The wedding took place after the people were calm enough to witness it.
Father and the entire witnesses were surprised about my choice. They don't understand why I asked for a duel with the devil only to end up getting married to him.
"Concentrate. You're making it seem as if I'm forcing you to get married to me." The devil whispers.
Looking at him, you won't even know he fought with me. There's no mark on his body, nothing to show he was once wounded.
He looks normal. Not a scratch on him.
"Of course, I'm being forced to go through with this wedding. Don't think I willingly did so."
Had I been a bit powerful and all that, it wouldn't have taken me long to show the devil he messed with the wrong guy, but I had to be as feeble as a human male.
What am I even thinking?
I'm a human male, of course.
Just because I'm getting married to the devil himself, it doesn't give me the right to consider myself to be a non-human.
I'm a real human.
"Why will I think so? Of course, you weren't willing to marry me. Had to pretend to be defeated just to get you to marry me." The devil smirks.
"Are you all this playful?" I glare at him.
" Only to you. " He straightens a bit while turning to the priest, who's been standing like a statue ever since we started our conversation.
He looks as if he's in no mood to disturb our little argument.
"Let the binding begin." He says in a serious voice. Gone is the playful one he made use of when talking to me.
The priest swallowed in fear. Darting his eyes from the Devil and back at me, he looks reluctant to proceed with the ceremony.
"I don't have time to waste on your human world. I need to get some things done. It's either you agree to wed us, or I control you. The decision is all yours." Raising his fingers, he snapped it.
Dancing flames appeared on his fingers. Their dance is hypnotic.
Looking into the flames, I felt sucked into the dance.
If only I can dance as beautiful as these flames. How happy they look as they dance to the tune of music played only for their ears.
Gods, I wish…
Snap out of it, Grys, you're being hypnotized.
I blink, and like that, the thoughts and all those things vanished.
Looking at the Devil, I can tell he knows exactly what happened just now. He knows how hypnotic his fires are.
"I … I… I… Go ahead with…it." The priest nods, his eyes on the fire the Devil still have on his fire.
I'll give the priest some credit. Unlike my stupid self, he didn't look straight into the flames. He only gave the flames a few second looks before shaking his head.
Undoubtedly, the gods must have warned him of the flames.
Facing the people, the priest raised his hands. A signal for the entire people witnessing the wedding to stand to their feet.
The shuffles and all that shows the people are doing what he asked them to. Raising his hand a bit, he turned his attention to us.
"I'll like for you to extinguish those fires." He says in a stern voice, one that surprised me.
How can the once fearful priest turn into a confident one overnight?
The Devil did as asked.
"We all are here to witness the joining of the dark with the light…"
I sniffle a laugh at his words.
Light and dark indeed.
The priest gave me a scorching look, one that's capable of sending a less feeble man scrambling to his feet.
The priest turned to the Altar erected for him. "The gods and goddesses of light, we greet you." Bowing at the Altar, he repeats his words, they didn't bother following them in doing so. After all, I'm not among them.
Had the gods and goddesses liked me, they wouldn't have allowed me to get married to the devil. They would have found ways to save me from him, like extinguishing the fire of hell.
After the bowing, welcoming and worshipping of the so-called gods and goddesses, the priest turned to us and gestured for us to kneel.
I was expecting the Devil to refuse to do that.
Mark my surprise when he did that. Kneeling on the floor, he motions for me to do so, and I did.
"Kneeling before you, oh gods and goddesses are the two couples to be joined." Raising his hands, he chants in a language I don't understand at all.
His voice takes a high octave.
The people in the congregation responds to some of them as he continued with his chants, eyes closed, and hands to the sky.
"Is he aware…."
"Shy. Talking is an act of disrespect." The Devil glares at me before turning his focus to the priest, who still has his eyes closed.
We knelt there for a very long time until the priest finally decides to open his eyes.
And then, the long sermon began.
Opening a massive black book, the priest read from a chapter of the book. Reading slowly, he completes the chapter, before the joining began.
"In the presence of the deities, man and devil, I join these two opposite souls together.
Joined in the presence of all gathered, I present your soul to the gods." He took a calabash of water and walked toward us.
Delicately carrying the calabash, he circled our heads with it l, thrice before asking us to stand.
And we did so.
"May the gods and goddesses bless your union." He joined his hand together. "You may now share your vows."
And we did.
Well, the devil was the one who gave his vows. As I had none prepared, I just nodded along with things.
" I pronounce you, Man and Devil!"