Ben shifted uncomfortably as he watched the wedding.

  Why were there so many people crying?

  Were people maybe upset that the two witches were getting married, and it was not in fact as happy an event as he was led to believe? He had heard some people say they cried out of happiness, but he’d never really thought that was something so many people did!

  Even back when he had been living with his family as a child, Ben could not for the life of him remember anyone crying from happiness even once.

  Leaning over to Spidena, Ben was about to comment on this, only he noticed she was looking a little misty eyed herself as one of the brides proceeded to lay a bronze circlet over her beloved’s brow.

  Ben leaned back away, and barely resisted clearing his throat. On his left side sat Obbie. The fairy had his arms crossed His violet eyes slid over to glance at Ben, his lips curled upward.

  “This a little too emotional for you?” Obbie drawled quietly.

  Ben tilted his head discretely toward him. “Is this normal?”

  Obbie’s lips pressed together, and Ben could’ve sworn he heard the fairy stifle a snort. “Yes it is, Man Chop. Just you wait. I bet when you get married you’ll be a blubbering mess.”

  Ben cringed at the mere notion.

  Obbie tittered to himself before straightening and returning his attention back to the ceremony.

  Ben did the same just in time for the elderly warlock with his tufts of white cotton-y hair floating out the side of his pale head to smile at the two women getting married, and say, “Gabrinne and Nasha have written the remainder of their vows today. Nasha, would you like to start?”

  Despite wanting to groan, Ben shifted on the bench and kept quiet.

  Nasha was a woman with white blond hair, not unlike Celestra’s, and she wore the more feminine dress of the two women. “Gabrinne… I don’t know if you remember this,” she started with a burbling laugh. “But we didn’t like each other much when we first met.”

  The entire audience broke out in guffaws over some shared knowledge…

  “We fought often. And it was to the point everyone was becoming concerned because you could annoy me better than anyone else I’d ever met. It took a while for me to realize that while at first, I was perfectly justified at disapproving of your blunt, aggressive nature—” Gabrinne rolled her eyes, but she did so with a smile— “I know I started to feel uncomfortable for a whole other reason. I felt uncomfortable because I felt something for you I had never felt for another person in my life. Somehow, on some alarming day, I realized how bright you made my world. I realized that every day was better with you in it. And the idea that I would lose even a single day without you being a part of it? It… It was wrong. So wrong.”

  Something odd stirred in Ben’s gut then, and he suddenly felt all too aware of Spidena sitting next to him. He noticed she shifted too, and her face was a little more still than it had been before.

  “I will love you every day, because apparently, I’m completely helpless not to. You are who makes me feel properly alive, and ever since we’ve been together, I feel like we’ve met so many wonderful people. As though everyone and everything just fell into place because I finally found where I’m meant to be beside the woman I’m supposed to spend my life with.”

  If the number of crying guests had been alarming before, it was borderline madness by this point.

  Ben crossed his arms over his chest and moved his sights to the trees.

  He didn’t really want to consider what had made him feel uncomfortable during Nasha’s vows, and he swiftly decided that he probably should tune out Gabrinne’s, though he felt his face heat a little when Spidena glanced at him.

  He pretended to ignore it.

  And he also pretended to ignore the smug smirk Obbie was giving him as Paulav blew his nose loudly into his handkerchief on Obbie’s other side.

  *

  With a tankard of ale in hand, and his elbows braced on his knees, Ben surveyed the wedding reception.

  There were lights strung up over the wide clearing, stretching from the trees that rimmed the area. There were flower petals that kept magically falling out of thin air, and a group of musicians dressed in a mishmash of colors and patterns that wailed jubilantly on the opposite side of the clearing from where Ben sat. People danced, people drank, people ate. There were three caravans not unlike Paulav’s sitting near the road, all selling drinks and food, and there was even a crackling pig on a spit near one of them.

  “Well,” Spidena started to say from Ben’s side, an earthenware goblet of wine in her hand. “How did you like your first wedding?”

  “It was fine,” Ben responded as his attention drifted over to where Paulav was talking happily with the brides who kept shooting questioning looks at Obbie. The fairy was standing in line at the drink caravan.

  “Do you think you’ll get married one day?” Spidena ventured as she, too, watched the partygoers.

  “Doubtful. You?”

  “It might be nice one day.”

  Ben nodded idly, then changed the subject. “Do you want us to start walking in an hour?”

  He sensed Spidena turning to stare at him. “Let’s stay for the party. I still haven’t seen Paulav’s ex, and besides, we’re months ahead of schedule.”

  “What about all the big magic smell? Aren’t you worried it’ll get us in more trouble? I’m surprised none of the magical people here are commenting on it,” Ben reminded while finally looking at the witch.

