With the smell of smoke still strong in my nose, I woke the men the next morning with breakfast already cooked. Venison steak's and Pine-thrush eggs, with toasted bread and a snowberry spread. I had found enough food in the sanctuary that we would not have to hunt on our way to Riverwood. There was even a steak for Tex, though he wasn't partial to eggs or toast. As I ate some toast and berry spread while cooking. I groomed all three horses and fed them some of the grain that I had found.
As the men ate, I decided to go over our tack again, as we had been putting in some hard riding.
The martingale on my saddle was wearing thin and would need to be replaced before we did any serious climbing. I rubbed some of the fragrant oil over all the leather pieces thinly, as the weather had gone from one extreme to the next since the going over I had given it all in the cabin. I wasn't as sure of Signar's horse armor, but none of the metal was jagged, nor any of the cloth stiff or frayed. Nelthas's gear was as supple as the leathers he wore.
The men started packing up the tents and other gear as I cleaned the plates and such and got them packed. I would love to say that the ride to Riverwood was quiet and calm, but it was anything but. Not too far out, we ran into some Spriggins, I used my strongest calming spells and we made it past them, but then a dragon decided that we would be a challenging foe.
I conjured a Flame Atronach and Signar still having my staff summoned another Golden Saint, with three bows the dragon soon resembled a pincushion, when it landed I started casting fire spells at it, the two men closing in with swords, Tex snapping at its wings and heels. I absorbed it's soul and felt less at his loss of life than wolves that choose to attack us.
We made it to Riverwood in the late afternoon, with rain on the wind. We bedded the horses down in the small paddock behind the Inn and stowed the saddles and other gear in the shed. I grabbed the thin Martingale and my pack so that I might use it as a template and just add the bright-work to it. Nelthas and Tex hurried into the Inn, as the wind brought dampness that said rain was soon to follow. I told Signar to please get us a room and tell Orgnar that I would sing a song or two. Then I hurried over to the forge before the rain started.
I traded some nice pelts for some tanned hides of a length that I would need, Alvor looked at the bright-work and said it was fine, but I might think about ordering some new, as it was starting to thin and warp slightly. So I asked him if he wouldn't mind doing that for me, but to make it all matte instead of shiny. He said as how he had a couple orders that would have to come before mine, but I told him that was fine, what I had would do. He looked to the sky and decided to call it a day, I could hear the thunder in the distance, but I wanted to at least get the shape cut and the holes punched.
I set to work on that and was almost done when the rain started. It was nothing but a mist, so I kept going as I had only a little to go. I was about finished when I thought I heard boards creek, but as the Guards had been walking back and forth I paid it no attention. I was just finishing the last of the holes and getting ready to pack up my leatherworking gear when the bottom fell out and the rain came down in sheets so hard that it almost sounded like hail. I turned and looked out over the river and down in the direction the rain was coming from when the water started sheeting off the roof like miniature waterfalls.
I leaned against the center pole and thought it figured. The heat of the forge felt good with the chill wind blowing. I was just about to look around and see if Alvor had left a cloak or piece of canvas lying around that I could use to get to the Inn when two arms snaked around my waist and I felt the heat off a large male body behind me. I squeaked indigently and heard the chuckle in my ear as Signar leaned down. I leaned my body back into his and tipped my head so that I could look up at him.
" I don't suppose you brought our cloaks?" His blue eye's narrowed as he smiled.
"Why, My Lady, would I do something like that?" Still laughing he kissed the tip of my nose and then sat down on the edge of the forge, pulling me with him. It wasn't the most comfortable position with my butt barely on the forge, but we sat that way for a moment. After a bit he opened the pouch on my hip and pulled out the necklace that was inside and draped it around my neck, fumbling with the clasp. When he finally got it closed, he kissed the back of my neck, sending goosebumps down my spine.
" You wore that once for me, yet we never really talked about marriage." I shifted so that my back was against the pole, my butt on his lap and I was looking up into his face. " I would have you for my wife, your life here may be short, but I would that you called me Husband for that time. I love you Akemmi."
