Fluff for Rodania, if she ever logs on again XD
Rhen had not begun the day with any intention of sitting through a wedding. Her plans had been to shop for new armor— she had dents and nicks in her shield and her boots were rather worn. And while she was at it she'd intended to ask around to see if anyone knew where she might find a demon, and possibly also a band of fairies. The fairy kettle had been here so it was possible— that's what she kept telling herself, anyway.
The universe itself, actually, had seemed to be preparing for an uneventful day. When Rhen had finally gotten all her companions out the door the sky was overcast like usual, and the streets were as bustling as they normally were, which meant hardly at all. Nobody was buying anything blue or borrowing anything significant— well, Te'ijal had borrowed Galahad's soul some time ago, and she wore that around her neck very proudly, but somehow Rhen thought that wasn't exactly what the old wedding rhyme meant.
So really there had been no warning, every sign had pointed to the sheer impossibility of anything exceptional happening that day in Thais. If it had been Clearwater all exceptional events would have been cancelled in advance in order to avoid the misfortune bound to follow anything that dared to occur under such an ill-omened sky.
But Rhen had realized long ago that Thais was not Clearwater, and anyway, perhaps it should have tipped her off when the priest's name was Gray.
But it didn't, of course, so instead she found herself standing there with her mouth hanging open when Te'ijal took the holy man up on his offer and turned to Galahad with her usual blood-chilling smile. "Galahad, my tasty tidbit, would you like to earn your freedom?"
Galahad, predictably, proclaimed that he would never bargain with serpent spawn (and Rhen ducked before remembering the bat was back in Sedona), and with all his usual eloquence he told the vampress to hand over his soul or die.
This made Te'ijal laugh, of course, and before Rhen knew it Galahad had bargained with serpent spawn, and the paladin was being ushered to the front of the room while Te'ijal was being ushered out of the room and Rhen was being shown to a seat— she was not dressed for a ceremony like this, she hadn't even had a chance to buy new boots yet and she hadn't washed this pair since— it had been a while, that's all she would admit.
Elini took the chair on one side of her and crossed her ankles and looked very proper and pretty and as though she had been practicing to be surprised like this her whole life. And Dameon sat on Rhen's other side, and glanced towards her with his eyebrows raised and his mouth open slightly, making a little o. He was just as unprepared as her, then. She reached over and slipped her hand into his and thought that it was nice to at least be lost with someone.
His cheeks turned pink, like she hadn't held his hand a hundred times before, and slowly his long fingers closed over her clumsy ones. Then, her face did this embarrassing thing where a stupid smile flitted across it and her cheeks felt warm, and she tried to pretend it wasn't happening and she looked towards Galahad instead.
Galahad was also pink, but in a rather different way. His mouth was turned down in a frown at least as deep as the Eldredth, and he stared ahead with all the stoic resolve of a knight about to meet his dragon— which was really pretty much exactly what was happening, Rhen supposed.
The priest stood behind him, and signalled to someone sitting behind the organ— Rhen hadn't realized there was anyone behind the organ, but whoever it was began playing and the door Te'ijal had been ushered through opened again and Galahad ground his teeth.
Then he saw her.
Was he actually crying? Maybe it was time to intervene. Rhen almost stood to say something but Dameon leaned towards her and she paused and he whispered almost reverently, "This is the first time I've seen him smile."
She looked again— the paladin was smiling, and the world was stopping and Te'ijal was floating down the aisle— literally floating, because she was a vampire. She was radiant, even though she was still wearing the same clothes with those clumsy patches from when that Nemesis had caught her off guard. Rhen was caught off guard this time, and she settled back into her seat and stared.
Te'ijal reached the front and Galahad seemed to remember himself and scowled and looked away from her. But he also took her hand— stiffly, like he'd never done anything quite that crazy in his life, which he probably hadn't. Te'ijal grinned and her fangs glistened and she looked impressively not terrifying. Just— happy.
"Gentle lords and ladies, and ruffians," the priest began, with a quick glance over their worn armor and dirty faces, "the agreement having been made before our eyes on this very day, we gather now to join this fair— uh— vampress and noble knight in unholy matrimony, by the—" he coughed, " the blessing of the goddess."
Rhen had been to one or two weddings in Clearwater, when she was small, and she supposed the introduction might have gone somewhat vaguely more or less like that.
"Sir Knight," the priest continued, "dost thou come today to enter into this blasphemous union of thine own free will and choice?"
Galahad scowled at him. "Aye, priest!"
"Very good. Vampress, dost thou come—"
"Aye!" Te'ijal declared, smiling widely. Galahad glanced at her again and those hard lines around his mouth twitched.
"Ah— excellent!" the priest said. "Then as you have both pledged your troth to be married this day, I call upon the sun and moon to bless this union. If any one has any reason to object, by the Goddess's Law or the laws of Thais; let them speak now, or else henceforth and forever hold their peace."
Rhen shuffled her feet, and behind her Pirate John coughed awkwardly. She looked at Dameon and he shrugged, and that pretty much summed it up. It was the first time she had seen the man smile...
"There being no objection to this marriage let us continue. Do you, Sir Knight, take unto thyself as wife this— uh—"
"Creature of the night," Galahad supplied.
"Creature of the night," the priest continued, nodding, "and swear unto her before the Mother of All and these witnesses to be her protector, defender, and champion? To honor and support her, in sickness and in health, in times of light and of darkness, to cherish her above all other treasures, with all thy worldly powers, so long as ye both shall live?"
Rhen stared. In times of light and of darkness— who could make that kind of promise?
She found that she was holding her breath, and she let it out and Dameon's hand tightened around hers, and Galahad clenched his jaw.
"I do."
The priest didn't even blink. "And do you, vampress, take unto thyself as husband this noble knight, and pledge unto him before the Mother of All and these witnesses to honor, obey, and cherish him? To cleave unto him, in sickness and in health, in fair and in foul, in times of light and of darkness, to be his one true and lasting counselor and solace, with all thy worldly and otherworldly powers, so long as ye both shall live?"
"I do!" Te'ijal trilled.
The priest looked vaguely amused, but not half as amused as Te'ijal, and he declared with all the drama that might be expected, "Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you wed! You may now kiss the— er— bride."
And Galahad did kiss the bride, so quickly Rhen almost didn't believe she had seen it, but the stunned look on Te'ijal's face was proof enough—
In times of light and of darkness— if anyone could intend to keep such a promise, surely it was the vampress and the paladin.