The Chronicles of Harold the Healer Ch. 05

"Leila Parsons, MD, my proposal still stands, and it gives me great joy for you to have accepted it. Mayor Jaggers, will you do us the honour of leading us through the ceremony?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she replied warmly, getting some ripples of laughter. "John Martin, do you have the paperwork?" A five-foot-ten, somewhat rotund man with a shiny domed head with a long fringe of mostly gray hair had been lurking near the edge of the gazebo during the proceedings. He was the Town Clerk and husband of Nancy, who had delivered Brenda's baby only hours earlier. He bustled onto the platform holding a small folding table and a large, green cloth bag. He quickly set up the table on the south side at the railing. From the bag he produced a white cloth that was quickly unfolded and placed over the table, which was followed by a large book that he opened to the active page, a certificate whose details had already been filled in and was awaiting signatures, and a small ink pot and quill pen. During this process, Leila retied the strap and put it over her head, tucking it into her top. John stood to the right side of the table, bowed to the couple, and announced,

"The Wedding Registry is ready. You may proceed." That got chuckles from those who could hear.

"As Healers, both of you have the authority to marry others, and you have married a few over the years. As the town's Mayor, I also have this authority, and it gives me great pleasure to exercise it today. There is no feeling like the one we feel when we play such an important part in the lives of two people." Harold and Leila were now standing in front of her as she faced the table, and all three were just inside the radius of the Amplify circle. Leila was on Harold's left, and Dana and Mark had placed themselves behind and to her left. Behind and between them stood Marcie, and behind and to Harold's right, at his invitation, stood Lakash and Stella. Mary and Charlie watched from the east side of the gazebo, at Harold's far right. "Before we begin, I am required to ask that if there is anyone here who knows of any lawful reason why the marriage of Leila Parsons and Harold Moser may not proceed, please step forward and state your objection." For fifteen long seconds, the only sounds in the park were those of the wind in the trees, murmurs and shuffles from the crowd, and the obligatory crying baby from somewhere.

"A wedding is a celebration of the love between two people," Brenda continued as there was a noticeable release of tension in everyone. "Thank you all for being here to share the joy of Leila and Harold, who really should have done this years ago!" That brought laughter from everyone. "Leila Parsons, do you take Harold Moser to be your husband, to love and to cherish and to share your life with him?"

"I do," Leila replied in a confident voice, her blue eyes shining like stars as she looked into his.

"Harold Moser, do you take Leila Parsons to be your wife, to love and to cherish and to share your life with her?" After a bit more than eleven and a half years of far too long absences and far too short times together, of having to watch Marcie growing and maturing in increments, and now finally having a dream job that will allow him to stay here with those he loved, there could be only one answer.

"I do," he replied, seeing nothing but Leila's face.

"By placing the rings that you hold on each other's hands, you are symbolically giving each other the embodiment of your promises." They both extended their left hands and with their right hands, simultaneously slipped the wooden rings onto each other's ring fingers. They then held their left hands palm to palm so that the rings touched. Even in the weakening evening sun, the flare of yellow and turquoise from her and forest green and turquoise from him was clearly visible.

"Ring to ring," they said together. "Mind to mind." They touched their palms and rings to their foreheads and then each other's. "Heart to heart." They held their left hands together again, then moved them to their chests over their hearts with the rings making contact, then reaching to touch the other's hearts. All on the gazebo, and many in the crowd, joined in with the familiar words of the Invocation. "Two souls joined by love are stronger than the sum of their parts. You two are now joined by your rings and your minds and your hearts."

"By the power entrusted to me by the Town of Magwitch, in the presence of these witnesses, I now pronounce you wife and husband. Seal your bond with a kiss." They did, and it was with tenderness and longing and joy that all could feel as the breeze blew and the shade the leaves cast shifted and blurred. Their breaking apart was the signal for all to cheer and applaud the happy couple, who exchanged warm embraces with everyone on the platform, even the Colonels and John Martin, who led them to the table where they signed their marriage certificate and the Register, with Dana, Mark, Lakash, and Stella as witnesses. Even though she was a minor and not legally a witness, Marcie signed it too, along with Brenda and John in their official roles.

