Foreword:
You know what's funny? I came up with the idea for The General and Kaden months before I posted the first chapter, and it had nothing to do with any other fics that had already been posted... Yet, by the time I had the plan for it firmly in mind and actually started writing/posting it, a bunch of other fics about Kaden were starting to pop up like mushrooms all over the place. o_0 This was/is a bit frustrating for me, because now I'm really interested to read stories about Kaden, but I'm afraid that if I do, I'll subconsciously let them affect how I write my story, and I really want mine to be as unique as I can possibly make it. Thus, I've decided not to read any other fics about Kaden until I've finished my own, so that they won't color they way I write him... But maybe after TGaK is finished, I'll sift through the archives and read some of those other Kaden stories, just to see the differences in how other people imagine him. :)
"May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth."
— Proverbs 5:18
« ... »
When Nayeli's friends found out she was getting married, they were just as surprised as Alister, only they reacted much more— vocally. For over a week Kaden was bombarded constantly by the inquisition of concerned parties who cared nothing for how their flagrant accusations affected him. All that mattered to them was making sure their bereaved friend wasn't getting hitched to some creep, and their standards were dishearteningly high.
Kaden could hardly blame them. Quite the contrary, he was glad Nayeli had such loyal comrades to watch out for her... He only wished that a similar base of support existed for him as well. His only advocate had been carted off to another planet right when all this had started, and there was no one else there to vouch for him, to believe in him, or to encourage him through the crushing scrutiny that assailed from every angle.
No one said a kind word to him during his week of unwelcome evaluation. No one thanked him for his willingness to do this monumental thing for Nayeli. All they did was remind him of how unprepared he was for the changes ahead, and how little he really understood the girl he professed to love. They shook their heads in disgust whenever he failed to answer their questions, and there were so— so many. He didn't know Nayeli's birthday, or her favorite color, or her favorite flower. He didn't know her childhood fantasies, her most cherished memories, or even her parents' names. When Callista asked him how many children Nayeli wanted, he thought he would faint from the surge of blood that rushed into his cheeks. Thankfully in that instance he was rescued by Nayeli herself, who appeared practically out of nowhere and chased the girl away, barraging her with sharp, embarrassed shouts. Thus Kaden learned one more thing he'd never known about his fair lady: she was actually capable of getting angry.
Nayeli had at last put a stop to this madness by threatening that the next person to give her fiancée a hard time would not be invited to the wedding. But the damage had already been done. A baneful, sickening pit had opened at the bottom of Kaden's stomach, filled with the threefold message communicated to him through the dissent of those involved combined with his existing insecurities: he didn't deserve Nayeli, he wasn't doing the right thing by marrying her, and he couldn't possibly make her happy.
Despite his sincerest efforts to fight off these feelings, deep down he came to believe that they were true. Who was he kidding? He had no idea what marriage would be like. He didn't know how to handle the responsibilities of heading a family any better than he knew Nayeli's first words. Her friends were right. He was just a clueless, immature teenager, and he had virtually nothing to offer such a wonderful person as Nayeli...
But he loved that girl more than life itself—more than he could possibly express. He would do anything, give anything, be anything in order to protect her. He would go to the ends of the universe and die there for her sake. That had to count for something... right?
Nayeli had returned to him practically in tears after chasing off Callista that day, looking just as flustered and ashamed as he was, and murmured apologetically, head hanging low, "Are you still sure you want to marry me?"
With a depressed sigh Kaden had turned and walked away, dejectedly muttering, "I should be asking you that."
Somehow he had made it through the difficult three weeks following the pirate raid, and now he had only to face the night before the wedding. Easier said than done. With his nerves frazzled as they were, there was no way he could fall asleep, and if he didn't sleep he was afraid to imagine how it would affect his composure the next day—not that he had much composure to begin with. Looking on the bright side, perhaps if he was dead on his feet during the wedding, the fatigue would dull his nerves enough to keep him from making a fool of himself... Then again, if that was the bright side, it was probably already a lost cause.
With a brisk tossing aside of his blanket and a frustrated sigh, he shoved on his hoverboots and went for a 'run' to clear his head, or at least attempt to do so.
