Topic: Dusk Promise

Shaye OConnor

Date: 2014-04-27 10:50 EST
Dusk was a time of magic and power in Arctra. Dusk was when women hoped to birth their children, when warriors hoped to be blooded for the first time, when marriages were made in the sight of the Nine. The line between day and night was sacred to the gods, and in that sacred time, no man or woman would dare to raise their hand against another without true and just cause. Thus it was that at dusk, man and woman were led to a place set aside from the camp, lit with torches, overhung with trees, to where a shrine to the Nine had been carved with painstaking devotion into the bark of an aged oak.

Tradition called for them to be blindfolded, that they did not lay eyes upon one another until they were married - an old tradition, from the days of arranged marriages between the old folk and the new, to prevent either bride or groom from taking to the hills to escape their intended before the wedding itself. With their eyes bound, it was their family who led them to that place - Makos and Conall leading Liam with steady grip, and Meara taking the place of Shaye's family with gentle hands. They were brought before the carven shrine, a sword lain upon the ground between them, separating the lovers with naked steel.

The priest, a young man who burned with devotion for the Nine, glanced between the blindfolded pair, reaching out to lay one hand on each of their shoulders. "In the eyes of the Nine, you are two," he intoned, a little nervous of the fact that he was standing within arms' length of the two deadliest warriors in Arctra. "Separate, alone. In this time, at this hour, when day sinks slowly into the embrace of the night, you shall be joined, and be forever one, together for eternity."

Even the deadliest warriors in Arctra longed for love and understanding, robbed of the promises they had made to each other when they'd been little more than children, until this very moment. Liam's expression was solemn beneath the blindfold that covered his eyes. This was the most solemn, the most sacred day of his life, the one day he had been praying and hoping and fighting for since the day of their last parting sixteen years in the past.

Shaye, too, was solemn and silent, though she thought she must be more nervous than Liam. All these years, he had been waiting and planning for this moment, when all she had wanted was for him to survive this war. She had never thought of herself as a part of his future, despite their shared oath. She wanted to reach out, to touch him, but for now the distance between them was a chasm, allowing her only to listen to the words of the priest and crackle of the torches around them.

The priest swallowed audibly, and went on. "Liam O'Connor, in devotion to the Nine, do you claim this lady for your wife?"

If Liam was nervous, he did not show it, nor did he sense the priest's nervousness. He was acutely aware of Shaye's presence, though he couldn't see her, knowing she stood close by, feeling her presence, even if he couldn't yet see her. After all the years of loneliness and longing, he could hardly believe his heart's desire was nearly his at last. "I do," Liam replied simply and clearly upon hearing the priest's question. Whether his people were sure of Shaye or not, he was never more sure of anything in his life than this.

"By Arca, will you love her" By Juri, are your lands hers" By Thalan, will you share truth' By Hano, will you give your protection to her" By Leeso, will you heal her hurts" By Tura, will you fight her enemies" By Gaeden, will you provide for her" By Rinca, will you shelter her" And by Drago, will you walk with her in the land beyond death?"

He did not need long to consider before answering those questions, sure that this was what his heart had longed for for most of his life. "Yes, I swear that I will."

"Hold forth your hand, Liam O'Connor." There was no need to wait for Liam to do so, for here was where the ceremony moved on. The priest turned to Shaye, asking her to claim this man as her husband, and to swear by the Nine all that he had sworn for her. This she did, willingly and warmly, sightless behind her blindfold, utterly unaware of anything but the man at her side and the heat of the torches close by. When she was bidden, she raised her own hand, and felt the young priest place her palm over Liam's, automatically linking her fingers with those of her love without needing to be told. "In the eyes of the Nine, the promises have been spoken, the oath sworn. These two are now one. Let no one put them asunder."

There was a pause, and Shaye smirked as she heard Makos muttering to the priest, who gulped audibly once again, and spoke up. "Ah ....Lord O'Connor, I believe you have a token you wish your lady to wear?"

Liam's fingers linked with those of his beloved, her voice soothing to his ears, proving to him that he was not dreaming, though it would take a few days yet of waking up beside her before he truly believed it. He smiled when she returned the same promises he had spoken, the same oath shared, though this was all mostly formality. They had sworn their hearts to each other long ago and bound themselves together with a blood oath made to Thalan under a full moon. "Yes," Liam replied, turning his head in the direction of Makos' voice, though with his eyes bound he had little sense of direction. "Conall. Do you have it?"

Curiosity made Shaye's fingers itch to raise her blindfold and see what was going on on Liam's other side, especially given the amount of muttering and grumbling she could hear coming from Gregor Makos. Conall, it seemed, was not so eager for this wedding as the others here, though she could hardly blame him.