"That's all, folks!" said Harold, stepping back into the circle of Amplification before its spell was released. "Now let's get the party started!" This was a popular suggestion and the crowd redirected its attention to the all-important job of eating and drinking all of the food and beverages that had been brought. "Leila, my love," he continued, standing back to look at her in her dress, "never in all my years have I seen anything, or anyone, as beautiful as you are now. I have been blessed."

"Papa, when I said that Mama was beautiful, I meant it," said Marcie, joining them for a three-way hug. He nodded, unable to speak.

"Break it up, you two," snickered Dana, giving Mark and Stella, who were in the midst of a passionate kiss, each a poke. They jumped and looked around guiltily, but didn't let go of each other.

"How did this happen?" Mark asked, looking a bit confused.

"There was so much love flowing around here that I think we just got swept away," Stella replied. "Thank you for bringing him with you, Dana. I have never been happier."

"Go get some more food. That will take your mind off of it. I think they'll be serving some desserts now." Everyone perked up at that.

"There are some folks who make really good pies," said Stella. "Let's go get some before they're gone." Still holding hands, they clattered down the steps and into the crowd.

"Am I going to have two more customers?" Brenda asked as Fred joined her and handed her the baby, who had woken up and was started to make hungry noises.

"I think that number one customer wants some dinner," he said in his calm, mellow voice.

"Oh, hooray, I am Mayor and Chief Cow of Magwitch," she said lovingly, rocking the baby, who was starting to declare his disinterest in said activity. "Let's go find a quiet corner to fill you up."

"Thank you very much, Brenda," said Harold. "We really appreciate your marrying us."

"After what you've done for us, and for Helen and Tom yesterday, it was my pleasure." She and Fred left the gazebo to find a place to feed the baby.

"Just so you know," said Charlie to both Harold and Leila, "we used some of our time to stop by the local bank and set up an account for you. We were getting rather tired of lugging 100 Sovereigns around with us all day." Once again, he looked thunderstruck.

"If you keep looking like that, your face will freeze that way," Mary chuckled.

"Whoa! That will be more than enough to get things set up for the school!" he finally said.

"No, you silly man," said Dana, hands on her hips. "That's your money. The Magic School will cover all of the expenses relating to the Veterinary School, including salaries, supplies, textbooks, journals, you name it. You earned it."

"Some of it is your back pay, the rest is what comes with the medals," said Mary. "Enjoy it! That's an order!" she barked and he and Dana once again involuntarily stood to attention.

"Thanks. For everything," Harold struggled to say, finally offering the Colonels the military salute combined with Respectful Bow #2. After a pause, Dana followed suit, but with Respectful Bow #3.

"Let's go eat before the locusts get it all," suggested Lakash. "I could use a top-up."

"I would, but I can't seem to move for some reason," Harold wheezed, with a wink at Leila. Then he looked down at Marcie, who was squeezing him in a bear hug. "Careful with the hugs, sweetheart. I wouldn't want to bonk you on the head with one of these medals."

"This has been the best day of my life!" she said, letting go and looking up at him.

"So far," said Leila. "I think that you have many more amazing days waiting for you." They all left the gazebo, with Harold pausing to snag his hat and staff, and the musicians resumed their places after handshakes from Harold, Leila, and even Marcie.

"You are not supposed to wear a hat with a tuxedo!" said an exasperated Leila.

"But Mama, we made the colours match!" Marcie interjected. "Papa let me choose the hatband colour and it matches with his, uh, fancy thing here," she said, tapping his cummerbund.

"It has the unlikely name of cummerbund," said Harold. "And you got the match about as close as it can be. And I think that will set a new fashion style." Leila's snort would have done credit to a warhorse, but he blew her a kiss and batted his eyelashes.

"Oh, fine, just this once," she grumbled. "I suppose that a husband who has the Order of the Kingdom and the Golden Star of Carcosa can be allowed an eccentricity or two." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hot, hard kiss.

"Eccentricities bring kisses. Maybe I need a few more," he mused when she pulled away and looked at him lovingly. "Let's get something more to eat."

"Sounds like a good idea," she agreed.