The cool night air against his face was refreshing, but it did little to take his mind off his worries. He tried to focus on the beauty of the sky above, dotted with sparkling stars, but it only made him think about the night two years ago when he and Alister had walked Nayeli home. She gazed up at those stars like she knew all their names. She smiled at them as though they were smiling back... Suddenly Kaden lost interest in the stars and instead fixed his eyes on the road ahead.
Somehow, by no conscious design of his own, he ended up at the ruins of Nayeli's old house. He tried not to grimace when he saw it. The place had been left exactly as it was after the raid—not a high priority for the cleanup crews, apparently—and in the dim moonlight it looked like the remains of a haunted run-down mansion from one of those old holo-films. Kaden couldn't have guessed what possessed him to walk toward the wreckage rather than speed away, but nonetheless he soon found himself standing in what used to be the foyer, and what was now a rubble-laden floor stretching out to ravaged walls and a staircase that stopped short of the second floor where a huge chunk of ceiling had crashed down onto it.
Kaden wondered where Nayeli's mother and father had been when this travesty was committed— if they had lived long enough to see their beautiful home destroyed, or if they had been killed before that. What would they think of him? There he was, standing on the very ground where their blood had been spilt, on the eve of the day he was to marry their daughter. Dare he wonder in hope if they would accept him as their son? Surely not. Surely they would detest him for moving in on Nayeli so soon after their deaths—like a predator preying on an orphaned and helpless young animal. Yes... surely they would hate him, just like he hated himself right now.
Kaden's ears twitched in alarm at the sound of footsteps approaching. In his surprise he panicked, and without thinking slipped through a hole in one of the walls to hide behind the part of the structure that was still standing. The soft pitter-pat of delicate feet got closer until they stopped—where he had been standing seconds ago, from the sound of it.
"Well, Mom... this is it," said a familiar voice, and Kaden's eyes flew open in shock. "My wedding is tomorrow. I wish I could say that I'm looking forward to it, but the thing is... I don't know if I'm ready for this..."
Nayeli's voice choked tearfully as this admission passed her lips, and Kaden's hands tightened into somber fists as he listened to her continue.
"I always figured I would get married eventually... But I imagined it would be years from now, to someone I already had a solid relationship with. I imagined that the night before my wedding you and Dad would be there to help me get over my jitters. Papa would give me advice on how to handle guys, and you would smile and hug me and cry on my shoulder about how your little girl had grown up so fast..." Nayeli burst into a fit of muffled sobs, and even though Kaden's eyes were closed and she was out of his range of vision, in his mind's eye he could clearly see her burying her face in her hands as she cried. He bit his lip almost to the point of drawing blood, struggling not to make a sound as he fought back his own tears.
"But instead here I am—" the girl continued, "only sixteen, marrying a boy barely a year older than me, and we've never even held hands... I can't imagine what you would think of me right now if you were here—but the whole reason I'm doing this is because you're not here..."
Nayeli sniffled a few times and calmed her breathing before she went on. "I'd like to think that you would understand... I realize that I don't actually know Kaden all that well... but I do know, without a doubt, that he really does care about me... And I think that should be enough... I mean, it was enough for you and Dad, wasn't it?"
Kaden's heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears. His eyes, minutes ago shut tight in silent compassion, now gaped in utter amazement.
An unfortunate slip of his left hand disturbed a patch of loose molding, and it crumbled to the ground. Kaden winced as the sound reverberated through the empty space, provoking a surprised gasp from Nayeli.
"Is someone there?" the girl called out nervously.
Kaden obeyed his first impulse and ran, dodging his way around ravaged walls and upturned furniture until he found a way out of the house through a broken window. He fled the scene as fast as he could on his own strength, refraining from using his hoverboots lest Nayeli hear them and realize that it was him. He had enough insecurities plaguing his mind without adding to the list such an awkward encounter with his bride-to-be the night before their wedding. With any luck, she would assume he was just a looter, and as this hope took form in his mind, he felt disgusted at how such a thing could pass for 'luck' in his current position.
Flustered and confused, the teenager fled the settlement and headed into the untamed wilderness beyond. He tried desperately not to ponder the things he had heard Nayeli say, certain he would be unable to decide whether to feel comforted, or just more troubled.
