Taboo

Keywords: Adventures, Bk., Ch., 09, 1, Ashleigh's,

I can't face the people in the church and how they stare at me so hard and cold. It is almost worse than when we go to the Market. I won't go Samael. I won't go to stand before their scrutiny and hypocrisy, you can't make me."

Bida's eyes pleaded with Samael to drop this foolishness about attending church. She never had been able to tolerate the pomp and circumstance of the ceremonies or the way the villagers presented such pious faces on Sunday but did as they pleased through the week. The new priest was the worst yet. The way he carried himself as if he himself were Jesus, taking such pride in the things he did and in his pretty voice as he led the hymns for the service, staring at the girls as they passed the small abbey lust clouding his eyes, it was a too much for Bida to think about.

"Samael, the true worship of God takes place in your heart, in your mind, in your spirit, no building ever created holds God. He is in everything; you of all people should know that. You who have seen him and known him, does the pageantry of the church please him? Is this what he wanted of his children? That we should build buildings and adorn them with pretty things and sing his praises loudly one day a week while ignoring him the rest of the week? Would He not rather us to observe Him and honor Him quietly among His creation and to love and honor each other? To take to heart His teachings? To worship Him in our every action? To praise Him in our thought, deeds, and heart?"

Samael looked pained as he shook his head and threw up his hands. "Honestly my love I do not know. Once I might have boasted of such knowledge and might have even believed it myself. But I do know that dangerous times are ahead, I can feel it And you mustn't give anyone any reason to question your faith in God and your obedience to their religion. We will go to church together and before the service we will tell this Father Veran that we are married so that he may write it in the province book and no one can question my living with you. Do not question my wisdom in this Bida. I only do it because I love you."

Swiftly he gathered her in his arms and covered her soft mouth in a kiss whilst he grabbed her wrist firmly in his massive palm and led her out of the house like a reluctant child. Slowly they made their way down the little path from their home to the dawn lit town. Bida gazed down into the water of the flowing Sorgue River appreciating the beauty of it when she realized that in Samael's reflection his strong wings lay folded against his shoulders and almost drug on the ground.

"Samael!", concern flooded her voice even as light flooded the streets and the church bells began to knell their morning call. "Your wings," she whispered" I can see them. We have to go home! Now before someone else sees them." Bida tugged on Samael's sleeve desperately trying to turn him back towards the house.

His laughter rang out in loud dulcet tones. "Darling, no one can see them but you and you are making quite a scene people talk about you enough as it is my pet. Now be a good girl and take my arm the church is just around that corner."

Bida stared down at the coarse blue fabric she wore and let Samael guide her through the streets with a gentle hand on her arm. After what seemed like forever, Samael's rumbling voice broke her silent reverie," Dearest we are here, hold your head up high and look humble as befits a woman, keep your eyes on either me or the stained glass windows or the statue of the Virgin Mary or the floor. Speak only when I nod to you to speak and contain that temper of yours."

Samael's eyes glittered with laughter as he looked into the smoldering green abyss of Bida's eyes. Bida clenched her jaw tightly and gritted her teeth," Fine, but if you think that this is in any way shape or form be a permanent change in the way we deal with each other you are dead wrong. "

Dragging her feet as slowly as she could Bida made steady progress towards the looming steeple of the church only because Samael kept a constant pressure on her arm and guided her. Her dread was so palpable that she shivered in the bright morning sun and Samael tightened his grip on her arm to steady her as her steps faltered. After what seemed an eternity in purgatory to Bida, she realized that they had stopped walking.

As Bida gazed up at the church she was struck by a profound sense of coldness and a pervading sense of doom. She stood on her tiptoe to tell Samael what she was feeling and to try one last time to persuade him to relinquish this foolish idea of attending the church and speaking to the priest. At that precise moment, though, Father Veran threw open the doors to the chapel and saw the two of them standing before him.

