Lisette looks up, even the flowers in her bouquet looking wilted as she blinks back tears.<br/><br/>Lyla is, more or less, trying not to look like she's plotting the violent deaths of everyone in attendance with only moderate success.<br/><br/>The Handmaidens ride the tentacles like good little fucktoys, writhing and moaning just like their mistress did.<br/><br/>The priest finally speaks, eventually. "Lisette, of the lesser house." as if 'Avaline' was far too difficult to say after his two-hour rant on the virtues of being loyal to One. "Gelesad of the great House Merithel has chosen to humble himself most lowly at his request that you not make a vow to him. Still, you must make a vow, for this ancient ground must hold one from each of you." He turns to the clergy in attendance. "Curate Hithonia, have you the sap from the tree?"<br/><br/>The curate stood, taking the gold-and-platinum chalice in her hands, rising and holding it aloft, proceeding towards the soon-to-be wed pair. It was filled with sap of a sort indeed, though not from any tree. She held it just high enough that the priest could not see inside. She was thankful that he was a shorter elf.<br/><br/>"This chalice, its contents, are but symbols of the power of this ancient temple to hear oaths. You will swear as I instruct, then drink of the sacred chalice, sealing your utmost agreement.<br/><br/>Lisette hands her bouquet to Lyla and takes the chalice reverently, despite not being of the elven faith. She looks curiously down at the pearly white liquid, wondering what odd sort of tree it must have come from. She wouldn't dream of questioning her husband's priest however, particular at such a time.<br/><br/>The priest nods. "Swear that you are here of your own free will, and understand that you are promising yourself, body, mind, and soul, to the will of one man." The priest waited for Lisette's reply.<br/><br/>"Swear that you will serve this One, and none other."<br/><br/>"Swear that you will know no man other than this One."<br/><br/>"I swear that I am here of my own free will, and I understand that I am promising myself, body, mind and soul, to the will of one man," the young piper echoes. Even simply speaking, her voice has a musical quality to it, almost as beautiful as the girl herself.<br/><br/>"I swear that I will serve this One, and none other."<br/><br/>"I swear that I will know no man other than this One."<br/><br/>After her third oath, the priest nods. "The chalice keeps its contents quite warm, so to better preserve them. You will want to drink slowly, and savor the taste. There will be far, far more than there appears to be. To seal your vows, you must consume it all. It will take some time - a half-mark of the hour, if not longer. Do not worry, and have faith in the magic of the Chalice. While you drink, the noble Gelesad will speak his oaths to you."<br/><br/>Master took the start of Gelesad's oath as license to deflower several  more of the attendees with his tails, and to ensure that they made a significant amount of noise during Gelesad's speech. His voice had none of the musical quality that his soon-to-be bride's had, and the frequent - though not constant - squeals and screams easily disrupt his prepared speech.<br/><br/>Hithonia made her way back to the attending clergy, trying to remain stoic in the blasphemy she had just performed - and well aware that the other female clergy had witnessed the tentacle pour its nigh-endless seed into the chalice, somehow managing to fill it almost to the brim.<br/><br/>Lisette raises the chalice to her lips, her bright blue eyes fluttering closed as she begins to drink. She shudders as the thick, warm fluid begins to pour over her tongue, resisting the urge to immediately stop as the strange taste fills her mouth.<br/><br/>She continues, determined to honor her groom as he falters through his vows. The cries from the women being brutally fucked by Masters cocks are not lost on her, but she does not stop, slowly tilting the large chalice up more and more as she drinks down every drop of the "sap"<br/><br/>The chalice seems to be endless, as if magically refilling as she drinks, storing far, far more than even its large size would suggest. She cannot raise the chalice above her eye level without spilling it.<br/><br/>Gelesad slowly manages to complete his oaths, one by one. They promise Lisette, and only Lisette, his service, his love, his devotion, his every work, his every talent, his every possession. He even swears to gaze on no other woman.<br/><br/>As his oaths continue, the screams get louder and more frequent. Finally, after a great many minutes, he has finished his last oath, the chalice seemingly still half-full of the sap. He swallows hard after a few more piercing screams.<br/><br/>"Dearest Lisette..." a pair of hard squeals echoes through the church "I-I ask" and a fresh pair of screams"I ask for but one thing in return." He pauses, allowing the screams to pass before continuing. " I cannot bring myself to defile your perfection by touching you in public," He pauses again, the squeals growing louder. "even for a kiss on our most holy day."  