Trek For Survival

She sighed and turned to him with a patient smile.

"Vonn, we"ve talked about this. If we arrive at the human town we"re going to live in, as a married couple, then talk about needing a wedding ceremony, there will be a lot of questions I would rather not answer," Gia said.

"I don"t mean the wedding itself; I mean having the wedding here with the halflings," he said with a grimace at the tiny form of the seamstress as she rushed around the room checking on everyone"s outfits. "I can"t help but feel we"re being taken advantage of. Have you seen the bill she gave me?"

Gia scrunched her brow in concern. She hadn"t seen, or even thought of the bill.

"We have enough to cover it, don"t we?" she asked, thinking about all of the gold they had gotten from the dwarves. It had been so heavy to carry all this way… surely it would be more than enough?

"Well, yes, but-" began Vonn, as the halfling seamstress rushed up to them.

"Alright dear, we"re all good here. Time for your dress! Now, no peeking, young groom!" she chuckled, taking Gia"s hand and pulling her from the room.

"Okay," said Gia, following meekly.

There was just so much going on! Bob had checked in on them briefly, not giving her a chance to grill him about his possible deity status, to make sure they were alright with some of his preparations. They had all sounded perfect to her, making her even more certain he was a G.o.d. Martha, the head maid, (and possibly the half owner of the inn?) had stopped by several times to make sure the foods she was having the kitchen prepare would be alright. Even the blonde waitress had stopped by to ask if they had a preference on the alcohol served after the ceremony. She hadn"t seen her mom to talk to her since Vonn returned, because the moment Mikey had heard about the ceremony, he had been far too giddy to sit still.

"Now, don"t worry yourself," chuckled Juniper. "I spoke to both your parents in great detail about how a proper human marriage is supposed to go, and we"ve arranged for our cleric to be here to marry you. Since you don"t really follow any one G.o.d, he should be just fine at conducting the marriage."

"But I think Bob is a G.o.d!" said Gia, fighting the urge to stomp her foot.

"Dear, even if he is, do you really want a G.o.d of inns to marry you?" asked Juniper fighting to not laugh.

"How do you know he"s a G.o.d of inns?" asked Gia, ignoring the other part of Juniper"s words.

Shaking her head, Juniper had her turn a step to the left so she could check on a seam that was too tight.

"I want to talk to him, to make sure he isn"t insulted, just in case," said Gia, making sure the halfling seamstress understood that she was serious.

"Honestly, I don"t know what has put this idea into your head," said Juniper. "I can fetch him, if you really want, but it will make me late in getting you out there for the ceremony. They"ve already got people filling up the seats in preparation for the wedding!"

"I think you are more than capable of handling whatever else this dress might need," said Gia, not letting her get out of it. "Besides, it"s beautiful enough, I could walk down the isle with it just as it is!"

Sighing, Juniper turned to the door, to go fetch Bob, when there was a light knock followed with Bob sticking his head in.

"Is everything all right? I had a minute, so I"m going around making sure everyone"s doing alright," he said with a smile.

"Bob!" called Gia intently. "I need to talk to you!"

"Alright?" he said, stepping into the room with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, goodness!" said Juniper, throwing her hands into the air. "I"m going to run to relieve myself before the ceremony starts. I"ll be back in a few minutes."

"She seemed rather upset, is everything alright?" asked Bob, after the halfling seamstress rushed out of the room in a huff.

"I need to know if you"re a G.o.d," said Gia with a serious face.

Bob opened his mouth to say something, then looked at the floor and chuckled.

"It"s far too convenient for there to be three different innkeepers, in three different lands with the same name," said Gia, crossing her arms carefully, so as not to crush the front of her dress.

"What do you think? Would that make me a G.o.d of inns or bars?" he asked, looking up at her with a twinkle in his eye.

"My mom hasn"t had even a limp since she finished that medicine, and you said she wouldn"t be turning up to work the next day. You knew that she needed something to help her get through this trip. You knew that army was coming, and that we would escape!" insisted Gia.

"So, that makes me a G.o.d?" he asked in surprise.

"So, you admit that was you?" she asked in surprise, somehow still amazed that her a.s.sumptions were correct.

"Giavanna, you can"t worship me," he said with a shake to his head. "I��m not that kind of G.o.d."

"What, why not?"

"No one worships me," he said with a shrug. "I just run bars and sell drinks to people. Sometimes I have a kitchen to feed people, and a bed for them to sleep on."

"But you know so much! You"re like a G.o.d of drink and information!" she said, not letting up. "You have to know a lot working in bar! When people get drunk, they say things they wouldn"t normally say."

"That"s true," he nodded thoughtfully. "But I don"t have people going around worshipping me. I"m not that kind of G.o.d."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "I thought G.o.ds got their powers from being worshiped?"

Bob chuckled again. "When the drunk is in need of a drink, who does he thank? When the tired traveler can only think of a hot bath and a soft bed, who does he thank? When the hungry worker only wants a filling meal, who does he thank? That"s how I have my power. If you were to worship me, then what could I do for you?"

Gia paused before she jumped in with her answer. He was right. Just because he was a G.o.d, didn"t mean that he was a G.o.d she could worship. What could he offer to her? Her future, with her family, didn"t intend to be living in a bar. There might not even be a bar where they finally settled down and built their home. But… he was a G.o.d!

"I don"t know," she finally answered in a subdued voice.

"You have a wonderful family, and a very good future ahead of you," he said with a soft smile. "Think about what you"ve learned today, and when we meet again, we can discuss it. You have a wedding to attend!"

With a nod Gia turned towards Juniper as she rushed back into the room.

"Are you almost done with the dress?" asked Bob before Gia could say anything else. "The guests are all a.s.sembled, and the cleric is waiting. I"m going to take the rest of the family down to get in place. I think you have a few more minutes if you need them."

"I only have a few more st.i.tches, and then we"ll be down," said Juniper, jumping towards Gia"s dress with a savagery that almost caused her to jump back in alarm.

Bob winked at her from the door, with the seamstress"s back to him, before slipping out of the room.

He was a G.o.d! Gia had known there was no way so many innkeepers could have the same name. Should she tell the rest of her family? What he had said about not needing worshippers still nagged at her. How could a G.o.d turn down another worshipper? Granted, you were supposed to worship a G.o.d who could grant you something, and he couldn"t grant her anything. Honestly, she didn"t worship a G.o.d, because she hadn"t thought about it before. What should she do?

"There! All done! Let"s get you properly married to that young man of yours!" exclaimed Juniper, back to her cheerful self.

Gia smiled. Vonn was waiting for her in his uncomfortable outfit, that made him look as handsome as a prince. The tailor had even trimmed his hair, so he looked very neat and prim. She couldn"t wait to put her arm in his and stand before everyone to proclaim her love for him. They would be a proper married couple!

Her breath caught in her throat at the thought, and the halfling woman grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. Stepping into the huge room reserved for such gatherings, her heart leapt into her throat as hundreds of eyes turned to see her in her new dress. Her father was standing at the door, looking chipper in his new clothes.

Wiping a tear from his face, Tom said, "I never thought I would actually get to see you in a wedding dress."