'She's going to kill me.' I'd just been kidnapped, my hands and feet were bound and there was a gag in my mouth. I'd been roughly tossed into the back of a rickety old wagon that was making me long for the 'smooth' ride of a Chocobo. The hay I'd been tossed in was at least a year old, and smelled to high heaven of age, mildew, and less then savory scent of horse. So what was the first words into my mind after I came to from the attack? 'She's going to kill me.'
She of course was Sarisa, or Faris, who was my soon to be wife. Today had been the day that we were supposed to finally settle down, tie the knot, and make what had been for several weeks now official. It was to be a grand day with much celebration by the people of Figaro. Sure, I would have preferred a small wedding with only friends and family, but I had all the nobles to deal with that wouldn't dream of missing such a gala event. Not to mention all the emissaries that wanted to be in on the whole ordeal. On top of that my blushing bride wanted to make a big show of the fact that she was marrying the king and not some slut debutante.
So a wedding off in the summer home came to be the solution. It was large enough for all the dignitaries, friends, family, and nobles to get there and be there for the wild shindig, as my brother so eloquently put it, and it was out of the way so that after everyone left we could have some time alone. Sure we tended to take as much time along as possible now, but it would be different since we would be husband and wife, instead of just two pirates out at sea, or a king and a princess. Everything was planned and it was all going to be absolute perfect.
'Was' being the keyword. While on the way to the location of the wedding my guard and I were suddenly attacked without warning. Sure it was something we should have suspected, sure it was something we should have been able to fend off, sure it shouldn't have succeeded, but it did. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how they were able to get the drop on all of us and knock me out. My head at the moment didn't really care as it was to busy trying to recover from a particularly nasty knock I took while in the middle of the fracas.
Opening my eyes was a chore and the thought ran through my head, as it seemed that every time I'm recovering from a blow to the head or being knocked out Faris was somehow involved. Shaking the thought away I tried to adjust to the light, thankful that the trees that were around us blocked it out. After a short time I was able to finally get a look around the ancient, wooden carriage that was taking me in the wrong direction of where I wanted to be. Going along for the ride with me were a pair of brutes that seemed more bored than dangerous at the time. Granted being tied up didn't exactly help me out at all with my situation.
My range of view and motion were very limited by the bonds that tied me down. Feeling like a side of beef being carted off to market I relaxed and just went along for the ride since I didn't want to worry about causing trouble. Not so much for the fact that I didn't want to get back at my captors so much as I did not feel like struggling at the time. I knew that these men had a purpose for me, most likely a ransom of some sort. I don't mean to sound immodest or full of myself, but I was worth a lot of money. I just hoped that these people knew what they were getting into.
My own past aside I had a feeling that the woman who was waiting for me wasn't going to sit around on her laurels like some distraught maiden while I was in the clutches of some dastardly villain. In fact I'd be down right shocked if she did, but that's besides the point I suppose. Leaning back I closed my eyes again in order to try and get some sleep through the myriad bumps that were rocking the wagon, almost threatening to cause it to shake apart. Soon enough, I reminded myself, I'd be facing my captor and we'd get all of this straightened out.
'She's going to kill me.'
"Where the hell is he?" Sure enough back at the castle where the rest of the guests were waiting for the groom to show up a certain young bride was pacing back and forth in her waiting room for everything to get started. The time was about half past one which was an hour and a half later then what she was supposed to wait. She was supposed to be Mrs. Sarisa Figaro at this point for crying out loud. Looking on in concern were her three maids of honor who weren't sure what to tell her.
"Maybe his Chocobo came up lame?" Terra tried to offer, figuring there had to be a good reason that Edgar was late. She doubted it was because he didn't want to be there.
"I'm sure there's got to be some sort of good reason why he's not here, Faris," Celes chimed in after her. Walking up next to her half-esper friend she knew that the former pirate needed something to help calm her down. She almost seemed to before Relm offered her explanation.
