Marital Bliss

A Match Made in Sen'jin
Akindi Bar'att watched Adeph and Wicked go, their heads together as they plotted a way for Wicked to go and retrieve Khadija from the jungle. She smiled at the younger trolls, silently wishing them good fortune as they disappeared among the Sen'jin huts. They seemed like nice kids. She was glad Ajeera was finally hanging out with other trolls her age - the Tauren she'd grown up with were good people, mind, but not appropriate role models for a young troll.

The huntress nodded her thanks to Bulja as he passed her pipe back. The bark on the balcony railing was rough against her back as she leaned lazily against it, sharing the rest of the pipe with the older troll. "So what brings you to Sen'jin tonight, Bulja?" she asked curiously in Zandalar. "The moon dance isnt' for another few weeks."

"Well, I've got a bit of a problem. Unfortunately, it's one that only a troll woman can help me with. "

"Oh? What's the problem?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, I need a wife. Don't suppose you're interested?"

Akindi arched an eyebrow at him. "What's this about, now? Whatd'you need a wife for?"

"Bit of a long story to that, too. To make it short, I'm going to be visiting Zandalar soon, and I'm bringing someone with me. Unfortunately they know I'm not married."

"And so?"

"This someone… isn't the sort of person I want questions to be asked about. I need a real troll woman to marry, so that the tribal records would show it. Then I can pass off my companion as a newly wed. No one would question her presence too closely. I only need to use the name, but it has to be something believable. The elders know what I was without a mate the last time I was there. And if I show up with a new one this time, one that can't seem to be found in any registry.. Well, things could get complicated."

Akindi "hmmed" thoughtfully as she smoked her pipe. She was tempted. Bulja was a strong troll and a good hunter, it would do her no dishonour to marry him. She could take him as a second mate for a while, as a lark. The problem was, she had already been to Zandalar several times and had left a bit of an impression. The damage from the fire was probably fixed by now, but there was a chance that people would remember an Akindi. She grinned as a solution presented itself to her. I shouldn't… but it's too perfect. "I have a mate. Take Ajeera," she offered casually. "She's younger anyway. Better match for a new wife."

"Red, huh? I don't know if Vain could pull her off. Then again, she's going to be mute…" he considered. "I was planning on asking Adephagia, actually -"

"She's an outcast of her tribe, though. Her name might have been stricken from the records, even. Ajeera would make a much more suitable wife for a hunter like you," Akindi said, selling him the idea.

"That would work."

"Good! So, how much are you going to give me for her, then?"

Bulja blinked. "It doesn't need to be a real marriage," he countered. "If someone asks once I've left Zandalar, it's easy enough to fake a falling out. Most of my relationships seem to end like that, anyway," he added.

"You want it on the tribe's records though, don't you?" she challenged him. "If you're not talking about the official records, then call your companion whatever you like."

"That's the thing, it would need to be official. At least, as far as the Zandalar's concerned. No need to hold a ceremony or anything."

"Right, so she'll be on record as having been married to you."

"For better or worse, depending on how you view being married to me. It's hardly a trivial request, I know. But it's one that unfortunately needs to be done."

Akindi grinned at the thought of actually marrying her daughter off to Bulja. Or trying to. "She could do a lot worse, but it is a temporary arrangement we're talking about here."

"Right, a few weeks at the most."

Akindi nodded. "Right. So. Since her father's not around, you'll have to talk to me. What will you give us to take our little 'Jeera away?" she asked ritualistically, not hiding the amusement in her eyes as she watched him.

"We-lll, she's a fine young woman," he acknowledged, hedging for time as he thought.

"Hah! She could kick the ass of any man in this town, I'll tell you that right now."

"That's the truth. I'd go with a standard offering. No reason to embellish this more than it has to be."

"Standard?" she said, feigning outrage. "For Ajeera? Go buy K'waii there, she's still single," she said scornfully, pointing over at the cross-tusked serving girl across the common room.

"I don't suppose the joy of sharing my life would be considered enough compensation?"

