《Forest Trickster》Chapter Nineteen

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It was a bit awkward, preparing for a wedding where you had no family present and the soon-to-be mother-in-law wasn't really happy with you. Arnold ended up going to one of his friends and begging him for help.

"Why should I?" the friend asked. "A couple of days ago you said you preferred to be a warlock."

"Shh," Arnold said, looking around furtively in case one of his mother's friends was passing. "It was love at first sight, okay?"

"Sure, sure. No offence, lady," the guy added as an aside to the Trickster.

"I'm not sure how that phrase is supposed to work, but fine," she responded.

"Come on, Matt, I'm not supposed to see her for at least three days before the wedding. You have the most siblings, so it would be the least imposition on your family."

"Hang on, how does that work?" the Trickster and Matt said in unison. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Why do you want to marry this blockhead, then? Love at first sight as well?"

"I don't want to be a witch. If you are married to someone, you cannot be a witch," the Trickster said, "because Cloe takes your oath, humans not being able to take it for themselves, and she hates Magnus and therefore magic."

"Exactly! So why would Arnold--"

"She owes Edith somehow," Arnold said, sighing.

"Oh, this is some sort of unholy trick, then," Matt said, and shrugged. "Sure, I'll help."

Matt had five unmarried sisters and three unmarried brothers at home, and to be honest his parents didn't even notice another young woman at the table until the youngest brother started teasing Matt about his new girlfriend.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's engaged to Arnold."

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"Wait, what?"

"Arnold, Strathy's son? I thought Strath said his kid was going to be a warlock," Matt's father said, looking confused.

"It was a whirlwind romance," Matt said airily. "But uh, she doesn't live in the village, so I said she could stay here."

"Why isn't she staying with the Strathfields?"

"They're getting married in three days," Matt said. There was a short but meaningful silence.

"Can I come?" the smallest of Matt's brothers asked.

"Of course!" the Trickster said quickly. "You can be my guest of honour."

"Wait, I want to come!" the youngest sister objected.

"You can all come," the Trickster said grandly, then more meekly, seeing the look on Matt's parents' faces, "if that's alright with your parents. Thank you for having me..."

Three days went by relatively uneventfully. Matt's parents never really warmed to the Trickster, so the only major misfortune they acquired was that their chimney caught fire twice. The younger children were constantly scolded because they would inevitably fall face first into mud puddles whenever they went out looking for flowers for the wedding, but noone died, and the family presented themselves in a relatively clean state in the village square on the fourth day after the Trickster had arrived in the village. This village didn't have its own Templeman or priest, so the Mayor was officiating, coming out of his house in robes of brown and red, Cloe's colours. He gave a friendly nod to the Trickster, then conversed with Matt's parents until Arnold showed up with his parents. The Trickster stepped forward to join Arnold as the Mayor got ready for the ceremony. Arnold was decked out in clothes that smelled suspiciously like sandalwood and looked slightly more his father's size than his own. The Trickster was still wearing the clothes she had stolen from Alice, but decorated with a ribbed tied with flowers.

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"Are you still alright with this?" the Trickster asked quietly.

"Yes. My dad asked me the same thing. Why does nobody think I know my own mind?"

"Because this is obviously a ploy to get your mother off your back?" The Trickster waved a dismissive hand. "Not that I really care. I am just in it to repay my debt to your sister."

"What did she do to make you throw your life away for a random warlock? Cloe won't take your oath after this. You'll be--hang on. Will this even work? Even if I have to leave the village, I'll still be--"

"Shh," the Trickster said, as the Mayor came back.

"Nobody's got cold feet? Are you ready to start?" the Mayor asked cheerfully. Arnold gave the Trickster a long look, then took her hands in his.

"We're ready," he said.

The ceremony first started with the two listing their families back for three generations (the Trickster used Cassie's family for this). The Trickster remembered a time when people went back five generations; she suspected that these days, now villages were more insular, they shortened the lists to avoid any embarrassing repeats.

"Which village are you going to reside in?" the Mayor asked.

"This one," the Trickster said.

Next came the oaths. The Trickster went first, the oath latching on a little to Arnold's magic. The gods could feel oaths, especially if they were unclaimed. Trickster hoped that there wasn't enough of this one left lying around for Cloe to notice. When Arnold began his oath, the Trickster was a little taken aback at how big it felt. Nobody, not even her cultists had sworn an oath to him before. It felt like it filled the entire square. The Trickster did her best to breathe it in, and swallowed it. It felt like fire in her belly; it felt like she had been locked into place when she had spent the rest of her life untethered.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the Mayor said. "Welcome to the village, Cassie."

The Trickster smiled, and the village went to hell.

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