"Maybe he met some barmaid along the way." The other two shot the young artist angry glares as the girl shot back a look of pure innocence. 'She does that way to well,' Terra thought to herself before looking back to the irate Faris.
"If he did that I'll cut off his…" Before she could finish the statement Sabin burst his way into the room, unconcerned with the fact that he wasn't supposed to be back there before the wedding. Terra looked like she was about to berate the man before seeing the look of urgency that was clearly splayed across his face. It was so intense that even Relm looked up with rapt attention.
"Edgar's been kidnapped!" For a second Faris gave Sabin a look like he must be joking. Everyone in the room thought the same thing, how could Edgar have been kidnapped considering the guard that was with him. For that matter how could they have gotten a man that had fought in enough battles that he should be more then ready for everything.
"Sabin, if yer joking it doesn't matter who's brother you are…I'll have ya strung up by your short hairs." It was obvious that this was the worst day possible for anyone to give any sort of bad news to Faris.
"I wish I were, Sister," Sabin had made sure to get into practice referring to the woman as such, much to her initial chagrin. She'd grown to appreciate the sign of endearment after a while, "But one of his guards just showed up and he's damn near dead. Said he saw whoever it was make off with Edgar."
She was dressed and ready for a wedding when she never thought that she would even get married, with all her friends, future family, and guests waiting for her as well as her husband. Ready to commit her life to a single man that had made a habit of turning her world upside down many times, ready to provide his kingdom with a queen and a heir. Standing there with three women who'd become fast friends with her as well as her maids of honor. When faced with such a situation most women would act in a hysterical manner ranging from crying to outrage.
"Get me my sword and my armor, I'm going king huntin'," Ripping her dress off in the process she didn't seem to care at all that underneath was some rather racy clothing she'd been saving for her honeymoon. Strolling out of the backroom they were in and towards where her chambers were. It didn't matter much to her either that she walked right through the main foyer leading into where the ceremony was to be held, thankfully none of the guests were paying attention to what was going on back in the hall behind them.
"You know, I feel sorry for my brother if he ever does stray," Sabin finally said as the rest of them stood there in shock at display from the woman. It was then that they truly knew that she wasn't the princess that she'd be touted so as to keep the other nobles happy. Relm finally laughed at everything that happened and rushed after the woman.
"You heard the woman! We've got to get going!" Sabin was just able to reach out a hand to stop the young woman, pulling her back into the room. The scowl she gave the martial artist was enough to cause paint to crack, but the man had a reason for doing what he did.
"Hold up there, kiddo. Last thing we need to do is worry all of these people and make them think something was going on…well, something worse then what'd cause Faris to go charging into her room after ripping her dress off."
"So what exactly do we do then?" Terra asked before Relm could say anything rude. As she asked a couple of the others entered into the room since they'd heard what had happened. Setzer, Locke, and Cyan made their way in to where the others were standing about.
"We get Edgar back is what we do," Locke told her in an instinctive response.
"Well no duh!" Relm shot at him before he could realize he'd set himself up. The others didn't laugh at the scene as they normally would thanks to other pressing matters on their mind; namely a certain missing friend.
"Simple. Some of us go and get my brother back. And some of us stick around in order to make it seem like everything is okay and try to keep the guests calm." Sabin took the forefront of figuring out what to do, much to some of their surprise. If you'd asked him about it he'd just have passed it off as Edgar rubbing off on him.
"Well that works, but who goes and who stays?" Celes strolled forward then, moving to stand next to Locke and lean in against him.
"Well Faris goes, obviously. Unless any of you want to tell her she can't," none of them said anything, letting Sabin know they didn't disagree, "And I go because he's my brother. As for everything else, we honestly need someone around to possibly impersonate the bride in case someone thinks she's not there."
"Why do we need to do that?" Locked had to ask.
"Simple. Bride's here it means Edgar's just late. Bride's not here, then there's trouble." Seemed simple enough to them.
