse, who was looking at him. She grinned widely and then jumped into his arms in a rapid motion. Her physical abilities still impressed him greatly. Even in the dress she was wearing she had managed to get herself into his arms with one of his arms supporting her back and the other underneath her legs. She was quite light to carry. Jarron slowly walked through the door and then used his foot to kick it shut. She laughed as he brought her to the bed and gently set her down.
“So what do we do now?” Jarron asked.
With a giggle she pulled his shirt roughly to drag him onto the bed with her. Jarron laughed at her and then kissed her passionately.
Chapter 14
Jarron woke the next morning to find Elyse tangled around his body. They made love as long as they could until they fell asleep from exhaustion, although his body gave out much sooner than hers did. He did not know why but whenever he made love to her he always awoke the next morning fully refreshed. It did not matter that he only slept a few hours. He slowly extracted himself from her and slipped off to the restroom. Just like the bedroom, the restroom was much larger than any other in the church. Jarron knew it was not as opulent as some of the most basic hotel room ones but it more than worked for his purposes. After he finished his restroom break he walked out to find Elyse awake. She was resting her head against a pile of large pillows.
“Good morning.” She said.
“Good morning to you as well.”
Jarron climbed back on the bed and pulled himself closer to her.
“So what’s next?” Jarron asked her.
“A honeymoon of course.”
Jarron nodded at her.
“Let me go to the restroom and then we should get dressed. I want to go eat because I’m famished.” She announced.
“Alright.”
She climbed off the bed and headed to the restroom. Jarron climbed off the bed and then slipped his clothing on. He only had his outfit from yesterday available, everything else was back aboard the Keg. As he reached out to grab his jacket he saw gold glint off his left hand. It was the new wedding ring. He was amazed how easily it seemed to fit perfectly on him.
Elyse said from behind him, “Still shocked to suddenly be married?”
He realized that he was examining the ring closely when she returned.
“Not shocked actually. Happy, although if you told me a month ago that I was going to be married I’d have laughed right in your face. I wasn’t really the marrying type.”
She chuckled at him before stating, “Me too, although a month ago for me was about three years ago for you.”
He nodded sullenly at her comment. She walked over to the cabinet and opened it. Jarron saw some of her clothing hanging inside. He wished someone had prepared him as well as she seemed to be. She pulled out a dark purple dress. Jarron recognized it as one of the many that she bought awhile back. He never really examined it very thoroughly. As she slipped it on he was impressed by it. It fit tightly against her lithe frame in a rich dark purple color with a subtle secondary lighter purple color that spun randomly through the dress in a narrow swirling pattern. The sleeves were short and the dress ended just above her knees. The neckline dipped slightly, but not enough to expose too much of her chest. It looked wonderful on her, especially since it contrasted so strongly with her pale skin.
“What do you think?” She asked as she slowly rotated to display the dress.
“It’s lovely.”
She packed all of her remaining clothing into one bag, which Jarron immediately picked up.
“Alright let’s go eat.” Elyse said as she reached a hand out for him to hold.
He took hold of her hand and they slowly worked their way through the church before finally making it back into the dining hall. Jarron guessed from the amount of light in coming through the windows that they awoke well after breakfast was normally served. As they entered the hall Brother Renard called out to them to come to him. Elyse guided them to the table he was sitting at. She released Jarron’s hand and took a seat.
“It is good to see you both awake, Father Lapella had some food from the morning meal held for you.” He announced.
He waved over to another man who immediately exited and then returned with two large plates. Jarron was surprised to see the morning meal was pancakes, ham and eggs. He was expecting another bowl of paste.
As they ate Brother Renard announced, “Your Kalan friend asked me to tell you to meet him aboard your ship when you were ready to leave.”
Jarron nodded at him and began to eat. He saw Elyse eating as well. After they finished they both stood. Elyse hugged Brother Renard and wished him well. Jarron followed her as she went through the main areas of the church hugging and wishing well to everyone she could see. The goodbyes between her and Father Lapella was especially emotional. Finally they made their way through the church and down the pathway. He took her hand as they walked. After walking through the town again, where they were enthusiastically greeted by the people, they made it to the Keg. Jarron entered first and walked through the Keg to the cockpit. Hain was sitting in the chair for the weapons panel and Feligrin was in one of the passenger chairs. Jarron set her bag in the corner behind one of the chairs.
“Hey lad, ya both ready to go?”
“Yes Hain, I believe that we’re supposed to go on a honeymoon.”
“Aye lad, where am I droppin’ ya off at? The pleasure planet Parnal Three? Maybe to Terra?”
“Nope,” Jarron said, “I’ve got the perfect location though.”
“Well lad no sense in stretchin’ it out, where ya goin’?” Hain asked.
“Deep Space Station Whitmire 5.”
Feligrin exclaimed, “Why the heck would you wanna go there? That place is horrid!”
Elyse smiled widely at Jarron’s suggestion and hugged him tightly as she announced, “Because it’s where the contact for me to meet my father is going to be at.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” Feligrin said after a moment’s pause.
Elyse nodded and took a seat in the chair behind the pilot’s chair. Just then Ramona walked into the cockpit.
“Hey Elyse.” She said.
Elyse stood back up and hugged her tightly.
“I guess Hain agreed to fly you to the Lunar colony?” She asked.
Ramona nodded.
Hain announced, “I’m gonna go down to the engine room an strap in for lift off.”
“Alright Hain.” Jarron said.
“So you’re going to meet your fathe
r?” Ramona asked.
“Yes,” Elyse said, “Jarron convinced me I should at least try.”
“That’s nice of him.” Ramona said.
“Alright everyone take their seats,” Jarron said, “Elyse take the pilot’s chair and lift us off.”
She beamed a smile before sitting in the pilot’s chair. Jarron sat in the weapon’s chair and Ramona took the last chair. Elyse warmed up the ship and then slowly brought the Keg up off of the planet and into space. Jarron was happy to see clear space. He had no idea if Tiberius was a man of his word but it seemed as though maybe he was. Working quickly on the nav computer he set up the calculation for the route. He knew it was going to be a long trip, even going through the fold. The nav computer beeped and as Jarron had Elyse pull the lever he saw that the trip was going to be ten hours.
Jarron rose from his chair and said, “I think I need to help my new wife move her things into our quarters.”
“Please, although I don’t have much so it shouldn’t be too hard for us to handle quickly.” Elyse said with a chuckle.
Jarron nodded at her and took her hand. They walked through the ship and to the quest quarters. Jarron saw one small bag that he did not recognize which he assumed that it was probably Ramona’s things. He helped Elyse collect all of her clothing that they had bought and then they moved everything into his quarters. Almost immediately he realized that things were about to become severely cramped in there. He did not own a lot of things but the small room was designed for one person. Elyse tapped her toe on the floor as she started to assess their now shared room.
She announced with a mock serious tone, “Alright I’m going to have to seriously reorganize this mess if we are going to live together.”
He chuckled at her words.
“Seriously though, is it alright if I move some things and organize a bit?”
“Whatever you want to do.”
She set her bags next to the bed and then moved from cabinet to cabinet extracting everything from them as she went. The bed filled quickly with his things. She emptied every drawer and neatly placed all of his clothing in various piles on the bed. It was clear that she had planned something very specific.
