“To marry Sonya Redblade,” Doc replied.
“Hmm... I’m not sure I can allow that.”
“Your honor?” Ayla spoke up, raising her hand and getting a nod from the judge. “Why not? It isn’t against the law.”
“We have clear precedent of marriage being between one man and one woman,” Judge Bero said firmly.
“But it isn’t law,” Ayla said. “On top of the absence of a law, the dwarven clans have a history of marriage between multiple partners for generations.”
Bero stared at Ayla hard for a long moment. “Are you a lawyer or acquainted with the law, miss?”
“Business law,” Ayla answered, clearly hesitant about admitting it.
“Ah. So you are using conjecture and dwarven custom as your basis?”
“Your honor,” Sophia said, not stopping to get his approval, “there is no law forbidding it. There is only the church decree that marriage should be between a single man and woman. Some judges have upheld that view as law, but it isn’t actually law.”
Bero stared at Sophia. “Miss Sagesse, you know better than to interrupt the court.”
“I do, your honor,” Sophia said. “I apologize for doing so.”
“Good.”
“I just couldn’t stand by and see the law disregarded,” Sophia continued.
Bero’s nostrils flared. “One more outburst and I will hold you in contempt.”
“That is your right as judge,” Sophia replied. “I was just trying to make sure that the facts were stated clearly so you didn’t make a legal error, your honor. I know how you pride yourself on following the law.”
Bero stared at Sophia for what felt like a minute before he turned his attention to Doc and Sonya. “As I was saying, this is muddy ground. I will marry you, but it might be revoked by a higher court if it’s brought before them.”
Sonya cleared her throat lightly. “Your honor, if I may?”
“Miss Redblade,” Bero nodded slowly.
“Dwarven law is very clear on this topic: marriage can be between multiple partners if all of them agree to it. The three of us have agreed and will be having another ceremony in the clan hall after this. I know that dwarven customs are given lesser weight in court, but when law is absent, they are normally seen as an acceptable substitute.”
“And you’ve studied this in-depth, have you?” Bero asked, the condescension in his tone clear.
“I have. It’s important to the man I love and therefore, me,” Sonya said, ignoring him. “I can have the elders verify, if you’d like.”
Bero looked past her at the crowd and spotted the two elders he knew. “Two of them, at least.”
“All three,” Becker said. “Elder Redblade is the third seat now.” She motioned to Greta.
Bero’s lips thinned. “I see... Very well. Shall we proceed? Do you have the paperwork?”
Elta placed the paperwork before Bero, her face impassive. “Here it is, sir.”
The rest of the ceremony was handled with coldness by the judge, but Sonya ignored it. Her fervent wish was finally being granted, and all she felt was elation.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Doc walked side by side with his new bride on the way to the clan hall, his hand clasping hers. His mind was still on the troubles they’d had at the courthouse— he wasn’t sure if the judge was just biased because of the church, or if it was something more.
“Husband, why is your brow furrowed?” Fiala asked from his left.
Doc shook his head. “I apologize. I was thinking of something that shouldn’t intrude on our evening. Forgive me, Sonya.”
“Always, husband.” Sonya’s final word was full of happiness and love.
Doc gave her a smile. “Thank you, dear wife.”
Sonya’s smile grew wide and her eyes shone with happiness. “I like those words from you.”
“We both do,” Fiala nodded.
“Well, then, my darling wives, I will endeavor to make you both happy.”
Entering the clan hall feasting room, Doc led his wives to the head of the table and made sure they were seated before he took his own seat. He frowned when he realized he didn’t have a best man for the speech, as Otto was going to be doing the father’s speech. Looking at his side of the table, Otto was missing, but Lia was in his place.
“Lia,” Doc asked softly as the room began to fill, “can you take the best man speech?”
Lia gave Doc a raised eyebrow. “You think of me as your best… man?”
Doc rubbed at his face with one hand. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant that you’re the closest I have to that here with me, and I’d—” Doc cut off when her soft hand covered his on the table.
“I was only teasing you, Doc,” Lia said, her lips trembling as she tried to contain her smile. “I will do so, but remember, you asked for this.”
Doc was about to ask what she meant when he realized who else was on his side of the table; Ayla and Sophia, who were conversing in soft voices. That distracted him just long enough for a chime to sound, and all eyes went to Becker.
“Clan, before the wedding feast, there is something that we need to tell all of you. As it touches on the wedding itself, with the newlyweds’ consent, we’ve all agreed now was the best time. The clans have long been without an important figure. They were wiped out between our wars with the elves and then, by the church, but today... today, we welcome back the first shaman any clan has had in quite a while. Shaman Holyday.”
Doc held up a hand as the crowd exploded in applause, acknowledging everyone looking his way.
Sonya covered his hand with hers. “It’ll be okay. I’m here to help you.”
