Wedding Bells.
Church bells rang throughout Mineral Town, rolling in great, glorious sound waves across houses, shops, pubs, parks, and Rose Square. On the beach Kai stopped in the middle of locking up his summer house to listen. He sighed wistfully, happy yet sad.
Well, the best man won.
Chickens dozing in their coop were woken with a start as the sound of bells reached them, echoing through the firm wooden walls to stir them from their slumber. In the barn, cows lowed and sheep bleated, sharing in the taste of excitement they didn't quite know the source of. One of the sheep was heavy with child. It was nestled deeply in the hay, and was chewing thoughtfully on some feed rather than joining in with the noise. A large stallion, standing restfully in the stable, snorted nervously. He was excited by the sound of the bells. The chicken, sheep, cows and the horse all belonged to the same property. A fenced field of grass was swaying in time to the field of corn shoots set up next door, as if dancing to the luring sound of the bells. A house sat at one end of the property, once small but made huge with renovations.
A dog was dozing lazily against the house, enjoying the coolness of the shade on a hot summer day. When he heard the sound of the church bells, calling all who would listen to gather, the dog's floppy ears perked up. If dogs could grin, this one would, but instead he gave a little wriggling wag of his stubby tail knowingly. Though he couldn't give it a name, he knew what occasion the bells heralded – dogs were smart like that.
If we pretend we are a fly, or some other slightly less obnoxious insect, we could wriggle under the door and sneak into the house. Within the house stood two men, one considerably older and heavier than the other. Both were smartly dressed in tuxedos, though one was notably more nervous.
"Stop fiddling with the tie, Bernard, you look fine."
Though the voice was not even remotely amused, the brown eyes peering over small spectacles were dancing with suppressed laughter. Thomas, Lord Mayor of Mineral town, could have passed for sincerely annoyed, had it not been his tell tale eyes.
The younger male, by the name of Bernard and the present owner of the farming property most bizarrely known as 'Le`foot', didn't seem to be convinced by his older friend.
"I think the black was a mistake. Too plain." His hands trembled as he wriggled the tie around his neck, tightening it and then loosening it again, undecided. A sudden thought sprang to mind, and panic blossomed on his face in response. "I ought to check on Beau! She's due to have the baby any day now."
He started towards the door, but a firm hand stopped him, almost dragging him to the floor in the process.
"That's what the Sprites are there for, remember?" Thomas told Bernard mildly, dragging the young man back towards the mirror. "I still believe you ought to have gotten a haircut. I don't think a quick comb-over is going to straighten that mess out."
"Well, yes, the Sprites are taking care of the animals, but there are also the crops–" Bernard began again desperately.
"Also taken care of."
"Well, perhaps, yes, but some of the slates on Thor's stable–"
"The horse won't mind. It's a sunny day."
Thomas easily batted away each of Bernard's half-hearted excuses and panics, as if they were a bothersome fly. He smoothed the young man's hair with a hand, sighing sadly as the brown locks sprang back up. There were lost causes, and then there was Bernard…
"I think it's time we got going. You don't want to be late to your own wedding, now do you?" Thomas told him cheerfully, grabbing his friend's shoulders in a surprisingly powerfully grip and steering him forcefully towards the door. Bernard managed to think of plenty of reasons why they wedding ought to be postponed – he had to fix the fence because wild dogs kept getting in, he had to mow the long grass for dried hay, he had to rearrange the books in his home from alphabetical to chronological order – but Thomas very calmly ignored every one of them.
"You're getting married to a beautiful woman who adores you – for reasons completely unknown to the rest of the world, obviously – and you're doing it today, Bernard. I'm afraid it's been unanimously decided."
"Unanimously? By who?" Bernard squeaked.
"Your future wife."
-
Bernard was had arrived at Rose Square, dragged along in the merry wake of Thomas, when a small figure in cyan caught up to him. The pointy-eared being was panting heavily, but that was just to stall. Sprites didn't get out-of-breath.
"Mister Bernard, I have some bad news!" Aqua squeaked nervously, hopping from foot to foot and gripping his pointy cap in his hands. Oh dear, it had to be serious if a Sprite took off his hat.
"What, what is it?" Bernard asked quickly, dropping to his knees to meet the Sprite eye-to-eye. "It's Beau, isn't it? There's been a complication?" His face paled considerably. "I knew it – we'll have to postpone the wedding."
