Chapter 516 - The Wedding III (Patreon)

My cheeks burned as we kissed in front of everyone, the crowd cheering and clapping at our display. Iona fearlessly pulled me in closer, heedless of Auri’s flames, to get a better grip on me as she kissed.

One of the Valkyries shouted out a crude suggestion in Sanglo, and the soldiers of the Sixth got the tone, even without understanding the words. They immediately tried to one-up the Valkyries, shouting their own suggestions in High Elvish. A harsh glare from Night and Sigrun quieted them, but didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.

Our kiss was deep and thorough, and I never wanted the moment to end. I tried to stretch it out, splitting up my thoughts and having them all focus on the moment, on my love.

Alas, it had to end.

Iona picked me up and twirled me around - the quick way for getting around with our hands tied together - and triumphantly raised her hands in front of everyone. In a stunning display of wedding guest coordination, they shifted over, making a new aisle for us to walk down and out of the temple hand in hand, Amber and Goblin Slayer trailing behind us. The palanquin was waiting for us outside, and the two of us got in, our maids of honor and a much-argued over mix of other guests lifting us up. A sized-down Fenrir flapped after us, circling around.

He’d been shrunk down size-wise, but he still weighed the same. I was pretty sure he’d break anything not super specially reinforced. Even if the palanquin was somehow reinforced, the spines of our bearers were not that buffed.

“Brrrpt!” Auri quietly tweeted her congratulations from my tiara.

“You’re doing great.” I told her, without tearing my gaze away from Iona. She just looked so happy. Her pupils were gigantic as she stared unblinkingly at me, a goofy grin plastered across her face. She squeezed my hand.

“Yo Dusk, you two lovebirds ready to get moving?” Goblin Slayer asked, breaking the moment. “It’s your day, your wedding, but I carved my name into a keg, and if we don’t hurry, the locusts will have drunk it all dry by the time we get there.”

I snorted at the unbidden image of Goblin Slayer swimming in a keg of beer, drunk as a skunk. Iona didn’t break her loving gaze as she answered.

“Yeah, let’s go.” She said, and we were off!

Most of the guests were going to the big wedding party, but we had a different destination first. They could get the fun and games started, and we could come in at the height of the party.

It was nice being carried around! We were carted off to our next destination - a tattoo parlor!

It was easy for me to get out of my wedding dress, into my under-shift. Auri simply turned off the flames.

Iona and her suit of armor was not nearly so simple. We had to stand there while Goblin Slayer and another Valkyrie slowly peeled enough layers off to reveal the area Iona wanted tattooed.

We sort of had matching tattoos. They were each personalized for ourselves and each other, and the two combined made an image greater than the sum of the parts.

We’d both elected for a full-back tattoo of the other’s companion in delicate white ink, with the design going all the way down our arms to our fingers. There was some minor day-of adjusting with how, exactly, our fingers were twined together that the [Artisan] would have to work around.

“Are you two ready?” He asked. I wiggled a little more into the face-down holder I was in, still looking at Iona. She squeezed my hand then slightly readjusted her fingers into a better, more comfortable grip.

“Ready!” Iona said.

I… wasn’t.

I spent a silent minute checking every little minute thing I could sense around me, from a bird five blocks over singing its morning song, to a pair of rats arguing over a breadcrust down in the sewers. Only when I was satisfied that no assassins were lying in wait, that no disaster was about to hit me did I drop [Persistent Casting] of [Universal Cure], two [Parallel Thoughts] dedicated to watching for danger around me.

It unfortunately paid to be paranoid, even on my wedding day, even with Arachne keeping her vigil.

“Ready!” I said. Unfortunately, I’d waited a little too long, and my silence had gotten awkward. Oh well.

Iona clearly understood, and mouthed the words ‘it’s alright’ at me. I blew her a little kiss, and the two [Tattoo Artists] started working.

