Daniel arrived back at the village hot, tired and famished. He'd only had one meal in the past 48 hours.
As he trudged through the collection of huts, he gathered his thoughts and emotions together. He hadn't thought about Sha're so much in years. A corner of his heart was still hers, but he had moved on since he had descended the first time. He'd only just recently begun to think about the possibility of finding someone to share his life with. However, with his work it was almost impossible to find the time necessary to develop a relationship. He remembered how Sam had struggled, trying to balance her work and Pete. He already knew that his only hope of a good relationship was to either find someone at the SGC or someone off world. Someone he could share his experiences with and who understood when he was gone for long periods of time.
He looked up and realized that he'd been standing in front Tomas and Neala's door for several minutes. Sighing, he raised his fist and knocked.
Ashing glanced at her aunt. She knew it was Daniel at the door. Neala nodded to Ashling and the younger woman went to the door and opened it. Daniel looked haggard. He was dirty from two days of hiking and two nights of sleeping in the lean-to. His skin was slightly grey from lack of food. She reached out an arm and pulled him into the hut, ushering him over to the table. She shoved him down onto the bench and while Neala dished up some food, Ashling pulled his injured arm onto the table and began to unwrap the dirty bandage.
While Daniel ate with his left hand, Ashling cleaned his wound and bound it with a clean dressing. Fortunately, the wound had remained free of any sign of infection.
Ashling and Neala remained silent while waiting for Daniel to finish eating. When he had finished and some of the color had returned to his face, he turned to the women watching him from the other side of the table.
"Okay. I'll do it," he said softly. "I'll marry you, Ashling." He gave her a small ironic grin, "This is so not the way I'd pictured another marriage."
"Thank you, Daniel. I'll make you a good wife and give you many children." Ashling's solemn expression reflected her gratitude for his sacrifice.
Daniel reached over and took her right hand. He removed her claddagh, turned it around so that the point of the heart would face her heart and placed it back on her finger, signifying that she was now an engaged woman. Solemnly, the two regarded each other, until Daniel raised her hand and gave it a quick kiss to seal the engagement.
Neala jumped up from the table. "Why are you two so sad looking? We have a wedding to plan and a bainis to prepare for!"
Daniel suddenly became unimportant as the two women began to talk about preparations for the wedding and the party to follow. He was shoved out the door and told where he could find Tomas, who was working in the fields. All he was told was that the wedding would be in two days, Ashling's birthday and a Wednesday, considered to be the luckiest day of the week on which to celebrate a marriage.
That night he was given a blanket and pushed into a corner of the hut, while Ashling and the females of the family climbed up a ladder to the sleeping loft. Daniel turned a blank face to Tomas, who shrugged and laughed at Daniel's confused expression.
"Give it up, my boy. When the women have a celebration to plan, men are not wanted." He spread his blanket on the floor, lay down on it, and wrapped it around himself, looking rather like a tacquito. Daniel followed suit and was asleep within minutes.
XXXXXXXXXX
Wednesday found Daniel shoved out the door - again - first thing in the morning. He, Tomas and Tomas' sons were told not to come back but to meet for the wedding at noon.
Tomas led Daniel to the nearest lake where he and all the male members of the family took a cold bath. Daniel was given a pair of tan, leather pants called bracae to wear along with a soft, woolen, sky-blue tunic that came down almost to his knees. The tunic was embroidered around the neck and wrists with gold and silver thread. Tomas handed him a metal belt made from braided gold and silver. He sat on a large, flat rock and slipped his feet into sandals that were laced over his bracaes, around his calves almost up to his knees. Tomas placed a long, royal blue cloak over his shoulders, fastening it at the neck with a crown-shaped gold broach. Tomas explained that because he was marrying into the royal family, he would be considered to be royalty and could wear the crown symbol. He then placed a golden circlet on Daniel's brow, imbuing him with the power of royalty.
Just before the sun reached its peak, the colorfully clad group of men and boys trod through the town back to the stone hut where Ashling waited. Neala opened the door and led the girls outside. By now the rest of the village had gathered in their finest apparel, eager for any excuse for a party. Ashling appeared in the doorway wearing a dress in a color that matched Daniel's tunic. It hugged her figure from the low, scooped neck down to her hips, where it flared out to the tips of her toes and trailed behind her in a short train. The neckline and the wrists were embroidered to match Daniel's. She also wore a matching belt that settled around her hips. Her black silken hair, crowned with a golden circlet that matched Daniel's, waved down her back to reach the top of her hips.