Akindi lifted an eyebrow at him. "But you're not bringing her with you. Or for that matter, keeping her."

"Well, I'll be bringing her name with me. So in a way…"

Akindi shook her head sadly. "She'll forever be remember as the troll who was ditched for an elf," she accused him.

"Not that Zandalar needs to know that, but I guess it's true."

The trolless held up a dramatic hand. "Never mind. This was a foolish idea. I could never inflict that kind of shame on my daughter… for less than two hundred."

"Two hundred? You think I'm made of gold? Or for that matter, you think she is?"

"I'm her mother. I know she is."

"You drive a hard bargain," Bulja accused her. "I suppose a hundred sixty would be a fair price."

"A hundred sixty? Why don't you just take your axe and cut my heart out? The honour of the Bar'att's is something worth putting a bit of effort into! One ninety."

"She can be just as honoured for one seventy five."

"Let's agree on one eighty five, but only because I like you."

"Well it's hardly fair, but as I'm in a bit of a tight spot…"

The trolls grinned at each other. "Deal?" Akindi asked.

"Deal."

"Hah!" She spat on her hand and held it out to him. He mimicked the gesture and they clasped hands, both trolls shaking with an iron grip. "Tell you what," Akindi offered generously. "Just because we're such good friends, I'll let her know the good news." she chuckled. "Be a shame if she killed her first husband."

"That would be a shame. No need for her to be a widow, too."

Akindi nodded, then gave the troll a suspicious look, sticking her pipestem between her teeth. "You [i]will[/i] give her back, won't you?" she asked around it.

"Well, Red is a fair bit less irritating than Vain…" he lazily scratched a tusk, grinning. "Maybe we'll see how the honeymoon goes."

Akindi snorted. "All right then. If you keep her, have fun with that. I'll go tell the blushing bride the good news. As soon as you pay me, anyway."

"Right."

Breaking News
Akindi rode towards Orgrimmar with a broad grin of anticipation on her face. The question was how best to break the news, of course. An enthusiastic "Guess what, you're married?" A subtle "So guess who the latest lucky troll is?" An incredibly irritating game of twenty questions? She suspected that she shouldn't take such pleasure in discomfiting her only daughter but little 'Jeera took everything'' so seriously. '' She needed to unwind a few notches before she snapped. Fel, you'd think she wasn't getting any, the way she frowns all the time. The hunter shook her head. Maybe if 'Jeera could get over something like this, then other minor events wouldn't seem to be such big deals in comparison.

Or not. Either way, Jeera would be helping a friend in need, which was her duty as a pack-mate to Bulja. And isn't that what really mattered?

* * *

"Hoy, Karet'!" she greeted the blacksmith with a wave as she rode up on Xandar.

The normally surly orc smiled a greeting as he set down a crate. "Ho, Akindi. What brings you this way? Damage your armour again?"

Akindi shook her head. "Naw, butchoo know ah always be comin' ta you foh repairs, Karet'. When Slaede's not aroun'," she added. She fished out her hip flask and offered the orc a drink.

Kareth took the flask with a grunt and emptied half of it. "You lookin' for Red?" he guessed.

"Yah, mon. She be heah?"

Kareth nodded, jerking a thumb towards the Blade. "In there, cleaning her armour. You heard about the ravager attack, then?"

Akindi blinked. "Ravagahs attacked 'er? Ah thought they be smartah."

Kareth laughed and passed her flask back up. "I hear they ganged up on her and Feng. The boss had to send in backup."

The troll snorted. That wouldn't have happened if Natt had been around. Too bad the Cenarion Circle had called him back to the 'Glade. "Is Feng a'ight?"

"Yeah. Isa got there in time."

'Kindi grunted. She didn't bother asking if Ajeera was ok. A troll is either dead or recovering, after all. If 'Jeera was safe in Orgrimmar then she would be fine. "Joo mind if Claw an' Xandar 'lax out heah?"

"Better out than in."

Leaving her pet and mount outside, Akindi pushed back the tent flap and entered the Slow Blade. She strode casually through the shop and into the back room. "Ho, Jeera!"