The next pair of screams leaves an echo lasting some seconds. " Instead, I ask for the slightest of your garments, that I may kiss it in your place. "<br/><br/>The 'sap' just kept flowing and flowing, but Lisette dutifully drank like a good little bride. It certainly didn't taste like she'd expected and the heavy chalice seemed like it would never empty, but if this was the rite her beloved wished her to perform, she would endure. She swallowed hard when her groom made his request and tried to shift her grip on the chalice so she could extend a gloved hand, but it was simply too heavy. She hesitated, but an impatient glare from the priest prompted her to extend one delicate, white-shoed foot so it peaked out from beneath her dress.<br/><br/>The groom bit his lip, and several of his family gasped in shock at the scandal of it. He, the heir of their house, promises her *everything* and she gives him a shoe to kiss? The priest himself is none too happy, though is in no position to complain. He had expected her to fail, after all... was she truly so pure? It made him shudder.<br/><br/>"PLEASE  LORD! GRANT THIS WORTHLESS VESSEL YOUR BLESSING" The sound jolted Gelesad into action as he got down onto his hands and knees, crawling towards her proffered foot. "My dearest Lisette, I am honored to be so exalted as to be worthy of this." He craned his neck low, pressing his lips not to the top of the shoe as may have been expected, but lifting the sole of her foot lightly with his lips, pressing the barest kiss on the only piece of her wardrobe that had so much as a spec of dirt on it.<br/><br/>"At least it knows its place." Master said quietly, though loud enough for many of the surrounding girls to hear.<br/><br/>After the kiss, Gelesad pulled himself back from her foot, though he did not let himself rise from his prostration until she had finished. It had been so long since the chalice had been used, he was aware it could be some time. He smiled to himself, however, the dream of his courtship was finally becoming a reality. Aching hands and knees would not stop him.<br/><br/>When Gelesad knelt Lisette officially lost count of the number of times that day she'd wished he'd consented to the simple, small ceremony she'd wanted. Instead he was thoroughly humbling himself before her, probably in some misplaced sense of honor, forever ensuring that his family would hate her. To make matters worse, the cries of praise coming from the congregation made her feel…strange. She dared not voice her concerns, but they felt off, and no matter the priest's faith she doubted they were genuine. Why would the Shining Lord bless HER wedding?<br/><br/>She continues to drink, a few more minutes of quiet frequently punctuated by screams of ecstasy until finally, finally it seems the last drops have passed through her lips.<br/><br/>The curate who gave her the chalice stands as she finishes, and the priest gazes at her in near disbelief, quickly but reverently taking the chalice from her, and gazing inside, noting it was completely empty. He hands the chalice to the curate, who bows lightly and turns on her toes, revealing a wicked grin for her newly fallen clergywomen, many of whom bite their lips in turn.<br/><br/>The priest stutters. "I now pronounce Lisette to be of House Merithel, through the grace and fortune of its exalted son, and her now husband, Gelesad.<br/><br/>Master started clapping first, thoroughly bemused at the horrified expression on the face of the priest and much of the groom's family. Obviously, the priest neglected to tell the girl something very important about what the chalice did, though he could only guess at what. The women started clapping next, groom's family excepted. Many of the men in attendance still wanted to believe that the lovely girl was still not taken.<br/><br/>Lisette looked…puzzled by the priest's reaction. He'd made no attempt to hide the fact that he didn't care for her (she was half-convinced that he actually believed the absurd rumors that she and her sister were the spawn of a succubus, sent to tempt the men of the town) but his reaction baffled her. She dipped gracefully to one knee, heedless of the scandalized murmurs from the congregation, and took Gelesad's hand to pull him to his feet.<br/><br/>Gelehad rises cautiously to his feet. There is none of the shock on his face that mars the rest of his family. He takes a moment to steal a brief glance at her face, smiling. "It... it is done. My heart has yearned so long for this moment and... my love..." He swallows, shaking his head lightly with a smile. "Let us go, while my family's disbelief continues to bind them." He gestures down the path out of the church, taking the first step.