Knotted by Viola Grace Page B

honour to the grace of Irudan? Do you promise to work to make it flourish and bring honour to the name of your husband, Skorin Nakkua?”
    “I do.”
    “Then, with the knot of the Nakkua family, I hereby bind you to Irudan and its population.” He gently took her left wrist and tied it with a silvery band that solidified and began to writhe against her skin.
    She watched, and the simple silver tie stretched and twisted until she was wearing a three-inch band made of knots that she could never unravel.
    “Lady Nakkua, your ship awaits.” He smiled. “If you are not ready in half an hour, a guard will be sent to fetch you and bring you to your new home. He has made the arrangements needed for you to begin work immediately so there should be no delay.”
    “I thought I was to leave tomorrow.”
    “You were told you would leave after the ceremony. That moment has come.” His smile was gentle. “It is all right. We will take care of her from here.”
    Rowen sighed and turned to Lori. “I guess this is goodbye for now.”
    “Bon voyage, Aunty.”
    Lori took the flowers but handed one back. “Take this with you and press it into that book you keep. It is exceptional and should be remembered on this day. It was a good day, and Mom would flip if she knew that you got a guy without even meeting him.”
    “Lori, it is a marriage in name only. He has no interest in me, nor I in him. I am sure our paths won’t ever cross. It is a big planet after all.”
    “I don’t think so, Aunty. You have a way of drawing people to you, even though you aren’t interested in them. Don’t underestimate the man you just tied yourself to.” Lori smiled.
    “How did you get so wise all of a sudden?”
    Lori wrinkled her nose. “Training with a Minder. They give you a different way of seeing the world.”
    Twonai cleared his throat. “Twenty-five minutes, Lady Nakkua.”
    Rowen sighed. “Which launch bay am I heading toward?”
    “Bay five.”
    “Fine, Lori, would you walk me there?”
    Lori linked arms with her. “Of course, Aunty. I will carry your flowers, so it is the last thing you see before leaving.”
    Rowen thanked Twonai and walked down the hall while he registered her union with a man she hadn’t met. “Lori, I want your face to be the last thing I see on the moon base. The flowers are dead; you are alive. I will have you be my last sight from Terra.”
    Twenty minutes later, with a bag full of horticultural books, a data pad with Nyal plants, and a few spare grey uniforms, Rowen hugged her niece goodbye and stepped onto the shuttle with the pansy from the bouquet pressed in the pages of a book.
    It was time to view the largest garden in the known worlds.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    Irudan was green. Its defining characteristic was the cover on its surface. There were lakes and oceans and rivers, but the world itself was green with only a few cities to mar the expanse.
    “Lady Nakkua, are you comfortable for landing?” The taller of the two guards smiled politely.
    “I am. All strapped in and ready. Thank you.” They had refused to give their names, and she hadn’t pressed them. They were servants of the Nakkua family and they had travelled to retrieve his proxy wife. They had no interest in her beyond following their instructions.
    She had gathered that her status was an annoyance by the subtle comments the guards had given her. They had wanted a proper wife for Lord Nakkua and this arrangement was not approved of.
    Rowen wasn’t good with people, but she knew hostility when it was directed at her. This was one of those times.
    They landed precisely on a tarmac, and others were waiting to greet her. The guards handed her her bag and brought her out into the strange new world that smelled blissfully green.
    The two prominent figures carried the colours of a Russian olive tree. Grey-silver skin, pale silvery green hair and paler eyes.
    “Hello, I am Head Gardener Liahnarika Gez and this is my husband, Gardener Ilo