by Grace, Viola
“Councillor Neeming’s house. Broken Well Lane.”
“I remember it. Okay, look for me around noon.”
“I will. Oh, if I am not here, I will be at the council hall.”
Mirbella nodded. “Great. Wait, what happened to the shop?”
“Dragons smashed it. I will fill you in when you get here.”
They waved cheery goodbyes and hung up. It was only after the screen went dark that it sank in. Mirbella knew dragons?
She continued the calls to the west coast and smiled when the vast majority of them were already coming to the wedding. Her father had been very wide with the net of invitations, but there was always room for more at the wedding of a grand master mage’s daughter.
She got up, stretched and grabbed a book, walking out into the darkness of the garden, using a touch to turn a vine into a night-blooming flower and settling down under it to read a tale of love, laughter, and revenge gone awry.
As she sat, she noted that the plants came closer, creating a backrest for her and elevating her off the ground slightly. She was very comfortable and settled back to continue her book while the open trumpets of flowers behind her cast light over her shoulders.
She smiled, giggled, and enjoyed the twists of the story. When she finished the story, she got up, stretched, and headed into the house.
Nole was standing in the lit doorway, wearing his trousers and an open shirt. Her mind instantly plugged him into the romance she had just been reading, and she fought her blushing giggle.
“Is there a reason for nocturnal reading?”
She glanced back. “Oh, I forgot to turn the light out.”
He snorted. “Yes, that is the issue. Why are you out in the gardens?”
“Get used to it. I am pulled to them, and apparently, it goes the other way.” She flicked her hand back, and the flowers dimmed to a soft glow.
“You can just turn that on and off?”
She reached out and patted his chest before whispering, “I run through all of Rekker now. It is more like simply opening or closing a conduit.”
She drew her fingers away, and he pressed her hand against his skin, leaning in to kiss her.
From the light touch and the thudding of his pulse under her hand, she felt a heat rippling along her skin, setting her senses on edge.
She leaned into him, bringing their bodies into line, and a cooling crackle of static wrapped around her, pulling her back. Her lips were still pursed when she whipped her head to the left to glare at her father. “Really?”
Her father pulled her a little farther back before he released her. “Your wedding is in six days. You can wait.”
She groaned. “I have waited a year, already, as has Nole.”
Nole sighed and groaned. “He’s right. We have the rest of our lives the moment that we say our vows.”
Her father nodded. “And the reception is over.”
Nole nodded. “And that. What are a few more days followed by a few hours to start our lives together?”
She glared at her father. “You didn’t tell him.”
Nole was suddenly suspicious. “Tell me what?”
“Our reception is going to last for days, and we have to be there for the entire function.”
Nole raised his brows. “Days?”
Her father rushed into the explanation. “Each mage and gift giver has to present it to you, and most of the mages who are attending have an affinity for song. Those who perform are given a gift by the couple, and there is currently a line sixty performers long to play and sing for you.”
Aeli looked at him. “And at regular intervals, we have to dance.”
“I like dancing.”
Her father beamed. “See? It will be fine. He likes to dance.”
She gave Nole a smile. “We will practice a few of them, so you are not caught out.”
Her father was wearing his dressing gown, and he smiled. “Come on, let’s have some cocoa in the kitchen.”
She followed her father, and Nole walked behind her. She could feel his energy at her back, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap herself around him and hold on. Six days were nothing in the grand scheme of things, but right now, they felt like an eternity.
“So, who do you have lined up to make my dresses?” She blew on the cocoa and watched the marshmallows swirl and twist.
Her father paused. “Don’t you have something you can pull from that costume shelf you call a closet?”
Nole looked at him with horror. “You haven’t made any provision for her clothing?”
She held up a hand. “Good. I just wanted to make sure that you missed it. Mirbella is on her way in the morning, she is being flown in by dragon in the late morning or possibly the afternoon.”
Her dad perked up. “She is still around?”
Nole frowned. “I know that name.”
“She has a boutique in the capitol. I told her what I was doing, and she insisted on coming to help, not as a guest. Dad, please say you invited her.”
He suddenly got very busy trying to drown his marshmallows.
“Ah, geez, Father. She was your apprentice.”
“But, she focused on textiles. Textiles!”
Nole smacked his hand lightly onto the table. “That is it. Her label is inside your clothing. She is making all the clothes for the wealthy shifters at the capitol. My mom and sister shop there.”
Aeli nodded, “That sounds like her. She knew about my dragon transformation as well.”
Nole grinned. “It was in every paper. Photos of your form were taken from every conceivable angle, and you were an attraction.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I know. I was there. The flash photography was unnecessary.”
Her father and Nole laughed.
It was a nice sound to have the two men she loved under one roof, laughing. They chatted about the wedding plans, and Nole’s eyes began to look a little wild.
