Day 10 of Construction
Lira and Pip had been suspiciously quiet for two days, which was never a good sign.
I found out why when I woke to discover they'd decorated the entire fortress, or at least, the parts that were finished, with flowers, ribbons, and glowing fairy lights that pulsed in rhythm with... was that music?
"What is happening?" I asked Nyx, who was awake and looking far too amused.
"Fairy wedding," she said simply.
"Whose wedding?"
"Yours."
I sat up so fast I nearly launched Dewdrop, who'd been sleeping on my shoulder. "MY WHAT?"
"The ceremony is at noon. I'm told the dress code is 'presentable but not formal.' Your beard needs braiding."
"I DON'T HAVE A... we never... they can't just..."
"They absolutely can, and they did. Elder Mirielle approved it yesterday."
I looked around wildly. "Where's Lira? Pip? I need to talk to them!"
"They're preparing. Apparently, the brides aren't supposed to see the groom before the ceremony. It's tradition."
"WHAT TRADITION? I NEVER AGREED TO THIS!"
Nyx patted my head condescendingly. "You agreed when you said 'whatever you think is best' about furniture placement. Really, this is your fault."
"THAT'S NOT HOW CONSENT WORKS!"
"It is for fairies. Also, you should probably get up. Kota has been assigned as your 'best man' and he's very excited about it."
On cue, Kota burst through the door... which I'd finished installing yesterday specifically to prevent this, grinning from ear to furry ear.
"Knox! We have to get you ready! There's a SCHEDULE!" He brandished what looked like an actual itinerary. "First: ritual bathing in the sacred spring. Then: beard braiding. Then: ceremonial armor... the fairies made you something special. Then..."
"Kota. Buddy. I can't get married. I don't even... we haven't... There wasn't a proposal!"
"There was! Three days ago! You said 'yes' to the hierarchy!"
"THAT WAS ABOUT HAREM RANKINGS, NOT MARRIAGE!"
"Same thing for fairies."
I looked at Nyx for support. She was grinning like a cat that had caught a particularly entertaining mouse.
"You're going to help them, aren't you?"
"I'm First Wife. Supporting the family is my duty." She transformed into her dragonkin form and stretched languidly. "Also, this is hilarious and I'm absolutely not stopping it."
"Traitor."
"Mate." She kissed my cheek. "Now go. Kota has a schedule."
The Preparation
The "sacred spring" turned out to be the pond where I usually washed. The fairies had decorated it with floating flowers and somehow enchanted the water to sparkle.
"This is ridiculous," I muttered, stripping down while Kota and Yorrik stood guard, apparently even fairy weddings required security.
"This is tradition," Yorrik corrected, looking like he was enjoying himself far too much. "In the north, we have similar ceremonies. It's about cleansing the old life to make room for the new."
"I liked my old life."
"Your old life was sleeping in a tree hollow and eating questionable mushrooms."
"...Fair point."
The water was freezing despite the enchantments. I washed quickly, hyperaware that half the territory was probably watching from the trees.
Beard braiding came next, performed by a team of fairies who took the task with deadly seriousness. They wove in flowers, small crystals that caught the light, and what I swear were actual mana threads that made my whole face tingle.
"This is elaborate," I said, trying not to move while they worked.
"You're marrying fae royalty," one of the fairies, I think her name was Blossom, said primly. "The braiding represents the binding of your fate to theirs."
"What happens if I say no at the altar?"
Every fairy in the room stopped and stared at me with identical expressions of horror.
"You wouldn't," Blossom whispered.
"I mean, I probably won't, but hypothetically..."
"The groom does not refuse at a fae wedding," Elder Mirielle said, appearing from nowhere. "To do so would be to reject the bond publicly. Lira and Pip would be... devastated."
Guilt hit like a physical force. They'd put so much work into this. They clearly wanted it. And honestly... did I actually want to say no?
I thought about Lira's terrible jokes that never failed to make me smile. Pip's quiet support during the darkest parts of the dungeon month. The way they'd both claimed me not out of obligation but choice.
"I'm not saying no," I admitted quietly. "I'm just... overwhelmed."
"That's normal." The Elder smiled. "Marriage is overwhelming. Especially to fairies. But Knox, they love you. Truly. This isn't a game or a trick. They want to bind their lives to yours."
"Why, though? I'm a disaster."
"You're their disaster. And you make them happy. That's enough."
The Ceremony
The Hall of Shadows had been transformed.
The unfinished waterfall somehow worked now, cascading down the back wall in a display that was genuinely beautiful. Flowers bloomed in impossible patterns. Fairy lights danced in complex formations. Every surface gleamed.
And at the center, under an arch of woven branches and starlight, stood Lira and Pip.
They'd transformed into their larger forms, tall, graceful, still unmistakably fae but sized to match me. Lira wore a dress of emerald and silver that seemed made of living light. Pip's was softer, pale blue with constellations woven into the fabric.
They were stunning.
I stood there in the "ceremonial armor" the fairies had made, which was really just my nicest clothes enhanced with enchantments that made me glow faintly. Kota stood at my side, trying to look serious and failing. Nyx watched from her throne, pride and affection radiating through our bond.
The bear kin delegation sat in the front row, even Siraq looking invested despite her earlier protests. The fairies filled every other space, a sea of tiny glowing beings.
