21 The Auspicious Day

~TIEN LYN~

The incenses, flowers and chants did nothing for the terrified maid as far as Tien Lyn could tell. For two days in a row, she parted the garlands of flowers and ribbons inscribed with faeries' script and brought water to the girl. She'd figured that she was the one to do it because as the bride she got the purifications, blessings and faery prayers in triplicate compared to everyone else.

When the girl could no longer drink, Tien Lyn washed her face. But her artless ministrations were as useless as the faery's chants.

On the third day, the maid expired.

In death, she commanded far more attention than she'd ever done in life. The entire household gathered by the toolshed, even Chong Ho who otherwise spent most of his time in his wharfside offices. A faery procession, the eight serene sisters, and twice as many acolytes joined them, led by Mother Weynala. Sayewa was not in attendance.

Serene Mother Weynala had confirmed the death and draped herself in a stormy mourning cloud. Within it, she looked darker than before and far less like a human woman. All her limbs stretched out and thinned, her head was no longer a perfect oval, but more like that of a horse. Not a single hair was left, all replaced by black seaweed, floating around her face on the unseen waves.

The faeries that accompanied her remained in their normal form, with their stretched out but essentially human bodies covered in bark, fur or scales in place of skin, with tufts of grasses, twigs and flowers sprouting wherever it pleased them.

"Do I have your permission, Master Chong Ho? Can we, the faeries, take this dead human from your house?" Mother Weynala asked.

Chong Ho swallowed and nodded.

Tien Lyn wished they were already married so she could stand next to him and share the burden of this decision. It was against custom to surrender a human body to the faeries for burial, but Mother Weynala insisted that the faery ritual was the safest way to send the maid's spirit on her journey.

The faeries started singing. Mother Weynala did not lead the chorus, only swayed to their tune focusing inward. As the hymn approached its crescendo, she opened her palms to reveal a small blue flame. The hymn grew in volume and joy, and so did the flame, until it spilled in burning drips from the Serene Mother's cupped hands. She poured it over the maid's body, and it took faster than a wildfire on the dry underbrush.

The body burned without sound, odour or smoke. Instead of falling to ash, it turned into mist and drifted away. The maid's name was not invoked in the faery's singing. When the funeral hymn ceased, it was like the maid had never existed.

Or like Chong Ho had never hired her.

Which he would not have had done if we had not come to his house with our demands and our bad luck.

Tien Lyn studied the man's resigned face looming over his crossed arms. She could not stand it.

"Mother!" she whispered urgently, "What are you waiting for? A Celestial to defy the Final Interdict and descend from the Heavenly Realm on a cloud to forbid this wedding? Let us be away from here! We must find some other way to survive!"

Dew-on-a-petal looked stricken. For a moment Tien Lyn thought that the ill omen prediction would have an effect on her, and she'd agree, but Weynala approached them with Chong Ho in tow. "Our prayers drove the ill spirits away. The malady is gone from your house. The fire sanctified earth, air, and water within. The faery law allows for the wedding ceremony to be performed on this ground on the fifth noon of the seventh full moon since the winter solstice as arranged."

Tien Lyn was surprised to hear that at first, but then she understood. A serene mother could not let the maid's death cast doubts on the Temple's power to heal. A cancelled wedding could draw attention. Better to forget that the poor girl existed than question why she'd died with the faery spells and flowers surrounding her.

"Death on the eve of the wedding is a bad omen among the humans," Chong Ho grated. "It will be improper to go ahead with the ceremony."

Oh, no, no... if only you've kept your mouth shut, my intended!

There was not a chance her mother would let 'that merchant's' opinion on etiquette stand unchallenged.

Dew-on-a-petal neither pounded the ground nor tossed her head like a fiery warhorse smelling battle, but Tien Lyn heard the beat of imaginary war drums.

