They had a quiet dinner together, and Rhiannon took the opportunity to tell her father about the gold she had mined with Kael.
“I should have known there was something fishy about that trip,” he grumbled.
She chuckled. “Anyway, we split the gold into three parts. Grandma kept one, Kael kept his, and I kept one. I’m not taking all my share with me. With Kael’s share, we would be carrying too much gold, so I’ll just grab some, and I’ll leave the rest for you, father. Use it in yourself, help others, do whatever you want with it. I’m sure I won’t be needing it. With Kael’s scanner, we can find more if we need to.”
“Are you turning it into coins?” he asked, curiously.
“Yes, I am. I’m taking the gold to my cousin.”
“You know he will want to know where you found it.”
“I know, but I’ll only tell you where it is. You’ll decide what to do with that information. There’s a lot more where we found ours. We only took what we could carry.”
Her father nodded. “That’s a good idea. I could go up there with both your cousins. That way, they would both get a good share,” he said.
“Yes, that would be perfect.”
“So, you’ll be leaving in a few days?”
“Yes, Kael thinks it would be a good idea traveling with one of the merchants going south so we will join the one that will arrive in a couple of days,” she explained.
“It’s a good plan. Though he is the strongest man I’ve ever known, traveling in a group will always be better.”
They chatted a bit more and, by the time, Rhiannon reached her bed, she was feeling exhausted. Kael hadn’t let her sleep much, and her whole body felt deliciously sore.
As he promised, he picked her up, early in the morning with her grandmother’s carriage. Their share of the gold was in it.
He jumped out of the carriage when he saw her coming out of the house. Cradling her face, he stole a gentle kiss from her lips. “How did it go?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows, a bit worried.
“It went well. My father wasn’t very happy, but he understands I need to live my own life,” she explained.
He kissed her again. “I’m glad. I want you to be happy, and you wouldn’t be if you didn’t have your father’s approval. Not completely, anyway.”
“Yes, I love him,” she cradled his face. “But I love you more, and nothing would keep me away from you, not even my father,” she assured him, kissing him.
He kissed her again, this time relishing in her luscious lips and delving into each inch of her mouth, making sure she knew she belonged to him.
“We better go to my cousin’s, or we won’t leave the house,” she grumbled, her cheeks flushed with pleasure and arousal.
He let out a loud laugh but didn’t deny the truth in her words.
Her cousin Joseph was already working when they finally reached the forge.
“Hey, little cousin. What brings you here?” he asked her, smiling.
“Hi, cousin. Have you met Kael?” she asked, smiling back. Joseph and his brother were more like brothers to her.
“Yes, of course, who hasn’t?” the men greeted each other.
“I need a little help from you,” she said, with a smile. “Do you think you could make some gold coins for us?”
A noticeable shine of interest showed up in her cousin’s eyes. “Gold? Where did you get gold?”
“From the Devil’s Mountain. My father has the exact location of the vein, and he told me he would take you and your brother there,” she explained. “But right now, we need to convert the gold we’ve already mined into coins. Can you do that for us? We need it for tomorrow.”
“Uhmm, I’ll pay Uncle Peter a visit soon,” he said, with a greedy smile on his face. “How much do you have? It shouldn’t take me much time to turn it into coins...” he started saying, but he stopped when Kael unloaded the first bag. “Are you sure you found it at the Devil’s Mountain? We never found more than a few tiny nuggets,” he asked, amazed.
“There’s plenty more where we found this, believe me.”
He nodded. “Let’s get started. It’s a good thing I made a few extra coin molds when Zachary brought me his gold, last year,” he said, mentioning one of the wealthiest men in the village.
“Well, we’ll leave you to it. Let us know when you’re done.”
He nodded, and they left the forge.
“We’ll need a carriage and a horse for our trip. One we can use to sleep in and carry our things. Where can we get one of those?” he asked, frowning.
“Let’s ask dad. He knows everybody in the village. If someone has a wagon like that, he’ll know,” she assured him.
And he did. The negotiations took place at the bakery, and just a couple of hours later, they had a new wagon with its own horse.
Rhiannon spent some time packing her clothes with her grandmother’s help.
“You should get married before you leave,” she said, at some point.
“We have no time for that, grandma. Besides, I’m sure he doesn’t even know what a marriage is,” she protested, but deep inside, she knew she would love to pronounce her vows in front of the whole community, make their bond public. “And even if he did, where would I found a wedding dress at the last moment?”
“You could always wear your mother’s. She kept it, in case you would want to wear it,” Gwendolyn told her, with a smile.
“I never saw it. Where is it?” she asked, inquisitively.
Her grandmother went to her father’s room and returned with the dress in her hands. It was carefully packed with silk paper, and when she took it out of its wrap, Rhiannon couldn’t hold back the small cry of awe. It was beautiful.
Made of the most exquisite pale pink silk and adorned with white silk roses, the dress was exquisite.
“Why don’t you try it on?” her grandmother suggested.
Too excited to say no, Rhiannon took off her clothes and slipped into her mother’s dress. She had inherited her voluptuous body from her mother, so it wasn’t a surprise when the dress fit as if it had been made for her. She looked amazing.
