go along with it, seeing that Dolly liked that idea. And I’m allowed the sleep in her hut now, while her good friend Jennifer has moved to another hut. Thankfully, the weather has gone back to its normal warmth, but still there’s no place here in the village where we can sleep under the stars the way we prefer.
But last night I was not allowed to sleep with her at all.
Finally I’m standing there, beside Dolly. She’s wearing a long, white garment of very fine fabric, clutching a small bunch of colorful flowers. Her friend Caroline is also wearing white, but she is more like a shaman than a bride.
“I do,” I bellow when prompted, just so there’s no doubt.
“I do,” Dolly purrs when it’s her turn.
And that’s all there is – we’re married. Apparently, it’s tradition at this point that I should ask about which trials I must pass to prove myself worthy of Dolly and for this wedding to be valid, but I have already inquired, and all the married men say that the marriage itself is the trials.
I take Dolly into my arms, and the whole village and army cheer.
“Finally,” I growl into her little ear. “About time.”
“I know,” she says and squeezes me. “But this is worth waiting for. A lifetime together.”
“A lifetime,” I agree. “Or until you… but that’s not a topic for today.”
“It is actually the topic for today, my love.” Her eyes glitter.
“It is? And?”
“And I’m not joking about this. I mean it. A lifetime together. However it happens.”
A dark little barb in my soul is suddenly gone. I grab her hand and push her a little away from me so I can see her eyes. “You mean, you won’t…”
She smiles. “If I leave Xren to go back to Earth, it will be with you. If I don’t leave, we’ll both stay. We’re married now. That’s what I mean.”
I embrace her again. “I didn’t even dare hope.”
“Well, it’s true. But Brank’ox, we have a big problem.”
I stiffen. “What?”
Dolly disengages and looks up at me, very serious. “You’re a slayer. But you have no weapon.”
“True, but I have arranged to borrow one of the forges tomorrow. I can get steel myself.”
“That won’t be necessary.” She gives Chief Delyah a sign.
Chief Brax’tan comes over, carrying with both hands a long, shiny sword on top of a white skin.
“A Swordmaster without a sword is not right,” he says and holds the sword out to me. “And there is a tradition that the married couple receives a gift. Brank’ox, please accept this, from the whole tribe. You will have to make the scabbard yourself, but Dolly tells us you’re handy.”
I grab the hilt of the sword and lift it off the skin. “So shiny,” I marvel. “Like gold.”
“It’s been well polished,” Brax’tan laughs. “Your wife insisted. But it keeps a keen edge even so.”
I swing the new sword around in the air. It’s different from my old one, but no worse. “The balance is incredible.”
He nods. “When the men of many tribes come together to make weapons, we can all learn from each other. I believe this sword is the finest on Xren. And it now belongs to one of the finest warriors.”
The women can’t stand it anymore, and they all crowd in on Dolly with hugs and sniffles and happy exclamations of alien words in their bright, warm voices.
I am likewise crowded with the men of the army. But they are quiet.
Until they all roar as one: “Congratulations, Dragon slayer Brank’ox!”
The yell makes the sword tremble and the women jump, then echoes from the huts and the trees all around.
“Thank you all,” I manage, moved by their enthusiasm and sensing Dolly’s influence in their choice of words. “I will always treasure this blade and the memory of this day.”
They all line up to congratulate me personally, and if my back hadn’t received Dolly’s careful treatment with the magic substance, the many shoulder pats would have killed me.
Warrior Jax’zan is the last to grab my wrist and squeeze. “Now then, Swordmaster. Will you become a Gunmaster, too?”
“I doubt it,” I chuckle. “Guns are hard to handle, and they burn your fingers.”
“Perhaps,” he says. “But much the same can be said about swords. Except they cut your fingers.”
“True. And in fairness, the finger burning can be limited, Dolly says. With the use of a trigger, however that would work.”
“I have seen it,” Jax’zan confirms. “My Sophia had a gun when we first met. Much smaller than yours, of