« « « « « ж » » » » »
The tired, disheartened young Lombax wandered unceremoniously into his workshop, dragging his feet as he skulked over to his ship. Aphelion opened her hatch without needing to be told, and closed it behind him after he dragged himself into the cockpit and melted into the nearest seat. He volunteered no explanation for his untimely visit, or the haggard state in which he presented himself, and the ship's new AI did its work to make her curious.
"Would it be too bold for me to ask what's troubling you?" she asked.
Kaden heaved a long sigh and dismally muttered, "I'm getting married tomorrow."
"Oh..." Aphelion's tone sounded as though she could only somewhat process the magnitude of that statement. "Well, I am certainly not one to know about such things, but... I was under the impression that for biological creatures, weddings were meant to be happy occasions."
"I am happy... but I'm also terrified. What if this turns out to be a mistake? What if she ends up hating me? I don't know what I'm getting into with this... I'm just a kid. She's just a kid. How are we gonna make this work?"
Kaden hadn't actually expected Aphelion to be able to comfort him. If he were to be perfectly honest, he'd have to admit that he was just venting on her. He needed to talk to someone—anyone—other than Nayeli. If he didn't get this off his chest, he would never be able to face the next morning. The uncertainty was eating him alive. So, he wasn't surprised or disappointed when the ship's reply was a moment of hesitation followed by, "I see... I wish I could offer some helpful advice, but—"
"It's okay, Feel," Kaden said, drawing a tiny bit of helpful satisfaction from being able to call his ship by a creative pet name. "This isn't your problem; you don't need to worry about it."
The ship was silent for a short moment, but then she addressed him once more, saying, "Perhaps I can help you indirectly."
"What do you mean?"
"I've just received a recorded message from Alister Azimuth. Shall I play it for you?"
"Yes!" Kaden exclaimed, jumping in his seat and leaning toward the view screen.
"Very well," said Aphelion. The small screen quaintly situated to the right of her control stick blinked to an image of Alister, and Kaden's heart skipped a beat when he saw it. He almost blurted out a happy greeting, but caught himself just in time as he remembered that this was a recorded message rather than a two-way comm signal.
"Hey there, Kade," Alister muttered with a wave. "Don't bother replying to this, 'cause I... probably won't be able to receive it... but I wanted to send you a quick message before I get to my base and lose all semblance of freedom for the next twenty years..." He paused to smile halfheartedly at his own frail attempt to lighten the mood, but quickly abandoned that lost cause and continued somberly. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I'm missing your wedding. Of all the ironic timing clashes that could've happened, right? But I figured since I won't be there, the least I could do was offer some steady advice since chances are a million to one you're freaking out right now..."
Alister donned a stern expression and stared forward as though he was looking his friend directly in the eye. "Remember who you are. You're the craziest, most fearless son of a monkey wrench who ever bought with the same bolts he built with. If you can't stand before a girl who likes collecting nectar by moonlight, you're a sorry excuse for a Lombax. Toughen up! And on the flip side, try to give yourself a little slack. You're stressed because you mess up and you mess up because you're stressed. Don't sweat the little mistakes! If the scary things get overwhelming, just remind yourself about the good things. I mean, you're marrying the girl of your dreams. Be happy about it, for heaven's sake... Oh, and if you freeze up, just say what comes naturally... I know you can do this. Over and out."
The recording ended, and Kaden just sat there staring at the blank screen for a full minute while his face slowly broke into a hopeful grin.
"Did that help, Kaden?" Aphelion wondered.
"Yeah..." Kaden replied softly. "Thanks, Feel... You both helped a lot."
« « « « « ж » » » » »
Despite feeling a little better after listening to Alister's message, Kaden was nonetheless struck by acute insomnia throughout the night. Thus, come morning, he arrived at the church several hours early and ended up having to wait outside its locked doors for someone to let him inside. Ironically enough, he'd almost fallen asleep when his ears perked at the sound of footsteps, and he looked up from his huddled back-to-the-wall position to see the minister approaching.
"Nervous, young one?" the tall thin Lombax asked gently, sparing a knowing smile down at Kaden before turning his attention to the security pad beside the door. He was of middling age, with grayish fur and a soft, welcoming face. Kaden was surprised at the coincidental association he drew upon looking at him: in appearance he somewhat resembled Alister, but his gentle air reminded of Nayeli.
