Olwens face stayed perfectly still, sort of dreamy eyed, close to her own. Then he busted out laughing. Kedev stayed stunned, and a knotting feeling started in her stomach. "I'm just kidding! It's a just a pretty bracelet my mom bought for you. Sareen's getting one just like it.", he said through roars. Kedev was silent, but soon let out a giggle, standing up. She proceeded to break his nose, and walked away. Olwen's nose spurted blood on his formal clothes, and he grasped at it frantically. He didn't know what he did wrong, but passers-by certainly did.
Kedev wasn't the kind of girl to run crying away, she was the kind whose face turned red, and steamed off, sulking in a corner, or ripping up a bed of flowers. In this case, it was going to go tell her mother, and drink a whole bottle of ale. But today, it was different. She got to the door, went to wrench it open, and looked at the amethyst bracelet around her wrist. Her face twisted up with rage, and she yanked it off. She was just about to pull the door open, when she heard voices inside the room, nearing the door.
"Sareen, I am so happy for you! Revyn is quite young, is he not?" "Jealous, are we Myra?", she heard her mother say. "Hardly! I prefer a man with some history to his name. Cor may be a middle-aged man, but he knows exactly where he's going!"
"Isn't he already there? I mean, he is a Legate after all!"
"Yes, I suppose so. It seems all of my friend's husband's are in the Legion, except for yours."
"Do you think Olwen or Lollen will run off to join the army?"
"Lollen and Linilia are planning to do just that. It's the first thing they've ever disagreed on! Linilia wants to be a foot-soldier, and Lollen wants to be a medic! It'd be good for them, though, being apart. As for Olwen, I think he's not interested in learning to fight."
"I wouldn't be surprised if Kedev joined the ranks along with them! She's a source of great pride for myself. I've been meaning to get her an apprenticeship somewhere, but I don't want to be far from her. You're overjoyed with your big family, but I couldn't be happier than I am today, will Revyn and Kedev. I don't think my life could get any better"
Kedev released her grip on the handle, and looked back down at the ground. The bracelet was still there, glinting in the sun. She felt terribly guilty. When she went to pick it up, she noticed she hadn't broken the chain, but she did have a cut on the area underneath her thumb, and her wrist was torn up as well. As soon as she noticed it, it began to feel hot and pulse at bit, like picking up snow with a bare hand. She couldn't show her mother, though. If she did, she would ask what happened, and it would upset her, whether she told or not.
This would have to heal on it's own. She would just have to roll her sleeves down to cover it. She slid her hand back in to the bracelet, and walked back in to the temple. To find a bleary eyed Olwen with a bloody crooked nose, sitting in a chair before Sareen, his mother standing behind him. Kedev froze, and tried her best to sneak back out the door, but it was too late. "Kedev", Sareen said sharply, without turning to face her. Her mother's serious tone was enough to turn her in to a stone statue. He deserved it, so why did she feel guilty? She would never know.
Sareen gave her a stern talking to, and after she had patched Olwen up (whose nose had a very pronounced bridge for the rest of his life), she asked her what had happened. When Kedev gave her reasoning, Sareen stuck her tongue in her cheek and sighed. "Kedev, you didn't have to break his nose. Slapping him would have been plenty punishment." "But a slap is a such a useless cliche!", Kedev complained. "I was trying to lighten this with a joke...", Sareen started, but was interrupted by a frantic Catherine.
At first she was worried that the young woman had gone in to labor, but after a few blubbered words, Sareen realized that the wedding had started, and she was due to walk down the aisle. Kedev followed her mother, and sat in the front row of the pews outside the temple of Kyne, nearby the Gildergreen. It was a beautiful day. The birds were sitting among branches and rooftops, and seemed to be singing their own joyful wedding tune; the fragrant blossoms of the Holy Tree were decorating the the party, high above their heads; the men and women in their finest ensembles and jewelry; the small array of gifts and foods nearby it all; all of these elements were making this humble yet beautiful wedding party certain to be the best event of the year. They hardly noticed when the first arrow struck, and the first furious shout was called.