She smiled and inclined her head toward him. “Don’t worry. This whole thing is my father’s responsibility. You are from outside the guild of mages, so the standards for you are not very high. I will be the shame of the clan if I don’t get some dance practice in.”
Her father sighed. “Don’t you need sleep?”
“No. I have rested for a year, and my wedding is within the week. I need to practice.”
She worked on her hot chocolate while they went over more details, and while they were talking, she finished her beverage and returned to the garden, dancing for the first time in years. She let her body move, and as it did, she got one more piece of herself back from wherever she had been holding it. Years of keeping herself under control fell away, and she simply moved through the gardens with every style she had memorized and a few extra steps that she made up along the way.
Nole was standing under an apple tree as she went dancing by. “You are very natural when you are moving like that.”
She twirled and faced him. “Thank you.”
“But you have been in those clothes for over a year, and it is time that they were washed. No offence, but you smell like a greenhouse.”
Aeli blinked and slowly smiled. “Fair point.”
“Will the dancing really be that extensive?” He was leading her back to the house.
“Some will dance for us, others will dance with us. There will be an exchange of magic between them and us.”
He quirked his lips. “The couple gives a lot to those who see them.”
“Well, they pay for their meals, so...” She snorted.
He laughed.
She explained. “The dancing, the endless ceremony, it ties the community to the couple. The mage community is not heavily populated, but everyone invited will make an effort to get here.”
She shrugged. “Normally, mages marry humans or don’t marry at all. The population is dramatically skewed toward the masculine.”
“So, your participation in this is
what makes it such a huge event.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
He snorted. “I doubt that. So, your father has known all the details, and he decided not to tell me.”
They got to the house and walked up the steps.
“Well, having gotten used to the idea of you as a son-in-law, I am guessing that he didn’t want to scare you off.”
Nole paused and hugged her. “Nothing can scare me off. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get us off to a good start. If that means emergency dance classes, I will do it.”
She sighed and hugged him back. “It will be fun. I promise. No one will judge you; everyone is just there for a huge communal good time. Folk bring drink, food, music, laughter, and they bring it in from all around the world. You are going to meet elder shamans, clan leaders, master mages, and dignitaries from all over the world.”
“You get to meet the diamond dragon and her husband, Brommin.”
She leaned back. “That was him?”
“It was him.”
“The dragons are coming?”
“Of course. The senator and his family, which includes Brommin and Trin, most of the senate will send some members of their family. International dragons want to meet you and understand what you are.”
She held him tightly. “I am getting to grips with it. I will tell them what I can.”
Dawn was beginning to show up on the horizon, and she closed her eyes and felt the sun’s approach.
He whispered, “You are thinking about sunlight, aren’t you?”
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “How did you know?”
“Your body hummed the same way near dawn while you slept in the hall.”
She went up on her toes for a quick kiss. “The sun starts the new day and wakes the trees. They whisper about it to me, and it gets my attention.”
He sighed. “I am just so happy to have you in my arms that I am going to wait until later to sort that out. As long as I have your attention now and then, I can deal with that.”
“You get my attention when you walk in the room; it has been ignoring you all these years that has caused me stress.” She wrinkled her nose. “Okay. I can smell me now. I do need a shower.”
He laughed and kissed her quickly. “It isn’t a deal breaker.”
She wrinkled her nose again. “Ew. Right. On that slightly weird note, I am going to try and find my room again.”
He sighed. “If you must. I am glad you can talk back again.”
She was smiling as she walked inside and headed to her rooms for the much-needed shower. Removing the vest inside her bathroom, she noted small bits of moss had grown under the edge of the fabric. The shirt was nearly green. Without looking around, she quickly took off her boots, trousers, and everything else. She started the water and got under it, grabbing a scrubber, and started at her scalp, working her way down. It took the better part of half an hour, but she had worked her way over her skin twice and removed the layer of green and grey that had coated her. She thanked the stars that she hadn’t gotten naked in the same space as a witness, they would have called an exterminator or a medical team.
It took another ten minutes for her to feel clean at long last. She turned off the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, heading into the bedroom in search of clean clothes. She had no idea what to do with the worn and moldy items, so she left them until later.
She crawled between the sheets, and though she wasn’t tired, it felt nice to rest in her human form.
Her dragon was sorting out all the things she had learned on the news feeds of the events of the last year. The exposure of a semi-religious cult trying to clone dragons, the diamond dragon wedding, record crop and flower production in the region around Rekker, including the natural reclamation of the dry, dusty soil by plants and trees.
When Aeli opened her eyes again, the sun was bright overhead, and she heard a commotion outside. After a look out the window, Aeli grinned and got to her feet, grabbing a robe and whipping it around her as she ran for the front of the house where a bright blue dragon was coming in for a landing with Mirbella and a lot of luggage on his back.
By the time she made it to the front of the house, Mirbella was sliding down the dragon’s shoulder and unbuckling the straps.
