Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Elves of All Kinds (1x1)

It was obvious that Saelhil was a bit nervous. He was unsure of what was to happen, should something go awry. His eyes continually shifted back and forth, searching. After a while, he found a spot that seemed suitable.

A small area, away from most of the other flowers, was lit up by a thin ray of light. Saelhil looked briefly to Raeliel. "Here?" he questioned, awkwardly asking for conformation on the spot. Sure, it was secluded, but Saelhil had a tendency to like things people usually ignored, such as his hot springs.

Raeliel looked at the spot, and nodded slightly. The spot was fine. She wondered why he wanted it away from the others, but...that seemed to be what he liked. She let him lead still, watching as he would get things ready. Were they just supposed to plant it, and then it would just grow right away? And what would happen if it didn't grow? Raeliel was a bit nervous...but she was glad that Saelhil was nervous as well. At least it wasn't just her.

Saelhil nodded in response, then moved a bit closer. He looked to either side of him, then crouched and brushed away a few leaves. Beneath the leaves was a large, beautiful flower. However, shriveled up around the base of that flower was a dried out blossom, dead, but it could have been beautiful had it been alive. He took a small breath and nodded to himself, then quietly pressed two dents into the soft, moist soil near the other flower with its shriveled mate. He put his own seed into one of the holes, then gestured to Raeliel to put hers in the second.

Raeliel was...surprised. There was a dead flower beside the living one. But if these represented people, did that mean a marriage was dead? No, then both would have been shriveled, wouldn't it? Dead...maybe someone had died. Raeliel slowly put the seed into the hole, looking at him carefully. Her mind was connecting the dots, but she wasn't going to talk about it right now. She took in a deep breath and let it out. Now...did they just wait? She watched him, waiting to see if they needed to water it or anything. She was nervous. What would happen if it didn't blossom? But...what would happen if it DID?

Saelhil quietly covered the seeds again, then stepped back slightly. His heart pounded as he watched the spot they had planted the seeds, focusing rather intensely.

After a few moments, a bit of green sprouted out of the ground. Slowly, the two stalks began to get taller, growing--...separately. A bit of panic washed over Saelhil, simply because he had never heard of the flowers not growing together. However, after the initial growth, the heads of the flowers edged towards one another, brushing loosely around each other until the first twist was completed, and the buds began to bloom. Saelhil let out a soft breath, watching the flowers continue to spin intricately, circling around until their stems were undiscernable. So something (be it nature or the gods) definitely wanted he and Raeliel to be together...

Raeliel watched as the sprouts started growing. She wasn't sure how to feel as they grew separately, but then....then they started to twist together. Raeliel was really not sure how to feel now! Was she happy, was she sad? Was it good or was it bad? She had no idea. She stared at the flowers for a good long while, but then glanced over to Saelhil. "...so...now what?" It was the first thing she'd said ever since the vows. But it was an important question. What happened now that their 'relationship was approved by the gods'? She went back to staring at the flowers. Did this mean that he and Mirwen weren't meant to be together? Or she and....
No, Raeliel quickly shook that thought away. Oh well, at least she could use this as firm confirmation that Mirwen was out of his life.

Saelhil straightened himself a bit, then took a few steps away. "Now we go tell everyone the good news." He nodded, but he was already turning to return to the village, so his facial expression wasn't clear.

To be honest, the idea that the stems would actually intertwine had never crossed his mind. He had thought for sure that they weren't "destined to be"!...But who was he to go against both their family's wishes? He would have to put aside his pride and keep quite, if he wished to make the new marriage work, he supposed.

Raeliel quickly followed after him. She couldn't tell how he felt about this at all. But since she didn't know how she felt either, that was alright. "And after that is the....feast, or something?" She was trying to remember what he spoke of when she'd first asked. "Saelhil..." She hesitated. "Are you disappointed?" She couldn't help but ask. She was trying to figure him out still. And to do that, she had to figure out what he thought and how he felt.

"Yes. The feast, then dancing." Saelhil ran a hand over the top of his head. At her question, he looked briefly at her. "Disappointed? No. I..." He paused for a few moments, exhaling slowly. "I'm glad... Glad that they bloomed together." He nodded once more, but felt that he shouldn't return the question. He knew she would be disappointed (or perhaps even angry) that the flowers had intertwined, and yet shouldn't she be happy that she was fulfilling her duty to her people? Ah well.

