Page 5 of I Married A Lizardman

“Human’s skin turns red for various reasons,” Kayog explained in a somewhat amused tone. “Most of the time, it is to express embarrassment or shyness. It is called blushing.”

“Oh!” I said, feeling even more stupid for my ignorance. “Our scales darken when we are embarrassed,” I said, before snorting while looking down at myself. “As you can see happening right now.”

Susan cast a timid look my way, and some of her embarrassment appeared to fade as she took in my darkening scales. The sliver of a smile stretched her lips.

“I will do better to learn of your customs. But for now, if you allow it, I will honor your tradition and kiss the bride,” I added.

I wasn’t too tempted by that prospect. Why press your mouth onto someone else’s? Still, I had just committed to be a good husband to this female for the rest of our lives. Showing some respect for her customs was the least I could do, no matter how unappealing it might be.

Now more than ever, I was kicking myself for not reading up on humans. But this whole process had happened too quickly. Only two days ago, Kayog had informed me of a female choosing me, and now she was already here. That had only given me the time to prepare the house for her arrival as well as rush the wedding plans.

Susan hesitated. It bothered me that I couldn’t decide if it was because she didn’t want me to feel obligated or because she wasn’t too keen on kissing me either. I hated feeling so clueless.

“Okay,” she said, the redness creeping back around her neck.

She lifted her face towards mine. Bracing, I leaned forward to press my lips against hers. Her pointy nose, oddly pliable instead of hard and unyielding like a fingertip as I’d expected, poked my own. It was an odd feeling, but the softness of her lips against my scaly ones really held all of my attention. It proved to be an unusual but quite agreeable sensation. I lifted my head, startled when the Magistrate and the Temern started clapping their hands. Susan smiled shyly at each of them, but my mind was still stuck on the fact that I wished to kiss her again to better assess that experience.

But that wandering thought was cut short when the Magistrate asked us to sign the wedding contract by pressing our thumbs in the signature box on the interface of the altar. She and Kayog also signed after us in their capacity of witness and officiant.

“Congratulations, Susan and Olix. I wish you a long and happy life together,” the Magistrate said.

We both thanked her as she retrieved the holocard from the slot in the altar, which she then handed to Kayog. With a final wave of the hand, she left the room.

“I will go file this with the Registrar,” Kayog said. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

We nodded and watched him walk away. And awkward silence settled between Susan and me. I cast a sideways glance at her only to find her eyeing me. I cleared my throat, thinking how unimpressed my clan would be to see their leader so intimidated by merely conversing with the tiny female he had just married.

“I hope you had a pleasant journey on your way here,” I said, failing to come up with a more interesting topic.

“It was very nice,” Susan said, looking almost relieved I’d come up with something. “The Agency planned everything perfectly. The accommodations were lovely and so was the staff onboard the vessel.”

“I am pleased to hear it,” I said with a smile. “You also arrived on a beautiful day on Xecania. It will be perfect for the ceremony in Monkoo.”

“I can’t wait to see your village and meet your people,” she said with a nervous laughter. “I’ve watched some videos during the trip. Your planet looks beautiful.”

“It is your planet and your people now, too,” I gently corrected.

“Right,” she said, her face heating some more.

It was a fascinating phenomenon. And now, I couldn’t help but wonder what other colors humans changed to based on their emotions.

I gestured with my chin at her bag, which I had placed on the floor before the wedding. “Is that all you have brought?”

Susan shook her head. “No, I have many more things,” she replied with a sheepish expression that made me wonder at just how much ‘many more things’ meant. “Kayog says a shuttle will deliver them to the village in 24 to 48 hours. This bag only contains the essentials until then.”

“Good. Traveling lighter will allow us to get back to Monkoo faster,” I said, relieved.

She slightly recoiled in surprise. “Oh? We’re not traveling in a shuttle?”

I shook my head, forcing myself not to show disdain. Granted, shuttles were faster, more comfortable to some—especially elders—and allowed one to carry a lot more at once, but this wasn’t the transportation of Hunters, let alone of Andturians.

“We will be riding my mraka back home,” I said proudly.

“Is that so?” Kayog said, a slightly concerned look on his face as he returned to us.

“Yes, it’s waiting for us outside,” I said, disturbed by the Temern’s troubled expression.

“I see,” he said in a noncommittal tone. He extended a holocard to each of us. “Here is a copy of your wedding registration and citizenship documents,” he added, looking at my mate. “Congratulations to the two of you. I hope we will not meet again, as that will mean a successful union between you. I wish you the very best.”

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