Time flew by as they planned the wedding and sent out invitations. Some crews delayed moving on just to be able to attend. Emma’s parents closed down the tavern for a few days so they could help get everything in order, causing news of the wedding to spread throughout most of the city.
The night before the wedding, Stern took Vulk back to the inn. They had a small celebration with some fellow Walkers, then retired to the rooms upstairs for the night. The women had their own party, and would meet them at the venue for the wedding.
~*~*~
Dressed in their new suits, Stern and Vulk led the way for dozens of Walkers. The city park had been decorated for the event, and some of the city guards were on hand to keep an eye on things.
Streamers of multiple colors were strung from branch to branch, tying the trees into a long string of interconnected beauty. Tables and chairs had been set up, with Sarah Kalma and a few others directing guests to their appropriate tables.
Stern walked with Vulk to the podium, then stood on Vulk’s right after greeting those who called out to him. Vulk was growing increasingly nervous, his fear and worry climbing. Patting Vulk on the shoulder, Stern gave him a knowing smile.
“Thanks,” Vulk exhaled. “I don’t know why I’m starting to worry. She would have told me before now if she was going to back out.”
“She would have,” Stern agreed, “but she’s likely just as nervous. Your relationship has been a bit of a whirlwind.”
“Yeah, and you were there to help with all of it. I never would have tried approaching her on my own.”
“Shieldbearers are there for that reason, as well as giving you a chance to run, if needed.”
“I ran to, not away,” Vulk said, relaxing.
“And with good reason,” Stern grinned.
They lapsed into silence as the tables filled.
One of the acolytes of the Goddess joined them at the podium. “Blessed day to you,” she greeted them.
“Thank you, Sister,” they replied in echo.
“Not many think to ask for us to preside over weddings.”
“My father did for his three wives,” Stern said. “When I suggested it to Vulk, he was eager to have the Goddess smile down on him and his wife.”
“I am,” Vulk agreed.
“Maybe a trend will begin because of this,” the priestess smiled. “It would be nice to have more positive events to attend.”
“I can see that, Sister,” Stern bowed his head. “Maybe she’ll have heard and will bless that idea.”
A commotion came from the back of the group just before a few musicians began to play. Vulk stiffened, inhaling roughly as he turned to face the carriage. Stern clapped his shoulder again before standing fully upright to wait for the ceremony to start.
The carriage door opened, and Emma’s father was there to help everyone out— Trish, Cyra, Cammie, and lastly, but far from least, Emma. Taking his daughter’s arm, the bartender walked with her toward the podium. The other three trailed them, all in matching, light-blue dresses. Emma was wearing a cream-colored gown.
“Are you the one asking for my daughter’s hand?” Ruddy asked Vulk.
“Yes, sir.”
“Take good care of her. She means the world to me,” Ruddy said as he offered Emma’s arm to Vulk.
“She does to me, too, sir,” Vulk replied softly as he took Emma’s arm.
With the exchange done, the other women lined up beside Emma, opposite Stern. They were wearing bright smiles as all six of them turned to face the priestess.
“Ladies, gentlemen, and children,” the priestess said, her voice projecting to everyone, “we are gathered here today to see two people brought together in sight of the Goddess. Emma Pinage and Vulk Urs have faced trials of pain, separation, and love. They have asked the temple to preside over this union so that the Goddess might bless them with love and children. Let us all bow our heads for a moment in silent prayer for their wish to be granted.”
Everyone bowed their heads for a few seconds before the priestess spoke again.
“Emma Pinage, do you wish to bind your life to Vulk Urs? To have and hold, to treasure and love, through sickness and health, for as long as you draw breath?”
“I do.”
“Vulk Urs, do you wish to bind your life to Emma Pinage? To have and hold, to treasure and love, through sickness and health, for as long as you draw breath?”
“I do.”
“Do you both wish to ask the Goddess for her blessing upon this union?”
“We do,” they said together.
“Goddess, if you are watching, will you bless this union?”
