Brokols had been freshly barbered and manicured. And he'd bathed thoroughly, of course. Wearing a simple unadorned robe of perfect whiteness, he stood at one side of the gazebo, wrapped in a sense of unreality, as if in a dream.
On the opposite side stood Juliassa, similarly robed but with a loose, plaited belt of gold cord round her waist. To Brokols she looked incredibly beautiful. Her hair, more copper than blond and grown now to shoulder length, had been brushed straight, and it sheened in the lamplight. Her eyes were downcast, her smile demure, but he had no doubt that would change when the ceremony was over.
Master Jerrsio presided at the altar. Nearly half the gazebo was reserved for the master and the two celebrants, The amirr and naamir stood together in the center, and behind them, standing guests filled the rest of the gazebo, to spill broadly out across a lawn roofed and made sparse by huge spreading trees. Lamplight and shadow fluttered on intent faces. To Elver Brokols it had the feel of another world, another time.
Near Juliassa, at the edge of the gazebo, a seated musician had been playing dreamily, unobtrusively, on a lap harp. Now she began to stroke the strings more strongly, and a flutist behind her began to play, generating music unlike any that Brokols had heard either here or in Almeon. It made gooseflesh flow from his scalp to his legs, and he felt as if he enclosed his body instead of being enclosed by it.
Master Jerrsio looked at Juliassa, then at Brokols, and gestured them to him. They walked toward each other, eyes meeting, and again Brokols' scalp prickled, then they turned and laced the master.
"Good evening," Jerrsio said. "It is the time. Are both of you here because you wish to be here?"
"I am." They said it in virtual unison.
"Excellent. Now I will speak to you of certain things that are a part of marriage."
His eyes were level, calm, direct. Safe. "Love one another," he said, "but do not bind one another with your love. For you are separate beings, and it is better that there be space between you, for freedom of life and movement. Fill each other's cup, but drink each from your own. Sing and dance together to life's music, but let each of you be separate, as the strings of Yelldas' harp are separate, though they vibrate together and contribute to the same music.
"Love can be joyful, and it need not be painful. Let your love be neutral, not clutching, not demanding. Let it be free of 'must' and 'must not.' Do not command where to go and how to be, but find pleasure in letting the other live. Mention, do not demand; suggest, do not insist. And let the mentioning be light as air, the suggestion without force.
"Admire one another but do not adore one another, for adoration is rope that restricts and glue that immobilizes. Enjoy each other. Give freely to one another and accept from each other, but do not force what you would give, and do not demand what you would accept."
Jerrsio paused, still looking mildly at the couple in front of him. Brokols stood bemused by his words, aware of little else. Reeno had said somewhat the same things to him, both in his lesson on being a husband and in the wedding rehearsal. But from Jerrsio the words struck deeper.
"Have you understood what I have said?" Jerrsio asked.
The replies came in unison again: "I have."
"Good. Does either of you feel any reservation about what I have said?"
"No."
"None."
"Good. Then in the name of Hrum, I bless the marriage which Hrum-In-Thee has created. Go and share your love each with the other."
The master grinned then and gestured them together. The couple embraced and kissed slowly, tenderly, while the crowd applauded, then they all flowed into the palace.
Food and drink had been set out in the party hall, but that was for the guests. Leonessto and Morrvia steered the couple into a small room and toasted the marriage, then sat down with them for a light and private meal. When they'd eaten, the amirr rang a hand bell. A servant came in, and Torissia, and while the servant cleared away the food and dishes, Torissia led the couple to the small, third-floor bridal suite, leaving them alone there. Her trial as chaperone was over.