"Okay, but who do we get to do that?" Celes brought up, still leaning against the treasure hunter. Looking up she suddenly gave Sabin a curious glance as the man grinned at her.
"We need a blond that's about your height, and a slender figure…" It didn't take her long to figure out what he was talking about.
"Oh no you don't! I'm not going to do that again. Once was bad enough!" Celes tried to push back away from Sabin and into Locke more, who promptly tickled her for the comment.
"Right, makes me feel good to hear that you hated getting married," Cole teased the woman before griping her and not letting her move away from the group.
"That's not what I meant, Locke and you know it!" A sigh soon followed as she leaned in against him in defeat. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to get out of doing this.
"Now that that's settled," Sabin grinned before looking around, "Locke, we're probably going to need you to come along in case we need to break into anything. We'll need one more to round things out and so we'll have at least a few people around to waylay suspicions."
"I'm going!" Relm popped up before any of the others could. They all looked in surprise at the young woman, unsure of what exactly to make of it. She gave them all a look of blatant defiance, just daring them to tell her no, "I'd be perfect. Terra can stay around and be the maid of honor to answer the door in case anyone has any questions."
"That's true, but you could do it as well," Terra didn't want to be stuck behind either.
"If this were you wedding who would you prefer I answer the door, or someone else," Folding her arms across her chest the young woman continued to give them that defiant look, just daring them to otherwise argue.
"She does have a point, Terra. It would be safer if you took care of that," Sabin finally replied. Terra just nodded, still a little disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to go after Edgar, "Anyway, let's get changed and get going."
"Either way get your arses moving, I'm ready ta go." And standing in the doorway was Faris dressed and ready to go off on the hunt. All of the gathered turned and blinked at the woman, though none were really surprised that she was ready to go. Sabin motioned for everyone to follow him as they headed back to where Faris had just come from. All the time he quietly explained to the former pirate what their plan was and what they were going to do.
"That's great an' all, Sabin…but I repeat. Get yer arses moving." The friends shared a quiet laugh at the woman before getting their butts in gear as instructed. Soon enough Terra was helping Celes into the wedding dress while Locke, Sabin, and Relm changed into more comfortable clothes. Setzer excused himself and headed down to inform all of the guests that there was going to be another delay in the wedding due to some unforseen circumstances. Had the other friends known those were the words he was going to use they would have added that what the gambler had said was an understatement.
Thankfully this time around I hadn't been knocked unconscious while I was being taken prisoner. My captors made sure that I wasn't badly bruised at all, and that I was in good enough shape to walk on my own. I suppose I don't blame them, as I wouldn't want to carry me either. Not that I was heavy, but I was wearing some rather ornate armor at the time that was now in need of a good shining. I suppose I'll have to talk to Cyan about that when I get to the wedding finally, he'd know the best on how to take care of armor and such.
The place they took me through was a series of caves that had otherwise been turned into vague living places. Granted they weren't some of the finer rooms I'd ever been in, but they were still better then…okay, so they were the worst places I'd ever been dragged to. Granted Kefka's tower was a nightmare in itself, but at least it'd been clean for the most part. This was about as dark and dank as you could picture it. The light was poor and water dripped off of the myriad rock formations.
Either way the three men that were leading me pushed me through one last door before bringing me to a halt in front of a tattered, dirty curtain that hide some yet further cave in back of the complex. Looking on rather bored, to be honest I waited to see whoever it was that was my captor. I completely expected to be faced with some vile bandit king that had been wanted throughout the land since before Kefka had ruined it. Or perhaps some young, charismatic leader that had somehow convinced these men that kidnapping me was going to be a good idea. Well, so far they were still alive so I could believe that they thought it was.
"Very good job, boys," a voice purred out from behind the curtain, causing me to arch a brow and have second thoughts about who it might be. Slowly the curtain parted and from behind it stood a figure that was obviously feminine. I couldn't quite make out who it was thanks to a series of shadows that blocked her face, "You will all be well rewarded for what you've done."