Her daughter was sitting on the floor, her hair tied back into a rough topknot as she bent over her armour with a steel scouring pad. She was wearing a leather halter and shorts in the heat of the shop's back room. A new scar decorated her right shoulder but was already faded and thin due to Isa's magic. "Mother?" she asked in Zandalar. "What are you doing here?"

Akindi scratched a tusk as she considered her daughter. She still hadn't decided how best to break the story, and now she was here. I'll just wing it. "Well, I have some news for you."

Ajeera sat back on her heels, putting down her armour and the cleaning pad. "O-kay… "

"Jeera," Akindi began, pacing around the room with her hands behind her back. "There's an old saying in Sen'jin. It goes 'help your tribemates to better hunt your foes.'"

"I'm familiar with it."

"Of course you are, you were raised right. So. Bulja needed a favour, and I - being unable to help in this particular instance - volunteered you for it."

Jeera blinked and relaxed a bit. "Bulja did? That's fine. What does he need? More troll lessons for Vain?"

"Not exactly. He needs a cover for her."

"I thought she had one?"

"He has no reason to bring her along, as it stands. Showing up with an unknown troll would make the elders in Zandalar suspicious."

"So…"

"So she's going to pretend to be his wife. That way when the elders look up her name on the scrolls, they'll see that she has every reason to be there."

"That makes sense. I didn't know Bulja had a wife, though."

"Well. He didn't." Akindi smiled, rocking her weight on her heels as she watched her daughter. Ajeera's look of incomprehension shifted to one of suspicion, then flashed to an expression of horror as comprehension dawned.

"Mother, what did you do?"

It's a Troll Thing.
''So. Pissed. Off.''

The troll warrior had the back of the Blade to herself with good reason. A constant low growl came from her throat as she finished cleaning her armour (scouring, perhaps, slightly harder than she needed to). Her mother had left with nothing but bruises (and that self-satisfied smug-ass grin!) and she had refrained from damaging any of the Blade's things out of fear of pissing off her bosses. She might have been proud of the self-restraint she was managing if she could have pulled her thoughts out of the black spiral they were in.

''I can't believe it. Mother, of all people. The one who fled her village rather than stay and be forced to marry someone she didn't choose. My own mother. Didn't even ASK me. ''

"Bulja," she muttered under her breath, "if you try anything you'd better be ready to lose an arm." She picked up her bracers and started to strap them on. Trolls were a lot of things but one thing they weren't was bureaucratic. If she and Bulja were married, then they were married. No "only technically" or "just for a while" about it. If it ended soon, fine, great. If it didn't… Well there was one formality left. He needed her consent in the matter. Of course, in Zandalar, the word for "unconscious" is also the word for "consenting."

She snapped a binding shut on her bracer and reached for the other. She was aware of Isa greeting Kareth in the main room. He might have warned her away from the back room, if there hadn't been a customer in at the time. Or maybe he thought another female would be able to talk to Ajeera better than he could.

Either way, the black haired sin'dorei smiled pleasantly as she pushed the curtain back and made her way over to the troll. "Hi Red!"

Ajeera glanced over at Isa and gave her a curt nod, aware that her face was probably purple. She had a sour expression on as well. The elf winced. "You got in to trouble, didn't you?"

Ajeera snapped the last binding shut on her bracer. "No." Why would I be in trouble?

"…But...You're angry."

The troll stared straight ahead for a moment, flexing her hands by her sides. "Yes." ''Must not fly into mad rage at friend. Never helps,'' she reminded herself. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting out a long, slow breath.

Isabellia took a slow step backwards.

"But not atchoo," Ajeera murmured.

"I...umm...thanks for that..?" She gave the troll an uneasy smile. "Have you heard the news?"

Ajeera looked over at the elf. "What news be dat?"

"Miss Krelle promoted me to Tiger Claw last night."

