A Knick In Time

The Wedding

My viking wedding is very much like Tatia's. Except this time, it's spring, not autumn. And this time, Elijah doesn't dwell in grief and disappointment over his brother marrying; this time, he smiles and seems very happy when he takes my hand and marries me. His hands, rough from all the work on the fields, are warm and gentle as he firmly holds mine in them. The rope that the priest uses to tie our hands together presses our hands tightly to each other. I don't know why, but it feels really safe.

The party after the ceremony is somewhat smaller than Tatia's. Fewer people have come, presumably because fewer people know me than they know my sister. But it doesn't matter, not when Elijah and I are as happy as we are.

Mikael, luckily, is mostly silent. It's obvious he doesn't agree with his son's choice of bride, but he keeps most of his displeasure to himself. Partly, I believe, because his own wife is doing her best to reign him in. Esther, as I've learned, has a certain amount of influence on Mikael. Obviously, it wasn't enough to make him stop beating Niklaus, although I'm kind of starting to think that she actually might have succeeded there if she had tried harder. I guess we'll never know.

After a lot of eating, drinking and dancing, Elijah and I silently make our way towards Tatia's hut. We decided to do this a few days ago. It seems a bit silly to sneak off during our own wedding reception, but after a lot of thinking and talking, we came to the conclusion that it would be for the best. Because I am not having my wedding night with Elijah while Mikael, Esther, Finn, Kol, Rebekah and Henrik are somewhere within the same house, probably able to hear - or even see - what my groom and I do. No way in hell was I going to do that. Luckily, Elijah agreed with me on this rather quickly. The thought of his family nearby in this intimate moment wasn't something he would have wanted either. So, we talked with Tatia and Niklaus. And they - remebering how I took Haakon out on their wedding night to give them some privacy - agreed to let us borrow their hut for a while.

"Looks like I finally got you all to myself. And as my wife nonetheless." Elijah says as I close the door behind us.
Before I even get the chance to respond, his arms wrap around me from behind. I feel his warm breath fan across my neck as he nuzzles his face into it. A giggle escapes my lips as a pleasant shiver runs down my spine. I turn around in his embrace and take his face in my hands, admiring his regal features for a moment before capturing his mouth with my lips.

Slowly, Elijah and I make our way to the sleeping place that used to be mine until this morning, never stopping in our way of kissing and touching each other. This is the first time we're getting this kind of physical and I am desperately eager to feel every inch of him under my fingertips. Love and desire run in fast circles within me as I pull Elijah's shirt out of his trousers. He grins and stops kissing me. For a split second, I'm disappointed, but then, when he steps back and looks at me, I melt away under his adoring gaze. It is already dark outside, so the only source of light is the small fire that's still burning my the cooking place. It softly illuminates the left half of his face and makes his caramel eyes look incredibly soft.

"Today is a very special occasion, Elena. It's an end as well as a beginning. The end of two lives lived apart and the beginning of two lives lived as a wedded pair. From this day on, you and I are one. One life. One love. One family." 

My eyes get misty at those words of his. Partly, because of the love and tenderness behind them and partly, because of their weight. I know he means it. Elijah is a very serious person, he hardly ever says anything he doesn't mean.

A small grin appears on his face when he steps back toward me again. "But as lovely as that life undoubtedly will be, for tonight, we have something else to do. Don't you think?"

I giggle a little. Then, I help him unfasten the loops holding my dress in place and gently let the fabric slide off my shoulders and pool around my feet.

***

Sometime later, we're lying on my former sleeping place, tightly snuggled together and happily exhausted.

"This is what it's going to be like from now on, yes?" Elijah asks me. I can feel his breath on my forehead and hear his huge grin in his voice.

I run a hand across his chest. "Yes, hopefully. We will have to continue being careful around your family, of course. But we'll manage, I'm sure."

"That we will." my new husband confirms.

If I could, I would stay here with him forever. However, the voices from outside get louder by the second. I mean, it had taken a while before our wedding guests had started to notice our absense, but eventually, they did. So now, they are looking for us.

Soon, Elijah and I get dressed again and make our way back to our reception. This little sneaking off of ours was pretty awesome. I'm already looking forward to doing it again.