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[Athilea & Jade] Forced Lovers
In the ancient culture of the Elves, it was never uncommon for two to be promised into marriage, even at a young age, even so young as toddlers. Not all still go by this tradition, but some do, especially the wealthier families who wish to keep noble, untainted blood in their line. Often, the two promised individuals won’t even meet each other until the date set for their wedding, or perhaps a few weeks before during preparations. It causes for uncomfortable, formal relationships a lot of the time, though some get lucky and end up being happy in the end.
Thus it was with two certain young people. They were promised to each other from the time the younger of them drew their first breath. They met once as toddlers, though it was not expected that either would remember this event. All that mattered was how, in just a few decades, they would form a hard-to-break pact between the two families, whether or not this pulled them away from true happiness. {{~*Haha that sounded sadder than I was trying to make it sound but oh well. That’s basic plot. Doesn’t need to be awesomely worded I guess. Oh and I hate the title by the way, makes me think of Star Wars. If you have a better one, let me know. XD*~}} |
Jade's Character
http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/p...weilder2-1.jpg Name Thayne Caeryll Age 19 Race Elven Personality Thayne has never really taken an interest in the opposite sex, preferring to keep his nose stuck in a book rather than socialize. He loves having the status that he does; the rich, nobleman's son. It has gone to his head in some ways, leaving him rather spoiled. Thayne dislikes it when things do not go his way, and the only person he takes orders from is his father (and even then sometimes not). He can be rather talkative, but since he likes being alone so much, he is a poor conversationalist. Although he often will throw a fit if he is told to do something that he does not want to, he is willing to do things as long as it is somehow to his or his family's profit. ((I didn't really come up with a bio for him. You can for yours if you want but it's up to you. I wasn't originally planning on making him to spoiled but I didn't want to make him be Mr. Perfect either. xD If I missed anything, don't hesitate to tell me and I can edit it in. ^ ^)) |
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...licKitty89.jpg
Name Atane Esatag Age 18 Race Elven Personality She has a kind heart, though she is distant and antisocial. Her preference is to spend her times sitting in an empty grove, or a garden and listening to nature. She does not mind socializing, per se, she just feels awkward around other elves, especially when they are of the opposite sex. She does as she is asked without question or hesitation unless there is some moral reason to be against it. |
Curtains tightly sealed shut, the room was dark as night, and deathly silent. Through this silence, there was, however, a small noise breaking through the null; a soft snore. The owner of the noise was face-down on the bed, a small trail of drool accompanying the sound coming from his throat. The Elf was completely unaware of all of this of course, eyes closed softly in his peaceful slumber, back rising and falling slowly with his resting breaths.
The stillness was disturbed by the door swinging open, which revealed the fact that it was not night, as the black suggested. "Master Thayne...?" A thin Elf stood at the door, clothes tidy and neat though not too fancy, suggesting that he was a servant. The butler of the house, to be exact. "It's time to get up. Or past time to get up, rather..." Rayl, the family butler, was quite used to having to deal with the Caeryll family's spoiled brat of a son. He had been the main one in charge of the boy ever since Thayne had been born. It also did not surprise the older Elf that his young master was still asleep at one in the afternoon. "You need to wake up..." Rayl goaded further, striding over to the bed and placing a cold, clammy hand on the younger male's bare shoulder and giving it a good, hard shake. The Elf moaned, swatting at the other as if he were an annoying fly. "Master Thayne." He said in a sharp, commanding voice. He shook his shoulders harder, which eventually worked. "Wha?" Thayne asked as he pushed himself off of the bed, question cut off by a yawn. Turning himself over, he rubbed at his eyes for a moment before trying to tame his tangled hair with a few pets. This was unsuccessful, but he hardly noticed. "It's past noontime. Our guests will be here shortly..." The butler said sharply. "Guests?" Obviously Thayne was rather fuzzy-headed from sleep. The last thing he had discussed with anyone last night was exactly this. "Does the name "Esatag" ring any bells?" Rayl was quite good at saying such things whilst remaining inferior to his master. "You are to meet your fiance today. They will be here in an hour or less." The butler had already left the side of the bed and was rummaging through the drawers. He soon returned with a pair of black pants, an off-white dress shirt, and a blue patterned vest. Thayne let out an annoyed sigh as he dropped his feet over the side of the bed and accepted the clothes. He was not at all looking forward to being married, but it was coming up in a little over a week now. Of course, it would have helped if he had known about this sooner. Maybe he could have prepared better. It had only been a year ago that his father had decided to impart the knowledge of the promise to his son. As expected, the brat had thrown a fit at first, but know he accepted it a little better. Although he still disliked the idea of getting married, he did now realize the benefits. His father was making him do this anyway; he knew that he could not say no to him. A few minutes later, Thayne had his clothes on, face washed, and hair combed. Taking one last look at himself in the mirror, he could not help but throw himself a mental insult for his fat lips before following the butler out the door. "You have a few minutes to eat some lunch. It's already waiting in the kitchen." Rayl informed him. Thayne nodded slightly, though he was off in a world of his own now. It was usual for him to zone out like that. His father hated it and tried to make him stop, though there were few people who could make him do it. Rayl had tried in the past, but had grown weary of having his head chewed off. |
((Just a note, her name is Esatag. Dunno if that was intentional or not.))
