Heir of Iron

Chapter 9

Taleg still had a lurch in his step as he ascended the stairs. Three weeks had passed since he awoke, and any danger to his life was long gone, but still he paused once to put his hand over the stitches in his side.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Mandhi asked.

He grinned at her. "Are you serious? I've waited too long to get a decent meal and a chance to touch you in public. A knife in my side isn't going to keep me down any longer."

Mandhi rested her hand in the crook of his elbow and lay her head against his shoulder. A moment later he started forward, and they ascended the rest of the stair. At the top the maid and manservant who were waiting rushed forward, bowed deeply, pushed open the doors, and they entered the hall for the wedding banquet.

"Behold, the sun and the moon!" cried Sadja as soon as they entered the room. Mandhi saw a welter of servants and silver chains and gold lamps, then Sadja prostrated, and everyone else in the room did likewise. Mandhi felt her face grow hot, and couldn't refrain from grinning sheepishly. All present rose and began chanting the sun and the moon, while the servants led her and Taleg to the raised dais at the head of the table. When Mandhi and Taleg sat, a pair of saghada approached and washed their hands and feet, anointed their heads with myrrh, and began to loudly proclaimed the wedding blessing.

Taleg leaned over and whispered to Mandhi, "I didn't expect Sadja-dar to go find saghada to do this in the Uluriya style."

She shrugged. "I'm not so surprised any more. He's pretty anxious to get on our good side."

The blessing droned on for several minutes, until at last the saghada bowed and retreated. Sadja clapped, and the food began to appear. Mandhi soon lost count of the dishes: rice, pigeons, fish, figs, mangoes, melons, cheeses, and chutneys. Sadja sat across from Mandhi and Taleg, too far to talk, but no one was talking much during the meal anyway. The other guests were a handful of local nobles and merchants who came at Sadja's request, as well as a few of the notable Uluriya from the district. Mandhi barely knew any of them, but they still brought gifts, so she considered this an acceptable compromise.

Her mind wandered once to think of Srithi, Veshta, and her father, unaware of the feast and unable to join them. She looked out at the room full of strangers, and she bowed her head for a moment and put her hands over her eyes. Taleg put his hand on her shoulders and bent over to whisper to her.

"What's the matter, my bride?"

"I'm thinking of Virnas," she said. "Thinking of what we've done."

Taleg said nothing but kept his hand on her shoulder.

A moment later she straightened, wiped the trickle of tears from her eyes, and said, "I don't regret anything. But sometimes I wish...."

He squeezed her hand.

That was the only time during the night that Mandhi felt sorrow. When the meal finally ended, the wedding guests exited into the garden where music was playing. Mandhi and Taleg accepted Sadja's invitation to complete the first dance, sprinkling salt and rice in the four directions, then bowing to the guests. The first dance was slow, performed by the bride and groom alone, their palms touching, making careful syncopated steps in each of the cardinal directions. Then the players picked up, and the other invitees began to mingle and dance in the stone-paved courtyard.

At the second or third song, Sadja came up behind Taleg and tapped him on the shoulder. "Forgive me," he said with a playful bow, "but may I have a dance with the bride?"

"Just one," Taleg said. "I should take a little time to rest due to my injury, or else I wouldn't let you have even that." He grinned at both of them and took a seat at the edge of the courtyard.