by V. M. Sang
As he approached the headman's hut his earring got really warm. It became almost uncomfortable. The nearer he approached the hut the warmer it seemed to be. By walking round the hut he decided the emerald was inside near the back.
This was a problem. How could he get it without anyone seeing him, or suspecting him? It would either ruin Klondor's courtship, cause war between the two villages or both if he were caught, or even suspected. Therefore he left to ponder the problem.
Every evening Klondor returned to the hut they were sharing and regaled Pettic with tales of Beline's beauty, her kindness, her gentle manner and every other virtue he could think of. She was just perfect in his eyes. He resolved he was going to marry her and at the end of the week, he asked her if she would have him.
Beline's eyes lit up and she accepted. Then he had to go to her mother for her permission, which she readily granted, before he and Pettic left to return to Hill Village to ask permission of his father.
Chapter 7
Once back in Hill Village, Klondor lost no time in going to his father. Fortunately the villagers had finished their work for the day and so Borrin was just washing himself in preparation for the evening meal. When he saw Klondor and Pettic he stopped and stood waiting for them to approach.
'Well,' he asked, 'How did it go? We assume her mother gave permission for you to court her or you'd have been back before now.'
'Father, it was perfect. She's perfect. Her mother was pleased to allow me to court her.'
His mother then came out of the hut and saw Klondor.
'Well, at least tell us her name,' she said.
'Sorry mother. She's called Beline. Mother, she's even more perfect than I thought.' He started on a description of Beline's charms.
'I have no doubt you think she's perfect, son, but just remember there is no such thing as perfection.'
'Yes, mother, but she's as near as a human being can be. I won't find anyone else who can compare.' He turned to his father. 'I want your permission for a betrothal father,' he said.
His father smiled. This he had been expecting. 'I'd like to have met her before the betrothal, but if she's your choice, then I give you my permission.' he said.
The smile on Klondor's face nearly split it in half. Pettic thought his muscles would surely tear if he strained them any more. He thanked his father profusely. Pettic thought anyone watching would have thought the headman had given his son a fortune in riches. On reflection, Pettic thought, perhaps he had.
Klondor's mother then turned to practicalities and decided it was time to eat. She asked Pettic to eat with them and he gratefully accepted. During the meal Klondor regaled everyone again with the charms of his soon to be betrothed. His siblings were interested as they had not heard the discussions going on outside, especially Rolinda. She was now of marriageable age and was looking at every young man as a possible husband.
'What are you going to give her as a betrothal gift?' she asked Klondor. 'It must be something of great value or she'll think you don't value her enough. She could even break off the betrothal before it has begun!'
Klondor looked in panic around his family.
'I don't have anything of great value,' he said. 'What can I give her?'
'We'll think of something, son,' his father said. 'Don't you worry. Your sister's worrying you unnecessarily.'
Later, Pettic lay in bed thinking how he could help his friend and eventually came up with an idea.
The next morning, with Klondor still feeling depressed at not having a valuable gift for Beline, Pettic told him what he thought.
'You know the boar hide you gave me, Klondor?' he began.
'What of it?' replied his friend.
'It should be nearly cured now and you yourself said how valuable it is. Suppose I give it to you for Beline?'
'You'd do that for me? It's very generous, but I can't accept. It's yours.'
'We both had a hand in killing that animal, Klondor. You have as much right to it as I have, you know.'
'But it was you who made the killing blow, Pettic. I was helpless on the ground.'
'Doesn't matter. If there had been only me and not three of us to give it pause it wouldn't be the boar that's dead, but me. No, we all three had a hand in the kill. I willingly give it to you.'
Klondor thought for a moment then he accepted with a laugh and clapped his friend on the back.
'Never has a man had a better friend. I thank you with all my heart. I half hope you can't find that blasted gem to take you back to your own world, then you'll have to stay here and I won't lose my best friend.'
'Pettic smiled back at Klondor. 'I, too, will be sorry to part, but I must go. It's my duty to my king and to my country to do so. However, if I can't get the gem, then I'll not be too unhappy here.'
He sighed and thought for a moment about Lucenra and Torren and how he would miss both of them. They had also been his very good friends. He would miss them both if he could not get back to his world. Still, he would have to wait and see what happened.
After a week in Hill Village, Klondor was anxious to return to Lake Village to ask for a betrothal with Beline. He told Pettic he missed her more than he thought he could miss anyone, so they arranged to return the following day.
The skin was now cured and Klondor packed it up carefully so it would not have any creases or marks on it when he presented it to her. His parents said they wanted to meet this paragon and so would follow on with the rest of their children in a couple of days' time.
Klondor seemed jittery for the rest of the day, being unable to sit still for very long, or concentrate on the work in the fields. Pettic was pleased when night fell and he retired to his hut. Being with Klondor in such a state was very wearing. He lay down on his bed with Cledo and talked to the dog.
'Klondor's getting a bit obsessive about this girl, I think,' he told Cledo. 'Is this how love takes people? I hope I don't get in such a state over a girl, though I can't see me doing so.'