"We'll go this way," said Lakash, indicating himself and Dana, "and leave the happy couple to their party." Leila snorted again and Marcie giggled. They waved and drifted off towards a likely-looking table with a relatively small lineup.

"Lakash, how did you come to hire Harold?" asked Dana as they claimed their spot. He closed his eyes to recall the events, then got a look of surprise.

"It was in the first half of August almost twelve years ago," he replied. "It was a long time ago, but for some reason I can remember it very well. It was in the midst of a thunderstorm, but he was completely dry because he'd been using his Ward. He had heard of the Order of St. Thrimble after encountering one of the Healers who traveled a different circuit and told me that he had been wandering around the Kingdom for a few years after returning from Carcosa, was tired of living hand-to-mouth, and would like a steady job. Of course, I could sense that he was a Mage, and a strong one, but when he casually mentioned that he was a licensed veterinarian with lots of experience dealing with horses because of his time in the Army, I hired him on the spot. Mind you, I still wanted to see him at work, so I took him down the street to the clinic that the Order maintains."

"I'll bet that he did very well," replied Dana as they finally reached the table, snagged two pieces of apple pie, and retreated.

"He did indeed. He cleaned out an inner ear infection in a toddler, removed a small melanoma from a farmer's arm, and massaged and Healed a badly sprained ankle. The woman to which it was attached looked like she wanted to drag him off and have her way with him afterwards, but he managed to get her out the door without further incident." Dana snickered. "As an added bonus, he calmed a carthorse that had been spooked and was running out of control, gave it a quick exam, and fed it an apple loaded with Worm Buster to fix it up. In all the years he's worked for me, I've had nothing but glowing reviews of his work. I will miss him."

"He won't be hard to find," said Dana dryly, indicating him and Leila surrounded by a small crowd of well-wishers. "That staff of his makes him stick out in a crowd. He told me a few times that he feels naked and vulnerable without it."

"He also demonstrated that he knows how to use it when a couple of ruffians tried to jump us," Lakash mused, finishing his pie. "Oh, that was good! He laid them both out flat before they even knew what had hit them. The police were more than happy to get them off the streets because they had been responsible for a large number of assaults and robberies."

"I watched him when he won the competition for top competitor that the various martial arts schools have every year. They claim that he cheated by fusing the best of what they had to offer into a new discipline, but everything was above board and he walked away with the trophy. And, of course, I saw what he did in Boot Camp before we went to Carcosa, and again while we were there. I'm very glad that he was on our side."

"A number of people who fought there came through the office afterwards needing therapy," said Lakash after they'd Cleaned their plates and forks and put them on the tray of a passing collector. "I am not a trained therapist, but Havisham is large enough to support three, and I referred them. Some of the stories I heard later from them were enough to give me nightmares."

"We Mages, even Connie the Warrior, and especially the Healers, all needed a lot of help when we got back," said Dana grimly, looking around at the happy crowd, which was so different from what she remembered of the sullen, fearful populace of post-liberation Carcosa. "It wasn't so much the fighting, which was actually relatively brief, but what we saw and learned of what those assholes had been doing that caused the damage. It took me about two years to work through most of it."

"Were there trials to bring the perpetrators to justice?" Dana shook her head.

"There were no trials. Every single person involved in the regime was found and tortured to death by mobs and what was left of their bodies was burned. Most of the time that we were there was spent rebuilding the administrative, social, and mechanical infrastructure of the entire country. It took ten years after that, with lots of aid from the Kingdom and other states, for them to fully get back on their feet," she continued angrily. Her mind snapped back to the present and she saw Lakash staring at her with a worried look. "Sorry," she concluded, closing her eyes and taking some deep breaths to calm down. Strangely, the first calming thought that she could bring to mind was of waking up on her back, looking down and seeing Harold's eyes looking back at her from between her legs with a look of pure mischief as he lovingly licked her pussy and probed it with his finger, at which point she had come hard. She had been too disoriented by sleep and the orgasm to resist, even if she had wanted to, as he'd worked his way up her body, kissing and licking, sucking gently on her nipples, until he'd finally slid his cock into her with one stroke. He'd managed to ride her for two minutes before he had finally pumped her full of cum as she had come again, even harder. "As you can see," she continued shakily, "it has never left me. All I can do is try to keep the past in the past and focus on today."