He stopped at that and I looked up into his face, his blue eyes searching mine for an answer. I smiled at him and then pulled his head to mine. Against his lips, I said, " I would have you for my husband, for now, and the rest of eternity if the Divines would allow it. But I will take today and the tomorrows that we have and cherish them." With that, I deepened our kiss and when our lip's parted, I laid my head on his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the slow steady rise and fall of his chest. His chin resting on my head, arm's wrapped around me, I basked in the warmth of his body as the rain continued its relentless pounding.
When the rain slackened enough we took off our boots and put on our cloaks, as one of the Guards slogged his way across the street through the fast moving water. Signar and I both realized the water would be over my knee's and I might easily be swept off my feet.
He bent at the knees and patted his shoulder, "come on, hop up, arm's around my neck, leg's around my waist", when I did, he handed me his boot's so that I was holding both pairs. His arm's free he used them to keep his balance in the swift water, even with that he had to walk crossways, not strait across so that we were further down the street than the Inn.
He bent slightly forward and moved a bit quicker as the rain started getting heavier and that is how we went through the door of the Inn. He was bent almost double to keep from hitting my head on the door frame, the two of us laughing like fools. As he went to stand, I must have shifted or he hit a wet spot, cause I few right over his head and he ended up on his face. I rolled over and looked at him and had a complete fit of giggles at the look on his face.
By the time I quit laughing and wiped the tear's from my eyes, he was sitting against the fire pit, staring at me. Nelthas and Delphine were standing off to the side looking at both of us like we were crazy, even Tex had his head cocked sideways, which threw me right back into a fit of laughter. I had almost stopped laughing when I started hiccuping, at which I started laughing again.
Delphine threw her arms up and said that she was headed to bed, as it was obvious their was no way we were going to have a serious conversation tonight. Nelthas looked at Tex and said that if he wanted to hog the blanket's he was more than welcome to share his room. Tex walked over to me, nudged at my shoulder, and then licked the side of my face. I stopped laughing long enough to kiss him on top of his head and bust out giggling again when I hiccuped again, though it sounded more like I was choking.
Signar stood up and told Orgnar that we would like a couple bowls of stew and mug's of mead in our room if he pleased. Then he came over and scooped me off the floor. Orgnar was just putting a tray on the table in our room when Signar got there. He set me down on the bed and then went to shut the door, unbuckling his armor on the way back. He pulled the cuirass off over his head and placed it on the chest at the foot of the bed. When he was down to just his underclothing, he came over and sat beside me.
I was hiccuping and gulping air, but I stood up and stripped down to my under-cloths also. He took my chin in his hands and looked deep into my eyes...then kissed me on the tip of my nose and said that we both needed some sleep. He laid down and pulled me up against him, his arm wrapped around me, the other under my head. He held me like that all night, when I woke in the middle of the night, from a nightmare and started to shake, he was awake and we talked for hours. When I again drifted into sleep, it was with the thought that I did not want to live another life, unless he was there to hold me. I felt safe and content for the first time in hundreds of years,
Nelthas had caught Delphine up on all the information that we had got, including that Malborn was now a wanted man as well. He had explained all the dossiers and given them to her, except the one on himself and me, those I had and didn't plan on sharing them. So with breakfast, we went over our plans to go to Riften and look around and see if we couldn't find Esbern, under the guise that Signar and I were planning our wedding, which we were.
We left Riverwood in the rain, as it didn't look like there was an end to the storms. The Mill owner in Iverstead was correct, the bears were getting out of hand, but I had my own thoughts on that. Dragon's had to eat, Alduin may eat the souls of mortals, but the rest needed meat. Deer and Elk were easy prey, so the predators were safe, for a little while. We made quick time to Riften, even given, the fights we had with predators.
The first thing I did was go and get rooms at the Inn and then give the Argonian male the Amethyst's that he needed for his wedding ring. Nelthas said he had a person he wanted to talk to and Tex trailed behind him as he went.
"Have you noticed that Tex never goes anywhere near a shrine or Temple?" Signar's voice was dry with humor. I thought about it for a moment.
" Not all, he's has no issue going up to a Shrine to Talos or Akatosh." I had noticed, but as he was my first real protector and friend here, I wasn't going to rock the boat.
