I laughed as the ears flopped away. “Yeah, you’re right. Based on the cloak I’m wearing, I bet it’ll have a bit more color, too.”
Amaya leaned back to admire the rainbow cloak cascading down my back. “That’s true. Maybe she’ll have a sash, like Hana had mentioned, or a—”
A bump in the road woke me from my daydreams, and I blinked away the fleeting remnants of the vision. I patted my gloved hand against my cheek to ensure I was truly awake. That was...something. The dreams of my past lives had been few and far between ever since we had arrived in Lybesa, and the sudden return had caught me off guard. That wasn’t a memory, though. It was a dream. A new dream. Although it had only been a few seconds, Amaya’s presence filled me with a warm resolve that tingled out into my fingertips. I hope you’re watching, Amaya. I hope you’re happy. Because I am.
The wagon ground to a halt, turned hard to the right, and stopped a second time a few moments later. “We’re here,” Marten called back from the driver’s bench. I followed the sound of his footsteps to the back flap of the wagon and climbed out behind him. He led me to the chapel’s side door, which opened into a small office space. The cloying scent of sacramental incense filled my nostrils and set my eyes watering, and I held my breath as we continued onwards into a narrow hallway on the opposite side of the room.
After a few more twists and turns that left me entirely lost in the maze-like passages of the chapel, we arrived at our final destination. The room was unadorned and nearly empty aside from a full-length mirror standing beside a tall wardrobe and a table with two wooden stools. Marten pulled out one of the seats and motioned for me to sit. “You wait here,” he said, returning to guide me by the shoulder to the table. “When the ceremony starts, someone will come to that door—” he gestured to a wooden door on the left side of the room, “—which leads directly to the altar.”
“Thanks,” I said with a slow nod. I folded my hands on the table in front of me and stared at them intently as my head swam. A low buzz had filtered into my thoughts when we entered the chapel, but I only started to truly notice it when the room fell silent and my thoughts began to wander. I wonder if Lia is in a room like this one. Waiting, just like me, a few dozen yards away. How many people are out there? It’s just Hana, Elise, Bella, Marten...no, Marten is here with me. It’s Hana, Bella, Marin...Elise, Marten...
A metallic thunk jarred the table and drew my attention. “Take this,” Marten chuckled, pressing a canteen into my hands. “I’m sure you’re thirsty.”
I smacked my mouth loudly and realized he was right. “Thanks,” I said again, lazily tugging at the cork.
“Do you want me to stay here with you until the ceremony starts?” The concern in his voice pulled me partway out of my stupor, and I looked up to find a wide, knowing smile spread across his face. “I don’t mind.”
“No, I’m fine,” I shook my head. “I’m sure you want to go see Lia before it starts, too, or find your seat with Hana.”
“Alright, then,” he said, patting me on the back. He gave me a final, lingering look, then made his way back to the door we had entered through.
“Marten, wait,” I called after him, lurching to my feet. I stuck my hand out towards him and noticed my fingers were trembling. “Thank you. For everything.”
He accepted the handshake with both hands, squeezing my fingers so tightly that it felt as though they might pop off in his calloused grip. “Of course,” he said softly. “Thank you, Lux.” He held me there for a long moment, then sniffed loudly and withdrew his hands. “I’d best be off to find my wife. I’m sure she’s worried we got lost at this point.”
I retook my seat as he left, and the fog over my mind immediately set in again. So now I just...wait, I guess, but for what? Is someone going to come get me? Or are they just going to knock? What if I don’t hear it? I turned to the wooden door across from me and narrowed my eyes, trying to force my fragmented attention on it to little effect. Who is even running the ceremony? Is there anybody here? Obviously Lia is here, and Marten. But who else?
A sluggish tendril of mana wound its way down my leg and crept across the wooden floor towards the chapel door. I won’t peek. I just need to see. As soon as the energy passed beneath the door, it encountered the amber glow of Lia’s mana. I withdrew in alarm, not having expected to find another presence nearby, but my brain pieced together the information soon after. When my mana returned to the door, Lia’s aura was gone, but I encountered it again a few feet further into the room.
