“I can do fine by myself,” I told the woman.
“I must help you. I am not allowed to leave the room until you are ready. If you do not want me here I can turn my back and hand you items,” she said to me.
“It would be more appropriate that way,” I responded.
“Not appropriate here,” she retorted.
“Appropriate for me,” I commanded. I didn’t understand why I must conform so much to the customs of this place. The woman nodded and turned around, handing me first a red dress—rather simple compared to what I wore in Feyris—and made out of linen. When I was dressed I allowed the woman to turn around and help me with the veil she had for me.
“You are to remain veiled until you meet with Theron.”
“When will that be?” I asked her.
She smiled sweetly and replied, “Why, when you enjoy the wedding feast of course.”
“I won’t see him when I arrive in Midonia or when I leave here?” I asked impatiently.
The woman shrugged. “It is our way. He’s already left in a coach with the Lesarian army as his escort. He must prepare his house in Midonia for you. You will arrive and meet him in the courtyard and then go to the dining area. After that you will be led to his chambers and the guests will wait for you outside. Hopefully you will have a son.”
“A what?” I asked slowly, and perhaps a little too loud.
“The marriage must be made valid of course, if you are to live together,” she explained.
“I’m not ready for children.”
“How do you think they are made?” the woman retorted. “Our magic does not work that way. Children are a blessing from the gods. We certainly do not want to hinder such a gift.”
I decided not to go on about it any further. It was going to happen and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. No amount of me whining or hiding somewhere in the city was going to stop these events from happening and I wasn’t about to shame my husband by running off. The woman led me out of the bath house and back to my coach where I sat next to my waiting cat who could tell I was seething in consternation.
Midonia was a horrible nightmare. The ride there was quiet, except for the purring of Eclipse (I don’t know what I would do without him). When I arrived, my new mother led me to the courtyard. She took Eclipse away and told me she would have someone attend to his every need during the ceremony.
Theron met me and led me into the feasting area. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t expect him to. He could tell I was mad, uncomfortable, and confused. He removed my veil and let me sit down. I ate rather quietly save for minimal conversation such as “yes” and “no”. I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I wasn’t in the mood to eat. The only thing I wanted to do was find a quiet corner and cry. I let my mind wander and thought about Lunamae and she would have had to go through all this if she married Alexo. Alexo, she didn’t even know. She wasn’t as strong as I was. I had been through much. I had seen the travesties of war. Perhaps the Creator chose me to do this because Lunamae couldn’t take it. Maybe he had answered my prayer in a twisted way.
Once the feast was over, the guests did indeed follow us to Theron’s room. Theron and I went inside and the door was shut and locked. It certainly wasn’t quiet though. There was singing and banging on the door as we were left alone.
“What is going on?” I asked him, nervously. He took my hand and held it, softly caressing my palm with his fingers.
“They are singing to the gods for you to bear a son. The banging is to keep evil out from the room so the gods can bless our union.”
“So we must be ‘united’, then?” I asked him. It was an odd wedding ceremony. I suppose this is the ceremony part of it. I liked the style of Feyris much better. I liked the Creator and Teacher much better. I wanted to go back home only I realized this was my home.
“It is required,” he told me softly. I could barely hear him with all the banging and singing but at least the door was thick.
“How do they expect people to be intimate with the ruckus they are making outside?”
He pulled me close and held me. “Don’t think about them. Just think about us. I love you Muirenn. I can understand if you want to hate me and this place right now but I promise I will be good to you and if you don’t want to live here you don’t have to. When I become king I will change the rules for us. It can be different. Now that I know of the Creator, this seems so wrong and forced. It doesn’t feel like a marriage. I am glad we had the kind we did in Feyris. Otherwise I don’t think I could go through with this. I know you don’t like it and I don’t like it either. I know you are going to be mad at me for not telling you about the way we do weddings here but I truly didn’t know my parents required us to do it until they arrived in Feyris. I thought the wedding in Feyris would have been enough. They wouldn’t let us be alone together at night unless you were married to me the Fanarion way. They didn’t consider us to be alone in the coach since there was a driver there but if we were in Lesaria or Midonia or traveling to Aelisonia … I just didn’t have the heart to tell you.”
I couldn’t help but feel his pain, looking at me and wanting to be with me and feeling as though I didn’t want to be with him. So I stopped resisting and gave in.
Chapter 12
Land of Kings
A baby boy didn’t happen although we spent long enough trying. I knew there wasn’t anything wrong with me because Theron would have healed me. I started to really understand what it meant to love someone by seeing how Theron felt and expressed his love with me.
We spent a month in Midonia before Theron asked permission to leave for Aelisonia. He knew I wanted to leave and since we had already planned the trip, it seemed appropriate. I had begged to not go through Lesaria to get to Lermeri. I didn’t want to be reminded of my time there. Theron suggested we take the path near the coast instead. It would be longer and there would be no stopping on the way to rest, but I agreed to it.
