When his father got it into his head to do something, there was no persuading him otherwise. His mother had said as much, reminiscing fondly over how Galer had charmed her over all other suitors. When he stormed out of the courtyard and into the family's dining hall, she was, unsurprisingly, there to see him.

"Did you know of this?" Aleci demanded, slamming both hands on the table.

She was seated on an ornate wooden chair, a spool of yarn in front of her and what looked like her newest project laid out on the table in front of her. She merely raised an eyebrow, place down the needles and smiled wryly, "I expected it. I assumed you didn't make a good first impression?"

"I never said I wanted a bride!"

"Most of your peers have wives," replied his mother and she took up her knitting needles. "Most of them arranged, in fact. I don't see why you act so surprised."

"Your marriage to father wasn't arranged," he countered.

"No, but your aunts were already married by then, and your grandfather trusted me to make the selection." The implication was that Galer didn't trust him. "I met the lad earlier, he was very courteous. Intelligent even, I'm surprised how he hadn't been taken by your father's Magisters. Goodness knows they like to have their share of concubines. I have to admit, it would be nice to have some company—"

"But you don't speak Imrukian," said Aleci.

Another smile flickered across her face, she stood up and reached forward to ruffle his blond hair, "Oh, I did not find it difficult to talk to him."

So his mother found another daughter, how delightful. He opened his mouth, a cutting remark on his tongue, but his mother cut in.

"Your father told me has consulted with Mytea, and what with it being the sixth month and a full moon, I assume the wedding would be soon. And you've always wanted your own independence, he told me he's willing to have you establish your new household in our summer home."

So he was finally freed from the shackles of Alyssa and the daily grind of papers and bureaucracy. Galer must expect him to take on managing the villa. That was one relief, but not much, all things considered, the summer villa was at least three days' ride away from the capital and boasted nothing but olive trees and grapevines. But it wasn't a relief because he was exchanging one chain for another. All he wanted was to be left alone.

He found himself avoiding Finne over the days, which was a hard task, as his bride-to-be was constantly in his mother's company. It confused him, how Finne managed to communicate with his mother, he barely heard five words from the man's mouth. Every time he entered the room with Finne in it he would be greeted with a hesitant smile and a polite greeting. He would pretend not to hear, ignoring the scowl his mother sent his way. Eventually the smiles stopped, and he saw nothing more than a nod of acknowledgement, when Aleci glanced Finne's way.

The day of the wedding came soon enough, and they were soon bundled off towards the summer villa. Not many came with them, his mother stayed behind in the city, while the witnesses that came were mainly his father's friends, decorated warriors and fellow Praefects. There were no Magisters present, he noticed, which was probably for the best, they were capable of drinking one out of house and home. They also liked to travel in the lap of luxury and no doubt the short journey would take longer when one took an entire retinue of household staff with them It was probably for the best, as the roads to the villa were occasionally, especially at this time of the year, roamed by bandits.

He sleepwalked through the day, finding himself standing with Finne at the altar, waiting for the Mytean elder, a gaunt and balding man to walk laboriously towards them. Where his father found the man Aleci could not tell, he did not look like he dressed for the occasion. But then again, a Mytean elder just meant anyone who followed Mytea and was the eldest. So in all likelihood Galer went out and called for the nearest beggar who could say the right words. The man nearly stumbled over the altar, his fall only stopped by Finne reaching out a hand to steady him. Aleci was surprised at the reaction, up until now Finne stood as still as a statue. It was an apt comparison, he was dressed in the bridal white and its accompanying veil.

"Thank you, my child," said the man, and Finne gave him a blank, polite smile in return.

The elder reached forward, indicating Aleci and Finne to hold hands. It was the first time he'd willingly touch the other man, and he was taken aback by the odd calluses on Finne's palms.

"Repeat after me," said the older man to Finne, "Where thou art Glanius, I shall be Arissum."

It was the names of the oldest Gods, Glanius and his wife Arissum, the ones that created the earth and the sun. Then there were the mandatory prayers from the elder, two fingers together on the right hand pointed to the sky and the man drew a circle in the air. The earth and the sun, Aleci thought irritably, how kind of them to witness his union. Perhaps Galer even invited Mytea along to witness as well, if it wasn't taboo to invite that particular God to a wedding.

He could see Finne visibly swallowing before reciting the vow. It wasn't a bad recitation, he managed the pronunciation quite well, and Aleci suspected his mother must have helped. When the priest indicated to Aleci, he nodded and said the vows, giving his father a brief glance. For once in his life, his father looked pleased.

"Where thou art Arissum, I shall be Glanius," said Aleci, knowing well enough the words to say. He briefly pulling one hand away to reach for the gold and iron ring to slide onto Finne's ring finger, his ring own feeling heavy on his.

Finne reflexively flinched, pulling his hand into a fist before relaxing them. At the elder's minuscule frown Finne immediately relaxed his hands, giving Aleci's, what Aleci presumed to be an affectionate squeeze. The elder gestured for them to step to the side, as he came forward with the cake, an offering to the altar. The old man mumbled a prayer, before pulling out a knife and cutting two equal pieces from the cake. He offered the pieces to them, Aleci took it gingerly, the sweetness of the cake did nothing to wash away the sourness he felt. He felt a vindictive sort of amusement when Finne struggled with eating his piece.