"Hah! Good!" She grinned. After the amazing save with the ravagers…''Oh, right. Get in trouble for that.'' "Oh! Hmm. Trouble foh dat, you meant. Eh, I'll catch hell soonah or latah. But they hiahed me ta be the crazy fighta, they won't scold too hard." She offered Isa a toothy smile. "Congrat'lations."

Isabellia nodded slowly, "She mentioned that she'd talk to you and Fengalon about running wild in Ravagers nests."

The troll made a 'pfft' sound and waved it off. "Prolly jus' be pissed we didn't keel 'em all."

"Well, thank you. Nate, Vel and I are all Claws now," the elf replied with a sweet smile.

"Dat be…" Ajeera paused as she heard someone else come in to the Blade. Her long ears twitched as a male troll greeted Kareth. "...verra good news. I be happy foh joo t'ree, Isa," she managed to finish before Bulja came into the back room.

He nodded a greeting at Isa first. The elf met him with a pleasant smile. "Hi there Bulja."

"Heard abou' th' promotion. Welcome in, Isa," he approved.

"Thank you."

Bulja smiled at the riot of emotions on Ajeera's flushed face. "Guess Akindi already tol' ya th' good news, Red?"

She felt her flush creep down her neck. She nodded once. "... Happeh ta help," she managed.

The elf blinked. "Akindi already knows about it?" She wrinkled her nose.

"'Course," Bulja nodded. "It was her idea. I was jus' gonna ask Adeph, or one o' th' girls aroun' Sen'Jin."

"Uhm… I...I don't think we were talking about the same thing," Isa said, biting her lip.

Ajeera grit her teeth. ''Must. Not. Kill.'' "Why didn't choo..?" she demanded, trying and failing to make it sound like she was only curious.

"Y' motha was already taken', or I mighta asked her," he offered, managing to keep a straight face. Ajeera looked away before she threw something at him.

"Wait...what's going on?" Isa asked, looking from one troll to another.

"Bulja an' I be mated now," Ajeera deadpanned. Or as good as.

"What?!"

"Happily married, dat's us," the hunter agreed cheerfully.

"But what happened to you and Vainglory?" Isa demanded of Bulja before turning on Red. "And you and that troll who looks like a boy you?"

"Jaduzen," she muttered.

"Yeah! Jaduzen!"

"Seems 'e wasn' asked ta make a bid."

"Comes a time in every troll's life when she's jus' gotta settle down," Bulja murmured peacibly.

Isabellia shook her head, confused. "A bid? Do you mate like an auction? That seems kind of impersonal."

"No usualleh, no," Ajeera said as she lifted her breastplate over her head and one arm. She reached around awkwardly to buckle the fastenings under her other arm.

"But this time…"

"Mebbe mah husband should be explainin' diss. Since it was his idea." She focused on doing up her armour as Isa turned to Bulja.

"What's going on?" she demanded, hands on hips.

Bulja grinned broadly. "I can' pick myself ou' a nice wife?"

"But she was happy with Jaduzen!"

"Not sayin' she can't still see 'im. I ain' too picky," he replied easily. Ajeera cringed in embarrassment.

"And I thought you were happy with Vainglory. You even made her LOOK like a troll. And she did it. For you. If this is some troll joke, I'm not laughing," she said plaintively, looking from one troll to another with her ears drooping.

"Betta not be a joke. Paid almos' two hundred gold fo' Red, so it bettah be real."

"What?! That's HORRIBLE! She's not a...a...thing!"

"Well, technically…"

Ajeera gave up on doing up the last binding with a short oath. She turned to Bulja and gave him a challenging look. "Husband, come help meh wit' mah armah, before I give up tryin' ta put it on an' brain joo wit' it."

Bulja looked over at Red. He seemed to consider her offer.

"Oh for Fel's sake…" Isa sighed, exasperated. She moved to Ajeera's side and fastened the last clasp.

"Hey, dat's th' husband's job…" Bulja protested.

Ajeera narrowed her eyes at him. "Den joo shoulda done it fastah." She flexed her arm and nodded her thanks to Isa.