It was nice to journey past the coast. The sea breeze was welcoming. The coaches of Fanarion were a bit different than the ones we used in Feyris to get to Midonia. They didn’t have roofs over the coach so we were exposed to the elements. Because of my light skin, Theron made sure I had a thurasol to keep me covered. It made little sense to me considering he could just heal me with every touch. I missed Eclipse though. I wasn’t able to take him because of the design of the coach. I figured it would be too risky. If Eclipse caught sight of any edible creature he would be bounding out and be turned over to his own instincts and the only way to retrieve him was to kill the creature for him or let him do his business with it which could take some time since he fancied playing with his meals for hours before indulging his little stomach.
“I have been meaning to ask you something,” Theron said to me as we rounded the coastline and started going inland.
“What is it?” I wondered.
“If your uncle was of the Clan Vorkulsen and your aunt was of Frys, and Feyris is where Frys is, I don’t see why he ruled there. It makes more sense he would take Angharad to Moir Awin to lead,” he asked me. The question rarely comes up anymore since all the clans knew why.
I began to recount the story. “Angharad’s father was the ruler and after he and his wife died, the rule went first to Angharad. When Leofric was of age, his parents were given the choice to have the altram with a different clan rather than their own. It was highly unusual of course. In fact, I don’t think anyone ever had done that. The village of Pinor welcomed him in. There was one day when Leofric was out working the fields to make hay for the family when Angharad’s father was out hunting. He was attacked by bandits and Leofric came to his aid. He only had a pitchfork and scythe nearby from working but the scythe did its work. It needs to be very sharp to take care of the grass but the sharp part of the blade is on the inside. Leofric had to be a whirlwind, running around the bandits and tearing out their insides.”
“That sounds horrible,” Theron said, horrified. I could tell he wa
s imaging the gruesome scene—blood spraying in all directions and men screaming in agony. As a healer, it wasn’t something he liked to hear.
“It was all he had. The chief was amazed at his bravery and the fact he helped a complete stranger. Leofric had never been to Feyris before. He told Leofric he was welcome in Feyris at any time and would be an honorary member of the Frys family. It was because of this that he both courted Angharad and was given the clan when the old chief died. Obviously the Vorkulsen clan was surprised of his decision but it strengthened the bonds between their clans. It still is strong.”
“The marriage was arranged, though?” Theron asked me. I knew what he was getting at.
I replied, “Yes it was, Angharad was something of a gift but it was ultimately her choice on whether she married Leofric. They didn’t know each other as well as we do.”
“I just feel bad about not explaining all the details of my culture to you. Our wedding was something I’d like to erase from your memory if I could. The one in Midonia I mean,” he said to me. “It will all be better soon. We’ll be in Lermeri by nightfall and you can get some rest. I think you’ll like Lermeri. I doubt you’d have seen anything like it. It towers high and is the color of sand. It’s all made of stone and is cut out of it. Slievenamon is very similar in the way it was built. I am told they were the twin cities of the mountains from Old Orinda. They are old cities and Lermeri has less of the original workmanship left intact. The sea air has not been kind. The new construction was built out of different materials, and were designed to wear better. It isn’t as large as Slievenamon anymore.”
The coach bumbled along as Theron continued with the history of Lermeri, and retelling some tales about it. I started to doze off and it wasn’t long until Theron prodded me awake.
He whispered in my ear, “We are here, my love,” I yawned and stretched. The nice thing about these coaches was that I didn’t need to stick out my head out a tiny window to look at my surroundings—I just needed to look up and around.
In truth, the city was quite grand. Where Midonia was expansive, this was a more vertical city. It wasn’t quite as large as Theron made it out to be, but it was still impressive. The stonework on the side facing the Sea of Ayreni was obviously in need of repairs. There were workers on scaffolds working to reinforce it with a weird looking material. It looked a bit like stucco but they were applying it differently. They were mixing water with a powder and it didn’t make any sense how water could make it stronger. The walls all towered around us. Instead of one central keep like in Feyris, there were many buildings scraping the sky.
We were welcomed into the city with joyful applause and music, being that we were the son and daughter of Fanarion, and nobles only visited Lermeri on rare occasions. I was baffled. It made sense that the rulers of the land would take time to visit their lands and check up on progress. The king and queen took great care in who they appointed to govern the cities and oversee their development. These overseers would bring status reports to their majesties often. Still, I was not as trusting. I liked to see things for my own eyes. Of course, I still had no doubt in the Creator and the Teacher. I had seen their work without seeing them with my own eyes. I knew they existed.
“I am Lodi,” I heard a man say, who was running over to greet us as we left the coach. I was helped down by Theron. He handed me the therasol and turned to acknowledge Lodi. “I am the overseer of Lermeri.”
“Yes, I recognize you,” Theron said to the man, shaking Lodi’s hand. He was quite ordinary looking. If one did not know any better, he could have easily blended into the crowd.
“You must be the new daughter of Fanarion,” the man stated, looking me over. “Theron seems to have done well with you.”
“It was not my intention to obtain her through the traditional means, Lodi,” Theron tried to explain. “I fell in love with her.” He put his arm around me protectively.
“Has love brought you children, then?” Lodi asked Theron, his brow raised in concern.
