David Dalglish - The Cost of Betrayal

Around the corner she came, seeming to float across the grass. Rosemary blooms encircled her hair, forming a crown. Her hair hung loose behind her back, though a few braided strands ran down the sides of her face. Earrings of cut sapphires dangled from golden chains in her ears. Her eyes sparkled, highlighted with hints of blue powder.

A new pendant hung from her neck, thin silver threads looping through its clasp. From one direction, it seemed to be of a spider, yet from the other side, the playful shape of a kitten. The twin illusion was marvelous. The pendant rested just above the swell of her breasts, which were on prominent display due to the low cut of her dress. The dress itself was simple, white, and elegant. She wore a single sash, of a sky color, and no shoes.

“How do I look?” she asked. Harruq tried to answer, but his jaw refused to budge from its half-open position. Seeing this, Aurelia lifted her arms above her head and twirled.

“Did I ever tell you how much I envied you?” Tarlak whispered to the half-orc.

“Touch her and die,” Harruq whispered back.

“Harruq, Aurelia, are you ready to begin?” Delysia asked.

“Are you?” the elf asked Harruq.

“Sure,” he said, his smile huge and contagious.

“Good.” She pecked him on the cheek. “Let’s get this over with.”

A lthough Aurelia had been in charge of the wedding, she did not wish it to be traditional elvish. The fact that a priest of Ashhur, and not Celestia, presided over it spoke much to this fact. In truth, they retained only one element of an elvish wedding, and that was the opening song.

“The union of souls should always be a beautiful thing,” Delysia said to all in attendance. The girl was gone, replaced by a proud and solemn woman. “So let this ceremony begin with a beauty to both the eye and the ear. Felewen Queneya, let us hear your song.”

The elf stood, smoothed out the soft blue-white dress she wore, and began to sing. No music accompanied her. No hands clapped along. The only instrument was her powerful voice. Its smooth melody was like the waters of the ocean, rolling from her tongue with a sound that was constant and beautiful. Three hundred years before, she had been taught that song for the funeral of her youngest sibling. Those who heard the words and understood them nodded in understanding and approval. Those who did not, such as Harruq, did not need translation. Their hearts understood.

Felewen’s song ended, followed by a respectful silence. All gathered there looked upon Delysia as she sliced through the quiet with her voice, carrying with it power and authority.

“Harruq Tun. A mixed blood, carrying the race of Celestia’s condemned, as well as the blood of her chosen. You have the potential to be everything we fear, and everything we may hope to be. Whatever path you walked before coming to us matters not. The path ahead, I tell all of you, is what matters, and to marry out of love, and to give devotion to a single soul, shows what path you have chosen. Harruq Tun, I offer you my blessing.”

She smiled and bowed to him. Harruq shifted uncomfortably, glancing more than once at Aurelia. The elf merely smiled and squeezed his hand.

“Aurelia Thyne. Many would give all their worldly possessions for such beauty as yours. Many more would sacrifice for the powerful magic you wield. Well known is the elven hatred of the orcish. Every man and woman on Dezrel walks with the taint of sin, and the failure of mortality. Few wear the proof of this upon their face, their skin, and within their bloodline. Fewer still would see the gem beneath. While all here have come to see the worth of Harruq Tun, you have come to love him as only a soul mate can. Aurelia Thyne, I offer you my blessing.”

The elf smiled as Delysia bowed to her.

“You make me sound too good to be true,” she whispered.

The priestess smiled. “Lovers, your rings.”

Harruq pulled out a small black box from his pocket, while Aurelia levitated a similar box from atop a nearby chair. As one, they opened them. Aurelia’s held a simple silver band. Harruq’s, which he had not opened under Brug’s strict orders, held a much greater surprise. Light burst from the opened box, a soft eruption of colors. Seven orbs of light rose into the sky, sparkling in lavender, blue, gold, green, orange, white, and red. The orbs danced above their heads before taking orbit and bathing them in the colors of the rainbow.

“You outdid yourself there,” Tarlak whispered to Brug, who sat with arms crossed next to him.

“Cheap trick’s all it is,” he whispered back. Still, his face held a smug satisfaction as he watched the orbs revolve in the sky, bathing them in waves of light.

Delysia gave no reaction to the orbs, even though she had been given no warning of the display.

“Harruq Tun. The ring you hold represents your heart, which you give to your lover for eternal safekeeping. Do you give such sacredness freely?”

“I do,” he said.

“And Aurelia Thyne, do you willingly accept his love into safekeeping, for as long as you draw breath?”

“I do,” she said. At those words, Harruq felt a soaring in his heart.

“Give your ring to her, Harruq Tun, and know Ashhur watches and blesses your love with his.”

He took her outstretched hand and slid the ring on her finger. Whirlwinds of feathers tore through his chest. His head felt full of air.

“Aurelia Thyne. The ring you hold represents your heart, which you give to your lover for eternal safekeeping. Do you give such sacredness freely?”

“I do,” she said.

“And Harruq Tun, do you willingly accept her love into safekeeping, for as long as you draw breath?”

“I do,” he said.

“Give your ring to him, Aurelia Thyne, and know Ashhur blesses your love.”

Harruq stared at the ring sliding across his finger, a foreign thing, one he never thought to possess. When finished, the two interlocked their hands and stared into each other’s eyes as Delysia finished the ceremony.

“Each of you holds the love of the other in your heart. Keep it sacred, and keep it close. May Ashhur forever bless and protect these two lovers before us all. Aurelia, you now are a member of the Tun family. Harruq, you may kiss your wife.”

To a round of applause, Harruq took the elf in his arms, dipped her to one side, and kissed her.

T he feast was beyond anything the wizard had ever prepared. Roast quail, venison, boar, and mutton covered a single table, all seasoned with basil, sage, and rosemary. Another table was piled high with cheese, fish, ale-flavored bread, wild fruits, and assorted beers, meads, and wines. Covering all was a blended array of spices, some rare, some common. Each bite contained a hint of cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, or nutmeg.

When the feast was done, and the toasts were over, the guests said their goodbyes.

“Come visit me some time,” Felewen said, hugging both. “Make sure you let me know when the babies are coming.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Harruq said, grinning at her. Dieredon left with her, bowing to Aurelia and offering only a quick word to Harruq.

“Break her heart, I break you,” he said.

“Will remember,” the half-orc replied. The two mounted Sonowin and soared off into the southern sky.

Qurrah was last, his mood strangely quiet and somber.

“You will come and visit again, won’t you?” Aurelia asked, offering him a curtsey. The half-orc bowed.

“I will do my very best. To both of you, I offer my most sincere congratulations.”

“You stay safe, brother,” Harruq said, hugging him. Qurrah chuckled.

“Of course. You as well.”

Another bow, and then he ventured into the forest, vanishing amid the trees. Harruq resumed eating a bit more, worried by that last troubled look on his brother’s face.