Free A Fine Cauldron Of Fish by Cornelia Amiri Page A

For now though all I can do is ask. Margaid, will
you marry me?”
    Flooded with joy, ready to burst free
of earth and float to the sky, her throat tightened and her eyes
welled up until she couldn’t speak. This time at least, she knew it
wasn’t because of Mannan‘s enchantment.
    After taking a slow, deep breath, she
squeaked out, “Yes, I will.” Tears slid down her cheeks.
    “ I can perform the
ceremony.” Mannan beg mac y Leir beamed even brighter.
    “ Now?” Margaid gazed into
Andrew’s eyes. “You want to marry me now? But I don’t have a cake
or flowers or a silk and satin gown.” What am I saying? I should
have stopped at yes.
    “ Yes, now.” Andrew’s face
beamed like the summer sun. “Why not?”
    Margaid shrugged. “There’s no reason
not to. We’ll get a cake later.” She wanted to scream and yell with
joy.
    “ I'll change things
around.” Mannan conjured up enough white roses to fill the
room.
    The nurse-druidess pulled two
gold-speckled, white robes out of the closet and handed one each to
Margaid and Andrew.
    “ I forgot, the father of
the bride’s supposed to pay for the wedding and Mannan beg mac y
Leir, you owe me for all you put me through, so where is my
cake?”
    “ Margaid, you’ll get fat.”
Mannan winked.
    “ Cake now,” Margaid
commanded the god.
    “ Chocolate?” he meekly
asked.
    “ Of course.” She
nodded.
    An eight-layer tier cake, taller than
Margaid, suddenly appeared.
    Andrew looked scared. “I can’t eat all
that.”
    “ I can,” Margaid smugly
announced as she licked her lips. “It is Belgian?” She glanced
sideways at the god.
    “ Of course, Margaid.” He
sounded hurt. “I would never proffer a faithful servant less than
the best. Made just this morn by descendants of the ancient Belgae
tribe, worshipers of mine. They created the delectable masterpiece
as an offering to me and trust me, you don’t even want to know the
blessing they are asking for.”
    “ Don’t tell us.” Andrew
rolled his eyes. “I really don’t want to know. I just want to marry
Margaid.” With a quick smack, he planted a warm, wet kiss on her
plump lips.
    “ Let’s get on with the
wedding.”
    As he stood in his robe,
waiting for the nurse-druid to finish braiding white roses in
Margaid's hair to go with her milk-toned, gold speckled robe, he
asked the god, “Why are the lhiannan
shee different than other vampires, they
don’t drink blood, just drain it into red cauldrons?”
    Mannan laughed. “My lhiannan shee love
chocolate. They can’t stand the taste of blood. So I have them keep
it in a red cauldron. Pretty funny, don’t you think? And even so,
they never take any blood. It’s just not their way. Their cauldrons
are always empty.”
    “ So they’re vampires who
don’t drain or drink blood.” Andrew scratched his head.
    “ Hilarious, don’t you
think?”
    “ Yes.” Andrew
chuckled.
    “ I love a good joke.”
Mannan grinned.
    The nurse-druid brought a box of
crystals in from the storeroom and laid them in a large circle on
the floor. She tossed white rose petals inside the
circle.
    Andrew clasped Margaid’s hand so their
wrists touched in promenade fashion. “You’re so
beautiful.”
    He led her around the crystal ring,
then they strolled into it, together.
    Mannan stepped inside the center of
the circle along with the nurse-druid. He gazed at Margaid and
Andrew. “In the world of humans and the land of the fey, nothing
can stand between a man and a woman meant for each
other.”
    Andrew flashed a bright smile at
Margaid as he squeezed her hand.
    She peered deep into his blue eyes.
“You want to marry me, spend your whole life with me?”
    “ Margaid, as in the famous
American movie, you had me at hello or rather Laa mie.”
    “ You mean the moment I swam
up to the docks, and you didn’t have your contacts, and you could
barely see me?”
    “ Yes, even without my
contacts, I followed you to the bottom of the sea and into a magic
cave, didn’t