As I made my way back to the chapel I found the crowd had once again filled every pew. Sam stood up at the front waiting patiently. When everyone saw me their eyes went wide as dinner plates. Everything about me said a living treasure trove. Sam stifled a giggle as I finally made my way to my place next to her. "What"s so funny?" I asked with a curious looks. She grinned from ear to ear before saying "I always knew I was marrying into money. I just didn"t expect my husband to be literally made of it." She said and everyone laughed. I blushed a little at her sudden awareness of my glamorous appearance. The bishop once again got on his stool. "Now... where were we? Ah yes!" He whipped out a book and began to read a long scriptural reference of the church. " Long has marriage been established. Especially among the Fey. Nox and Lux are the oldest example of marriage in existence. One complimenting the other perfectly. Now we come together to bind these two forever. The blessings of the G.o.ds be upon you this day!" He closed the book and looked at is both with a very serious expression. "I will cut to the chase due to tight schedule. Do you swear to take Ignatious Soulsmith as your husband? To hold him dear for eternity?" He asked Sam. She smiled brightly. "I swear." She said. He looked at me and my palms sweat a bit. "Do you swear to take Samantha Von Carnac as your wife? To hold her dear for all eternity?" I looked at Sam and felt warmth in my soul. "I swear." I said feeling light as a feather as I said it. I felt a power enter the air as I spoke. Light and darkness flew in strands through the air gathering into a ball between us. One half was whit and one half was black. It was a perfectly balanced ball. "So they have sworn before Lux and Nox this day! You may kiss under the binds of this oath!" He said. Sam and I looked at each other. She blushed a little as I morphed my face to how she enjoyed it. We kissed. "Now! To Party!" The Bishop shouted throwing the book in the air as the people cheered happily. Sam and I separated with big grins on our faces and my face molded back.The dwarves threw rice and party ribbons everywhere as we left the chapel. The courtyard had been beautifully decorated while we were inside. Chairs and tables everywhere. Banners of congratulations hung everywhere in the air making it hard to judge whether I would be able to fly or not. A band had struck up wonderful music by the front of the castle. It was rhythmic and fun. Filled with renessaince style playing and humming. There was a large table set aside for us at the front of the group with the smaller groups of tables spread out before us. Many dwarves had already been seated and raised tankards in celebration. That is till one dwarf accidentally spilled his ale on another. Then we had a grand wedding brawl. I watched in humored fascination as the dwarves made a ma.s.sive moving dogpile. A dust cloud rose and I saw fists and feet flying as cussing, swearing, and laughing escaped from it. I laughed heartily and raised my tankard which was twice the size of the average. All the dwarves stopped brawling or talking and looked my way in reverent silence.
I felt my nerves go in fire as my brain emptied before the large crowd. I hadn"t thought before raising my gla.s.s. I felt a hand on mine and looked down to see Sam looking at me encouragingly. I nodded as my heart warmed and I felt like I didn"t have a care in the world.
I looked out at the crowd once more and thrust out my tankard before loudly toasting.
"To Family! To Friends! To The Things and People we hold most dear. And most of all... To Love and it"s abounding power to draw people together!" I said. My voice rumbled through the air and growled within my chest as I spoke. King Kyle raised his gla.s.s next to his wife who was a slightly shorter white haired woman with greenish grey eyes. "I can drink to that!" He cheered and his people echoed his phrase word for word. In a way that was the dwarves best salute to a comrade. I blushed slightly but the gold on my face covered it perfectly.
Sam beamed after the toast. She loved it. And as the night wore on she seemed to glow with how happy she got. But it was obvious that she was getting tired. Wedding gifts had been placed in a neat pile by the castles front steps. The biggest were placed at the bottom and gradually the smaller presents had been placed in a pyramid toward the tip. The night finally drew to a close as the dance had finally arrived. I stood with Sam and we went to the dance floor. I shrank my form down to her size and changed myself into my human form. That is with exception to my horns. I had taken dancing in my previous life but Sam had still insisted on us practicing so I wouldn"t step on her toes. The band played a slow musical score that felt like it was meant to lull children to sleep. It flowed through the air like a gentle breeze. And we flowed with it. I felt power in the moment we danced. It was light and dark, long and short, mild and hot at the same time. It felt like I could dance with her for eternity. Then the music came to an end. It was a moment before we realized and sheepishly returned to the head table once again.
King Kyle stood up at his place and raised his tankard. "I propose a toast! To the bride and groom! The fairest couple to grace this city besides my wife and I. And no better end could have been seen to this than what I see before me now. To the time we have with those we love. May we make the most of it!" He said loudly. I heard many people cheer to that statement as Sam blushed. "We demand a kiss!" Marion Shouted from next to Hargo who was smiling. Sam and I both turned deep red as a chorus started. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!...." Hey kept calling out till I shifted my face and leaned in toward Sam. Her lips met mine and the crowd cheered. We both reddened further as we separated back into a our seats.
And so the night wore on. Many drinking the night away as some told their stories of seeing me in battle. Or King Kyle as he told of my smithing abilities and how I razed the invading army of Weremar for Samantha. All the way to my return carrying her and more powerful than ever. I had helped rebuild many houses on my return and many saw me as not only a friend but family. Blood or no blood shared. I was welcome in every home. It was at this moment I realized how many I had helped in my time. How many lives I had saved or helped rebuild some semblance of normalcy for. I felt a calm fill my heart for the first time in months and I relaxed. My aura filled the air in a positive way. No oppression or bearing in it besides letting people know it was there. The power of a lower apocalypse cla.s.s waiting to be unleashed.