Hi. Lia’s voice was unusually timid within my head, but it cut through the buzz and fog with ease.
Hi, I answered.
There was a long pause before she responded. Mother says it should be starting soon.
Marten said the same thing.
Another, shorter pause. I guess that means it’s starting soon.
Yeah, I agreed, I guess it does.
Are you nervous, Lux?
Not at all, I lied. You?
No, she replied, not at all.
That’s good. Music began to filter into the room through the door, and I felt my heart lurch into my throat. That means it’s starting soon, right?
I think so. I felt her presence begin to withdraw from the doorway, and her voice faded away with a soft laugh. I’ll see you soon.
A wide grin spread across my face as I sat alone in the small room. The distracting buzz had lifted from my mind during our brief conversation, replaced with a warm, tingling feeling of lightness throughout my entire body; I would have easily believed I was drunk if not for my overactive brain. How will I know when the ceremony starts? Is this really the band we chose? I don’t remember them having a flute player. Maybe Lia decided on—
A knock at the door immediately silenced my scattered thoughts and froze the breath in my lungs. Shakily, I took a final swig from Marten’s canteen before crossing to the door, cracking it just enough to peer out with one eye. An unfamiliar woman in the plain gray robes of a Unity priestess stood on the other side. “Lux?” she asked with a whisper. “It’s time.” I stared at her for a long moment before giving a delayed nod. She pushed the door open, and I followed her out into the main chapel.
It was a smaller room than I had expected; the altar I stood on was only twenty feet wide and half as deep, with just enough room for a single table covered in various sacramental objects and a tight line of stools behind it for the band. Below the altar, a dozen short benches lined each side of a plush red carpet that ran all the way to a set of double doors at the far end of the room. The entire chapel was built from rough-hewn emberwood, decorated with simple, monochromatic tapestries along the side walls. Our sole source of light came from a ten-foot-wide stained glass window centered above the altar. It was a pattern I had encountered multiple times in my travels with Lia: a small white circle surrounded by a ring of seven equally sized panes of colored glass. The window blazed with life under the early afternoon sun, painting the otherwise dull room with dancing rainbow patterns.
My question about who would be in attendance was succinctly answered as I scanned the room and found every bench but one empty. Marten had found his place on the outside edge of the closest bench on my left. Hana sat beside him, wearing a dress of pale gold handspun cotton. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight braid in the same style as Lia’s, highlighting the rounded gray ears atop her head that twitched in anticipation. Marin sat in the center of the bench in a similarly handspun cotton dress, patterned with thick purple and gold stripes. Elise and Bella filled out the rest of the seat, each dressed in their usual attire; to my surprise, Elise’s fashionable blue overcoat showed no signs of the bloodstains it had borne a week prior. As I looked over their faces, I found each of them staring back at me with comforting smiles; even Marin met my eyes and gave me an encouraging nod.
The only other people in the room were the chapel attendants: two priestesses, one at each side door, and a tall, elderly gentleman standing in front of the altar. The wizened old
man had translucently pale skin, a bald head, and bushy gray eyebrows that shadowed his pale, milky eyes. He wore a floor-length red robe beneath a threadbare, rainbow-colored vest and held a small leather-bound tome in one hand. When I appeared from the side chamber, he extended a wrinkled hand and beckoned me forward. I swallowed hard and obeyed, taking the short journey step by careful step. When I arrived at his side, he gave me a long look up and down, followed by a small nod of approval.
I heard a faint click from the opposite side of the altar, and my head snapped to attention to watch the priestess push open the chamber door. My eyes found Lia standing in the doorway, and the rest of the chapel blinked out of existence around me as I stared in awe at the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. She was dressed in an off-shoulder gown with a white satin bodice and a high neckline. At her waist, the dress shifted from pure white into a prismatic array of beautifully dyed fabric, which seemed to blend and dance beneath the light of the stained glass window. It swirled down to the floor and trailed a few feet behind her as she slowly began to walk forward. Her face was obscured by a veil, but her hair swung down behind her in a braid adorned with white flowers.