"You know, my lady, you have probably the worst timing of any kidnapper I know of," I commented towards her. The woman seemed to turn at me, the shadow of her lips upturned in a smile as she seemed to appraise me from her position. Not saying a word yet she slowly stepped out and into the light, only then replying.
"Worst timing? My dear king, I have excellent timing," It was then that I saw who it was. Which does me a lot of good but doesn't help anyone whom doesn't know who she is.
"Lady Alliandra. I would have never suspected that you would go out and kidnap me." She'd been one of the more…off the wall ladies that had been after me over the past few years to try and marry me. While she was definetly pleasing to the eyes with a slender figure, a heart shaped face, long red hair, and intriguing green eyes…she was nuts to put it simply.
"And why is that my liege?" She practically purred, coming up to stand as close to me as she could get without actually leaning in against me. Oddly enough her scent was rather pleasant, considering the surroundings which otherwise had a rather fetid odor.
"I knew you were not quite all there but I didn't think you were completely crazy," I responded bluntly, causing a few of her cronies to snicker behind me. Shooting them a warning glance they shaped up before she turned her attention onto me once again.
"Oh, but today was the perfect day in which to save you, my liege," moving around behind me her hand trailed over my body. I was very thankful at that moment that I was wearing armor and couldn't feel her touch. I'm sure it would actually be quite pleasant but when you have a woman like Faris you do not mess around with other women in any way shape or form.
"Save me? From what?" I was curious as to what her reasoning was even if I could get the feeling she might end up refering to my wedding. 'Please,' I asked myself, 'don't let her say she wants to save me and marry me instead.'
"Why saving you from that horrible woman and marrying you myself," Damn. Why was it I couldn't be wrong this time. Why did I have to be right on that one. I'd been wrong plenty of times before, but not the one time it really counted.
"I don't need saving, my lady. I'm marrying a wonderful young princess and am going to be happy," I tried to keep calm in the situation, buying time for the rescue I was hoping was coming for me. Now more then ever when faced with the lune before me. And before me she was as the woman finished her inspection of my form.
"Of course you do, my dear Edgar. You're going to marry a creature that certainly doesn't act like a princess," as she stood back and away from me a bit I found myself thankful for whatever distance I could get away from her, "She's a mad woman, my liege. What you need is a real noble woman to settle down with."
"Alliandra, the only mad woman I know of is the one standing before me," I couldn't help myself, it was right there. The look she gave me was a cross between pain and rage, her fist balling up tightly as if she was going to strike me. I held my ground though, knowing I had to. Thankfully she didn't strike me as the insane woman visible calmed, forcing her anger down.
"I'll pretend you didn't say that, my dear Edgar. Instead I'll just keep the preparations going," Her grin told me she was just waiting for me to ask what preparations, which I didn't since I was rather curious.
"Preparations?" It was then that she turned in some grand flair as she headed towards where the curtain was. Pulling it aside further she revealed an altar as well as a pure white dress that looked something like the one that Faris had picked out. I could feel my stomach sink as I thought about where she was headed.
"Salvation, my liege. Yours from having to marry that wretched woman." She motioned for her men to drag me away which they promptly did, "Now you'll have to leave I'm afraid. After all, you're not supposed to see the bride before the ceremony. It's tradition." It's also tradition for the mad to be committed, I thought to myself. I didn't say anything and just sighed as I walked on, knowing that my friends had better be on my tracks in order to find me else I was going to be in a very, very bad position.
The four who were on his tracks found themselves at the same spot in which Edgar had been captured about an hour earlier shortly after they left. Faris, Sabin, Locke, and Relm were all outfitted in makeshift travel outfits considering that they had just came from a wedding. Locke muttered something about Faris having enough time to get properly changed but was then reminded she'd also left before all of them. Falling silent he went on in his dress pants and shirt, thankful he at least had on a pair of comfortable shoes.
