Chapter Text
The forge was quiet, and the fire was alive. Embers glowing low and breathing heat into the stone walls, but the hammer rested where he left it, and the air no longer rang with metal on metal. Just the distant creak of the old beams and the soft whistle of wind slipping through the mountains.
Kai Smith, wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist, blackened with soot, when his phone buzzed against the worktable.
Strange, it was rare for his phone to get a text message in general. Frowning, he picked up the phone.
Nya.
"Family dinner."
"Mom and dad want us home this weekend."
Kai stared at the glowing screen. Home.
Kai and Nya haven't been home in months, not since their father officially retired and handed over the blacksmith job to them. The old man has insisted they keep the forge far from the village, so here they were. It was a bloodline tradition, his mother explained. Kai has no idea how they got money from being so far from the village, up in the mountains, but the blacksmith shop worked in strange ways.
Kai exhaled slowly as he typed back.
"When?"
The reply was fast.
"Tonight, they're already setting the table"
Kai let out a quiet laugh through his nose. Of course they were..
He locked up the forge an hour later, the sun already dipping behind the peaks. The road home was long and narrow, winding through forest and stone. At least 3 hours away. Kai hated long drives, but this was for a family matter.
Usually, when his parents wanted him home for dinner, it was always an important family matter. Rarely ever positive ones. Kai drove, one hand steady on the wheel. Nya hummed softly, looking out the window. "You're quiet," She commented. "Thinking," Kai replied.
She didn't push, Nya let the silence sit.
As they drove, Kai felt a little tense. He wondered what his parents would say. Something related to the shop? Bad events happening in town?
Kai rolled down the window slightly, letting the cold bite at his skin. His grip tightened on the wheel.
Eventually, when he parked the car, his parents were already there, bringing them in, barely having enough time to take off their shoes. Their mother pulled Nya into a hug, hands warm and familiar, smelling like herbs and ash. Their father clapped Kai on the shoulder, pride heavy with gesture, eyes soft though sharp.
"You both look thinner," Their mother said, already fussing. "Are you eating properly out there?"
"We're fine," Nya replied automatically, setting her bag down. "The forge keeps us fed."
Dinner was already laid out, just like always, Kai mused. Bowls aligned, cups poured, candles lit, even though there was still daylight bleeding through the windows.
They sat. Chopsticks clinked. Steam curled lazily upward. For a few blessed seconds, it was normal. Talk of the road, the forge, the weather up in the mountains. Kai relaxed just enough to lift his cup.
"Nya," His mother spoke calmly.
"You should start thinking about marriage."
Kai spat out his drink straight back into the cup. "What?-pff-" He coughed violently, slamming down the cup.
"Marriage?"
Had they found out about her and Jay? Kai didn't think news spread that fast, and they lived far in the mountains anyway. Jay climbed up every time just to flirt, and eventually, they were dating.
Nya froze mid-bite. Slowly, she lowered her chopsticks. "...Excuse me?"
Their mother didn't flinch. Didn't laugh it off. Didn't soften her words like she always did before bad news. She simply folded her hands and looked at them both.
"The ghost has awakened."
The room went silent. The candles flickered once.
Kai felt relief at first, knowing they haven't found out about Jay. But, there was a very, very, angry Nya.
Their father spoke next, voice low and steady. "The one bound to our bloodlines, the one who has served our family since the first forge was lit."
Nya's chair scraped back slightly, as she stood. "No." She said flatly. "No, absolutely not."
Their mother sighed, as if she'd expected this. "We don't say this lightly."
"You never say this," Nya snapped. "You always ease into it. You talk about harvests and neighbors and..this?" She gestured sharply between them. "This is insane." Kai was worried she might spit out she was dating Jay by accident. His hand curled.
"If the ghost is displeased," Their father continued, unbothered by her tone, "The forge will fail. The bloodline will weaken." Kai leaned back slowly, eyes narrowed, watching the exchange, and very caught off guard just like his siter.
"And you think.." He said carefully, "that marrying Nya will fix that?"
Their mother met his gaze. "The ghost has always required balance, a bond, a counterpart." She waved her hand. "We potentially think Nya is his-"
"Soulmate," Kai muttered, his brow twitched. Their mother nodded. "Our bloodline had always served this spirit, and the ghost wants to part from us, so to make him stay..."
"Marriage would be the right choice." Their father finished. Kai and Nya stared blankly.
"If you don't remember, the ghost went into a deep sleep after the loss of his mate," His father explained. Kai sighed softly. He could never forget about this story, they've told them since they were kids. But it was when the ghost was still asleep. And now, he had awoken.
"His grief was bad, that he neglected to even take the family's offerings to preserve his strength, but now that he had suddenly risen up from his slumber, suggests that a new energy has formed. And potentially, Nya is his reincarnated soulmate."
Kai wonders how they got to that point. And like clockwork, like if his mother had sensed it, she says "Since Nya is our only daughter...she must be it."
Nya scowls. "Do you even hear yourself?! I'm the ghost's wife?!"
"We believe so."
Nya laughed unkindly. She put her hands on the table, shoulders tense, as Kai scratched his ear awkwardly. "So basically, you want me to talk the ghost into staying..."
"By claiming I'm his wife!?"
"Calm down Nya.." Their mother started. Nya shook her head vigorously. Kai rubbed his temple as his parents tried to calm down Nya's wrath, a headache starting to form. Kai groaned.
"Why don't I get a chastity belt while I'm at it!? I'm not an object to be sold!"
"Nya! calm down-"
"If the town hears this, what will they think!?"
"Who's to say he'll even marry me? He wants to leave the family, no!?"
Their father placed his hand on Nya gently. "Calm down, Nya, please, if that happens, there is no guarantee that our bloodline will make it. Our fortune, the forge, it would fade and crumble, if that is what the ghost wishes for it to happen."
"I know this is hard to take in, but this is a serious matter." Nya could only stare at him in shock.
"Why don't I take her place then?"
The 3 looked at Kai fast. The candles flared. "You'll...what?" Nya blinked.
Kai shrugged, casual to the point of irritating, even if his heart was racing. "If the problem is keeping the ghost pleased, and the solution is marriage, or whatever ancient equivalent you want to call it, then I can take her place."
Their father's brows furrowed. "Kai-"
"That's not-" Nya cut herself, running a hand through her hair. "Kai, this isn't a joke, this is marriage, this is binding, and you don't even know what the ghost wants."
"Neither do you," Kai said gently. "And you're the one being volunteered."
Their mother hesitated. "Kai, the bond-"
"Is about balance," Kai finished. "To stay, and keeping him pleased so the forge doesn't die and the bloodline doesn't fracture."
Kai lifted his gaze, eyes sharp and resolute. "In the end, we only want him to stay."
Nya swallowed. Kai looked at her. And this is for you and Jay.
Kai continued, "Even though I'm not a woman, and I can't give him children, I just have to convince him."
Their father studied him for a long moment. "And how will you do that?"
Kai crossed his arms, a small twitch of a smirk.
"Simple, I just...treat it as a business deal."