Chapter 3 #2
Maldenis scratched at the back of his neck. “Er…”
Liora blew out a breath. “There has to be a way to reverse this right? We’re not married forever?”
“Of course not,” the master said. “We are not savages, young lady. Our ancestors knew that sometimes feelings change.”
“Hallelujah.” She clapped her hands together. “What do we need for a sacred spring divorce? Do we have to perform a ritual or something?”
“No, nothing that elaborate,” he said. “You simply must decide you are not suited and go your separate ways—”
“Great!” Maldenis slapped a hand on his forehead and turned to Altreus. “And why didn’t you tell us that? You could have saved us all this trouble.”
“—for a year and a day,” Master Hiramus continued.
“A year and a day?” both Maldenis and Liora exclaimed at the same time.
“I have to stay married to this jerk for a whole year and day?” Liora shouted.
“What, and you think you’re such an angel?” he retorted.
“Asshole!”
“Shrew!”
Her face scrunched up. “You—”
“Stop!” Master Hiramus held up a hand. “You will cease this fighting now. What’s done is done. You must remain committed to each other for a year and a day.”
“Committed is right,” Liora muttered under her breath.
“There really is no other way to divorce other than to wait a year and a day?” Frankly, at this rate, Maldenis wasn’t even sure they’d last that long without killing each other.
“I’m afraid our ancient laws are clear on the matter.” Master Hiramus’s expression turned serious. “Our ancestors had their reasons, and while we may not know or understand why, we must trust their judgement.”
Maldenis couldn’t think of anything to counter his words.
Basilisks valued tradition above all else.
While many thought that their society was modern and forward-thinking, especially because of their advanced technology and progressive ways, at the very heart of basilisk society centered on society, on order and conformity.
It was the only way they survived the exodus from the Upperworld without turning on each other and causing the extinction of their entire race.
“I suppose you’re right, Master Hiramus. We will follow the law.”
Liora’s face turned a crimson shade as she threw her hands up. “What? That’s it? We’re just gonna pretend we’re married—”
“You are married,” Master Hiramus reminded her.
“This is—”
“Liora!” Maldenis hissed. “Let’s just count ourselves lucky this isn’t something permanent and it’ll go away.”
Her nostrils flared, but she seemed to relent. “I suppose. Like a bad rash.”
“Exactly.” He turned back to Master Hiramus. “Thank you for your time, we’ll see ourselves out.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Liora said with a roll of her eyes, then she pivoted and marched off.
Maldenis ushered her outside and once they were out of earshot, turned to her. “Whew,” he sighed. “Considering the circumstances, we got off easy.”
“That was easy?” Liora huffed.
“It’s not so bad, it’s temporary, after all.”
“Hmm, I guess so.” She shrugged. “Why don’t we make this even easier?”
“How?”
“Consider this an advanced divorce—I divorce you and no longer want to be with you.”
“That’s not how it works. We’re supposed to say that in a year and day,” he pointed out.
“Like it matters,” she shot back. “We already know we’re going to say it. I mean, what are we supposed to do? Buy a house and live together?”
He hadn’t really thought about the logistics of it all. “But the law says we must stay married.”
“There has to be some way to undo it.”
“How?”
“I’ll find some way, okay. In the meantime, don’t tell anyone about this.”
“What? You think I’m gonna shout it to the rooftops.”
“Didn’t peg you for the type.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It’ll all be fine. I’ll figure it out.” She glanced around. “Alright, I’m gonna head back to the hotel.”
“Head back? How?”
“I’m a big girl,” she assured him. “I’ll find a way. Bye and see you never.”
Maldenis watched her walk away, not really sure what to say or think.
This has been one strange evening.
And he still hadn’t even begun to process the revelation from earlier in the evening. About his father…
He pushed that thought aside, and focused his gaze on Liora’s retreating figure. It was too bad things didn’t progress any further between them. He had been looking forward to exploring all the ways he and Liora were different and the same.
But now, as he watched her get smaller and smaller in the distance, there was a feeling in his gut, one that wouldn’t go away.
Just forget about it. Forget about her.
And she was right. There was nothing to worry about.
As it turned out, there was plenty to be worried about.
“Maldenis, do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Maldenis was in the middle of stocking the shelves behind the bar when the familiar voice of his mother rang across the room, the tone echoing in the nearly empty, cavernous space.
It was, after all, only one o’clock in the afternoon.
They were still closed and no one was around, not even his cousins.
The voice made him pause for a moment, as memories flooded his brain. Memories of fury and disappointment.