"No, no sir!" Aqua shook his head hurriedly, pulling his cap on his head quickly. He bit his lower lip, continuing to stall. "It's none of the barn animals. It's, uh…" He winced, his voice dropping quickly. "It's Gryphon, I'm afraid. He's seriously ill. I knew you'd like to know."
Bernard slumped back on the grass. Gryphon the Second, prized fighting cock and successor of Bernard's first rooster and champion, Gryphon.
"Well, some of Lillia's medicine should fix him right up, right Bernard?" Thomas announced heartily. "We'll just go to your house and fetch some…"
"Uh, I used up all the medicine I had in stock last season, during the spring storms." Bernard told him quietly. "You know, after that big storm that lasted three days? I never got around to getting some more." He winced. Idiot!
"It's no problem, still." Thomas assured him. "We'll just drop by Lillia's. She'd be happy to help – after all, you're almost family!"
"Yes, yes. Right, of course." Bernard agreed mutteringly, stumbling to his feet.
They met Lillia and Rick along the way. Lillia was subtly leaning on her son's arm, but otherwise looked in excellent health, her cheeks a healthy rose.
"Ah, just the woman we needed to see!" Thomas exclaimed. "Yes, exactly the woman."
Lillia and Rick exchanged worried glances upon seeing Bernard's pale face. Lillia pressed a gently hand on her future son-in-law's shoulder, asking in her gentle, quiet voice what she could do to help.
"Medicine." Bernard mumbled. He still felt a little awkward around the woman, and definitely a little shy around the boisterous attitude of Rick, despite the fact that they were soon going to have very close relations.
"Yes, it's Gryphon. Seemed quite serious." Aqua told the woman in serious tones, scrunching his shirt in his hands nervously.
"I locked up the shop for the wedding. I'll have to go with you." Lillia sighed, patting Bernard's arm. "It will be all right. Nothing is too serious for my medicines."
They progressed back towards the Poultry Farm, where they wasted a minute rummaging around the back room for the medicine. They finally found it, and headed back towards Le`foot with medicine in hand.
The chicken coop stank like sickness. Gryphon sat huddled in the hay, shivering violently. Bernard quickly took off his tuxedo jacket and bundled the bird in it, holding the rooster to his chest. The medicine was rubbed gently through his feathers, to be absorbed through his pores.
"It'll take a minute for it to take effect, considering how bad he was." Lillia sighed softly. Her voice always seemed to be like that. Gentle sighs, like a wind passing by. She had always been like that, but a couple of years ago she had been notably more talkative. Now it seemed like too much effort for the woman.
"I'll stay until he's completely well. There's still time before the wedding, right?" Bernard looked up at Thomas.
"Yes, plenty of time."
He patted Bernard gently.
Gryphon fell asleep, but his condition was clearly improving. With a sigh of relief, Bernard gently lifted the bird out of his jacket… to find a little surprise.
"Oh dear."
"That's certainly a complication." Thomas furrowed his brow. "You'll just have to find a new jacket."
"Where do I get a new tuxedo jacket here?" He exclaimed, still staring at the white stain. Very not good.
"Well, I believe I still have the one my husband wore to our wedding." Lillia volunteered. "He was about your size."
"Uh, thank you, Lillia." Bernard told her, a little surprised by the offer.
Lillia hesitated. "It's just that… the tuxedo… well, it's…"
-
"Grey." Bernard stared in horror at the mirror. "I'm wearing a grey tuxedo. I am, aren't I? I'm not seeing things?"
Thomas smoothed the shoulders of the tuxedo.
"It's a nice tuxedo." He consoled him.
"Yes, but it is grey. You can't wear a grey tuxedo when you're getting married. You wear black." Bernard seemed adamant. "The bride wears white, the groom wears black. That's how it is."
Thomas smoothed some lint from the lapels.
"Well, you could honestly get away with wearing white, I believe." He dropped in innocently. Bernard shot him a glare, trying his best not to flame up.
"The important thing is, you're getting married. It doesn't matter what colour the tuxedo is." He continued, carefully folding a handkerchief and sliding it into the breast pocket. "Fits very well, too."
"Yes, but…" Bernard began desperately.
