by Elin Peer
We all laughed at that comment and Khan elbowed Boulder. “Have you met Kya? If Archer can handle her, I think he would have been man enough to handle Christina too.”
Boulder clearly didn’t like any talk about Christina with a different man, and scratching his neck he muttered, “Am I to understand that you two are really getting married? You sure it’s not just a stupid prank?”
“It’s no prank,” I assured him. “We’re getting married as soon as possible.”
Christina planted her elbow on the table and used her free hand to support the one that was still reaching out with her glass. “Are you people going to toast with me or not?”
When we all clinked glasses, Christina smiled widely. “To my daughter and her lucky groom.”
After emptying my glass of beer, I set down the glass and saw Pearl reach over the table to place her hand on top of Raven’s. “Of all the women I know, I would have thought you’d be the last one to rush into marriage. You’ve only really known him for a few months, haven’t you?”
Raven’s eyes were soft when she smiled at me. “Leo and I met when he came to the Gray Manor with all the Motlander artists last August. It’s been a little over a year.”
Pearl’s thumb stroked across Raven’s hand. “Don’t feel pressured, sweetheart; the Nmen can be persistent when they pursue a woman, but you don’t need to marry to be together.”
Pearl’s words made me nervous. I didn’t want her to create doubt in Raven’s mind, but my woman answered in a clear and confident manner. “I get that, but marriage means a lot to Leo, and that makes it important to me too.” Raven squeezed my hand and gave me a warm smile that made my spine tingle.
“Aww, look at them, they’re so in love.” Mila tilted her head and placed her hands on her chest. “I want that too.”
“Don’t get any funny ideas.” Khan waved a finger at her. “This business of falling in love is flaky and not a good way to guarantee that you get the strongest protector possible. Raven made a good choice with Leo, but it’s better if love grows after you pick the right champion at your tournament.”
The talk and the congratulations continued as they wanted more details about when Raven had fallen in love with me.
“You used to think he was boring and stiff, remember?” Mila laughed. “You even said you didn’t want me to marry him because he didn’t have a sense of humor.”
Raven blushed a little. “Sorry about that. I guess I didn’t know that side of him until recently.”
“Or maybe you just wanted Leo for yourself all along,” Mila teased.
“Maybe.”
The two friends were smiling at each other when Mila declared, “As consolation for stealing one of my champions away from me, you’ll have to let me help plan the wedding.”
“We just want a small ceremony.” Raven’s words were overpowered by Khan, who clapped his hands.
“Excellent. Now that we have confirmed that Leo and Raven want to marry, we’ll make it a festive day to bring joy to the entire country. This is exactly what the Northlands need right now. After your wedding, I’ll announce the election and then right before the voting day, we’ll have Mila’s tournament. That way, my popularity will remain high.”
Pearl released Raven’s hand. “The ceremony will need to be transmitted to the country, though, and it would work better if you had a grand ceremony instead of a small one.”
Raven and I exchanged a glance.
“Honey, I know you said you wanted a small ceremony, but if this can help the Northlands to be a democratic country, it’s worth considering a large ceremony, isn’t it?” Christina asked.
Raven sighed but didn’t answer, so her mom turned to me. “Would you mind a big ceremony?”
I hesitated too.
“We’ll pay for it of course,” Christina added.
“As long as I get to marry Raven, I’m good with whatever. Obviously, Raven has to be comfortable with the scale of it, but I want every man in the whole world to know that she’s mine now.”
One of the French doors opened and Samara popped her head in. “When is dessert ready?”
“In a few minutes,” Christina answered and turned to Raven. “So, what do you say? Will you marry Leo in front of the whole country?”
Raven swallowed hard but then she locked eyes with me. “Yes, let’s tell every woman in the world that you’re mine as well.”
Epilogue
Winter Wedding
Two months later on New Year’s Eve 2448
Leo
I looked out my window for the seventh time, feeling anxious for Zasquash and Solo to get here. This time, I lit up as Solo’s new drone came in view.
It took a long minute or two for the drone to land and for my friends to cross the frost-covered ground to my front door, where I stood waiting for them.
“You look like a man ready to get married.” Zasquash grinned and gave me a masculine hug.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Solo came in and hugged me too. “Remember how I didn’t sleep the night before my wedding. I was fucking terrified that Willow would have regrets and not go through with it.”
“I think I slept an hour or two, but it doesn’t matter. I’m so pumped with adrenaline.”
“Good. And Raven, did you talk to her?”
“Yeah, she’s with Mila at the Manor. She called me and complained about having to wear a dress.”
Solo laughed. “I’ve never seen her in a dress.”
“No, she told me. Obviously, I don’t care what she wears, but it sounds like Mila and Laura have very firm ideas about what a bride should wear. Laura even wanted Raven to wear a pair of her high heels.”
Zasquash raised his eyebrows. “Is she doing it? I’ve been trying to get Darlene to wear some too, it looks fucking hot.”
“Raven refused. She says they hurt and told them to stop treating her like a doll.”
Solo raised his chin up. “Good for Raven. She’s never been one to let others boss her around.”