They arrived only a little early and the girl was helped from the elaborately gilded carriage by the driver. With her came a hand maiden and her parents. Her black hair was pulled back into a tasteful bun that was decorated with small, shimmering pearls. The gown she wore was a very pale blue that matched her eyes and trimmed in a white that would match the pearls. She spoke quietly with her maiden while she waited for her parents to tell her that they should enter. They had allowed enough time for the carriage to be taken away before the family entered the house, the door pulled open wide by servants of the Caeryll manor. Atane was nervous, to say the least. She had been shown a small portrait of the boy she was suppose to marry just a few weeks before, though she doubted that it really showed him as he was. Artists had a way of taking a lot of liberties with those sorts of paintings. Her mind was wandering though, and she needed to focus on this meeting. It was important. Her parents entered first, obscuring her from the sight of anyone that might be waiting inside. They wanted to make the entrance theatric, which really just seemed tedious to her. She did as they wanted though. When they parted before her in the room that had been designated for the meeting her soon to be in-laws were sitting there, and seemingly annoyed. That did not bode well. |
{{~*Oh, pff, sorry, I'm a moron. Dx
-edited-*~}} About half an hour after Thayne had gotten out of bed, he was still sitting in the kitchen, working on a bowl of tomato soup, a roll of bread, and a chunk of cheese. The cooks and some other servants went about their work around him, none of them daring to interrupt his meal for any reason. Thayne loved having that kind of power over people. He hoped to have it for a very long time. "Master Thayne..." This time the voice was rather scolding. "They have arrived and you are still eating?" Rayl had his arms akimbo as he stood next to the young man. "What, do you want me to starve or something?!" Thayne growled back, stuffing more of the food into his mouth. "Just let me finish this for goodness' sake!" "You are not going to starve. Your father requests that you be in the lounge. Now." The butler said sternly, giving him a sharp look. He had the mind to snatch the food right away from him, but he knew that would not help a thing. Giving him a bit of a pouty look, Thayne obeyed finally, leaving half a bowl of soup but taking the last of the bread and cheese to stuff in his mouth on the way. "Fine..." He grumbled on his way out the door, fully aware that the butler was still staring him down. Once out of sight of the Elf, he slowed down a bit, though he still kept his pace somewhat brisk. Although he really did not care to do this silly meeting, he knew that his punishment would be swift should he not show. Bread and cheese now gone, he pulled open the door to his destination, finding that he had gotten there just in time in his mind; the bride's family was just coming into the room. Striding confidently over to his parents with head held high and deep frown on his face, he could not help but sneak a few glances over to the other family. He could not help but notice that she was rather beautiful, though it hardly meant a thing to him. Though he may be able to recognize beauty in a female, he had yet to recognize the companionship he could have with such a creature. As Thayne slid into a spot on the couch near his parents, his father shot him a scowl. Although he had made it on time, he got the feeling that he would be seeing the bad end of a punishment anyway. "Welcome, welcome..." His father said in his smooth, booming voice, standing with a flourish of his hands and putting on a big, fake smile. "It has been long since we have had the pleasure of hosting the Esatag family under our roof..." The Elf gave a slight bow simply in greeting, another exaggerated hand movement telling the others to take a seat, should they desire it. |
The girl dropped a curtsy that was fit for the royal court and smile at him graciously before she took her seat on an opposing couch with her parents sitting to either side of her. She at with her hands folding on her lap and, though she stole one or two glances at her husband-to-be, her eye remained on her hands for the most part. At least until her mother whispered something in her ear that made her sit more confidently.
Her father bowed as well and took his seat, "Yes, far to long in my opinion. There is always far more work to be done then time though, wouldn't you agree?" He sat comfortably and smiled towards the boy, "The last time I saw you, you were little more then knee high." The mans smile faded after a moment when he glanced at his far to shy daughter. She ducked her head a little bit before speaking, "Thank you for having us, sir." Atane glanced at Thayne again, though she did not let it linger over long. ((Heh, it's okay. Things happen. -hugs-)) |
Even if he still felt uninterested in girls, he knew that he had no choice with this one, so he tried to check her out. This he tried to do discreetly, however. Even if nobody was going to care, he felt like he had some sort of reputation to live up to. In his glances, he could see that she was doing similarly, though her reason for the slyness seemed to be exactly the opposite of his. Somehow, he found that rather attractive. Whether it was because he knew that he could manipulate and command her more or whether it was because he simply found it cute and gentle like some soft animal, he was not sure.
