Chapter 37: Wedded Bliss

“We’d like you to marry us, Indri.” Chenn said.

“Me? Why me?” Indri looked up from his papers, gazing silently at Chenn. “Why not a minister?”

“Indri, you know that legally, anyone can marry us so long as there are witnesses. We’re of age, and the laws have allowed marriages without a minister for years. We just have to sign our marriage papers and have several witnesses sign them too.” Chenn responded, smiling.

“Well, yes, but I don’t understand why you want that person to be me.” Indri leaned back in his grey, metal chair. He wished there was just a little splash of color in the office. Not a lot. He wasn't an extravagant person. But more than there was now. Which was none.

“Because you’ve been like a father to me.” Chenn answered quietly.

Nari listened to the exchange quietly, leaning against Chenn. He had one arm around her shoulders as he spoke to Indri.

“Does Nari want this too?” Indri glanced over at her.

“Oh, yes, Indri! I would be honored if you would marry us.” Nari looked up into his eyes, smiling.

“Well, faced with such persuasive arguments and such a lovely young couple, I can only say yes.” Indri smiled at Chenn. “You found yourself a wonderful bride, Chenn.”

“Thanks, sir!”

“You’re welcome. Now out. I need to do some work, and prepare for the wedding ceremony. When are you having it?” Indri asked.

“We wanted to keep it simple. She said yes a week ago, and we’ve got the dress already. When Andrew found out, he insisted on setting up the room for the reception here on West Base. He also insisted on seeing to making sure that the food and everything else was paid for. We pretty much told him to do what he liked for it. Nari told him what colors and flowers she liked when he asked, but it’s been such a blessing not to have to worry about it.” Chenn grinned.

“That doesn’t answer when you’re having it, Chenn.” Indri glanced back down at his papers.

“Right. Well, we were thinking that we’d have it in two weeks. I know it’s short notice, but we’ve already got the people we wanted in the ceremony involved. There was just you to ask, and we kept it all simple, so it’s almost completely done.” Chenn looked down at Nari, who smiled up at him.

“Alright then. Thanks for the notice. I have to work on paperwork now, Chenn, so you two run along now.” Indri waved a hand at them, shooing them off.

Chenn grinned. “Thanks for accepting the job, Indri.”

“You two are very welcome, I’m sure.” Indri was already distracted and paying attention to his paperwork again.

Chenn laughed softly. The two took the hint and walked out.

“Just think. In a week, we’ll be married, Nari. Married.”

She smiled. “I never would have imagined it was possible. I mean, you and me? We should’ve hated each other by all standards and rights. I spent years hating you for what happened to Hanna, and you… What did you think of me all those years?”

“I guess I hated you too. I mean, your despair and pain haunted me all those years in jail. Every night I dreamed about that day, and it was never anything good.”

She laughed. “Well, I’m just glad that it worked out for us. I never thought I’d get married. Everyone ignored me if they didn’t hate me outright, so I just assumed that no one would ever want to marry me. But when you asked… I was so surprised; I hardly knew what to say.”

Chenn grinned. “I’m told I have a silencing effect on people.”

She smiled back at him, and then she gave him a slight shove. He bumped into her a bit good-naturedly. They continued laughing, and went to eat lunch together.

 ***

Two weeks later, Nari and Chenn stood at a small wooden table with a ivy green cloth draped over it. They didn't have an altar, so the table stood in. The vaulted ceiling high above them was crisscrossed with decorative blue and green streamers, which were secured to the steel girders that wove across the ceiling in a tight web. 

Andrew had done admirably with the decorations. They were simple, but tasteful. White carnations and blood red roses adorned the walls of the room that he had chosen for the wedding, their colors brightening the room and making it appear much larger than the eighteen by nineteen feet it really was. A carpet of blue lay between five rows of chairs containing about twenty chairs each, and the table that was serving as an altar was also draped in blue. Offsetting the blue, Andrew had done the tablecloths in ivy green. 

Nari wondered how much it had all cost, but she decided not to worry about it. Andrew had told them both that it was his wedding gift to them and his gift of thanks for all their help during the war.

She gazed down at the dress that Chenn had helped her pick.

The skirt flowed down from her waist in silver-white petals. It blazed in the bright light, and the blue sash provided a lovely offset for the color. The bodice was a lace up that cupped her form comfortably when laced up. The glittered top caught the light when she moved, making it appear as though she were robed in light.

She gazed at Chenn, a happy smile on her face. She was nervous about this, yes, but with Chenn, she knew she would find happiness. So she would survive the nervousness and fear that she was feeling because he was at her side.

Indri began speaking to Chenn. Nari tried to focus on what he was saying, but her attention wandered. Everything was so perfect, but her happiness put a haze over everything. She felt like she was floating on air as she waited for her turn to say her vows.

When it finally came, she breezed through the vows without really thinking about what she was saying. She only knew that what she was saying was binding her to Chenn, and that’s what she wanted.

Indri’s voice with his final lines cut through her haze.

“I now declare you man and wife. The groom may kiss the bride.”

She threw her veil up off her face. Chenn took her in his arms and kissed her long and hard. She tossed her arms around his neck, kissing him back as her heart thudded in her chest. Her stomach fluttered as she and Chenn turned to face the crowd.

Everyone there broke into cheers and laughter. They clapped and whistled, cheering for the newly-wed couple.

***

Nari and Chenn lay beside each other in the dark. It was around midnight, and Nari was nestled up close to him under the blankets. Chenn put his arms around her, breathing in her rose and pine needle perfume. She enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her, content to be beside him. It was more than she could ever have hoped for.

She had gotten the man she’d fallen in love with, and he was one of the best men she knew. However unlikely their love story had been, it was only more amazing to her because of it.

Only a few things shadowed it, memories of the recent war being one of them.

“What’s going to happen to Amory?” Nari whispered.

“He wouldn’t surrender, and neither would Bjorn. Andrew has no choice but to banish him into the Dark Realms - a place from which he will never return.”

Nari sighed. “It’s the perfect ending.” She paused. "For us anyway and for those who surrendered and rejoined us."

Chenn smiled, kissing her with passion, savoring the honey taste of her lips, and then caressing her cheek. “Yes. It’s the perfect ending.”

She kissed him back, slipping her fingers through his hair and sighing. “Glad you agree. Now go to sleep. It’s late, and I’m tired.”

He smiled, giving her a quiet laugh. “I thought you were scared of the dark.”

She pressed tighter against him. “Not when you’re next to me. You seem to chase away all the bad dreams, Chenn, my love.”

“Do I?”

“Yes.” She kissed him again with gentle firmness. “Now go to sleep.”

He grinned, moonlight illuminating his face. “We’ve been through so much together, you and I. What do you think will be next?”

“I don’t know Chenn. Maybe you’d like to embark on the adventure of raising a family? I think I could live with that adventure. But let’s not have too many more like what we just went through.”

“Yeah, let’s not.” Chenn murmured. “As to the children… I don’t know. Maybe after a few years of living together and enjoying the peace of wedded bliss.”

“Wedded bliss. I like that.” Nari murmured, sleep overtaking her.

“Glad to know you do.” Chenn whispered back.

But she didn’t hear him. She had fallen asleep nestled against him, safe and warm.