Her hair, now gently brushing her shoulders, made her look more carefree.The new haircut suited her, and I would make sure she knew it the first chance I got.
“I am very good at cards, Deidre.”Karim came to sit by my side, the tips of his hair gliding along my back where no one could see the intimate touch.Sneaky elf.
Deidre scoffed and passed a hand through her tresses, although no hair was out of place.She had a playful glint in her eyes as she sat beside Tisvali, so I knew all was good between her and Karim.
“My only problem is that I don’t know when to stop,” he went on.“I love playing cards.”
“You also love ripping dresses,” I blurted out.I blushed at my daring statement, but there was no going back now.So I finished with, “I know the perfect solution.Ever heard of strip poker?”
Judging by the looks on their faces, they hadn’t played that game.
Not thatIhad played it, but with Karim I totally would, in private.All I needed were extra layers of clothing; otherwise, the game would be over after a single dealing.
I giggled at the innocent curiosity on their faces.“Oh, you elves are so unknowing.”
- 35 -
Bloom Lady
Itook a deep breath, then looked up to meet Karim’s gaze steadily, without any hesitation.Just over two weeks after our eyes had met for the first time, we were getting married, Elvish style.It should sound crazy; it shouldn’t be possible, but here we were.And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
Well, except maybe in our garden, alone with my Prince, instead of facing him amid the Great Cavern packed with hundreds of elves.
I smiled at Karim, and the tips of his lips twitched.That was all I was going to get from him during the official ceremony, but it was okay.In the privacy of our home, he would not withhold his smiles, made that much more precious by being reserved for me.Particularly his roguish one.
He gave a subtle nod to his half-sister, standing next to us on the raised slab of stone.It was time.
The Queen, dressed in a sparkling dark-blue dress, lifted her arms in the air.Without her saying a word, silence descended over the Great Cavern.The huge space, located deep underground with a ceiling meters above our heads and historical paintings on the walls, soon filled with her lyrical voice as she began to officiate in Elvish.
I had learned many words over the past weeks, but not enough to understand the whole speech.I was too busy feasting my eyes on my braid partner, anyway.We hadn’t seen each other for an entire day; he had slept at Tisvali’s home and prepared there for tonight’s ceremony.
He had his magnificent hair in a single sophisticated braid over his right shoulder, his full set of gold beads adorning the black locks.A blue dress decorated with complex patterns of golden threads accentuated his broad shoulders before flowing down his masculine figure in a river of Elvish silk.The clothing signified both his royal status and the life-giving water that would keep me nourished as we became linked.
My own dress was a floor-length masterpiece made of green, orange, yellow, and red leaves woven together and kept fresh by what had to be magic.I wore the colors of the seasons, each with its role in the cycle of life.I’d been stunned by the dress when Deidre had presented it to me, but Karim did not seem impressed by it.
His gaze was focused on my straight hair, which Deidre had combed into a complex braid over my left shoulder.Since I couldn’t get my hands on hair extensions, I’d asked Sue for a hair-straightening solution during our meeting last week.The former scientist at a cosmetics company had mixed some gargoyle-provided ingredients andvoila: my hair was long enough for tonight’s ceremonial braid.But I also had several locks loose, the curls framing my face a symbol that this was a union of two worlds.
“Timpesinem,” the Queen announced, and motioned for us tostep closer.It was time for the linkage itself.
We stepped forward until our chests were brushing, and the Queen brought our braids together in one hand.With the other and the tips of her own hair moving like a second set of fingers, she connected our braids with a golden ribbon.End of that ribbon in hand, she led us to the towering cherry tree on the right side of the slab of stone.She had us face the crowd under its blossomed branches.
Our guests–local elves and a few emissaries of allied kingdoms–bowed their heads in acknowledgement of our braid linkage.At least, most did.As expected, there were those who would not recognize this scandalous marriage between an elf and a human.Some probably wanted to see us executed.
But Karim had demanded this ceremony, and the Queen had backed him up, so everyone could murmur all they wanted.Ever since the war alliance with the gargoyles, which several kingdoms had joined, a shift in attitudes could be felt toward tolerating humans.We were important for bilateral ties now, and the Queen made sure to pass that message along.
She wanted to see Karim on the throne with their people behind him, and since he’d made his choice of a human partner clear, she would use every diplomatic trick up her bell sleeve to integrate my kind.Starting with the abolition of the law banning elf-human moss interactions.No more threats of execution for those who simply followed their hearts.Karim and I were still the only inter-species couple in the Kingdom, but we wouldn’t be the last.Of that, I had no doubt.
Times were changing, and our braid linkage was the first–and very big–step toward embracing that change.The process would be long and unpredictable, but one day elves and humans could be living side by side, as equals.
But, as Karim kept reminding me, I should focus on the here and now.Enough thoughts of politics tonight; I was officially one with the love of my life!
To the point where I couldn’t move my head much without bouncing back against him.My hair simply wasn’t long enough to allow us to walk regally side by side.But we couldn’t have waited until it grew down to my knees, for heaven’s sake.
“Follow my lead,” Karim whispered to me.“I have you, my flower.”
He couldn’t touch me in public, but those two whispered words were enough to make my whole body light up as if he had run his fingertips up my naked back.
Under his guidance and slow head movements that I could easily mirror, we toured the Great Cavern to speak with all the guests individually.Initially, it seemed like an impossible task, but Karim was so good at nipping long conversations in the bud that we were halfway through the guestlist in no time.And, to my relief, I didn’t have to speak much nor withstand hostile looks my way.Those who didn’t approve of our union demonstrated that by simply avoiding us.Including Katsia and her family.Fine by me.