  Spidena stared at him with her brows lowered. She looked suspicious. “Is there a reason you’re in a hurry?”

  “We’re a fortnight away from Kintel. Don’t you want to get there sooner? We could actually be done with each other sooner rather than later.” Ben busied himself taking a gulp of ale.

  However he hadn’t looked away fast enough to miss Spidena’s stricken reaction. “Right. I guess you… You want to go help your military friend.”

  “Yeah. I do,” Ben retorted stiffly.

  The flapping of great, black feathers swooped overhead. Wolf appeared to be enjoying the celebration with all the shiny bobbles glinting in the sunlight.

  “Alright. We’ll finish our drinks, pack some food, then go back to the caravan to grab our things. We’ll say bye to Paulav and be on our way,” Spidena informed him curtly.

  Ben’s teeth set themselves on edge, but eventually he managed to force out the word. “Fine.”

  Standing with a vast amount of indignation, Spidena downed the rest of her wine in a single gulp. “I’ll go change,” she announced before stalking off.

  Ben watched her go, his gut roiling as he did.

  He needed to try and distance himself from her. Things had gotten messy enough during this whole ordeal, and he should’ve been focusing more on freeing his friend…

  “You never cease to amaze me, Man Chop,” Obbie appeared at Ben’s side and plunked himself down holding two goblets of wine. “To think you can disgust people with your words more than you can your table manners. Bravo.”

  Ben’s mood soured even further before he took a drink of the bubbly ale that fizzed on his tongue. He was about to tell Obbie he could go eat moss, when Paulav waved to them from one of the other food caravans, his cheeks pink and his eyes shining with happiness as he strode back.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Obbie sighed at the sight. “Alright. In the interest of not being as boorish as yourself, I will confess; the merchant seeb has an endearing quality or two. I’ve been plagued by just about every nitwit here coming up to tell me how wonderful Paulav is. How he has saved them or helped them one way or another… And I suppose I can say he conducts himself well enough.” Obbie dusted away some invisible lint from his lapel.

  Ben managed a twitch of the lips in response, but the moment of triumph was cut off when a man and woman suddenly approached Paulav.

  The man was tall, with tanned skin, dark hair, and striking hazel eyes. He wore a tasteful beige jacket and white shirt, with light blue patterned pants, and the woman, with her long red hair and gray eyes, had matched her dress to her date's trousers.

  “Paulav,” the man halted his casual pace and smiled at the merchant.

  Paulav froze, his joyful expression a ghost of what it was a second earlier as sharp pain flashed in his eyes.

  Ben felt Obbie still at his side.

  “Joshel… H-hello.” Paulav stopped and cleared his throat with difficulty before turning to the woman at Joshel’s side. “And this must be–”

  The woman smiled kindly. “Kiltie.”

  Paulav nodded, forcing a tight lipped smile at her as he visibly warred against his discomfort in order to be pleasant to her.

  Ben’s mind balked.

  What could he do?

  How could he help?

  This was so unbearably difficult to watch!

  The poor man looked like he was close to tears!

  “Kiltie, yes. It is lovely to meet you again! Congratulations are in order I hear. A son! How exciting!” Paulav’s grip on his tankard shifted nervously.

  “Thank you,” Kiltie beamed. “We named him Jim. Short for Jimesh.”

  Paulav paled, and his mouth opened, then closed. “That’s… That’s odd.”

  Joshel shot a warning look at Paulav.

  Ben frowned, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Obbie slowly setting his goblets down on the table behind them.

  “Well, that’s my father’s name,” Paulav explained with a rasp in his voice.

  Kiltie’s warm expression faded. “Oh… Well, you see, Joshel always spoke so highly of your father. He really sounded so kind and–”

  Obbie was on his feet gliding over to the trio before Ben could even attempt to stop him.

  The fairy proceeded to drape an arm around Paulav’s shoulders and cast a dreamy, sultry smile up at the merchant. “Paulav, aren’t you going to introduce me?”

  Paulav’s eyebrows twitched in confusion, but at the very least the interruption seemed to snap him out of the cyclone of agony he had been swept up in.

  “O-of course! So sorry, you were kind enough to get us more drinks and I left you waiting!” Already Paulav was sounding more like himself. “Joshel, Kiltie, this is Obbie.”

  The couple were stunned by the sight of a fairy, who proceeded to hold out his pale hand limply as though they should bow or kiss it.

  Joshel awkwardly pinched Obbie’s fingers and shook it.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t say hello before the wedding,” Obbie crooned while his arm around Paulav’s shoulder slid away to instead wrap around his bicep.

