Chapter Text
We must have made an impression with the SCA crowd, between our "costumes" and our "cosplay" and our "combat choreography," because there was a scroll waiting for us at the Pit.
"Guy dropped this off earlier," said Sam as he proffered it to us. "Miss yer graduation?"
"I was probably off saving the world or something," I said. "You know how it is."
"Uh-huh."
Unless Original Me set up an office in the last couple years, my/his diploma is still in its cardboard tube somewhere in a plastic storage bin. I never felt a need to put it up on a wall. Besides, the diploma was paper too. The scroll in my hand was something else, both stiffer and softer at the same time.
Tsu'na ran a finger over it. "Is it a type of leather?"
"Textured paper, I think. Supposed to look like parchment." I peeled loose the wax seal, unwound the ribbon and opened it up. In rather well-calligraphed gothic letters, the scroll read:
BY ORDER OF HIS MAJESTY, KING LEOBARD THE THIRD, THE WORTHY STEPHEN AND TSU'NA HYURCAT ARE SUMMONED TO ATTEND THE WEDDING OF WILLIAM AND GWENDOLYN ON THE PARADE GROUND TWO DAYS HENCE.
There were more flourishes after that, done by someone who knew how to wield a pen and write Arthurian fanfic.
"We are summoned, Husband."
"Ostentatious shits, aren't they?"
"King Leobard the Third," murmured Tsu'na. "There are three people in this world named Leobard?"
"I'd be surprised if there's one. Roleplayers, remember?"
"A wedding. You said you are not aware of moogles here. Can there be a wedding without moogles?"
"A wedding is a contract between people, so all it really needs is the people. Plus someone to officiate to make it government-certified."
"It will not be the same without moogles."
"That may be a good thing."
She nodded, looking thoughtful. "What shall we wear?"
That was a problem. We could wear our tank armor, which would look sort of formal, but might be the wrong message at a wedding. Our healer gear is close to gala-suitable -- my white tux glam and Tsu'na's Eden outfit -- but could outshine the bride and groom.
"Hey Sam, what do you wear to a medieval wedding?"
"I'd prob'ly break out the good burlap."
The "summoning" irked me a bit. Just for that I wanted to wear something that outshone the king. But it was their idea of play, so I wouldn't spoil it for them.
We pored through our crafting logs, looking for ideas. We finally just settled for the High House set, though we had a hell of a time finding substitute materials. Functional gear is easy to replicate, but we were starting with glamour pieces already, so there was nothing to dumb down. Wind silk came from gatherer's scrip we didn't have (or a vendor to buy from). Nothing as big as a crawler to get silk from. And I haven't observed a chimera we could hunt for its fur.
Tsu'na's googling came up with rayon as an alternative to the silk and pleather for the trim. We shopped in the morning, wrote recipes in the evening, and came up with something passable the next day. It cut into our self-sufficiency (and our budget), but we got it done in two days' time. And gave us enough leftovers to play with learning to source our own.
We headed out to the field the SCA crew were camped at. Jim ("Sir Pym"), the guy we'd made a shield for, was greeting people on the way in. "Welcome, milord, milady. I see you answered the summons!"
I met his eye. "For the sake of diplomatic relations, we agreed to your invitation."
"Of course. Um…you're not exactly in-period, are you?"
"Ishgardian High House gear from the Heavensward FF14 expansion."
"It is popular in our homeland," added Tsu'na. "Perhaps the fashion trend has not yet reached your lands?"
Jim grinned. "You guys are good at this. Go on in and find a bench. We'll be starting in ten or so."
We settled down amongst the other guests, all dressed more uniformly than us, but our take was that we were foreigners (even though they had come to our neighborhood). We were looking at an archway woven with what looked like honeysuckle, except pink blossoms rather than the yellow I'm used to. A small three-piece string ensemble played gentle music on the side.
A crier came out to announce the joyous occasion and give well-wishings to William and Gwendolyn. Someone in a monk's robe appeared in the arch with a leather-bound book. A nervous-looking guy in a green robe, which I assumed was William, came in from the left and took his place at the arch.
A short woman (not a kid) in a flowery dress came up the center aisle between the benches, dribbling flower petals out of a basket. Once she got to the front, the music swelled slightly (maybe more verve by the three musicians) and a woman that I gathered was Gwendolyn approached, wearing a white linen and lace dress and a white flower garland in her hair. She joined William and the monk at the arch, and the music halted.
The monk said a piece about the sanctity of marriage. William said a piece about his love for his bride-to-be. Gwendolyn said a piece about freedom of choice and setting one's own destiny. They clasped hands, which the monk bound with a red ribbon (wasn't aware monks did handfastings, but again, their idea of play). The music resumed, and everyone stood and cheered.
We stuck around long enough to nurse a cup of mead (apparently Oklahoma has mead) and chat with people. Lots of folk liked our outfits, especially Tsu'na's wine-red dress; if we had business cards, I'd've been awfully tempted to pass them out.
We congratulated the couple, said our goodbyes, made our way out of the gathering, found a dark space at the edge of the field, and Returned to Wyatt. We stopped at the Pit, where Sam was almost ready to lock up. He fetched cider for us, which we used to wash the taste of mead out of our mouths while he did some stocking in the back.
Tsu'na mulled over her bottle.
"Something on your mind, my love?"
"Are we married, Husband?"
"Uh…we got married at the Shrine of the Twelve."
"Eorzea Us did. We are not them. That is your theory, yes?"
"...I mean…yeah…but…"
"So are you and I married? Since you and I have not done that thing?"
"Every moment we've been in this world, I've thought of you as my wife."
"Yet we have no proof. We have no…what was it called?"
"...Marriage license."
She nodded. "We do not have that. Are all weddings in this world like what we saw?"
"Variants of. Two people, vows, ritual, witness."
She turned and called out, "Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you come here, please? We need a witness."
It was a moment before he came out, looking puzzled. "Witness to what?"
Tsu'na turned to me and looked me in the eye. "Marry me, Husband."
A contract between people. Sure. I raised my bottle. "I love you and I want to spend forever with you."
She smiled and raised her own bottle. "I love you and I want to spend forever with you."
We clinked bottles.
I looked to Sam. "You saw that, right?"
"Sure did. Gonna finish stockin' now. No honeymoonin' in the bar."