“It’s not like that…” Adam pced his cup of tea down, deg against reag for it now that they were oopic. “It’s just… she has to vihe children first, after all, she’ll bee their mother.”

  Dunes had fotten Adam wasn’t quite so Aldish. “Of course. Does she know?”

  “If she doesn’t know that, then I should refuse.”

  “That is so?”

  The rhetorical question remained in the air for a long while.

  “Now that you’ve teased me.”

  “She accepted.”

  “What?” Adam asked, blinking wildly.

  “Amira accepted.”

  “Accepted what?” Adam leaned in, his eyes wide, his brows raised with delight.

  “She accepted my proposal.”

  “Are you messing with me?”

  “I speak the truth.”

  “gratutions!” Adam reached over and pat Dunes’ shoulder far thly. “Whoa! When did this happen?”

  “Not long ago now,” Dunes admitted. “A few weeks at most.”

  “You didn’t tell me until now?”

  “She did not accept until retly.”

  “Nice! When’s the wedding? Are you pnning on heading back to Aswadasad for it?”

  “I am uain,” Dunes admitted. “I wish for it sooner rather than ter. I would like to have it here, since I wish to stay.”

  “What about Amira? Will she stay too?”

  “She will.”

  ‘Nice.’ “I’m really happy for you, Dunes, really. I ’t believe it…” A wide grin fell across Adam’s face. He reached up to rub his forehead, wiping his face, though was uo wipe the grin on his face. “Sooner rather than ter? If you want, you have it at the business. If you send word back to your order, some people could make it if they rush.”

  “We hold a sed wedding in Aswadasad,” Dunes said, though his voice was full of apprehension.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Weddings are very important in Aswadasad.”

  “I’m fairly certain they are important everywhere.”

  “In Aldnd, weddings st for a day, perhaps two. In Aswadasad, weddings…” Dunes smiled, the pride of his homend beaming within his eyes as he sipped his drink. “There are several days for the betrothal itself. I should have spoken to her family first, and then offered my betrothal to them. They would have judged me, and I would then be allowed to propose. Since I am a member of the order, it is different, so I am allowed to bypass such, as long as I have informed someone of the matter. I spoke with Kal Samra of my iions, and she informed my iions to Kal Alya, Amira’s mentor.”

  ‘I guess that makes sense?’

  “The wedding should st for several days. The betrothal and the wedding should st three days at least, especially since we have our positions as a member of our order. A wedding is a meeting of two families, those of Dunes, Morn, and those of Amira. We should feed the local unity, and the unity should bring us gifts. It is the union of su which we look to the future. The poor, they are betrothed one day, and married ahough sometimes it is the same day.” Dunes shook his head, inhaling deeply as he fell into thought for a moment.

  ‘Weddings are really important, so…’

  “A wedding should st three days at least, and be pushed as far as five,” Dunes said, looking past the half elf. “Seven days are on for nobility, but it is seen as excessive, not that the oners mind, who enjoy the sweet rice.”

  “That’s a lot of days for a wedding…” Adam wasn’t sure he could handle so many days for a wedding.

  “Weddings should have a day of ughter, a day of eating, and a day of colour.” Dunes sighed. “Amira has decided we fo our traditions and marry as the Aldish would, or as the Iyrmen would.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  Dunes remained silent for a long while. “Amira and I, we e from Aswadasad. We should marry in our way. She has decided to the traditions, and she has decided to remain here… I should be able to provide at least three days for her, but she has refused it.”

  “Well…” Adam thought for a long moment. “ month, you’ll provide something greater.”

  “ month?” Dunes asked, thinking about what the month was. ‘The tenth month?’ He tried to think of the significe of the month.

  “Well, I suppose it’s more like you’ll have something so that she ’t pin about missing all those days…” Adam paused for a long while. “It’s not like you have to miss them, right?”

  “No?”

  “Just have those three days. The days of the… ughiing, colour.”

  “Laughter.”

  “What?”

  “Day of ughter, not ughing.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Laughing is the a, ughter is the heart.”

  “Listen, Dunes, you know I am bad with names. Did I get eating right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why isn’t it day of eat?”

  “Eating is the a.”

  “Right?”

  “The day of ughter is not to ugh, but to have a good time. The day of eating is to eat.”

  “Oh. What about the day of colour?”

  “The day of colour is for those who are marrying to wear colour.”

  “What’s the significe of that?”

  “Wearing bright colours is fun.” Dunes did his best to keep his faeutral, but he let slip a small smirk. “The day of colours is for a bright future for those who are to marry, so they must wear the brightest colours, or the most colours, so on.”

  “What happens if someone else upstages the bride and groom?”

  “They are beaten and tossed away,” Dunes said, though he was uo keep his face straight. “They are escorted away nicely.”

  “To be ho, they should be beaten and tossed away.”

  “I have heard it was once done, but it was nht to beat o someone’s wedding, outside of spars and duels.”

  “I’m seriously happy for you, ma me know if you need anything. I’m about t the nobles dry, so I’ve got plenty of to spend on your wedding.”