Gathering at the site Locke found himself the one bent down over the tracks in order to get a bearing. It wasn't easy for the man as several footprints were found about the sight of the fight. The flies buzzing about the head of the treasure hunter thanks to the bloating corpses of the guard didn't help much either. Blood mingled with mud causing the trail to be that much more difficult. Still the man worked as fast as he could, refusing to let anything happen to his friend.
As Locke worked Faris paced behind him, scouring herself for where the tracks might lead. Her domain was the sea, though, and she wasn't nearly as well versed in the way of the woods. Trees towered over her, blocking the suns warm rays on occasion and making her feel a little trapped. Like a caged animal the former pirate paced, bringing about a small smile from her soon to be brother-in-law. Turning to regard him the woman snapped, snarling in his direction.
"Wot are ya grinnin' a'?" In the heat of the moment she felt her old accent coming back full force. Becoming even more peeved at the fact. She'd worked hard to adapt to speaking without the slang of her former trade for the sake of keeping up appearances.
"You, Sister. You need to calm down." Sabin was blunt if anything. Locke continued his work, doing his best to ignore the brewing conflict. Relm remained quiet at the moment, leaning against a tree and adjusting her skirt to make it easier for her to move.
"Calm down? Calm down! Sabin, my husband ta be is missin' an ya wan' me ta calm down?" To her credit she didn't throttle the man then and there, though she might have had a time of it. Still watching the woman Sabin crossed his arms in a somewhat defiant matter.
"And my brother is missing. What's your point?" Faris prepared to throw something back at the man before the finished painter interrupted the exchange to keep things from getting out of hand.
"What's the big deal, Faris? We're going to get him back, right?" blinking the former pirate turned in order to face the young girl, her ire dying due to the suddenness of her interruption.
"Well, Aye. But…" And before she could continue on any sort of rant Faris found herself cut off again by the younger woman.
"But nothing. We'll get him back and everything will be fine. No reason to bite your brother's head off." Relm locked her eyes with the other's and dared her to argue with the logic. Hands coming to her hips she struck a pose she'd seen Faris take more than once. Sabin did his best to keep his snicker under control at the exchange.
"Found it!" They all then turned to face Locke as he stood on the edge of the battle site, a fresh trail in sight and a grin on his face. "Now let's get going before this trail gets cold," The others followed behind him, letting the thief take the lead since he knew best what he was doing. Motioning for Sabin to take their back and keep an eye out behind him the troupe went in the direction of the tracks with all due haste. They were careful not to give away their position too much. After all, they didn't need the kidnappers knowing that they're there.
Faris walked on deep in thought, mulling over to herself just why it was that she was acting that way. She'd never been one to fly off the handle before, especially not over a single person. The woman wondered just why it was she was in this sort of mood. Maybe it was the wedding, she told herself. It had to be the wedding, after all that sort of thing always put a lot of stress on people, especially the bride. The fact it'd been interrupted would be a good explanation as to why she was acting that way.
'No,' she finally admitted to herself, 'It's because I couldn't bare to be separated from him again.' That little fact stung her as she realized that she was relying on someone else. She'd always been the independent one, never needing anyone and always being strong. She'd even gotten over losing him the first time after several months, so she knew she was strong. 'Still, losing him again would be the death of you.' Sighing lightly the woman trudged on, coming to terms with the thought she was acting dependent.
Faris. Her face was constantly in my minds eye as I sat in my little cage awaiting for my impromptu 'salvation.' But all that I could even begin to think about was the woman I was supposed to be married to at this point in time. She was out there somewhere, maybe even at the summer home and waiting for me to show up. As much as I hoped she and the others were on my trail I don't think anyone survived the attack on my little party. There was probably no way of knowing what had happened to me.
