Page 10 of I Married A Lizardman

Those words moved me more than I could express. However, I didn’t get a chance to respond as Luped stormed back in, showing me my bag with a triumphant grin. I smiled at her mother and nodded to express my gratitude at her words before thanking Luped.

I fished out my nude underwear from the bag, the finest lingerie I possessed, aside from the black lace set I had also acquired for my wedding night. I had bought both before my departure, which had earned me some pointed looks from the clerk on Meterion.

As I held the lingerie in my hands, I looked in turn at the two females who were staring at me expectantly. Heat creeped back onto my cheeks when I realized they were waiting for me to strip in front of them. It was odd that I should feel so self-conscious when I had undressed countless times in front of other women without a blink. But them being alien made things completely different.

A part of me wanted to sneak into one of the bedrooms to change. After all, I had just given them the whole speech about us not stripping in front of strangers. But I had specified that it mainly applied to not showing ourselves to other males. Swallowing back a sigh, I decided to suck it up and just finish stripping, more grateful than ever that I had smoothly shaved all the bits that needed to be.

While my breasts certainly piqued their interest, my hoo-ha acted like the world’s biggest magnet. The way their lizard eyes zeroed in on it, you think some sort of neon sign pointing at it was blinking frantically, commanding their attention. I’d never felt so embarrassed in my life. You’d think I was some sort of insect being studied under a microscope. I didn’t doubt for a minute that the females meant no disrespect. In their stead, I would have been fighting like hell not to stare, but my eyes would be fighting me tooth and nail to keep peeking.

Judging by their oddly expressive faces—which I had expected to be stiff with all those scales—they were quite taken aback by its appearance. Needless to say, I worried about my husband’s reaction when the time would come. Either way, I quickly slipped into my undies to put an end to that scrutiny. And yet, even after I had put my panties on, the females continued staring at my crotch for a short while longer, as if they could see through the fabric, while I donned my bra. I still felt far too naked and exposed, but I consoled myself by trying to imagine this was a bikini and not underwear.

Nevertheless, the color did blend well with my skin tone, and both my in-laws appeared to approve of the final result. They immediately proceeded to draw swirly tribal patterns on my arms and neck with the paint Luped had mixed. They worked with a swiftness and an exquisite dexterity that left me breathless, especially Yamir. To my pleasant surprise, the paint didn’t have a chemical scent, but a lovely spicy-sweet aroma that reminded me of mulled wine.

Once that task was completed, they adorned me with bracelets and necklaces of incredible craftsmanship, but then appeared completely baffled when it came to what to do with my hair. The thick but supple strands, covered in some kind of thin scales, that dangled at the back of their heads reminded me of strange dreadlocks. It would take far too long for me to braid my hair in a way that even remotely resembled that, but I had smart rings that would automatically spiral around the length of however thick the section of hair I clipped it around. The coppery wire looked beautiful against my hair; their color almost similar.

Yamir’s eyes widened with surprise and then pleasure when I did the first one. Luped made a weird hooting-hissing sound of approval as I moved on to the second. Within minutes, I’d done my whole head with two dozen faux dreadlocks. Normally, I only did one on each side of my face, like the Vikings of old would have a pair of braids framing their faces. Luped and Yamir tied a few leather strings to my locks, from which dangled various small, colorful, polished stones.

By the time they were done, my head felt a little heavy, but not painfully so. Ready at last, the females gestured for us to go. To their dismay, I retrieved a pair of simple pair of slide sandals and shoved my feet in them.

“My soles aren’t protected like yours,” I explained. “I would hurt my feet and likely cut myself on the small rocks on the ground.”

The females both looked at my feet, once more unimpressed by how squishy I was turning out to be. Their scaly lips quivered in what I assumed to be the equivalent of a human pinching her lips reprovingly. Thankfully, they did not give me a hard time about it.

Yamir gestured for me to head towards the door. Granted, a good half hour had already gone by since we’d entered the house, probably even more. However, as the Plaza had been mostly barren upon our arrival, I expected the people would want a bit more time to finish setting things up, whatever they would be. To my shock, as soon as Luped opened the door, I was greeted with a mesmerizing view of my wedding altar.

Instead of the traditional chairs and benches, and excess of flowers and ribbons common to human weddings, the Andturians had laid out rows upon rows of low, cushioned benches, in a circular radius on the plaza. Right outside the last row, evenly spaced tiki-looking torches surrounded the area. Floating lanterns created almost a starry dome overhead. Clearly, no technological device operated them. It took me a moment to notice the barely visible network of thread that connected them, keeping them from flying away.