I chuckled. “Believe me, I know.”
Solo threw his jacket on my couch and took a seat. “I was meaning to ask you about that. Her time at the station is coming to an end soon, right?”
“Yeah, on January 26th. Then she goes back to the academy for three months. I’ll only see her on the weekends.”
“That sucks.”
“Yes. It sucks big time.”
Solo moved to the edge of his seat. “Look, I’m only mentioning it because I heard some disturbing things from Willow that worried me.”
“What?” Zasquash got three beers from my fridge and returned to the living room, handing us one each.
“Raven told Willow about some of the things that happened to her at the academy and we can’t let her go back there if shit like that is going to happen again.”
I frowned. “The academy is a tough place.”
“Sure. So is the army, but it sounded like the headmaster is a psycho with some kind of vendetta against her. He swore to her face that he would make sure she doesn’t pass and he has been sabotaging her every way he knows how.”
Opening my beer, I took a sip. “Why would she tell Willow and not me?”
Solo shrugged. “That’s Raven for you. Always trying to solve her own problems, but think about it; the headmaster has had six months to cook up new strategies to make her fail.”
Zasquash sat on the armrest of my sofa. “Hmm, sounds like someone should pay that guy a visit and remind him that women should be treated with respect.”
“But Raven doesn’t want special treatment.”
Solo and Zasquash stared at me. “Exactly. Raven wants the same fair chance as everyone else at the academy, but it sounds like he already decided to boot her out one way or another. I get that trailblazers have to work twice as hard as everyone else, but she should have a fair chance. Anything less is fucking wrong!”
“I agree, but Raven would be pissed if she found out that I paid her headmaster a vi
sit.”
“I get that.” Zas took another swig of his beer.
For a moment none of us spoke and then Zasquash groaned. “It’s fucking ironic how we’re upset about this situation when last year we were all pissed that Khan allowed her to join the academy to begin with.”
Solo nodded. “In my defense, it was the idea of something happening to her that made me against it.”
“You wanna hear the worst part?” I breathed. “I actually think she’ll make a good officer. She is so fucking hungry to prove herself, and these past few weeks that we’ve let her work on some real cases she has nailed every task we gave her. Raven is bloody sharp.”
Solo chuckled. “I could have told you that. Unless we’re talking about math because trust me, she’s horrible at it.”
I smiled. “I’ve noticed.”
“How about Zas and I pay that headmaster a visit? We have a certain effect on people and if you want, we could even bring a handful of our Doomsmen brothers and swing by the school to have a friendly chat with him. What do you say?”
Every soldier on the Doomsmen Squad was more than seven feet tall and bulky with muscles.
“It’s nice of you to offer, but the whole academy would be buzzing about it if a group of you mutants showed up. One of you is noticeable but a whole group is fucking terrifying to most people. Raven would hear about it for sure.”
“So? Let her hear that her friends have her back.”
“No, Zas. She’s too much of a fighter. She wants to do this on her own.”
“Don’t stress about it. We’re not police officers who knock on people’s doors and ask permission to come in. We’re trained soldiers who climb up walls or rappel down from rooftops. We might be large men, but getting in and out without being detected is what we’re trained to do.”
Taking another sip of my beer, I pondered out loud. “His name is Kaiser Martinez. I’ve met him a few times and I know he’s on the list of invited guests for the wedding ceremony.”
Zasquash snorted. “Why? If he’s a jerk, he shouldn’t be invited.”
“More than a thousand people are coming, Zas. The place is going to be bursting with every person of importance and with Raven and me being police, he was included.”
“So, what do you want to do?” Solo moved to the edge of the couch.
I thought about it and gave a sly smile. “Let’s just be chill about it. We’ll show Kaiser a private part of the manor and explain to him that Raven has a husband and some good friends that would get very upset if she isn’t treated fairly.”
Zasquash grinned. “That’s right. Nobody fucks with our Raven. She could get in trouble for beating up her headmaster, but I’ll gladly do it for her if needed.”
“Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that. Problem is that Martinez is good friends with my boss.”
Solo crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t worry about that. You and Raven are friends with me and while Magni heals, I’m the acting Commander of the police force and the army. Honestly, I went through enough hazing myself when I joined the Huntsmen. I won’t tolerate anything less than fair treatment of any recruit at his academy and I’ll be happy to tell him that.”
Zasquash raised his beer up. “If Martinez is smart, he’ll know not to go whining to anyone about this.”
We clanked our beers and emptied the bottles before leaving my house.
“When you return here, you’ll be a married man,” Solo pointed out as we flew away, heading for the Gray Manor.
That thought made me smile.
Raven
It wasn’t the thousand people watching me as I walked into the ballroom that made me shy. It was Leo’s reaction to seeing me dressed up with the white dress, the make-up, and my hair styled.
At first, he gaped, and then as I came closer, I could tell that he was swallowing hard and blinking back tears.
Taking the last steps to stand with Leo in front of Khan, I smiled and whispered, “You look handsome.”
