A week passed as they made their way northward towards Lovelle. The sun shone brightly down onto a field of green grass at the back of a farm. Buck stood calmly nibbling on the green treasure next to a patch of Lily of the Valley. A gunshot rand out shattering the placid facade of natural beauty.

"Shit!" Sera yelled after having missed yet another shot. She had been attempting to shoot these bottles off of the top of the fence for what seemed like hours.

"You do know that we have a limited amount of bullets right Sera?" Anjelica asked haughtily from her seat in the nearby grass. "We are only a couple days out from Lovelle and yet the bottle army still stands ready to defend its borders!"

Sera angrily shoved the barrel of the breachloarder forward, popping out barrel forward. She then reached in and removed the bullet before beginning to reload it.

"Guns are just not my specialty," Sera grumbled. "I get how a sword extends my arm but the bullets just fly wherever they please!"

The trio then noticed the two elderly forms of Mnemina and Bertrand coming across the field. Bertrand was only using a crutch to help get around at this point but he was still visibly limping.

"Are you still trying to teach her how to shoot?" Bertrand yelled to them. "You have forgotten how bad of shots you were when you first started. Sera, finish loading your gun and I will help you!"

Bertrand began to hobble towards Sera as Mnemina went to join Anjelica and Hound seated in the grass.

"Now enter your shooting stance," Bertrand said with an undertone of forced patience.

Sera did so, raising her arm and bending her elbow to get the gun to point straight ahead.

"Good God, you all have become sloppy from fighting monsters. Straighten out your elbow. There you go!" Bertrand spoke as he reached out and helped Sera position herself properly. "Now our guns have box sights instead of normal iron sights. Do you know why?"

"Because it is cheaper to make?" Sera offered tentatively.

Bertrand chuckled.

"Not especially! It is due to the design of the gun! For most of history we have just been putting explosives like black powder behind a ball of metal and shoving it down a tube. Pierro invented a way to have the bullet and the fuel all in one package. He put box sights on the thing because he made his bullets a bit oblong. It makes the velocity change a bit but it also makes it so that they are much more likely to skew up and down than side to side. So until you can know in your bones that you will hit what you are aiming at like Ms.Perfect-Motor-Control over here you have to use the sights to your advantage. If you fill the box with your target, it accounts for most of the bullet sway and you'll hit somewhere on your target. Go ahead!"

Using this new insight, Sera readjusted her aim. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the trigger. To her excitement, one of the bottles shattered into a million pieces as the bullet struck it.

Bert laughed heartily.

"Did you see that? You have been experts for so long you have forgotten how to teach beginners!" Bert called out happily.

Sera ran over and gave Bert a firm but considerate hug.

"Thank you so much!" Sera said gratefully.

"It was my pleasure! Remember that you can also keep one on you as a trump card in close combat. Aiming is irrelevant if you push the barrel up against something!" Bert mentioned while shooting a sarcastic glance in Anjelica's direction.

"Was he scolding us or helping her?" Anjelica asked, annoyed.

"I think a bit of both?" Hound said from his position lying down in the grass.

As Bert helped Sera with her stance again, Anjelica grinned with remembrance.

"The old man has not skipped a single beat has he?" She asked.

"Not in his life! He cannot afford to! He has to keep track of all the things that Mina loses along the way," Hound answered.

Mnemina smiled at the pair as they bickered.

"Is that what we are doing? Am I keeping track of all the things that you lose along the way, Hound?" Anjelica quipped.

"Quite the opposite," Hound responded haughtily.

"I beg to fucking differ! I am extremely perceptive and keep track of things exceptionally well!" Anjelica shouted indignantly.

"The fact that you believe that is proof of how good I am at my job!" Hound responded mischievously.

Anjelica gave Hound a light shove which caused him to open his eyes. Looking around, he saw a young man walking towards them through the field.

The party noticed Hound's sudden focus as he pushed up onto his elbows and turned to face the new arrival.

"Um," the boy began nervously, "Are you lot the Gavels who are staying here?"

"When we need to be," Anjelica responded. "Is there something we could help you with?"

The boy sheepishly looked at the ground before steeling himself to speak again.

"Um...Well you see there is an event. Well it's more like a wedding. My sister's wedding! We called on Father Moulder some months back but he has not arrived. We were hoping that one of you would be able to perform the rites? We are happy to pay because the wedding is supposed to be tonight and we understand that this is a big thing to ask!"