Theron shrugged him off. I could tell he was a bit annoyed with the overseer. “It is inevitable Lodi. It is not something you should be worried about.”
“Indeed Theron, it was not my intention to cause trouble. Let me divert your attention to the fortification of our old walls. We discovered this building material entirely by accident.” I followed the two men as Lodi led Theron over to the scaffolds. We were kept a safe distance as Lodi explained how they discovered “concrete”. I was quite bored with the whole conversation and my mind drifted off to Lunamae. As I twirled my therasol, I wondered how she was doing. Word hadn’t traveled to Midonia about any kind of match for her and I hoped, perhaps in my travels in Aelisonia, I might hear about one.
Eventually, Lodi led us further in to show us where we would stay. This city was set in a star pattern where each branch contained something important. One section of the star was the military wing, one was for living, one was for trades, one was for the governor, and one was for the mages.
We were directed to the living wing where there were hundreds of apartments reaching to the sky. With their concrete, they were quite confident they could go higher but they didn’t want to until the population got larger. Lodi showed us to our room and suggested we meet back in a few hours for the meal.
I was pleasantly surprised to find all my baggage in the room. Theron and I closed the door for some privacy and started to unpack a little. We only expected to be in Lermeri for a few days before heading out to Slievenamon. I decided to clean up a bit from all the dirt so I looked around the room for a pitcher of water and a towel. They had a thermapota for us already prepared as well. We decided to enjoy it while it was hot and bubbly. It was nice to just be alone.
“How do you like Lermeri so far?” Theron asked me as we sat in the bath. I think he could tell I was bored with their previous conversations about concrete. It was no better than watching grass grow.
“It is quite expansive,” I replied to him, taking a wet sponge and scrubbing it with the soap provided to get a lather together. The soap was surprisingly aromatic. It wasn’t like anything I was used to. I didn’t think they used any ash to make it.
“You like the soap?” Theron asked with a chuckle. “They make it with beeswax here and add in fragrant oils. Midonia sometimes trades with them for it but few people actually prefer it over the soap they are used to.” He held out his hand for me to give him the soap for his sponge.
“Perhaps we could buy some?” I asked tentatively. I added quickly, “If we have time, of course.”
“I do not think they would object,” he said with a smile.
After we had our bath and were dressed in fresh, clean clothes, we headed out to find the meal Lodi had mentioned. We were both quite hungry.
“It is so kind of you to grace us with your presence,” Lodi called out from one end of the meal hall as we entered. “Please, sit at the head of the table Theron, son of Fanarion.”
We did as he offered. I sat next to Theron and Lodi sat on the other side. It was very strange to be sitting so far to the head. I wasn’t used to it, being a maiden of the clan. It was always my father and Lunamae that would flank the chief dame. It took a while to realize Theron was the ruler while he was here. While the wife in Fanarion did not typically share a status, I knew I was being treated differently. Perhaps while my thoughts had been occupied earlier in the day, Theron had mentioned something to Lodi. I was the niece of the chief dame. I wasn’t just “a” woman he married.
I noticed the people of Lermeri giving me looks. I truly was not one of them, nor did I look as one of them. My skin was so much paler. I felt a bit out of place, sequestered even. I felt Theron’s hand under the table, grasping for mine. His touch made me feel more at ease. We were offered some wine and a few appetizers to start. There were some cheeses from the goats that scaled the rocky outcrops. I noticed some pieces of bread which had what smelled like ground-up fish on them. I nibbled on some of the cheese as I scanned the room.
In general, women were not seated close to us at the end. They were grouped near the end of the table. The governor, Lodi, did have his wife next to him. She snatched the opportunity to ease my quiet suffering by breaking into conversation while Lodi and Theron were talking to each other.
“How were your travels, my dear?” she asked sweetly. I looked up at her and noticed how well fed she looked. Previously I had only been skimming the room. I never took any time to look over people carefully. She had a sweet demeanor, though. I could tell she was a very friendly person. The creases on the sides of her mouth told me she smiled a lot.
“They were very nice, thank you,” I replied to her. “I am not used to the heat and solislight here. It’s not as mild as in Feyris.”
“The therasol has been working for you, I would imagine,” she commented. “Your face is still very peachy.” She giggled and took a sip of her wine.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I ever caught your name,” I told her, apologetically.
“Quite all right,” she started. “Lodi has a tendency to boast about his accomplishments and always forgets the woman behind them. I’m Pierina.”
“You are behind the concrete discovery?” I asked her, intently waiting for a reply.
“Oh my, yes!” She snickered and then drew me in with her hushed tone. “You know, the reason why they came across it was because of a leak in my thermapota. The water would keep draining out from a crack in the floor and Lodi wouldn’t listen to me when I told him it needed fixing. I found one of the contractors who had been repairing some of the other places here and suggested he grind up some limestone and some fire rock and ash from the island off the coast to fill it with. My reasoning behind the fire elements was the lovely effects the ash has on my skin in our soaps. Of course, I hardly prefer that over the scented soaps. At any rate, when all that mixed with the little bit of water still remaining in the thermapota, you can imagine what happened.”
Lunamae Page 16