The next day, the priest raises Finn in similar fashion.  While I spend the day with Boian, Ulric and Briggette discuss my lack of focus in the battle.  They are quite concerned that not only did I stop fighting in the middle of the battle, but also that Finn died because of my recklessness.  As soon as Boian is well enough to sit up and move around a bit, I go to confession for my actions.

Briggette goes out to visit the troops in the capital.  While riding, she encounters another knight, and approaches him to find out his doings.  Wren tells her that he is a Northern knight, a paladin of the White Rose.  The man claims to have come to investigate the “new Duke” in the fallen duchy down south.

Briggette visits with the Duke before we leave.

Meanwhile, back in Heltragen, Nicodemus has begun to help Ulric build up and fortify our castle walls.  After Boian and Finn are able to get up and move around freely, Nicodemus comes back to take us back home.  Six weeks later, Bernadette is born on the 19^th of Autumnharvestmonth.  She has wheat colored hair bright emerald green eyes, and she immediately captures everyone’s hearts.

Ulric hires a bard to go around the country and begin to gather 3^rd and 4^th sons to build an army to take the South.  He stays with us for about a month to learn about us before embarking on his journey.  Meanwhile, we decide that we should raise revenue for our endeavor by exploring the interior of the island. 

But first, however, I have a wedding to put on!  We plan to have the wedding on the 27^th of Storemonth.  I ask Briggette to be my matron of honor, and she happily agrees. 

The day before the wedding, a horn sounds from the top of the wall, blown once to indicate the arrival of a friend.  The incoming contingency includes “Cousin Joe” of the Mladenovs.  He has his wife and daughter with him.  Little Roxana runs up to Stefan and curtsies to him.  The two children run off to play together, and the adults join in the great hall, where we serve a nice meal and talk of things going on in the realm.  I invite him to our wedding the following day, and he says he would love to be there.

The following morning, I wake up and begin to get ready for the wedding.  With great joy, I head down to the church.  The billet gives a sermon about building our marriage on a strong foundation.  He gets to the critical juncture where he asks Boian if he indeed will take me as his wife, to which he instantly replies with a resounding yes.  I know that the pivotal question will come to me right away, but suddenly, I am standing in darkness, and my uncle is standing before me.  He asks me why I am marrying this man.  “Because I love him and because I want to,” I reply.  He says he can understand the second reason, but he makes fun of me for the first.  He chides me for my choices, and when I tell him to fuck off, he demands a sincere apology.  I manage to make him believe me as I tell him that I never intended to interfere with his wants for me or to offend him in any way.  It simply was not a consideration for me.  Finally, he returns me to my body, where I have been kneeling silently beside Boian at the altar.  Everyone is staring at me, and I realize that they are awaiting my reply, so I grin and say, “Yes!”  Under my breath, so that my friends nearby can hear me, I whisper, “My uncle,” by way of explanation.  The remainder of the ceremony goes on as planned without interruption.

After the ceremony, there is a giant celebration with music and dancing and drinking.  Ulric and Briggette grant us an additional fifty acres of land adjacent to the land Boian already owns.  It is given under allodial title, so no fealty is owed in relation to the land. The Mladenov folks give us two gifts:  a blanket for our firstborn child which will protect him or her, and a silver mace fashioned after the mace of St. Cuthbert.  My gift to Boian is a green shirt that ties him to Briggette.  No matter where she is, if she is attacked and he is more than 100 yards away, he will be transported to her side as her defender.  He gives me a mask which looks like an angel on one side and a demon on the other.  It allows me to cast Alter Self up to three times per day, and takes care of any issues that may arise between our sizes and our marital duties.