"The 'Guide to Gentle Manners' states that anything over five days is permissible. We have six. And even if we did not, during the Dynasty of the Enlightened Oversight Lord Yong was wed to Lady Pia three days after his only brother was killed in an unfortunate hunting accident. The mourning was extended in duration, but the nuptials took place."

Chong Ho upraised his palms: "I am delighted to hear this. I hope seven hundred years is not too late to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the fortunate Lord Yong. Along with no less belated and heartfelt condolences."

"He was blessed indeed," her mother cooed, "with many children. The bloodline did not falter since. But why should we concern ourselves with the comings and goings of the earlier days?"

Why indeed?

"On the morrow or two days hence at the latest, Master Chong Ho's family will be arriving from the Gorge of the Old Faces. We cannot turn them away."

Chong Ho sucked his breath in and looked from faery to Lady Chen Guang. Then he glanced Tien Lyn's way, catching her in the middle of an exasperated exhale. Their eyes met, and his lips quirked a little.

"Let's not disappoint anyone then," he said, and Tien Lyn thought he meant it for her.

***

On the fifth noon of the seventh full moon since the winter solstice, Tien Lyn moved through the wedding ceremony, rite by rite, ritual by ritual, hymn by hymn.

Some parts of it she'd been through only thrice in rehearsals, the others - as many as five times. The real novelty was to be in Chong Ho's company for the entire duration. But as was their habit, they spoke little to each other, and mostly in words handed to them by the others. She'd promised him a whole lot of things.

Truth be told, she was more preoccupied with keeping her back and neck straight under the weight of the headdress and trying not to look at the distracting glitter of the precious metal to each side of her head than with what he was vowing.

She was resigned to the headdress' weight, but she did not anticipate just how distracting wearing it would be. Had anyone ever lifted it out of its lacquered chest to be blessed and purified by the faeries? Of course, they did. It was a part of the wedding outfit, they must have...

***

By the fifth nightfall of the seventh full moon since the winter solstice, Tien Lyn was finally released from her finery and left to wait in the marital bedroom.

Chong Ho stole inside by sunrise. He smelled of wine and spoke with more excitability than she'd ever heard him to.

"Tien Lyn? Tien Lyn?! Wife?"

She gave the blankets a shove. "Greetings, husband."

"About that. You know I was married once before. You know it. Right?"

"Ah... yes, yes. I am sorry to---" Tien Lyn stammered. "I am many years too late to offer my condolences, am I?" For some reason, she thought of Lord Yong. Well, at least it's less than seven hundred years too late.

"No, you're not too late. And that's just the thing, Tien Lyn. I cannot start a new marriage before I say farewells to Mei. Mei is my wife. My first wife. Was. I must go to the shrines. To the Gorge. I should have done it before, but... Ancestors!"

"But there was no time," Tien Lyn said. "They should have put it into our vows. That we shall always have time. This does not mean that it should not be so. Do you wish me to accompany you to the shrines, husband?"

"No. No. I must go alone. And... I better leave now, wife."

Alone again, Tien Lyn pulled the blankets back up to her chin. This was not what she thought was going to happen, but as of late what was? I will make good on my wedding promise. I will wait to see if I could work out the mysteries of marriage that binds strangers into the closest allies against the turns of fate. Ancestors, I need an ally!

Her waiting grew tiresome by the nightfall, and there was nothing for it but to count days.

Three days into the count, Tien Lyn woke up aching from head to toe. She tried to get up, but her head was swimming. Her first impulse was to crawl to her mother and bury the burning forehead in her chest. She returned to her bed instead and forbade the maid to cross the threshold.

"Ask Mistress Dew-on-a-petal to come," she ordered the girl.

For her Mother, she had another order. Well, two. Firstly, do not come in. Secondly, send for Acolyte Sayewa. Yes, Sayewa. The only faery who told the truth about the Inscrutable Contagion.

With that done, Tien Lyn laid back and waited. Not for her husband's return from his family shrines, not that anymore. There was no time. She waited to die - blessed, isolated and warded.