The Seat of My Heart

16 An Oath to The Gods

When the two of them stepped into the temple and made their way over to the high priest's study, he didn't even seem surprised when he looked up and saw the two of them in the wedding robes as if he had long expected for this to happen.

"Su anqeng ..." Jusha Lale smiled a little embarrassed but still spoke up. "I guess you can imagine why we are here." Somehow, he felt awkward saying it out loud. He wasn't quite sure why either. Maybe it was because he knew that everyone was aware that he had only met Susha Unhuor a little over half a year ago. Maybe it was because while it wasn't unlawful for two men to marry, it was still sure to raise some eyebrows if one of them was the king of a country. Maybe it was the seemingly hurried and secretive manner they did this in without any witnesses or guests to accompany them or any announcement beforehand. Or maybe he just felt awkward in front of the high priest because he feared to be judged for marrying this shortly after they had just weathered a crisis.

Still, no matter his feelings he wanted to go through with this. While Susha Unhuor's proposal might have come as a surprise, it was a positive one. If there was one person in the world he could imagine being married to, it would be this man. So why would he step back?

The high priest got up from where he was sitting and put down the brush unhurriedly. "I am afraid there is no way to overlook a pair of wedding robes, dan, so I would guess you are here to have me hold the ceremony for you. The fact that you and zhireng Susha are here on your own without anyone else accompanying you, tells me that you likely don't want to make this into a big thing."

Jusha Lale inclined his head, some of the awkwardness dissipating when the high priest stayed so calm and showed no sign of judgment. "If that would be possible, yes. If there are other requirements, we will naturally comply with them." After all, he wanted their wedding to count. If others were necessary, he wouldn't forgo that step.

The high priest shook his head though. "There are only two things important for a wedding: The first is that the couple sincerely wants to marry each other. That one is fulfilled, I'd assume. Otherwise, you would not have come here to ask this of me. The second is that the gods are your witness. It doesn't matter which gods you choose for that but the closer you feel to them, the better. Nothing else is needed.

"You wouldn't even need me there to be able to count yourself as a married couple as long as you follow all the right steps while conducting the ceremony. While a priest can officiate a wedding, the ones who give their blessing are still the gods so only they are truly essential."

Jusha Lale and Susha Unhuor exchanged a glance and nodded, having come to an agreement without words.

"Well, we'd still like you to officiate our wedding." Even though they might not need a priest, it still gave this marriage of theirs an air of officialness. If somebody spoke up in the future and said they doubted this wedding, then the high priest would be able to bear witness for them that it had truly happened.

Furthermore ... he had said that the wedding would count if they followed the right steps. While they might have seen a few weddings over the course of their lives, that didn't mean that they had any intimate knowledge of how it was done. In case they took a wrong step ... wouldn't that mean their wedding was not valid? They'd rather not risk that.

The high priest nodded. He wasn't a man of many words so when he had their agreement, he motioned for them to follow him into the hall to prepare the ceremony.

This was the same ceremony hall where Jusha Lale had gone for the year-end ceremony. The brazier was once again standing at the side, the flames that the goddess En had gifted humankind burning just as hot as ever.

Jusha Lale couldn't help but gaze at it, his thoughts turning complicated. It had been at this place that everything started to go awry. He had still thought that he would be able to control the damage the demon might cause up until the day when his uncle appeared in this hall and was finally burned to death by this holy fire. That had been a clear sign that things had long been worse than he had dared to admit to himself. And now, after a journey that had him hovering between fear and hope all the time, he came back here, having solved the crisis and looking hopefully into the future once again. He really didn't know what to make of that.