Rolling over on the cot that had been provided for me I looked up to the ceiling and sighed. What was I going to do, I mean I couldn't get married. That was completely out of the question. However I couldn't do anything stupid or else the madwoman would probably have me killed. Me being dead wouldn't help anyone out, and I knew that well. But I didn't want to be wed to Alliandra, not even for a minute. Sure, I know that I could get a divorced or get the marriage annulled, but I didn't want that to happen.
After all, this was the first time that I was going to be getting married, and I wanted it to be special. My first marriage? Hell, I was hoping to make it my only time. After all, Faris was unlike any woman I'd ever met before. She was the first one I'd honestly told I loved, the first one that I'd actually cried over losing. I didn't want there to be anything else that would mar that, and this was going to do just that. Just let someone be here to interrupt…
…My thinking. Blinking I looked up to my cell as one of the henchmen came inside in order to collect me. Motioning for me to stand up I reluctantly did as he bad considering the rather nasty club he had at his side. Standing aside he let me go through first so he could better whack me if I got out of line. Slowly going about I moved in the vague direction of where I'd been brought before. After all, it didn't seem like this place was all that large or hard to get through, just deep as it where. Feet dragging I went on before the thug.
It was far to short a trip back to that main chamber where I found that damned altar as well as Alliandra dressed in a rather stunning gown. I stopped for a moment and arched a brow, even if she was mad she was looking quite good. Shaking my head I was prodded forward, which I reluctantly did. Gazing back at the woman before me she gave me something of a triumphant grin, as if she'd just pulled off the coup of a lifetime. After a moments thought I realized that she was just about to do that, marrying the king of the largest kingdom in the world. Apparently she had more in mind than just to 'save' me.
Coming to a halt next to the woman in front of the old hunk of wood that would serve as the place for whomever it was she got to perform the ceremony, she began to look me over. A few moments of appraisal and she started to adjust my clothing and armor, flicking this mud off or moving that collar. I really couldn't do anything to fight against it seeing as how my hands were still bound behind my back, preventing me from possibly fighting back and getting away from that demented scene.
"Oh just admit it, my liege," she finally piped up, "You're going to enjoy this. You'll be married to a beautiful, charming, rich, and sophisticated woman before long."
"And here I didn't think you had a large opinion of Princess Sarisa," I shot back at her. Soon I found a hand across my cheek for my comment, stinging my flesh and causing my head to jerk off to one side. Apparently she wasn't to happy with that comment.
"Never, ever mention that name in my presence again! Do you hear me?" The rise I got out of here was enough to make all of her men cower away in fear for a moment, and nearly shocked me. Thankfully I'd faced far, far worse things, such as having to have dinner with Kefka and the Emperor on that one occasion.
"Or what? You'll kill me?" The look she gave me was one of pure insanity, as if I'd just hit the chocobo on the head.
"Exactly," She purred in response, pulling me close against her in a repulsive embrace, stroking my cheek as if she'd just not slapped it.
"To what end? I'll be dead and your plan will be for naught," A crony came up behind me and pressed me bodily into her in response, believe me it wasn't because I wanted to be close to such dementia.
"If I can't have you, my dear Edgar, then no one will," Why was it I had to get stuck with all the cliched people? Why for once couldn't Sabin or Locke be the one? No, he gets to be a martial arts expert and the other gets the girl without a fight. Why in the world was I always the one.
"You're quite mad, you know." I knew I had nothing to lose at that point, except my life. Oddly enough she reached up and gave me a rather deep and involved kiss, which I tried to fight all the way. After a moment in the wretched embrace she pulled back and looked at me as if I had just mentioned I was fond of the woman.
"Shall we begin the ceremony?" Turning me around I looked to the altar again to see a priest who had been forcibly brought to oversee the event. The fear in his eyes was evident as he gazed around, quaking gently in his shoes at the sight around him. Who wouldn't be considering he had several armed guards watching over him and a female drunk off power before him? I gave the man as sympathetic look in order to try and reassure him that everything was going to be all right.