"There's not enough time for 'yes, but…'s. You have to get to the wedding. There's not much time left now." Thomas told him sternly.
"Yes…" Bernard tried again, but the look the old mayor gave him was impossible to argue against. "Yes, and now I'm getting married."
"Yes, and now you're getting married. Congratulations. Let's go." Thomas agreed, dragging him out the door.
They barely made it past Saibara's smith before Aqua came running again.
"Mister Bernard sir!" He squeaked, ducking under the dark look Thomas shot at him. "It's the new calf, sir. She got loose from the barn – I don't know how! I had Chef watching over the barn, in case something happened with Beau…"
"Well, you can catch her just fine." Thomas snapped. "It's only a calf."
"That's not the only problem sir." Aqua trembled slightly. "You see sir, your dog sir, he tried to round her up back into the barn, but he's not cattle dog sir…"
"Cut to the chase man!" Thomas tossed his arms into the air. Aqua gave him a sour look, and he corrected himself sheepishly, "Sprite, sorry…"
"The calf is stuck on Mother's Hill, sir." Aqua sighed.
Bernard sighed heavily. "I'd better get her down."
-
It eventually took three men, five bundles of hay, a very excited Rabbit (that was the dog's name), and excessive amounts of running around before they managed to get the new calf down from Mother's Hill. The calf seemed utterly unperturbed by the entire incident, and trotted happily over to her mother once they returned her to the barn. Duke grinned at Bernard, and then flopped down on the ground.
"That's some bad luck on your wedding day." He commented, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.
"Well…" A small voice squeaked. "It's about to get worse."
They all looked down at Aqua, who was smiling weakly. Always the bearer of bad news.
"What now?" Bernard groaned.
"Uh, well…" Aqua began. He looked from face to face, and then announced loudly, "You should probably come see for yourself."
-
Beavers. Were beavers even native to this area? Bernard had never seen a beaver in his life, and now a family of them were building their dam in his river. Well, the river he used, in any case.
"Well, we can't just rip it down. It's their home." Bernard began.
"We can't leave it there. It's stopping the river." Aqua pointed to Bernard's watermill. Usually moving, steadily grinding corn and other things to make the chicken feed he used, but now eerily still. "It's not just your mill either. The Poultry Farm uses this river to make their feed. No river, no feed for the chickens."
Bernard tried his very hardest not to scream. This day wasn't going well. And he was supposed to be getting married as well.
"We could relocate it?" Thomas suggested hopefully.
"How do we do that?" Bernard stared at the beavers, patting mud into their wood structure with their tails.
There was a complicated silence.
"Uh, the Harvest Goddess might help us with that." Aqua suggested in a timorous voice. Both men blinked down at him. Aqua tried a casual shrug, but he was far too unused to the gesture to get it quite right, so it looked more like an enormous nervous tic. "As a wedding present, she might… if you invite her to the wedding, that is."
Oh, that was the last thing Bernard wanted. A great, big, fat, attention-seeking drama-queen at her wedding.
"Not a chance." He immediately replied.
"Well, this morning was a bit of a waste, then." Aqua sighed heavily, obviously staged for his audience's benefit. "No point healing sick chickens if you're only going to let them starve to death…" He began to walk slowly back to Mineral Town. "I suppose us Sprites are out of a job too."
Bernard tried to hold out, but he was far too much of a soft touch. He caved almost instantly.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to find something nice to throw into the spring…" He muttered darkly, trudging back to his house.
Bloody beavers.
-
"Oh, a wedding!" The Goddess trilled, clapping her hands. I love weddings. They're such fun. Am I really invited?"
Bernard nodded, smiling a terribly fake smile. "Of course! You are the Harvest Goddess, after all!"
The Goddess was too oblivious to notice his insincerity.
"Will there be a big band? How many other people will be there? What should I wear?" She laughed and danced in a circle with an invisible partner. Bernard tried not to groan.
"Uh, this may seem a little rude of me…" He attempted.
She ignored him, still babbling.
"It's just, there was a favour I…"
"And how big will the cake be? Will there be a cake? You never know, some of the brides these days are on these big health food kicks. Not that some of them don't them, if you know what I mean…"
"Be quiet!" Bernard bellowed. The Goddess stilled, shocked into silence. The young husband-to-be took a deep, calming breath, and attempted another smile. "It's about the wedding present…"
"Oh! Yes!" She clapped her hand. "How thoughtless of me. Yes, what will it be? A good season for the crops? Some 'lucky finds' in the mining caves? Just ask!"
