The month after Mileka's first trip to the capital Had zoomed by. Rasvetchick had decided the marriage had to happen very quickly and he had proved to be a prodigios worker in this regard as well. The morning after their return had been a surprise as well. As soon as she had moved the water from the well she was whisked away to the sewing room and been measured for a gown for her wedding. Three rooms that weren't used at the far end of the inn suddenly had carpenters making mysterious changes.
Of course her usual chores and extraordinary business had continued. Rasvetchick took her to another visit to the capital to sell the cider. While there he got some news that had him as satisfied as a cat with cream. They went down to the docks and met with a captain and a merchant, and they sold the rest, including the unsaleable jewels. Rasvetchick told her that they got very good prices. Her brother would have a very good trade and sister would have very good dowry.
They had made three more trips to the capital. The last a ½ week ago when they heard that the Sabor Naroda would meet the day of the wedding and grant the new king Majesties. It would mean the end of entering the city tax free. They were running out of old cider anyway.
Came the day she woke up so see her wedding gown. It was blue, was a very high quality linnen with designs all down the front, and had a modest bodice. She viewed it with delight. The skirt has relatively short, but had a tremendous amount of gathering, assisted by the pleats. No dress she had ever worn satisfied so much.
Hearing her up the nurse for her brother and sister, plus several other matrons came in and helped with her preparations. They bathed her in warm water, which in the time she had been there a wonderful almost unattainable luxury. They helped her with the complicated gown. Theu put on her veil and her crown of roses. The veil looked like it was opaque, but is was very easy to see through. She couldn't navigate otherwise. The crown of roses had to be adjusted very carefully so none of the thorns touched her. The crown was to symbolise the nature of the marriage, beautiful, sweet smelling, but the thorns were an essential part of marriage.
When she was ready it was time to walk to the church. Two matrons guided her on the freshly graveled path. When she got there Rasvetchick was waiting with a crown of roses as well. There was a crowd of servants and tenants. He wore a black wool tunic with similar designs to hers. When they got to the door of the church, there the priest gave him a hard boiled egg, and gave her a large teaspoon of white thick honey. The crowd gave the usual ribald jokes and everyone went inside.
Usually the crowd would be separated into brides side and groom side, but since there was no one to sit on the brides side this was full of guests of the inn.
The elderly priest led the prayers with a deep voice that rang through the simple church, His sermon was on the responsibilities of each person to the other. Mileka remembered society weddings where the priest talked forever about the brides responsibilities exclusively, but this priest gave each a responsibility in turn.
The wedding over, they went to the dining hall in the inn. Each guest took an egg and dipped an apple into the honey and ate them. Then the real dining could begin.
There were two roast pigs, roast ducks and a goose. There were stews with carrots, potatoes, onions and beef. Milenka was surprised at the size of the wedding breakfast.
Of course there were the usual jokes about when was the baby due. She kept the jokes up with remarks about storks and going out to the cabbage patch on a regular basis, searching for babies.
At last they climbed the stairs to change into regular clothes. The guests would eat a bit longer, as the two of them were supposed to be up there for two or three hours, if they came down at all during the day. The went into the altered rooms and she saw that behind the door there were two more. Hers to the right, his to the left that looked to the front of the inn. She had a hard time falling to sleep last night, so she felt in the mood for a nap.
She followed him into his room to ask about what would happen on the morrow. He was standing by the window and she followed him. There was an army marching along the road and preparing for a halt for the night. There were tents going up. They watched as more and more men spread across the inn's meadow. They looked at each other with fear and confusion