Ritual, by Amaranth Traces

The Day Before

Daniel awoke the next morning spooned around Sam, his arm was wrapped around her waist. He breathed in the scent of her skin, still smelling of the soap from their bath the evening before. Daniel nuzzled the back of her neck and trailed a tender line of kisses over her shoulder.

He felt Sam rouse from sleep in his arms and whispered, “Morning, beautiful.”

She turned around in his arms so she was facing him and lightly ran her fingers from his temple to his chin. Sam sighed happily and gazed at him. “Good morning.”

“I could get used to this, you know,” Daniel murmured as he brushed her hair out of her face.

Sam licked her lips nervously. “Yeah, me too.”

He sensed her uneasiness and gave her a small smile. This is still going too quickly for her. Daniel pressed his lips lovingly to her forehead and then released her from his arms. Slowly, she sat up and looked at the two piles of books on the floor of their hut. He propped himself up on his elbow and watched as she sighed.

“A lot of studying to do today,” she said.

“You’re going to do great.”

Sam turned and looked at him a moment. Lifting her hand, she ran her fingers through his short hair to the back of his neck and leaned forward to kiss him. She pulled away and smiled at him. “You always have such faith in me. Thank you.”

They started going through all the texts pertaining to the ritual. Daniel compiled the information and put together an extremely detailed description of the events that would take place during the ceremony. They went over the entire ritual dozens of times, with Daniel quizzing her on even the tiniest details.

The worst part was the very long speech that Sam had to memorize. In it, she would pledge herself to Spirall’s tribe and take responsibility for the actions of her men. Breakfast and lunch were brought at the usual times. They ate but never stopped studying.

A few hours after lunch, Sam was pacing the floor of the hut, reciting the oath that she had to commit to memory. Daniel watched her while he sat on the bed.

“Damn it!” Sam cursed, stomping her foot after she again lost her place in the recitation.

“You were doing great! That was almost the whole thing and it was flawless!”

“If I don't get this exactly right...” Sam sighed heavily rolling her head around her shoulders. She rubbed her neck and grimaced. If this isn't perfect, they could kill all of you...

“Come here.” Daniel stretched a hand out to her.

She moved toward him and took his hand. He pulled her into his lap and grinned at her surprised yelp. Daniel sat further back on the bed and, with his hands on her hips, shifted her so she was sitting on the bed between his legs.

“Relax. You’re doing great.” His hands moved to her neck, and he started to massage her tense muscles.

Sam closed her eyes and let out a quiet groan as his strong hands rubbed away her stress. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and started reciting the oath again as he kneaded her shoulders.

Her eyes flew open as his massage suddenly stopped. “What?” She turned to look at him.

“You did it. That was perfect!” He had a broad grin on his face, and his eyes were twinkling.

She smiled and leaned back against his chest. Daniel wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. She rehearsed the speech three more times, each time without error.

“I knew you could do it,” Daniel whispered into her ear.

Supper arrived, and they reluctantly arose from their comfortable embrace to eat. When they finished, they grabbed their bathing gear and headed down the path to the stream.

The sun was just starting to set as they arrived back at their hut. Sam sat nervously on the edge of the bed as Daniel lit the light-stones.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing her mood.

“I’m just worried about tomorrow.” Sam nudged a small twig on the floor with her foot.

“Want to run through it a few more times before bed?”

Sam looked at him gratefully and nodded. Several hours and six perfect runs later, they were both getting very tired. They turned off the light-stones and got into bed. Daniel held her as Sam silently ran through the entire ceremony in her mind yet again. She felt Daniel’s breathing change and turned her head to look at the sleeping man beside her. His presence calmed her rattled nerves, and she found herself finally drifting off to sleep.

--

The hut was still dark when something woke Daniel. He touched the bed beside him and realised that Sam was missing.

“Sam?” he called, trying to stay calm.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Her voice emerged from the darkness.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can’t sleep.” She lit one of the light-stones, and the hut was illuminated in a soft glow.

“Sam, you’re prepared. It’ll be fine.” His voice was soothing. “But you need to rest.”

Sam sighed and reluctantly lay back down on the bed. Daniel held her in his arms and whispered reassurances to her until she fell asleep. Smiling, he kissed her temple and closed his eyes.

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