Isa was frowning at Bulja. "I have three hundred gold in the bank and I like girls. Maybe I can best your offer."

"Nah, y' wouldn' work. Can' go marryin' an elf, it wouldn't be proper. Leas' I'm a fine troll man."

Ajeera snorted in surprise at Isa's offer. Slightly touched at her new friend's generosity she sighed and puts a hand on Isa's shoulder. "It's not whatchoo t'ink," she said gently, ending Bulja's fun.

"Well...what is it then?"

Bulja sighed at Ajeera, disappointed that 'messing with the elf time' was over. "We ain' really married."

Ajeera took her hand back and turned away, picking up her thorium gauntlets. "Oh, yes we ah." She shoved her hands into them.

"Well, we are. But not fo'evah." " ...do you two even LIKE each other?"

"Course ah do. Bulja be a fine troll mon," Ajeera answered instantly, right on top of Bulja's "Course I do, but y' missin' th' poin'."

"Well you're both being deliberalty obtuse about it. And I don't understand your customs well enough to know when I'm being put on and when you're being serious," the elf hmphed. "If y' did, it wouldn' be much fun."

Ajeera picked up her axe from where it was leaning against the table and slung it into the holder on her back. "He needs a wife, so he can say dat Vain be her."

"Dat's righ'."

Isa eyed Red. "So...Vain is going to pretend to be you?"

Ajeera snorted at the idea. Bulja shook his head. "No, Vain's gonna be a deaf mute. She's jus' gonna happen t' be named Ajeera Bar'att."

Ajeera nodded. "If - when - dey check da tribal records, dere 'er name will be."

"Oh! You two are getting married on paper for show!"

Ajeera gave Isa a slightly incredulous look. On paper?

"What? Am I wrong again?"

"We be married now. But dat is da reason." ''Stupidest. Reason. Ever.''

"Well I don't think your troll...wedding...people are going to come ask MY opinion about it. So why mince words?"

"I hope dey don'," Bulja murmured.

Isabellia rolled her eyes at Bulja, "I'm not dumb. If people ask me, I'll say the right things."

Ajeera frowned at Bulja. "How long didjoo plan on keepin' me, den?"

"Jus' a few weeks. Until we get back from th' island."

"Hang on a second. Vain is going to be deaf-mute. And by troll standards, she's small. Red is most definately a hear-talk. And she's not small by any stretch of the imagination."

Ajeera shrugged. "Ah nevah been ta Zandalar, no one will know she no be me."

"I ain' askin' Vain t' be Red," Bulja agreed. "I jus' need a name t' give so dat when I arrive wit a new wife, people don' start askin' questions when I give 'em a fake name.

"Instead they'll ask things like, 'Why did you marry a deaf-mute little troll'?"

"I didn'. Poor ting sorted some Whisker on th' honeymoon."

"I don't know what that means."

"We're givin' Vain Khadgar's Whisker. T' make her lose her voice. Dey won' care if she's really mute, or if she's jus' sick. An' y' know what dey say. 'Don' drink ya milk, an' ya won' grow up big an' strong.'"

Ajeera was tempted to tell Isa to relax but Bulja was handling things fine. She picked up her headguard instead, tilting her head back to get her hair out of the way as she fastened it.

"Still," the elf protested. "If the idea is to trick them, what happens if someone who meets her there follows you back and meets Red? If someone there sees Vain and she can't talk, then they look into it and they meet Red... They're going to know right away you tried to pull a fast one."

"A Zandalari, come all th' way out here jus' t' prove me wrong? Doubtful," the hunter disagreed. Ajeera nodded in silent agreement with his assessment of the Zandalari. Anyone who lived there was usually convinced that it was the pinnacle of civilization. They rarely left.

"And more importantly, why the fel do you need to jump through all these clandestine hoops for them? Can't she just be your girlfriend or something?"

"Well, she is."

"So why do you have to marry Red?"

"Dey need a troll name t' go by. I can' exactly say I married a troll named Vainglory, can I?"

