My heart skipped, and the next mystic rang a wind chime. We’d gone over all of this in rehearsal last night, but I wasstill worried I’d forget something. There were so many Elvish religious rites to learn, and I’d far from mastered them all.
But the words came naturally to me as I said, “I speak to the west, for you are my last twilight, my final ending.”
A mystic played a light tune on her flute. Charlie said, “I speak to the north, for you are my everlasting winter, my place of home.”
The last mystic shook a tambourine, and I added, “I speak to the south, for you are my eternal summer, my passion burning.”
When the circle was complete, the mystics drew away, and Hemlock said, “The protective circle has been cast. For those that came before, and those who are yet to be, for all the spirits that walk this realm, and all that roam in the Blessed Haven, for all who have come to bear witness today; receive this union, and give it all your blessings. You two who have come to be joined, all life is an endless circle. You will journey together through this life and under the stars until you come to live amongst them with your ancestors in a land forevermore. Your family, your friends, and your people will provide a strong foundation for your marriage. Will you lean on them, and take sacredly the vows you are about to speak?”
“We will be faithful in our love, and our will to remain as one,” Charlie and I recited in unison. He squeezed my hands, and a flood of warm emotion rushed through my torso. Even now, it was so hard to believe we were doing this. I was shaking.
“Times of abundance will come, as well as times of trouble,” Hemlock said. “Charles, do you vow to take Ava-Marie as your wife, to celebrate with her your victories and carry her sorrows, to share your wealth and come together in poverty, comforting her in illness and rejoicing in health, believing in faith and braving through doubt? Do you vow to be honest and always offer your forgiveness, knowing you cannot wound her part of your soul without harming your own as well, enduring by herside, forsaking all others, for now and forever, until this life shall end and you join together in another?”
“I do,” Charlie said sincerely. His voice nearly trembled as he said the words, and I felt a great wave of love wash over me like the ocean at sunset.
“And Ava-Marie,” Hemlock began. My spirit flipped inside my chest. “Do you accept Charles to be the husband of your heart, to celebrate with him your victories and carry his sorrows, to share your wealth and come together in poverty, comforting him in illness and rejoicing in health, believing in faith and braving through doubt? Do you vow to be honest and always offer your forgiveness, knowing you cannot wound his part of your soul without harming your own as well, enduring by his side, forsaking all others, for now and forever, until this life shall end and you join together in another?”
“I do,” I whispered. Another tear slipped out of Charlie’s eyes, and I saw his lip quiver.
Hemlock’s voice went a little dry as she said, “Do you, Ava-Marie, vow to submit to your husband, to give to him your obedience and heart, following his headship and commands, remaining devoted in all things?”
“I will,” I replied.
“And Charles, do you vow to protect, defend, and lead your wife, becoming her sanctuary, building a home to keep her safe, laying your life down for hers in every circumstance, swearing to never abandon her side?” Hemlock asked. She nearly rolled her eyes, but resisted, ancestors bless her.
“I will,” Charlie promised.
We’d added this part in, at the disapproval of Hemlock and despite the scowling of the mystics. This was our damn wedding, after all. We’d followed all the traditions, but this was one small addition to our vows that we’d written ourselves and wanted to keep, so the temple was going to have to learn to live with it.Nobody else had to understand what it meant, but we did, and it was special to us.
“We shall now commence with the making of the bridal spell,” Hemlock said. A mystic brought a small pillar before her, topped with a silver bowl. The mystic combined dried rose buds, cinnamon, rosemary, and raspberry leaves, crushing them together and mixing as one.
“These herbs provide romance, abundance, protection, and fertility for your marriage,” Hemlock said. “Grown from the earth, they contain the deep magic that will bind this marriage in sanctity.”
She spooned the dried mixture into two small pouches, tying the ends and handing them to us. “Keep them in your pockets— Charles’ on the left, and Ava-Marie’s on the right. After the wedding day is done, tuck them someplace safe, and treasure them until the end of your days, until the satchels are buried with you when you are returned to the ground.”
Both Charlie and I slipped the satchels into our respective pockets— which my dress had, by the way. They only made it cooler. The satchel felt heavy in my pocket, weighed with both hope and responsibility.
“We will now exchange the rings,” Hemlock stated. She looked at Marcus, who hurried her way. He tripped before he got there and nearly dropped them. I gasped, but he caught them at the last second as a blush spread across his face.
Hemlock shook her head. Marcus gave my ring to Charlie, and his ring to me, before dipping out of there as quickly as he could. Charlie took my hand in his softly, and I noticed his grip was a little unsteady.
“I give you this ring as a reminder of my everlasting commitment to you,” Charlie said, and he placed the ring gently onto my hand with trembling fingers. “Our love has nobeginning and no end. I choose you as my love, the lost piece of my soul, to live as one everlasting.”
I slipped Charlie’s ring on, absent of nearly all thought except how perfect this moment was. “I give you this ring as a reminder of my everlasting commitment to you. Our love has no beginning and no end. I choose you as my love, the lost piece of my soul, to live as one everlasting.”
Hemlock smiled as I finished the promise, and my brother came up from the back of the groomsmen line. Ezekiel was carrying an old vase, painted with Hawkei designs that had two spouts. The vase had been used at my parents’ wedding, and was one of the few things they’d saved from Kinpago.
“The bride and groom are not only Elves, but also Hawkei,” Hemlock said to the congregation. “Therefore, some Hawkei traditions have been incorporated into this ceremony, to honor the ancestors and the heritage of these two individuals. In Hawkei tradition, the bride and groom drink tea from a vase with two spouts, symbolizing the separate lives of the bride and groom, uniting into one. In Elvish, the bride and groom drink sweetened wine from one goblet. This tradition from both sides will be united, as the couple will now take a shared drink of Elvish wine from a traditional Hawkei wedding vase.”
Charlie took the vase from Hemlock as she said, “Drink carefully, my dear.”
He tipped it back, and I took a sip. The wine was delicious— I wanted more the moment I tasted it. It was symbolic of my desire for Charlie, and how I’d never be able to quench my thirst for him no matter how much time passed. Charlie drank from the vase, then handed it back to Ez after we’d polished off every drop.
Ez was near weeping, and his lip trembled as he whispered, “Love you, big sis.”
I smiled fondly at him, and he took the vase away as Hemlock raised her hands. “Ava-Marie’s grandmothers have come together to make a wedding quilt for the couple,” she said. “The quilt shares the couple’s wedding colors and features the intricate design of infinity knots. In Elvish culture, these knots symbolize an everlasting loop, a reminder that we are connected to nature and each other in an eternal cycle that will always bring us back to each other. This quilt will be placed on the shoulders of the couple and wrapped around them, to signify they are creating a new home, making a new family, and are forever bound together.”
Grandmother Eleanor and Grandma Haloke came up from the pews. Suspended between them was a gorgeous, hand-stitched quilt featuring a variety of intricate Elvish knots. This was the surprise my grandma had hinted at. The designs seemed never-ending and flowed into each other, until I couldn’t tell where the design began or ended.
