Athyyah

Chapter Thirteen the Joining

It had been an hour since Ellenah left and the five were sitting with Anthieyah on the chairs they had set up, along with what seemed like the rest of the town.

Next to the immediate family, which was quite extensive, they got the next closest seats to the front where they would get the best view. Something Anthieyah said was the benefit of arriving early to set up.

Kris leaned over to whisper to Anthieyah"So when does the wedding actually start?"

Anthieyah looked around at the other seats.

"Well, most the seats are filled. We'll wait a little longer to see if anyone else shows. Then we will begin," she answered.

"Well, it better start soon, or else I may fall asleep with boredom," commented Alex.

"Don't worry it'll start soon," Anthieyah assured him.

Alex looked around. "So where is Ellenah?" he asked.

"I don't know. I suspect she will not be here. If she does decide to come, she'll stand in the back and arrive just as the ceremony starts," Anthieyah answered. "She is not one for, social gatherings."

"Why's that."

"You'd have to ask her. Though today I feel her recent injury may play a part in this. I do not think she wants to be out and about with it if she does not have t," Anthieyah whispered back.

"Right, I can see how that could do it," Alex replied and sat back. "What with you all being woman and all."

Kaitlyn shot him an irritated look and Valerie even made a point to reach over to pinch him. Anthieyah just looked at him in confusion but was quickly distracted. A man had walked up onto the stage.

This was the first time any of them had clearly seen a man since they arrived. There were a couple distinguishable in the crowd, but not near the group. They were obscured by the crowds and you wouldn't have seen them had you not been looking. It seemed the men did not get to be as tall as the women. Their roles here were reversed on so many ways with the men and women of Earth.. The groom was a rather skinny man, though he really was more of a boy. His arms hung loosely at his side as he slouched a bit. His round face had an expression of a low watt bulb. His eyes were half closed over red eyes with a bit of acne dotting his face. His most prominent feature was that his nose seemed a bit crooked. He showed no decorum you would expect of a groom, regardless of physical appeal.

"Who is that?" asked Valerie.

"That's Termbet," answered Anthieyah. "He's the one that will be joined to three woman today."

"That's the groom?" Valerie almost shouted, only managing to keep her voice down because she had nearly choked on her own words. "He looks like a, well, forget what he looks like; he can't be more than seventeen."

"Sixteen actually and I know he isn't exactly the finest man around. However it's an honor if a man finds you attractive and fancies you to the point that he's willing to take you."

"Did you say he was wedding three?" asked Kris.

"That's right."

"I new you said your men took on more than one wife, but I figured that they got married over time. Not all at once."

"Not all the time. He's likely to be up there again in a couple years," replied Anthieyah.

"You certainly have an interesting culture," Arnold commented as he watched the awkward looking man talk to a woman who was likely the Athyan's equivalent of a priest. The woman wore a long shall that draped over her arms and an extra long skirt that was decorated with embroidered gold trees, it reaching to her toes.