Intermission Taiyo

Our journey back didn't feel as urgent. Since we were just going home, we had more time to enjoy the scenery. Which was fine by us.

After what happened in Dongrui, we decided to give the town a wide berth. We were able to try a species of grain similar to rice that was able to thrive here. Yuliya and Ogun said it tasted nothing like our rice, but I still enjoyed it. The restaurant where we ate the rice was shocked when I asked if they sold any raw fish. Apparently that's where the real world similarities stopped.

We were in a seaside town called Junyao. It was located on the coast south of Dongrui, the village and the temple. Everyone agreed to stay here for a week before we moved on. It was the first time in a while that I had time alone with Esther. We came out about how we felt to each other, but after that we didn't really talk about it again.

So we loved each other. That didn't automatically mean we were together, did it? There were many situations where people love each other but don't get together. Maybe the next time we talked about it she was going to tell me it could never work because she intended to travel alone anyway or something. I knew I was making excuses to myself, but I was scared. I had never been this kind of vulnerable, and I wasn't sure what would happen if I embraced it.

She was the first one to bring it up though.

One night, I heard a knock on my door at the inn we were staying at. When I opened the door, there she was, wringing her hands. Her face was scorched red.

"Hey." She dragged out the word. "How are you?"

We had just seen each other at dinner, so she should have known. Here eyes were looking anywhere but at my face and her smile was stiff. She stopped playing with her hands and starting twirling her side tail.

She was just as nervous as I was. I felt so silly for worrying about it so much as if it was only affecting my life. 

"I'm doing ok. Did you want to come in?" I opened the door wider.

She stood there for a moment frozen, before robotically walking inside and sitting on my bed. I closed the door and sat next to her nervously.

We were silent for a long time. I became acutely aware of the sound of her breathing. The heat she generated right next to me. A buzzing sensation along my arm where we were close to touching but just barely weren't.

I noticed there was some music being played somewhere outside. Nothing to create a mood for us, but something people were having a party with.

"I love you." She blurted out.

I gulped. "So I heard."

She looked at me with a worried expression. "Well don't you love me too?"

"I told you as much."

She looked forward again, confused. "Oh yeah, that's right."

We sad in silence again.

After an unbearable amount of time, I decided to speak up.

"Esther. What would make you happy?"

She blushed deeply. "Two."

"Two?"

She mumbled her next response.

"I'm sorry?"

"I can't say it out loud!" She cried, and leaned into my ear. "Two kids."

I felt a rush as her response registered. "Oh, that's, um, that's not- that's not what I meant."

As soon as it dawned on her that she misunderstood she shoved her face in my pillow.

"But I'd like children too! If we work out, I mean." I desperately tried to salvage the atmosphere.

Esther slowly turned her head to look at me from the side. "A technologist shop would do."

I nodded enthusiastically. "I like the sound of that! And maybe a house nearby?"

She sat up slowly. "With an herbal garden?"

"Whatever you want!"

She smiled. "So you'll have me?"

"Of course!"

At that moment the door flew open revealing Skylar and Yuliya.

"Yes! The wedding is on!" The dailon called out merrily.

I was confused. "Wedding?"

Yuliya put her hand to her head. "Apparently all the time you've spent with her is considered dating in this world. The next step is marriage. I hope your heart is ready."

I looked at Esther and saw how happy she was. I was caught off guard by this turn of events, but at the end of the day, that happiness made it all seem worth it.

"O-ok. What do we do for a wedding?"

To sum it up, nothing really at all. Marriage was extremely simple in this world. No matter what the couple desires to go into it, all they really need is to exchange vows. There was nothing legal, and nothing religious. Just a promise to the one you love.

Esther did want more to go into it, but nothing too extravagant. We had Yuliya and Sofiya create a walkway of stone leading out over the water. At the end of it was a large circle with enough space for ten chairs and for the bride and groom to stand. On either side of where they would stand were two pillars that we hung a white silk cloth from. The sisters decided to pull some gems from the depths of the ground into the walk way and pillars, creating a glimmering star scape at our feet.

The locals took keen interest in what we were doing and began to form along the beach. I turned to look at them and thought our desire to keep it more simple got lost in translation when we let the sisters make this. With our friends assembled, and our large crowd of onlookers, we decided to exchange our vows so we could return to privacy.

I started first. "Esther, as your husband, I promise that I will always defend you from any harm, care for you forever more, especially when you need it most, and to be your partner in everything." I had tried to think of more, but everything was so sudden, it was the best I could come up with.

"Carter, as your wife I promise that I will support you even when things look bleak. To nurse you to health when you fall ill, and to always be your partner, except for when I'm doing technologist work. I'll always be better."

She said the last part with a smug look, which earned laughter from our friends and the onlookers.

We leaned in and sealed our vows with a kiss, causing raucous applause to erupt from the beach.

We all quickly left the scene, not even bothering to remove our creation. When we got to the inn, Esther and I spent our night together, and come morning, we all decided it was best to leave before the day before made us celebrities or something.

A couple years later we would learn that we turned that spot into a famous location to go get married, increasing tourism to the city.