In reply the wolfhound licked his face and lay down as if to say go to sleep and stop worrying.
Klondor arrived before dawn the next morning. Pettic was not awake. Cledo barked once and rushed out of the sleeping room to greet his master's friend. Pettic rose reluctantly and wandered out to see that his friend had arrived with breakfast prepared.
'Come on, lazy bones,' laughed Klondor. 'We need to set off early.'
'Why?' yawned Pettic, still half-asleep. 'What's happening today besides work?'
Klondor punched him and laughed.
'You know full well what's happening, Pettic,' he said. 'Get dressed. I want to go as soon as possible to get back to my Beline.'
'She's not yours yet, friend,' Pettic said. 'She may turn you down.'
Nothing seemed to shake Klondor's mood, however, and soon the pair, along with Cledo once more set off along the path to Lake Village.
On the way, Klondor asked Pettic if he had not seen a girl that he would like to court. He wanted all the world to share the same happiness he had. When Pettic answered in the negative, Klondor said he hoped it would not be too long before he did so.
They arrived at Lake Village in the late afternoon. Since they left before the sun rose they arrived well before it set. They waited outside the palisade and called for someone to answer and let them in. It was not considered polite to just enter the village without permission.
Soon a young man opened the gates and said, 'Enter, heroes of the Phantom Boar, and be welcome.'
As soon as they passed the gates, Beline came rushing over and embraced Klondor in an unseemly manner. At least that is what her mother told her later. Klondor, however, was delighted to receive such an exuberant welcome and all his fears of a change of heart on the part of Beline were set to rest.
The young man approached her parents.
'My family wishes to meet with your daughter,' he told them. 'They will be coming along in a few days' time. They have received many good words about her from me. I don't think t
hey believe me as to how perfect she is and want to see for themselves.'
Beline's father smiled. He remembered being in love that way and looked at his tiny wife and a knowing look passed between them. She looked up at him and smiled back.
'They will be most welcome here,' she said. 'Of course, we do know one another, being head families of our respective villages, but we don't know one another's families. It's only natural they'll want to meet our daughter in case anything comes of this courtship.'
Here she looked enquiringly at Klondor, but he gave nothing away.
'You must eat and then sleep. You're sure to be tired after your long walk,' the headman told them. 'We'll talk tomorrow. I suppose you know your way to the guest hut?'
During the evening, Klondor managed to catch a few minutes alone with Beline. He asked her what she felt about them becoming betrothed. The girl was all enthusiasm and begged Klondor to ask her mother as soon as possible. This he did the next morning and upon receiving her agreement rushed to tell Pettic.
Pettic clapped Klondor on the back and grinned in pleasure as he saw his friend's happiness.
Beline's parents decided to hold the formal betrothal ceremony as soon as Klondor's family arrived, and Klondor spent as much of that time as he could with Beline.
To Pettic, the couple of days until Klondor's family arrived went very quickly, but to Klondor, waiting for the betrothal ceremony, they dragged, but soon the day arrived.
Rolinda expressed delight in Klondor's chosen bride and the pair were soon friends. Klondor was pleased with this, as he had been secretly afraid they would not get on. His parents expressed their views that his chosen bride was almost as perfect as he had described and so Klondor's joy knew no bounds. The only thing that marred his happiness was that he did not see how he could get the sword for his friend.
Two days after the arrival of Klondor's family they held the betrothal ceremony. Both young people dressed in their best. Klondor's mother had brought a new white robe for him to wear, trimmed with red at the base.
Beline wore a blue robe with white embroidery round the bottom. She wore white flowers in her hair and Klondor thought she looked more beautiful than ever. Pettic thought so too and grinned at Klondor's face as he looked at Beline.
Everyone was in attendance at the event, even Cledo, who was considered an honorary human being for the day. After all, he had helped on the Phantom Boar Hunt. He enjoyed every minute of it.
The Chief Priest stood up and intoned a prayer to Tremm, the god of marriage and the family, entreating him to bless the young couple who were promising to wed, then he heard them say their oaths of betrothal. After that came the giving of the betrothal gifts.
'I hereby present you with this gift as a token of my esteem,' said Klondor, following the traditional wording. He took the boar skin from his pack that Pettic brought over and spread it out before her. A gasp went up from the crowd. It was perfect and had kept its white colour through the tanning process. The tanners of Hill Village had taken great care not to spoil it with any stains. Beline accepted the gift with grace and then presented her own.
'I hereby present you with this gift as a token of my esteem.'
Her father went into his hut and, after a few minutes, longer than anyone had thought it would take to pick up the gift, he brought a parcel over and Beline undid it and presented it to Klondor. Pettic's earring felt as if it were burning a hole in his ear, for in the wrapping was nothing less than a sword with an emerald gleaming in its hilt.
There was an intake of breath from the assembled people at this most generous gift. They all knew how their headman had treasured this sword since finding it in a cave to the north of the village.
'This is too much,' Klondor gasped in amazement. 'It is far more valuable than my gift.'
The headman stepped forward and stood in front of Klondor.
