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Drabble #11
A curse and a pox upon Massachusetts's unrealistic emissions standards. In any other state we would have easily passed inspection, but not here, oh no. We can't even just get minor repairs; we have to overhaul the whole system to meet their ridiculous standards, which will cost us approximately enough to buy an entire car. If we'd known how much, we would have just gotten a new one - well, a new used one, anyway. It's an old car, but it's not a hunk of junk just yet. At least not in most states. Grrr....
Anyway.
Not Like the Others
-----
They came to him shortly before sunset, with much the same urgency as all the other couples who wanted to be wed quickly and secretly. He never questioned the request, no matter how ill-matched or young the couple was; it was not his place to discourage any souls wishing to enter the Sacred Union. This young man and woman, however, both intrigued and troubled him.
For one thing, the boy was a Jedi, an un-knighted apprentice no less. The holy man raised his eyebrows at his robes, his emblematic braid, but did not remark on them. He would keep his oath of secrecy, as always. But he had to wonder what consequences would come from breaking the much-touted code of the Jedi.
And the girl? It had been some time since the holy man had concerned himself with news of politics and doings in the capital, but unless his memories were muddled, her face was the same as that of the child-queen who had ruled during the War. A politician and a Jedi? Ill-matched indeed. And yet...
He watched the two of them from across his desk, as they sat silently beside each other and recorded the few pieces of personal information required to sanction the union. Most eloping couples were either giddy and silly, pausing every few seconds to giggle and exchange shameless kisses; or else overly defensive and hot-headed, the marriage mostly a way to spite their parents' wishes.
Not these two. Now and then they smiled at each other, but it was a quiet gesture, rooted in an affection that seemed to have already weathered many a storm. Yet he saw a hint of mournfulness in the smiles as well, particularly in the girl's. It spoke of sacrifice and bitter choices. Curiously, it reminded the holy man of how he had felt the day he made his own vows. A joyous day, no doubt, but also a day when he left behind all else in his life.
Their records were filled out with no problems and sealed against any attempted access. The holy man himself would never open them again. Such was the manner of the secret Sacred Union. But he knew, as they traveled to the lakeside location the couple had requested and he performed the brief rites of marriage, that he would not forget this particular wedding. The tentative, yearning look on the boy's face, the muted joy in the girl's eyes...
Not like the others. Not at all.
-----
Anyway.
Not Like the Others
-----
They came to him shortly before sunset, with much the same urgency as all the other couples who wanted to be wed quickly and secretly. He never questioned the request, no matter how ill-matched or young the couple was; it was not his place to discourage any souls wishing to enter the Sacred Union. This young man and woman, however, both intrigued and troubled him.
For one thing, the boy was a Jedi, an un-knighted apprentice no less. The holy man raised his eyebrows at his robes, his emblematic braid, but did not remark on them. He would keep his oath of secrecy, as always. But he had to wonder what consequences would come from breaking the much-touted code of the Jedi.
And the girl? It had been some time since the holy man had concerned himself with news of politics and doings in the capital, but unless his memories were muddled, her face was the same as that of the child-queen who had ruled during the War. A politician and a Jedi? Ill-matched indeed. And yet...
He watched the two of them from across his desk, as they sat silently beside each other and recorded the few pieces of personal information required to sanction the union. Most eloping couples were either giddy and silly, pausing every few seconds to giggle and exchange shameless kisses; or else overly defensive and hot-headed, the marriage mostly a way to spite their parents' wishes.
Not these two. Now and then they smiled at each other, but it was a quiet gesture, rooted in an affection that seemed to have already weathered many a storm. Yet he saw a hint of mournfulness in the smiles as well, particularly in the girl's. It spoke of sacrifice and bitter choices. Curiously, it reminded the holy man of how he had felt the day he made his own vows. A joyous day, no doubt, but also a day when he left behind all else in his life.
Their records were filled out with no problems and sealed against any attempted access. The holy man himself would never open them again. Such was the manner of the secret Sacred Union. But he knew, as they traveled to the lakeside location the couple had requested and he performed the brief rites of marriage, that he would not forget this particular wedding. The tentative, yearning look on the boy's face, the muted joy in the girl's eyes...
Not like the others. Not at all.
-----