All doubts and fears were swept away.
The ceremony proved to be an exercise in endurance for Jelena, despite its supposed simplicity. After well over an hour of kneeling, her muscles began to ache so much she feared she would be unable to move once released from the posture of supplication before the altar of the Goddess.
The priestess, an elderly woman dressed entirely in white, intoned the prayers in a throaty, singsong contralto. A bluish-gray cloud of incense hovered overhead, and the pungent aroma in the close room, combined with the discomfort of her body, made Jelena light-headed. She could feel herself swaying on her knees and prayed that she would not topple over.
She knew she was supposed to keep her eyes down during this part of the ceremony, but she couldn’t resist a quick glance at Ashinji. Dressed in emerald green and gold-his favored colors for formal attire-he appeared perfectly composed, eyes cast reverently downwards, hands folded in his lap. A detailed representation of a willow tree adorned the back of his robe. The same emerald-studded clip Jelena had first seen him wear on the day of Misune’s arrival at Kerala bound his hair. The only other jewelry he wore were the gold military service rings in his left ear.
Jelena looked down at her own hands clasped demurely before her and tried to concentrate on the deeper meaning of the prayers, but she found it difficult to understand the words-intoned in classical High Siri-dar-of a language no longer spoken in everyday conversation.
Jelena inhaled sharply.
The priestess came forward, a small gold vial in her hand. She raised the vial and decanted three drops of oil onto her index finger and traced a sigil on Ashinji’s brow. She then repeated the same upon Jelena’s forehead. Next, she went back to the altar and returned with twin bracelets of twisted gold, one in each hand. She touched each bracelet to her lips, then indicated that the bride and groom should hold out their right wrists. She slipped a bracelet first on Jelena, then Ashinji.
The priestess laid her hands on the tops of their heads and intoned the final prayers. She then stepped back and smiled, gesturing for the two of them to stand.
Ashinji rose first and bent to assist Jelena, who had to stifle a groan as her abused muscles protested. Stiffly, she turned with Ashinji to face her new family.
Lord and Lady Sakehera stepped forward to embrace her. “You are our daughter now,” Sen murmured as he kissed her cheek. Next came Lani, cool and beautiful in blue, the twins flanking her. Lani embraced her and whispered, “Welcome Sister,” and the twins shyly presented her with a bunch of yellow irises.
A strange sensation of unreality gripped her, as if everything that had just come to pass had happened to another girl whom she now watched from the windows of her eyes. Only when Sadaiyo and Misune came forward did she finally come back into herself.
“ Welcome to the family… Sister,” Sadaiyo said. He leaned forward as if to kiss her on the lips and instinctively, Jelena recoiled. At the same time, Ashinji stepped between her and his brother. Sadaiyo simply shrugged and offered an insolent bow instead.
“ Well, I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m starving. Let’s go eat,” Lord Sen directed, and if he noticed the tense moment between his two sons, he pretended not to. He took the arm of his wife, and led the way back to the family’s living quarters.
The family, along with the priestess who had performed the ceremony, celebrated the marriage quietly in the large sitting room where they always gathered for communal meals. Jelena had been obliged to thank and bid farewell to Gendan, Kami, and Aneko at the chapel door. Before she had departed, Kami had whispered a quick invitation to Jelena and Ashinji for her own nuptials to Gendan, to be held a week hence. Jelena had joyfully accepted.
Jelena and Ashinji ate their first meal as husband and wife from the same plate, symbolizing the new unity of their lives. Jelena drank freely of the sweet, light wine decanted especially for the occasion, but left the strong, dark beer strictly to Ashinji and his father and brother. The only other time she could remember being so happy was on the morning she had awakened in Ashinji’s bed for the first time. Not even Sadaiyo’s subtly mocking presence could spoil her mood. She was beyond his reach now, and forever.
When, at last, the meal ended and Lord and Lady Sakehera gave them their final blessing, it seemed as if their feet couldn’t move fast enough. They had been apart for almost two weeks, and their need for each other had become nearly unbearable.
With much giggling and unsteadiness-they were both a little tipsy from too much drink-the newlyweds made their way back to what would now be their shared private quarters. As soon as Ashinji shut and barred the door behind them, Jelena began pulling at the laces of her wedding robes, desperate to be free of the confining garments.
“ No, wait,” Ashinji whispered. Gently, he caught up her hands in his and pressed them to her sides. “I wish to be the one to unwrap my bride…slowly,” he bent to kiss her neck, “…one layer at a time.” Jelena shivered at the soft touch of his lips on the delicate skin of her throat. She sighed and let her head fall back, her entire body swaying now to the slow beat of rising passion.
Ashinji first removed the ivory combs from her hair, laying them down on the room’s only table, mindful even now of how precious they were to his new wife. The blue Kara necklace followed, along with the griffin signet ring. Next, he unwound the sash from around her waist and tossed it aside. Both outer robes then slipped to the floor, leaving Jelena clad only in her sheer undertunic. Here Ashinji paused to remove his own wedding robes. As they slid off his shoulders to the floor, he shoved them back with his foot and stepped forward to enfold Jelena in his arms.
They stood thus for several heartbeats, each drinking in the other’s unique scent, reveling in the sensation of a shared embrace. Then Ashinji swept Jelena up and carried her across the room to the bed.
The sun had not yet set, so the windows had been shuttered and the room lit with the soft yellow glow of brass lanterns. Ashinji sat Jelena down on the edge of the bed and knelt before her.
“ I know you’ve never allowed yourself to believe that this day would ever come, but see…” he covered her hands with his, “Here it is. You are my wife, I am your husband…and nothing can ever change that. I will love you forever.” He touched a finger tip first to the bracelet on her wrist, then to the one on his, the symbols of their union.
Jelena nodded mutely, too overcome to speak. A single tear spilled over the rim of her lashes, quivered there but an instant, then fell to splash the back of Ashinji’s sun-browned hand.
“ You think you’re not worthy of me, but it is I who am the unworthy one. Every day I give thanks to the One for granting me the gift of your love…Every day, Jelena!” Tenderly, he removed her slippers, bent his head to kiss the top of each foot in turn, then stood and removed the last of his clothing.
Jelena inhaled sharply at the sight of Ashinji’s naked body. Though she had seen him in arousal before, now her eyes took him in with a newer, deeper perspective. Her own sacred center answered the call of his desire with a rush of fire through her loins. Eagerly, she wriggled free of her undertunic, and with a sigh, she lay back onto the bed-soft as a cloud-and welcomed her husband into her embrace.
Their lovemaking was fierce, joyous, tender, magical. At the moment of climax, something happened, something near mystical in intensity; later on, when Jelena tried to put it into words, she could find none that were adequate. It felt as if her consciousness and Ashinji’s had merged, and for a time, they shared a co-mingled