Noticing the posture going on, Thayne straightened up a bit, knowing that his father was probably trying to send him a glare that he was failing to catch. As the man of the other family spoke, Thayne put on a slight smile, almost as fake but not nearly as big as his father's. The comment about the last time he saw the young man just made him feel awkward. Eyes darting over to his father, he took the cue to laugh a little. "And the last time we saw you, you were naught but a newborn!" Thayne's father came in with his own jolly laughter as he smiled at his future daughter-in-law. "And what a fine woman she has grown into, eh?" There were certainly no regret behind the decision for him. Not only was he preserving the bloodline and marrying his son into a similarly wealthy family, but his grandchildren would have wonderful genetics, no matter the insecurities that he knew Thayne had about his looks. Thayne looked very much like his father other than the colour of their hair, and he knew that he had good looks. "Of course, darling!" The Elf laughed again, a sound which Thayne was starting to dislike. "We're very happy to have you, all of you. It's a pleasure." Thayne, despite his best efforts, could not stop the eye roll that followed the statement. It sounded so fake, and he knew it was to some degree. This was probably one of the few times when it was a small degree. |
She looked down at the floor again, feeling more then a little uncomfortable. Atane knew nothing of this family, at least nothing more then she had been told, and she knew less around the man she was suppose to marry. Apparently her mother had nudged her, though, because she raised her gaze again and looked at the other family.
Her mother spoke this time, "There will be many preparations in the days to come. Where should we hold the ceremony?" She looked pointedly at her daughter. Apparently there had been some debate that the girl finally assented to. She shifted under the gaze slightly. After a moment she spoke, barely managing to keep a stutter out of her voice, "Do...do you think it would be unprecedented if I spent some time with...with my fiance." She seemed to stumble over the words a little, her gaze darting to Thayne before she looked quickly away. The girl smoother her skirts unnecessarily, and her cheeks were turning a light red. |
Finally feeling slightly more comfortable in the situation, Thayne was able to hold his gaze on his wife-to-be. She seemed nervous, but he understood for the most part. He sort of wondered what her views on marriage were. Because of his reading, he had it in his head that marriage was more of something that two lovers shared, though he did understand doing it for reasons like this. It made little difference to him anyway. He had never felt the kind of love for someone like it was in the stories. Thayne actually did not think he would ever feel that way towards someone.
"Of course!" Thayne's mother finally spoke up. It was a rare occasion for the placid woman to speak, though she had been quite excited about this. Her marriage to Thayne's father had been arranged as well, so she was glad to have the chance to plan a wedding, especially for her eldest son. Thayne was his mother's favorite, despite the fact that his younger sibling was a girl. She was not yet promised to anyone, which was somewhat surprising considering the family, but she was only four years old so she had some time. If she made it past sixteen and still had no fiance, that was when people would start to wonder. "Our home is always open for it, though we have done some searching." His father came in to help with the planning as much as his information allowed. "We understand that a place outside of either of our homes would likely be a better solution, as big and lovely as each of the houses are." Another bright smile. "There's a place a few miles from here just in the woods. A nice, big gazebo. Very pretty. Somewhat pricey, but I do not see how that will be a problem, especially if we're dividing costs." The older Elf's smile was slightly more genuine at her words. "I think that would be a lovely idea, child." He chuckled a little, glancing over at his son. The young Elf's fake smile could no longer be maintained. Being around people was bad enough, having one-on-one conversations was the stuff of his nightmares. His lack of social skills was more obvious than ever in such situations. The obvious dread on his face was not missed by his father, who shot him a sharp look. Even that was not enough to get a reaction out of the boy, so a subtle nudge followed, covered up by the Elf's following words. "You two are going to be spending a lot of time together from now on, so getting to know each other a little would be quite fruitful." At his father's nagging, Thayne finally rose from his seat. Approaching the girl hesitantly, he offered his hand awkwardly to her, managing to force out a smile. His thoughts strayed far enough to remember why he was doing this, and he suddenly realized that he should probably be putting his best foot forward at this point. This helped to ease the smile into a more natural one. He tried to come up with some romantic gestures, whatever he could remember from the books he had read. "Shall we take a walk...?" His mind was racing in panic as he tried to figure out what to do next. He could take her to the garden... there was one step, at least. |
Apparently both of their mothers were excited by the prospect of the wedding that was only a short time away. Atane looked between them as they talked trying to imagine the place where they would be wed. She imagined that the two woman would talk extensively about the ceremony.