The party shared some confused and surprised looks. Anjelica herself looked shocked.

"Well...We do not usually DO weddings you see? I cannot say that I even remember the rites," Anjelica responded.

Sera excitedly cut in.

"Is there going to be a party afterwards!? One with amazing food and drink?" She inquired excitedly.

The boy relaxed a bit and smiled.

"Of course! We are going to have a feast by the waterfront!" He said joyfully.

"Then we will do it!" Sera said with exuberant excitement.

"Sera!" Anjelica yelled, "Who gave you permission to make decisions like that?!"

Sera feigned a bit of guilt but could not help her mischievous grin.

"We were already going to stay here tonight! Besides! To leave this couple stuck in the limbo of engagement would be a crime against love itself! Are you really so cruel Anjelica?"

Anjelica rolled her eyes.

"I know the rites," Bert stated. "We would be honored to help you with your special day!"

Wearing the cleanest robe that they still had with them, Bert stood next to the couple with a broad smile.

The pair were certainly young but they looked at each other with rapture. The two women were residents of the river town and it seemed like the entire town had come out to see them get married.

"From two, you shall become one!" Bert said as he took a small dagger and pricked the couple's fingers. He then took their fingertips and pressed them together to mingle their blood.

"Let your spirits and bodies be as one!" he said as the couple touched the mixed blood to their lips.

"Now speak after me and state your intent," Bert instructed as the couple followed.

"For you to be mine and for me to be yours from now until the end. Let your fate be my fate, let your ills be my ills, and let us have hope that your fortune is our fortune. Now you may kiss your bride!" He finished.

As they kissed, cheers rang out and the ramshackle band of villagers started up.

The party began in earnest as food and drink was laid out on tables and poured into cups.

Nursing a half-drunk glass of wine, Anjelica sat at a table far away from the chaos of celebration.

"I have just never understood weddings Hound!" Anjelica began, "All of this celebration for something that the couple decided on ages ago. It is not like proclaiming it in a public place helps anything. In fact, it makes it worse for both of you if things do not work out."

"People have to celebrate things too, Angel. Nobody should mourn all the time. It is bad for the soul," Hound countered from his seat next to her.

Anjelica sunk into her chair a bit indignantly.

"Well I just wish that they would celebrate in an interesting way. Where is the drama? Would this not be more interesting with a fight or a mystery?"

"I think that anything can be interesting while we are together, Angel," Hound said with a sly grin.

"You are a silly, romantic fool Hundrick," Anjelica said while shaking her blushing head.

"You may be right," Hound stated confidently. He then stood up, chugged the rest of his beer, and offered a hand out towards Anjelica.

"Are you expecting something from me?" Anjelica asked curiously while running her finger along the rim of her glass.

"It seems silly to not dance at a wedding does it not?" Hound responded.

"I am not much for dancing –"

"When you last tried it at eleven!" Hound interjected. "Now slug your win and come along!"

"Is that an order?" Anjelica playfully jabbed while taking a large gulp of her wine.

"Consider it to be...a forceful request!" Hound quipped excitedly.

"Well then how could I refuse?" Anjelica said playfully as she finished her wine and took Hound's hand.

As they reached the large open area that was being used as a dance floor, the two began to sway while holding each other close.

"I would not mind getting married in a place like this," Hound said as lightly as he could.

"To whom exactly?" Anjelica retorted, "I believe I will be a bit busy for the next...what like decade? I will be occupied with either being very dead or dealing with the consequences of my traitorous actions."

"To you Angel. After all of this is over and we can finally have some peace. How could it ever be anyone but you?"

Anjelica looked down at the ground. Her blush had fully bloomed even with the shadow of doubt crossing her face.

"Even with...our current arrangement?" She asked tentatively.

"That is just one part of us and the physical one at that. For everything else, my heart, soul, and life...There is no one that I could imagine myself being with other than you," Hound responded sweetly.

"Oh Hound," Anjelica said lightly, "You always get so mushy in river towns."

"It must be the humidity," He replied coyly.

Instead of an elbow or a shove, Anjelica just rested her head against Hound's broad chest and listened to his too-fast heartbeat.