I spent an eternity within my mind staring at every inch of her, burning every microscopic detail into my memory until I remembered each turn of fabric better than my own face. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Perfect. A breeze blew across my face as I watched her climb the hill to my place under the shady tree.
“Wow,” Amaya breathed, “she’s absolutely stunning.” I remained transfixed on Lia as she took another step forward, and I caught a flash of
amber light as her eyes gleamed beneath the veil. “You’d better hold onto her, Elden. You’ll never find someone like her again.”
“I know,” I whispered, fighting back the tears of joy that threatened to blur my eyesight.
“Don’t forget the words,” she reminded me, tapping me lightly on the elbow.
“I won’t,” I answered.
Another eternity passed as Lia took another step. “Alright, Elden. It’s time to go.”
“No, not yet. I just want to look a little longer.”
“You have the rest of your life to look at her,” Amaya laughed. “As long as you treat her right, and keep her safe, and love her with everything you have.”
“Of course. Just like I loved you.” The tears rose again, this time bittersweet.
“And I you,” she replied. “Our time might be over, but your time with her is just beginning. I don’t want you to waste a single second of it thinking of me.”
I choked on a laugh. “Okay. I promise, I won’t.”
“Good.” I felt her lean in on my shoulder, and her voice lowered to a whisper directly against my ear. “Someday, when all your lives are done, you can come and find me. But not a second sooner.”
“I don’t know how long that will take.”
“I’ll wait,” she answered. “I’ll wait right here.”
I nodded. “Forever.”
Lia took her final step forward, and the chapel flickered back to life with perfect clarity. I reached out with shaking hands and raised the corners of her veil up over her head until I could see clearly into her eyes. “Hi,” I whispered sheepishly, my cheeks burning from the combination of my unceasing smile and the rush of hot blood.
“Hi,” she replied in turn with a blush that rivaled mine.
The priest cleared his throat softly, and we both turned toward him. “Marlia. Lux,” he said to each of us in a high-pitched, whistling voice. “You have come before us today to engage in the Unification Ceremony. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” we answered in unison.
He looked past us to the single occupied bench on the chapel floor. “Welcomed guests. You have come before us today to witness the Unification Ceremony. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” they answered in chorus.
“Very good,” the priest said, bowing his head. “The two of you have chosen the Binding Rites. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” we answered again.
“Then let us begin.” He stashed his leather book somewhere in his voluminous sleeves and raised both hands. “Lux, your right hand. Marlia, your left.” We stepped forward and raised the appointed hands, locking our fingers together tightly. My hand trembled in Lia’s grip, but she beamed at me radiantly as we came together, calming the tremors. The old priest took our hands in both of his and raised them to chest level. “Ancient Primevals,” he began, his airy voice now full of passion and vigor, “we have assembled today to perform the Unification Ceremony. Please, hear the prayers of these two souls and bless their union.” He released our hands and stepped back to the altar, returning a moment later with a small wooden box. “You may begin.”
Lia and I locked eyes, and we began to speak in unison the words Marten had taught me. “Primevals above, we come before you as two souls and ask that we may be joined as one. As you once joined to create all life, we pray that you bless us with that same unification.”
The priest opened the wooden box and withdrew a thin red ribbon as we spoke. “Bless us in Fire: That the flames of our souls are never quenched, and our united passion burns for all our life.” He wound the silk around our joined hands with quick movements, far more deftly than I would have believed possible for a man so old.
“Bless us in Ice: That we may persevere through the harsh colds of winter, and lend each other strength when times are hard. Bless us in Earth: That we may always have a place to call home, and shelter one another against the evils of the world. Bless us in Water: That we may never go without sustenance, and emerge from any storm stronger than before.” With each vow, the priest wrapped another silken ribbon around our hands, binding them more tightly together. I could feel the boundaries of my consciousness merging with Lia’s as we continued to speak, and our words grew more in sync with every line.
