Chapter 8


Valek and I had now reached the Krystal Clan border, and was getting ready to pass into the Featherstone Clan's territory. Feeling bored, I had persuaded Valek to come with me into a small town there called Quartz in spite my impatience to get to my destination. It seemed that the closer we got to the Citadel, the faster I wanted to travel.

"Why?" Valek grumbled and complained. "We don't have the time for this."

I had been surprised by his reluctant agreement to make a small detour. We didn't need that much food, in fact, we could have probably made it to the Citadel comfortably if we rationed everything out carefully. But I didn't point that out, in case he changed his mind about coming with me, or even worse, making another bad crack at my appetite.

The town was small, but busy, with men, women and children rushing all over the place. When we tried to ask someone what was going on, they just pointed hurriedly at a large house at the end of a crowded street before rushing back to complete their errand. Mystified, we followed the direction that the many fingers had pointed in.

Walking along the main street was difficult. There were merchant's stores on either side and now that we had a chance to look around, I could see that every surface was decorated with bows, ribbons, beads and everything imaginable. There must be some kind of celebration in order for everything to be covered with colour and sparkle.

Valek made a face as we passed a store entired dressed in various shades of pink bows, ribbons and lace. He shuddered at the sight. Laughing at him, I pointed at a store that had a sign being tacked onto its large front wall.

WEDDING AT TERN FAMILY RESIDENCE, the sign read. "Can you believe that we've had the luck to come during a wedding?" I exclaimed to Valek.

"Can you believe how unbelievably unfortunate we are to come at this time?" he shouted back at me over the din at the same time.

We stopped and stared at each other. "Oh no," Valek said. "We are NOT going to this."

"Come on! Now that we're here and it seems that the family wants anybody willing to come to come, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't attend."I pulled him to the direction of the large crowd hovering outside what I assumed was the bride's house.

"We're not dressed for the occasion," Valek said, pulling back. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Was he going to keep spouting excuses until the wedding was over?

"Most of the people going aren't either," I pointed out as we got closer. It was true. All the farmers were wearing their everyday work clothing while the merchants and the rest didn't spruce up for the occasion either. Well, everyone except for the bride and the bridal party, of course.

Before Valek could somehow manage to squirm away, a large, rather intimadating lady came out to greet us, gripping each of our hands in each of hers, as if preventing us from going.

"It's so pleasant to see newcomers. And just in time as well! My daughter is getting married today and the village is very excited about this. You're both welcome to attend and don't you worry about a thing! Just enjoy yourselves." Her welcome was heartfelt, but was spoken in rushed speech. She then whirled away, leaving behind the scent of apple pie as she fought her way through the crowd again.

I turned to Valek with a triumphant smile. "See?"

Soon afterwards, the bride's brother came to the front of the crowd and told everyone to be seated inside. I hustled Valek to one of the benches and pulled him down next to me. A poignant strain of a violin melody filled the air. A viola then gradually joined it and together, they harmonised into a wedding march.

The bride slowly and gracefully walked up to the front, with younger girls scattering rose petals behind her. Rose petals the exact color of the rose that Valek had given me. The expression of joy on the bride's face nearly brought tears to my eyes. She smiled up at the young man that was waiting for her and I wondered. Would I ever be able to be that happy one day? Would I ever get married, have children, lead a normal life? My heart dropped when I realised that until my memories came back, I would never be able to do those things. After all, what if I was already married? I've heard of people in some tribes that married their girls off at the age of 15, which seemed to me as rather barbaric, but what if?

I hadn't noticed that I was getting stiffer and stiffer until I looked down and saw my hands shaking. My vision blurred with tears. I had been so confident that eventually everything would return back to normal but recently, less and less memories have been coming back. If they stopped altogether, I would lose who I was, and where I belonged.

Valek's hands reached for mine and he gently squeezed my hand gently in comfort. I took a few deep breaths to avoid making a scene and I nudged Valek in gratitude. The wedding was soon over and everyone dispersed to the refreshments table : the women to gossip while eating (bride included) and the men to guzzle free ale (groom included).

Valek pulled me to the side and handed me a napkin. It had been folded into a swan like all the other napkins at the refreshment area and I felt bad for using it to blow my nose. It seemed to me like a waste of perfectly good napkin folding skills.

"Let's go," Valek urged. "You're not well, and there's no way you can enjoy the wedding this way."