Daniel stood blinking in astonishment. He had known she was an attractive woman, but after only knowing her for four days, he'd had no idea she was so breath-takingly beautiful. He gently smiled at her as she hesitated to leave the safety of her aunt and uncle's home. His hand lifted to take hold of her hand and he led her into the sunlit world that would become his permanent home.
Neala and Tomas, as the elders of the village, led the party to an open meadow surrounded by the forest on three sides and a lake on the fourth. Daniel and Ashling were encircled by the entire village as Tomas began the ceremony. Daniel was led through the traditional Aeire wedding vows and he and Ashling pledged to become bound in body and soul to one another. Tomas had Daniel lift his right hand and Ashling her left and they were tied together with five, colored ribbons. Each color represented a different aspect of marriage: green – the physical and material, yellow – the intellectual and mental, red – the power and passion, blue – the emotional and love, and white – the spiritual and philosophical. They were told to keep their hands tied together through the wedding meal and the dancing. They could untie the knotted ribbons only when they entered the bed chamber that night.
Daniel removed her claddagh ring from her right hand and placed it on her left, heart pointing to her heart, showing all Aeire that she was now a married woman and belonged to him alone.
Daniel, Ashling, and all the guests were then given smooth river stones. The group marched over to the lake and watched while Daniel and Ashling threw their stones in first. The ripples left by the two stones mingled and expanded into the symbolic eternity of the lake. The rest of the wedding party threw theirs in to indicate their support of the new husband and wife.
Tomas and Neala then led the group back to their home, where tables groaning under the weight of plates overflowing with food had been set up outside. The bride and groom were seated at the center of a table in the middle of the others. After everyone was seated and had a mug of mead, Tomas stood to give a toast to the new couple.
"Congratulations to you both, who now face life together. Daniel, your enemies, friends and family are now Ashling's and, Ashling, your enemies, friends and family are now Daniel's. May you carry one another's burdens. May you brighten each other's day. May you be the candle to light one another's darkest night. May your children be a numerous as the blades of grass in a spring meadow. And may the angels cover your home in protection." Tomas raised his mug in toast and the entire group drank in agreement with the toast.
From that moment on the atmosphere became merry and Daniel was reminded of Bilbo's birthday party scene in the Fellowship of the Ring movie Teal'c had dragged him to several years ago.
Daniel, eating clumsily with his left hand, watched the people enjoying the break from daily life. Ashling sat stiffly beside him until she realized that this was even more uncomfortable for Daniel than it was for her. She was among family and friends, even if her new husband was a stranger who had reluctantly agreed to marry her to save her life and her people. She began to look at him for the first time since she'd met him.
He was very handsome in his blue tunic that matched the color of his eyes. His hair was shorter than the men in her world wore theirs and tended to stick up in the front, but the soft brown color was nice. Once she had gotten used to the glass circles he called "glasses" she had been able to notice his clear blue eyes that occasionally clouded over when he remembered the loss of his world. She looked down at their hands, tied together with the ribbons of the handfasting ceremony. She had been so focused on her fears of her brother and marriage to a stranger that she hadn't stopped to realize just what he had given up for her.
She twisted her left hand around in the ribbons until she was able to entwine her fingers with his. He stopped eating and just watched their hands as she moved her fingers between his. Her heart beat faster when he raised his eyes to meet hers and gave her hand a slight squeeze. He picked up his mug of mead and gestured to her to do the same. He brought his mug to meet hers in a toast and took a long, slow sip of the intoxicating drink. His eyes never left hers during their private toast to their marriage. He began absentmindedly stroking her finger with his thumb and her heart stopped beating.
"Ashling, I know this isn't the marriage that women dream of, but I make you a promise. I will do my best to make this marriage a good one. I will be faithful to you. I will protect you. I will cherish you as my wife." Daniel leaned over and kissed her cheek with a quick brush of his lips.