[Luminous Mind] prevented me from feeling anything, and stats and skills worked together in harmony to quickly get the design on our skin. Fenrir would dominate my back, as Auri dominated Ionas. Phoenix and wyvern representing us. A setting moon, representing the end of night and hence the coming dawn, went onto my back, while a rising moon, the dusk, went onto Iona’s. A thousand more patterns and small details went into both of our designs, the two artists we’d paid to do the work having outdone themselves by miles. Lightning bolts and triceratops, fairy rings and a tribute to the moon deities, the Remus Sentinel sigil and the Valkyrie wings and so many more little symbols that were important to us.

And of course, on our fingers, the shape and pattern of the red ribbon we had tying us together were imprinted on our skin in red, a permanent reminder that we were bound and committed to each other, mind, body, and soul.

They were quick, but I was a little nervous at the end.

“You’re sure they’re imprinted properly?” I asked them. Getting the ink as part of our System ‘image’ so healing wouldn’t remove it was hard, and it wasn’t like Iona and I had standard biology or low vitality.

“Aye, or my name isn’t Atramentum!” The [Artist] said.

I raised a skeptical eyebrow and turned [Universal Cure] back on, impressed that none of the ink faded.

A quirk of [The Stars Never Fade] was some imprinted things - like tattoos - would come with the reversion. Magic was just weird like that. I’d used it on myself a little before the event just in case it changed in the future, and would always aim for an ‘older’ age.

Amber threw her hands up in triumph.

“To the party!” She announced.

“To the beer!” Goblin Slayer enthusiastically agreed.

We found ourselves bundled up again and hauled off to the big party.

Amber and Goblin Slayer opened the doors with a dramatic flourish as Fenrir flew overhead, making a beeline for the buffet table.

“The brides have arrived!” They each announced in different languages, and the party turned to focus on us. We smiled and waved our way over to our table.

It had been impossible to sort out who would sit with us and who wouldn’t. Iona had eventually come up with a genius solution.

“This table is perfect.” I gushed again as we shuffled around to sit down. “Just us, so it’s intimate, then a guest chair for anyone to sit in and briefly chat? It’s so good!”

Iona beamed at the compliment.

“It’s also supposed to represent all the guests here sitting with us.” She said.

“It’s genius.” I repeated. “I probably would’ve done something dumb like sit Sigrun next to Katerina.”

Iona shuddered in mock-horror as we took our seats. For whatever reason, the two got along like oil and water.

The party was epic. Tables dominated a third of the room, with a huge, practically endless buffet against one wall. Fenrir was busy destroying the four whole cows labeled ‘For the Wyvern, don’t touch’, and there were meals from all over the world on offer. A dance floor covered another third, with a four-man band performing music on request. It was almost entirely confined to the dance floor, but a second band - a flutist and a violinist - were providing ambient happy background music to the rest of the party. The last third was half-games, half-bar, with rows upon rows of kegs holding both alcohol, and a wide variety of fine blood for the vampire guests. The party was rowdy and in full swing, but it was still early enough and the people involved sane enough that nobody was drunk off their tits and throwing skills around.

Yet.

It was only a matter of time before our damage deposit was wiped out.

A young waitress stepped up to our table.

“I’m here to-” She got three words out before I snaked my free arm out and grabbed her in a crushing hug.

“NINA!” I practically shouted. “You made it!”

Iona looked like she’d been stabbed.

“Nina? You’re sure?” She asked. I grinned back and forth, not letting go of Nina.

“Absolutely! There’s no fooling these senses. Why are your tails tucked in? What are you doing here? How are you here? I thought you were uncontactable! The courier said there was nobody at the Eventide Establishment’s address!”

Nina struggled a moment longer, then gave up and sat down, her illusion dissolving around her.

“I am so busted.” She complained.

Amber swooped in.

“Everything alright?” She asked. “Anything wrong?”

Iona was almost crying. I shook my head, then paused.

“Well, I think we need a new waiter.” I said. “We’ve kinda hijacked the first one.”

Amber nodded her understanding and vanished to go fix the issue.

“Tell us everything!” I demanded.

Nina started talking.

