"I'd like to marry her," Rusty confidently declares in the middle of the wedding, while holding Aster's hand up in the air.
How did we get here? How dare my own brother do this right before my freaking- I'm going to kill him.
+
I look at Max's cheeks getting tighter, while forcing his smile as he realises that his dad wasn't here. It was just his mom alongside Dad, who come down the helicopter.
"He could-"
"-I don't want to hear it, Sam," Max sighs. "Stop… defending him."
Max just walks away, and Mrs. Blasthe looks this way, helplessly. Even Dad has a look of pity up his face, Mr. Blasthe had messed up bad here. His own son's wedding.
"He has to watch over Alta," Dad shrugs.
"He has to also be there for his son's wedding."
"I'll go talk with Max," Mrs. Blasthe says.
"Excuse me," Vyanah says, appearing out of nowhere, and handing Mrs. Blasthe a berry. "I'm sure it is a sweet one, even when I didn't bite into it like Shabari."
"It is a tradition, giving sweet to guests," I explain. "And the Shabari part is basically part of their mythology."
Vyanah looks at Dad. "I couldn't give you last time, so here is two of them," he hands Dad two similar berries. "One of them is sour, let's see if you can find the sweeter one."
Dad just eats both of them at a time, and Vyanah still looks impressed.
"Gillian Elz trained me, kid."
"That was quite dumb," I say.
"Actually both are sweet."
"Of course. It is tradition… I obviously wouldn't give a sour one, that was the test."
"Vyanah… don't you have training?"
"Oh, Line and Tony asked me to greet the guests for them, that's why the berries. Because they can't travel so far… but they'll be here for the wedding."
"Yeah, or I'm keeping Tyle."
Vyanah transforms in a second and already flies further away from us.
"He is a pretty dragon. Literally, I haven't seen a prettier dragon I mean," Mrs. Blasthe says in awe.
"Don't look for too long. And your son's mad and a red dragon, Mrs. Blasthe."
"I'll go find him before he decides to roast his father up."
+
"You couldn't wait?" I mouth to Rusty and Aster.
"I suppose we'll have two sets of vows then," the priest tells.
No wonder she asked for Tony to be the bride's maid, in her stead. Not like Tony was bad or distant, but… I was honestly pissed off that Aster rejected to be there beside me… and for this, wow. They both are dying in my hands.
"Guess I'll be best man for the both," the best man, Tarragon, says.
"And same goes for us," Fara, my second bride's maid, says.
Fara and I had gotten close… maybe seeing such a thing, Sam, the first one, had finally stopped with her threats. Now that the actual Max and Sam… destined to be together… to cause chaos, have been separated… a little hiccup in the wedding shouldn't be too bad.
"Do both grooms, Maxwell Blasthe and Rustizen Villers, take their respective brides, Samantha Villers and Caroline Aster," Caroline glares at me for having told the priest to say this, "as their forever partner, through the soaring skies and extending land?"
"I do," both the grooms say.
"Do you, Samantha Villers and Caroline Aster, take your respective grooms, Maxwell Blasthe and Rustizen Villers, as your forever partner through both the petals of a rose and its thorns?"
"I do," Aster first says, and I feel everyone's eyes look towards me.
"I do, and swear to break the thorns before they can hurt you."
Everybody awes to that, and I see the priest give a smirk and an impressed scoff-of-respect.
"Then I only hope that what remains of the rose is just the love you have for each other. Maybe with dents on the stem, but unwavering yet. Then, I call upon the gods of the heavens to look at you and bless you with their grace, as you declare your love-passionately with a kiss."
As if we were touch-starved and waiting, the four of us move and kiss our forever partner – as the world, the heavens, and also a possible hell present out there, watches us.
"Till death do part, may your love wither only when the heavens fall apart. This day on; the pairs, Maxwell Blasthe and Samantha Villers, and Rustizen Villers and Caroline Aster, are declared upon, by the guidance of the prowess given to me, as Husband and Wife."
This way, the poorly dressed-for-the-occasion couple, and us, dance to the music while hand-in-hand and lost in the eyes of each other, while unknown to the tune of the music playing.
"Here we are," Max says.
"Quite some hiccups," I laugh softly.
"Yeah, like you messing-up my last name."
"Wha…t?"
"Yes, it is Blesthe, honey. Quite weird that you still don't know. Thought the poetic priest messed up. How come you forgot your own last name now?"
"HA… then maybe it calls for the second option of you taking my surname instead."
"Hmm… maybe the one who wins tonight," Max teases me.
