The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2
Chapter 145

PART 22

Mark and his family Translocated to Alilia's home in Heartwood, where Caria was impatiently waiting to begin dressing the wedding party.

An hour later they were ready, and took a moment to admire each other's appearances.

Mark and Six's hair was brushed smoothly back and tied at the nape of their necks with matching gold clasps. Both of them had hair over sixty centimeters long, and their ponytails streamed down their backs. Talia, Alilia, Fire, and Val all had their long hair bound up with subtle pins and clips into beautiful and formal mounds and waves, and their coloring had been expertly enhanced to accentuate their delicate beauty.

All six wore matching clothing; the form-fitting black velvet pants and high black leather boots, white silk blouse, and sweeping ankle-length black velvet cape of a Battle Wizard of The People of life. All wore fine scents and their best discreet jewelry, and Mark, Talia and Alilia also wore their crowns and sashes of office, since this was to be a state wedding.

"Well don't we look fine." Val smiled as she regarded herself in a mirror.

"Thanks Caria, you've done a wonderful job." Talia told her with a quick hug.

"Bah." Caria protested with a laugh. "With subjects as attractive as all of you, the standard preparations are all that were required. Any woman in the city could have done the same." "Perhaps, but perhaps not as well." Mark chuckled as he swept his new mother-in-law up in a hug and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Put me down, you great handsome oaf!" she laughed. "You'll get me all flustered, and I still need to prepare myself!"

"Flustered, is it?" Alilia teased as Mark set her mother down. "Did you know Mother, that Mark honestly considers myself and Talia to be the two most beautiful females on Kellaran? And of course Dalia and Nemia look the same as Talia, so it was perhaps inevitable that both would eventually share his bed on occasion. And, since you look just like me except for hair color..."

"Shut up, you naughty child!" Caria laughed in embarrassed exasperation as she blushed a pretty pink and gave Alilia a playful swat on the behind. "Off with you all to The Hall of Anticipation! I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

"All right, we'll see you then." Alilia smiled as she gave her mother a quick kiss. As soon as the two stepped apart, Mark Translocated the six of them.

They looked around the large ovoid room for a moment before Fire asked; "So what do we do now?"

"Now we have some Hilsith's Herbal Tea." Talia laughed as she headed for the drinks cabinet. "It's gotten quite popular you know, largely due to the fact that we had it on our first wedding day, which was widely reported on in great detail. Hilsith is actually getting quite wealthy from it."

"Traditionally, the bride and groom always wait here while the guests arrive and are seated and the decorations are finalized." Alilia told them with a smile as they seated themselves in the largest grouping of sofas, loveseats and armchairs. "It gives them one last chance to have some quiet and private time before they're joined and all the celebrating begins. It also gives them a chance to reflect on what they're about to do, and to be sure it's what they really want. Those who are truly unsure tend to change their minds about the whole thing while waiting in this room."

"Yes, we know all that Mother." Val told her with an exasperated smile. "We know that Father and Talia used the time to learn the ceremony and to get to know each other better, and that you and Gorsh fornicated enthusiastically here for over an hour and were almost two minutes late to your own wedding, which I find quite amusing.

"The question was; what do we do now?"

"Ah. Well we relax and enjoy some conversation, of course, and wait for the rest of the wedding party to arrive." Mark chuckled as he cuddled Alilia on his lap.

"They keep Preserved urns of this and five other hot drinks fresh and hot over there." Talia announced as she arrived with a tray and handed out steaming mugs. "This might have been there for months, but it's still delicious. They have Bhia honey too."

"Mmm. This really brings back memories." Mark smiled as he sipped his tea and Talia carefully joined Alilia on his lap. "I was such a scared, nervous, mind-boggled wreck the last time I was in this room. In a way it seems like yesterday and I still feel like the same person. But in a way it was an eternity ago, and I've grown so far beyond that poor young wretch that I almost can't believe my present life is real." "We were all so broken from thinking Dalia and Bezedil were dead." Talia wistfully reminisced. "And you were still broken from the loss of your family. And we were all a mess from having been cursed; Father and Alilia, you and me.

"I tell you, it amazes me that we managed to pull it off with even the slightest shred of decorum."

"We did, though." Alilia smiled. "There were some rough moments, but you two impressed the world that night, and you impressed me more than most.”

"Some rough moments?!" Mark laughed. "Gods' teeth, I had a heart cramp and died in the middle of the vows! I guess recovering from that and not seeming too much of a fool was rather impressive at that!" "And Balen trying to color you green and purple as you were walking down the aisle," Talia laughed, "And Yzandra making a scene, and Kragorram and Povon's tumultuous argument and reconciliation... "Damn! I don't mind telling you that I hope today's event is a lot less eventful!"

They all laughed, then Mark hugged both of his beloveds and grinned. "Well, we're only having a few hundred guests this time, and though the valley may be filled with spectators they'll be excluded from the chapel, and I don't intend to go touring around among them this time. They're merely spectators; they haven't been invited, so they're not part of it like they were last time.

"And this time I'm not the slightest bit nervous about the future of our relationship and my performance in it. Living and loving together for a few years before marriage definitely has its benefits that way. Our love is strong and well-established, our lives are completely bound together through our children, and my heart is strong with security and contentment.

"To me, today's marriage is primarily a proud declaration of all that, from us to the rest of the world."

"Then we are of one mind on the matter." Alilia softly declared, and she and Talia both leaned in simultaneously to share a three-way kiss with him. In a moment their passion was fired, and it became a very serious kiss indeed.

"Please!" Val laughed. "Is that really appropriate?!"

"Mm hm." Mark responded with a slight nod, without seeming otherwise distracted from the kiss, and Talia gave a muffled giggle.

After a minute of that Fire suddenly spoke; "I'm in love with Karzog! He's my destined mate, my destined love."

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out as the others gave her their attention. "There. I finally said it out loud." She looked to her parents. "I finally told you. It feels good."

"It's lucky I had time to ensure our privacy before you blurted that out." Six teased.

Fire nodded. "Thanks. And we intend to continue to ensure our privacy and absolute secrecy on the matter. I intend to never speak openly of this again. Ever. But I wanted you to know."

Talia gently floated Fire over into a loving and supportive hug from all three of her parents. "Congratulations darling. We're glad you chose to tell us, and we will always support you and Karzog in every way. "And now we can confess that we already knew. Povon figured it out from Karzog's behavior and by simply checking for who was always unaccounted-for when he was. Hiliani is a pretty small place that way. Anyway, she felt that she would be breaking Karzog's confidence somewhat by telling us, but she also felt that we should know about it, so she swore us to secrecy about her telling us about it before she actually told us what she'd just sworn us to secrecy about."

They all had to chuckle or giggle at that for a moment before Talia continued.

"Kragorram also knows, she told him too. But she most certainly doesn't want anyone else to know.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

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