"Actually, it's about the beavers that moved in upstream." Bernard pointed to the waterfall trickling into the spring, which even now was lower than usual. "We were wondering if it was in your power to, uh, gently relocate them?"
The Goddess blinked, baffled by his request. Drawing her self up indignantly, she told him, "Of course it's within my power! I'm a Goddess, remember?" She grinned, fluttering away. "They'll be gone before the wedding. Count on it!"
Bernard sighed, sinking into the soft grass.
"Well, that's that taken care of." He closed his eyes. What an extraordinary day…
He stared at the sky. It was late afternoon… his mind, numb with weariness, struggled to think. There had been something on today, hadn't there? Something important…
"It's Beau!" A small voice shrieked suddenly. Bernard sat bolt-right up, staring at Chef who was pounding up the path. "She's giving birth!
-
News travelled fast. The barn was crowded with more than half the residents of Mineral Town. Beau's pregnancy had been a long and difficult one, and the outcome of the baby was currently a worry for all. For three and a half years, Bernard had lived on the Le`foot property, turning it from an overgrown weed garden into a thriving farm. He had helped many of the residents, and had never asked for anything in return. He had once been a stranger, "the new guy", but had quickly become a close friend and familiar face for the town.
They worried for him as he worried for Beau.
Kneeled in the barn, gloves u over his elbows and a panicking mother sheep in front of him, the young farmer was clearly worried. The sheep was having trouble delivering, and there was a dangerous chance of miscarriage.
"Come on, Beau!" Bernard encouraged in a gently voice, his hands gripping the lamb, pulling it carefully from the mothers womb. Beau bleated loudly, causing a panicked stir within the other animals.
The town cheered, shouting encouragement. Whether it was to Bernard or Beau, no one knew. Not that it really mattered.
Rabbit was licking Beau's neck reassuringly, whining his worries. Bernard concentrated on the lamb, slowing making its way out of its mother.
With a spill of bodily fluids and an amount of panicked flailing, the baby was pulled out safely. The barn erupted into cheers, the animals joining the din of sheer exhilaration and celebration. Bernard sat beside mother and child, covered in things that would make him stink 'til kingdom come, but beaming in utter euphoria. Bernard let the lamb's mother investigate her child. He leant back in the hay with a sigh of relief as neighbours who had become his friends came and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations!"
"It certainly looks healthy."
"Can you tell the sex?"
Bernard let their speech blur together, accepting it all as one big congratulation. There was one exclamation that caught his ears, though.
"And on your wedding day too! This must be the best day of your life, eh?"
His eyes snapped open with horror.
"Oh, bugger! The wedding!"
She would be furious! She'd think he'd stood her up! On their wedding day! Things could not possibly get worse…
Bernard stumbled to his feet and started towards the barn doors. But before he could make it, they swung open by themselves. A figure stood in the doorway, small in stature but fury giving her formidable size. Bernard stopped dead, a hush falling over the crowd.
Standing in an enormous white wedding dress, her hair pulled back prettily, her large, expressive eyes dangerously narrowed, was the bride.
"Oh, no." Bernard mumbled. Louder, he began, "I can explain!"
"Oh, you'd better. This is my wedding day, Bernard!" She snapped, stamping towards him. She met him, eye-to-chin, but managed to remain frighting as she stared up at him. No one can invade your personal space quite like an angry bride in an enormous dress.
"I had the craziest, wildest, most bizarre day!" He began. "Gryphon got sick and pooped all over my jacket and then the tuxedo was grey and we had to run around Mother's Hill for the calf and then the beavers, the bloody beavers, so the Harvest Goddess was coming to the wedding and Beau gave birth to a baby and… and… and I'm still wearing your father's tuxedo and I smell like the inside of a sheep." His face crumpled. "I'm sorry."
The angry bride placed her hands on her hips. Very quietly, she told him, "Bernard, there are no beavers in Mineral Town."
"Well now there aren't any." He told her desperately. She only glared at him. "Things just kept popping up that I had to deal with!"