Kaden shook his head and turned to the ground between his feet with a sigh. "You could say that," he muttered. "Got any insightful advice for me?"
The Lombax finished whatever check-in procedure was required and stepped back while the doors slid open of their own accord.
"Let's get you inside for starters, hmm?" he said, stepping past the doors into the building. Kaden raised a curious eyebrow, then stood up and followed.
After a short while leading the way through the elegant interior of the building, the minister said, "For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing."
Kaden was curious why this Lombax who he'd never met before seemed to know the details of this affair, but he chose not to mention it. He couldn't imagine anything less desirable at that moment than finding out how Nayeli's fan club had been talking about him behind his back now that they weren't allowed to trash him to his face anymore. So instead, he asked a question much more meaningful to him. "How do you know it's the right thing?"
"I didn't say I know," the Lombax corrected, "I said I think."
Kaden bit his lip and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. After a few seconds' thought, he respectfully asked, "Well, then... why do you think it's the right thing?"
"Because you are doing it for her, and not for yourself," he answered, provoking an astounded look from Kaden as he added, "Selfless love is rare these days, you know. God forbid it should ever go unrewarded."
At a loss for words, Kaden could only gape in astonishment at the deceptively wise old Lombax. Momentarily he stopped before a simple door in a secluded hallway and casually opened it,. He then turned and gave Kaden a warm, encouraging smile before gesturing inside the room.
"May your future be blessed, young one," he said, and without another word, quietly set off down the hallway.
"Wait," Kaden called after him.
The minister stopped and turned his head. "Yes?"
Kaden hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you married?"
"Yes."
"Is it hard?"
"Sometimes." The Lombax stared thoughtfully into space for a few seconds, and a serene smile crossed the profile of his face. "But those are the times when it's most apparent to me... that what I have is worth any struggle to keep."
And with that he turned away and continued down the hall.
Kaden gazed after him for a moment, and was surprised to feel the faintest trace of a smile tickle the corners of his face as he stepped inside the room to get ready for the ceremony.
« « « « « ж » » » » »
It was time.
Five hours had passed in a blur and Kaden could scarcely believe that the awaited, dreaded hour was actually at hand. It took a long moment and a lot of deep breaths before he worked up the courage to emerge from the shadows backstage and step out into the light. As all eyes fell on him he in turn took a brief glance out at the assembly of guests. There couldn't have been more than thirty, but every single one of them was here for Nayeli. He could sense piercing glares caged behind their blank eyes, and swallowed hard as he fought to press forward. It doesn't matter what they think, he reminded himself, resolutely making a fist as he took his place beside the pulpit.
A welcome contrast to the audience, the minister greeted him with a warm smile and mouthed the word, "Ready?"
Kaden nodded with as much dignity as he could muster, and turned to face the audience as the wedding march began to play. The doors at the back of the room opened to reveal the bride as she stepped gracefully inside.
Kaden's breath left him when he saw her. Her dress was simple and elegant, an even purer white than her fur. Rather than a veil, she wore a circlet of wild flowers about her head— the same kind that filled the small bouquet she held in her hands. Her eyes were positively sparkling, and she looked straight at her groom, smiling. His senses became almost unresponsive as she began to advance slowly toward him.
Suddenly she was at his side, and he remembered where he was as the minister began to speak. Kaden turned to face him and tried desperately to shake himself from his daze, but he just couldn't shift his focus, and the Lombax's words continued to tangle incoherently in his mind, until... "The couple will now say their vows."
Kaden stifled a gasp, and looked at the minister with panicked eyes as he pathetically muttered, "What?"
The minister looked at him with sympathy and said, "It's time for you to say your vows, son."
"R-Right."
Kaden turned to Nayeli, and was immediately done in by such a close glance at her. She smiled expectantly, glowing like an angel descended from heaven, and rendered him silent. No matter how hard he tried to remember his vows, they refused to surface in his memory, and when he opened his mouth to speak, all that came out was a bout of senseless stuttering.
"U-Um... I... Well—you see..."
Murmurs started rising from the crowd, and Nayeli's smile slowly melted away. His heart was racing, and shrinking in fear. He couldn't believe this was happening. What was he going to do?
Suddenly Alister's voice spoke up in his mind as though he were there, repeating from yesterday's message, "if you freeze up, just say what comes naturally..."
