"Are you even hearing yourself right now? This is why we believe you're fully competent for this initiative. Whatever you've gone through has been training you for these moments. You don't ever stop fighting, there's always another threat. A threat...
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"Happy bridegroom, Hesper brings
All desired and timely things.
All whom morning sends to roam,
Hesper loves to lead them home.
Home return who him behold,
Child to mother, sheep to fold,
Bird to nest from wandering wide:
Happy bridegroom, seep your bride."
"Epithalamium," I said simply, smiling at Penelope after she finished singing. "Gods, that really makes everything a hell of a lot realer."
"You got that right, you're getting married today, Sel. I can't believe it." She grinned as she sat at the end of the ancestral bath.
It was the morning of the wedding so I was completing the symbolic and ritualistic bath called Gamos which was an important part of Olympian weddings. The water glistened around me, calming me before the big moment.
Penelope grabbed my shoulders, pulling me into a quick hug and I laughed at her.
"You sure know what to say to a bride to make her feel better," I said, rolling my eyes jokingly.
"You know it," she said, releasing me from the hug. "I'm letting myself hug you now because once we get you ready, there's no touching allowed. Your make-up, the dress, the hair, it all has to remain absolutely perfect. You got that, Wanda? We can't spoil our masterpiece."
"Oh, I'm not helping. I'm just here for moral support." Wanda chuckled, perched on the end of the bath. "Besides, Selene doesn't need much anyway."
"See that? That's what I call supportive," I said, pointing at Wanda.
"Erm, no, that is not allowed. I'm tired enough from the hell that was this morning. I would ask Brunnhilde but I highly doubt she'd ever talk to me again. I will need your help, Wanda."
"Understandable," Wanda shrugged. "This combining of Asgardian and Olympian traditions makes things a lot longer than I thought they would be."
This morning, at the very early hours of the day, was when we completed the ancestral sword ceremony. That was an Asgardian tradition when the groom presented his ancestral sword to his bride then the bride offers her own ancestral sword, signifying their promise of each others protection. Thor had handed her his fathers sword that he had used during the early stages of his rule. It was elegant, ruby encrusted throughout. Mine, on the other hand, was plain and wooden, the sword that my father had bought me for the summer training camp all those years ago in Old Panteleimonas. It was the first sword I had ever used, only making it that much more special, showing how far that we've both come over the years. Thor, from an arrogant palace prince, and me, from an average village girl.