"I think it's a wonderful idea, Atane." There was a look on her fathers eyes as though this was something that had been discussed before hand. Her parents had felt discussing the ceremony would be easier if there were not so many shy looks and unknowns between the couple. When Thayne approached she placed her hand in his. It was trembling in her nervousness which would explain why she had been so careful to keep them in her lap. The girl stood and offered a smile as she looked down at their joined hands before she rose her gaze to him, "Of course." Her words were soft, though everyone in the room could hear them. ((Geh, my post is so whimpy compared to yours. Oh, and the title kinda makes me thing of star wars to.)) |
Now able to maintain the smile a little better, Thayne held her hand firmly, noticing hos much it was trembling. All he could hope was that it was not out of fear or something. If it was just nervousness, it would go away and it would be fine. It was actually his (irrational) fear that it was fear in her. He was probably just overreacting though, he assured himself.
Leading her out towards the courtyard, Thayne realized that he should probably be leading her different so far as their hands went. He was not entirely sure how to change it properly though, so he decided to leave it be. He suspected that this, among other things yet to come, would inspire some manners lessons sometime before the wedding. The sounds of the ladies' voices talking about the colour of the napkins and the style of the dress and the choice of flowers were caught by Thayne's ears before they slipped out the door. Whenever he was in this garden, he felt more relaxed, so he hoped that it would have that effect on Atane as well. It would be more difficult since they were holding hands and everything, but he figured that he might let go once they were more fully out of sight of their parents. His romantic act was mostly for them. After a short silence, Thayne decided to attempt a conversation. "So... A-Atane, right?" He gave her an apologetic look. Although he had known about this for a year, her name was not mentioned in the home enough for him to be confident in his knowing it. "Ah... how long have you known about this?" It was the first thing that came to mind, a question that would probably be deemed "inappropriate" by most. When in a conversation, Thayne tended to go into auto-pilot, not really thinking about what he was saying. {{~*Nah, it's fine. ;P I just had a random spurt of creative juices there, Idk. xD Huhuh yeah. Instead of force choke, FORCE LOVE! >:O*~}} |
She followed him, letting him hold her hand in whatever way suited him. The voices of their mothers drifted to her and a small smile played on her lips. It may not have been her choice, but she was certain that the ceremony would be beautiful.
Once they were in the garden she turned to look at him, but did not release his hand. Her eyes met his shyly and with her free hand she smoothed her skirts again, though they still did not need it. She seemed to consider her answer before she spoke. Though she was soft spoken, there was a musical quality to her voice. "Y-yes." She paused and tried to calm herself, "Yes, my name is Atane. I only found out that was I to wed you 4 months ago." Her gaze dropped from his and then she finally looked around at the garden, "This is beautiful." ((Oh, that would be marvelous. XD)) |
Slowing his walk, Thayne decided that perhaps it would be better not to let go of her hand after all. Although he usually did not care about such things, there was a possibility that she would be offended by that. If he was going to be spending this much time with her, he probably wanted to stay on her good side. Even if she did not seem like the type to be angry or anything, he preferred not to have tension.
"Oh, I see..." He sighed, absently lowering his gaze to the ground. Apparently he had it better off than he had thought. A year was plenty of time, in his mind, to think about it and accept it. Nodding slightly in answer to Atane's statement, Thayne smiled slightly. "Yes... I like to come out here to read sometimes when someone's using the library. There's plenty of hiding places too..." He could not even count the many times over his childhood that he had curled up under one of the bushes or trees in that garden with a book, remaining there undetected for hours on end. He had once hidden so well that he had fallen asleep and nobody found him until the next morning. The had almost caused the destruction of his favorite tree. |
She turned her head back towards him, "I see. This would be a wonderful place to read, I think." Anate had relaxed a little, though he could still feel her nervousness through the trembling of her hand. This is the only time she can ever remember being allowed to be alone with a man.
Of course, seeing the current situation she could certainly understand why that was not allowed. If she was promised to someone else, there could be no chance for her reputation to be marred. That would endanger the arrangement, and that was something that neither family would have. The girl tried to think of something else to say, but clearly struggled with conversation topics. Instead she just fell silent and walked with him through the garden. |
Nodding awkwardly, Thayne smiled somewhat uncomfortably. "Yes, it is..." He replied, shrugging slightly. Just talking about it made him want to drop everything, run and get that novel he had been working on, and find a good spot under a bush where nobody would find him.
