Chapter 18: Take Me to the City

They should've been able to sleep in that morning. Some farmhands signed up for extra hours for the whole week to give the family a half-vacation, with only afternoon and managerial services needed. Larmie had talked about what superpowers he'd get from staying in bed until seven in the morning but agreed he'd likely be awake, just staring at the ceiling with his eyes open. Corini and Tinnul, of course, were in Wall Sina for the whole week, and would travel to the mountains for a brief honeymoon afterward. They'd been absent for nearly two weeks, and not many people jumped at the opportunity to crush fertilizer quite like Corini did. Nonetheless, the work was done, the family slept soundly, ready for the day's festivities.

That is, until Hajule woke up with a start at three in the morning, thought for a moment, and ran to Edie and Jamie's room. She shook Edie awake and pulled her into the living room, setting up a stool before the kidnapped knew what was happening.

"It's still dark out," she murmured, struggling to stand. "Is something wrong? Where's Larmie?"

"He's asleep." Hajule rustled through kitchen drawers, pulling out thread, different sized needles, and a line of yellow ribbon. "When I was fourteen, before Larmie and I had gone steady, my best friend was invited to a fancy birthday party for someone in Stohess, and her mother wouldn't let her go unless I went, too. I was more boring than her, not that the adults said it like that. Anyway, I wore this simple yet elegant green dress with a hem at the fold of the chest and spilling to the floor. One of our friends made it as a gift, in return for something from my father. I don't quite remember what, but we lived like that."

"Hajule…"

"Right." She hurried into her bedroom, rustled around for a moment, and returned with a dress covered in a cloth bag. "I've grown quite a few inches out, even before Jamie was born, so I haven't been able to wear it since then. But you would look lovely in it."

"The wedding is at midday," Edie mumbled. "Why are we up now?"

"We'll still need to hem it and take in the waist. You're still smaller than I was at fourteen."

Hajule was dripping with excitement, so Edie undressed, sighed, and stood still. The dress slipped over her shoulders, nearly three inches too large on either side, but just clutching the fabric on the skirt told her this would be worth it.

"I don't know where they got this fabric from. It's the most beautiful shade, and something called satin. Water rolls right off it, but it spins like a dream."

The seamstress went to work. She lit a candle so Edie could read through the ordeal, and from three in the morning till six-thirty, Hajule molded the dress around her form. Near the last hour, she alternated between sewing and cooking breakfast meat and oatmeal.

A small mirror hung in the bathroom, enough for Edie to see the chest's embroidery. She twirled and let the skirt fall upon her legs, nearly laughing at its smooth touch. She grasped a clump of it. "This has got to be worth tons."

"Probably. But it's dear to me. That party was a…distraction. A very good one. I didn't think about all our troubles or school or the titans, or anything. And I was young, which we spend our whole lives trying to remember." Hajule led Edie to one of the dining room chairs and took the cloth out of her hair; it fell free with some knots. "This is why we needed to get started immediately. Even though the dress is done, your hair could take hours."

"It's functional."

"Indeed." Hajule ran her hand across the locks, from Edie's scalp to midway down her back. "But you're going to be a princess tonight."

"It's Tinnul's day."

"She'd disagree."

At some point, a bleary eyed Jamie walked out of his room, noticed his sister, and gave her a weak thumbs up. Despite his mother's warnings to stay away from the bacon until his father was up, Jamie sneaked a piece and hurried back to his room. The boys and Hajule got ready in under half an hour, they ate (with the cloth cover over Edie's front), and readied to leave.

Jamie pulled at his collar. "Why does mine have to be so tight? I can hardly move around. What am I supposed to do if something attacks us? Waddle away?"

"We're going to a wedding," Hajule called from her room, "not a war. Get in the cart."

The ride to Wall Sina was slow and uneventful. They passed the market after an hour, veering left toward Ehrmich District. The walls were well in view, and Edie kept straining her neck to look at them. It was hard to fathom something that massive, yet it was perfectly normal. They were a sanctity, not a wonder.

Ehrmich District's buildings were so compact, compared to the open farmlands. Traffic was slow, slow enough for Jamie to jump off, use the bathroom in a nearby shop, but some tea, and run to catch up with the cart. Edie pulled a shawl around her shoulders when some passing Garrison troops slowed their walk, parallel to the cart. Finally, they passed through Wall Sina, and the tension weaned. Larmie led the horses left, across an open field, and they came to a sizeable town. He turned left at a chapel, steered into a courtyard, and pulled to a stop.

