Heiress | TVD/TO

I. Holy Matrimony

I. Holy Matrimony.

Autumn 992 A.D.

"This must come to an end; I can't have my two sons at odds for a girl." Esther seethed "One with a child as well." She continued trying to convince her husband to agree with her.

"They are not children, they can choose for themselves, let them fight it out, maybe Niklaus can hold himself against his brother for once." Mikeal commented.

"I refuse,"     "Then what do you want?" Mikeal asked already fed up with the conversation.

"We betroth Niklaus to Tatia's sister Thora, she's of age and haven't been claimed, I spoke with Tatia, and she made her decision. She chose Elijah." Esther finally outed her actions.

"Well, if you had already solved the problem, why are you numbing mine with this nonsense." Mikeal spoke through clenched teeth.

"You ought to know, Niklaus, he is your son. And Thora would become your daughter. You are to ask her guardian for marriage." Esther explained.

"You must be losing your mind. You want me to ask that foolish girl-" before Mikeal could continue, Esther cut him off.

"Not Tatia, Ansel. He is the village chief, I asked the monk, he said it works." Esther explained.

"Fine." Mikeal sighed "Call on Niklaus, let's end this madness."

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(P.S. I googled Nordic wedding preparations and that's what I got from the research, so please take everything with a grain of salt, and if something's amiss, I'm open to any constructive criticism.)

For the past week, after Mikeal's public announcement, the betrothal was what the whole village been talking about, it had been set up for the first Freya's Day of the next month, giving the groom and his family time to prepare for the ceremony; with the invites, the feast meals and drinks, and building the longhouse for the betrothed, as well as guest houses for the neighbouring village guests.

And considering neither Niklaus nor Thora have any relatives other than their immediate families, they didn't need time for the travelling guests to arrive, the nearby villagers were the only guests invited.

The preparations for ceremony were undergoing nicely, having no dead relatives buried in the village, Mikeal took his father's sword and buried it in a grave, for Niklaus to retrieve later, and while Thora's father was long dead, Tatia had one of his swords, that was passed down to her, as they had no brothers. The sword would be used for the preceremonial preparations.

Two weeks before the ceremony, Esther had taken Rebekah and stayed with Tatia and Thora, to help prepare her, by stripping her of her old clothes and removing her Kransen, a head wreath, and anything that would symbolize her unwed status.

And as the days passed guests from the neighbouring villages would arrive and stay in the houses built for them. As the sacrificial animals were hunted and kept for the wedding day, the village witches had prepared protective charms and totems for the bride and groom.

The ceremonial ale was brewed quickly with the help of witches, who also charmed animals for the men to hunt for the wedding feast.

And before anyone knew it the day of the ceremony arrived. Niklaus was taken by his father and other married friends to the bathhouse, to prepare for the ceremony, and same was done with Thora, who was taken by her sister, and Esther, as well as some of the married village girls whom she was friends with.

After going through the rituals, Niklaus dressed, and took the sword he had acquired, and an axe. Thora wore a cream dress her sister had sown and a bridal crown, the one Tatia wore on her wedding ceremony, it had belonged to their mother, and her hair was woven in braids, twists, and curls.