At the hall, Vania paused before going inside. She looked around the stormy streets, the streetlamps glowing brightly to try to bring some of the midday brightness back. Someone had spelled the streetlamps closest to the hall to be blue and yellow. The colors of House Buccareth. The streetlamp beside the door blazed a brilliant white. Because the Nahaloras don't have family colors, not being noble... Vania looked at the lamp, the brightness of it making her eyes tingle.

A hand touched her elbow, causing her to turn. She blinked at the spots dancing before her eyes, obscuring her view.

"Vania. Are you all right?" Derry asked. "Everyone is inside. Licia and the kids. Bergin. Eddin, A'lei'iana, T'kanna, and the rest of the family." He added quietly, "I didn't realize he had so many cousins. Of course, A'lei'iana does have four siblings, and they each had five children..." After a brief pause, he added, "Even Ans'sa is here."

"I'm... fine, Derry." Vania swallowed and turned away from him, looking instead around the puddled street. People walking or riding by paused to look curiously at the streetlamps, then at her. "I... just... never imagined this."

"Well, certainly not this exactly, no," Derry agreed. "But, we all—Licia, Starlin, Taila, and I—knew you'd marry one day. And once I met Eddin and saw you two together, I knew. But, I didn't anticipate these circumstances."

"You mean that we're rushing this ceremony to save him from dying overseas, and I'm slowly losing myself to both the Mark and an evil goddess?" Vania swallowed.

Derry waited a moment before he said, "Vania." He grabbed her elbows and turned her to face him. "You love each other; that's the important thing. Don't worry about the rest. You'll face it together."

Vania just nodded.

Derry reached out and cupped her cheek, smiling. "Your parents would be so happy for you; I'm sorry they're not here. But, never doubt that, with everything you've done in your life—your career as an enforcer, helping the people have justice, and now, marrying the man you love, despite the difficult circumstances—Starlin and Taila would be so proud of you."

Vania eyes filled with tears and she hugged him, burying her face into his shoulder. "Thank you, Derry."

He just hugged her back in silence.

Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped back, smoothing her dress.

"Ready?" Derry asked with a smile, holding out his hand.

She nodded and took it.

Standing before the assembled people, the ceremony became a blur. She distantly took note of the five candles, each a different color, the agreement she and A'lei'iana signed, the five bowls, each containing something different to represent health, prosperity, wealth, hope, and love. The invoking of the main goddess of the a'marlon people for five blessings, requesting wisdom, insight, patience, perseverance, and fertility.

A'lei'iana sat, still at the front of the assembled witnesses, but off to the side. Her chair looked like a cross between an extremely elaborate chair and a simple throne. An identical chair sat up front, but on Vania's other side, empty. It was where her mother would have sat, if she'd been alive. Vania had requested Licia sit there, but had been told it wouldn't be right. Instead, a wreath made of small white, purple, and pink flowers occupied the chair; larger red flowers, of the same variety as were used in the garlands hung on military tombstones on Glory Day, were intertwined throughout the wreath. Vania wondered if, of those who didn't know, seeing that wreath would make them assume Taila had died in battle.

Vania noticed the side of the hall where A'lei'iana sat was filled, mostly with people she'd never met. An a'marlon man in a finely embroidered shirt and tunic paired with silk slacks sat in the front row, beside T'kanna and K'landrin. The colors of his outfit and the design of the embroidery matched A'lei'iana's dress perfectly; Vania could only assume he was Eddin's father, T'doru.

The side of the hall Vania stood on was noticeably emptier, having just Derry, Licia, and their four children, Bergin, and Commander Aleira.

The gifts to the bride were presented, starting with the siblings'. A'lei'iana brought attention to where the crystal from A'razoru and Eluri from S'reld'dia had been placed on pedestals; Vania vaguely wondered what Eddin had told Eluri to make the lucid stay in her place when her twitching tail indicated she'd rather be elsewhere.

K'landrin presented his gift with a flourish, setting them on the empty pedestal beside the one Eluri lounged on. The smirk in his eyes made Vania quietly decide to have T'kanna or Bergin check the overly gaudy pair of bracelets before she would touch them.

T'kanna announced her gift while complimenting Vania on her dress.

Then A'lei'iana presented her gifts, starting with announcing the gift of furnishings for Vania's house, as a way to bring in new for this new chapter in her life. Vania silently noted how A'lei'iana neglected to mention that the entire house was new, and any furniture she might own needed replacing, since her former home was currently underwater, being at the bottom of the hill.

A'lei'iana's second gift was a set of seals. She'd done some digging and had found a family crest for the Nahaloras and had a large seal made to hang in the house, as well as a seal for impressing letter wax, and a signet ring bearing the seal, which she placed on Vania's finger.

For her third gift, A'lei'iana presented Eddin. He came forward led by his mother, a long cloak and hood covering him completely, but Vania still recognized him by his gait. When A'lei'iana presented Eddin, she removed his cloak, so Vania could see him. Vania smiled at him, wondering if he'd chosen his outfit or if T'kanna had helped him. He wore a tan shirt and brown pants under a dark green tunic. The hands that reached out to clasp hers had fingerless gloves in a brown that was almost the same shade as his skin.

He smiled at her, squeezed her fingers, then sunk onto his knees to begin his vows. Vania tried not to frown in discomfort; the way he knelt and the wording of the vows, promising loyalty and obedience, among other things, felt more like a vassal swearing loyalty to a queen than a husband talking to his wife. She desperately wanted to pull him to his feet and tell him to forget that—she wasn't looking to rule over him. But, remembering what was at stake—Eddin himself—made her stand in silence, looking into his eyes as he decried everything for himself and declared everything for her.

Once he finished the five vows, he paused, the entire hall silent. Still kneeling, he presented his five gifts. First, he handed her the key to the house. The next gift was a locket with a small lock of their hairs combined. Then came a dagger with a sheath enchanted to protect the bearer from certain malignant spells. The fourth gift was a rich, fur-lined dark blue cloak, the golden clasp in the design of the crest A'lei'iana had discovered. Finally, he formally gifted her with Ama, the red mare she'd been riding at work.

She accepted his gifts, then drew him to his feet and accepted him. When they kissed, everyone applauded.

Vania looked at Eddin. He grinned at her. She smiled back, then took his hand and led him out of the hall while A'lei'iana stood, on behalf of herself and Taila Nahalora, to thank everyone for coming to witness the ceremony.

As they stood, hand in hand, just outside the door to stay sheltered under the lintel from the rain, Vania noticed the lamps by the door were now a swirling mix of deep red, golden yellow, and royal blue. The same colors that were the mainstay of the Nahalora family crest A'lei'iana had presented. Even the lamps that had been blue and yellow of Buccareth House now glowed the trio of Nahalora colors.