Thayne knew that he could not do that though. This marriage thing really was quite important. It was not a big deal anyway; they could have been pulling him away from a previous lover. At least he would not have to worry about that. Finding that they had come to another pause, Thayne racked his brain to come up with a new topic, preferably something that would spark an actual conversation. His previous thoughts about lovers planted the question in his head of if she had any loves already, but he decided to keep that one unspoken for a while. Maybe later when they knew each other better... "So, what... are your hobbies?" It was certainly a lame question, one of Thayne's backups that he pulled out in uncomfortable social situations, actually, but it would buy him some time to come up with a better question, at least. |
She allowed her gaze to move around the garden, lingering on a flower from time to time. "Well, we are currently doing something I enjoy. I spend most of my time...or spent, in the garden at my parents home." She had to correct herself, she would not likely be living their any longer.
She chewed on her lip some as she mulled that over before she continued, "Aside from that I enjoy reading, and painting. Most of my time is spent somewhere away from crowds and the pomp and ceremony that go with them." Atane blushed when she realized what she had just said to her husband-to-be and ducked her head a little shyly, "I-I am sorry." |
Thayne nodded slightly, allowing himself to get somewhat distracted as he let his eyes wander towards the flowers. At least he had made the right choice in bringing her here. He decided to keep that filed in the back of his mind. Perhaps it would eventually come in handy.
"Hm?" Thayne looked a little confused as he was brought back more fully into reality by her apology. It took him a moment to go back and register what she had said previous to the apology. "O-oh, it's fine..." He smiled slightly, turning his eyes away again and biting his lip gently. His usual habits urged him not to reply to that any further, but he knew what would happen if he said nothing; another silence would come and he would have to come up with another question. He was going to be spending quite a bit of time with her now anyway. Atane would eventually figure out that he shared these views, so he might as well just tell her now. "Ah, me too, actually..." It occurred to Thayne that it had been a few moments of quiet already and she might not realize what he was talking about. His pointed ears went red and his face flushed ever-so-slightly in embarrassment as he added to it. "A-as I hinted at before, the library is much more agreeable to me than a ballroom full of... frilly-clothed, feather-hatted, poofy-sleeved... whatevers." He stumbled over the sentence, searching for the appropriate wordings to fit the guests that he so disliked. |
She looked into his eyes, somewhat surprised. That was not something that Atane had expected of him. She could not say that she minded that discovery though. The more common ground they found, the easier this transition for them would be. After a moment she smiled and stopped turning fully towards him. Finally she shifted their hands to a more comfortable position, though she did not release it.
"I suppose that is one thing we have in common that both of our families likely dislike." Now that they were alone and she didn't feel so embarrassed as she had in front of their parents about taking a closer look at him. If they were going to be married they would spend a lot of time seeing each other, but it was still so new to her. He really was a very handsome elf. She couldn't really think of any that matched him in that regard. When she realized, though, that she had been staring she blushed again and began to release his hand as she turned her head away, "So..." The girl racked her mind for something to ask, "When did you find out that we would be married?" She realized that she had not asked him that herself. |
Trying not to stare back at Atane, Thayne let her shift their hands, letting his be limp for her to do with as she pleased. It now occurred to him that his hand was rather sweaty from being nervous, but hopefully she either did not mind or did not notice.
"Yes, that's nice..." He agreed with a slight smile. That one was somehow more genuine. It just seemed weird to him to be actually smiling in a social situation. Thayne had hardly noticed her staring at him, despite the fact that he was sort of staring at her too. He could not help but look at the bright side; he was getting a looker. In his mind, it would have been unlikely for someone like him to get someone like her without some sort of arrangement like this. Feeling her hand slip away from his a bit, he grabbed at it instinctively. He was not even sure why he had done that, but he soon put himself in check, snapping his arm quickly back to his side. That seemed awkward, as if he were grabbing her. Considering his many faults, especially in his personality, he refused to add abusive and controlling husband into the mix. That sounded weird. Husband. Him, a husband... How odd. Thayne was somehow a little surprised by the question, perhaps just because it had been so many words since he had asked her the same. "Oh, it was... a year ago, I suppose." He said it nonchalantly and in a vague manner despite the fact that he could count to the day when it had been. It was probably all the better that he had found out so early as compared to her though, when he thought about it. From what he had heard, females tended to be far more mature at an earlier age than males. Scientifically, it would take him more time to process and accept it than her. |
She looked back at him when he grabbed for her hand, surprised but not upset. If she were being completely honest with herself, she kinda wished she had not let go of his hand, but Atane did not take hold of it again.
The Elf couldn't help but notice that he was rather attractive. There was not denying that she could easily swoon over him. Not many women could say that about their husbands. The thought still felt odd though, he was going to marry her. How long would it take before she did become use to that? Finally, she spoke. "I see. I do not know why my parents waited to tell me." Her gaze lowered for a moment before she looked back up to him, deciding to speak on a topic they both seemed to have in common, "What sort of books do you prefer, Thayne?" |
Feeling particularly awkward at that point, Thayne folded his arms over his chest quickly as he waited for the short silence to pass. He chewed on his lip absently, trying to come up with more conversation material. In the end, he did not need it.