I'm not sure if it worked or not but with a bark at the terrified man he began the ceremony, doing the whole spiel about gathering and happy occasions. I didn't hear it though, my mind elsewhere as I prayed that perhaps some salvation was at hand. I also prayed that something, anything would interrupt this whole accursed affair so I didn't have to deal with the repercussions that would follow. Sure I could just get this whole thing annulled, but I had to think about my kingdom and the ramifications of what was going on. It would send who was the rightful queen into question and maybe even split the nobles. Not to mention what it'd do to Faris if I were technically married to another woman.
I didn't get to finish that line of thought as I was prodded, not realizing that I'd been asked a question. Looking up to the friar before me I gave him a bit of a quizzical look. The man cast a wary glance towards the woman at my side before he started to repeat the line again. Alliandra looked up at me as if in warning, telling me that I'd better answer how she wanted or else I wouldn't like the outcome.
"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife…" and with that he continued on through the rest of the list, though it was cut short with a look from the hostile noblewoman I shared the altar with. Glancing between the priest and the woman my mind worked fast as I tried to figure up how I was going to stall all of this. I knew a flat out no answer wouldn't be well received, and I might even be clubbed for my action. But I also knew that flat out saying yes was not going to do me much good either.
"Well, see, I don't know if I could completely do that," I figured I might as well go into law mumbo jumbo mode for a bit, see if I could do something through that avenue, "there doesn't seem to be all of the usual necessities for a fully lawful wedding."
"What do you mean?" Alliandra asked, her expression changing from pure rage to curiosity. I didn't allow myself any time to gloat over the ploy, just glad she wasn't all there to counter the argument.
"Well for starters, where are the rings?" With a snap of her finger the woman held out her and the thug produced a ring. I blinked and looked at him before my next counter came to mind.
"How about witnesses and a marriage license?" A glance to another of her cronies before he came forward with a piece of paper as well as a quill and some ink. He gave me a semi-toothed grin, due to not having many left, before stepping back.
"I used ta be a notary," he informed me. I offered a smirk of thanks while I racked my brain for anything else I could possibly be able to come up with. Not being able to think of anything that would really bring a pause to the whole ceremony I weakly offered next…
"Rice?" the woman was visibly upset with me, griping my arm and forcibly turning me to face the padre. A sigh as I stood there, the man looking at me with a mix of expectance and fear. I knew I had to give an answer then if I wanted to live, or if I wanted to die I could give another answer. It came down to a matter of which would do everyone the most good really.
"Ya missed the part about objections to the wedding," relief flooded my face as a familiar voice called out behind me. I didn't even need to turn around to know who my saviour was, nor did I need to face Alliandra to know that she was not happy to hear that same voice as well. Side stepping a few paces I got some distance between myself and my captor as she spun around to face my fiancée.
"Do you mind? You're interrupting a marriage ceremony!" As soon as I had enough space between the two of us I turned to see who all bothered showing up. Last thing I wanted to see was Faris coming to get me on her own. Granted I knew she could have probably done it, hell I knew she could have done it, I just didn't want her taking any chances. A brief sigh passed my lips as I saw her three companions, even if I was a little startled to only see three of them and to see Relm with them.
"Jus' like you did, harlot?" I knew that tone in Faris' voice. As such I took several more steps back, not wanting to be anywhere near those two when my future wife got a hold of my would be captor. A snap of her fingers and Alliandra sent her thugs into action, each going to try and subdue the other three that came to save me. I won't go into to much detail about the fight, aside from the fact that they were all short and brutal. Even Relm seemed to have no trouble whatsoever with the giant slug that tried to take her down. Apparently she'd actually paid attention to Faris' training.
"Ya really should know not to mess with a woman on 'er wedding," Slowly my fiancée crept forward towards my kidnapper, sword drawn and daggers in her eyes. On the other side of the sword Alli drew her own blade as her hand went to her dress. A single fluid motion as the impeding fabric was removed with a sort of flair. The second's own rapier came up to match the former's movement. The crazed look on the noblewoman's face was a sight to behold for its pure shock.
