A Coursing Passage (A Life of Magic Book 3)

by Matthew Mitchell

  Raven grinned, "I do."

  Gorcy grinned broadly, "Good. Now do you promise to honor your union all of your life? Do you promise to share the load of living with Ott? Do you agree to be his helper in all things?"

  Raven smiled gently, "I do." She stated this softer.

  Gorcy nodded, "One last part. Do you swear that you shall be faithful to Ott? That you shall share his life? Do you swear to hold him in your highest regards?"

  Raven nodded, "I do so swear."

  Gorcy motioned her to lift the ring, "Please place this ring on Ott's hand to show your commitment and promise. This ring shall allow all of the family to bear witness to your oath of marriage."

  Raven softly grasped my hand and slid the ring onto my finger. It came to rest like it had always belonged there. She smiled as she released my hand.

  Gorcy turned to me, "Your turn Ott. Do you enter into this union with Raven whole heartily? Do you do so of your own will with no threats, promises, or bribes?"

  I smiled, "I do."

  Gorcy continued, "Do you promise to honor your union all of your life? Do you promise to share the load of living with Raven? Do you agree to be her helper in all things?"

  My grin grew at Raven's twitching, "I do."

  Gorcy smiled, "Do you swear that you shall be faithful to Raven? That you shall share her life? Do you swear to hold her in your highest regards?"

  By this time I was grinning from ear to ear, "I do so swear."

  "Place your ring upon Raven's hand to show your commitment and promise. This ring shall allow all of the family to bear witness to your oath of marriage."

  I gently took Raven's hand and slid the ring down upon her finger. As it slid into place I could see she was crying, tears of joy trickled down her cheeks. A soft whisper escaped her lips, "Now we are one." I smiled and squeezed her hand gently.

  Gorcy grasped us and pulled us together. "I want to present to you two lives joined together, a commitment that only shall end with death. Husband and wife, Otter Willow Lightfoot and Raven D'Cloud Lightfoot. These two have been joined as one, let no person tear them apart!" Everyone cheered, even louder than before. We held onto one another and I could hear Raven crying gently. I leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek, feeling the saltiness of her tears. Gorcy laughed, "Perhaps a more passionate kiss is called for on your wedding day?" The crowd cheered with enthusiasm. Raven smiled shyly and leaned towards me. I grinned and kissed her gently on the lips, sinking into the feeling of her against me. She pressed back gently at first and then with more force. We stayed that way for a few moments until Tulip commented.

  "You might want to breath sometime soon." She laughed.

  We separated, breathless and laughing. "Sorry." I stated this gently. Raven's hand was intertwined with mine.

  Gorcy moved us to the end of the wagon, "Now, this has been a great moment. Let us make it even greater! Amelia! Roger! It is your turn!" He called this out across the crowd.

  Amelia approached the wagon, led by Ruth. Roger approached, led by his parents. They all climbed onto the wagon, causing it to become quite crowded.

  Gorcy brought Amelia and Roger together in the center of the wagon. "These two come forward to join in marriage. What say all of you?"

  The crowd cheered and hollered. Gorcy smiled and turned to their parents. "Do you all agree on this marriage? Is it a good match?"

  Roger's dad stepped forward, "We agree to this marriage and feel that they are suited to one another. It is a good match." He stepped back, seemingly glad to have his part over.

  Ruth stepped forward, "I agree to this marriage and think they are a good match. They will make each other happy." She smiled and stepped back slowly.

  Gorcy nodded, "With the approval of your parents I so declare that you have a good match and we can wed you today." He pulled out another small box. "Do you both agree to be bound by a wedding vow, to be one's only love and life partner?"

  Both answered with a firm, "Yes."

  Gorcy grinned, "Then by exchanging rings you provide a witness to this vow and all of these here stand as witnesses." He handed a ring to Amelia and then Roger. Amelia slipped her ring over Roger's hand and then he did the same with her. "By this token shall all know you two are committed and avowed to one another." He stepped forward, gently guiding them to the edge of the wagon. "I present to you, Roger and Amelia. Joined in marriage and bound by their vow!"

