Disclaimer is in Chapter 1
A/N: This one is short, sorry about that, but I just wanted to put the wedding here.
Tamura
Chapter 5
5 Years Later
Tamura smiled grimly to herself. She was irritated with herself and with the others for making a big deal out of it. But she supposed it was her own fault. She had agreed to it to begin with. Vanora fussed with his hair. The other woman had taken it upon herself to make her look at least somewhat like a bride. Vanora may not have been a knight, but she was certainly determined and down right scary when she wanted to be.
It had been five years since that fateful day when she had been out riding with Arthur and Dagonet. They'd had a conversation about love and she had promised to marry Dagonet when they were finished training. The knights that had taught them had been released from service for more than three years and the squires had become knights themselves. That left the recruits to become squires themselves. However, no new recruits had come in, so they had trained along with the squires and become knights themselves. Their training had been deemed complete a few weeks before. Both Dagonet and Arthur had ambushed her that day.
She had been leaning against the wall of Arsalion's stall, stroking his cheek, taking a moment to enjoy his simple comfort when both men had appeared. Arthur was taller than her by that point and almost as tall as Dagonet. He was thin but strong and he was filling out by the day. He hadn't finished his training yet, but he had drills with the Roman officers as well as with them. He was very good with a sword and had kept his father's sword after that tragic night so many years before. He still had compassion, but he had become a fierce fighter in the wake of that experience. She hadn't heard them come in until they were leaning on the stall door. Arthur poked her in the side causing her to jump.
"What can I do for my two favorite men?" She asked, turning to face them.
"I have on good authority, that you promised my friend here, something very important and have yet to follow through on said promise." Arthur stated evenly and with great importance.
"And what promise have I failed to deliver?" She asked, slightly confused, trying to remember what she had promised that might cause such a reaction.
"I believe there was a promise of marriage upon completion of training, am I correct Dagonet?" The taller man nodded. Tamura gave them both a look.
"When did I promise this again?" She knew when, but she liked to toy with Arthur. Dagonet caught the gleam in her eye and his lips twitched in amusement. She was very good at playing games.
"The day I lost my mother, we were out riding. I asked Dagonet if he was going to marry you and you said when you had finished your training, you would marry him. Is your memory really that bad, or have you taken too many hits to the head?"
"My memory is perfectly clear. And I do believe that I said maybe I would marry him, not that I would."
"Have you changed your mind then? Do you not love me?" Dagonet asked, playing along. He played along with her games so well because he was always the first to pick up on them and the hardest to read, his face always so serious.
"I do love you Dagonet, but I think I want to marry another."
"And who would you marry, if not Dagonet?" Arthur asked.
"Why, you of course. Arthur, I thought you were smarter than that. Did I nit make my feelings clear?" Arthur gulped suddenly and started to stutter and backpedal. He blushed all the way to his ears and she couldn't hold in her laughter a moment longer. "I'm just playing with you Arthur. I love Dagonet, and if he ever properly asks me, I'll agree to marry him." She caught Arthur's giant sigh of relief at her words. He loved her as a sister, nothing more.
"Tamura." Dagonet's quiet voice interrupted her amusement. She gave him her full attention. "I love you with all my heart. Will you become my wife?"
"Yes. I love you too." Dagonet had pulled her close for a kiss, a passionate one that Arthur interrupted only moments later with fake gagging noises.
That had been almost a month before. They had announced their news to their friends happily that night before dinner and Bors had suggested they celebrate at the tavern where Vanora worked. The other woman had embraced her and kissed her cheek before darting off to serve the rowdy crowds of people. The next day, she had cornered Tamura and forced her to discuss the wedding plans.
Now the day of, Vanora was fussing over her. As a knight, she had denied the flowing dress Vanora had suggested. She had agreed to a nice leather skirt with a slit on one side. It was a rich brown and would go well with her boots. Her shirt was a gift from Arthur. It was an equally rich red that accented her slender frame well. Vanora braided her hair into what she called Celtic battle braids that would be fitting to who she was. She'd also woven in a few sprigs of red flowers that stood out against her golden brown hair. Dagonet took care of the rings.
The time for the ceremony approached and they had both chosen to have Bors and Arthur stand with them. They were the closest thing to family either of them had in the far away country they now lived. The binding ceremony was short and to the point. The man, who did the binding, said a prayer over them and bound their hands with a red cord after Tamura said her vows, then a brown cord after Dagonet said his. Vanora did the final binding with a white cord as the man pronounced them husband and wife. Dagonet kissed her gently and pressed his forehead to hers, holding her close.
They celebrate well into the night and Dagonet led her back to what was to become their rooms. Much to her surprise, Arthur had conscripted Vanora and the other knights into moving all of their things into a slightly larger room for them to share. That night, she and Dagonet shared the passions that they had been storing for so long.