"No, Bernard! Things kept popping up that other people had to deal with. You had to deal with getting married." She crossed her arms over her chest. "To me."
Bernard fell silent.
He took a deep breath, and began again.
"You're completely and utterly right." He told her. She began to say something, but he held up a sticky, gloved hand to stop her. Continuing, he told her, "This morning I stood in front of my mirror, and I don't think I wanted to get married." She looked angry, but he shook his head at her. He had to finish. "I wondered if it was too soon, or if I should ever get married. Because you're some one I'd be spending the rest of my life with. Not just spending it with, sharing it with. I wondered whether you seriously wanted that.
"I wanted to postpone it. Any excuse would do. Even if it was just for a few hours, I wanted to put the wedding off. So when things kept popping up, all these stupid, bizarre problems, and I knew that anyone else could handle them, I didn't let them. I went and dealt with them myself. I pretended it was because I was the only one who could, but any one could have. That was the point of all the Sprites, and all our friends who said they'd help keep an eye on things."
He went to grab her hand, but remembered the glove. After carefully peeling it off, he knelt down on one knee and gently took a hold of one of her hands.
"I let everything else get in the way of you. It was, is, and most likely always will be the biggest, stupidest mistake I ever make. Because if I let everything else get in the way of you, I shouldn't marry you. Because you'll always deserve better than that, better than me. I can't take back to day, but I can make a promise that I won't let today happen again." He smiled sheepishly. "I don't mean beavers and escaped calves either. I mean, I will never, ever let there be a day when something could possibly be more important than you."
He took a deep breath.
"If you'll still have me. Please. Will you – still – marry me?"
She glareddown at him. The silence stretched on dangerously. She didn't snatch her hand away, but she didn't say anything either.
It was okay. He could wait. She had waited far, far longer.
Finally, after what seemed eternity, the frown on her face broke away to a gently smile, like storm clouds breaking away to let the sunshine through. She tugged him up to his feet and threw her arms around his neck, ignoring the sticky fluids covering him. She kissed him, a deep, joyful one on his lips, and pulled away laughing.
"I'll always have you, you big dork."
Carter coughed politely.
"If I may?"
It wasn't a church. There were no stained glass windows, or a big organ in the corner. But it smelt like a home (and some other things) and the entire town was already there. It didn't need to be a church any way. All it needed was the bride and groom, and a whole lot of hope for the future.
They almost forgot about the lamb bleating in the corner. Bernard and his new wife crouched beside the tiny animal, already curious about its new home.
"It looks like a girl." Bernard checked cautiously. "She's got to have a name." He turned to his bride, smiling.
She smiled back radiantly.
"Well, what do you want to name her? She's yours as well now."
She stroked the soft coat of the lamb thoughtfully.
Some of the Harvest Sprites living behind the church had gotten to the belltower, and wedding bells were ringing out like a great, joyous song. The notes rolled over Mineral town in great, glorious sound waves across houses, shops, pubs, parks, and Rose Square. It rolled over Mineral Beach, sparkling in the sunset. It rolled over Le`foot farm, waking chickens who were tired at the end of the day. It rolled over the stable where a large stallion named Thor snorted and stamped his feet, sensing something going on. It rolled over fields of grass and corn, making them sway and dance to its song. It rolled over gurgling, splashing rivers, rolling through the wooded area, making wild animals stop and listen. It rolled up to the great peak of Mother's Hill, spilling out over it into the glorious world beyond, as an echo.
It rolled over a barn, where a town stood together with a herd of cows, a handful of sheep, and an excited dog that was, for reasons unknown, called Rabbit. The sound of bells danced in the ears of a newly wed couple, who knelt next to a newly born lamb, and the sound of it made them smile.
"Well…" The bride began thoughtfully, "She was born on the same day as our wedding, you know."
"I know."
She smiled, wrapping her arms around her husband. Inside her mind, she let the word simmer. Husband.
She cocked her ear, listening to the sound of…
"Bell. We'll call her Bell."
"Yeah, a good name." Her husband agreed, wrapping his arms around her in turn. "Welcome to the world, Bell."
The lamb ignored them, investigating instead her mother's nipples, which offered an interestingly delicious source of nutrients.
"I love you, Bernard." She told him.
He paused, enjoying the moment.
"I love you too, Popuri."
All in all, it had been a good day.