Thayne nodded slightly at her answer. He sort of wondered himself why they had not been told all along, since they were old enough to understand. If they ended up arranging for a child of theirs to have a similar experience, then Thayne would see to it that he knew by the time he came to adolescence. Now things were getting weird in his head again though. Children? Thayne could not help but cringe a bit at the thought. It had nothing to do with the children themselves, he actually rather liked children, but the thought of him being a father was rather jarring. Glad for the lighter topic, he quickly focused his mind away from those previous thoughts. "Ah, depends... mostly action, adventure... mystery. All the stuff I wish I could do but know I never will." He smiled slightly, mind drifting ever-so-slightly into his mental library. That was a close enough answer; he tended to stay away from non-fiction unless it was about battles and heroes and unless it was written well. "What about you?" He asked the question back, turning his head a bit so that he could look at Atane a little more directly. |
She shrugged as she responded, "Some of the same, though I...I have been known to read my share of romances." Her cheeks turn bright red. Apparently she is very embarrassed about this. Really she was amazed that she told him at all. She brushes a stray lock of hair back behind one of her ears.
It was odd, everything felt like it was a dream. She was not completely sure of how she felt about the situation they found themselves in. So far, though, things were going well. At the same time, though Atane knew that he could just be putting on a ruse until after they were already bound in marriage. The girl took a deep breath before she met her fiances eyes, "I...I know this must be as odd for you as it is for me. We know only what our parents told us, and that makes it difficult to hold a conversation." She bit her lower lip again before she continued, "I just...I hope that we can find enough common ground that this wont be as awkward as it otherwise would be." |
Nodding, Thayne grinned sheepishly. He had dipped his nose into one of two of those himself, though he had not found them so appealing. It was hard for him to relate to the characters in those books.
Again, Thayne nodded. Things seemed to be going fairly well so far, he only hoped it continued to go as such. The less they liked each other, the more miserable the rest of their lives would be. Neither of them wanted that, obviously, and as callused as it was to force your child into a marriage, Thayne guessed that their parents would rather them be happy too. "Yeah, hopefully..." Thayne sighed, folding his arms over his chest nonchalantly. It occurred to him that their conversation now did not really mean much in the long run; this was just the basic, outer layer stuff. There was still plenty of room for tensions and differences... After another short silence, Thayne let out a nervous chortle. "I'm sorry, I'm not really a very good conversationalist..." |
With a soft laugh of her own she waved the apology away before she turned and started to walk deeper into the garden, "In case you had not already guess, I'm not very adept at it myself."
She knew, in a way, that what they talked of right now did not matter. Really, she just thought it would be good to get away from the tension in the room with their parents. Perhaps it would help them be a little more relaxed if they had some time together. She sighed quietly, "This...this is odd." Atane looked at him, unsure if he was following her or not, "Do...do you feel like we are...like we are in a dream? Like this isn't really happening?" The girl looked down, "I know that's silly, but it's so surreal." |
Thayne laughed weakly along with her, not sure if he should or not. There had been times when his inappropriately-timed laughter had earned him mild slaps and kicks. At least it was something else they had in common though.
Pausing at Atane's question, Thayne took a moment to consider it. Immediately his mind was crying out a loud and resounding "yes", but he decided that it would be best not to blurt that out. That might look weird. "Yes... I suppose so." That was an understatement. "I suppose I've thought about this day so many times in the past year that I had it in my head that it would go differently..." He said with a soft, thoughtful frown. Of course, he had, up until this point, not known how this day would go, but he had gone through a thousand scenarios, some of them better than this and some of them worse. Well, most of them worse... "A-th-I-I didn't mean that in a bad way though..." Thayne stuttered quickly, holding up his hands in defense as his ears turned bright red again, followed by his cheeks. In his frantic correction, he almost tripped over a root, causing even more blood to rush into his face. In the times he had imagined this over the past year, this had actually been one of the situations he had imagined, though it had been even worse in the day dream. |
She halted in her walk and turned to him as he almost tripped. Atane took a step closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder hesitantly, "It's alright, Thayne. Do you think I had not thought of how our first meeting would turn out?" She gave him a small smile.