Stillness settled over the crowd as a pressure seemed to grow over everyone. The feeling of a mother holding them, of unquestioning love that would support them, and of deep friendship that could survive the end of the world seeped into them all.
“The Goddess has seen and approved of your union,” the priestess whispered as the feeling faded. “You may now face the world as a married couple.”
The new couple turned to the crowd, beaming, as everyone began to cheer for them. After a few minutes, they walked to the only remaining table and took their seats. To even things out, Trish sat beside Stern on Vulk’s side while Cammie and Cyra sat on Emma’s.
As soon as everyone was seated, a host of servers came forward with trays, delivering food, glasses, and pitchers of different beverages to the tables. It didn’t take them long to distribute everything for the celebratory feast to begin.
~*~*~
Hours passed as people enjoyed themselves. The evening sun was getting low in the horizon by the time most of the crowd was done eating. That was Ruddy’s signal to stand up and tap his glass with a fork, getting everyone’s attention.
“I want to thank you all for coming to this joyous event,” Ruddy began. “Today, my little girl becomes the head of her family.” He shot Vulk a hard stare, getting laughter from the crowd. “And as such, we have a few minor speeches before the rest of the festivities. I’ll make this short and sweet— Emma, my dear girl, you’ve always made us proud. While we were shocked by your sudden whirlwind of romance, we knew you’d never choose wrong.” Emma was sniffling and touching her eyes to make sure she didn’t cry. “Vulk, we welcome you with open arms. We are glad you’re going to settle down and start a family with her. We would have supported you continuing to be a Walker, but we’re glad you wish to raise a family, instead.” He raised his glass. “To the happy couple, blessed by the Goddess. May their first child be soon, healthy, and take after their mother.”
Laughter and raised glasses answered his toast.
Urika stood as the laughter died down, and all eyes went to her. “On behalf of the Urs family, thank you for coming. I shouldn’t be here. I am newly reborn. My son’s friend arranged for my shards to be retrieved and for me to be reborn… this way, Vulk could make his choice to stop running to save me. This wedding and Vulk’s settling down are thanks to him. Please, take a moment with me to raise a glass to Stern.” She turned to stare at Stern, raising her glass. “I will forever be in your debt, regardless of your protests to the contrary.”
Vulk raised his glass high. “Here, here.”
Once the toast was drunk, Urika continued, “Emma, you are a treasure. Thank you for loving my boy. He might be a bit awkward, but his heart is good, as you’ve seen. I look forward, like your mother does, to all the grandchildren we hope you have. To you, your family, and the union of love you and my son have forged.”
Everyone drank to the toast, happy at the speeches being relatively short so far.
Cammie stood up, looking a bit unsure. When the crowd quieted, she spoke up, “I wasn’t expecting to be the maid of honor for this wedding. I tried to get Emma to pick another, but she insisted that I fill this role, as she wanted to make sure I know how much she values me as a sister.” Licking her lips, she turned to her brother. “If you upset Emma, I will thrash you so hard, you’ll ask Mother to stop me.”
The crowd laughed, and Vulk just shook his head.
“Emma, thank you for loving my brother. He’s trouble, in that he always gives everything he has. For you, this is a boon. His love will be that much stronger for you and your children. The Goddess has blessed you, and so do I.” With that, she leaned over and kissed the top of Emma’s head. “To the couple, may you have many children that I can spoil and then give back to you.”
Loud laughter came from the crowd with her last line as everyone drank to her toast.
Stern exhaled slowly as he stood up. He towered over everyone else at the table, and the crowd hushed again. He gave them an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his head briefly. “Public speaking isn’t my primary skill set, as you can all guess.”
A few weak chuckles came from the crowd.
“Yeah, that’s about how I feel, too,” Stern joked. “I’m Vulk’s best man. Vulk and I didn’t start off our relationship in the best way for, again, obvious reasons. Once I got past his tough exterior, I found a man with enough loyalty and kindness to make anyone glad to have him as a friend. Urika said that her being here and this wedding happening is because of me... that’s only slightly true. I facilitated some things, but it happened because of Vulk.”
