Chapter 149: Joining Ceremony

As it turned out, there wasn’t much wedding work left for Arthur and Lily happily bounced away to join the bride’s group. Once he had unleashed the moms on the task, they went to work. And once they were done, they did it all again. By the time Arthur was back in Coldbrook, there was coat after coat of mom-work paint over the whole project. Every aspect of it was completed, re-completed, tied with a bow, and shipped out.

Just the flowers alone were a good example of what they had done. Some enterprising mom had gone out into the woods and found dozens of varieties of flowers. That would have been fine, good even, but a farmer-class mom had stolen the flowers, planted them, and used majicka to make them grow much faster than conventional methods allowed. And so, they now had so many flowers that even Milo was commenting on them.

“I can’t believe they lined the entire damn stairway with flowers,” Milo said. “There must be hundreds, maybe even thousands. They could have fed a city for a day with what they spent on this.”

“Oh, probably.” Arthur led his friend through the flower-lined altitude climb with a resigned attitude. He had tried to get the moms to show some restraint, but they hadn’t wanted to. That seemed like their business now. “But it’s nice, right? It looks good.”

“Yes. I do have to hand it to them,” Milo said. “It’s very tasteful.”

As they crested the top of the stairs, it was suddenly clear that the stairs had simply been overflow effort from the main event. At the top, they were greeted by dozens and dozens of simple chairs set alongside the aisle, which someone had painted with an intricate blue-and-white weaved pattern. Above them stretched narrow wooden arches bearing endless vines and flowers. And somehow, the moms managed to bridge the gap between a full outdoors experience and an intricate ballroom by lining the space with staggered groups of wooden panels, each painted in soft colors and set far enough apart that there was still a view of the ocean and town.

“So, you ready?” Arthur asked.

Milo took a deep breath.

“As ready as I’ll be. Let's go,” Milo said.

The band continued playing a soft, sweet tune as Arthur, Milo, and the rest of the groom’s party took their places at the front. They settled in, waiting for the bride.

“Where is she?” Milo bounced on his toes a bit. “It’s been like a half hour.”

“It’s been thirty seconds,” Minos said.

“Tops,” Spiky laughed. “Take a breath so you don’t pass out. She’ll be here.”

The band, which was situated closer to the stairway, suddenly transitioned from the slow song they had been playing to another one entirely. Arthur had done his best to hum the wedding march at them, with limited success, and had given them free rein to do what they could. While they had got the general theme, the resulting song was a much different experience than any version he had heard on Earth, softer and smoother than what he was expecting. He liked it, and reassured himself that if it wasn’t quite correct music, nobody would know but him.

The bridesmaids made their way down the aisle one by one, until Mizu, Onna, and Lily were in line opposite Minos, Spiky, Arthur, and Milo. Lily had initially been tapped on the shoulder to be a flower girl, but had found out it was a traditionally little-girl position and had firmly refused to be treated as a juvenile in that way. Karra, bless her, had heard there was an opening and jumped at the chance to fill Lily’s tiny shoes. She now came down the aisle herself, gigantic and beautiful, throwing flowers this way and that with a huge grin on her face before finally taking a seat.

Arthur was pretty sure some of this was happening out of order, or just wrong entirely. It still felt right.

And then the bride arrived. Rhodia usually dressed in a utilitarian way, favoring clothes and hairstyles that were casual enough that she could go from work to play and play to work without changing her get-up to be more appropriate. That was all out the window today. She was in a long dress, one that was clearly new and made for the occasion. It was white and the lightest of blue woven together to make something that complemented the overall brownness of her complexion. And it was set by carefully braided hair that made her look like a completely different version of herself, one that for one afternoon would emphasize beauty over function.

Milo looked at her, gawked, and subconsciously reached up to smooth his mussed hair one more time. It made things worse. Rhodia choked back a laugh and made her way up the flower-strewn aisle, her husband-to-be’s eyes locked on her the entire time. Finally, she was there, taking her place in front of her supportive friends and joining gazes with Milo as they waited for the officiant to begin.

And then continued to wait. Arthur realized, with horror, that he had not actually ever finalized the officiant for the event. He had assumed Itela would do it, hers being the most priestly class in the town at that time. She was doing the demon world joining ceremony, of course, but he had never actually asked her to do this, or explained to her the kinds of things she would say. And it was too late now to ask her.

“Uh… guys,” Arthur said. “I might have messed up.”