  The crowd cheered, some even called out comments. These were obviously family and close friends. Amelia blushed at some of the comments.

  "Give your new wife a kiss, Roger." Gorcy suggested.

  Roger wrapped his arms around Amelia and dipped her low. He kissed her soundly as she kissed him back whole heartily. They stayed that way a moment before Roger stood them back up.

  Gorcy raised his hands, "We have had a momentous day. Two lives joined to our family, those same lives joined together, and two of our children joined together in marriage. How shall we celebrate?" His call was answered by many voices crying out. "To the party!" He called out over everyone. He herded all of us off the wagon and towards a line of tables. There were two main tables set beside each other. One had four chairs, Gorcy motioned Raven, Stain, Tulip and myself to this table. Roger, Amelia, Ruth, and Roger's parents sat at the other. Gorcy made sure everyone was seated. "Food has been provided and gifts will be exchanged. Everyone enjoy themselves!" He stepped away and grabbed a tumbler to drink. He downed it in one long drink, obviously soothing a sore throat from all the speaking today.

  People started to line up and they were all carrying something. Some things were large, others were tiny. But all were given with love and tenderness. Soon a pile formed behind both tables, a mass of gifts that showed that this new family truly wanted to welcome us and celebrate our new lives. This went on for a long period of time until the very last person handed us a gift, spoke a blessing, and walked away to eat. People were sitting at tables, leaning against wagons, some even had blankets tossed out on the ground. Sounds of laughter, conversations, and even singing rang through the camp.

  "Well, that was fun." Stain commented as he took small bites of different foods. "Congratulations you two." He stood up, "I need to give my gift to Roger and Amelia." He walked over to their table and handed a small package to them. He talked to them for a few minutes and then returned. "My present for you two awaits you at the wagon. My blessing is this, May you live a long, full life together. Always love one another. Cherish those moments, good or bad, that you share." He sat back down and took a drink.

  Tulip stood up, "I also need to present a gift to my granddaughter and newest grandson." She walked over to their table and pulled out a roll of paper. She handed it to them and grinned as they unrolled it. Their expressions showed their surprise. Amelia hugged Tulip's neck and kissed her on the cheek. Ruth grinned and leaned back, she obviously knew what Tulip was about. Tulip came back and sat down.

  "What did you give them?" Raven asked.

  Tulip smiled, "I gave them the greatest thing I possessed. It is a full list of all the spells I have ever come into contact. I will share them with them later, but the paper outlines how many spells and what families. It is a vast treasure."

  Stain smiled, "Perhaps I could persuade you to share a small portion of your treasure with me at some point?"

  Tulip grinned broadly, "Perhaps. We can talk later, you and I."

  We sat a long time, talking and enjoying each others company. People came up and offered more tokens and advice. Some caused us to blush. Finally the sun was high in the sky. "Time to wrap it up. We have many things left to do today." Stain stood up. "We are getting help moving all of your gifts to our campsite so that we may pack them away before dark." As he stated this a line of youths walked up and each filled a bag with gifts and headed towards our campsite. We followed them and found our campsite changed. The only tent still standing was Stain's. Both mine and Raven's were packed away. Each youth carefully emptied their bag until the
pile of gifts was sitting beside the wagon. "I think I will allow you two to finish this loading. Let it be the first thing you two do together as husband and wife." Stain chuckled and took Tulip's arm in his and escorted her away from the camp.

  I looked at Raven and grinned, "Husband and wife."

  She grinned and chuckled gently, "Finally alone." She leaned against me and laid her head on my chest. "That was noisy."

  I nodded and stroked her hair, it was soft and fine. An alluring scent drifted up from her hair, like flowers and leather. A combination I would always associate with Raven.

  "I think we need to load the wagon." She stated this as she stepped back. She smiled gently and ran her fingers through her hair, straightening it where I had stroked it.

  I nodded and grabbed the first of many packages. "I hope it all fits."

  She laughed and led the way into the wagon.