His father did him a favor by hosting the dinner party at their summer villa. The procession that would escort the bride to her new house was always accompanied by lewd suggestions on what the new couple should do on their wedding night. The last thing he wanted was advice, friendly or not. So it was he found himself seated next to Finne at the head of the table in the courtyard while his father and his friends were seated slightly lower. The wine from the vineyard was flowing freely and he took it upon himself to drink every time someone tried asking him a question. His short responses seemed to redirect the attention of his father's guests, so they turned their attention to Finne, like wolves. Their attention there was short lived however, when they realized Finne couldn't understand them. All except Praefect Cimul, who could speak Imrukian. How he learned Imrukian, Aleci didn't care to know or find out.

Finne had taken off his veil for the dinner, and even when Cimul and Galer laughed boisterously, Finne's responses were short and polite. There was only one time he smiled, and it was a response after, Aleci guessed, was an amusing joke told Cimul.

»How did you come across your new son-in-law?« said Cimul, »I did not think the Imrukians would be willing to be part with their flowers. Is it not tradition for father to offer mercy to their daughters upon defeat of a city?«

»The old man was frail and his heir foolish,« replied his father, »It was an easy victory. I thought they all looked like lambs to slaughter but this one here tried to stab the 'Magister' when he was going about taking his fair share. I managed to convinced the 'Magister' he was married and had plenty of concubines to go around but you know how they are. In any case,« a wide grin that Aleci found incredibly uncomfortable to look at, »he is very skilled.«

»You must be well trained, to earn such a compliment,» said Cimul, taking a drink from his glass but not before toasting it in Finne's direction.

»Not well enough,« said Finne, »I missed.«

This last remark lead to laughter from his father, laughter that Aleci shuddered at, »It is a shame, Cimul, I had not meet this one earlier, instead of my darling Lica, what sons I would have had.«

Aleci saw Finne's hands tensed momentarily on his wine glass, but as quickly as it came it was gone, and his bride gave his father a half smile.

»May the 'Mytea' see to it that you will have grandchildren, in due time,« said Finne.

His father had been proselytizing after all, Aleci concluded, reaching for the entire pitcher of wine and emptying it into his glass. The rest of the dinner passed in a pleasant blur after that. As the festivities came to a halt and a hush came to the party, he staggered up to his feet. The guests would stay overnight at the villa, but they were all waiting for him to carry his bride over the threshold from the courtyard.

"Get up," he said to Finne, gesturing for him to stand and taking his hand into a firm grip when he did.

He lead him to the threshold, pass the guests. "I'm going to carry you—" he gestured towards the entrance and made a motion as if to pick something up.

Finne blinked, but made no motion of understanding, and Aleci gave an exasperated sigh as he stepped forward taking Finne into his arms. He was not as slight as Aleci expected, not as delicate as Emos and he staggered for a moment before nearly stumbling, carrying Finne, past the threshold. There were cheers when he did, and when they were safely out of sight of the guests, Aleci was more than happy to let go.

"Follow me," he said curtly, motioning at Finne. He clicked his tongue impatiently when there was no response, and reached forward to grab Finne's hand. "Come."

The villa had separate wings for his father and mother, but for the night, they would share a bed. Aleci scowled at the thought, head foggy from the effects of the wine. The oak doors swung open to the bedroom, helpfully lighted with scented candles. Aleci flopped into the bed without a second glance, staring dourly at the silk canopy. When Finne didn't follow he sat up, seeing that the other man was still at the door, biting his lip.

"Well? Aren't you coming?" he patted the bed next to him.

The dress Finne was wearing was belted, tied by, he knew, a knot of Arissum. It was customary for the husband to untie the knot, and when Finne hesitantly sat down next to him, he made a move to untie it. Finne made an aborted move to slap his hand away, and he scowled.

"Fine then," said Aleci, "If you don't want it, feel free to embarrass us both tomorrow when they parade the bed sheets."

He knew the wine made him slur the words, it usually did, but he was past caring whether or not he should be embarrassed. His father had invited the guests, not him, there was no one he wanted to impress. There wasn't Aulius with his no doubt bawdy jokes or Mulius who would be confused by them or even... Kaeso. He was very glad that the wine soothed things over, made his head pleasantly foggy and when he closed his eyes he soon drifted off to sleep.

The loud crows of a rooster woke him the next day, and he sat up, groggily rubbing sleep from his eyes. Finne was gone, and he glanced around wildly until he saw the balcony door opened and a white clad figure sitting on the balustrade. There came a series of knocks on the door and he swallowed harshly, the events of last night came into his mind. The doors flung open before he could say otherwise and one of the servants came in, making a move towards the wedding sheets.

"Wait— stop!" said Aleci, trying to pull the covers over the sheets.

She ignored him, yanking the covers down to reveal spots of dark brown on the white linen. The woman motioned for him to move off the bed before pulling off the sheets and walking away with it. Aleci could hear the cheers rang out when it was shown to the courtyard.

Even his wine fog mind knew that something was amiss, "Finne?" he said, and when there was no answer, "Finne?" he repeated, louder.

His wife turned to look at him, an inscrutable look in his green eyes, the wedding belt loose around his waist.

"Did you do… that?" said Aleci, pointing to the bed, "How did you-"

There was no response, and Finne turned away from him, looking at the vast greenery that one can see from his perch on the balcony.