Sera had found herself sitting on the outskirts of the party after eating more food than she had thought possible. Pies both sweet and savory, cakes, fish, skewers, and sweet honey mead had all made their way into her stomach that night. The dance floor had been quite intimidating and so she had found watching the river trickle past to be a good alternative as her stomach settled.

"What are you doing all the way over here instead of over there making memories?" Mnemina's voice seemed to float as it sang in the wind.

"Just looking at the river!" Sera replied cheerily.

"What are you avoiding by spending time with the river?" Mnemina asked casually.

This took Sera aback. She had traveled with Mnemina for some time but she had never been so direct.

"N-Nothing! It is just that everyone else was busy. None of these people here will remember us after we leave. All of the people that I want to make memories with are busy having a good time, so I will stay here and entertain myself," Sera said with as much confidence as she could muster.

"That is not true at all. I remember a lot of random people and I have worse memory than most," Mnemina countered with a chuckle. "You can make an impression on someone in a single moment. You have a whole night! That is enough to make someone fall in love with you!"

Sera immediately blushed.

"Love?! I am not looking for love and certainly not with anybody here!" Sera said indignantly.

"Oh!" Mnemina exclaimed, "If not love then why not a tryst? You should go and have fun while you have the chance!"

"Mina!" Sera exclaimed.

The old woman smiled.

"You really should go and make memories while you can, Sera. I think you know as well as we do that normal things like this will be more and more infrequent for you as word gets around who you are. Maybe you should go out and just be Sera the farmgirl for once instead of a fledge or an heir. You never know, it could be fun." Mnemina prodded.

Sera considered this for a moment before scanning the dance floor. Embarrassed, she looked at the ground.

"There are no men here that I would want to dance with," Sera conceded.

"Well what about the baker's daughter that you cannot seem to stop looking at?" Mnemina added as if it were plain to see.

Sera did not think that she could blush any harder.

"She is just very pretty is all! Look at her dress! Her hair is in a cute bun with a ribbon! I wish that I could be as tall as her and she is VERY good at dancing. I mean have you seen her?" Sera nervously spouted.

Mnemina just gave a warm, motherly smile.

"Go and talk to her or I will throw a duck on Anjelica while she is sleeping," She politely threatened.

Flummoxed, Sera stuttered for a bit before managing to speak again.

"A DUCK?" She questioned.

Mnemina gave her a shocked and surprised look.

"Oh! I thought that Anjelica would have told you. She is deathly afraid of water fowl of most kinds but especially ducks. She thinks they are very dirty animals. It is completely irrational and Bertrand and I thought it was hilarious. So, go and have some fun or I will throw a duck at her and tell her it was you!"

"Anjelica will know that you are lying!" Sera said in desperation.

"She never did when I blamed it on Bert. Not even after the eighth time," Mnemina replied smugly.

At this point, Sera was thoroughly concerned. Being threatened in such a ludicrous manner had left her completely speechless. Her brain being unable to formulate a proper response, she simply rose and began walking towards the dance floor while mumbling her discontent.

As Mnemina watched her go, she saw the hobbling form of her husband walking towards her.

"Saving other people's youth?" Bertrand called as he approached.

"Naturally," Mnemina cheerily replied. "Most of what I have is my youth and it has served me well."

Bertrand came and sat on the grass next to Mnemina, lowering himself down with a groan.

"This reminds me of our wedding," He said sweetly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Mnemina inquired.

"Oh yes. The food, the dancing, the laughter of children, you and I stealing away to a private spot to whisper romantic things to each other," Bertrand went on dreamily.

"I have lost most of it by now," Mnemina said placidly. Seeing Bert's look she continued. "I would never choose to forget our wedding, love. Sometimes it just...takes things. When I think about our wedding there are all of those happy memories that I have safeguarded but also this feeling of loss. I wish that Jon had been there with us."

"Me too," Bertrand replied. "We have looked. Really Mina, I think that we did the best we could. If he is still alive then he is nowhere we can find him. If your brother is out there, then I hope that he is thriving. I wish him all the luck in the world. He deserves that much for saving you."

"I can drink to that," Mnemina said as she offered her glass of wine for a toast.

Bertrand lightly clinked his wooden mug against the glass before they both took a hearty sip. As both of them finished their drink and let out a loud exhale a crack of thunder rang across the sky.

"It looks like rain," Bertrand observed. "I think it is going to be raining for a while. I can feel it in my knees."