"Here is a quill and some ink and the nice parchment for your vows. Would you like the preacher to come tonight or tomorrow?" her mother asked when she'd returned from the next room with the supplies.
"Tonight"- Tralis said not wanting to give his fox time to slip away. Besides he wanted it over with before he got his sense back.
"Tomorrow," Nieka said at the same time.
"Tonight," Tralis said again. "I must leave at dawn as planned". Since he was in charge of the little company to bring her to the castle he could delay the trip if he saw fit, but he didn't feel the need to divulge that information. Besides he was in a rush to get her safely back to the castle.
"Very well," the girl's mother said smiling "I'll leave you to it." She left with a skip in her step. Well at least one of them was happy.
When they were alone Nieka asked. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me by giving up your future with some girl who might actually want to marry you? I won't be a real wife to you and as long as I'm alive you won't get to have a real wife and kids?"
"I'm not giving anything up. I'm not the marrying type," he said automatically because he didn't feel he was giving anything up, besides what girl out there was as amazing as the one before him? He had never wanted a wife, never wanted the responsibility of it, yet now... he hoped that someday she'd change her mind about him and want to be his wife.
"You don't ever want a real wife and maybe kids someday?"
"I work too much to ever meet girls, let alone court or marry one so it's of no matter to me." She looked at him expectantly with a raised eyebrow, she wasn't buying it, or at least not satisfied with that answer.
"Fine, I like working. I don't like talking to or listening to girls. Besides, any that have met me other than my family hate me. Not that I mind, I dislike them about as much."
"Should I even ask?"
"Probably not; something about me being rude, heartless, selfish, and a bigot with no respect for women, nothing you don't know already." He said with a grin.
"Fair enough... and what about kids are you ok with never having them?"
"There are more kids at that castle than I can deal with as it is." It was an honest answer if just a little misleading. A few weeks ago he could have honestly said, I never want a wife or kids but now he had to admit he wanted her and with her he wasn't sure of much. Nieka searched his face for a long moment before she nodded and silently led him to the kitchen table where parchment, pen, and ink lay waiting.
For the next few hours, They bickered about what to include or exclude from their contract. She was getting very detailed in the can's and can not's of their arrangement, specifically touching her, telling anyone they were married, preventing her from fighting. He had to lay out a few exceptions and put in a few demands of his own to make sure her parents, the army and himself were all getting something they wanted.
Nieka wrote down the agreed-upon conditions as they debated and he reformed pieces of chain mail with needle nose pliers. However, he would have to keep checking over what she wrote and how she wrote it because she was sly in her wording as she tried to sneak in loopholes for herself. After only an hour they had agreed on three pages worth of guidelines just to fight over the last section entitled 'consequences to breaches in contract'.
When her father came back he had the preacher, along with the preacher's wife and daughter with him. The preacher's wife helped Mrs. Stratum with the quilt and his daughter cooked dinner for all of them. Her father started packing her dowry and important belongings and the preacher sat down with them. He offered to help them with their 'vows' which just turned out to be settling disagreements and acting as mediator.
After a long and frustrating half hour where Tralis inwardly questioned his sanity and why Nieka was doing this at least a hundred times, it was finally done. Neither of them had anything left to add. They had come to an agreement, and though they didn't always get exactly what they each wanted on all the points they had fought about they came to what they both agreed was a fair compromise. SHe seemed even more shocked about it than him.
"Well, I didn't believe we'd get this far but here we are... I guess that means I'll marry you," she said with a resigned sigh.
He felt like shouting 'yes!' to the sky but instead, he forced himself to focus on the links in his hands as a distraction. He didn't say anything because he didn't trust his voice or his current ability to choose his words wisely. He didn't even trust his face at that moment so he refused to look over at her; as tempting as it was to see her expression, it wasn't worth the risk of what his might accidentally reveal.
The priest began to draw up a second copy of their long-winded contract so they could each have one and then the official marriage license which he made five copies of. There was nothing left for the two of them to do now and Nieka was quickly growing antsy. Probably desperate for a way out.
All that would be left to do after the priest got done scribing would be to get the minimum five signatures on each document: his, hers, the priests, a witness that would vouch for her, and a witness that would vouch for him… but who could he ask to swear on his character and word?
It wouldn't be right to ask any of the strangers here because they didn't really know him. He didn't want to ask Thorn because what if Thorn volunteered to take his place? And what if Nieka liked that idea? He should give them a chance, give her a choice, but for some selfish reason he couldn't explain, he didn't want to.
She wasn't even his and yet he was afraid to lose her. It didn't make sense so he pushed it from his mind. He'd ask Hawk he decided and he knew just how to do it without notifying anyone else of the situation.
Pocketing his chains and pliers he stood and said. "Why don't we go outside? Some fresh air would be nice and maybe you could find something to keep yourself busy?" She nodded and stood looking relieved instead of peeved.
Once outside he watched the girl pick up fallen apples to press for cider he took out one of his throwing knives and rocked it back and forth between his fingers. To most, it would appear he was fiddling but once he got the angle just right he sent three rapid flashes into the trees at the end of the fields where his men were camping. Then he waited for a response.