The guards at the walls felt a chill up their spines but didn"t so much as glance over their shoulders. They knew who"s aura this was and had grown accustomed to it over the past months. Any possible problem guests were immediately quieted by this aura. We finally reached the end of the festivities and the crowd began to disperse back to their homes.
The maids and butlers filed about and began to clean. Kyle finally came up to Sam and I as we prepared to depart for an inn for the night. Kyle reached out and grasped Sam"s hand firmly. "I know you both have set accommodations for the night. Unfortunately as King I cannot have guests going to poor Marie"s room for the night especially after one of them helped my people so much." He said as he produced a scroll from behind his back and handed it to Sam. He looked at me. "Your claws would tear that parchment to shreds hence why Samantha gets to read it in your place." He said with a wink to her. She rolled her eyes. As she unfurled it.
"By order of King Kylisius Verst Ignatious Soulsmith and Samantha Von Soulsmith have been granted a home within the city of Verst till such time that their family is driven to extinction or it is sold." She read aloud. Her voice gradually grew more and more emotional as she read. Tears came to her eyes as she showed me the scroll. At the bottom was a wax seal and an ink seal saying the royal family gave it"s consent and acted as an identifying feature as to who did it as well.
My eyes widened at the generosity shown by Kyle. "Are you certain of this?!" I asked Kyle with a look of amazement on my face. He smiled broadly. "Indeed my friend! And it is larger than any of the others currently within this city. After all... I had it made for you." He said with a calm yet wisened look. I held up my hands. "Hold up! You had it built?!" I said with a look of shock. He nodded to me. "Indeed. And I do not regret it." He said with a smile. I shook my head in defeat. I knew I could not dissuade him even if I wanted to.
"Very well my friend. We can only except your gracious gift." I said as I patted his shoulder. Sam embraced me happily as she jumped for joy. "Now we don"t need to worry about finding a home!" She cried excitedly. I held her to me and Kyle"s smile broadened. "You will love it I a.s.sure you. It is just below this level after all. We even connected it to the royal smithy with a large corridor. I do this in Hope"s that you can show my descendants the ways to Smith." He said as he bowed low to me. My eyes narrowed slightly. "I thought that you would teach your children." I replied. He grimaced a bit as he stood up straight again. "I had guessed you would say that..." He was silent for a moment before pulling up his shirt a bit. He revealed his side which was covered in black veins that snaked across his skin. "A few years ago I was bit by a chimera. Their poison is known to act extremely slow. But it is very potent nonetheless. My physicians say I have 2 years left before the poison enters my blood and kills me. Nothing known to us can cure it." He said as he lowered his shirt again.
I nodded but not before I stepped forward. "You might want to clench your teeth Kyle. This will hurt." I said as my palm hit his afflicted side. His face paled and I let my fire work. Living pheonix fire entered him and began to burn away the poison. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as he screamed. Guards flooded the area and a guard threw a spear at me trying to get me to let go. "What are you doing!!!?" Kyle cried out. I focused and looked him in the eye as I caught the spear like a toy. Sam was holding her hands across her mouth. "I am making sure you live to teach your children the things you know." I said calmly. I crunched the spear to pieces and pushed one into his mouth to bite down on. "Biting this will help you to stop scaring your guard while I try to get rid of this." I said even as he bit into the wood while roaring against the pain. It only took a few moments for the poison to be burnt away and the fire to retract back into my body. I retracted myself and raised my hands. The kings side smoked like a brand had been put to it. A physician was quickly called and pulled up his shirt. What was once an area covered in snaking black lines now was a patch of steaming skin and scarring from my fire burning away the poison. "Your majesty... The poison..." The physician said with a shocked gaze. Kyle looked down after giving me a glare that could make metal melt. His gaze turned to one of shock as he saw what was there. The puckered skin was slowly turning smooth as a small golden flame jumped about it.
He looked at me in confusion. "What did you do?" I raised a hand and a golden flame began to dance about my hand till it formed a bird that sat and started tweeting within my grasp. The physician gasped when he saw it. "Is that pheonix fire?" He asked as his form shook slightly. I nodded. He let out a sigh and began to pack up his things. Kyle looked at him. "What are you doing? What has he done that makes you so calm as to pack your tools?" He said grasping the doctor by a sleeve. The doctor looked at him and smiled. "You are lucky enough to have found a person with the powers to not only destroy your affliction but also heal the damage that was done." He said as he finished packing his tools and went on his way. Kyle looked at me as I smiled a bit. "You couldn"t have given me a bit more warning you d.a.m.n fool!?" He shouted and I laughed. He looked down and touched his previously scarred side. Not a trace of a scar remained. Suddenly a small gold fleck of fire jumped from his skin and bounced across the stones to my hands.
"Now Your Majesty. I believe we are even." I said with a smile. Kyle was helped to his feet where his wife hugged him. I picked up Sam who had calmed down and tretched my wings to take flight. The sky was filled with my power and flames and lightning danced across the sky like fireworks. It lit up the sky filling the faces of many with looks of awe and happiness. I held Sam close and she looked me in my eyes. "Why are you so cruelly kind?" She asked. I took a moment to think. "Because I was shown a cruel kindness most of my life." I replied. She smiled a little. "Well... I hope you are much gentler with me tonight." She said as she blushed deeply. I turned a deep red at her mention of it. "We will see I guess." I said shyly as she laughed.