We walked to the Temple of Mara and asked about having a wedding. The Priest was more than happy to plan it for us and asked when we would like our wedding. We looked at each other and I told him tomorrow wouldn't be soon enough. He smiled and winked at Signar, thinking he was the only one eager for our wedding. Of course, he might have been thinking that Signar was the only one eager for the wedding night, he would be wrong.
I snorted mentally, we had already made love, but, married... would that make it different, or was it really just a word? As we walked back to the Inn, I was thinking and paused to look out over the lake and mountains. Yes, it mattered, it mattered in the promise that we would be making to each other.
"Sweetie, why don't you wander off to the Inn, I want to buy something pretty for tomorrow. I'll get you something also." He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek and I said I wouldn't be too long, the market wasn't that large.
I watched him walk away, the sun came out in a ray that landed right on him, the refection off his armor was blinding. I laughed, my Knight in shining armor. I went around to the few stalls and found a decent outfit for Signar, but other than a pair of earrings, there was nothing in any of the other stalls. I felt my shoulders sag a little, it really didn't make a difference, except I wanted to look pretty. Signar was used to me in armor, I wanted a nice dress. The meat vendor walked over and asked what I was looking for, cause I looked like I had lost something. I laughed and told her I wanted a dress to get married in tomorrow, but none of the vendors had one. She smiled at me and pointed down a side alley and said their was a shop there, they often had pre-made dresses.
I thanked the woman and asked her if I could help her in any way, she said she needed some Ice wraith teeth and if I could get her some, she would be in my debt. I walked into the shop and the man behind the counter asked how he could help me. I told him I was looking for a dress for my wedding tomorrow and did he have anything that I could wear or alter in one night?
He took a good look at me and said he had two dresses that might suit and a third that wasn't a wedding dress but would fit like a glove with no alteration at all. He showed me all three of the outfits and while I really liked one of them, it was the largest and I would have to do more needlework that I was comfortable with in one night. I said I would like to try on the last one, it looked more like a Temple robe of one kind or the other, but it fit beautifully and was rather nice. So I bought that dress and some slippers to go along with it. We wrapped the dress up putting it in a box and I headed back to the Inn.
Signar and Nelthas we sitting at a table and I plopped myself into the third chair. We had a pleasant night Listening to the patrons of the Inn chat to each other. I yawned and told the men if they wanted to stay up all night drinking that was up to them, I was headed to bed.
I asked which room was mine? Signar got up and said he would show me to our room. I followed him up the stairs and to a room with a double-sized bed. I turned back to the door and smiled as Signar closed it behind him. I barely had time to put my packages down before he tackled me, we hit the bed and bounced, hard and all the air went out of me in one big ooof.
"You know My Lady that we won't have much of a Honeymoon? What with getting Esbern back to Delphine and lord knows what she will want to do after that. So I figured....." I shut him up in the best way I could think, kissing him deeply and pulling at the buckles of his armor, he laughed and stood up and started undressing himself, I wasn't backward in getting undressed myself and then sitting on the bed watching him. It was a long night, I was a tired happy woman when I woke the next morning.
Signar was gone and so was the outfit I had bought for him. There was a flower on top of the box the dress came in so I put it aside, meaning to carry it with me. I put my dress on and fixed my hair, leaving it down, for today. As I left the room, Signar caught me in his arms and swung me around, giving me a hug and a kiss.
" My Lady, you look beautiful." He pulled me close, in another hug and then engulfed my hands in one of his and we went to the Temple. I was told it was a beautiful ceremony, but really I don't remember it. I remember how happy Signar looked as we put our rings on each other's fingers. How his eye's danced with happiness, the stupid grin he got on his face when we said now and forever. I might have had the same stupid grin, everyone was too polite to tell me.
We spent the day in our room, with some sliced meat, cheeses, and fruits, along with mead and juice, we talked about our childhoods. It was actually rather surprising to learn that I had a better childhood, his family had been poor and he had done odd jobs to feed his mother and sister. While I had gone to school and played with friends, hunting, and fishing. His hunting and fishing were done for food and hides for clothing and money. We learned more about each other on that day, than perhaps all the rest of the time we had been together, all I learned made me love the man even more.
We fell asleep that night, hands, bodies, and hearts entwined.
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