Chapter Thirty-Two: Acceptance
It was a special day that the two lovers would be combined as one and everyone was celebrating this wonderful occasion of the their chief and most fearsome warrior. A tall menacing figure stood at one end of the room in the robes that were custom to wear to a ceremony like this one. The robes were earthy colors of browns and greens combined together to make a very masculine adornment.
And there was a smaller figure yet you could tell it was male. It was the healer that would combine two souls that very day. In his hands he held a staff like rod and in the other he held two circles of bone each adorned to fit the personality of each of the people that were becoming one.
Then to everyone's joy a small fragile slender figure floated towards the two at the front of the room. She was adorned in a moss green dress that was made of a floaty fabric. Her hair was down and adorned with ribbons. She walked toward them with a smile on her face proud and the happiest anyone had seen her.
As she stood next to the tall man they kneeled down before the healer. He sprinkled water on top of both their heads and had them stand back up. He had each of them repeat what they were supposed to say. And when they turned to each other their eyes were glazed with tears of joy.
The eyes of the one he was going to be combined to forever were that of a girl by the name of River Sha'ke now by the name River Shakar. Her eyes could always calm that of his most fearsome rages.
And the eyes of the one she was going to be forever with were that of a man that she would love and cherish forever. They held so many things that she would be able to read from this day forth. The name of the man was General Grievous Shakar also the chief of this clan.
The healer requested they each hold out their left hands, and they did so. He put on the man's second to the last finger one of the bone circles that carved into it were little swords that resembled the strength of this man. And on the woman's second to the last finger he put the other bone circle one her finger that was adorned in daggers and Kamea blossoms. The daggers for her strength and courage, and the blossom's for her meekness and tenderness.
Grievous opened his eyes and sat up to ponder what he had just remembered. After he had reached his room he sat down and drifted into a state that resembled that of sleep. When he was in this state he had remembered the day he and River's souls had been made one. He went to the cloak that River had given back to him and unfolded it.
An envelope fell out of the folds of the cloak. He stooped down to pick it up. He shook the contents of the envelope onto the top of the table to find a holo-disc and two bone circles. He picked the holo-disc up fist and turned it on. An image of him and River appeared in a blue hazy image.
They were wrapped in one another's embrace both with smiles on their face looking very happy dressed in the robes and dress that was custom to wear to the ceremony of the binding of two souls. He turned it off feeling more upset with his current form than ever before.
He picked up the largest circle to find carved on it the swords that the Kaleesh warriors used. They stood for strength and courage. He slipped it onto his second to the last finger on his left hand to find it a perfect fit. Whoa I must've had big hands for this to fit me now. He thought to himself as he picked up the other much smaller and slender circle. This one had Kaleesh daggers and Kamea blossoms on it. The daggers stood for a female's strength and courage while the blossom's stood for her meakness and tenderness.
He fingered the circle very carefully so that he didn't break it. After a while he walked out of his room.
When River had gotten to her room she did not bother to change into nightclothes, she just laid down on her bed trying to understand why she had not remembered something as special as her and Grievous being husband and wife. After a while she drifted off to sleep.
As she slept she remembered the same thing as Grievous had. When she woke up it was early morning. She had tossed and turned in her sleep so her dress was crinkled and her hair was a mess (but was very funny looking). She laid her head back onto the pillow and thought about what she had dreamt. She had only been awake for a few minutes when Grievous walked in.
She didn't move to see who it was because she could tell by the sound his feet made. He must've thought she was still asleep because he walked in front of her and leaned down so he could see her face. He saw her eyes open and she looked at him and sighed.
"I thought you were still asleep and I didn't want to wake you up by saying something before knowing for certain," he explained.
"You have every right to come in here my being asleep or not so there's no need to explain yourself to me," she said propping herself up and pulling the half out ribbon the rest of the way out of her hair.
She slid off the bed and walked into the bathroom to get her brush. She walked back out tugging at a knot.
"Oh gosh I hate these stupid things!" she said to herself hoping that Grievous wouldn't hear, but he did.
"Here let me help," he said as he walked over to her and took the brush and gently started to brush the pesky knots out of her long flowing brown hair.
"Here hold this," he said handing her the bone circle.
She looked at it and fingered it gently and she slipped it onto the finger it belonged on. "Where did you find this?"
"In an envelope that was wrapped inside my black cloak along with this," he said handing her the holo-disc.
She switched it on and the image popped up. She put her hand over her smiling mouth in surprise. Her eyes started to water. He finished brushing her hair and tossed the brush onto the bed. She turned around to look at him.
"There that's better," he said more satisfied that her hair was not going in all different directions.
She made a slight movement with her head in the direction of the balcony, turned around, and started walking toward it, Grievous followed. The sun was rising when they walked out onto the balcony, and River propped herself on the railing fingering the circle on her finger.
"Question... How long was I unconscious after my incident on Kamino?" asked River for the first time having to do with her near death experience.
"Two weeks," he said as if it were no big deal.
"Two weeks?"
"Yes."
"Whoa. I've never had something like that happen before."
"How are your wounds?"
"They don't even hurt any more," she said rather pleased that they were healed.
"Good, good... Well I wanted to see how your condition was so now I need to go attend to a few minor things so that things aren't bad when we get back," he turning around and hunching over the way he always did and left.
She watched him until he walked out of the room sending her love with him.
As he walked out of the room he could feel her love around him as if he were submersed in it.