As the sky began to darken, several people brought out some of the glowing stones. The main table had been set up outside in the clearing in front of the chief's hut. The giant chair that the Chief set me on hadn't been there this morning, but it must have been somewhere close by. It was more like a couch.
Ocello and Uchel sat nest to me, though Uchel was obviously uncomfortable, Ocello seemed happy about his seat.
"Is this the seat of honor?" I asked. Ocello turned to me. At this moment, he looked like a feline who lapped up a saucer of milk.
"It is."
"Can you tell me what this means to you?" Ocello looked at me with a sheepish grin.
"Only the honored guest's husbands or potential husbands can sit with her." I smirked at his words. Turning to look at Uchel, I could see that he was still uncomfortable.
"Uchel, are you alright?"
"Are you sure you want me to sit with you?"
"You are my husband. Where else would you sit?" I stared at him intently. "Is this because of the thing you all are not telling me?"
Uchel avoided my eyes and nodded.
"You know that what ever it is, I won't abandon you." Reaching over, I grabbed his chin and turned him to face me. Up close, I could see his eyes and the tiny mole at the corner of his eye. His startled expression caused his lips to part. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips.
I wanted to kiss them. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but my libido was going wild. Clearing my throat, I pulled back before doing anything. I saw Uchel's nostrils flare and his eyes darken. His cheeks flushed, but he looked at me as if he was confused as well. Before I could say anything, I was interrupted.
"May I be the first to congratulate my friend?" I looked up to see a familiar face. Cuau stood in front of us. He was the beautiful snake beastman who we met on the way into town this morning.
"It is nice to see you again, Cuau." Ocello stood up and hugged him before turning to me.
"She said I could move in."
"Are you sure you want this guy," Cuau peeked around his friend to look at me. "I am available. You should let me move in too." He joked. A mischievous smile spread across my face.
"Of course, you should move in," I said. I laughed at the thought. "But if you move in, you will have to be in charge of making sure the dishes are clean." I was still laughing at my joke when I heard someone shriek and something crash to the floor.
"What is he doing here?"
I turned and looked at the woman coming toward me. She had been carrying a plate but had dropped it. Her eyes were glued to Uchel and the sneer on her face almost made me miss the similarity between the two.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" I asked.
"I am Rayen. That thing is my nephew." She spit on the ground, which was absolutely disgusting. I mean looking around, I don't think everyone had shoes on. What if they stepped in that. My nose cringed at her vitriol.
"So, he's your nephew. But what gives you the right to talk to him like that?" I asked.
"I had to raise him, that's why. This cursed child has been nothing but a burden from birth."
"No child is a burden." I told her, taking Uchel's hand in mine. "And I will ask that you stop talking about him like that."
"Well who put you in charge?" She reached around me to try and grab her nephew, but Ocello came forward with Cuau and stood in front of me.
"What is this?" The woman asked. "He doesn't belong here and I have every right to send him home where he can't be a bother to others."
"You don't, anymore." Uchel murmured. "You don't have any right to do anything to me anymore." He looked up at me and then at our marriage tattoos.
Boy, I hoped I was reading him correctly because I was about to test out my best Karen impression. I had tried in the past and could never be mean enough for it to be a good one.
Tonight, though, as I looked around the banquet and guests that were coming to celebrate my arrival with me. She was disrespecting my man in front of everyone, and I was not about to let that happen.
"The only way you would escape me is if someone accepted you as husband." She chortled. "No woman in the village would have you after what you did."
"And what pray tell did he do?" I asked quietly, my anger seething just below the surface.
"He killed his mother is what he did. His mother was kidnapped by the Moanchan tribes and came home pregnant. He's some random beastman's child and she would rather die than live with him in this world."
I turned to Uchel. "You mother died giving birth to you?" He got a scared look on his face and tried to pull away, but I held onto him.
"Trust in me, Uchel." I whispered to him, pulling him closer.
"She did," he finally muttered.
"Why is that bad?" He looked at me startled.
"You don't know?"
"Where I came from, women know that they can die in childbirth. They accept the risk, but they don't blame the child if that happens." Tear's sprung to Uchel's eyes.
"Women here can heal themselves. For a woman to die means that she chose not to."
My heart ached for my husband. It hadn't made sense, but I could almost guess the rest. Rayen had called him cursed, and she probably treated him poorly all of his life because of something he had no control over.
"If you are done talking I'd like to send my nephew on his way."
"Why would you send my husband away?" Turning to Rayen, I made sure that I stood between her and Uchel.
"Husband? Says who?"
"Says me," I held my arm and Uchel's up for everyone to see. "He is the father of the pup I carry. So what right do you have to order him around?"
"She right, Rayen." Chief Inti loomed up behind her. Startled, the woman jumped back. The Chief's husbands stood behind her and I'm certain that they were projecting menace because Rayen cringed back.
"Chief, there was no notification,
and she just arrived today. How could he be her husband?"
"It is not for us to decide what the Goddess wishes. Kami has already accepted him, and he has moved in with her." Walking over to me, she checked to see if we were alright before turning and scowling at Rayen.
"I will not tolerate this disruption. Kami is our honored guest, and you have disrespected her family. You should go home, tonight." She told her.
Rayen might have protested, but a few growls from the Chief's husbands made her think twice. She glared at Uchel and I both before stomping away followed by a string of men and a few children.
"I'm sorry you had to see that."
"It's alright. You couldn't have expected her to do that." I told her.
"Actually, I had a feeling something like this might happen." Inti sighed. "It isn't fair to the cubs whose mothers die, but I knew how everyone thought of him. I thought I had culled the worse of the offenders." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have let you walk into this blind."
"It doesn't matter. Uchel is worth defending and I will fight for him if anyone messes with him." I squeezed his hand, possessively.
Looking at him, I could tell Uchel was still upset at what happened but was bravely standing at my side. Ocello and Cuau stood nearby. I had a feeling that neither one of them would have let that woman take Uchel from me.
"Thank you." I told them both. Ocello nodded his head and went back over to our seat. Cuau smiled impishly and walked up to Uchel.
"Your wife's opinion matters more than what everyone else thinks." He told Uchel. He held his hand out and waited until Uchel shook it.
"You have some determination in you. I like that. Let's be friends from now on." Cuau then walked off into the night.
"Isn't he going to join the party?"
"Not this time," Uchel said and looked over to me.
"You really don't care that my mother died giving birth to me?"
"I care that you grew up without a mom, but that wasn't your fault. Whether it was your mom's choice or a tragic accident, you are blameless, I don't care what everyone else says." We walked back over to the chair and sat with Ocello.
"You knew though," I accused Ocello.
"I did, but Uchel told me to wait till he had a chance to talk to you about it." Ocello looked over to Uchel. "We just got sidetracked before he could have a conversation with you." Their eyes started drifting down my body before they both blushed and looked away.
Was that their way of saying Uchel would have come clean if they weren't distracted from walking in on me naked!?