My Random Skyrim Stories

Flowers for her Hair (Vilkas) 3

They let themselves out through the back of the underforge and Vilkas just watched longingly as Belle skipped out into the open fields.
How had it taken him this long to realize how beautiful she was in the moonlight? The saber cat fur draped over her leather armor made her actually look like royalty as she walked through the frosty fields, her breath rising in gentle clouds of steam in the icy air.

"Now... I wanted lavender... but I think mountain flowers are the only thing we'll find this time of year... oh, blue mountain flowers will look good..." she said thoughtfully as walked. She bent down to pick some of the blue mountain flowers looking back to Vilkas with an excited smile. "Lydia's going to let me braid flowers into her hair," she explained, "I'm figuring blue and purple will look lovely on her."
Vilkas nodded a little numbly, and not from the cold. Lydia would look lovely, but not nearly as lovely as Belle would...
"What're you planning to wear in your hair?" He asked curiously. In the back of his mind he knew he was only torturing himself, but he was going to have to see whatever she'd planned tomorrow anyway...
"Oh I'll probably just go with a single dragon-tongue if I can find one, either that a red or purple mountain flower," she shrugged, "can't look like I'm trying to out-do the bride."
Vilkas suddenly froze at that... Belle wasn't the bride? He blinked in shock at her... had he misheard or was that just his own wishful thinking?
Belle suddenly looked back at him with a cocked eyebrow...
"Vilkas," she began slowly, she looked at him curiously and took a step toward him... she smirked, "who did you think Farkas was marrying?"
Vilkas just swallowed... he was glad they didn't have beast blood anymore because then she'd certainly hear his racing heart... "well, I... I heard you two talking and..." his voice caught in his throat as Belle took another step closer, she looked amused now...
"Lydia's my best friend, so we've never acted much like it, but she is still my housecarl," she smirked, "so, legally, Farkas needed my permission to marry her... that's what we were talking about."
Vilkas just blinked at her as his mind ran back over the last twenty four hours... thinking back over the conversations... what Farkas and Belle had said...
...Farkas was marrying Lydia... not Belle...
"You thought it was me?" She asked with a gentle smile... and... was she looking nervous now?
"I did," Vilkas admitted quietly.
"Is... is that..." she was definitely nervous now... "why you've been so upset all day?" She whispered hopefully...
Vilkas's heart jumped...
"Aye," he nodded... then the gold chain of a necklace around her neck caught his eye...
He took a step to close the last of the distance between them and gently reached out to pull the necklace from under her cloak.
His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the ornate round pendants of the amulet of Mara around her neck...
Vilkas heard Belle's breath catch in her throat as well and she just stared up at him with wide hopeful eyes... he couldn't tell if her cheeks were so pink now because of the cold, or if she was blushing, but she absolutely adorable...
"So you weren't the one who's been waiting for Farkas all these years," he whispered as it all sank in.
"No," she replied quietly, "I... I've been waiting for someone else..."
"Well," Vilkas smirked, "what's wrong with this fool? Why's he taking so long to ask such an amazing woman?"
"No idea, but at least a few minutes ago, he apparently thought I was marrying his brother," she replied with a smile and a nervous giggle.
"Belle," Vilkas sighed as he reached forward to pull her into an embrace. She was quick to hug him back and Vilkas felt like everything had suddenly gone right in the world. "Please forgive me," he whispered, "for being so blind to what an amazing woman you've become... I would count myself the luckiest man in the world if I could stand by your side until the divines take us."
She pulled back from his embrace just enough to look up into his eyes, with the happiest smile he'd ever seen on her lovely face. Then she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.
Vilkas tightened his arm around her waist to pull her closer, and kissed her back. By Ysmir, this felt like perfection... how had he only just now realized how much he loved her?

They were interrupted moments later by the sound of Farkas cheering excitedly from over the wall behind Jorrvaskr. "WHOOO! YEAH!! DOUBLE WEDDING!!!"
Lydia was laughing behind him, "I told you not to worry..."
Vilkas sighed and smiled down at the beautiful woman in his arms... his little Belle. "Shall we get married along with my brother and your best friend?" He asked hopefully.
"I was hoping we could," she smiled.
"Aye," Vilkas grinned. "Now let's get you some more flowers for your hair..."