Tronuck grunted and said, “Woman, come kneel before me!”
She laughed and patted his arm and said, “Not today my prince. Perhaps soon, we will see. But now, we have more surprises for my poor husband. Rani and Belle, come stand on the fur!”
The girls ran from their seats and stood to my left.
The woman said, “Rani and Belle, the final shrine maidens, do I understand that you have found mates as well? Tell us the story. Do you speak for yourselves or does someone speak for you?”
Aeyli said, “As first mate, I will speak. I declare for Torani-ah-Mark and Beyla-ah-Mark as mates of my prince, Mark Jensen-ah-Aeyli-ah-Torani-ah-Beyla. You see upon our ankles the ‘token of days’, and we stand on the fur as the ‘token of nights’. I have witnessed the coupling and the milk. Bonding took place outside the village gates.”
The crowd gasped and Tronuck hung his head in consternation and shook it, knowing that his first mate and his granddaughter were running the show, not him as he would have in past days.
Sensing that he was better off in a lead position than following, he sat tall and said, “Ah, this is a great thing! The village of Tranna is blessed in many ways today! We have a fine new friend who brings much wisdom and skill, and a gift that will be used to better the infrastructure of Tranna. Our three shrine maidens have a mate; a strong warrior who kills Great White Apes with a stick. We welcome Mark Jensen-ah-Aeyli-ah-Torani-ah-Beyla to Tranna! All say so!”
The crowd cheered. Tronuck said quietly to Aeyli, “I take it that the service of the shrine maidens is ended?”
She nodded and smiled.
Tronuck addressed the crowd again, “Unless any still object to these things, Mark is gifted the house of the shrine maidens for a bride price; covering all three, by the way.” And he looked at Dorel and Aeyli for emphasis. He added, “I also declare that the service of the shrine maidens is finished and these who have served so long may take their rest at home. It is a great day in Tranna. I am happy as senior councilman to bring you such good news.”
The crowd laughed, knowing that he knew as well as they did, that it wasn’t he who brought the news.
He laughed as well. “My friends, I have served on the council many years. Perhaps my service should end like the shrine maidens and I will retire to rest at home. Mark is a man with three mates. Let another take my place and he will take their seat. What do you say?”
Aeyli jumped in, “Wait! You can’t compel him to sit on the council for at least 120 days! Three mates requires three months before he can be made to sit on the council.”
Tronuck said, “Aeyli, be quiet. I wouldn’t make him part of the council on the first day! But, councilmen, is she correct? Is there such a rule?”
One of the other men said, “Tronuck, the shrine maiden pays more attention to rules and procedure than any of us. If she says it, it’s probably true. Everyone knows that if Aeyli ever found a prince with enough mates to be considered, that she would rule the council.”
Another laughed and said, “And, we had hoped that the day would never come!”
Another said, “But, we all knew in our hearts that it would be a loss to all of us if it did not. The granddaughter of Tronuck and Dorel was wasted as a shrine maiden and everyone knows it.”
One of the councilwomen sitting beside Tronuck said, “Well, perhaps not wasted after all. Perhaps it was a time of seasoning. Look at what she has cooked in her kitchen. It seems to me a tasty dish that she has made for herself and her sisters.”
Tronuck laughed as hard as any and then held up his hand for quiet and said, “My friends, I have grumbled much tonight. But your laughter makes my heart lighter. If I had been warned, as I should have been, I would have come with joy, but now I leave with a warm heart. Let us call council to a close. Get to know our new friend in the market in the coming days and make him welcome. He is my son-in-law. If he lacks anything, charge it to me. And, Narhu, I hope you make friends quickly. As Mark says, you are a good man, and worth more to us alive than dead. But, as Aeyli has taught us, this is your choice. But I would miss you.”
Everyone laughed and clapped Narhu on the back and I heard him yell out, “Oh, I would miss me as well. Narhu is the new first friend of Mark Jensen! I have a mate and, as he says, death is not my choice to make.” And again there was laughing.
Dorel said, “I wasn’t going to say this, but now I will; ladies, my prince, Tronuck, is not to blame for his sour countenance. I think that the fault lays on me and Farloa and Aneese. He is sour because he has not had enough sweet milk lately! I vow to fix that. Um, and perhaps you other women might consider this as well.”
There was more laughter and a woman shouted, “In one day we have more wisdom than in a hundred years! Dorel has a lesson and I will take it to breast!”
The laughter grew and others shouted “We hear advice and will take it to breast!” “Our princes are sour, who can blame them.” “Put it on us!” “It is a long time since I had it on me!”
Tronuck raised his hand again and said, “Let us close. Are all these women my granddaughters? Tonight they act the same. Close for tonight. And, what you do after this is up to you. We will invite Mark back on another night to tell us stories, and we will hear of his life and adventures. Goodnight!”
The crowd started to disburse and Dorel said, “Hold back, I would have a private council. Mark, you and your princesses stay with us for a few minutes.”
As the crowd filed out, the tanner came and greeted me and then he and his assistants gathered the great fur and carried it away to continue preparing it for use. The weapon maker also returned and congratulated me and spoke briefly of wanting to get to know me better and also how I trained with the wooden sword.
He said to Aeyli, “The item you commissioned will be ready in a few days, maybe less.” And then to me, “Mark, would you come to me soon, on a day you choose and show me the details of sizing these weapons? And we could discuss any nuances of their design? If you don’t forbid me from learning how they are made?”
I agreed that I would be very happy to show him what I knew and he left. The hall was empty by this time, and the twelve councilors and the girls and I waited to hear what Dorel wanted to say.
When we had gathered around, Dorel said, “Listen to me. I have given this a lot of thought. I say that it will be good for our village to set up the hall that I propose. I want us to ask Mark to spend some of his days teaching our village. Both men and women. He has wisdom that will help us. Aeyli has told me some of it. I am intrigued. She has also said that Mark has methods for teaching this sword of his and that she has learned the basics in just two days. She said to me, ‘I pity the fool who would accost me as I walk with another woman from place to place. But if he chooses to die, so be it.’ I would like it if all of our village had so much confidence. Aeyli and I have talked quite a bit in the past and we are convinced that confidence is the reason that our birthrate is so low and that so many of our men can take no more than one mate, and some not even that. According to my granddaughter, Mark is a man of resources and will be no burden to us. As you have seen, he takes no bride price, but instead asks to buy us a well or some other thing to improve the village and he provides the gift! If he was destitute, I would propose that we give him wages and expect it to be a bargain for us.”
She paused for discussion and Tronuck said, “My friends, it has been a trying day. But now that I’m calm, I could not agree more. I trusted this man from the moment he stood before us. I understand, almost, how Aeyli, Rani, and Belle have chosen him in one day. I do not quite understand how they claim that he has been able to… um, make them happy all in one day, but never mind that. What do the rest of you say?”