She’d gone to the Eventide Establishment on Sigrun’s recommendation after the war, to better work on her Mirage talents and learn a whole new set of skills. The Eventide Eclipse, broadly, was a shadowy, under-the-table organization from Nippon-Koku that dabbled in espionage, blackmail, poisonings, assassinations, and the whole lot.

Reductively, they were ninjas.

Training and adjusting had been intense, and Nina regaled us of her adventures. She hadn’t exactly had a ton of time - it was approaching the one year anniversary, and normally, she’d still be in training.

“... then we got told we’re doing a mission here. An easy one, for trainees.” Nina explained. “I’m going to be in so much trouble since I got caught.”

She paled.

“So much trouble.” She whispered.

Just then a letter arrived at our table, flapping through the air like a bird before neatly unfolding itself in front of me.

Dawn,

Please take Nina’s presence at your wedding as my gift to the two of you. I know how much she means to you, and reassure her that she’s at no risk of getting in trouble. Her handler has already been caught and neatly trussed up, and reminded that if he wants to cause any grief, that he was far more obvious than she was.

I hired the Eventide Establishment to ‘spy’ on the wedding, asking them to bring trainees. Everyone wins. The trainees get experience and paid, you get to see Nina, she gets to see you, and the Sentinels get to have a bit of fun playing ‘catch the harmless spies’.

I do hope I’m not overstepping by having Nina here as a surprise, nor by arranging some fun and games for some guests in the background.

Congratulations again! The ceremony and vows were beautiful.

Susan.

Iona and Nina read over my shoulders at the same time. I smiled at the two of them, aware of the tension between them.

“Normally I’d leave and let the two of you catch up a bit, but…” I raised my tied hand with Iona. “I’m a little stuck here.”

Iona grabbed Nina’s hand with her own, making a circle around the table.

“Nina, Fox, I’m sorry.” She apologized. “I didn’t mean to drive you away. I just…”

Nina flicked an ear.

“No, I understand. I did something terrible, and we were in a bad spot. I…”

I faded back a bit, letting the two reconcile. They both wanted it. They were both earnestly baring their hearts to each other, looking for the connection once again. The relationship.

I could ask for no better present for my wife on this joyous day. Amber circled back round to me.

“Everything alright here?” She asked.

“It will be, but…” My stomach growled. “I’m starving and both my hands are occupied. Feed me?” I asked.

I swear, fucking Artemis had her ears tuned to my frequency or some nonsense like that. Perhaps a skill to improve her hearing. She bounded over across the entire party, skidding to a halt beside us.

“Dibs!” She called out, only to dash to the buffet table and back. “Alright, catch!”

Artemis tossed -  was that goat curry? It smelled divine - up at my mouth.

I snaked my head over and caught it, trying to protest.

“Artemis, I can barely-” I said, before she tossed another chunk.

“Brrrpt!” Auri found the whole thing hilarious, and it was kinda funny. Also keeping me nicely distracted from Iona and Nina’s heartfelt conversation.

The party raged on. Iona and Nina made up with a ton of tears, and my new wife turned to me, sniffing.

“This is the happiest day of my life.” She said. I put my head on her shoulder, wordlessly telling her the same.

Then I caught a durian fruit Artemis had somehow located and thrown my way.

“Durian!? Durian!? How did you find durian!?” I yelled at her. “No! Take it away! Come on Artemis.”

I did my best ‘Sentinel Dawn is displeased’ face, and Julius was right there a moment later.

“Not cool.” He said. “This could’ve really caused an issue.”

Artemis looked pale.

“But… that wasn’t a durian when I grabbed it.” She protested. “Come on, I have some sense.”

The five of us traded looks, and Iona turned to Nina with a sickly sweet tone.

“Nina, my dearest friend. I believe we might have a minor issue with some ninjas at our party. Is there a chance you could handle the issue for us?”

Nina looked positively feral at the suggestion.

“Oooh, I know exactly who it is as well.” She snarled. “Akushu was talking about stinking up the wedding the whole way over. I am going to get him.”

“I am right there with you.” Artemis had murder in her eyes.

“No killing people at my wedding!” I protested. Artemis paused.

