The Ritual

“There are three things that have to be done in the ritual establishing a mate-bond,” Abbi said.

For a long time, Eddus had held her, swaying her gently until she’d calmed. Even after her tears had ceased, he’d continued to hold her until her breathing had steadied. Her body relaxed in his arms, and until she kissed his neck and then his cheek, he thought that perhaps she’d fallen asleep.

Having taken the seat in front of Eddus again, she collected the knife and the strip of linen from the floor.

“They must be done in order.”

“I think I’m ready.” Eddus felt his heart quicken as he wondered what the ritual entailed.

“Eddus-”

“I’m ready.”

Issabella remained silent for a moment. As her eyes locked on Eddus’, she pursed her lips and then tried to smile, giving a slight nod.

“First, there are words we must say,” she said, taking a deep wavering breath. “We must promise ourselves to one another. It is kind of like the vows in a marriage in your realm.”

“What are the words?” Eddus asked.

“There are traditional words, but I do not know them all.” Abbi shook her head. “The words we say are not as important as their meaning. It is the promise itself. We don’t need to recite anything, but it must be words that you mean, for the bond to be successful. This bond is forever.”

Leaning forward, Abbi pressed her right temple to Eddus’ left, her cheek against his, her mouth by his ear. She put her arms around him.

“Are you sure about this?” she whispered.

“I love you,” Eddus answered softly, closing his eyes, “I am.”

Issabella gently leaned into him, slowly exhaling and momentarily tightening her arms around him.

“I’ll go first,” she said softly. “I don’t know all of the words. Usually, one would have time to learn the traditional words before the mate-bond ritual. I’ll use the words that I know, as well as my own. They’re not exactly like the traditional ones, but I want you to listen, and, please, know that I mean everything that I say.”

Nodding, Eddus placed the fingertips of his right hand against her cheek as she began to speak.

“I belong to myself alone,” Issabella paused, taking a deep breath, “but today, I am giving myself to you. My freedom is no longer mine alone, for today I am yours, in my life and in my death. I will be your shelter, as you will be mine. I will never cause you unrest. I will honor only you, and it is for your eyes that I smile. Please, take me as your equal, and I will serve you in life and in love.”

She paused again.

“This is my promise to you, Eddus Brandt.”

There was a long moment of silence. Issabella smiled as she felt Eddus’ breath on her neck. She quickly kissed his temple, just in front of his ear.

“It’s your turn, Eddie,” she whispered.

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know how to follow that,” he said, not sure how to proceed.

“Don’t follow it. Just speak. You will know what you want to say.”

Eddus nodded. He waited another moment, trying to calm his breathing, and then began:

“Abbi- Issabella- I love you. I promise you that. I love you with everything that I am. I promise you that anything I have is yours. You are all that I can think about. I will love you, and I will always treat you as my equal.”

Eddus felt the pixie’s arms tighten around him.

“Did I do it right?” he asked, doubting himself.

“It was perfect,” Issabella nodded, her cheek still against his, and gave what sounded like a contented sigh.

As they parted slowly, Issabella kissed him again. She placed her right hand on his right forearm, just below his elbow. Grasping it, she indicated he do the same to her.

“Help me to do this, Eddus,” she said, lifting one end of the linen strip that had been draped evenly across her lap. Each using their left hands, they wrapped the strip around their clasped arms until all of it had been wound except for two short tails that hung loosely to either side.

“Is this like a hand-fasting?”

Eddus looked at their arms bound side by side, and then at Issabella. She smiled at his questioning expression.

“Yes,” she told him. “In a way, it is. This is where we form the mate-bond with one another.”

With her left hand, Issabella lifted the black knife by the hilt, the blade pointing down. She held the blade’s tip above the cloth, holding their arms together at about mid-forearm, and locked gazes with Eddus.

Closing her eyes, she took a breath before plunging the double-edged blade through the linen and between their arms, the sharp edges cutting into them both simultaneously. After a moment’s pause, she quickly withdrew the blade, letting it fall to the floor.

Eddus inhaled sharply as he felt the blade open his skin. His hand squeezing Issabella’s forearm tightly, his eyes met with hers as she opened them.

She bit her lip, lowering her gaze, and closed her eyes again.

Eddus watched her lips purse as she slowly lowered her head. A feeling of worry and dread crept into his gut, and he began to wonder if something had gone wrong. She didn’t look as though she were happy.

Issabella exhaled slowly.

Her grip on his forearm suddenly tightened, her nails digging into his flesh. She gasped, crying out loudly. Looking up quickly, her eyes glowed brighter than Eddus had ever seen them. She put her free hand behind his head, pulling him to her, and they shared a long kiss.

At the site of the knife’s entry, Eddus felt an intense heat so hot that he could almost not focus on kissing her, and he clenched his jaw.

As Issabella pulled slowly away from him, her eyes continued glowing brightly for a moment, and she began unwinding the cloth from around their arms, letting it fall between them.

Once freed, Eddus drew back his arm, astonished that there was no blood on the cloth or his skin. He looked and saw that there was also no blood on Issabella’s arm. Across his forearm, where the blade had met his skin, was a slender mark, about a finger’s length. It was slightly raised, similar to a scar, and it seemed to glow from under the skin, a light blue.

Issabella produced her arm, holding it out for Eddus to see the identical mark on her skin. The closer she moved it to him, the brighter it glowed.

She laughed quietly at the look of disbelief on Eddus’ face as he moved his arm closer to and then further away from her own, watching the marks get brighter and dimmer. Placing a hand on his, she stopped him moving.

“I told you that the bond would be successful,” she told him, still amused by his expression, “But there is still one thing we have to do to complete our mate-bond.”

Issabella stood and took Eddus by the hand, pulling him from the chair in which he sat. She led him away from the corner they’d been in, towards the center of the small room. They stood facing one another, hand in hand. Eddus watched her carefully, but she only smiled, shaking her head.

“There is one more part to the ritual,” she said, taking a deep breath. Her gaze shifted to the bed, and then she looked up into his eyes with an almost mischievous smile. “We’ve done this part before.”