What comes naturally? Did he dare look his bride in the eyes when he was supposed to deliver wedding vows and instead simply say what came naturally? He had little choice at this point, however; he had to say something. So, with the last of his composure he breathed in sharply and blurted out, "My gosh, you're so beautiful... I stayed up nights pounding through what I was going to say to you right now. I thought about it every minute of every day, and I wrote it down, and I practiced until I could almost say it in my sleep... But when I saw you walk through that door, my mind went completely blank and... now I can't remember a word of it..."
Kaden cast his eyes down, and breathed a few times before he found the courage to go on. "So... obviously I can't promise I'll be the most thoughtful, or reliable husband— but I can promise you that I will always be gentle, and honest with you... because when I'm with you... my defenses just... crumble."
At that moment Nayeli's bridal bouquet fell from her hands, striking the ground at her feet with a rustling crash that echoed through the whole room, thanks to the former silence. Kaden looked up with a start, and for a split second he saw the astonished look on her face—her eyes gaping and her mouth hanging open. The girl gasped in humiliation and immediately stooped down to pick up the bouquet. When she rose to her feet again she kept her face downcast.
"Why did you have to go and do that?" she muttered in a tearful voice. "Now I've forgotten what I'm supposed to say..."
Kaden blinked in surprise. Nayeli slowly lifted up her eyes, filled with fresh tears and more trust and gratitude than Kaden thought he deserved.
The minister, on the other hand, just smiled and quickly stepped in to break the silence. "Well then, I suppose we can just move on. Nayeli, do you take Kaden to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
"Kaden, do you take Nayeli to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do."
The minister nodded in approval and said, "Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Turning to Kaden, he added, "You may kiss the bride."
Kaden momentarily froze as he gazed upon the pure, innocent face smiling up at him. He felt like a sinner trespassing on holy ground, and was suddenly afraid to take this step. The very fact that he wanted it so badly made him question his right to take it. Was he certain he was doing this for the right reasons? That there wasn't selfishness at the root of why he was here?
But just then, Nayeli's own words from the night before resurfaced in his mind. "I do know, without a doubt, that he really does care about me... And I think that should be enough..."
That was what she'd said. It was what she truly believed, and if it was enough for her, it was enough for him.
Taking a deep breath, he leaned in toward Nayeli...
And cue the fireworks. Even if his brain had been functioning steadily enough to remember words, he would not have been able to think of any to describe the sensation that came over him in that moment. All the sense and reason in him just fell away like an unfastened cloak, leaving nothing but pure, unbridled delight. After what seemed to him much too short a time, he reluctantly pulled back, and his eyes came to rest on the bride he could still scarcely believe was his.
The minister was about to say something when suddenly Kaden, as though possessed by some outside force, grabbed Nayeli by the shoulders and vigorously pulled her in for another kiss—and another, and another... He held the third for several seconds, and finally released her with a deep, sharp breath, like he'd broken surface after being underwater too long.
The murmurs of the small crowd called him back to himself, and he snapped out of his trance with a flush of embarrassment. He opened his eyes and saw Nayeli staring at him in shock, breathing a bit hard herself.
"I-I'm sorry..." he muttered, lowering his head in shame. He turned to the minister and said with as much composure as he could muster up, "Go on."
As the minister recited the final formalities of the wedding ceremony, his words a tangle of gibberish in Kaden's flopped ears, the flustered groom couldn't help but steal a glance at the girl standing at his side. He was terrified of what she might be thinking right now. How could he have allowed his self-control to slip like that? He was surprised—and relieved—to see that she was shrugging sheepishly, her lips stretched into a timid smile between flushed cheeks.
Author's Notes:
- The Wedding— Hopefully I haven't just lost all my male readers. XP Being a girl and a hopeless romantic, I probably had a little too much fun fantasizing about what Kaden and Nayeli's wedding would be like. Still, I figured it was too 'mushy' to fit in with the rest of the story, and I didn't want to stall the plot. So I resolved not to include it in the actual fic... but then I attended a wedding, and that resolve fell apart. *-* My apologies to anyone who feels like they have a few new cavities after reading this chapter, but I just— couldn't— resist! DX If it's any consolation, I promise that the story won't turn into a romance novel from this point. ;)
- Theme Song: "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus— Need I explain? X3