Doc gave her a soft smile and nodded. “And that calms me.”
“Do not bother him tonight, as tonight is his wedding day, welcoming him fully into the clan. I’m sure he’ll be able to assist any who need it in the near future,” Becker said. “For now, onto the feast.”
~*~*~
The food was excellent once again, and Doc made sure to not stuff himself, though it was hard not to have just one more bite. Sonya ate less than she had last time, knowing she’d be moving a lot shortly.
As the meal drew to an end, Otto stood up, waiting patiently for everyone’s silent attention. “Clan and guests, we have another wedding to celebrate. This time, it is my own daughter. As any father, I worried about who she might find as a worthy partner. When she set her sights on Doc, I was angry to start with, even though he’d healed her and saved her life. How foolish and shortsighted of me.”
A chuckle went through the hall at his chagrin.
“He proved himself, time and again, to be a caring man of honor. Daughter,” Otto said, turning to face her squarely, “you knew better than I. You definitely have your mother’s intelligence and wisdom, along with her refusal to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Another burst of laughter went through the room, making him pause again.
“I can never put into words my deepest apologies for trying to stop the mountain from spewing its fire, but I can say how proud I am of you. Not only did you know better than I, you knew better than any of us in the clan.”
Sonya beamed at her father before leaning over to kiss Doc’s cheek.
“I know your path will not be easy. I’ll worry my head off, but I know that Doc will do everything he can for you, as you will for him.” Raising his mug high, Otto turned to the room at large. “Let us raise a toast to our newlyweds— may they have many children to usher in a great age for us all.”
Doc raised his glass, but when Otto said the last bit, he’d been halfway to drinking and coughed hard on the ale. He hadn’t thought the toast would be about him having kids.
Fiala giggled and Sonya was quick to pat his back, earning more laughter from the crowd.
Once he had his breathing back to normal, Doc got to his feet slowly and felt every eye on him. “Father,” he started, staring at Otto, “thank you for thinking about your future grandchildren. I�
��m sure you won’t turn gray too fast once we start having them?”
The crowd laughed and started making comments about how Otto was already going gray. It wasn’t true, but it did make Otto look concerned.
“I need to thank Otto and Greta for their patience and understanding with me. You were there to help explain things to me and warn me about what I’d be facing. I had no idea what it meant to have a dwarven woman after you. When she decided I’d be hers, I quickly found out.”
More laughter filled the room, and mugs were raised and drunk.
Doc held up a hand with a grin on his face. “Okay, okay. Seriously, though, you raised an amazing daughter who has blessed me with her love.” He turned to face Sonya. “Sonya, thank you for being gentle in your pursuit of me. I know we’ll be good for each other— both of us can be stubborn when needed, though you’ll always likely have an edge in that category.”
Sonya laughed along with everyone else and picked up her mug when he raised his.
“To my new wife,” Doc said, his tone serious, “I will do everything I can to give you the love you want. We’ll face trials and tribulations, but with you and my other wife beside me, I know that everything will work out as long as we keep pressing forward.” He looked back to the crowd. “To the only one who can out-stubborn me— may she take pity on me at times and let me win occasionally.”
More laughter went with the crowd’s rousing agreement.
Sonya kissed him when he sat back down. The crowd was still loud, so she leaned in to speak into his ear, “You can win anytime you wish, dear. I’ll only go against you when it’s necessary for our safety.”
Doc smiled and kissed her again, getting some comments.
When they separated, Sonya stood up, her smile wide and joyous. “To our clan and guests, thank you for coming. I’d always hoped to marry a man who would understand me, and I have done so. Mother, Father, thank you for finally bending to my wish, not that you had any real choice in the matter.”
Laughter erupted, and many voices called out how difficult it was to handle a daughter who’d made up her mind.
“Let me tell you about our shaman and how much he cares, even for people he doesn’t yet know,” Sonya started. “I was dying... my blood was poisoned and my arm was broken. I mourned for the fact I would never know love, nor ever be able to raise a daughter of my own.”
“You’ll regret it if you have a daughter!” a random voice called out, and laughter followed.
“If she’s like me, perhaps,” Sonya agreed with a laugh. “As I was saying, I was consigning myself to death. I knew that even if Whittaker came, he’d probably fail to save me… when has he ever saved a non-human?”
“Never!” came a loud response from the crowd.
“While I was contemplating my own end, my mother came to me.” Sonya looked at Greta and smiled. “She told me there was a chance, but it meant trusting a stranger.” Her eyes went to Doc, and her whole stance softened. “When he entered the room... my heart sank. A human? What could he do to help me?” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I had no idea what he was capable of... I had no faith, but he changed that.”
The room grew quiet as everyone listened, leaning in to hear her better.
“He said a prayer to Lady Luck, and his hands blazed with green light. When he touched me… well, I had a religious experience.” Her lips trembled, fighting a laugh.