  ***

  The next morning I awoke to the sound of Raven moving around the wagon. We had finally finished packing away all the new gifts that needed to go into the wagon. Some gifts were simply not useful or redundant, so these were sent off to be traded for food. Then that needed to be packed. By the time we were done with that last bit of packing it was almost dark. The campsite was almost packed away, only enough stuff for a meal was kept out. We spent a quiet evening sitting around the fire and enjoying talking with one another. Stain and Tulip shared stories from their earlier lives. Raven and I listened and leaned against one another. Finally we all settled down and went off to our beds. Raven and I climbed into our wagon and went to bed.

  "Awake are you?" Raven chuckled from across the wagon.

  I looked over at her and smiled. Her hair was mussed up and she was still putting her leather outfit on, she looked so disorganized. She blushed at me watching her.

  "Time to get out of that bed, sleepy." She grabbed a pin and tamed her hair in one motion. She stood up and handed me a bowl. "Some food, my husband." She grinned widely.

  "Why thank you my wife." I sat up and took the bowl. I grinned and grabbed her hand.

  She pulled her hand back gently, "We need to get ready to travel."

  I pulled her hand gently, "I think I need a kiss." She tumbled into my lap, giggling. We took a few minutes to enjoy kissing.

  "Now, I do have things to do." Raven stated this gently as she put her hair back up. She stood up and headed to the door of the wagon. "I have heard the rest rumbling around for a while already. I am sure they are ready to be going." She stepped out of the wagon, gently closing the door behind herself.

  I smiled and stood up. I quickly ate the fruit and nuts she had prepared for a breakfast. Getting dressed I grinned, we were married. I looked out the door and smiled even wider. The camp had been packed up completely and everyone was sitting around where the campfire had been the night before. Cheers met my appearance.

  "It is about time you stirred. We threatened to invade your wagon, but your wife refused us entry." Tulip quipped.

  Stain stood up and stretched. "Now that you have ventured forth we need to leave." He hugged me and then headed towards Tag where his pack waited.

  Tulip stood up, "I believe the rest of our party is waiting for us to arrive. They already have everyone hooked up and ready to go." She headed towards her wagon, where her animals waited in harness. She climbed the wagon and slowly it pulled out of the campsite. Tag slowly followed her as Stain led the way.

  "They already hooked up the goats. We just need to secure a few things and we can follow." Raven commented as she picked up a few things and hung them on the wagon. I grabbed the last few things in the campsite and packed them away. We stood there a moment, taking it all in.

  "Things have changed so much while we have been here." Raven said softly.

  I hugged her close, "That they have. But so much for the better!"

  She hugged me close, "Time to get this wagon moving." She climbed up to the driver's bench and grabbed the reigns. I climbed up beside her and we headed down the path after the rest. The wagon rolled well and we occasionally heard things inside settling into place. Once or twice something larger banged, yet nothing seemed to break. We jumped anyway.

  "Well, it is about time you two caught up." Ruth commented from her wagon beside the gathering point. This was a large circle that was formed beside the main road. It had a a large group of various wagons, teams, and people filling it. "Do not worry too much. Others are still missing and we are not quite ready to move out onto the road." She stepped down from her wagon. "You will be behind Tulip and in front of me. Stain is traveling with Tulip, so Tag and Evins will be before you. We will most likely keep this order most of the trip."

  Raven tied the reins to the brake and climbed down from the wagon. "What about Robert and Amelia?"

  "We will be behind Ruth." Robert came from behind Ruth's wagon, evidently they were already parked there. "We like to keep close."

  Amelia came around the wagon behind Robert, "Good morning!" She was obviously in high spirits.

  Raven ran over to Amelia and hugged her around the neck. They stayed that way for a bit, while we could hear them whispering. With a loud laugh they separated and linked arms. "We are going to go around and meet everyone. You boys behave while we are gone." Amelia towed Raven into the crowd of people.

  "Care if I join you?" Robert stood beside our wagon.

  "Sure, climb on up." I stated this with a slight questioning tone.

