Groaning, Noa pushed himself up, then held his head as if that would fix the pounding his skull was taking. It wasn’t often that he got drunk, but when he did, he hoped no one told him how it went.
The post wedding celebration was a nice touch, and nearly helped him forget all his woes. A heavy spiritual presence followed them from the church when they moved to celebrate at Mini Buckingham, yet nothing more became of the message that was left for him. He hoped the spirit could make the scratched letters disappear before Olwen saw them.
Lila, so kindly, still provided a room for Noa, and amongst all that’d gone wrong, he waited for this charity to be turned into a bargaining chip. He tried not to think about it, and instead changed out of his nighties and into the only set of clothes he still had━the ones Eliaz gave him the day before. While he should find something more appropriate to work in, he did not envy the idea of wearing oversized pants again.
Noa opened his door, then winced at the immediate noise that came from the happy groom in the hallway, “Good morning!” He rubbed his temples.
“Were you just waiting for me to wake up or something?” Noa asked.
“Well, no, I was going to open the door, but then you did it for me. How very gentlemanly of you,” Eliaz poked his shoulder. Damn, he sure was giddy. “Anyways, I thought you might want to take me up on an offer, squatter.”
Noa narrowed his eyes. “That sounds worse than newb,” he pointed out.
“Hey, I only came to fix your squatting problem before dragging you to breakfast. How would you like to buy off my old place in town?”
He deadpanned the elf. “Do I look like I’m made of money?” he asked. “How do you expect me to buy it while I’m indentured?”
“Once you start charging for heals, now that everyone knows I’ve been harboring a second [Mender]. Pay it off a bit at a time. Besides, you’re fixing the whole indentured thing, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, well, I failed to get the lock, and nearly got caught,” Noa sighed, running his hands down his face.
Eliaz pursed his lips. “On the bright side, you didn’t get caught,” he tried.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better? The one time I manage to break into someone’s home without getting caught? Eliaz, I nearly pissed myself!”
“Whose house did you break into?” Noa whipped his head around to Blondie the Second, and froze like a deer caught in the headlights. She folded her arms, and glared at him. “I can’t be marrying a criminal, you know,” she said.
“Hasn’t Lila told you that he’s an indentured servant because of a theft?” Eliaz pointed out.
“Of course she has, and she noted that the majority of the ‘criminal activity’ in this town is speculative at best with a lacking enforcement system. But he just admitted to breaking into someone’s home!” Renee said.
Noa opened his mouth to justify himself, then paused. Could this be the solution to one of his problems? “Why yes, I did break into someone’s home,” he said. “And it was specifically to steal something.”
“Something that is yours,” Eliaz added.
Noa glared. You’re not helping, man, he thought, and looked back at Renee. “I still broke into someone’s home while they were sleeping. Awfully criminal of me, and we can’t have you marrying a━”
“An ardent?”
Noa cringed, turning around and looking at Blondie the Barbarian, now his friend’s wife. Why was everyone here? Oh yeah, because all the bedrooms were on the same floor. He huffed. “The ardent thing was circumstantial.”
“Still, you were ordained. I’m sure under the circumstances, your apple investigation Eliaz keeps telling me about will not be of any concern,” Lila said. Noa deadpanned Elvethor. “I still expect great things from you, Noa Kai. The arrangement stands, unless you mean to offend Serandour’s name?” She motioned to Eliaz.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“How do you feel about being brothers in the future?” Eliaz teased, elbowing Noa.
“Oh joy,” he said sarcastically. “How about we start with breakfast. I have to get to servitude sometime today.” Eliaz laughed.
“Why don’t you two go ahead, I’m going to take a moment with my wife,” Eliaz said, his cheeks vibrant as he looked at Lila. Noa just rolled his eyes, and started down the hall with Renee. Apparently Eliaz wasn’t dragging him to breakfast. He was making a habit of pairing Noa up with his betrothed instead, it seemed.
Now, how to not be awkward? Hello, betrothed, how’d you sleep? No, no, bad idea. Good morning, Blondie the Second━maybe not. Noa hummed. She’s got other sisters. Twins. In the plural? How does that work? Are they just triplets, or━
Renee nudged his arm, and he whipped his head towards her. “You’ve not heard a word I’ve said, have you?” she asked.
Whoops. “Uuuh...” he droned. Way to make things awkward, dimwit.
The young blonde pouted, and pushed a few ringlets over her shoulder. “What’s got you thinking so hard?”
“You,” Noa blurted. Oh, and that was very much the wrong thing to say, given how red her face turned. “You’re a triplet?” he asked, trying to push the conversation to... well, wherever.
“Uh huh,” she nodded quickly, her blush relaxing a tad. “My lookalikes are still in the capital. They’re working on mastering their final base class now.”
“And you’re not?” Noa asked.
Renee nodded. “I am working towards a Mystic grand class━[Mage]. I did briefly consider de-leveling and picking a complimentary class to a healer, but I’ve decided that I don’t value that as much as Lila does. Had the arrangement been made before I grew into my aether, then perhaps I would have done so.”
“Grow into aether?” They started down the stairs.
“When girls become women and boys become men, they grow into their aether,” she said, then paused on a step and looked back at Noa. “Did your parents never teach you about this?”
“They weren’t very... involved,” Noa said.
“You were community-raised? I’ve heard of such cultures,” she said, and looked Noa up and down. Yeah, he definitely looked foreign. “Where are you from?” Renee asked, starting back down the stairs and into the hall.
Noa ran a hand down his face, glad to find his headache was starting to take a chill pill. “Far. Very far,” he said. “You wouldn’t have heard of it.”
“Try me.”
“Seattle.”
“Sea cattle?”
“What? No! Wait,” Noa moved to walk beside her so he could look at her. “Do sea cattle exist here?”
“Why wouldn’t they exist?” Blondie the Second shrugged her shoulders, looking up at him, though their height distance wasn’t much.
“Does that change how people fish?”
“No...? Is this conversation really pertinent? Do you not want me to know where you’re from?” Renee asked as they finally entered the dining room.
The table was already set, and Noa’s stomach growled as the hot aroma of spiced meats reached his nose. Yeah, that was the stuff.
“Hawaii,” Noa answered. “I’m originally from Hawaii. It’s an island in the middle of the ocean, and let’s just say I’ve come a long way to make a new life.”
“Then a new life you shall have. You’ve already gained yourself a title, Ardent,” Renee said, taking a seat.
Selecting the chair across from her, Noa sat down, and eagerly picked his utensils up. He sliced into the meat and took a bite, humming as it melted in his mouth. Blondie the second just smiled at him, amused, it seemed. I’m deprived of good food. Don’t judge me, man... girl? gurl, with a U. Yeah, that.
“What does a religious title even mean?” he asked.
“You can work in churches now. Officiate and other basic things. If you want, become a healer for the church. Of course, that won’t gain you anything here. In the capital it could help you rise ranks in the church if you became one of their healers, and in some instances, that’s as good as nobility. You could get access to courtly activities denied to the general populace. The list goes on. Other words, wealth and prestige,” Renee said.
Noa nodded, and sighed. I’m going to have to tell her at some point that I’m not interested in this arrangement, he thought, feeling like she felt hopeful for their future, yet he didn’t want to crush her soul, except he couldn’t agree to a loveless marriage. Lila married for love, so... I could definitely get out of this then, right?
“Renee,” he started, leaning forward and setting aside his utensils. “I don’t want to get married, not like this.”
A light sounding “Oh,” came from her. She sliced a piece of her steak off, stabbed it with her fork, and looked at it for a moment before looking at him. “I know,” she said, and took the bite.