A Knick In Time

Changes of Life

As the days go by, the negotiations between my family and Elijah's concerning our pending nuptials go into full process. Mikael is surprisingly un-demanding which I find nice, until I learn that this is because he thinks I'm not worth much as a bride anyway. Considerably less nice. However, considering I have little possessions of my own, the negotiations don't take long. Tatia and Ayana both agree to come up with a small dowry for me and Mikael and Esther agree to let Tatia and Niklaus have a piece of Mikael's lands in exchange for Tatia's blessing of the marriage.

And so, as spring slowly develops, the wedding date approaches. Tatia and I prepare the wedding much as we prepared hers. We gather the food we will cook, prepare the decorations as well as we can, get the bridal accessories ready - even though Tatia hates it when I call them that - and do our best not to murder Mikael in the process.

The days become a bit of a blur. There's just one incident that stands out in this time, that incident being a talk between me and Tatia.
I'm busy helping her prepare dinner, Niklaus and Haakon still outside getting more firewood.

"Tatia... there's one thing I remembered that I think might be a bit of an issue. Can we talk about it?" I carefully begin.

She puts the wooden spoon aside and turns her attention to me. "Of course. What is it?"

"Weelll... from what I've learnt about you and these times, women usually wait until they're married until they sleep with a guy for the first time."

"Sleep with a guy?" Her eyebrows furrow.

I bite my lip in contemplation. "Right. I think you might call it 'laying with a man'?"

"Oh!" She nods, her expression slightly bewildered. "Wow. Alright. I admit, I have never heard an unmarried woman bring up that topic without seeming ashamed."

"Yeah. I think there's nothing to be ashamed about. Everyone does it." I answer.

She chuckles. "I guess they do. So, what's your question?"

"Well, as I said, people here usually wait until their wedding night, but, uh, where I come from-"

"-they don't?" she sounds surprised, increduled, "Really?"

"Yeah. I think that will start when people invent easy ways to prevent pregnancies. That way, they could separate being with someone from forming a family with them." I try to explain.

Tatia laughs. "Sounds to me like they merely made it official. Elena, just because we're not supposed to lay with a man before our wedding doesn't mean we don't do it. Most girls in our village have had lovers before they were wed. It's not a big deal as long as no one finds out. And even then, it won't be too bad if people keep mostly quiet. In all honesty, no one cares."

I need a moment to take her words in. Then, I let out someghing that is both a sigh and a chuckle. This has really been a great bother on my mind. "Thank you, Tatia."

She chuckles. "You're welcome."

In the next second, another questions starts nagging at my mind. "Wait, have you had a lover before your wedding?"

"Yes." she factually states, "But I'm not telling you who and I won't give you anything more to obsess about concerning this either. That's all I'm going to say."

Knowing her, she will stick to those words, at least for the next couple of days.

***

On the day before the wedding, my groom approaches me and asks me to join him for a walk, claiming he wants to show me something. That sentence coming from his lips brings back some unpleasant memories, but I indulge him nonetheless, feeling no doubt about my trust in him.
Much to my surprise, Elijah leads me to a spot near the end of the village where there's nothing to see.

"Uh... this looks nice?"

He laughs. "I'm glad you think so already. Although I'm hoping that next year, it'll look even nicer."

"What are you planning to do here?" I ask.

Elijah lays an arm around my waist and looks into my eyes.
"This, my darling, is where I am going to build a new hut. One that shall be a home for you and me. And any child we may be blessed with in future."

I look at him in shock. "You're... want to build a house for us?"

"Yes, I do." Elijah lays his hands on my shoulders and looks at me poignantly. "I want to do this for both of us. I've lived with my family my entire life. Now, it's time for me to have a family of my own. I've seen Niklaus do it for himself and he is happier than he's ever been before. Elena, I strongly believe that you and I can have that kind of happiness too."

Tears well up in my eyes. I clutch one of his hands in both of mine and look into his cinnamon eyes. "Yes. I know we can and now, I'm sure we will."