Page 130 of Pretense

“It does come across that way.” Farrendel smiled again, and this time the smile stuck around. “He and Averett have turned it into another bonding experience, though Weylind will never admit it.”

“Of course not. Now that we have gotten that out of the way…” Edmund gestured at the silver bowl and leather sack set on the table. “Where do we begin?”

Farrendel took the items from the leather bag, laying them out on the table in a precise order.

Edmund followed his directions to mash various of the herbs together, adding each ingredient in turn until the green paint formed in the bowl with the correct color and consistency.

“Is it ready?” Edmund gave the mixture one final stir.

“Yes.” Farrendel hesitated, staring at the bowl.

Edmund sighed, something inside his chest squeezing. He did not feel inadequate, exactly. But it still ached a bit, knowing that there was one part of the elven tradition that he could not complete, and no cosmetics or fake elf ears could disguise it. In the end, he was not and never could be an elf. “This is the part where an elf husband-to-be would add his magic, isn’t it?”

Farrendel nodded, but then he straightened his shoulders. “Essie does not have any magic either, and we have an elishina. I will bring this to Jalissa for her to add her magic. Her magic will be enough for both of you.”

As Farrendel was not prone to optimism, he must really believe what he was saying.

“Linshi, shashon.” Edmund smiled at the way the elvish felt just as natural as Escarlish.

Farrendel pulled a piece of leather from the bag, along with a small, green-glowing piece of vine. When he touched the vine to the leather, it twined around both leather and bowl, effectively sealing the eshinelt in place for the journey back across the river.

“Did Jalissa give that to you?” Edmund studied it. He didn’t have magic of his own, and yet deep inside him, some instinct told him that magic hadn’t been Jalissa’s, even if it was in her style.

“No, Machasheni Leyleira. But she said she was inspired by Jalissa’s creations.” Farrendel picked up the bowl cautiously, as if still afraid he would manage to spill it despite the lid. “I was panicking at the thought of transporting this across the river.”

Edmund held back his wince. When Farrendel said panicking, he meant that very literally. Edmund didn’t like the thought that his wedding was causing his brother-in-law that much stress, but he kept his tone light. “How many trips across the river will this be today?”

“My fourth.” Farrendel eased the pack’s strap onto his shoulder, keeping his focus on the bowl. “And I still have two more trips to make when I escort Essie, Paige, and Macha back to this side and return to the Tarenhieli side myself for the ceremony.” Only then did Farrendel look up, that teasing humor back in his gaze. “You and Jalissa just had to decide to make a big political statement by getting married moments after the bridge is completed in the sight of all your guests. You could not wait until tomorrow when I could have simply taken a train back and forth instead of the boat.”

“Admit it. If the bridge had been here, you and Essie would have done the same thing.”

“Essie and I are the reason the bridge exists.”

“At least Jalissa and I are only having a single wedding. Not two weddings and double the work.”

“Perhaps Essie and I were worth the extra hassle.” With a smug smirk, as if gleeful that he had managed to give as good as he got in that round of banter, Farrendel spun and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Edmund shook his head, turning back to the mirror to check that he hadn’t gotten any green paint on his clothes. He and his brothers were having too much of an influence on Farrendel. Next thing they knew, Farrendel was going to start pulling practical jokes on them.

Oh, well. Edmund could afford to let Farrendel have the last word in this round. He would have hundreds of years to get him back.

Edmund glanced at the clock. Only an hour left. He might have hundreds of years for this future, but that hour could not go by soon enough.

* * *

Jalissa held still as Melantha braided her hair, far gentler than Jalissa had been for Melantha’s wedding. The mirror in front of her had been propped on a table that would soon be filled with communication equipment, once this building was turned into the main hub for transferring both messages and letters back and forth between the kingdoms.

As Melantha worked, she tucked some of the flowers Jalissa had grown into the strands. When she tied off some of the ends, Melantha held out her hand to Edmund’s mother, where she and Queen Paige sat to one side of Jalissa. “I am ready for the tiara.”

Edmund’s macha picked up a wooden case and opened it. Inside, a slim, silver crest arched into a subtle pattern of flowers formed of pink, pale blue, and purple stones. Emerald leaves and stems twined together, and all of it was outlined with shimmering diamonds. “If I remember the family history correctly, Edmund’s great-grandmother wore this at her wedding.”

On the other side of Jalissa, Elspetha grinned and nodded. She sprawled in her chair with pillows stuffed around her to make the seat as comfortable as possible. At eight months pregnant, she was staying off her feet as much as possible before the ceremony.

No, not Elspetha. Essie. Jalissa was trying to remember to use her nickname, since it was what Essie preferred and a human custom that Jalissa could adopt.

“It is perfect. Linshi.” Jalissa could have worn her elven crown, but she had asked Edmund’s macha to bring an Escarlish tiara instead. Due to the nature of the elven part of the ceremony, both she and Edmund had to be dressed in an elven style. Since Escarland still needed to be represented somewhere, his crown and her tiara seemed a fitting place to do that.

Paige took the tiara from the box Macha held, stood, and joined Melantha behind Jalissa to settle the tiara in place. “I brought some dark thread to sew it into your hair. Do you want me to do it? Or your sister can?”

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