The bloody weddings kept continuing. The only difference was that they were now being conducted by a first fidgety, but soon, much more confident, Menir Limt, Vistellia's apprentice. He performed his duties with an air of nervous gravity, a stark contrast to the easygoing celebrations.
We were forced to smile through the ceremonies and the endless toasts until the last one was just two days away: the wedding of Setil Emil and Stuart Boolt.
Setil insisted her wedding must be last. She claimed it was because the others' happiness came first, but really, she just wanted her day to be more special, less swallowed by the general chaos. Who could blame her?
She was letting Mother and Granny Vistellia take over most of the planning, but her real energy was spent begging me for favors.
"Please... ask Zephyr to bring some of the sweets you had at yours and to take Stuart to buy a gemstone so Rachel could work it into this," she pleaded, showing me a plain black ring she had made.
I had been foolish and gave her one of the leftover pieces of necklace from the Emet claw Zephyr had gifted me. It had then been reshaped by Rachel and Olaf into a small ring setting, and now Stuart would have to spend whatever coin he had saved on a gemstone of some kind to complete it. She knew I couldn't refuse.
"Fine... I'll do my best for your happy day, you little tyrant."
"That should be eenough... ouch!" She took my light punch, and I had to hold back to avoid injuring this little shameless peach. "Your ring finger actually hurts, Lylly."
She took my hand and gazed into the massive purple stone. "What's this called again? I keep forgetting."
"Zephyr called it, Sapphire."
The others surrounded my hand like the day I first placed it there and marveled at the color and oval shape of it. It was a tangible, beautiful symbol of Zephyr's extravagant means, something we'd never seen in Emet.
Mother asked a question that brought the true scope of his wealth back into the room. "Did you ever find out where the 100 gold coins came from? Did you spend it?"
"No... and no. What could I possibly spend it on? A second horse?" I dismissed the gold lightly, but the number was staggering. It didn't even bother me, to be honest. So he had a lot of gold... and he just gave it to me. Hehehe.
"The village now has people, and from what I can tell, there's more on the way." For the time being, Nifa and Cintia became permanent residents with Saam and Fipna. "Emet Village might become Emet Town soon... I could invite some merchant friends of mine to set up shops." Nifa had a very attractive idea.
"Bring it up at the next meeting, Granny, and the Council is planning," Eli said.
"Why is the meeting in the first place?" I nodded, then turned to Granny, who hadn't said anything specific yet.
"It's the annual meeting that used to happen before the tribute to the Lord, deciding on the amount we can offer and safety measures for the children in case it was short." Her voice became somber, remembering a time not so distant. "But that's no longer an issue..." she smiled brightly and mumbled the rest. "...We're just planning to elect Zephyr as the official Leader of Emet... Oh no, the soup..."
"You did it on purpose, Vistellia..." I growled from my plate. Its content was now everywhere thanks to her perfect, distracting performance.
"Eww..."
"Lylly! Granny!"
"It's good soup..."
"Mother, why?"
Some enjoyed the mess; others were disgusted, but all looked at the culprit.
"Granny... just, why?" I echoed my own mother's question.
She wiped the soup off me, and the others did the same with themselves. "I like it when you all grow up... Alright, alright..." She saw my expression and turned serious. "...It wasn't my idea. The other council members decided to make it official. Let's face it, he's been doing it for a while, Lylly. He is our protection."
The others had their own opinions. Some even made sense.
"Finally," Demelza added, completely missing my annoyance.
"I don't think he will like it," Eli was with me.
"Stop looking like that. Vistellia is right," Nifa was no help whatsoever.
"If you ask me, sweetheart, it was really the only outcome," Mother just tried to be reasonable.
"You know what..." Cintia spoke up to draw our attention to her. "I think certain people have certain destinies. On our travels, we met plenty of people calling themselves commanders, warlords, dukes, and others, but all those cockroaches desired power above all else."
She enjoyed her wife's caresses and continued, "Your husband is different. He doesn't want power and authority; he is called to it. I saw the way he cares for his family and friends." She rested her hand on mine and gave a confident smile. "He'll be a fine leader as long as you support him."
The others gave their silent approval as well. I could tell... I supposed he was already doing it.
"Fine... again, but I won't interfere if he accepts it, okay... if not, that's fine too." I was done with the topic.
"Lady Astoria has spoken. Uhh... talking about blessed marrying into the Wold family... how is Carlos, dear Seline?" Nifa turned to my mother.
It was my mother's turn to look confused. "How..."
"Please..." Nifa spoke her mind; it was both a blessing and a curse. "...everyone sees you two getting closer by the day."
Mother shared a look with me and relented. "I'm not sure... he is leaving for his country soon. Something important but didn't say."
I knew... and wanted to tell her. Seeing her dejected expression, I couldn't bear it any longer. Forgive me, my love, you married an impulsive woman.
"He is going to divorce her," I said as quickly as possible, blurting it out.
"""WHAT!???""" The shriek was universal.
I ignored the others and turned to my mother. "See... he already decided, Mom. He asked Zephyr to go with him because he wanted this done now."
She smiled, relieved. The smile was beautiful, but her shock quickly turned to panic. "No one... not one of you can tell this to anyone. Zephyr's being superstitious about the whole thing until it's done."
They all buried my mother in hugs and kisses.
"I suppose this summer might be special for all of us..." Cintia looked at her wife, Nifa, whom she married in the summer. And since Carlos is from Dharma, he might... well, it's too early.
"Hear, hear!" Granny lifted her cup, and we toasted to Mother's hypothetical future happiness.
It was going to be a special summer for sure: my friends and my own mother's potential wedding, not to mention my Zephyr will turn, whatever I will decide, on July 23rd. But, before that, my own 21st birthday on June 11th... who would've thought I'd marry someone who's... 17? 19?
...maybe 16... no, no, that's creepy. Or is it, though?