  “We fihe wedding well enough,” Dunes said, raising his hand towards Adam to moderate him.

  “e on, Dunes. What’s the point of gold if the business ’t spend it on its people?”

  “You should do so moderately. Will you spend so much for all the people of the business?”

  “You’re a Manager!”

  “I am a Manager, but to spend so much upon me, and not so mu others will only breed rese.”

  “I guess you’re right… I nning on putting aside money for weddings anyway.”

  “You were?”

  “Yeah.”

  "Are you going to put aside money for anything else?”

  “Yeah, I pn on putting aside some gold for the children of the business, and ohey’re… I don’t know, eighteen or so, they’ll receive the .”

  “How much do you pn to put aside each month?”

  “About a gold?”

  Duhought. ‘That is around two hundred gold ohey are of age?’ “Why?”

  “That’s the point of the business.”

  Dunes let out a long sigh. “Adam.”

  “Dunes.” Adam smiled.

  The pair raised their cups and sipped their tea.

  ‘Dunes is getting married this year then?’ Adam thought about how much he should fund the wedding. ‘If it’s our first wedding, we should do something nice, right?’

  The st day of the festival came a by far too quickly. Dunes spent some time with Adam, but spent more of his time with the other Iyrmen panions, inf them of the good news.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?” Adam asked.

  “Yes…” Kiara replied, gng awkwardly towards the half elf. He had all but ignored her during the week, while she had spent much of her time with Vonda, Jaygak, and Kitool.

  “Good…” Adam remained silent for a long while. ‘I probably should have let her py with my kids, but… I’ve got to work hard for the entire season, you know?’

  Jirot rushed up to her father, gng towards Kiara for a moment, before she climbed up beside her father with a gentle grunt. “Daddy! Who is Load Stokmah?”

  “Lord Stokmar? Lord Stokmar is… they’re the Lord of Earth.”

  “Load of Uth?”

  “That’s right. Lord Stokmar is very strong.”

  “Stuhrohan you, daddy?”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot gasped, her eyes wide. “No?”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot’s lips formed a circle as she gowards her brother. “Load Stokmar is stuhrohan babo?”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot twitched, as though she had been spped by Adam’s words. “No!”

  “Yes.”

  Jirot and Jarot stared at their father in shock from his words, gng between one another for a moment, before returning their gaze upon their father.

  “You know, Lord Stokmar is strohahe Chief.”

  “No! Stop it, daddy!” The girl pointed a threatening fio her father, the shock casg through the tiny girl.

  “What?” Adam smiled, leaning in to kiss her nose. “Lord Stokmar is very strong, you know?”

  “Stuhrohan Demon Woad?”

  “That’s right.”

  Jirot huffed, gng towards her grandmother to the side to tell her father off, before she gnced back towards her father with a pout. “Daddy!”

  “Yes?”

  “I going to be Demon Woad, and I stuhronger Load Stokmah, okay?”

  “Of course, my dear,” Adam said, leaning in to pnt a gentle kiss on her forehead, pulling her in even closer. “You have to eat your fruit aables and listen to daddy if you want to be that strong.”

  “No!” Jirot cackled towards her father, who bullied the girl with his affe.

  Little Jarot smiled too, embrag his father tight. ‘I going to be stuhrong too.’

  “Papa,” Lanarot called, raising up her ilk. “Milk is stuhrong like papa.”

  “I am strohan milk at least,” Adam replied.

  Lanarot narrowed her eyes towards her brother. “Silly papa.”

  As the st night of duskval fell, many stared at the stars of nightval approag.

  Elder Zijin leaned ba his chair, staring up at the sky from within the tre of the Elder estate. ‘He did not cause any trouble?’ Zijin was sure Adam would want to spoil the Jin children too, sidering how he had passed on silver tokens for them to their birthdays.

  Zijin reached over towards his dried snacks and slowly chewed them, chewing further upon his thoughts. ‘Should I have lent him so much money?’ The Elder sighed. ‘How could I refuse?’ As much as the Elder wanted Adam to take a break, partly due to Sonarot’s words, there was so much Adam wao do, not for himself, but for those around him.

  ‘Elder Zijin, I’m about to be poor as hell. I need a favour.’

  Ziji out another long sigh. ‘I should think of retiring soon.’ The Iyrman Elder tio eat his snacks.

  Meanwhile, those within the fort at the edge of the Aldish nds, felt the chill of nightval approabsp;

  Fred stared at the stars above, his eyes glued to the night sky. ‘The festival has ended.’ He let out a soft sigh. He had spent the st few years in the Iyr, and had bee for many of the festivals. ‘Are you enjoying yourself, Manager Dunes?’

  Fred tio stare at the stars, along with many of the others within the business, many of them having just arrived at the business retly.

  ‘Does he treat Dunes better because I’m Florian?’ Fred thought back to the massacre which took his family away.

  The wedding arc begins. Surely Adam 't screw this up...