Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Marriage

Van watched the party and the guests from a distance, noticing how some of them were a bit tense, no doubt from learning about what happened. Van looked up, noticing how late it had gotten, and realized how much has happened in such a short time. He went from arriving and having a confrontation, to celebrating his parent's marriage, to being raped, to the talk of the party, and now to celebrate his own marriage.

Van sighed, wishing he had more time to sleep. He looked around and noticed Luna talking excitedly with Leiah and the women from before who he now knew as Leen, even Gaver was there. By the blushing expression on Leiah and the nodding of Leen, Van knew what was happening. “...well shit. It looks like I have gotten myself a concubine.” he sighed once more. “Why does everything move so damn fast!” he lamented. “I need a drink…”

He then moved to one of the tables that carried the drinks and grabbed himself a cup and served some of what seemed to be regular fruit juice. Moving away, so as not to bump into anyone, he found himself a little corner where he could be alone. Van continued to ruminate and ponder about everything that happened, wishing he could get over it as quickly as everyone else seemed to do. He stared into the liquid depths of his glass, wondering if they would reveal their secrets.

He tried to take a sip, but every time he brought it close to his lips, he pulled it away. Van was very thirsty, yet despite that thirst, he would continue the cycle of bringing it close, only to push it away. He sighed in defeat, that's when two soft hands wrapped themselves around his own.

He looked up in surprise to find Anna, staring worriedly at him. She continued to hold his hand and lifted the glass towards her lips. She took a delicate sip, then gently pushed the glass back towards Van and let go.

Van looked down at the glass, once more, somewhat confused and annoyed. He hated germs, and Anna and everyone else knew that very well, it took a moment but he realized this was her way of trying to help him. She was essentially testing the drink for poison, and that really touched his heart. Slowly he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip himself, feeling the cool liquid enter his mouth and run down his throat. The fact he was finally able to quench his thirst, relaxed him in a way he couldn’t describe.

“...thanks.” He said. “For everything…” meaning far more than just the testing of the drink for poison.

Anna shook her head. “There's nothing to thank me for. I failed you. I should have been there for you, protected you. But instead, all I did was stand around like an idiot, even as I felt something was wrong through our link.” she turned her hands into fists. “There's no excuse for that, I should have known, should have felt through our soul link, but I didn’t.” she looked towards the ground. “I'm a failure, you should just get a better maid than me.”

Van was shocked, both because of the feelings that Anna was displaying and the fact that he completely forgot about the link between them. “...shit, could I have been able to communicate to her through the soul link instead of the mental link we have?” it was his turn to be angry with himself. “ I'm such an idiot! Of course, we could! If we had practiced it more, then we could have…” he tried to rein in his anger and was somewhat successful. He inwardly sighed. “Not now.” he thought, looking at Anna.

“Anna… it's not your fault. Sometimes things just happen that no one could predict or take into account. I don’t blame you for a second of it.” Van said, trying to console his maid. He then felt through the link to find that the other Annas were spread throughout the entire party, keeping an eye on everyone for his sake. Once again, Van was touched by her actions.

“You are already doing so much for me, and I think you have beaten yourself up enough. We both will work together so that It doesn't happen again.” he then delicately moved in and hugged her. “Besides, you're already the best maid ever, there's no way I could do better than you.”

Anna wasn't sure, and at first, she didn’t think she deserved the hug that her master was giving. But it didn’t seem he was going to let go anytime soon, so slowly she moved into it. After a while when Anna had calmed down a bit they moved apart.

“Feeling a bit better?” Van asked.

Anna stared at her master and moved to give a delicate kiss on his lips, taking him by surprise. She pulled away and looked him in the eyes. “I love you master... Not just because of our link, or because it's my duty to serve, but with my own heart. As your personal maid, I'm already your lover, your concubine, and everything else you need me to be. But I just want you to know, I do it all because I feel a deeper connection with you, I feel like we were meant to be, and it breaks my heart to see you hurt or in pain. So I ask of you, don’t let this one tragedy ruin who you are. The man I fell in love with.” she said emotionally, her cool blue eyes staring with love and passion into his own.