Vulk gave Stern a puzzled look.
“Your love of your mother is deep, deep enough to throw yourself into danger every day if needed to save her. Your singular goal as a Walker was to bring her back out. It’s admirable, but it would have stopped another goal you found.” Stern grinned. “Vulk met Emma when I went drinking with him for the first time.”
Vulk covered his face, knowing what was coming.
“Vulk, for all his courageousness and fearlessness in combat, is surprisingly shy and hesitant around beautiful women. So, when he met Emma, who is gorgeous, he wanted to speak with her, but couldn’t. Luckily, he brought me drinking with him and, in the time-honored tradition, I, as his shieldbearer, entered the fray for him.”
Emma was giggling as she watched Vulk squirm while Stern talked. She took his hand in hers and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
“Vulk nearly panicked when I did, but thankfully, Emma was intrigued by him, so my task was simple: start them talking, then step back. They found things to bond over, and those bonds grew as we stayed in the city. The true depth of their love was shown to them during an... incident.” Stern’s smile slipped for a moment, and he looked at the Walkers who knew the truth.
Some people in the crowd looked around, trying to spot who Stern was looking at.
“That solidified their love, and I knew then that the only thing stopping them was Vulk’s goal to have his mother reborn. I cleared the hurdle for them so that their love could blossom into something we’ll all remember well into our elder years. To the happy couple— no matter what comes, your love will always be true.”
Everyone cheered and drank to his toast.
Emma stood up, still holding Vulk’s hand. “Thank you all for coming to celebrate with us. I’ll make this quick. Vulk, you are the Goddess’ gift to me. You will never be without love. All I ask is the same in return, and for us to shower our children with the attention and love they deserve.”
Vulk kissed her hand, then drank as everyone else did.
Once everyone was done, Vulk stood, keeping Emma’s hand in his. He looked down at her as she had seated herself again. “My dearest Emma, I was besotted with you the moment I saw you, but told myself it would never work. If not for our friend,” he glanced at Stern, “this day might never have come. Thank you for casting your eyes on me and giving me a chance. You’ve held my heart from the very first night, but now, it’s yours entirely. I will never make you doubt our love, and our children will never want for love. I’ll be forever yours.”
The crowd cheered as Vulk raised his drink to Emma alone, accepting that as his toast.
“Now,” Ruddy said, standing up, “we have three traditional dances to get through. The bride and groom, followed by parents and couple, then finally, the most awkward of the three: the best man and maid of honor. Once those are done, we will set up the collection bowls for the money dances.”
Everyone shifted as music started to play. Vulk escorted Emma to the dance floor for their dance. Vulk wasn’t as graceful as Emma, but they did fine. Ruddy danced with his daughter, while Urika danced with Vulk after the first dance ended.
When the third dance came, Stern did his best to breathe slowly as the emotions from the crowd hammered at him. When he extended his arms for Cammie, the feeling of trepidation, worry, and hope helped mute the rest of the crowd.
“Cammie, may I?” Stern asked formally.
“Uhm... yes,” Cammie said as she put a hand on his hip and took his hand in her other.
Stern rested a hand on her shoulder, as she was much shorter than he was. He spoke in a whisper, “Just move with me and I’ll make this easy. It’s a simple box— left, back, right, forward, then a quarter turn and repeat.”
Cammie blinked at him, but when the music started, she shifted with him. Her smile grew as she felt the fluidity of the dance. It was simple, but Stern made it look elegant to her.
Stern tried to ignore the rising emotion from Cammie as he led the dance. She must just be excited because of the wedding, he told himself.
When the dance came to an end, Cammie didn’t leave his arms for a moment. “Thank you, Stern... for everything. I’ll be with you for as long as you’ll all have me there.”
“As long as you wish to be,” Stern replied as he started to guide her off the floor. “Come on, you should dance with your brother. He could use lessons.”
Cammie laughed as she kept his hand in hers, but let him walk her away. “Emma doesn’t need them, but she’d probably like to dance with you, too.”
“Let’s not disappoint them, then.”