"Mm, why the challenge… when both could come out victorious tonight?" I ask and peck his lips.
"I like that… no wonder I married you."
"No… I married you. Remember?"
Of course, I proposed to him.
Max just chuckles and we continue dancing and kissing a little, without letting go of the moment, even if it was only a start of the night.
***
"Rustizen Villers, are you out of your mind? You better tell her that you were just making the dumbest of jokes possible by a-"
"-stop," I say, halting Crystal-cave's words. "I have thought it through. Aster deserves to know."
"That she is destined to be with another person? That you have stolen this person's spotlight already, and now wish to wed her?"
"I stole the spotlight? You pushed me there!"
Crystal-cave doesn't speak a word, and I move to try and leave.
"I apologise for my words… But I don't think you understand well, the chaos at hand."
"Chaos is to be dealt with will. Or by tactics of the smart, but not the treachery of the wicked. You wouldn't get what a human feels."
"I'm aware. I have failed once, and been abandoned here, to judge without emotions, of what is right. But I suppose while I try to stop what is wrong… My methods in themselves aren't right, to the eyes with emotion. Empirah was right, that I couldn't ever fathom."
"It doesn't have to be at bad terms… You need to understand, we both are in love. And no destiny can change how both of us feel, Crystal-cave. Let me talk to her."
And with no response, even when I tend to move… I leave, and find myself back in front of a baffled Aster.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm… The reincarnation of the first Sam?" Aster still seems caught up on that. "Rusty… Do you understand how crazy you sound right now? All that… Love… It feels… Forced."
"I don't know if you will trust me this moment, but… I loved you… Way before any of this. I'm sure, that is why I was caught up in such a twisted fate. But all that… I never forced it. I lived by it."
"So… this will stop Rahambose?"
"We hope for that."
"Does… Sam know?"
"You are the only other person who knows. Because I think you deserve to know. I need you to understand that… I'm not some jerk who did this to steal some spotlight. If you think I did… Any of this wrong, I'm okay to loving you from far. I only want you to be happy."
"In that case… Let's not talk about this until I bring it up… Okay?" Aster asks, and I just look at her, without answering. "Let's get married… Before I start having second thoughts."
That being the last words with her until the agreeing to getting married… we dance, silently.
"I don't have second thoughts," Aster says.
"What?"
"I… love you."
I smile, and she faintly smiles too… but we don't stop dancing. Because this moment may yet be the end of it all. The night seemed to be coming to an end.
***
"Some wedding," I say to Tar, while sipping wine. "If it was Parz in place of Ivor, he may have exploded."
"The Rusty and Aster part sure was weird. But aren't we past guessing Parzival's exaggerated reaction?"
"True, but look at you, defending my husband."
"Yeah," Tar scoffs.
Ivor arrives with a girl… Fara, wasn't she the Prophet of the dragons? Must be her, the young lass who could touch death and come back to life.
"I hope the wedding didn't seem like a bore," Fara says.
"Not at all, it was lovely. Simple, yet lovely. Max would have preferred it, I assume."
"You sure know your son very well," Fara laughs. "I'm Fara, in case it feels like a random person trying to chat up to you."
"No, I know you. I'm Minerva."
"Yes, of course I heard of you. Max… well, the three talk highly of you."
"I'm sure Rusty would have. He and I… well, he used to rat Max out a lot. Made me understand my own son."
"So that's how that kid is," Tar scoffs.
"Fara… what about Rahambose?"
"What about him?" Ivor asks. "The… the chaos guy, right? Fara told me, yeah, back then. Heard quite a… well, why are we talking of him?"
"I'm their prophet but… they are the prophecy. They'll be fine."
"That's a lovely way of putting it, dear. Thank you."
"All these… I wonder what happens next," Tar says in awe, while looking at them dance.
I look at Tar, and holding myself back, I still start speaking. "I know the answer, but it isn't family friendly. Though… it DOES make families."
Tar sucks in air through his teeth, while looking into space.
"Crickets," Ivor says, trying to push away something invisible from near his ear.
Fara seems to be holding back laughter.
"Well, next is that I need to drop Minerva to her home. On the helicopter. At night," Ivor says, clearing his throat.
"We could go tomorrow," I shrug.
"But Parz…"
"He is a big man."
"Food?"
"Fridge."
"Alta?"
"What about him? Your home, he'll stay there."
"Us?"
"Dragons LIVE here. Bed, food, and even two dragons soaring the sky, we are safe."
"Fine… but this one is your responsibility."