"Perhaps this is not the best that either of us may have imagined, but it's from the worst either." Her head tilted slightly as she looked up at him, "I suppose that it's hard for anyone to get accustomed to the idea of being wed to someone they did not choose. It was likely just as awkward for our parents." She sighed and looked down, "I have to say, though, that I have enjoyed talking with you, as much as we have." Atane pressed her lips together when she raised her eyes to him again, "Even if the conversation has been filled with the sorts of pleasantness that one might expect at a ball." The girls smile was a little playful. |
Thayne laughed nervously, trying to let his posture communicate that he was okay with her touching him. In the past year, he had avoided physical touch with women of any sort besides his mother and sister, though it was a little extreme. He would have to get used to it being okay; Atane was the whole reason he had done it anyway. Sometimes it was hard to remember that since they were getting along so well.
"Yes, that's about right..." He nodded, laughing softly, though slightly more comfortably now. "A year is enough time for countless imaginings... The actual thing has been better than most of them so far." He added. "So far" were key words though; some of his possible scenarios had gone fine until the wedding day. Even someone willingly marrying someone they loved would have nightmares about that though, from what he had heard. Thayne nodded, still smiling at her. "Yes, I agree... I'm not sure I could have expected much better though, at least. This is our first time meeting anyway; it would be unfair to both of us if we skipped the pleasantries." They would probably be miserable if they skipped all of that and went straight for the meat. All of the skeletons would be tumbling out of the closets at a fast enough rate to cause some problems. There was another one of the possible scenarios that he had thought about... |
She looked up at him, again unable to deny that he was a very handsome elf. "I have enjoyed talking to you, Thayne, a great deal." A smile touched her lips as she met his eyes.
"We..uh...we should probably be getting back now." Her voice was little more then a whisper. So many times this meeting had played itself in her mind. It was not bad, but she was nervous. It was, however, obvious that she did not relish the idea of returning to their parents. (Bleh, hate making short posts.)) |
Nodding a bit, Thayne continued to smile back. "I'm glad then..." He murmured. This had been, to his pleasant surprise, rather smooth so far. Hopefully, such things would continue. It would be incredibly mortifying if he spelled the downfall of his family in some way through this marriage.
"Uh yeah, I guess so..." Thayne glanced back at the door with a look of distaste. He, too, was not looking forward to returning into the presence of his elders. They would have to eventually though... "We can walk really slowly." Thayne suggested, catching the feeling that Atane was not exactly looking forward to it either. The "walking slowly" trick was one of his favorites. He used it rather often. {{~*Me neither... xC It's okay though; we all get a little stuck sometimes. :c Oh and I'll be gone all this weekend btw. ^ ^;*~}} |
She could not help but smile at his suggestion and slowly she nodded, "Yes, I think that would be nice, delay it a little longer." After a moment she laced her fingers through his so that their hands were hanging comfortably between them. "Are you as nervous as I am? I feel as though there are butterflies in my stomach?"
She took the first slow, lingering step back towards the building where their parents were currently discussing what kind of wedding they would have. It was odd to think that they would have no had in their own ceremony other then to be there. The choice of agreeing had even been taken from them. They would say yes as their parents wished. It didn't matter if they got along or not. They would learn to live with one another, if not love one another. Her blue eyes caught his from the corner of her eyes and she blushed before she spoke, "I must say that I am lucky that I will have such a handsome husband. I can scarcely thing of anyone that meets you as far as how attractive you are, Thayne." ((Aww, alright. I hope you have fun. -hugs-)) |
When Atane took his hand again, Thayne was a little surprised. His hand felt sort of weird and clammy against hers, but he hoped she either did not mind or did not notice. Holding people's hands was something he was certainly not used to. "Ah, perhaps not quite as nervous as you but... still rather nervous." He agreed with a slight nod of his head.
Thayne could feel his face getting red at her words, though he wished that there was some way that he could control that. Despite all of his spoiled-ness, that was one thing he did not have going against him; he actually didn't believe that he was very good-looking. His parents, realizing how spoiled he was going to be at a young age, tried to discourage such talk around him just for that purpose. Thus, whenever it was mentioned, he hardly knew how to react, he would get so flattered. "W-well thank you." He said, slightly flustered. "I could say nearly the same for you though. And I should know something of it; I can't tell you how many of my father's guests, clueless of my engagement, have tried to set me up with their daughters. I was starting to think that it was impossible for one to possess both wealth and beauty..." Thayne chuckled a little, feeling more comfortable with these words. "Not to mention, with this craze of corsets and being thin, hardly any of them have a body left beyond the bare essentials." Being a male, he could not help but notice the fact that her chest and hips were far fuller than most. It was starting to put bad images into his head, though he supposed it hardly mattered. She was going to be his wife anyway. They would have to get to such things at some point. |
The girl blushed as well as soon as he complimented her. Her gaze lowered as they continued their very slow walk back to the study their parents were in. "Thank you. I took very much after my mother. Even if I wanted to be so thin as the fashion seems to dictate, I would not be able to."