Van was in shock one more time. It seems the surprises were never-ending. He couldn’t help but blush at her heartfelt statement. And somewhat awkwardly replied. “I love you too. All of you...yous” making his face go beet red.

Anna smiled. “And Luna as well I hope.”

Van blushed even more. “Ya… I love her too.”

“ And that new concubine candidate?” Anna teased.

Van mocked glared, “we'll see.” he sighed, “though if you two really want it, then yes, her too.” he said reluctantly.

Anna laughed. “You better, and not just her but all the ones after her. I think the experience of what happened opened Luna up to something.” she giggled.

Van frowned and shook his head. “I don’t understand. After what just happened, after the trauma, after what Luna went through, after beating yourself up about it. How could everyone all already get over it so quickly?”

Anna paused at that. “Van, It may be because of your nature, you have a heart of gold after all, and you care about others with all your might. Or it could be because of the state of your soul realm, or because of all the past lives, you keep having nightmares about. But you need to remember, we are living in the here and now. There's no point in only sticking to all the bad things that happen. We move on because there's nothing left to do but to move… and for better or worse, in this world, we have adapted quickly and move on from bad experiences. After all, this world we live in is very dangerous, and people die by the thousands or even tens of thousands every day due to its dangers.” she said gently.

“And besides, who said we got over it?” a feral look crossed over her face. “I for one, know what exactly I'm going to do to that bitch once I get the chance. And from what I saw of your parents and Luna, I’m not the only one.”

Van was taken aback by the look of pure hatred he saw flash across Anna’s face. It made his heart skip a beat, yet strangely enough, calmed him down and made him feel safer than ever, it even brought a small smile to his face. “Speaking about that bitch. Where is she now?” he asked, looking around, an unintentional sliver of fear in his voice at the mere mention that she might even be near.

“She is confined to her guest quarters until further notice. Once the party is over, she will be escorted off of Moonshadow lands. To the very edges in fact, by very heavily armed guards, who will ‘overzealously’ protect her and won't let her leave the carriage for even a second… not for anything.” She finished with an evil grin.

It took a moment for Van to get what Anna was implying, but once he did, he couldn't help a grin of his own. Going to the very edges of Thea’s lands, without a single bathroom break for several days, while being confined into a small carriage. Not the best revenge... but it was a start.

“And what about Katherine?” he finally got around to asking.

“She’s over there,” Anna said, pointing to the woman in question who was talking to a small group of women. “It seems that despite not being very welcomed anymore, she still insists on trying to talk with your parents. About some deal or agreement, I don’t really know. Though I am trying to overhear any tidbits that I can.” Making Van aware that there was an Anna near Katherine, keeping an eye on her.

“I see. Just don’t get caught.” Van said.

“I think she is already aware.” Anna said with a shrug. “ she just doesn't care.”

They then watched Katherine as she moved from group to group, starting up small conversations and then leaving amicably until she wound her way towards his parents. At first, there was some hostility. But as the conversation continued a more thoughtful look fell across his parent's face. This conversation continued for quite some time, with even his father nodding to some of the things that were being said. Thea still seemed a little pissed, be even she seemed to have reigned in her anger to listen.

“Can you hear anything?” Van asked Anna.

Anna shook her head. “They're talking quietly and I don’t want to get in too close and be caught eavesdropping.”

Van sighed, “just pull away then, I’m sure if it is anything important they would tell us.”

Anna nodded and the other Anna that was near the group moved away. And not too soon either, as Van’s parents then ended their conversation with Katherine and started walking towards him. Making him and Anna tense up a little for a moment until they realized there was no reason to be nervous.

“Hey, son… how are you feeling? Are you doing alright?” Alvaroz asked with some concern.

“I'm doing alright. What brought you all here? Are we going to make the announcement?” Van asked nervously. As he realized that he was probably going to get married soon.

Alvaroz nodded. “We are, but not quite yet, just need some more time to set everything up. Nervous?”

“Ya, a little,” Van admitted.

Alvaroz grinned. “Don’t be, I’m sure tonight will help undo some of the trauma you might have gotten from that horrible experience with Karen. You are lucky that your wife to be, has a succubus bloodline,” he said the last part quietly.