You’re not that youth anymore, he reminded himself. Unfreezing himself, he turned around. “Hello, Mother,” he greeted. “Nice to see you back. How was the mission? Went well, I presume?”
By the way, when were you going to tell me my father was Zeus? he wanted to add, but there was no time as Melora sailed across the room, the bar the only thing stopping her momentum.
“How could you act so casually when you’ve once again caused a disaster?” Golden eyes so much like his own blazed with anger. “I cannot believe you would do this.”
“Excuse me?” He gripped the edge of the bar. “What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything.”
“Oh really?” Melora brushed away a single lock of red hair that had loosened from her perfect coiffure. “You have no idea what’s going on?”
“Really,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “You know nothing about a certain sacred spring?”
Maldenis felt all the blood drain from his face. “Um, well–”
“And you know nothing about the sacred matrimonial ritual? And the fact that you are apparently married?”
Fuck. “Oh, that sacred spring.” He slapped a hand over his forehead. “I thought you meant something else.”
“Maldenis…” she said with a warning tone, one that all mothers used when they grew impatient with their children’s antics.
“How did you know anyway?” He kept his mouth shut, and he doubted Liora mentioned it to anyone.
“I was summoned by the elders and the Council of the Wise. They said you allowed your wife to leave Solkaris without being presented to society. Which not only is a signal that you have broken your vow, but that you do not take the ancient laws seriously. You were acting recklessly, and some of them said you might have done it on purpose.”
“I didn’t—”
“It doesn’t matter. Now the news has spread and because of this, our family has been shunned.”
“Shunned?” He crossed his arms over his head. “First time I’m hearing this. No one’s shunning me.”
“Well, you would not notice.” His mother’s eyes roamed over their surroundings with obvious disdain.
Maldenis supposed he should have been used to how his mother thought little of his venture. Of him.
Why did you do such an idiotic thing again?
Have you no shame?
Do you have any idea how bad this makes me look?
Don’t you think of anything but yourself?
Yet, it still hurt, after all this time.
“I’m used to it,” he said with a shrug. He managed to get past the incident after all, and all this would pass too.
“How could you be so casual about this?”
A small bubble of anger rose in him. “And how does this affect you, exactly?”
“At first I didn’t think it would.” Melora pursed her lips.
“The ministers have sent my colleagues their next mission, but I have yet to receive mine. Then, my friends refuse to answer my calls or meet with me. We have all been dishonored by your actions, Maldenis. And it’s not just me that’s been affected. ”
“Oh?”
“Your sister Mileena told me she was passed over for a promotion. Then your brother Marselis called me to complain that he did not get the raise his boss had promised him. And then Morosis lost that important court case when the judge all but assured her he would be siding with her client.”
Ah yes, of course she would care more about his older siblings. “Oh well, too bad.”
His mother’s face turned purplish red. “Maldenis, this is serious. Soon, we will all be pushed to the fringes of society.” She took a deep breath. “Tell me, has business been slow the last day or two?”
“No, I—” He stopped short. Last night had been an unusually slow Friday. Usually, they’d get a lot of spillover from the restaurants around them, but they barely moved a case of well Molovian fire water.
She raised an eyebrow. “See? You may not think so, but soon, you will feel it too. Your little bar will shut down and then you won’t even be able to get a job washing dishes.”
His mother’s words may have been mean and spiteful, but they were, unfortunately true. After all, he had experienced this once before, during the incident. He got lucky that time, thanks to his mother and older siblings’ positions.
But now—
“Our family has been dishonored. You must fix this!” his mother hissed, slamming a hand over the bar. “Today. Now.”
“I—alright, alright,” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll…bring her back and tell her we have to act like a married couple.
“You are a married couple,” she emphasized, then took a deep breath. “Alright, we may yet to fix this. You have deliberately bound yourself to a human—”
“It was not deliberate—”
“I don’t care. I must meet her. Just bring her back to Solkaris and I’ll take care of everything.”
“Take care of everything? What do you—”
“Just do it,” she ordered, then turned around, slithering away from him, her tail swishing mercilessly across the scarred hardwood floor.
The door slamming as his mother left made him start.
“Fuck me,” he cursed, his eyes sliding heavenwards. “What did I do to deserve this?” Burying his face in his hands, he let out a scream, which lasted about ten seconds. And though his throat felt scratchy, it felt good.
It wasn’t so bad, he thought. All he had to do was find Liora and convince her to come back to Solkaris and stay here for a year and a day, then they could part ways.
This was going to suck, big time.