Isabellia sighed, "This is all really complicated. I'm never believing another troll who talks about the simple life."

"It no be complicated, Isa," Ajeera interjected. "Just…"

"It really is. Like, terribly so. Complicated and completely counter-intuitive. Why not make up a troll name for her?"

"Dat's th' problem. Zandalar's th' troll nation. Dey know trolls, an' if dey get a fake name, dey'll know," Bulja said.

"How? They have census keepers in every nook of the jungle?"

"It ain' hard t' check tribe records fo' dem. Dis problem arose because dey're preparin' t' send out th' summons fo' th' ritual," he answered.

"And if her name isn't on it then what? She's not allowed to your party thing?"

"If her name ain' on it, den dey'll wonder why I gave a fake name. An' den dey'd look closer at her, an' th' illusion spell ain' designed fo' dat. An' if dey find out she ain' a troll, den th' only ting Vain's got t' look forward to is bein' a sacrifice."

"Alright. Now...why is she even going to this thing?"

"Don' ask me why she's goin'. Talk t' her abou' it. I'm bringin' her, but dat don' mean I understand her."

"I think I will. This whole thing seems so pointless. Not your party, I mean, I'm sure it's important to you...but...I'd never go to something like that," she wrinkled her nose.

Bulja shook his head. "She ain' goin' t' th' meetin'. She's gonna stay in th' city an' not leave th' apartment. What she tinks bein' dere's gonna do, I got no clue."

"Why don't you just...go? I mean, she'll be upset, but honestly...This is way too much."

"Witout her? If I left witout her, den I'd have t' come back t' her."

" ...and that is worse than ALL this?" she asked, giving Red a sympathetic look. Ajeera elected not to reply, instead smacking on her shoulder guards to settle them.

"Now y' startin' t' get it," Bulja agreed.

"You've got it bad, Bulja."

"Don' I know it."

"I don't even think Vel would react THAT badly. And she's got a pretty nasty temper when she's upset."

"Ain' abou' temper. It's abou' livin' wit' her."

"Does she not have any common sense?" The elf looked back and forth between the two incredulous stares she got for that question. "I mean, really. Look at all the trouble this is causing. And for what? So she can sit in an apartment while you do your troll things?"

Bulja was staring at Isa. Ajeera sighed. That's enough of that. "Dere no be trouble," she said firmly. "Jo're not da one dat got married."

"I know. And you shouldn't be either."

"Dat's not chore business d'ough ah know joo mean it as a frien'. It's fine, Isa. Diss's jus' tha way t'ings go sometimes, wit' trolls."

Isa shrugged, deflating slightly. "Fine," she said, turning away. She left them to their trollish devices and poked around in the recoldulator for something to drink. Probably something with alcohol in it. Or alcohol with something else in it.

Ajeera turned to Bulja and spoke in Zandalar, keeping her voice level so Isa wouldn't know she was chewing our her own husband. "I cannot believe this, by the way. You didn't even ask me.'

"Well, I didn't have much choice," he replied in the same tongue. "Your mother's a bit persuasive…"

"Also," she continued, almost growling. "I think this plan is ridiculous and that you're a pansy for lying down and taking Vain's shit. I'm incredibly pissed about this entire thing. And you have two weeks 'til my cycle at which point you'll either be cuckolded or... Well if you want something, be prepared to fight for it."

"Look, Vain's coming with me, and I'm not going to let her die. If Zandalar needs a name, then they'll get a name. Though, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for the trouble this is going to cause."

"My name is yours, since you bought it. I have nothing to say about that." She stared at him for a moment, seething, then asked what she really wanted to. "Why didn't you ask me?"

"I meant to ask Adeph, and your mother volunteered you. Things happened a bit fast after that…"

She gave him a withering look. "You're covering yourself in glory, husband mine."

"Well you'd be far more convincing than she would if it came to that, and what's more, I trusted that you would help me. I need your help, Red. It's a bit late now, but...Will you help me?"

