Of Wars and Weddings

by Heinreich T. Sioson

  ***

  His eyes shot open at the sound of slow footsteps. He knew who it was. She wasn’t in a hurry and neither was he. Closer and closer she came until she stood in the doorway. The Adder looked at her and saw she had cleaned the blood from her face. She walked towards him and when she reached him she bent to one knee and looked at him with eyes of ice blue. He knew what his fate was to be, and it didn’t matter. He reached out to cup her face and to his surprise she accepted it. He said, “What happened to you?”

  It seemed like she wouldn’t answer, but when she did her voice was gentleness itself. “Someone made me ugly.”

  “Was it your master? Was he responsible?”

  She shook her head emphatically. “No. He saved me.”

  He nodded. “I’m glad of it. But you’re wrong.” There was a question in her eyes and he said, “You’re not ugly. You’re so, so lovely.”

  She leaned into his touch and smiled, and it was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. “Thank you,” she said. She touched his hand with one of hers. It was soft and warm.

  Each breath he drew grew shorter and shorter and his eyelids became like lead as he tried to keep them open. He saw her draw her knife with her free hand. The Adder looked into her eyes, and what he saw there was something he’d take with him into the next life. He hoped that should he meet her there, it would be out in the open under a blue sky and the shining sun.

  He saw sorrow. Not hate, not indifference. It was an emotion so human and so true he felt a tear fall down his cheek when he saw it. Seeing the tear she leaned in and kissed his wet cheek. She leaned in close to his ear and said, “I’m sorry.”

  “I know,” he said.

  And with that, she kissed The Adder on the lips and inserted the knife into his heart. He didn’t feel it. She drew away from the kiss as he exhaled one long cleansing breath. His heartbeat drew down with each passing second. Slower... Slower.. Slower. He looked at her and didn’t hate. It’s just the way things were and how they had to be.

  He thought of The Groom and his devotion to his people and his friends. He thought of The Bride and her great cheer and how the people loved her. He thought of his cabin on the Chesapeake and how he would’ve loved to have seen it one last time.

  He exhaled one final time, and the last thing his deep green eyes saw of this earth was a smile he would have forever.

  The Groom

  Side B

  The Groom’s leg was shaking so much the floorboards creaked. His leg stopped only when he felt his wife’s hand on his shoulder. He looked up from his paperwork and found she was smiling. That smile had calmed him many times before. It grounded him, kept him sane. There was concern in her eyes, which he felt bad for because it was his worry that put it there. He'd tell her to relax but she'd only shrug it off.

  There was a knock on the door and he said, "Enter." A soldier came in, bowed his head to both The Groom and The Bride. "Anything?"

  The man swallowed. "No, sir."

  The Groom flashed anger and the man looked like he wanted to run to the nearest exit but found the courage to stay put. The Groom said, "How can there be nothing? There are traces of blood all over the convention center."

  "Yes, sir, but we haven't located any bodies."

  With as much blood as there was one would think they'd be easy to find. That section of the convention center had been turned into a warzone. The Groom released an exasperated breath. He said The Adder's name. He'd gone missing since his mission to spy on The Groom’s brother and cousin. He said, "Keep looking." The man bowed his head and left.

  Once the door was shut The Bride said, "Honey, I have to head into Baltimore to make arrangements for the governor’s funeral."

  "You don't have to do that. We can have someone-"

  "No," she said in a firm voice. "He died at our wedding. It's only right one of us takes care of it."

  He sighed. "Fine."

  She leaned over to kiss him and he was grateful for it. The Bride said, "I'll be back later in the afternoon."

  "Okay. I love you."

  She touched the blue sapphire necklace he gave her and said, "I love you." The Bride smiled and then shut the door behind her.

  The Groom leaned against the chair and sighed. He hated watching her leave, but it made her return that much sweeter. She was right: the governor did die attending their wedding. Most in Baltimore had already heard about the poisoning. For many it'll just be a rumor but for others it'll breathe a life of its own and they’ll demand answers. The day after the incident the report from Johns Hopkins did mention the samples taken from the governor tested positive for a concentrated dose of poison.

  When the ceremony hall was locked down every glass and bottle of wine was confiscated. One by one they were all tested but nothing came of it. Until, however, the investigators found a half empty bottle of red wine stashed in the back of a cupboard which tested positive. The next step was to find out who created it. Every one of the kitchen staff was detained and questioned - all except the two men that had served wine to The Groom's group during the reception. The governor had been the one only to drink the wine offered by the culprits. Talk about bad luck.

  There was a manhunt for both men. The Groom thought about who had installed them into the kitchen staff and supplied them with poison. The poison’s chemical makeup was complex and lethal. It wasn’t the work of an amateur. He balled his hands into fists and slammed them onto the table. He had half a mind to accuse his sister but that didn’t make any sense; she wouldn’t have risked putting herself in such a precarious position. Confronting her would’ve been an option but the moment the guests were allowed to leave she fled for her territory in the east. He couldn’t follow her there without starting an incident. No, the key were the two waiters. Answers would only be found once they were.

  Closing his eyes The Groom took a long breath. He thought of his wife, his good right hand. He also thought of The Adder, his good left. To be where he was now was only possible because of them. He felt exhaustion creep over him and he let it; he needed the peace of sleep. As he drifted into calm slumber he thought of his wife. A smile touched a corner of his mouth. But the smile vanished as his mind drifted to the moment his best friend died...

  The Groom woke up with a start as he heard a knock on the door. He wiped his eyes as a second knock came in earnest. “Enter,” he said. The door opened and a soldier walked in. He was breathing hard. The Groom stood up. “What?”

  “Sir, we received an urgent message. The men found something in the basement of the convention center.”

  “What is it?”

  “A security tape, sir”

  The Groom was out from behind his desk. Walking past the soldier he said, “Where are they?”

  “In the security room.”

  “Take me there.” The soldier nodded and followed him.

  It was a short drive but The Groom was impatient. He barely waited for the car to stop before stepping out of the vehicle. Walking through the entrance he was met by a soldier standing at attention. “Show me,” he said. Nodding, the man led the way.

  Stepping off the last flight of stairs the two men made their way to the security room where they were met by three soldiers. When The Groom walked in they stood and nodded in unison. “What did you find?” he said. One of them stepped forward and took a small tape from his pocket and held it out. Dried blood had been caked all over it. The Groom thanked the soldier. “Did you watch it?”

  The soldier shook his head. “No, sir.”

  The Groom nodded and was quiet. He was quiet for so long the soldiers exchanged glances. The soldier standing behind The Groom asked, “Sir, are you all right?”

  The Groom jerked his head. “Yes, I’m fine.” The man nodded. Looking around The Groom said, “Wait outside.”

  The ranking soldier among them tipped his head and signaled for everyone to leave. He waited for the others to exit before saying, “Sir, if you need anything we’ll be righ
t outside.” The Groom thanked him and he shut the door. When the door closed The Groom pulled out a chair and sat. He inserted the tape and waited until the screen in front of him came to life, displaying the footage from room 1F West. The picture was blurry but he twisted a nearby knob until it cleared up. There they were: his older brother and his cousin. They were at opposite ends of the table. The Knave leaned against the back of his chair with arms crossed. The Prince, the smaller of the two, was more open in his body language and had his hands clasped together behind his neck. Leaning in, The Groom turned up the volume and the deep voice of his older brother came through loud and clear...