Van stared. “What do you mean?” he asked curiously.

Thea couldn't help herself and squealed a little and hugged Van tight to her chest. “ oh you two are going to have so much fun tonight! And maybe it won't be just you two!”

Van began to panic. “I-I’m only Fifteen!” he said as he struggled

Alvaroz nodded. “of course you can refuse. But honestly, just this once, I would ask you to go along with it. You might have to start doing your duty early. Instead of waiting until you're eighteen.

Van paled. “What!? Why!” he exclaimed pushing Thea off of him.

Alvaroz looked at Van sadly “I know what you must be going through and what you must be feeling about all this…But trust me… please…if this works out. Everyone will be better off and you will have your dream of exploring the world just like you wanted. I promise... and you know I keep my promises.

Van paused, as a feeling of betrayal welling up inside of him, but also desire. Since he heard stories about his parents' adventure, he too wished to go on one of his own. He trusted his father like he trusted no one else, so slowly he nodded. “ okay… I trust you.” he said, a little scared about what was about to happen.

Alvaroz placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I know you're scared. Especially after what just happened to you. But, Lorenzo’s potion should have completely cured you and given back any lost nutrients. Otherwise, you would have been stuck to the bed for the past few days now. Not to mention I taught you those spells you can use tonight, so everything should go great.”

“Listen, Luna has a succubus bloodline,” he repeated once more. “If you do this, it could help with your trauma little. That might not make sense now, but it will soon. I promise, so just go along with it for just today. Okay?”

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“Okay…” Van replied solemnly, but underneath he was angry. “But, why is it important that I start soon instead of eighteen? That doesn't seem fair,” he said, genuinely a little afraid.

“It's… because of something we talked about with Katherine,” Alvaroz said. “Let's just say, it might be a hassle for you to deal with, but it will save you some pain until you're older.”

Now Van was worried. “What will happen when I’m older?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Alvaroz said, you will know soon if everything goes correctly, and if not, then you will still know soon anyway.”

“You know, I really don’t like it when you guys keep things from me,” Van said a bit testily, letting some of his anger show.

“I know… and I’m sorry for that, we just don’t want you to worry needlessly,” Alvaroz said.

“No offense, but I worry because I feel like you guys keeping me in the dark, is what caused this to happen in the first place. Perhaps you should stop trying to protect my innocence and actually tell me so that I can be better prepared!” Van said letting his anger explode a little more. “After all, we saw where your overprotection led to…”

A hurt look came over his parents, but slowly Alvaroz nodded. “You're right… we should tell you, and we will, once we get back home. I promise.”

Van stared at his father and nodded when he saw that Alvaroz meant what he said. “Okay… I’ll be waiting for it.”

Lillia coughed politely trying to change the subject. “By the way, it seems you have been introduced to Gavar, Tam, and Levon? What do you think about them?”

“...they're nice?” Van said, confused and a little annoyed by the sudden change in subject.

Then Thea spoke. “Did you know that Gavar is my marshal/general, Tam is my adviser/strategist, and Levon is my spymaster/head bureaucrat?” she said. “I’m probably the only woman who has so many male leaders under her,” she said somewhat proudly, sticking out her chest.

“Is… having a male do those jobs rare?” Van asked, further confused.

“Well… yes... It is.” Thea said hesitantly.

“Well, that explains a few things, like why they were sorry, perhaps they felt like they failed at their jobs of protecting the heir of their county?” Van thought. But instead asked. “Why?” to Thea.

“Well…” she said, scratching her head. “It's just that women do all those jobs. Men concern themselves with other things. So it's rare to have so many talented males that could take such an important job away from a woman.”

“But males are also sometimes the heads of their house, like me,” Van said.

“Yes… it’s complicated,” she said not knowing how to continue the conversation. Thankfully she was saved when she saw Lorenzo walk in wearing a strange formal robe. “Ah! Looks like Lorenzo is here, it's probably time for the ritual!”

“Ritual? I thought we just had to say we are married and that was that?” Van asked.

“Well for the most part yes,” Alvaroz said. “But a small binding ritual is also a part of the marriage. Think of it as a weaker version of the soul link you have with Anna, you won't be able to communicate through it, but you will be able to feel each other and tell the general direction of where each of you are.”