There was a thump as Makos nudged Conall hard. "Get it out, boy, or I'll search you for it myself."

Conall grumbled a little, more so at the rebuke from Makos than the wedding itself. Who was he to begrudge Liam happiness when he had not begrudged Conall the same, even if he wasn't so certain of the First Blade as the others seemed to be. He reached into a pouch he wore at his waist and pulled out something shiny and small and precious. It had been part of Liam's family for generations, passed down from eldest son to eldest son to give to his bride - a token that symbolized their love and fidelity and signified the unbreakable bond between them. Conall handed the thing to Makos, rather than give it to the priest himself.

Shaye OConnor

Date: 2014-04-27 10:51 EST
Unbeknownst to the blindfolded pair, Makos rolled his eyes at Conall's begrudging reluctance, silently promising that they were going to have words about this later. Then he took Liam's free hand and pressed the ring into it, closing his step-son's fingers about the family jewel. "Have at it, lad."

Thankfully for Conall, Liam was mostly unaware of his friend's reluctance to welcome Shaye into the fold. If he was worried about it, he didn't show it, confident Conall would come around eventually and not only welcome Shaye but accept her the same way that Liam had accepted Liayna. Liam's fingers closed around the ring as he waited for the priest's cue to slide it onto his new bride's hand.

It only took one nod from Makos to get the nervous young priest back on track. "Accept this token of your husband's house, and wear it proudly for the world to see that you, Shaye Dervla, have claimed and been claimed for all the time to come."

Still blindfolded, Liam reached for the hand that was clasped to his and slid the ring onto the third finger, hoping it would fit. It had once belonged to his mother, given as a token of love from his father, and so on going back through the generations.

The weight of the ring felt strange about Shaye's finger, the progression to where it eventually rested easier than either of them could have predicted. For all her skill as a warrior, she had a woman's hands still, hands that wrapped themselves about Liam's as she turned to face him under Meara's direction, as he was turned to face her. "Uncover their eyes, and let them look upon the one with whom they will walk in the land beyond death."

As Meara uncovered Shaye's eyes, so too was Liam's blindfold lifted so that he could at last gaze upon the face of his beloved who was now his wife in the eyes of the Church, the True Queen, and the Nine Gods who ruled Arctra.

He would have to remember to thank his mother for her efforts over the long afternoon. The scruffy, unwashed warrior had been swept away to reveal the beautiful woman he had always said she was. The dress was tied in two layers of rough silk about her body, the red over the cream, held tight to her waist with a silver belt, the long, wide sleeves hanging far down, embroidered by Meara's own hand. Long flaxen pale hair poured down over her shoulders, gently curling about her face as she looked up at him. Stripped of armor and weapons, allowed nothing to hide her femininity behind, Shaye could not have looked less like the First Blade of Arctra. She was, quite simply, a beautiful woman, smiling shyly up at her husband for the very first time.

To say she took his breath away was something of an understatement. He audibly gasped when the blindfold was finally removed and he was able to look on the vision before him that was his Shaye, his lea, his wife. He did not say a word, except for that gasp, before taking her in his arms and sealing their vows with a kiss that lacked little passion. As for himself, he still looked the part of a warrior, though he was clad in his finest clothes, a fine mix of velvet and leather all trimmed in the finest brocade and embroidery. It was not Meara's hand that had created such fine garments, but the finest tailors money could buy, saved from the ruins of their home in Loscar and carefully and loving stored in a trunk until the day when they would be needed for this very event.

The kiss was begun before the priest could stammer out the last words of the rite, his hurried gallop of a blessing accompanied by the low rumbling chuckle coming from Gregor Makos as the sergeant bent and gently slipped the sword along the ground beneath Shaye's feet. In theory, she had stepped over the steel and into the arms of her husband, and theory would just have to do. Passion was something neither Liam nor Shaye lacked, and yet it was something they had never shared. Now there was little to keep them from doing just that.

Conall watched from a short distance, feeling a little conflicted, despite the obvious happiness that was on display before him. It wasn't that he begrudged Liam happiness, but only that he was unsure of Shaye's motivations. Still, he loved Liam like a brother and would try to be happy for him, even if he was wary.

Meara laughed at the vibrant passion shared by the younger pair, eager to share their love for each other even at the priest's expense, but no matter. What the Gods had joined, no man could tear asunder.

Makos put the sword into the priest's hands and moved to stand beside his own wife, wrapping a warm arm about her shoulders as she laughed. "Maybe now they'll finally work out what to do with the bits below the waist," he murmured teasingly to Meara through his grin. "Four years they slept in the same bed, and nothing happened. I was starting to get worried."

"And here I thought you were proud of them for having the will power to abstain," she whispered back, curling into his protective embrace and resting the palm of a hand against his heart. Whatever grief they had shared for Eoghan's death, it seemed that was all past them now.