I smiled and scrunched up my napkin, holding it so tightly, my knuckles paled in comparison with the rest of my skin. "So you can go and avoid having to dance after they're done eating?"

"You don't want to see me dance. Your feet will never be the same again." He gave my feet a pitying glance.

I laughed despite myself. "Nevertheless, that is not something that I can miss experiencing. After all, I'll need something to think over and laugh about once I get to the Citadel."

When I heard the violins playing again, the bride's mother came over to us and pulled us out to the clearing, telling us that we needed to dance. I was agreeable but Valek was very reluctant. The mother just laughed at him and jokingly threatened to hit him with a tea towel if he did not comply. Surprisingly, Valek decided to play it safe. I guess he didn't want to face the wrath of a vengeful mother armed with a tea towel, assassin or not.

A lilting melody filled the air and the other couples began to dip and sway, following the dominating rhythmic beat. I noticed that the couples danced exceedingly close to one another; the women were all tightly clasped to the mens' sides. Valek and I tried to follow along, but we were too uncoordinated and we couldn't seem to be able to synchronise our moves like the others.

With a sigh of frustration, Valek suddenly drew me close, so that my body was molded to his from head to toe. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the continuous beat of his heart. For some reason, it was beating faster and faster. Hmmm...I gasped in surprise as I thought of an explanation and had no time to recover before we had to do the next set of steps. I could barely concentrate on doing the moves, because I was so close to him. The only thing that I could do was keep from stepping on his feet, which would have been mortifying.

When I turned my head from his chest to look up at him, his expression was neutral. Cold. I flinched back a bit, stumbling before he caught me again. Did I misinterpret the situation? Either way, I had no time to think on that, since the dancing was officially over and everyone was now mingling with one another, talking about what had happened since they had last seen each other.

Valek and I awkwardly broke apart. I didn't want to let him go, and once I had pulled away, I felt suddenly cold and alone. Shivering, I rubbed my arms as the bride's mother headed towards us.

"Thank you both for coming. Ah, young love. It's a beautiful thing, yes?" she sighed, looking dreamily at her daughter and her new son-in-law.

Valek smiled a bit frostily. "It depends on how you look at it, ma'am."

"I will have to disagree with you there. Love is a beautiful thing, from all perspectives."

I gaped at her. I would have assumed that she would have said the exact opposite, considering how many marriages failed in the first year or so. "Why do you have so much faith in it?" I asked curiously.

She smiled sadly and her eyes focused on something in the distance as if she was remembering a pleasant memory from long ago. "Even when you have nothing left, you still have hope, don't you? That something will change and someday it will be better..."

I frowned in concern. Was her husband abusing her? What did he do?

Valek seemed to be thinking the same thing as me. "Does...Is your husband hurting you?" He stared at her with intensity. I was touched slightly at his eagerness to help someone in need.

"Oh, no! Not at all. That's not what I meant to imply. It's just..." She stopped and to my dismay, blotted some tears with her handkerchief. "My husband's been very good to me. He's very affectionate and of course, I'm fond of him as well, but..." She paused to blow her nose with a horn-like sound. "But it's not the same! Watching my daughter get married to the love of her life while I was trapped in an arranged marriage...it's just gotten me emotional, that's all. Please don't mind me, I hope I didn't spoil the wedding mood. I apologize. I shouldn't be blabbing."

She hurried away to the house to wash her face and Valek and I watched as a man, supposedly her husband, went after her in concern.

"Poor woman," Valek muttered, looking after her.

I had to agree with him. All I could do was hope that someday it would get better for her, even though I didn't see how. Valek drew me away from the festivites and back on the road, shooing me to walk faster.

Turning to look at Valek, I studied him for a long time. He noticed and looked back at me, causing me to blush and look down. Why did I do that?

"What would you do, if you were trapped into a marriage with the virago assassin?" I asked to lighten the mood.

Valek looked thoughtful. "I don't know. Prevent her from killing me in my sleep?"

"Good point. Aren't you glad that we went to that wedding?"

He snorted in derision. "How could I enjoy it with you stepping all over my feet?"

"Hey! Weren't you the one that admitted to being a terrible dancer?" I elbowed him as we continued on our way.


So, did anyone think that it was Yelena's and Valek's wedding when they saw the chapter title? :)

I seemed to be in a sentimental mood when I was writing this, so disregard anything strange that I mignt have written. :D

Also, for those of you that are interested, the sequel to the Assassin's Secretary (my other Poison Study fanfic) is coming out soon so keep an eye out for it.