The box unloading took a few seconds, and then, the dragon was up and away again. Mirbella called out, “Thanks, Matthew!”
Aeli grinned and walked down the steps. “You always did like an entrance.”
Mirbella gave a happy scream and ran to her, hugging her and stroking her hair.
Aeli sighed. “I didn’t brush it again, did I?”
“Nope. It’s fine. I like to learn new textures.” Mirbella leaned back but kept smoothing Aeli’s hair. “You look good.”
“So do you. I hear you are a very exclusive proprietor now.”
“Naw, I make clothing for shifters. That is my big skill. The dragons just need fancier stuff.”
Aeli leaned out at arm’s length. “Funnily enough, I happen to be in the market for some fancier stuff.”
Mirbella grinned and linked arms with her, snapping her fingers to summon her luggage. “Show me where I can set up a workshop and let me take your measurements. How many dresses do you need?”
“This is a full mage wedding with the dragons invited, so... five?”
“I will make it eight, and I will call one of my assistants. She can show up tomorrow.” Mirbella grinned. “Since you are already naked, that takes care of half the issue.”
“I am wearing a robe.”
“I know but nothing under it.”
Aeli pursed her lips. “I am going to put you in the library. Lots of light, corner room, big windows.”
“Great for me, but you will be the one doing the fittings.”
“I can arrange a screen for me. It isn’t an issue. Once I leave you to get set up, I will fetch some tea and breakfast.”
“That sounds great. I love you, but I enjoy working.” Mirbella smiled at her.
Aeli reached out to smooth a lock of hair over the slightly pointed tip of her ear. “I know, but that is not why I called you.”
Mirbella changed the direction of the conversation as they walked into the library with the luggage trailing behind. “I know. Now, what are you giving as attendance gifts?”
“Easy. Seeds from a lemon mint plant that my dragon enjoys growing. They will help cure the hangovers.”
“How fast do they grow?”
“Contained growth in four hours. They won’t expand, but they will remain eternal, as long as Nole and I are together.” She blushed slightly.
Mirbella smiled. “It seems you have found a good fit. Now, I am going to unpack, and you know how ugly that can be. You fix some food, and I will get ready to get to work.”
Aeli had her marching orders, so she tightened the closure of her robe and headed for the kitchen. Her part of the wedding festivities was underway.
Chapter Fourteen
The week of preparations passed in a blur. Aeli was poked and prodded by Mirbella, had to get her thousand envelopes ready for the guests. Only the first thousand who greeted the married couple would get the seeds. Everyone else had to make do with a single, tiny, potted plant.
The plants were already standing by at the site. Locals were either delighted or appalled at the festivities taking over the city.
On the big day, Aeli was standing next to the ruins of her home in her gown, waiting for the touch of dawn to start her walk to the central gardens where the ceremony would be held.
Her father was waiting to officiate the ceremony. This part was all her.
She walked into the shattered remains of the herbal shop where she had grown up. Yes, the higher-status folk had come for flowers, but those who had a distrust of modern medicine had always come through their doors.
The gown that Mirbella had made her kept itself clean. It was a peculiar structure that
looked like rich silk but felt like cotton. She walked through the destruction to the rear garden where trees were still thriving despite the wreckage at their roots.
This was why she had come. Her time asleep had taught her a lot, and one of the more important things was that she and her father may have been shunned, but they were never alone.
“Hello, Mother. Would you walk with me today?”
She spoke to the cluster of vegetation in the corner of the wreckage nearest the wall. There was silence for a moment, and then, a figure emerged from the wall of tree trunks, vines, and moss.
The figure took one step after another, and by the time she reached Aeli, she looked almost human. “Hello, my child.”
The dryad was green in tone, her hair was long and a rich brown, but her eyes were dark pools of endless midnight blue. She was wearing a gown made of thousands of tiny leaves.
“Hello, Mother. It is good to see you on this day.”
“You are taking a mate. It is good, though you are very young, Aelemilial.” The dryad extended her hands to Aeli.
Aeli took her mother’s hands, and they both leaned in until their foreheads touched. They stood together in silence and then both straightened.
Aeli smiled. “I am glad you could come.”
“I would not miss this for the world. I had been directing Nolesander here for years. You are remarkably slow on the uptake, child.”
She hugged her mother carefully. “Well, we should start my walk then.”
“I will give you the first of my gifts now.”
The dryad extended her hand, and a single, beautiful iris grew and bloomed on her palm. When the stalk was ten inches long, her mother snapped it off and handed it to her. “There. The first bloom of your bouquet.”
Aeli blinked rapidly. “Thank you. It means a lot.”
“I have researched the mage way of doing things over the years. Your reading in the gardens made it easier.”
Aeli grinned. “You were over my shoulder?”
“And all around you. I couldn’t let my only daughter be raised alone in the world, but Norman needed to think he was solely responsible. It made him rise to the occasion, and you soothed the indignant rage inside him.”