In the center, the elder female named Molzeg awaited us. A small, cylindrical altar made of some sort of lightwood, carved with the most beautiful and intricate design, sat in front of her. Behind her, two impressive males held what I could only presume to be ceremonial objects.

Mesmerized, I advanced almost in a daze while the people began chanting and making rhythmic sounds with both their hands and their tails. It took me a moment to realize that Olix was on the other side of the plaza, straight in front of me, also being escorted to the altar, but by two males instead.

I didn’t know him, and I certainly wasn’t in love with him, but the hypnotic sound of the percussion instruments, of the alien voices chanting, of their rhythmic clapping, and the beauty of these simple decorations put me into a magical trance that I only expected to experience in a marriage of love. My heart fluttered, and my head spun as I put one foot in front of the other.

We stopped in front of each other, eyes locked. Something strange passed between us. I was so lost in the moment that I didn’t even notice the chanting stopping and the Elder Seer beginning to speak. The sight of a light smoke floating between us with a scent of herbal incense snapped me out of my daze. I then glanced at the altar where some herbs were burning while Molzeg recited the traditional speech of the Andturian weddings in their native language.

I did not have the translation module for it. It was never built due to the lack of demand. Andturians were still considered a primitive species and had a fairly small population that mostly kept to itself. As they spoke Universal pretty well, it was never deemed necessary. At least, my translator would eventually learn their language.

Despite my lack of understanding of the words themselves, I basically imitated whatever Olix did. When Molzeg presented him with a plate containing a dried fruit that reminded me of a prune, he picked it up and brought it to my lips. I accepted the surprisingly tasty morsel and ate it. Then I reciprocated by feeding him a similar thing. When he extended his hands towards me, palms facing up, I placed mine in his. Molzeg then took a bowl from one of the two males behind her then began circling around us, dipping her fingers inside it, then splashing us with some droplets. The whole time she chanted something to which the assembly responded a single word with religious fervor.

I had no clue what that liquid was, but it looked clear like water and had no particular scent. Then again, with the herbal incense still burning, it would be hard for my poor human nose to detect anything else, unless it was very pungent. The Seer completed three such rotations around us before remitting the bowl to one of the males. She then turned to the second male and took from him long leafy branches.

Once more, Molzeg circled around us, brushing the leaves over Olix’s back down to his thighs, then back up his sides to his shoulders, before following the length of his arms. Pursuing this path, the branches caressed my hand, still held in his, and repeated the pattern in reverse, up my arm, down my side, over my back and then along my other arm until it reconnected to Olix over our other hands.

Although I couldn’t be certain, I believed this was a ritual of binding. It was rather pleasant and beautiful, bringing a smile to my face. Then Molzeg stood next to us. She placed the leafy part of the branch over our joined hands and said something else at the end of which Olix responded with a single word. Panic immediately set in as I hadn’t understood the word and would never be able to repeat it. My breath hitched when Molzeg turned to me.

“Are you freely taking this Hunter to be your life partner, the sire of your offspring, the pillar upon who you rely in your moments of weakness, and do you promise to be his safe haven at all times and the rock that will help him stand tall when his own strength wavers?” the Seer asked in Universal.

“Yes, I do,” I replied, relief flooding through me.

In response, Molzeg slapped the leaves over our hands. As mine were on top, it stung quite a bit. Not enough to hurt, but enough for me to notice. She recited a few more words then flicked the branches again in quick succession over Olix’s forearms and then over mine. This time, I flinched and clenched my teeth. That one hurt. Olix noticed my change in demeanor and slightly frowned, a questioning look in his eyes. But I never got a chance to even try to express the source of my discomfort.

I heard the whistling sound before the branch connected with Olix’s side. He didn’t flinch or even seem to feel it. My stomach dropped, and my blood turned to ice as the whistling sound—frighteningly reminiscent of that of a whip—resonated again seconds before the branch connected with my bare waist.

Searing pain exploded in my side, and I cried out. Yanking my left hand out of Olix’s, I covered the wounded area while casting an outraged and disbelieving look at the Elder Seer.

“What the fuck? Ow! Be care—”

“NO!” Olix shouted, interrupting me. The look of shock and horror on his face instantly numbed the throbbing in my sides. “What have you done?!”

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