"You should practice what you preach, bitch," Faris didn't waste any more words on the woman, leaping forward with precision in her strike. Her sword blow didn't land as Alli parried the move rather skillfully. It seemed that she'd had a small amount of training herself. The madwoman countered with a strike of her own, the sword's tip aimed to carve out the former pirate's heart. Sliding off to the side Faris parried the blow rather easily, swinging out at the woman in answer.
The two continued the macabre dance for quite some time, each stopping the others feint and strike with a parry and strike of their own. Somehow Alliandra was able to hold off the more experience woman for a while, doing her best to keep from being even scratched. Wear seemed to eat away at her though as sweat began to bead on her forehead. The woman's step slowed just a hair as she moved around the cave floor. Still she held on admirably, not letting up on her assault.
Unfortunately for Alli experience usually wins out over training. Eventually Faris was able to find the advantage, swinging around a stalgmite that was sticking up out of the ground and swinging around it. Using the extended rock formation she was able to pull a quick move that put her behind the noblewoman, my fiancée's foot coming up to meet the others back and knock her to the ground, face first. Landing just an inch away from her face, Faris snarled at her opponent, blade coming to rest against her neck slowly.
"Ye just don' know when ta give up, do ya?" the former captain asked, the look in her eyes showing she was going to offer no mercy to my captor. Alliandra held her gaze in kind, showing no fear whatsoever in response. She almost seemed to be daring the woman to go ahead and end it, to see if she had the guts. Were it not for my timely interference I know she wouldn't have.
"Let her go, Sarisa," I quietly whispered to the woman, my hand coming up to rest on her shoulder. Thankfully Locke had freed me after sticking the crony that had gone after him, "we'll turn her over to the authorities and she'll get what she deserves," Neither woman moved for a long time, the stare down continuing for several moments yet. My breath caught in my throat as I wondered if she was actually going to kill the other or not.
"She was gonna take ye from me, Edgar," her voice was barely audible even to me. I could tell she was agitated as her speech patterns reverted to their old ways, "I kin never forgive her for tha'." My other hand came to rest on her other shoulder, gently pulling her in and against me.
"Just let her be. The law will take care of her, and it'll be a far worse fate than death," It felt like an eternity before I finally saw the blade moving away from her throat. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as Faris turned in order to face me, hand trembling as it came up to rest on my cheek. I smiled warmly at her then, lovingly and assuringly to let her know that everything was going to be okay.
"Just never do tha' again," she whispered back at me. Nodding slowly I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips to let her know I was still there. Faris returned the kiss slowly, her body pressing in against mine as we held the embrace.
"No!" I pulled the former pirate out of the way at the yell, Alliandra surging forward in protest at what we were doing in front of her. Both of us looked down as we saw a dagger produced out of nowhere and in the woman's hand. The look of pure hate that she gave us would send chills down the spines of most me. As both of us prepared to counter whatever attack she sent out way a rod came slamming down her wrist, stopping the strike before it could even happen. Both of us blinked and looked up at Relm who was standing triumphantly over the now injured woman.
"What? Her voice annoyed me." We all just laughed in response. Leave it to Relm to lighten the mood.
Epilogue
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," Around me the entire audience held their breath in anticipation at the words. To either side of my bride and myself our closest friends and family gazed on and watched expectantly. Before us the priest waited with a warm smile as he waited for us to finish the deed. All around us were people that were waiting for us to embrace and put a final mark on a process that was nearly thirty-five years in waiting.
Not wasting a moment more I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her own sweet and inviting mouth. We held each other for quite some time, letting the outside world just disappear as well fell into each other. Maybe we took a little bit longer than everyone expected or wanted us to, I can guarantee my brother and the others didn't figure it'd be a short kiss. As we parted I gazed into her eyes and saw what I'm hoping I'll see for the rest of my days; the look of pure love in the eyes of my queen, my partner, my wife.