The two of them went flying through the window, one after the other.
The other human women were staring at me once more.
"It seems you've adjusted to life here quite quickly."

"Why not? He's tall, handsome, strong, powerful, and loyal. He dotes on me and works hard to live in peace. Why wouldn't I want to adapt?"
I couldn't understand what their problem was.
Seeing their lips turn up in scorn, I couldn't help but let out a sign.
"The only downside to this situation is that there are so many decent men to choose from, that it's hard to make up your mind."
After all, with so many good men around, it was hard not to feel flustered whenever one looked my way.
Although, with how small our human figures were, it was important not to bite off more than we could chew.

Before long, Isaiah returned.
"I'm sorry, Maria, I didn't kill him."
"That's quite alright, I just wanted you to scare him away," I said.
He was such a handsome fox, it would be a shame if he were truly to die.

Isaiah said no more. He simply escorted me back to his residence.
In the following days, he was busy preparing for our wedding.
When I saw the dress he had prepared, my emotions overwhelmed me and I fell into his arms.
"Isaiah, it's just like the wedding dresses on Earth! How did you manage to find one?"
In my previous incarnation, Dirk had given me an astral wedding dress.
It was an imposing, mechanical style that I wasn't at all fond of.
"I dispatched my lieutenant to ask your people. Once he had enough information, I found a designer to make a custom dress."
He took my hand and led me down the starship steps.
The pink sands of the beach below dazzled with flashes of vibrant light.
This was where our wedding was being held and there were many animal people in attendance.
Isaiah had also invited the entire human contingent.
Looking out over a sea of familiar faces, this whole thing finally felt real.
"I'm sorry, I haven't been able to locate Dirk's ship; I've had no way to invite your sister."
There was a clear sense of guilt in Isaiah's voice.
Hearing him bring up my sister, I felt a sudden numbness in my gut.
Even though I had heard no news of my sister, knowing Dirk, it was almost certain that she was not doing well.
I guessed that the child in her baby had long ago been tormented to death.
I wondered if she was regretting the choice she had made.
"There's no need to apologize, me and my sister have never seen eye to eye." I lowered my gaze and shook my head, sadly.
My sister had ended my last life early because of jealousy.
I saw no reason to believe she would act any differently this time around.
As such, her absence was a blessing.
Our wedding was set to a familiar soundtrack.
I noticed Enoch among the crowd, envy written large across his face.
When he noticed my gaze, he instantly flashed me a sultry look.
Evidently, the pursuit of a partner was more valuable to astral males than their own skins.
Otherwise, he surely wouldn't dare look at me in such a way at Isaiah and my wedding.
Isaiah grasped my hand all the more tightly and I immediately averted my gaze.
We spoke our vows in front of the crowd, Isaiah transferring all his assets under my name, in accordance with astral law.
As he signed away a fortune large enough to purchase an entire planet, my hands began to tremble.
This was all customary and expected, but what shocked the assembled crowd was when he handed me three green crystals.
Besides him, my five father- and mother-in-laws each gave me a similar crystal.
He stroked my hair, affectionately.
"Maria, fear not, I will gather even more crystals for you, to make sure your life can go on and on."
It was these crystals that did the most to sway the recalcitrant human women toward accepting their fate in astral society.
"You know, marrying an astral doesn't seem that bad after all. Who doesn't want to live for 500 years?"
"Exactly! They're not that bad really; they're not only good to us women, but they've really helped the men adapt to the local way of life."
Overhearing snippets of their praise, I couldn't help but smile all the more deeply.
That's what I tried to tell them, I thought. All they need to do is choose wisely.
The astrals really were very decent people.
My thoughts turned to my parents. I wondered if they were looking down on me from up high.
Maybe this time, I had finally found true happiness.
When the wedding was over, Isaiah left the responsibility of entertaining our guests to his parents.
After my experiences with Dirk in my previous life, I had developed an innate fear of this sort of occasion.
Isaiah, however, was a far more considerate man.