"Good morning! Are you to be attending services this beautiful morning? If you are I see you must truly be faithful to arrive after the first tolling of the bells, most people of this town drag their feet to the service and rush from it's end. " his smooth voice sounded like that of a snake oil salesman to Bida's ears, as she quickly let her eyes fall to the ground as she remembered Samael's admonishments.

"Truly, Good Father, we are faithful to God and His services and we wished to seek audience with you before you deliver your service today. You see, Father Veran, I have come to announce and ask you to duly record my marriage to my lovely bride Bida. I know it must seem most unusual to you that I did not announce the engagement of myself to her, but she was promised to me in marriage the very day she was born with her father's fine farm as a dowry. I would have come to claim her sooner but I was away on business in the far corners of the world and just received the news that her Da and Mama had passed away. This news was most distressing as I was a friend of Yonathan's as well as Faracy and knew now that my tender bride had been alone in this world and knew not what had become of her. " Samael held Bida's hand tightly as he poured forth this wonderfully fabricated story and stared at the priest with an intensity in his eyes that dared the priest to challenge him. Bida closed her eyes and marveled at the resonance in Samael's rich velvety voice and silently thanked him for holding her hand and giving her the strength to face all the people whom she despised for their hypocrisy. She could feel the strength flowing from Samael to her in a warm palpable ebb and flow against her palm. Bida's warm viridian eyes gazed adoringly at Samael's strong visage memorizing the way he looked for the hundredth time.

"Well, Good Sir, I have only a few more questions to ask you before I will validate your union in the province annuals. What proof do you have that this girl was promised to you? What proof do you have that you knew Yonathan and Faracy? Where did you go that you knew nothing of the tragic death of her family? Are you a good Catholic man and if she is a good catholic woman why has she not attended church in many years and why have you two been living together? " Father Veran's bland grey eyes sharpened and shone as he shot off the questions in rapid succession. As he spoke, Bida could feel his eyes heavily traveling her body and she moved closer to Samael tightening her grip on his hand.

Calmly Samael reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a thick bundle of papers. With a voice edged with steel Samael calmly stated, " Good Father I am sure you meant not to impugn my bride's honor or mine with your statements but nevertheless here is your proof. Here is correspondence between Yonathan and myself going years back before he met Faracy, and here are letters from Faracy after she met Yonathan and myself. Here is the letter that Yonathan sent me when they knew Faracy was pregnant and here is the letter after Bida was born asking me to come and see them. Here is the contract we drew up to turn ownership of the farm over to me once I had married Bida. Here is the invoice for the sale of my company, which imported silks from the orient for several of your Counts including the Counts of Toulouse to whom this fief belongs. I sold it only because I knew that my wife would not want me traveling the world in search of fine goods for sale and my first concern after my duties to God is my wife's happiness. If you think any of these letters are forgeries then you may seek an audience with the Counts of Toulouse and ask them to show you some of the wares that I personally have delivered to them. As for myself I am a devout catholic man and again you may ask the abbey at the Counts estate about the amount of goods I have tithed and donated to them and perhaps you should write to the Pope and inquire about the donations I have made to the Catholic Church. My bride is just as devout as I but has had neither the means to donate or tithe to the church or the strength to attend the services. She is of very delicate health and nerves and the loss of both her parents took a toll on her body and mind. She has been able to barely grow enough food to feed herself and the few beasts her parents left her and the work it took to grow that little bit made her even more gravely ill. Or perhaps you didn't notice her wane pallor? There has been no impropriety whilst I lived with her and the only reason I had to seek refuge in her home was because after this town's inn burned down I lost quite a bit and no one would let me stay in their homes until my bride was well enough to wed unless I paid them a great deal more than I could afford until my bank was contacted in and agreed to provide labor while the men of their homes did nothing. Besides that I could not go on to the next town and stay there because someone needed to attend to Bida until she got better. I have sleep either in front of the fireplace or out back in the small barn when the weather and her health permitted. I have nursed her back to health and worked the field for her since last summer so that she may rest and mend.

Keywords: Adventures, Bk., Ch., 09, 1, Ashleigh's,