“What’s the radius on that order?” She asked Julius. “How far away until I’m no longer at the wedding?”

Julius seriously thought about it.

“Three blocks.” He decreed. “If it’s three blocks away, it’s not the wedding anymore.”

Artemis and Nina traded a look, the two of them on exactly the same wavelength. They nodded once, and went Hunting. I groaned and headbutted the table.

“We are not living in a culture where a wedding is boring if there are no deaths!” I complained.

“Brrrpt! Brrrpt?” Auri agreed, and at that moment, the three phoenixes decided to make their own entrance.

I shot wary looks at them, fully expecting some degree of antics, perhaps demanding the central spotlight, but they simply found spots high up in the rafters to hang out and watch the events. Mostly Auri.

“...brrpt?” She asked softly, almost embarrassed.

“Yeah, go enjoy things with your friends, you don’t need to spend the entire time on my head not having fun.” I told her. I wasn’t a huge fan of how close Auri was with the phoenixes and how much time they’d spent together, but I wasn’t about to start being an ass about it. Not at my wedding.

Not when Auri was leaving tomorrow to the Phoenix Peaks.

“Also, give them my thanks for behaving and not making a scene at our wedding.” Iona said. “I know it was all you asking them nicely, but it doesn’t hurt to pass the message along.”

After a few minutes with the phoenixes, and doing a quick drink run for them - to my surprise, the three phoenixes were all fans of the vampire’s bloody drinks - Auri returned to us and our table.

The day flew by and turned to night with no decrease or slowing down of the activities. People came, sat at our table, and chatted for a bit before going off. Iona and I danced and ate, reveling in the party. A relieved Julius escorted a disappointed Nina and Artemis, while Sigrun and Wren broke a table arm-wrestling. Amber had made sure a slow but steady supply of mangos made their way to our table, and just as I finished one, another freshly sliced mango would arrive on a tray.

The lucky waiter ended up with thousands of arcs in tips, mostly from Iona.

[Zenith Everlasting] provided me with endless energy, and Iona had her own skills helping out.

Then it was time for The Cake. A 12-layered monstrosity, one for each of our classes plus our companions. Auri’s new Lava element class included a [Molten Sugar] skill, which had let her do utterly impossible designs on the cake and figurines to top it.

Naturally, there was a beautifully detailed and colored version of Iona and I topping the cake.

Iona and I split the top layer together, a rich chocolate layer with oversized sugar crystals inside, supposed to be Celestial for our shared element.

“Auri, you’ve outdone yourself, this is divine.” I gave a second compliment by diving right back into my half of the cake, inhaling it as fast as I could, no matter my already-bulging stomach.

“I’ve never eaten a better cake.” Iona confirmed.

“Brrrpt.” Auri made a relieved noise, then jumped over to a glass of wine. “Brrrpt! Brrpt?”

“Yes, go nuts. Just don’t get so hungover that the phoenixes tease you tomorrow.” I said.

Sadly, all good things come to an end, and our wedding was one of those.

“Hey, as a twist, do you want me to carry you all the way back?” I offered Iona. She adamantly shook her head.

“No, no, I’ve been literally dreaming and fantasizing about this ever since we got engaged.” She said. “It’d mean a lot to me.”

To one last round of very drunk cheers, Iona lifted me up in a princess carry, then grinned wickedly at me.

“Well, hang on, if this is supposed to be a kidnapping…” She said, shifting me around until I was over one of her shoulders.

“Hey!” I protested, more in jest than anything serious. If she found it fun, sure, I’d go along for the ride.

To one last cheer, Iona waved at the remaining guests, and we were off.

Iona was highly motivated to get me back home for obvious reasons, and in minutes we were barging through the door.

“Oh, by the way…” Iona trailed off meaningfully as she carried me to not-our-room. “Surprise!”

I gasped.

Iona had, obviously with help from the other Valkyries, converted one of the rooms into a reading nook. Floor to ceiling shelves dominated every inch of the room that wasn’t window or door, and they’d been stuffed with thousands and thousands of books. I slid down, tracing a finger over the spines, skimming the titles.

“I love you.”