An Awkward Betrothal

Mar 12, 2025

I am afraid I rather blew it the next morning. I was rather sleepy (Dwarves are always sleepy when we first get up) and I just got up from my bed and got dressed, watching everything going on around me the way I would have with the Fishermen. No one said anything though. I finally caught on when Meical kept talking to me in a loud voice about this and that, talking to me in an attempt to get me to look back at him. Oh well.

After breakfast, which I didn’t enjoy, Elves being horrible cooks, Meical and I went out to watch the Trolls get the animals ready to go.

Trolls are great with animals, and the animals were used to being herded. Each Father would take his staff and lead the group. The Sons of the family (three, of course) would walk around the back and edges, discouraging any animal that looked like it might stray.

They would take the animals to where they wanted them, and plant tall poles with flags around the group. The animals were trained to stay within poles, and did not wander away while the Trolls rounded up the next group.

Each group of Trolls was given a certain number of animals of the various types… some more of one, some more of another, to take to their new homes.

They herded the animals quickly and efficiently, but it still all took time. We didn’t get started till well after noon, so I got to eat lunch with Meical’s family as well, not that I looked forward to their cooking, but it was neat to spend some more time with him.

Before we could leave, we had to have Gertrude’s betrothal ceremony. The Betrothal was already official, having become so as soon as the Fathers agreed (in this case as soon as the agreement was passed to Meuric). But we Dwarves love ceremony. This would be the most abrupt betrothal I had ever been to. Even the betrothals along the way had been much longer. We held them on Seven Day so as to have more time.

But this was Third day, and everyone wanted to do it here at the outpost, so we would have to do it fast. Thankfully, I wasn’t there for all the preparations, so I just saw the ceremony itself.

Per custom, Nhomhisosh and Meuric (representing his Father) showed up at our ‘house’. As usual, our ‘house’ was represented by the front of the local cathedral, which was crowded around with people. No one had ever seen a betrothal ceremony between a Dwarf and a Horseman before. Indeed, most had never even seen a Dwarf betrothal ceremony.

Only our Father was ‘outside’ the house. The rest of us (except Gertrude) were seated on benches right at the entrance of the cathedral, which we pretended was ‘inside’. Nhomhisosh and Meuric rode up to the cathedral. Nhomhisosh stopped at the edge of the crowd, but Meuric got down from his horse and walked up the aisle. Father stood on the steps of the Cathedral.

Meuric spoke first, “My Brother, my Son, Nhomhisosh has come to the age where he has need of a wife. I understand that in your house there is a Daughter, a beautiful Daughter.”

“There is.”

“Then what is to prevent my Son from being betrothed to your Daughter?”

There was a pause at this point in the ceremony, in which any of the witnesses could have arisen and raised objections to the proposed marriage; in particular, another young man could have risen and confessed to having already ‘seen’ Gertrude; a very Dwarvish euphemism. It would have caused great distress, but would be infinitely better than the alternative of a husband finding that his wife had been ‘seen’ by another man. Infinitely better.

But Gertrude having been careful, and indeed hardly having had the opportunity, no one came forward.

Then, after Father had waited what seemed like an eternity, he replied, “I know of nothing. Let it be as you have said.”

Meuric then, although it must have been very hard for an Elf to do, called out loudly “Witnesses, witnesses!” Any male Dwarf would have done better, their voices being much deeper and more authoritative. But he was loud enough, and it served. The crowd rose to their feet.

He turned back to Father, “Then you are agreed, you give your Daughter to this my Son.’

“I give my Daughter to your Son.”

“You are witnesses!”

“We are witnesses,” the crowd intoned.

Meuric turned back to Father, “Let me take her now, to my Son.”

Here, Mother and I rose to our feet. This was to be our line, “No!” Mother said, and, "Let her stay with us ten days, at least a week," I added.

“Hinder me not,” Meuric responded, following protocol perfectly, “seeing that He Who Is has prospered my way; send me away that I may go.”

“Let us inquire of the damsel,” Father responded, and nodded to me. I hurried around the corner to get Gertrude.

Gertrude walked out the Cathedral door slowly and carefully. I could feel her hand trembling in mine.

“Will you go with this man?” Father asked her.

Even at this point Gertrude could have refused, although it would have brought shame upon our house for generations. But she did not even hesitate, “I will go!” she said, facing Meuric directly.

I led Gertrude down to Meuric, and he began leading her down the aisle toward Nhomhisosh.

He hadn’t gone three feet before he had to stop. One of the women from our train came up and blessed Gertrude. Then two more feet there was another one. They could hardly take a step between blessings. Some of the women announced their blessing at full voice. Others whispered their blessing in her ear. Some gave a gift with their blessing. All gave a kiss. Most of those giving a blessing were Dwarves, although there were many others. This continued down the aisle until, just as they were about finish the aisle, two Dwarves stepped out.

It was the head elder from our voyage, and his wife. He was the first and only male Dwarf, and he came not to give a blessing, but an instruction. “Hear me, O my Daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also your own people, and your Father's house; So shall your lord greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. Instead of your Father’s house and line shall be thy children, whom you mayest make princes in all the earth. “

He then stepped back into line, and his Wife stepped forward. Representing all of the women she said: “You are our Sister, be the Mother of thousands of millions, and let your seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”

Finally, they were able to finish the last few feet of their journey, and arrived at Nhomhisosh. I wondered what he thought of the whole thing. Horsemen have no such ceremony. I had heard him talk about such things before, so I guessed that he probably thought it rather silly. Still he played his part, his only part, and reached down from his horse with his hand. Gertrude reached up, and the two touched the tips of their fingers briefly. From that moment, by Dwarf law, they were Man and Wife just as fully as if he had seen her.

As she was not actually going off with him right now, that ended the ceremony. She was soon surrounded by well wishers.

Nhomhisosh sat alone for a while, while Father and I worked at making our way through the crowd. Even once we arrived there we didn’t say much except that I said, “Congratulations”, and Father said, “Blessings. And good luck,” he added, with a wink, startling Nhomhisosh, but it was Dwarf tradition, no matter how obedient the Daughter.

Soon after the ceremony, we had to get back to our wagons. The Trolls had all finished, and everyone was eager to push on.

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Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:

The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid

The Bobtails and the Cousins

The Bobtails go to France

and

No Ordinary School

As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations.

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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,

Von