"Finally," Jamie sighed and jumped off. He had the horses untied and pulled into the stable in a matter of seconds, then offered a hand to both his mother and Edie. The ladies gathered their skirts and stepped onto the cobblestones. Larmie offered his elbow to his wife, and Jamie pulled Edie toward the entryway. "If we're late—"

"We left with half an hour to spare," Larmie called after them, but they went out of earshot.

Past an archway, a huge courtyard seated a reception area. There were long tables with white cloth, benches on either side. Beautiful bouquets of pink flowers and green foliage dotted the centers. In the middle of the yard, darker stones marked off a dancing floor, and on the stage against the right wall, a four person stringed band tuned their instruments. The group crossed the yard and entered a huge stone church which, after a brief hallway for bathrooms and dressing rooms, held nearly fifty pews, stained glass windows, and an organ on the stage. Flowers and ribbon decorated the aisle edges, and ceramic beads dotted the hems.

Jamie noticed her wandering eyes and pointed at the pictures above the altar. "There's nothing this grand outside of Sina. They've got the money and time for it."

"They worship here?"

He nodded. "Father made me go to a service once, when some great uncle died. They made nearly an hour long speech about the walls and the king and all that."

"The king? At a funeral?"

"I'm not going to be religious." He shrugged it off. "Most people don't get married in the church, anyway. They get married in somebody's house, either the one they're going to live in or their parents."

"Poor Tinnul. She would've loved to get married on the farm."

Somewhere in this stone building, the two lovers were counting the hours till the ceremony ended, and they could be free of the pomp. On the right, meant for Corini's absent family, military elite and lords whispered across the rows. Edie could hear bleak, distracted words in between. Larmie led them to the second row on the right, which had a paper and the Cartwell name.

"We're important," Edie whispered to Jamie.

"No more than them." The two leaned forward to read the names on the front two rows, ones with several titles and paraphernalia. They couldn't bother to show up with time to spare, so they must've been necessary. Behind them, a few Garrison members chatted amongst themselves, wearing full uniform and sporting shiny medals. Military police sat around them, closer to the aisle, and cast arrogant glances with remorseful eyes.

A string of faux roses, just the blossoms entwined on mesh ribbon, lined the top of the row. Edie reached forward and wriggled one free. The flower turned over in her hand, and she noticed complex stitching where the petals met, a mix of crossed threads and looping lines. Someone must've sat down for hours, just on one rose, and these filled the first rows and windowsills. The knit was damp, and flecks of wet dust stuck to the yarn. She carefully picked it off, trying not to smear it in, and twisted the metal stem back with its family.

Jamie suddenly gasped and grabbed Edie's sleeve; he smacked her arm over and over until she glanced over her shoulder, haphazardly. "They're here!"

Complete with long green coats, the remaining members of the military police and the scouts finally arrived. The former strut to the front three rows, shaking hands with their comrades and greeting Tinnul's extended family. The scouts, only two familiar to Edie, sat in the sixth row and kept to themselves.

"We're going to be at the reception together," Jamie realized, breathlessly. "We can meet more of the commanding officers!"

"Just what you come to a wedding to do."

"Uh huh, uh huh." He stuck out a finger at a brown haired woman sitting next to the captain's barely visible heat. "That's another one of the captains, Zoe Hange. She does a lot of research on the titans." He bounced again. "Ooh! And there's Mattias Choro. I heard he leads a lot of the resource recovery missions. You know, going back in Wall Maria to find storehouses and cattle that people left behind."

Edie glanced at him. "I'm beginning to think you don't actually study at school."

He scrunched his nose. "What's happening now will actually matter. I don't care about the titans cornering us in here and why the walls are important; everybody knows that."

"What about arithmetic?"

He shrugged. "The stuff about forces and motion is alright."

Edie looked once more and covered her mouth. "He looks miserable."

"Who?"

"Your infamous captain." She faced forward. "Perhaps marriage isn't his cup of tea."

"He looked surly before." Jamie hid his staring behind a sneeze. "But he does look a little flustered. Maybe he didn't expect you to be here."

"Maybe."

Jamie was nearly sitting the opposite direction now, and she pulled him back. "Private Goose is here, too."