  He climbed up and sat down, "It is considered rude to climb onto or into someone else's wagon without permission. The exceptions are immediate family. A parent, child, maybe a friend that is closer than family. " He looked around. "Your wagon turned out rather well."

  I nodded, "I think we are going to enjoy it quite a bit. Although we heard some things moving around on the way over."

  Robert looked worried, "We need to check that and see if we can secure things. If even something small bounces around just right it can tear up more than you could imagine." He climbed down and headed around the wagon. I joined him at the rear of the wagon and we looked in. Obviously we had forgotten to secure some catches, there was a good amount of clothes and objects scattered around the inside of the wagon. "Either you two are really messy or things have shifted."

  I smiled and started putting away clothes. "I think we forgot to close a cabinet." I proceeded to secure the offending door and then worked to pick up the other items.

  Robert helped and then pointed out something, "Most of this looks like it simply tumbled to the floor. Perhaps it just was not secured?"

  "I guess. We tried to get everything put away or tied down." I picked up a book. "I think we have a lot to learn."

  Robert nodded, "It will take time, but Tulip and the rest of us will help." He showed me how some things had not been packed away just right. After a while we heard a call going up through the gathering place. Sticking his head out of the window Robert called out, "Is that the head out?"

  I could hear Tulip reply, "Yes. Get back to your wagon. You have just a few moments before we start rolling."

  Robert stood up, "Well we will be getting underway in a few moments." He headed out of the wagon. "Be sure to secure the last of those things before they destroy something valuable." He climbed down the back stairs and moved around Ruth's wagon towards his own. I heard him call out to someone and then Raven appeared around Ruth's wagon.

  "Ott!" She called out. "Darling husband! Where are you?" Her voice rattled with laughter.

  I stuck my head out the door, "Just securing a few things my dear." I smiled at her.

  She nodded, "I wondered what made all the racket." She climbed the steps and pecked me on the cheek. Leaning past me to look into the wagon she nodded, "It seems as if you have it handled. Thank you ever so much." She climbed down and headed around the wagon. "Amelia said we would be heading out soon."

  I followed her, "Tulip said so also. I guess we need to be ready." We climbed up onto the driver's bench. No sooner had we settled ou
rselves than a call came out. The creaking of many wagons and the sound of many animals starting to move rumbled as the entire group of wagons slowly churned towards the road. A line formed out of seemingly chaos. Tulip pulled out and Tag followed close behind her.

  "Forward!" Raven called out.

  The goats stomped their hooves and pulled, the wagon slowly moving towards the road and following in Tag's shadow. I could hear Ruth call out and more wagons rumbled after us. All in all it seemed as if there were twenty wagons plus small carts, people carrying packs, and a few pack animals like Tag. The entire caravan was now underway. The sounds settled into a gently, steady rumble of noise. Wheels rolling, animals calling out, people talking. It was very interesting.

  "This is nice." Raven leaned back against my shoulder. "I would much rather ride the whole way with you than walk."

  I hugged her close, "Me also. I always enjoyed walking, but the company is better up here."

  "I bet it is." Stain called out. I looked over and saw him walking alongside our wagon. "I realize you are newly wed but perhaps we could work on some of your herbal skills, since you are still my apprentice." His grin took the sting from his words.

  I kissed Raven and climbed down from the wagon. Getting off a moving wagon is harder than it sounds. I nearly fell over.

  "What shall we be learning today?" I asked Stain once I regained my balance.

  Stain grinned, "Why you are going to be harvesting herbs along the road while I work with Raven on learning some herbal techniques." He hopped onto the ladder, leaning back he handed me a parchment. "Here is a list of plants I want you to gather, I have been told they grow along this stretch of road. Get as much as you can and when we camp you and Raven will work to produce some healing salves." Climbing the ladder I heard him say, "Well my dear, shall we see how well you can listen and drive this wagon?"

  I smiled and looked at the parchment. The list was extensive and had illustrations to help identify the plants. Each also listed the qualities that made the herb desirable. I sighed and started heading out into the woods.