Page 14 of Monster Married
That said, it was interesting to think of him as a…pretty ass. Maybe he’d always wanted to be some kind of villain, but people never bought it because he was too pretty? Maybe he looked cute and innocent to bagua eyes. Huh. There was a thought.
“So much for wine, women, and song,” I said to Nokim, who wasn’t really listening on account of the fact that he was trying to stare at Vergis without getting caught at staring.
Lissir clicked. “Oh, you’ll yet be satisfied. You’ll also thank me later, even if you were fussy for your new clothes.” His accent was back to normal now, and it sounded particularly sharp when he called me fussy and cast a sideways glance at Vergis.
Vergis snorted, but didn’t meet Lissir’s eyes. I looked down at myself and the pretty clothes I was wearing as we went from the residential area toward an arching wooden bridge. Across it I could see and hear what definitely came closer to what I’d imagined honk roar week would be like.
I inhaled sharply. “Thanks, Lissir. I should’ve said that sooner. Thanks. A lot. For the clothes. They’re the nicest things I’ve owned since…you know. Other than the cat socks.”
The salesperson had tried to get me to take those off, but I had flat out refused. There simply had to be limits to what I would endure, and parting me from those socks wasn’t going to happen. They’d also tried to whisk away my shoes and replace them with some puffy bag-like things, but they hadn’t won that battle either, though that was mostly because I couldn’t let go of the thought of what I’d do if I had to run from a monster. Honestly, I was a little mad at myself for thinking that.
Lissir smiled at me as we set foot on the bridge. “You’re quite welcome, Rory. Now, come on. Your mate must be anxious to have you close again.”
That described me as much as it did Inkiri. I wanted my big blue monster, wanted to hear his clicks and feel his tongue on my throat. I wanted to run across the wide wooden footbridge and leap into his arms, but I wasn’t even sure where exactly we were going or where he was.
Was he even waiting for me? No, he was. I felt pretty confident about that. I wondered what he’d been doing. Maybe there were important things here that you had to do after coming back from a trip to Earth and saving some barely magical human. I was going to ask him all about how his afternoon had gone, and I didn’t even feel silly for how excited I was about the prospect.
We stepped off the bridge right into the fringes of a big celebration. I smelled food on the air, rich and sweet and totally unfamiliar. Those strange scents still made my mouth water.
Bagua jogged past us, either crossing the bridge behind us or heading back that way from the celebration, carrying what had to be fried food on sticks as well as things that looked like pancakes. Music was playing as well, with bells and strings and people singing.
It was a lot, especially since I hadn’t experienced crowds and that amount of noise for the past two years.
In short order, yet another stereotype was ripped away, because while I might’ve thought bagua didn’t have cars and relied on whatever their equivalent of a horse-drawn carriage was, I spotted a sedan-sized vehicle with a chimney-like thing in the back, like the kind the very first train engines had.
This car didn’t look clunky and boxy like early cars on Earth had though, and it didn’t have a roof either, probably to accommodate the bagua’s horns. The car was streamlined and it easily navigated even the narrower streets. It had one bagu in the back who was holding a crate and gesturing for people to get out of the way, same as the driver. It didn’t look like they had traffic rules here yet.
I didn’t get to examine the car any closer, however, because the festival grounds and the press of people we had walked into didn’t allow for anything but foot traffic, and even that moved slowly.
Several bagua approached us and spoke, but we didn’t so much as slow down, and one of the others always smiled and waved the strangers off. I was really glad to have Nokim and Lissir on either side of me, because the noise and everything else was starting to get to me. It was just so much all at once.
After maybe ten minutes, we came to a quieter courtyard with a fountain in the middle. It was three-tiered, the water flowing from one dish to the next, the sound soothing. Bagua were sitting on its stone basin to chat and eat and drink away from party central.
I looked around, secretly hoping to spot Inkiri. “Where are we going?”
Vergis looked over at me. “Sometimes, I can’t tell whether you just play slow or whether you actually are.”
Lissir hissed something at Vergis in LaGuardia before smiling at me. “We’re simply getting you registered as Inkiri’s mate with the Raiken magistrate’s office. It makes sense to do it now since we’re here on Aër.”
I froze, and Lissir stopped as well, giving me a quizzical look.
My jaw dropped. “Are you saying you’re taking me to marry Ink?”
“Oh dear, what’s wrong?” I heard Nokim say, but I couldn’t see. My eyes were overflowing, my vision drowned in tears.
“Are you saying I’m getting married?” I dissolved into a flummoxed heap of happiness, leaning on Lissir, whose excitement was turning to concern.
Vergis groaned. “For the sake of fuck, can you at least wait another ten minutes before turning into a snot ball?”
“Is he well? What’s wrong, Rory? Vergis, what’s wrong with him?” Lissir asked.
Vergis groaned. “It’s normal. Some humans lose their shit at weddings like that, especially their own. It’s customary to simply tie them up and deliver them to their waiting spouse, so feel free.”
“You’re…so mean,” I told Vergis while I did my best to wipe my tears away. “Why didn’t anyone tell me that today is my wedding day?”
Nokim huffed. “Oh. Well. We talked about it at the clothes store. I didn’t even think…”
Lissir had relaxed now that Vergis had lied to him that my reaction was normal. “I did, and I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t want to deliver you back to Inkiri like this though.” He handed me a pale gray handkerchief with purple flower petals embroidered on it.