“Oh?” Milo said, barely paying attention as he continued to look at his almost-a-wife. “How so?”

“Officiant. Forgot to get one.” Arthur blushed furiously. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, that,” Rhodia said. “You’re doing that. Who else would do it?”

“Yeah.” Milo nodded. “Stop being weird and get up there.”

“But I’m the best man!”

“And the talker-guy who does the thing.” Rhodia tried her best not to laugh at Arthur’s distress. “Just do it. You can handle both. I promise.”

Arthur’s mind flashed over various officiant-type things to say, quickly ruling out dearly beloved and similar stuff. Nobody would have context for it. He’d just have to wing it. Gulping, he exited his place behind Milo and walked to the front, beneath the biggest and most ornate of the arches.

“Hello, residents and friends of Coldbrook,” Arthur said. “And friends and family of Milo and Rhodia.”

The audience responded with a cheer, which wasn’t wedding-standard at all but he decided to let ride as a fine-enough adaptation to Earth customs.

“Joining was a big deal back on Earth. It’s two people deciding to live their lives together. Their entire lives. Forever.” The size of that commitment hit Arthur once again. It was a huge thing. “And on Earth, a lot of people thought of it as even more than that. That it was, in some ways, the creation of a single life together, a combination of two people into one. That their dreams would combine and their goals would be unified.”

Milo and Rhodia, for all he knew, weren’t even listening. Their eyes were locked on each other.

“Back home, someone doing what I’m doing now would offer advice now. They’d talk about how to get along, how to make things last. I don’t have advice like that. I’m too young. But to the extent I have anything to say, it’s to be who you are. Keep growing, of course, but be the people you both fell in love with. And when you grow, grow closer together.”

Arthur was suddenly aware that, if he didn’t watch it, he’d babble for hours. Short ceremonies, he reminded himself, were good. He probably should wrap this up. “And do whatever it takes, no matter how big and hard, to take care of each other. I’ve seen you two together. I know that what you have, whatever it becomes, will be perfect. Milo, do you have the bracelets?”

Without Daisy and Rumble bringing the bracelets down the aisle, Milo had kept the jewelry in his pock. The sparrow-demon reached into his very boring non-bear pocket and pulled out both of them, giving one to Rhodia.

“These bracelets aren’t magic. They are just… a sign. Something you can feel on your wrist as a reminder that you have someone who said they will do their best to love you, forever. Milo, could you say your vows?”

Milo worked his wife’s bracelet through his hands as he took a deep breath and forced himself to start speaking.

“It’s pretty much what Arthur said. I don’t know anything about being a husband, really. It’s not something I could have practiced. I just know that I’ll do anything, anything at all, to make you happy. To be enough for you, forever,” Milo said slowly.

Rhodia’s eyes started watering.

“And Rhodia, your vows?” Arthur asked.

“Milo, you sometimes talk like I’m the best thing that ever happened to you. And I feel the same. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. We get to be happy, and to make someone else happy, and it doesn’t really cost anything. I’m sure there will be work, but it’s… good work. It’s the kind of work you get to choose to do.” Rhodia’s voice quivered a little, and she took a big breath to steady herself. “You are enough for me. And I think, if I try very hard, I can be enough for you. Forever. I promise to try.”

Arthur was suddenly aware of being caught in the middle of a very intense moment, of standing over something real and powerful. The most he could do, he thought, was to say what was happening, and get out of the way.

“And that’s the most we can say. The most anyone can promise.” Arthur looked at his friends and smiled. “At least as far as Earth is concerned, you are now joined, and all of us bear witness to that. There will be more ceremony later, but for now, I’m glad to be the first to introduce you as man and wife. Milo, could you kiss the bride?”

Milo didn’t have to be asked twice, but he almost missed the opportunity as Rhodia moved towards him just as fast. The town looked on and cheered.

“All right!” Itela stood and yelled. “That’s Earth covered. Now it’s time for the Demon World’s way. Grab them, everyone!”

The crowd rushed forward, lifted Milo and Rhodia to their shoulders, and brought them down to the center of the aisle. Chairs were shoved out of the way as everyone gathered towards them.

“These two young people want to be joined, and nobody has the right to stop them.” Itela’s voice boomed above the crowd. “So they are joined! If you saw it, let us know.”

The crowd roared.

“Great! They are now joined. Let’s party!”

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Read Chapter 150 (Epilogue) Now at SnowingPine.com!

https://snowingpine.com/fictions/demon-world-boba-shop/chapter/150