Leo was wearing his formal police uniform that enhanced his wide shoulders and amazing behind. Reaching out to me, he took my hands. “You look like a goddess, Raven.”
With a shy smile and soft crinkles around my eyes, I whispered loudly, “Don’t get used to it. This will probably be the only time you see me in a dress.”
With a big smile, Khan began his speech: “It was a blessed day when Raven and nine other children from the Motherlands first arrived at the Northlands back in 2437. Never had any of us men seen seven girls at once and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was always hoping that you girls would choose to stay and become Northlanders yourself.
“Raven, you were always one of a kind with your curiosity and desire to learn how to fight like a boy. Those among us who have had the pleasure of teaching you can testify that you’re a fast and technically skilled fighter.
“Your father, Boulder, and I often mused about what kind of man it would take to catch your interest. We should have known that you’d pick one of the Northlands’ finest. Leo has shown that he has intelligence, ambition, bravery, and superior fighting skills. You couldn’t have chosen a better partner, Raven.”
Leo and I smiled at each other.
“Traditionally, when a woman marries it’s for protection, but with you two, we all know that’s not the case. Nor are you marrying for money. The only thing that ties you together is mutual love.” Khan paused. “In this day and age, true love is something so precious that it’s worth far more than a million dollars.”
Murmurs of agreement were heard from the audience as Khan continued, “It’s my privilege to ask you, Leo da Vinci, do you take Raven Pierson Boulder to be your wife?”
“I do.”
“Do you promise to protect her, respect her, and love her?”
“I do.”
“And you, Raven Pierson Boulder, do you take Leo da Vinci to be your husband?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you promise to honor, respect, and love him?”
“I do.”
“In that case, I now declare you husband and wife.”
Leo didn’t hesitate before stepping forward to cup my face and kiss me.
I lifted my hands and held on to his neck making our first kiss as man and wife deep and long. “I love you so fucking much,” he muttered into my mouth.
“And I love you!” When we pulled apart to breathe, we were smiling widely and turned to see the large crowd all cheering for us.
We kept close as people approached to congratulate us. Leo received a lot of pats on his shoulders and I received compliments about how pretty I looked. Some of our colleagues from Station Seven were there and Cameron joked that from now on he would only spar with me if Leo wasn’t in the room. “I don’t want your jealous husband breathing down my neck.”
Leo, who had seen me fight with Cameron, grinned. “I’m sure Raven can and will defend herself if anyone oversteps her boundaries.”
Cameron grinned back. “I fucking hope so with all the hours I’ve spent training her.”
The line of people who wanted to congratulate us seemed endless, and at one point I was hugging Willow and Darlene when their husbands Solo and Zasquash led Leo away.
“Where are you going?” I called after him, but he just blew me a kiss and gestured he would be back in a few minutes.
Looking down the long line of hundreds of people, I whispered to Willow and Darlene. “I wish I could sneak off too. Most of these people I don’t even know.”
Darlene and Willow craned their heads. “It’ll take you hours to greet all of them.”
I sighed. “Yes, I know.”
Mila came over at that moment and Darlene explained the situation to my best friend, who chewed on her lip for a second before she resolutely exclaimed, “I’ve got this. Go find Jonah. He’s over in that corner, I’ll join you in a minute.”
Willow and Darlene each hooked an arm under my elbow and served as buffers between me and all the strangers in the
room.
We were moving through the crowd when I heard Mila’s voice in a microphone: “Hello, can you all hear me? On behalf of the bride and groom, I have an announcement. They truly appreciate that so many wish to congratulate them, but let’s not waste your evening with all of you standing in a long line to have a few seconds of polite conversation. Instead, you should have a drink, mingle, and make some new friends. That’s what parties are for. If you want to congratulate the couple, snap a photo and or a small video and upload it to the wedding site that we created.”
A lot of the people in the long line looked as relieved as I felt, and soon they all spread around the room again.
Jonah was standing with a drink in his hand when Willow, Darlene, and I came to join him.
“Can I give you a hug?” he asked me and looked around. “Mila warned me that married Nmen get a bit crazy so I thought I’d asked first in case Leo is around.”
“He’s not, and even if he was close, he wouldn’t mind me hugging you, Jonah.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” I hugged him. “The Nmen don’t think of you as a threat. They know you’re not interested in us women like that.”
Jonah squeezed me before releasing me and pulling back to look into my eyes. “That’s a pretty big assumption and a generalization.”
I tilted my head. “Well, are you?”
At that moment Mila came to join us. “Did you see how it all worked out fine?”
Feeling grateful to her, I planted a kiss on Mila’s cheek. “You were amazing. I owe you one, sweetie.”
Willow pressed a drink into my hand. “Cheers, beautiful.”
I knew I should get around and greet more people, but being in a corner with Mila, Jonah, Darlene, and Willow felt safe and comfortable. We joked and laughed until Khan came over with five giant men.
“Mila, your dad asked me to introduce you to some of the men who will be competing in your tournament. This is Chip, Alan, Morris, Conlan, and Phyton.”
Mila gave a polite smile to all the men. “It’s nice to meet you.”