“Bless us in Wind: That our lives will always be filled with sounds of laughter and words of love. Bless us in Darkness: That we may never lose faith in one another, and always find our way to morning. Bless us in Light: That our days together are numerous and long beneath a merciful sun.” We paused and looked to the priest as he finished tying the golden ribbon around our hands, waiting for his benediction.
“Ancient Primevals, you have heard the prayers of these two souls!” he cried, raising his upturned hands above his head. “Bestow upon them your blessing, and let their souls become one for all their lives!”
“Ancient Primevals, bless us in Life: That the rest of our days may be spent together in one mind, one body, and one soul, until the day we return your blessings in death.” Our words echoed through the silent chapel as we stood together, bound hand to hand in marriage.
The priest removed the final, pure white ribbon from his box and laid it over our hands. “Marlia. Lux. You entered as two, but leave as one. From this day forth, you are bound as husband and wife. May the Primevals bless your lives.” He bowed his head and stepped away, the ceremony complete.
A loud cheer drew our attention to our bench of onlookers, who had all taken their feet in a standing ovation. Marten, Hana, and Elise all applauded, teary-eyed and smiling, while Marin continued to cheer noisily. I turned back to Lia and stared at her longingly, my entire body electrified with adrenaline and love. She giggled as she stared back at me, then lunged forward and kissed me. I wrapped my unbound arm around her and pulled her close, returning her passionate kiss to a louder round of cheers from the crowd.
I rested my forehead against hers as we broke apart, and a tear spilled down onto my cheek. “I love you,” I whispered, too choked up to manage anything louder.
“I love you, too,” she replied through fresh tears. “Forever.”
“Forever,” I nodded.
---
The rest of the day passed in a blur. We were whisked away to the restaurant where Bella worked and found our usual dining room had been converted to a banquet hall with live music, a long table covered in silver-
cloched trays, and beautiful banners styled in the Unity church colors and patterns. Elise led us to a table at the head of the room where we were to sit, still bound hand-in-hand, as servers brought us the choicest portions of the night's meal. I was happy to see unfamiliar faces on our dining room attendants, leaving Bella free to enjoy the evening at Elise’s side.
The seven of us stuffed ourselves on an exquisite multi-course meal that lasted until long after the sun had set. We ate braised bihorn with spiced blue tubers, curried game bird over saffron rice, creamy shellfish soup, and a delightfully unique dish of crispy, hollow mushrooms, which our server happily explained were a delicacy only found in the northern emberwood forests of Lybesa. Wine flowed freely throughout the night, and our conversation grew louder and more joyful with each passing dish. After we finished our dessert of sponge cake with a raspberry reduction and vanilla mousse, Marten and Hana disappeared from the room, returning a moment later with a neatly wrapped gift box.
Working together to overcome our drunken, one-armed handicap, Lia and I opened the gift to reveal a small ivory box with a carving of the Unity sigil on the lid. While Lia became immediately teary-eyed at the sight of the object, Hana had to explain to me its significance: the box would store our ribbons from the Binding Ceremony, finally allowing us to disentangle our hands from one another. When our careful task was complete and the box was safely stored back in Marten’s wagon, the tables were cleared to make space for dancing.
I had never learned to dance over the course of any of my lives, but I was far too drunk on love and wine to care. The band shifted from soft background music to lively, upbeat dancing tunes, and Lia and I whirled around the room with reckless abandon, laughing all the while. When we were red-faced and panting at the end of the song, Marten split us apart to pair off with his daughter, and Hana snatched me away for a dance of our own. Although the room seemed to spin before my eyes, I continued to fully indulge in the revelry, pausing only to imbibe fresh wine delivered by our servers. Elise and I danced together next, drinking and twirling side to side as Lia danced with her mother. Marin gave me a respectful nod but made no move to partner with me, instead choosing to dance with Lia. Likewise, Bella refrained from dancing at all until the final song of the night when Elise led her by the hand to the floor, where the two shared a tender moment together.
Restart Again: Volume 3 Page 42
