Chapter 35
A Wedding Takes Place
Djaq paced the temporary encampment trying to calm her nerves. The robes she wore felt flimsy and hung uncomfortably on her body. Once she had worn the chador and niqab every day, yet somehow over time she had become unaccustomed to it. Noor and John sat comfortably by the fire, watching her with amused silence.
"Saphia, come and sit. We'll be leaving in a few minutes and you're going to wear yourself out before we even get there. Relax please." Noor smiled at Saphia, she refused to think of such a beautiful woman as having a manly name like Djaq. She knew telling Saphia to relax was pointless; she had done worse the day of her own wedding – accidentally setting the palace curtains on fire while doing magic to calm her nerves.
"I never knew that women were this nervous when they got married. I always thought they would be the calm ones. I know my Alice looked like the picture of calm the day we married. I, meanwhile, had spent the night trying not to be sick I was so nervous." Little John said with a wistful smile. The day he married Alice played back in his mind. Many thought it was shameful for a man to be so enamored with his wife but Little John would say without fail that the most wonderful day of his life was the day he had seen Alice sitting in her father's wagon at the mill his father had run. Everyday since had simply been lived to be near her radiance.
"Ah, John, I think that both parties are usually nervous on the day they marry. My lord Salahadin actually wept when the imam declared us man and wife." Noor smiled at the reminiscence of her wedding day to Salahadin. She remembered that the next morning she had woken at dawn to find him sitting next to the bed, watching her sleep. "But Saphia, please, you will walk yourself to exhaustion and you will need your energy later. Now let's put on your niqab and then we can leave."
Embracing Djaq, Noor smiled. She remembered her mother veiling her. "Rejoice Saphia, for Allah has blessed you with love; the greatest of all his gifts. Now let's go find your husband."
Meanwhile, Allan was nervously pacing the clearing where his bride was set to arrive. Wringing his hands he looked down at the henna dots covering them. As far as he was concerned they looked ridiculous; painted like some circus performer, but Djaq's eyes had shone with love when Noor had placed the brown dye on his hands. She had been almost as ecstatic to find that the rest of the gang had snuck Noor into the harem to retrieve the proper clothes to marry in the night before. He had to admit that keeping her distracted had been almost as enjoyable as the look on her face when presented with the dress and the henna by Noor.
Allan was distracted from his thoughts by the arrival of the two covered women, one in deep black and the other in the most beautiful red silk he had ever seen clutching tightly onto Little John's arm. Taking his place at the altar in front of Robin, Allan's breathe was taken away by the woman in front of him. When she reached the end of the aisle Allen was dumbfounded by her beauty. Later he would say that he didn't remember actually marrying Djaq; from the minute she arrived until Noor intoned the Muslim marriage blessing and unveiled her face Allan had been lost looking into her eyes, thinking to himself that at some point he would wake up because only in his dreams would this woman agree to marry him.
Following Saracen custom, Noor broke bread over their heads and wished them prosperity and good fortune. Little John, in his role as father of the bride, kissed Djaq on the cheek and placed her hands in Allan's. "Love and honor her; for a good wife is a blessing from God." Breaking with formality, Little John smiled and continued "if you don't it's likely she'll kill you and if she doesn't we will."
Allan breathed a sigh of relief. "So we're actually married now? Really?"
Djaq looked at him with a smile of such beauty that the world stopped spinning for Allan in that moment. Robin's teasing voice broke in. "Well technically she is Allen but you're not. Should I continue or would you like to just stop here?" Laughing at the look on Allan's face Robin composed his face seriously. "Well, alright if you're sure. As Lord of Locksley I now pronounce you husband and wife. So kiss the woman already." Everyone, including Will, applauded as Allan took Djaq in his arms.