“Come on!” he yells and grabs her hand as he races up the stairs. When they reach the third floor landing, they hear the person on the stairs below, rounding the second floor landing on their way up to the third.
Running down the hallway, he fumbles in his pocket for the key. Beside him, Meliana begins to grow fearful. Arriving at the door, he mumbles “Come on!” to himself as he quickly tries to find the key. Just as he plucks it from his pocket, Jiron appears on the third floor landing.
“James!” he yells.
James thrusts the key into the lock and opens the door. Practically throwing Meliana inside, he closes the door just as Jiron hits it from the outside.
“Open that door!” Jiron yells.
Placing his back against the door, James keeps it closed. “No!” he yells. “Go away.”
“But it’s custom!” Jiron yells through the door.
“Not for me it isn’t,” replies James. Then he throws the bolt and for good measure, seals the door with magic. He turns to see Meliana’s face alight with amusement. “What?” he asks.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“James! You’ve got to let me do this!” Jiron yells.
Ignoring Jiron’s attempts to gain entry, he comes to his bride. “What’s so funny?” he asks again.
“Miko told me about what happened at Rylin’s wedding,” she says. Then she giggles at his expense. “Go away Jiron,” she yells through the door, “I think that particular tradition ends here tonight.”
Jiron bangs one more time on the door before a very undignified giggle causes him to turn his attention to the stairwell. There he finds the High Priest of Morcyth with a tart in one hand, berry juice dotting his right cheek and giggling. Grinning himself, he moves down the hallway to Miko. Then together they head downstairs and leave the newlyweds to each other.