“Rhiannon…” Kael’s voice surprised the women that looked to find him standing in the doorway. “You look amazing,” he said, with all his love shining in his eyes.
“Isn’t she? It’s her mother’s wedding dress,” Gwendolyn said, with a wicked grin.
“Then, I guess we’ll be able to get married after all. I was just talking with your father about that,” he said, crossing the room to meet her.
“You know what a marriage is?” she asked, curious.
“Yes, my mother made sure my father turned it into a tradition back home,” he explained, with a smile. “Nothing would make me happier than letting the whole world know exactly how I feel about you, and if a marriage is the easiest way, then, let’s get married,” he said, stealing a kiss from her lips. “Rhiannon, will you marry me?” he asked, taking her hands in his.
She sobbed and nodded, too emotional to utter a word.
“Then, I’ll prepare everything for tonight. Your father thought you would be upset about not having a special dress, but I guess that’s not a problem now, right?” he asked, smiling.
“Right.”
The news spread through the village, and soon Rhiannon’s family and friends had gathered to prepare the ceremony. As it was tradition, it would take place at the main square, and the village’s leader would officiate the wedding.
Despite the short notice, by the time Rhiannon walked down the path to the altar, the main square had utterly transformed. There were flowers all over the place, and by the looks of it, the whole village had gathered to witness their union.
Sir Griffiths read the passages from the ceremonial book, and soon it was time for them to pronounce their vows.
“Rhiannon, my love, tonight, I take you to be my partner for life, I promise above all else to live in truth with you, and to communicate fully and fearlessly all of my fears, my hopes, and dreams. I give you my hand, my heart, and my soul because I know you’ll keep them forever. I pledge my love, devotion, faith, and honor, as I join my life to yours.”
The words, pronounced with all his love traveled straight to her heart, and she had to wipe a silly tear that rolled down her cheek.
She cleared her throat before she said hers. “Kael, on this night, I give you my heart, my body, and my soul. I also give you my promise, that I will walk with you, hand in hand, wherever our journey leads us, living, learning, and loving every moment we spend together, for as long as we both shall live."
“By the power invested in me, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” Sir Griffiths pronounced and the whole audience burst into applause and cheers.
The banquet that followed was memorable, and when her father took out the wedding cake he had prepared, she wasn’t able to hold back the tears of happiness.
Her life had changed so much in just a few weeks sometimes she feared the whole thing was only a dream.
The warmth of Kael’s embrace was one of the things that made her realize it was all real, that she had finally found the man of her dreams, her soulmate, as Kael called her.
They would start a new life, together and she couldn’t wait.
Kael turned to see Rhiannon walking down the path to meet him at the altar. Though he had seen her earlier, with the dress, he was still amazed by her beauty. He wished his parents were there with him in this important moment, but he was sure he would be with them, soon.
He was able to shout to the world just how vital Rhiannon was to him and how much he loved her.
They would start a new life, filled with adventures, he was sure, but also filled with love and care.
The morning after the wedding, they finally left, just before the sun came up in the skies. Rashid, the merchant that would guide them during their journey, was an opened minded man that didn’t even look surprised with Kael’s appearance.
“In my business field, we see everything, more than you could ever imagine,” he said, shrugging.
Kael’s heart jumped on his chest. “Have you ever seen a man like me before?” he asked.
“Now that you mention it, I might have, but I’m not sure where” he replied. “But it will come to me,” he assured him.
Kael chuckled, and after arranging the last details, he walked to their wagon. Rhiannon was saying goodbye to her family.
“I’ll try to send you messages from wherever I go,” she promised, as she hugged her father and her grandmother.
“Just take care of yourself and enjoy your life. That’s all that matters,” her father told her.
“I will.” She hugged them one last time. “I’ll be back as soon as possible,” she assured them and ran to their wagon, struggling to keep her tears at bay.
The merchant finally left, and Kael encouraged their horse to follow him. Soon, they had left the village behind.
“Are you alright?” Kael asked her after they were traveling in silence for a while.
She let out a loud sigh. “Yes, I am,” she sighed again. “It’s incredible how I missed them already, and we haven’t been away for more than a couple of hours,” she confessed.
“Are you still alright with my plans?” he asked, with a slight frown.
She leaned her headed and rested it on his arm. “Of course, I am. But that doesn’t make me miss them less.”
“Of course, not. I know how you feel,” he agreed.
“You must miss your parents a lot, too.”
“Yes, I do. Nevertheless, I still hope I’ll see them again. I’ll find the way to go back, somehow.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“Right now, we’ll concentrate on getting to the meeting point. With luck, my friends will be there, and then we’ll start working from that point on,” he said, with more enthusiasm than he actually felt. He knew things wouldn’t be that easy on this strange planet Earth.
“It sounds like a good plan to me,” she said, with a broad smile.
No matter where he decided to go, she would always accompany him. Life without him was no longer an option. He had become a vital part of her, as she knew she was of him.
Nothing else mattered.
The end