"Mom, are you all right?" asked Mark from behind her. They turned to see him and Stella, each with a plate with generously frosted chocolate cake. They were looking concerned. "You were radiating rage and sorrow like a bonfire! I could feel it from way over there." They could see Harold and Leila looking their way as well, before the well-wishers closed in and blocked them from view.

"I... I will be fine," Dana replied shakily. "Some memories got out of the box."

"I am sorry," said Lakash. "I did not mean to disturb you so."

"It's all right," she replied, giving his hand a squeeze. "So many of my memories of Harold are tied up with Carcosa that coming here and being with him was bound to shake some of them loose. Both good and bad memories. I can't remember one without the other. As for you two, I have a feeling that I will be having only good memories." Mark and Stella looked at each other and smiled happily.

"I feel like I'm being swept away," Stella replied, and even though she was not a Mage, Dana and Lakash could feel the joy and love radiating from her like a lighthouse beacon.

"Ah, so here's our wayward daughter," exclaimed Caroline Webber, who was with her husband Ted, and Sam and Marjorie Turner, Caroline's parents. "Ted, this is the Mark I was telling you about who managed to impress Dad with his beginner's smithing skills and sweep our daughter off of her feet."

"I'm pleased to meet you, sir," said Mark politely as they shook hands. Ted was five-foot-ten, with the farmer's body build typical of those in the Westlands, and had a kind, round face with intelligent brown eyes, a large nose over a bushy mustache, a medium-sized mouth with thin lips, and a receding hairline of hair that was half dark brown and half gray.

"I hear that you drive a horse team, as well as charm daughters and beat on iron," he said with a grin. "We're always looking for capable drivers for the business." Making exaggerated looking-around motions, he added in a loud stage whisper, "It will help keep you away from the Dark Side."

"You awful man! Why do I ever put up with you?" scolded Caroline with a loving smile, squeezing him with one muscular arm a little harder than necessary. "Don't listen to a word he says, Mark!"

"My backside took a beating getting here from the Capital," Mark replied, eyeing their antics rather nervously. "And it will take one on the way back. I think I'll stay in the classroom where it's nice and quiet. Oh, and this is my mother, Dana Magnussen, and Lakash Moto, head of the local Order of St Thrimble, my Dad's boss." They all shook hands and greeted each other.

"You all have carte blanche to do what is necessary to keep this scamp out of mischief," said Dana, ruffling Mark's hair over his protest.

"Wasn't Joe going to go to the Capital for his niece's wedding?" asked Stella, feeling a bit inspired. "Instead of paying coach fare to get him there, why not have him drive their coach back and get paid?"

"Hmm, that goodness of heart seems awfully self-serving, young lady," said Ted, eyes twinkling. "I suppose that between Healer Harold, Healer Leila, and this lot," he indicated his wife and parents-in-law and getting a poke from Caroline for his troubles, "we can find plenty to keep him occupied."

"Thanks Dad!" squealed Stella, hugging him hard enough to make his ribs creak while directing a smoldering look at Mark.

"Speaking of occupied, I think the party's getting started," said Sam, pointing towards a procession made by the bakers Carlos and Wanda Cartwright and two of their staff. They were each carrying square boxes of decreasing size and were making their way to the gazebo through the crowd. By now, the shadows had lengthened and merged and seemed to be spreading into the sky as the sunlight drained away and the stars began to appear. Many lanterns had been lit and placed on the tables, which had now been stripped bare, or hung from tree branches. Lakash excused himself and circulated around the tables, Cleaning the plates and cutlery, much to the gratitude of everyone who wouldn't have to do the least fun part of the parties. Other lanterns had been hung around the exterior and interior of the gazebo. The musicians continued to play as the procession got onto the gazebo and arrived at the folding table, which had been left there.

With the band changing their tune to a brisk, peppy number with lots of trumpets and drums, the boxes were opened and their contents quickly assembled into a four-tier wedding cake, which drew the attention of the crowd and got them drifting towards the gazebo again.