She let out an explosive breath. Bulja looked at her through his wolf mask as she eyed him. She knew, then, that he wouldn't fight her for it. If she said no, he'd seek help elsewhere. She was also reasonably certain, however, that Adeph would not be keen to marry him for reasons of her own. Ajeera's mother's voice came back to her as she looked at the hunter. "Don' be a spazz." Words of wisdom indeed.

Muttering a brief supplication to the spirits, Ajeera nodded. "Yes. But words cannot describe the size of the favour I will one day call in for this."

He nodded and got down on one knee. "Ajeera Bar'att, will y' be ma wife?" he asked in Orcish. Isabellia turned and watched them, incredulous.

Ajeera pressed her lips together, crossing her arms. "What'd'joo keel for me?"

"Anythin' y' heart desire, love. I'd fell Devilsaurs an' demons fo' you," he declared passionately.

She glared at him but couldn't keep the corner of her mouth from twitching in a smile. "Take off yo hat, mon. Ah'm not marryin' a wolf." He swept his wolf cowl off with a flourish. Isa edged closer to look - Bulja was rarely without his hat. He really was a handsome troll, she reflected as she looked him over, a fist planted on one canted hip. She could understand what Vain saw in him, if not what he saw in her. It was kind of sad, really - such a waste of a fine man, to have him in love with an elf.

"I come t' ya as a simple troll, askin' a beatiful woman t' be ma wife."

She took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Bending at the waist she planted a little kiss on his forehead. "Fine. Ah accept."

Bulja grinned up at her. 'Thank ya. Ya've made me th' happiest troll on Azeroth."

Again the smile twitched on her lips. She stepped back and Bulja stood, nodding at Isa. "Dere. Now we married fo' real."

"What, just like that?" The elf wrinkled her nose. "Where's the priest?"

"I'm not marryin' a priest!" Ajeera protested, keeping a straight face as she wilfully misunderstood the elf. It was her way of telling Bulja she wasn't mad at him. He gave her a little grin.

"No no. The Priest is the one who tells you that you're married."

Ajeera shook her head. "Dem priests best keep deir noses ta themselves. He paid mah family. I accepted. We be married."

"But what about the 'Do you, Bulja, take Red to be your lawfully wedded wife…' So on and so forth?"

"Lawful wedded?" Bulja asked in feigned befuddlement. "Why'd we need t' get someone else t' say we're married?"

"It's just the way they do it. If I had to guess, it'd be so that you have a third party to confirm that it happened."

"But we didn' have a firs' parteh yet..." Ajeera frowned.

"We should. It'd be fun," Bulja suggested.

"Don' be silly," she told him.

"No, I mean a third person, to witness the marriage."

"Why'd we need t' have a third party? We were bot' here, an we be tha important people," Bulja said.

"This didn't go in any tribe log. Or whatever it is you call it."

"We inform da elders so dey can write it down on tha scrolls," Ajeera explained. "Motha will take care of dat. Probably alreaddeh has…" she added wryly.

"Couldn't you just have told the elders that you did it without going through with it?"

"Joo mean lie?!" Ajeera asked, aghast.

"Um...yes?"

"About a mate?"

Bulja drew himself up proudly. "Mebbe dat's ok fo' elves, but trolls be an honest peopl'."

"Dass rite. Trolls' don' lie, cause dey never do nothin' t'be ashamed of," Ajeera lied boldly.

Isabellia threw her hands up in the air. "You know what, I'm not even going to question it. This is exactly how this whole thing should work. You're both right and this endeavor had a very real point to it. It was TOTALLY necessary."

Bulja nodded, happily ignoring the sarcasm. "Now ya getting' it."

Red gave Isa a slightly suspicious look at the tone. Isa shrugged at her. "The last time I questioned it, you told me to shut up. So I give in."

Ajeera grunted and nodded. She looked back to Bulja and switched to Zandalar again. "I'll support you in public like a good wife should, but you're crazy. You know that, right?"

"Of course. Crazy since the day my mother had me." The two trolls exchanged grins.

''Stupidest. Plan. Ever.'' But things might turn out all right after all.