She could not help but to think forward to their coming wedding night, and the color deepened as she did. She just could not help but to wonder what it would be like, and if their nervousness would have passed by then. Her thumb stroked his lightly for a moment. The womans hands were extremely smooth, as though she had never done a single days hard labor. In fact, her father would not even permit her to take up an instrument that would ruin that smoothness. Atane bit her lower lip lightly, a habit that her mother had tried to break her of. For a moment she wondered what sorts of plans their parents were making. She knew that when they returned it would likely just be their mothers talking. She could not see her father staying for to terribly long with that discussion, and he's was probably the same. "Had you seen a portrait of me prior to today?" |
With a slight smile, Thayne nodded. He had not gotten a close enough look at either of her parents to know if he agreed or not, but it hardly mattered at the moment. "Yes, that's all the better in my opinion. Sometimes I wonder if those girls even breathe..." He snorted softly, shaking his head.
Although it had taken a while, Thayne was finally starting to get used to Atane holding his hand. She did have nice hands, at least; she could have had rough, crooked hands with claws for nails. This was usually his approach to things. The "it could be worse" approach. It made times when things actually were good seem even better since there were so many ways that it could be worse. "Ah, no." Thayne shook his head quickly. "A year ago they told me that I was engaged, and that was about all I've heard of you..." From the first time that they told him, it had always just been thrown into conversation casually as if it was a long-known fact. That had bothered Thayne because he had wanted to know more about her once he had accepted the facts. Obviously it was too late now. "Had you seen any of me?" He turned the question around back at her. |
"Yes, I had." She smiled, her parents had actually insisted on it. It was small enough that she could have it on her person when they felt it necessary, and it had served as a deterrent on other mens advances. "It is why I asked, the artist did not do you justice though."
The girl blushed at her own comment. "It is odd to see how differently our parents decided to handle the arrangement, don't you think?" It was nice to talk to him, to get comfortable around him. Things would not, likely, remain so smooth at this. She savored the time with him though. |
"Ah, I see..." Thayne said quietly. He had never really known how to handle compliments, and it was rather obvious in that moment. It did not quite seem like the right place to say "thank you", but he also was not quite sure how to turn it into a counter-compliment. By the time he had any ideas, it was too late anyway.
Thayne nodded slightly in reply to her statement. "Yes, I suppose we'll continue to see such behaviors for a few more weeks too..." Or years, more likely. Something like this was certainly not just going to go away. Even if he got no part in the decision, marriage was still a big deal anyway. {{~*Ehh that was kinda meh, sorry. Dx*~}} |
She nodded slowly, her gaze lowered to the ground in front of her feet. Atane seemed to examine the stone path as it passed slowly beneath her before she spoke again. The silence stretched on for some time. It was so difficult to find things to speak of with someone that she barely knew.
When she did speak up her musical voice even startled her. She had not realized just how quiet it had gotten. "I wonder if our parents would mind us taking a detour. I would love to see your library." The woman smiled at him nervously, hoping he did not take the idea the wrong way. ((It's alright. <3 You'll get back into the swing of it. I thought it was a good post.)) |
Thayne fell into thought again with the silence. His thoughts now just went to general married life. His parents, from what he had seen, were not really happy or in love with each other. He wondered if that had always been so or not. Sometimes he imagined that they were once; they had children, did they not? On the other hand, he had seen how a marriage could be handled like a business partnership. Perhaps things that happened in bed were not always so special for everyone...
He jumped a little when Atane spoke up again, but tried to hide it as he turned his head quickly to look at her. His first reaction was a fierce "no", remembering the last time a young female had asked that. Fortunately, Thayne took a moment to think about the current situation and realized that it hardly mattered. For one, he did not think she would try to pull anything weird. Secondly, they were getting married anyway. What was the worst that could happen...? "U-uh yeah, sure." He nodded. It certainly did not bother Thayne that they were putting off returning to their parents. He could put that off all day and be perfectly comfortable. Still holding her hand, Thayne led her away from the door to the room where their parents were and toward another door leading into the house from the garden. Normally, the shortest route was actually through the other room, but as far as he was concerned, going the long way was actually the shortcut. |
She tilted her head slightly at him before they started for a different door. He still held her hand, and she did not complain. Instead she followed him, matching his pace as they went through hallways that she did not think she could ever remember.
She allowed herself to look over the decorations as they walked before stopping him for a moment to look at a rather large painting that depicted a stormy sea. There was a large ship that seemed to be struggling against an even larger whirlpool as lightly touched the waters around it. The woman moved closure to it, examining it a moment. "We have a similar painting. I think the artist was different though." With that she shook her head and turned back to him. "I am sorry. I know it must be silly for me to stop just to look at a painting." She licked her lips lightly before she could continue, "I always liked our version of the painting. That is why it caught my eye." |
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