Her hand rose to caress the moist spot he'd left on her cheek. "And I promise, Daniel, to always be faithful to you. To make a home you want to come back to every day. To support you and listen to you. I will honor and respect you as my husband." She leaned over and returned his kiss.
They both continued to gaze into one another's eyes, aware that this moment was the true beginning of their marriage and commitment to each other.
Tomas and Neala watched the exchange from either side of the new couple. The leaned back to gaze at each other, satisfied that they had chosen the best man possible for their niece. Tomas raised an eyebrow in question to Neala and she nodded affirmatively back. He stood and banged on his metal mug with the back of his knife. "People, it is now time to begin the dancing! The new couple will start."
A small group of men gathered to one side with instruments that closely resembled a flute, a harp, small bagpipes, and a drum. They began "warming up." At least Daniel hoped that noise wasn't the real music. It was pretty terrible. Wait! The new couple? That's me! I have to dance in front of all these people? I don't think I've had enough to drink to do that! He reached for his mug and drained it completely.
Daniel and Ashling stood and she led him to the center of a clearing among the tables. Ashling reached into the bodice of her dress and drew out a large white handkerchief. Daniel's eyes followed her every move and he teasingly waggled his eyebrows at her when she noticed him watching her. She took one corner of the white cloth with her right hand and held out the square for Daniel to take the opposite corner. They were now facing each other, two hands bound by the marriage ribbons and the other two connected by the handkerchief. Groups of people had joined them, forming a line of women behind Ashling and a line of men behind Daniel.
"Um, I don't dance back at home. You're going to have to show me what to do, and be nice when I stumble all over the place." He flashed a self-conscious grin at her and hoped this dance would be over quickly.
The lively music began and she started with a curtsey. The women behind her also curtsied, while at the same time the men behind Daniel gave a quick bow, so Daniel imitated them. He tried to keep up with her as her foot steps began slowly and became progressively faster and more complicated. He could see the women in the line behind Ashling politely covering their mouths as they tried not to laugh out loud at his clumsy attempt to dance. He finally gave up and began to dance like he seen people do in nightclubs – arms flailing (as best as he could being tied to his partner) and feet kicking in time to the music. Both lines of people stopped their dance and stared at him open mouthed in astonishment. He just grinned, shrugged and continued to dance in his own style. The men and women finally laughed with him and continued their dancing.
Several mugs of mead later, Daniel was having a really great time just enjoying the music, watching the people and occasionally he and Ashling joined in the dancing. Ashling watched her new husband as he relaxed and enjoyed her family and friends. She began to have hopes that this marriage would be one that not only offered her safety, but happiness.
Tomas leaned over to Ashling, placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "It's time for you two to be leaving now."
Ashling glanced quickly at Daniel, who was busy talking to Neala, and then back to her uncle. "Now?" she asked, blushing furiously.
"Yes, now. Neala and I will be taking the children to Fergal's home so you two can have the cottage to yourselves tonight. Tomorrow you can set out for your honeymoon place. I'll tell you how to get there tomorrow."
"All right, Uncail Tomas. I'll let Daniel know."
Tomas moved over to his wife and winked at her. Neala grinned broadly at Daniel and stood to meet her husband. Daniel turned to Ashling, who was fidgeting with the ribbons that bound them together. "What's going on? Where's everyone going? I though these parties went on all night long."
"Often they do go on all night, but this party is in front of the cottage where we're going to spend our first night together and everyone's leaving to give us some privacy and peace." She blurted this out as fast as she could and couldn't meet his eyes.
"Ah!" Daniel's lips twitched in amusement as he watched this woman, who had demonstrated nothing but assurance and self-confidence since he'd met her, squirm uncomfortably at the thought of being alone with him. Well, more than alone – alone in a bed.
Bainis – wedding banquet
A/N #1: Tacquitio – not Irish, but a Mexican food. A bit of shredded meat is placed in the middle of a tortilla, which is then wrapped around the meat and deep fried. Usually topped with guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Yummy! (I live in San Diego and have grown up on Mexican food.)
A/N#2: The wedding ceremony and party afterwards were taken from various accounts I read about on the internet, and my own imagination. Most of these customs were probably not around before the year 1000AD, but I just wanted to have some fun with Daniel. (Ooooh, that could so be taken in a wrong – but interesting! – way.)