Art done by the incomparable @aevari, and I could not be more delighted with this! They do such amazing work!! <3
Mother wasn’t joking when she said that Waterdhavians like an excuse for a party, Devi mused as she stood back, watching the ongoing chaos in the expansive room. It was still so surreal that all these people in the room had gathered to witness her wedding to Gale. Laughter echoed through the building as Devi smiled, playing with the ring on her left hand – a match to the one that Gale wore.
She felt a hand on her lower back, and knew without looking that it was her husband – her husband! – standing at her side. “Ahh, look at it all,” Gale chuckled as he gazed out over the room. “So many people who’ve come to witness our union, my love.”
“I never thought this day would happen,” Devi confessed, shifting to lean against Gale’s side. “If I did ever get married, I had expected that it would just be an exchange of vows before some overworked priest in the Stormshore Tabernacle, maybe with a couple of friends to witness it… and it probably would have ended poorly.” She looked away from the gathering of friends and family to smile up at Gale. “I never could have imagined a day like today, with everyone we know and love here.”
Gale smiled and leaned down to nuzzle her nose with his own. “Today has been perfect,” he murmured. “I got to stand before our friends and family, and profess my undying devotion to the woman I love… my wife.” He breathed out the last words, as if still awestruck at the realisation that Devi was married to him now.
“My husband,” she whispered with a fond smile, reaching to set her hand on his chest, over his heart. In the peek of his chest that his elegant robes offered, there was no sign of the cursed Netherese orb that had nearly killed him – Mystra had cleansed Gale of the damned thing as she’d promised. Gale was whole and healthy again, and Devi couldn’t be more grateful.
His eyes full of love, Gale set his hand on top of Devi’s, keeping her still against his chest. His other hand came up to caress her cheek. “My beautiful Devi, who stole my heart and gave me back my will to live…” he murmured. “How did I get so lucky as to be loved by you?”
Devi smiled as Gale tilted her face upwards. “I’m still trying to figure out how I was so fortunate as to find you and be loved by you,” she softly answered. “My wise, intelligent wizard. You cast a spell on me without even trying.”
“You saw me at my lowest point, and you still chose to love me,” Gale whispered. “You gave me hope where I had none.”
“You saw the parts of me that I tried to keep hidden,” Devi responded. “You gave me a reason to trust again.”
With a fond smile, Gale bent his head to gently kiss Devi’s lips before he pulled back to look at her. “You would have been beautiful even in rags, my love,” he murmured. “But in this… you are a vision of beauty and grace, Devi. And I am the luckiest man on Toril, to call you my wife.”
Smiling, Devi reached her hand up to gently tuck a stray lock of hair behind Gale’s ear. “And you, my breathtaking wizard… you are magnificent. You were gorgeous even covered in mud and blood on our adventure, but today… you make a work of art pale in comparison.”
Gale chuckled and kissed her again. “My perfect, beautiful wife…” he murmured. He looked up as Alfira, who had volunteered her services as a bard for the celebration, started strumming a song on her lyre. “Ah, one of our favourites,” he said with a smile. “May I have this dance, Mrs. Dekarios?”
“You absolutely may,” Devi answered, laughing as Gale took her hand and led her to the floor to dance in his arms.
This, she thought to herself as she let Gale lead her in one of the Waterdhavian dances that he had taught her, was indeed a perfect day. She had been made to feel more beautiful than she ever had in her life, and she was celebrating with everyone she loved, and she could finally call the man she adored her husband.
Today was the first day of the rest of her life. And she was eagerly looking forward to it, with Gale at her side.