<br/><br/>The look of confusion upon Lisette's face only deepens, but this is clearly not the place to question the odd goings on that have plagued their wedding day. When Gelesad takes the first step a smile of genuine happiness lights up her fair face, almost too beautiful to look upon when it is aglow with true joy. She takes her Groom's hand and follows his step.<br/><br/>The priest nervously looks to the groom's grandfather as the congregation begins to break down, conversations erupting as the guests wait for the newlyweds to leave. Gelesad and Piper receive many congratulations from both sides of the aisle, and one of the handmaidens manages to wake the baroness in time so that she may properly confer her own blessing as they pass.<br/><br/>Lisette is as polite and charming as ever, humbly thanking each attend that speaks to her, but she is careful not to linger, eager to escape the church and be alone with her dear husband as soon as possible. If she notices the…dishevelled state of many of the young women on her side of the isle she tactfully makes no mention of it<br/><br/>Once sure everyone's eyes are on her sister, Lyla slips away and silently follows the priest as he attempts to retreat into the deeper regions of the temple. Once she's sure they're out of earshot her hand snaps out from the shadows and drags him roughly into a small alcove, a blade glinting dangerously in the dim light. "What…did you bastards…try and do to my sister?" she hisses.<br/><br/>The priest jumps, turning about to gaze upon the somewhat shorter intruder. "My dearest wayward child..." He ponders her question for a moment. It would do no good for him or for the honor of the Shining One to do anything less than explain fully. "...three oaths, three tests, the chalice tests the blood, the heart, and the deeds of those who sup from it. The chalice would fill a fair-sized bath if it could be emptied by a means other than drinking. A single drop of fell blood, a single impure thought, a single deed unworthy of being brought to light, and at some point, she would have been forced to spit it out. All of it. The longer she drinks, the more pure she is, but... those who have actually managed to finish are now canonized saints. Gelesad's family wanted to use what they thought was inevitable to force the wedding off." He closes his eyes for a moment, sighing. "The longer one drinks, the more power the oaths hold over her. Thus, Gelesad refused to allow her to name him in her oath."<br/><br/>"Hmph…" the piper grunts, the knife disappearing into her sleeve with a deft flick of her wrist. "Well, hopefully that will shut those arrogant…" she trails off, eyes narrowing again. "Wait. She still MADE the oath. If not to Gelesad, who? Are you telling me that idiot actually tricked my sister into swearing herself to a single man and it's not the one she wanted to marry? Is she bound to your Shining Lord now or something?" she asks, anger rising in her voice.<br/><br/>The congregation begins filing out a couple of minutes after the new couple passes though the doors, Master with two completely different girls on his arms than he entered with. He takes them someplace secluded during the reception - enjoying the girls in some measure of privacy, along with a few he stumbled across, before leaving them behind, making his way to his 'shortcut'. Arriving at the waterfall near the village, leaping off the cliff and floating gently down towards the 'secret' spot the handmaidens had prepared for the couple. It was truly a bounteous scene, but the cave behind the waterfall would be well hidden from eyes, and as for screams, well...<br/><br/>The priest's eyes lit up. "Dearest no! She must make that decision herself. She could choose a completely different man then Gelesad, even - but she would have to truly mean it, and no mortal magic could compel her decision. Gelesad has... made a poor political choice, for certain, but the power the oaths are rumored to grant one such as her may make that less than relevant... I am certain your dearest sister is destined for truly great deeds."<br/><br/>Lyla let out a little sigh, "Well, ominous rumors aside that is a relief. I wouldn't have put it past the idiot to swear her to chastity in order to preserve her purity or some similar nonsense…Sorry about the fright Father, but if you'll excuse me I think I'm going to go drink too much wine and watch Gelesad's family try and run damage control for this. Should be hilarious."<br/><br/>The bride and groom are inevitably delayed by more guests coming to confer their well wishes. The reception begins and Lisette is cajoled into dancing once or twice before the pair finally mange to sneak away (Lyla makes a commotion by telling a rather crude joke to Gelesad's mother) and make their way to the lovely little grotto that had been prepared for them.<br/><br/>"Go with my blessing and forgiveness, wayward piper." The priest waves her off, thanking Mitra that she did not simply take blind vengeance, and makes his way to his chambers.