“We should go, everyone is already watching,” Lillia said, pointing out that all eyes were on Lorenzo now, as he went up the steps and turned to face the room, waiting for Van and Luna to arrive.

Slowly, Van and his family walked up the steps to Lorenzo, followed by Luna and her new friend Leiah. Van was completely nervous while Luna seemed extremely giddy. Once at the top, Van, and Luna stood opposite of each other with Lorenzo in the middle. Silence descended, everyone watched great attention. The Annas created a wall at the base of the steps to prevent anyone from trying to stop the ritual.

Lorenzo took a deep breath and with some amplification of magic, made his voice carry far and clear. “We all came here today, to celebrate the union of the house of Vran and the house of Moonshadow. Sadly, the celebration was thought to be ruined by the horrible tragedy that befell Vanris, the son of Alvaroz, Lillia, and Thea. when the False house of Moonshadow, raped the boy and tried to lay claim to something that was never theirs.”

A lot of booing soon followed after that. It surprised Van to find out how much hate there was for Karen and her family, as there were many words of anger being thrown around.

Lorenzo continued after the room went mostly silent. “Now we are here to celebrate once more! In defiance of what just occurred. Vanris the son of Alvaroz, Lillia, and Thea! Will marry Luna, the daughter of Alvaroz, Thea, and Lillia. The two houses will become one!”

A roar that almost blew Van away swept through the audience, their eyes full of excitement.

“Is two houses becoming one such a big thing?” Van thought, with how crazy the audience was going.

Lorenzo took a few steps back and a magic circle started to glow from where he just stood. “Vanris, Luna, please step into the circle.” Van and Luna did so. “Good now repeat after me. I Luna swear on my blood, to love and serve my husband Vanris, to protect him with my life, and to die for him if necessary. To do my duty as a woman and protect my male.”

Luna repeated the words.

“Good. now Vanris, repeat after me. I Vanris swear on my blood, to love and serve my wife Luna, to satisfy her, and to mate with any woman she deems worthy. To do my duty as a male and serve women as necessary”

Van repeated the words, but with some hesitancy on that last part.

Lorenzo then took out a knife. “Now make a small cut on each hand and once the blood flows, touch them together.”

Van nodded, and Lorenzo took a knife and made a little cut until blood was drawn on both of Van’s hands. Then he did the same to Luna. Then the two brought their hands and clasped them together until blood touched blood and the circle around them glowed. A strange feeling seemed to flow out of him and into Luna and vice versa. A similar feeling, like the one he had with Anna but weaker, formed between the two of them.

Lorenzo’s voice boomed once the circle died down. “They are now Married! They are now one!”

Cheers roared throughout the castle as people began to celebrate once more.

“Wait!” Luna said, surprising everyone as she tried to get everyone’s attention. Once she got most of it she went and grabbed the hand of Leiah who had followed her and was waiting to the side and pulled her towards the circle. “Leiah is my first friend, and I would like her to be the concubine of my male.” she then looked expectantly at Van, along with everyone else.

Van Froze in place, he looked towards the audience, all eyes on him. “Shit, I can’t just turn her down. It would look bad. Especially now that Luna made a show of it!” he turned to Leiah and nodded reluctantly.

“Well isn’t this something!” Lorenzo said “Leiah, do you swear on your blood to take Vanris and in part, Luna, as your spouse and master?”

Leiah blushed, embarrassed by the sudden turn of events but nodded anyway. “I do.”

“And Van, do you take Leiah as your concubine?” Lorenzo asked.

Van hesitated but nodded. “I do.”

“Then connect yourselves by blood!” Lorenzo said.

The two did and the same feeling happened that happened with Luna except a tad weaker and going in more one direction stronger.

“Today is a joyous occasion! Two houses became one and already the head of it has a concubine! The future looks bright!” Lorenzo cheered. Followed by everyone else somehow cheering even louder than before.

Luna ran up and hugged Leiah from behind, congratulating her, who in turn just blushed and smiled at what transpired.

Van for his part wasn’t sure what to do, all that he knew, was that he was not ready for tonight.

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