"Amile?"

"Fourth row from the back." He patted his hands on his knees. "Guess only a few military police members are as special as us."

"Shh. You're surrounded."

"What're they gonna do? Not like me when I'm a better asset to humanity than any of them combined?"

"Or make your life miserable before you can prove that."

"They can try." He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers. "When is this wedding going to start? We've been sitting here for hours."

Edie smoothed the cloud-like dress over her knees. "Pretend you're practicing for those training exercises where you have to stand still and not get bothered when commanders yell at you."

"'K." He straightened his back and kept his hands folded on his lap.

Jamie won the prize for most put-together soldier in the room. Despite wondering looks and a half-hour wait, he held his position without a word or sideways glance. Even when Private Amile left his background solitary to offer greetings and ask how things had been, Jamie kept his eyes trained forward and fingers still. Thankfully, the private was used to it by now. He lingered quite a while, strangely, for his commanding officers cast some knowing and disapproving glances. Thankfully, the music drummed up a new beat, and a horde of fancifully dressed attendees took their seats in Tinnul's section. He kissed her hand, saluted to Jamie, and went back to his seat.

Corini passed him on the aisle, Tinnul's aunt on his arm. Edie had trouble reading his expression and just smiled when he and Larmie shook hands. Then came beautiful ladies in smooth tan dresses, purple flowers pinned in their hair. They took their places at the right of the altar and stared bashfully at the military men. The music faded and paused, so Edie leaned over and whispered, "at ease, soldier," just in time for Tinnul's entrance.

Her father held her arm and led her to the front as the attendees stood respectfully. Her dress, complete with fancy knit and puffy sleeves, seemed to consume her. But the flowers matched her bridesmaids, most of whom still stared at the diagonal congregation.

A man in a dress took the stage, raising his hands. "Be seated," and the people obeyed. "We are gathered here today to join these two in holy matrimony. If anyone here objects to this union, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Corini stared at Tinnul hard, and when the minister sniffed, they held hands and looked expectantly at the small, bald man.

"Marriage is an unbroken union between a man and a woman, where each partner cares and upholds the other. One provides and cares for the home, and the other protects. One cannot survive without the other, and one serves no purpose without the other. They will be faithful to each other; they will not defile each other for the sake of pleasure and adrenaline. They will not succumb to human desires and will ascend to that truly holy place, in sickness and in health, in life and in death. What is a man, if not unbroken, steadfast, and undying. What is a woman, if not worshipful, a caretaker, and full of love?" He lifted his hands, and his eyes gazed upon the ceiling. "And what is adultery, if not a breach of that promise? What is unfaithfulness, if not a departure from that protection? Many curses befall the wife who abandons her wedding bed to court a flirtatious boy, and terrible diseases consume the man who courts harlets instead of his beloved. To defile this union is to reject all the walls stand for."

Quiet settled for a moment, as the noonday light changed into afternoon.

"Keep careful, dear people, that we do not add to this marriage. There is no need to stray beyond your duties, and yearnings are unholy and unfaithfulness rearing its ugly face. As the titans rear their heads just beyond our walls, so do vices seek to perpetrate your happiness."

Jamie leaned close and whispered in her ear, "I don't think this guy hear about Wall Maria." Edie had to press her hand hard against her mouth to keep from laughing.

"We worship the great Walls, which protect us from great evil as we honor and worship them. But when defilement creeps into our hearts, so do the Walls allow darkness to fall. Keep yourselves pure, dear souls, and commit your lives to love and your fellow man. Keep the peace with your fellow man, and do not seek more than you are given. That is the life the Walls require of us, and one we joyfully accept." He bowed his head. "Let us pray."

With eyes closed, his rasping words were harder to understand, and if the military police beside them hadn't been so stoic, Jamie and Edie might've enjoyed the wedding with a thumb war championship. Finally, Corini repeated his vows, Tinnul hers, and the veil was removed.

"I am pleased to present new additions to our strong community, Mr. and Mrs. Corini. You may kiss your bride."

Corini obeyed, briefly, and the two smiled tightly at one another. Even as they headed out the door, with drunken cheers and polite clapping, their escape would take several more hours. Larmie informed them as they headed to the reception area that they had two hours to enjoy themselves before the ride home.

"Well," Jamie huffed before they stood to go. "I'm quite ready for whatever mind tests my commanding officers throw at me."