  “Oh, we were late unfortunately. There was a bit of heavy traffic, so we only just arrived,” Kiltie explained while blinking herself free of her astonishment.

  “Kiltie, why don’t you go and—and see about getting us some drinks of our own,” Joshel requested while turning a dashing smile to his wife.

  She looked confused by the request, but Ben was guessing that it was because she was still trying to collect herself after the shock of seeing a real fairy. After a second she nodded, smiled again, and proceeded off to the other caravan.

  Joshel tilted his head at Obbie before his gaze slid back to Paulav—who was already blushing as Obbie remained latched on to him.

  “So how did you two meet?” Joshel asked lightly.

  “Oh, he came to my inn. You may have heard of it. It’s called The Fey Way,” Obbie explained with a voice like velvet.

  “I see. Have you two been… Together long?” There was a coldness in Joshel’s smile that made Ben’s eyes narrow from his seat. He set down his own tankard and rose to his feet.

  Paulav flushed guilty. “It isn’t like that. Obbie really is just here because my friend Ben over there—”

  Obbie seized Paulav’s face instantly. “You oaf! How can you say such things! After you make me think your intentions are noble! How do you expect me to feel, hm? I admit it… I was reticent at first, but is there really anyone who is a better person than you?”

  Ben’s jaw dropped at the dramatic scene Obbie had begun to set, and he wasn’t the only one.

  Paulav looked like his brain had melted into a puddle as he gaped at the fairy.

  Joshel had turned as rigid as an icicle.

  Obbie’s eyes searched Paulav’s blue ones desperately, the frantic, earnestness of his expression hard to look away from…

  And then he kissed Paulav.

  “Holy sh-” Ben couldn’t even finish the phrase as a laugh and smile broke his face.

  Gods. Where was Daffy when all this was going on?

  As Paulav succumbed to what appeared to be a life changing kiss, Joshel stood rooted to the spot. His face pale, his mouth hanging open.

  He looked like he was going to be sick.

  When Obbie broke off the kiss, and Paulav stared back at him with clouded eyes, Ben was quite certain that the fairy looked like he was about to bloody well continue kissing the merchant senseless, when amazingly Paulav managed to speak and say,

  “Obbie, would you like to dance with me?”

  The fairy’s dazed expression regained its former arrogance as he rolled his eyes and clucked his tongue. “I guess I can’t say no to you.”

  And then without another look back, the pair swept off leaving Joshel alone without a word of farewell.

  Grinning ear to ear, Ben walked past, gave the man a stronger than necessary pat on the back that jarred Josehl free of his stupor, then continued heading toward Paulav’s caravan.

  Spidena might be a little angry with him, but he doubted even she could remain annoyed when she’d hear about what had just transpired.

  Ben had just made it past the outer border of the grassy area of the wedding reception, when Wolf fluttered down and landed on his shoulder.

  Startled only for a moment, he gingerly reached up with his index knuckle and stroked the raven’s soft feathers.

  “Danger!” Wolf croaked, making Ben freeze.

  His hand dropped, and he turned back in the direction of Paulav’s caravan, but was distracted by a man standing in the middle of the road staring directly at him.

  A man dressed entirely in black, with silvery detailing along his lapels, with his hands in his pockets. He had black hair that touched his shoulders, and a dusting of stubble on his cheeks. His nose had a bump in it, as though it’d been broken once, and his dark slanted eyes that bore into Ben were an abyss. An abyss Ben wanted to stay the hell away from…

  Which was when and how he knew that the person he was staring at, was none other than Lord Callex Earhav.

  We are only a few chapters away of what will mark the end of the first book of The Delicacy of Magic Debt trilogy, but rest assured, I've already started working on the sequel, so keep an eye out! The title for the next book will be: The Rising Interest of Magic Debt.

  Happy Tuesday friends, and I wish you all a stunning spring week filled with the start of good and beautiful things that brighten your life, and bring you all the happiness you deserve.

  Take care of yourselves friends. Drink your water, take 5 minutes to stretch, and remember to step away from your troubles however you can. Mentally create a wall, pretend you're someone else for a few hours, take a walk, read a book, however you can untangle yourself from any stress you might be feeling, do it. Everything is affected by stress, and you need to take care of yourself if you are going to keep living your life, and if you are going to get out of the dark days you are going through. Don't feel guilty for allowing yourself to feel better for a small amount of time. You're doing this because otherwise you won't be able to do all you need to do, be all you need to be, and help who you need to help. All living things need rest, and you are, without a doubt, wonderfully alive. And I am grateful that you are, so keep living, and do everything you can to do so.

  Cheers, friends!

  Delemhach