'Son,' he said, 'This was not the original gift Beline was going to give you, but when I saw what you gave her I decided it was more appropriate. The gift you gave her was fought for in blood. In getting that skin, you saved many lives at the risk of your own. No, your gift is of far greater worth than this sword.'
Klondor could scarcely believe his eyes. Here was the sword Pettic had been trying to think of a way to get without bloodshed, and he had received it into his hands freely. He could hardly believe his luck. Now Pettic could leave Terra and go back to his world. He was both happy and sad. Happy for his friend and for his betrothal, but sad he would lose his friend.
The feasting went on for two days. Pettic wondered what the feasting would be like for a wedding if it were like this for a betrothal. He also wondered if Klondor would, or could give him the sword.
He worried about this. He thought Klondor would want to give him the sword, but would it put his betrothal at risk? Would he be willing to risk it? Pettic continued to worry all through the feast but no one seemed to notice except for Cledo, who laid his head on his master's knee and looked up at him with soulful eyes.
Two days later, after the end of the betrothal ceremony and party, the two sets of parents met to discuss when the wedding would take place. Since the time between the courtship and betrothal had been unprecedently short, they thought there should be a longer time before the wedding. They agreed on a year, much to the disappointment of the young couple who hoped they would agree to a shorter time. Soon afterwards, the family from the Hill Village along with Pettic, left to return home.
When they arrived it was evening and everyone went straight to their beds. The next day, just before work started, Klondor arrived at Pettic's hut.
'I've been awake all night, Pettic,' he began. 'I've a terrible decision to make. Here in my possession is the thing you need both to return to your world and to help to release your Crown Prince. However, this object was the betrothal gift of my Beline. What will this do to our betrothal if I give her gift to you? I know I would be upset if she gave away my gift to her.'
Pettic felt unable to respond to this comment. He, too, was torn, because he did not want to harm Klondor's betrothal, but he desperately wanted to get back to his own world and rescue Torren. Eventually he said, 'Why don't you ask Beline what she thinks? It's only a day to Lake Village after all.'
They agreed that the next day Klondor would travel to see Beline and ask her what she thought.
He set off early. He was not reluctant to go, of course, and this time he was going alone. Pettic thought it would be better if he were not there, as his presence might cause embarrassment.
Pettic decided he would help out with the stock while Klondor was away. His parents had a couple of cows and some sheep so he had worked with animals from an early age. The stock in the village was mainly pigs and goats, but milking a goat was not much different from milking a cow, except lower down, and the other tasks were similar.
He was enjoying himself in spite of his anxiety to get back to his home. He wondered how his parents were getting on. When he had been made an earl, he had been given the lands and castle of the dead earl and had moved his parents and brother into it. They sold their farm and were now running his much larger establishment. Pettic hoped they could cope with this extra workload and he wondered how his mother was handling running a household of servants. She had never had a servant in her life before this.
Klondor arrived at Lake Village and found the usual welcome. Beline was working in the fields when he got there. As it was getting near to sunset, he did not have long to wait before she came back to the village. She saw him as soon as she passed through the gate, but in truth, she could hardly have missed him.
Klondor had positioned himself immediately through the gate and was leaning nonchalantly against the palisade. When she saw him, she gave a little squeal of delight and rushed over to embrace him. The other people coming home smiled to see this demonstration of affection, not a few of them remembering themselves in the first stages of love.
'I didn't expect to see you for a few weeks, Klondor,'
she exclaimed. 'I'm so pleased you're here, but why are you back so soon?'
'I've something to discuss with you, my love,' responded her betrothed. 'However, it will wait until tomorrow. I want to enjoy just being with you tonight.'
Beline's curiosity had to wait. The couple spent the next few hours in talk and kisses.
Next morning, Beline's father excused work for her. She took Klondor into the family hut.
'See, Klondor,' she said. 'I have your betrothal gift on my bed so I can think of you as I go to sleep and hope to dream of you.'
Klondor was a bit embarrassed about this since he was about to ask her if he could give her gift away. There was no way he could do so without her knowing, so he had to ask. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done. How would she take it? Would she think it showed a lack of care on his part? He took a deep breath and plunged ahead as the only thing he could do.
'It's about your betrothal gift. I need to speak to you about it,' he began.
'Is it not good enough? Don't you like it?'
'It's a wonderful gift. So valuable. I know how your father valued it as well. This is very hard for me, my love. I think I'd better tell you the whole story. This is about Pettic and why he came to this world of Terra.'
Klondor went on to tell Beline about the impersonation of the Crown Prince of Ponderia and his abduction. He told her Pettic had followed the impersonator and seen he was, in truth, not Torren. He spoke of the visit to the court magician and how he told Pettic about the other worlds and how to get there. He then told her about the gems that were needed both to release the true prince and to allow Pettic to return to his own world.'
'So you're here to ask if you can give my betrothal gift to your friend,' observed Beline.
Klondor hung his head as he replied. 'Yes,' he muttered.
Beline put her head on one side and examined her lover.
'I'll need to think about this and maybe ask advice. I'll take the rest of today and tell you tomorrow.'