When the room laughed, she joined them and gave Doc a wink. She had to wait for the room to settle before she could speak again.
“His energy flowed into me and I felt tenderness.” Her voice was soft and trembling. “I hadn’t felt anything like it before, but now I know what it was… love. He gave of himself to help me— a crippled dwarf— and he did it without asking for anything. He didn’t stop when he’d cleansed my blood... no, that isn’t my husband. Explaining why my arm hurt still, he told me that it could be fixed, but that he needed faith.” Tears slipped from her eyes as she spoke on, “The price was high for him... he gave up his small energy reserve and taxed his body to finish healing me. When he fell over, I feared... feared I’d asked this precious man to heal me at the cost of his own life.”
Doc reached up and took her hands in his, and the crowd watched them in silence.
“I prayed with my very soul to Lady Luck to save him, even if it cost me my life again. This bright light couldn’t be snuffed out, not for me, not when he could push back the very darkness of death.” Her lips turned up again at the corners. “Luckily, I found out he’d just taxed himself into passing out, not to death. I rested his head on my lap and made up my mind at that moment: I would be his and I would fight anyone, everyone, to make sure I could care for him even one-millionth as much as he did for me in that moment. Little did I know, he’s nearly as stubborn as me. He made me chase him down and give concessions for his love.” She looked at Fiala. “I’d thought them a burdensome concession until I was able to know her. Now, I know even more joy and happiness.”
The crowd murmured, the affection between the women becoming clear.
Sonya took her hands back from Doc and raised her mug. “He might be our shaman, but he is my husband. More than that, he’s my light. I will keep him safe from anything and everything to see him shine all the brighter so others may know his light. Welcome him into our clan, and know that we are better than we have been in generations.”
The hall filled with thunderous agreement. Many of the guests got to their feet with their mugs raised as they drank to the toast. Lia winced at the sheer cacophony that filled the room. The room was still cheering when Doc leaned over and kissed Sonya, and it got louder again when Fiala did the same to her. The crowd was still buzzing when Fiala stood up a moment later, but they quickly quieted to hear what she had to say.
“Thank you all for coming to the feast. I’m overjoyed to welcome Sonya into our family, and I know that we’re better because of it. I’ll keep my speech short to not delay the dances too much longer. I still owe Sonya a dance, after all.”
There was some light laughter from the crowd as they remembered that dance.
“A small story is all: Sonya approached me to learn about Doc, having already locked her sights on him. That was my first time knowing what a dwarven woman would do for someone she loved, as well.” She paused as everyone laughed. “I was nearly bowled over by her determination. I knew my love of Doc burned brightly, but Sonya had a fire to match my own… I was a little afraid of her. As we talked, I learned that her love was capable of extending to anyone Doc loved. I was shocked— I hadn’t thought myself strong enough to do something similar. I soon learned that I could be her equal in that regard, and on even footing, we were able to accept each other.”
A murmur went through the crowd, but Fiala ignored them as she raised her mug. “Sonya, thank you. You showed me that love can be more than singular. Because of that, I was able to accept what life will be with Doc, you, and whoever else joins us. To the woman who burns so brightly, even mythrium will melt to her touch.”
Their guests drank, but many of them were having whispered discussions when the implications of the marriage sunk in for the clan. The conversations picked up when Fiala claimed another kiss from Sonya.
People thought the toasts were over, as no man other than Doc and Otto were sitting at the head table. When Lia stood up, silence took over the room as the guests gave her confused looks.
Lia gave the room a slow pan, making sure to look over everyone. “No doubt you’re all wondering what I am doing. Honestly, I’m as shocked as all of you, but Doc asked me to deliver his best man speech, and I agreed.”
Silence reigned and Lia gave the crowd a small shrug.
“Into uncharted territory, we both go.” Turning to Sonya, Lia gave the dwarven woman a long, appraising look. “Fit, tough, strong, and determined… you’ll need those traits, Sonya, to stand beside him. Please, take care of my dear friend Fiala, as well.”
Sonya smiled and raised her mug sli
ghtly to Lia. “Of course.”
“Now, a story about Doc,” Lia said with a smirk as she looked at him. “I did warn you that you might regret this— should I tell them about how you brazenly propositioned me after I sang on the stage? Many have, but I didn’t kick you out of my chambers like I do to everyone else.”
Murmurs sprang up and Lia’s eyes sparkled as she watched Doc shift uncomfortably.
“Or perhaps...” Lia looked sideways, her cheeks heated slightly, “how you saw me in my morning gown and had the audacity to compliment my looks?”
Doc started to speak up, but the crowd had grown loud and he gave Lia a pleading look. Lia’s eyes sparkled with laughter and she shook her head minutely, waiting for the crowd to settle down.
Cashing In (Luck's Voice Book 2) Page 24
