Nisa chuckled and eyed the five women with a raised brow. "These are standard formal robes for a woman of the Harmonic abbey. Not all in the abbey are aging men."
The maids shuffled in their brilliantly coloured gowns. A blonde finally asked, "Are you really a blender?"
Nisa licked her lips and took in a deep breath, trying to keep the oxygen in the tent steady while she fought her upset. "I do not enjoy the term. It derides the amount of care that was used to assemble my genetic code. It insults the memory of those who chose to bring me into the world and who tried to protect me as I grew."
The woman paled and stepped back. "I am sorry."
"But yes, I am one of a clone set."
One of the brunettes giggled, "Do you really have to take all your men together at one time?"
Nisa blushed. Everyone was waiting for the answer. "Not at the same time, but within a certain span of minutes, yes, if we want to have children. They can't produce without me and I can't produce without at least two of them."
The young women elbowed each other and widened their eyes speculatively.
Nisa nodded to Beela. "If you are still willing, we will begin in five minutes."
The bride stood and positively sparkled with anticipation. "He may be only one man, but he is the one that I want. I am ready and willing."
Nisa grinned and left the bride's tent.
She crossed to the groom's tent and Brother Timo stopped her before she got inside. "He is willing. Go tell the musicians to start."
Shrugging at the odd behaviour, she walked past the staring guests to the orchestra and gestured for them to begin the musical cues.
Nisa took her position in front of the balance fountain and waited for the groom and his attendants to arrive.
The first two men who strode up the aisle gave her surprised looks that turned into leers, but the next three locked her in a state of shock. Three men, all different except for two things, a black raptor on their chest, visible through their white shirts, and avian eyes came toward her, each one wearing surprise a moment before a possessive grin took over their features.
Nisa was meeting her destiny and she couldn't even speak.
)
