It is customary for the Chon'sin people to make a vow during the wedding ceremony. After the priest has said his lines, the bride and the groom repeat the same words, the bride speaking first and the groom after.

With Naga's holy blessing and Tiki's divine grace

Beyond the edges of the earth and the reaches of heaven

Until the moon swallows the sun and the stars fall from the sky

I promise to love you always

Afterwards, two red ribbons held by the bride and groom are tied together in a knot, symbolizing their eternal devotion to one another.

There is no such thing as divorce or remarriage in Chon'sin society.

Just beyond the stone wall, the girl was singing.

Lon'qu knew this because he could hear her beautiful voice, echoing over the divide that separated them both. He also knew that she was the reason why he always took the miles-long detour from the market to his home back in the slums, though he had told his mother that the sights were more beautiful and the travelers easier to pickpocket. He fingered the smooth coins that he clutched in his hands. The pickings had been good today, and hopefully, enough to earn his mother a well-deserved rest. Rarely did she spend a waking moment without working.

Lon'qu also knew that the girl was the daughter of the prestigious consulate member, Shuo'li. This was easily distinguishable by the enormous family crest that hung above the crimson gates that flanked the rock-hewn wall. It was visible even from the back of the castle, where the back road he took snaked through sparsely scattered trees and brush.

He knew that a girl of her stature would never stoop so low as to even glance at one of the lower class, yet such heavy knowledge did not dim his spirits, for her singing was so lovely. The notes floated far above the filthy squalor of the dirt road he treaded, and – he imagined fancifully – straight towards the heavens above.

And abruptly, the song ended far too soon for his liking. The final melody lingered in the still air and soon its echo was lost in the silence. Lon'qu quickly folded his thoughts away and headed back towards his home. His mother would scold him again if he dawdled for too long. Night had fallen long ago, and the moon had almost reached the center of the sky.

There was no scolding that had to be done. His mother simply sat there, hands worn from a day of washing rough cloth, a gray strand of hair hanging limply in front of the face that held too many wrinkles for one so youthful, waiting. A lance of guilt pierced through Lon'qu's heart.

He smoothed over the blankets that covered her bed and plumped the pillow with his deft hands – a motion that he had done over and over again before. "You should have gone to sleep earlier. It is bad for your health, staying up so late."

"I was worried," she replied simply.

The guilty ache intensified. "I am back now, and there was no need to worry," Lon'qu said. "Now please, mother. Rest."

"But there is," she responded. "Lon'qu, I know what you are doing in town. Every day, I worry that you might not return to me, and every day, I cannot sleep until you return home."

Lon'qu winced. He had not known that she had finally discovered how he had been making the extra gold every day, and now she had one more thing to worry about. "I know my limits, mother. Trust me. I will never stay in a fight that I know I cannot win."

"I hope you do. My dear, sweet, only child, my heart would break if anything happened to you," she said as she tenderly stroked his face. Her hands felt like sandpaper, Lon'qu thought. He felt like a failure of a son, unable to provide for his mother.

"Please," Lon'qu said again, and the words he did not want to speak were conveyed by the emotion that struggled and succeeded in barely breaking through his deceivingly calm voice.

She nodded wearily, the creases of her eyes deepening as she lay down, joints creaking with protest. Soon, she was breathing quietly with the rhythmic tempo that only comes with sleep.

Lon'qu wrapped himself in the threadworn blankets that lay against the wall opposite the bed. A creature scurried by his head, but Lon'qu paid it no heed. The mice would be hard-pressed to find a crumb anywhere in this household where every grain of rice was as precious as gold. The floor was hard, but comfortable now that he had gotten used to it. And besides, sleeping on the floor was said to be good for one's back.

A/N: Meeeep. Why do things that look so long in word processors turn out so short on FFn!? Boo. Also I've finally conquered the alphabet. Now to finish all my pending fanfics...