Conall moved forward to stand beside the other pair, feeling a little lost without Liayna by his side. His expression was solemn, thoughtful, a little confused. It had not been long since he had returned from his journey to meet the clans and he had felt restless since and a little unsure of his own place in the grand scheme of things.

Liam finished kissing his bride, at least for the time being, smiling broadly back at her, his heart full to bursting with happiness. "Now you are mine to command, wench," he teased with that old familiar light in his eyes.

"Only if you want to keep having full use of all your fingers, ladyboy," his wife sweetly shot back at him, though the threat was real enough. She hadn't changed much from the wild street cat he'd met all those years ago, not deep down. Someone had just taken the time to smooth some courtly manners over the top. Shaye's smile was warm and bright as she looked up at Liam, but there was one thing she had to do, one thing she knew he wasn't going to like.

Shaye OConnor

Date: 2014-04-27 10:52 EST
She turned to his friend, Conall, meeting his eyes with quiet solemnity. "I know we don't know each other well, but I have an oath to swear to you," she said quietly. "I swear to you, Conall, by the Nine and the Goddess of the Wild Ones, that should I ever be given an order to harm Liam, Adare, or any of their people, I will come to you. And if that order is to kill, I will expect you to kill me first."

Liam's bright smile faltered as she turned her attention to his closest friend, who Liam trusted more than any other. They had become like brothers over the years, and it seemed Shaye sensed this without being told. She must have heard of him and knew he was second only to Liam, after all. Velasca wanted Conall's head nearly as much as she wanted Liam's.

"That won't be necess-" Liam started to protest, but it was Conall who lifted a hand and broke in to interrupt his commander and friend.

"I accept your oath, Lady, and I will fulfill it if I must." He glanced at Liam, knowing how much this woman meant to him, even more so now that he had someone of his own who held his heart. "And I swear to you, Shaye, that I will not raise a hand to harm you, so long as you do no harm to my brother." It was a simple enough vow, and one that could be kept, so long as she took no more orders from Velasca.

Ignoring Liam's protest, Shaye held Conall's eyes until he had accepted her oath, visibly relaxing now there was something in place to keep her from killing her husband should she ever be ordered to by the Usurper. "Thank you." The gratitude in her eyes for Conall's assurance might have been a little embarrassing, but at least the people who needed to know were now aware of what she had put in place. None of them would raise a hand to Conall for killing her, if it should come to that.

Gregor Makos cleared his throat. "One down," he pointed out with a chuckle. "Only around twenty thousand to go."

Conall did not look much happier now that they had reached an agreement than he did before. He did not relish the thought of having to kill Liam's beloved and hoped it would not be necessary. He was still unsure whether or not Shaye could be trusted, but for now, he had no choice but to take her at her word.

Liam clenched his jaw, looking almost as unhappy as Conall. He did not want to have to choose sides between his wife and his brother, but hoped that Conall would come around in time. It was Meara who tried to smooth things over before tempers flared, laying a hand on Gregor's arm to quiet even him.

"Enough," Meara interrupted in a voice that said she would tolerate no nonsense. "This is a day for celebration. Once you come to know Shaye, you will love her as we do. Are you not bringing your own lady to the feast, Conall Riordan' I have a feeling she and Shaye might make fast friends. As for the others, they will respect Liam's judgment, as they always have, or suffer the consequences." She did not say what those consequences were, but banishment from the rebel camp was usually the chosen form of punishment if one could not live in peace among the others.

"You heard the woman," Gregor announced, covering Meara's hand on his arm with his own. "Eat, drink, and be merry, and stop whinging, the lot of you."

Shaye snorted with laughter, her solemn expression breaking into a wide smile at her former sergeant's less-than-direct translation of hiw own wife's words, which hadn't needed translating in the first place. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" she accused him laughingly, and Gregor shook his head.

"What would be the point of that?" he grinned back at her. "Someone in this family has to be able to keep you two in line."

"And I keep him in line," Meara added with a grin at them both, before breaking from her husband to offer a welcoming and congratulatory embrace to her new daughter. "Welcome to the family, velira. It has been a long time coming."

Liam softened and relaxed a little, exchanging glances with Conall that promised they would have words later. He did not want any animosity between them, especially not on account of Shaye.

Wrapped up in Meara's embrace, Shaye smiled, startled when a moment later, burly arms wrapped around them both and Gregor Makos, the sergeant who had trained her and thumped her about often enough when she was a girl, pressed a very gentle kiss to her forehead. Valantis, family. She had a family again.

((Took 'em long enough, but they're married now - here's hoping Velasca doesn't get a word in to have Liam's head chopped off.))