Elder Mirielle floated between us, ancient and powerful and somehow warm.
"We are here," she began, "to bind three lives together. To celebrate a bond forged in darkness and sealed in light. Knox Ashford, do you accept Lira and Pip as your wives, your partners, your family?"
I looked at them. At Lira's nervous grin. At Pip's hopeful eyes.
"I do," I said, and meant it.
"Lira and Pip, do you accept Knox as your husband, your protector, your home?"
"We do," they said together, voices harmonizing.
"Then by the old laws and the new, by the bond you've forged and the love you've shown, I declare you bound. Now and always, until the stars fall and the world forgets its name."
Magic surged, not just mana, but something deeper. I felt it settle into my chest, warm and bright, connecting me to Lira and Pip in a way that wasn't quite the soul bond with Nyx but was profound nonetheless.
[BOND ESTABLISHED: LIRA (WIFE)]
[BOND ESTABLISHED: PIP (WIFE)]
[EFFECT: EMOTIONAL CONNECTION, ENHANCED COMMUNICATION, SHARED LUCK POOL]
[NOTE: CONGRATULATIONS (AGAIN)]
Lira launched herself at me, and I caught her, laughing as Pip joined a second later. They kissed me, Lira fierce and joyful, Pip gentle and sweet, and the entire hall erupted in cheers.
Nyx's presence in my mind: Welcome to the family, sisters.
Through the new bonds, I felt their joy, their relief, their absolute certainty that this was right.
And for the first time, I didn't feel overwhelmed.
I felt... complete.
The Reception
Fairy wedding receptions were exactly as chaotic as expected.
There was food; somehow, the fairies had prepared a feast that would feed fifty people despite there being maybe thirty present. There was music, live, from instruments I couldn't identify, playing melodies that made you want to dance even if you had two left feet and a tail that kept tripping people.
There were toasts. So many toasts.
Kota's was enthusiastic: "To Knox! Who proved that disasters can find love too!"
Yorrik's was brief: "May your home be strong and your enemies be stupid."
Siraq's was careful: "To new bonds and... unexpected friendships." But she smiled when she said it, and caught my eye with something that might have been warmth.
Nyx's was possessive: "To my mate and his fairy wives. May they always remember who's first." But through the bond: I'm happy for you. For all of us.
The dancing started after the meal. Lira immediately dragged me to the floor, which was really just the cleared center of the hall, and proceeded to teach me something that was either a traditional fairy dance or an elaborate prank. Possibly both.
Pip cut in halfway through, her style more sedate but no less joyful. We swayed together, and she whispered, "Thank you. For saying yes. For giving us this."
"Thank you for choosing me. I still don't know why you did."
"Because you're kind. And broken. And trying. That's more than enough."
When Nyx cut in, because of course she did, we moved together with the perfect synchronization of the soul-bonded, and everyone gave us space to just... be.
"Three wives," I said. "How did this happen?"
"You were too nice to say no and too tired to run." She grinned. "Also, you love them. Don't deny it."
"I'm not denying anything. I'm just processing."
"Process faster. We have a schedule."
"Kota's schedule?"
"No. Mine. The one that involves the sky balcony, moonlight, and celebrating our new family properly."
Through the bond, her intent was very clear.
"Oh."
"Oh indeed." She kissed me, deep and promising. "But later. For now, dance with your wives. They deserve your full attention."
So I did. I danced with Lira until we were both laughing too hard to continue. I danced with Pip until she fell asleep on my shoulder. I even danced with Dewdrop, who was technically too young to be considered for wife status but insisted on participating anyway.
And when Siraq, clearly emboldened by whatever the fairies had put in the drinks, asked if I danced with "diplomatic guests," I said yes.
She was stiff at first, clearly uncomfortable with the informality. But as the music swelled and the night grew warmer, she relaxed.
"This is nice," she admitted. "I can't remember the last time I danced."
"Being a matron doesn't leave much room for fun?"
"Being a matron doesn't leave room for much of anything except responsibility." She met my eyes. "You've built something rare here, Knox. A place where people can be more than their roles. I... envy that."
"You're always welcome. As a guest. As a friend. As..." I hesitated.
"As a probationary wife?" She said it with a smile, almost teasing.
"The fairies really sold you on that, didn't they?"
"Kota won't stop talking about it. And Yorrik keeps making pointed comments about 'diplomatic relations.'" She sighed. "I'm not... I don't know if I'm ready for this. For any of this. I've been alone for so long."
"Then don't decide now. Just... be here. Be Siraq, not Matron Siraq. See how it feels."
She nodded slowly. "I can do that."
We danced until the song ended, and when she stepped back, there was something different in her expression. Not acceptance... not yet. But possibility.
That night, as I lay in the wreckage of my bed, still too small, still breaking regularly, with Nyx draped across me, Lira and Pip nested in my beard, and the memory of Siraq's almost-smile still fresh, I felt it:
Contentment.
Not happiness, that was too simple. But the deep, bone-settling knowledge that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: BUILT A FAMILY]
[REWARD: PURPOSE, BELONGING, AND ENDLESS CHAOS]
"Worth it," I mumbled, already drifting off.
Through the bond, Nyx's agreement: Always.