Raeliel looked at him carefully as he answered. Was he telling the truth, or lying to avoid a problem. "...yes." She walked along, taking his hand just before they reached the gate. They had appearances to keep up, even if things were still tense between them. The people couldn't know that they were having problems already. "So...dancing. What kind of dance do you people do?" She was sure it wasn't ballroom dancing. Or waltz, or anything of the sort. So she wasn't quite sure how her dancing would go.

Saelhil glanced down when she took his hand, then realized her intention. He readily responded, intertwining their fingers and putting on a rather charming smile at they neared the village, where a feast had been set up in the square. Elves were all scrambling about, some talking and others trying to get in some pre-feast dancing. Some cheerful music had already begun, and the newly wed couple was welcomed with more cheers. Saelhil led Raeliel to the head of a long table, with actual chairs this time. His father stood at the head, and he sat to his father's right, pulling out the chair beside him for Raeliel before sitting down as well. His father called for everyone's attention.

"Everyone, come! Before we begin the festivities, let us honor the union of my son and his wife--and the union of our people to hers--with a feast! I trust the Entwining went well?" He looked to his son.

"I have never seen two flowers more suited for one another," Saelhil replied, as it was sort of the usual response. His father smiled brightly.

"Then let the feast begin!"

Raeliel followed him, looking around at all the people. She would sit down as he held the chair out for her, then looked to Saelhil's father. There was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach when Saelhil responded to his father, and she looked away. Right. Feast. Eating. Raeliel wasn't sure how hungry she actually was, but she took some fruits and ate them, and drank some water.
She looked around, trying to find familiar faces, like Saelhil's sister, and Ralda. Maybe familiar faces like that would help her to feel a bit better. She was so confused, that it was hard to be happy. Maybe....maybe some dancing would fix that.
Raeliel looked over to Saelhil suddenly. "Let's dance."

Saelhil looked back to her. "Dance?" He hesitated, then nodded. "Of course. Be warned, it probably isn't anything you've learned before. You should catch on quickly, though." He stood up and offered his hand to Raeliel. Once they stood, many other guests took that as a signal that the dancing could begin. A folk tune began to play; the instruments used were cheerful flutes and high-pitched fiddles. A large group of elves gathered together, male and female facing each other. After a few moments, they began a practiced dance. It wasn't an intricate dance, per say, but it was obvious that it took some talent to pull it off. The sets of partners danced quickly, stepping haphazardly around one another. At least, it seemed that way. When one peered closer and studied the dance carefully, the women were actually mimicking the men's stepping and spinning, but just one or two steps behind. The female partner would place her foot where the male had put his only half a moment ago, and they would move in perfect sync, laughing and singing along to the song. Saelhil stayed at the edge of the crowd for a while, waiting for Raeliel to say she was ready to join in. (He decided that, if you hadn't grown up with the dance, it might have been a little intimidating.)

Raeliel walked along with him to the floor, holding his hand, and watched the others dance. She was struck with a terrible fear as she watched them dance. She had no clue of this at all. What if she tried and made a complete fool of herself? On her wedding day, no less! She decided that this was a terrible idea. Dancing only pulled her spirits down worse. The music was lovely, everyone looked like they were having fun, but it seemed like a rather hard dance to join. She tried to follow it with her eyes, and get the pattern down. But it seemed...hard.

Saelhil watched Raeliel, and after a while he realized that she was feeling uncomfortable about it. He hesitated, then waited until the end of the song before he called out to the musicians.

"The Story of Winter!"

The Story of Winter was another folk song. Although it once had words, much of the actual poem that had gone along with the song had been lost in time. However, it was a gentler song, a prettier song, that he was sure Raeliel could dance to, or at least catch onto.

Others soon called for the same song, and the musicians began to play it. Saelhil pulled Raeliel into the crowd, and bowed to her, kissing her knuckles. He then pulled her closer, resting his hand on her back and taking her other hand in his. "You know how to dance, don't you? Teach me one of your dances, to this song. I am a quick learner, and others will soon learn as well." He smiled at her, gently.

Raeliel blinked in surprise when he suddenly called for a new song, and then pulled her into a dance. "Y-yes, of course I do. Just...none of these dances." She stared at him when he said to teach him one of her dances. "Well....alright." She held his hand and settled her other on his shoulder, and started dancing. She moved carefully, helping to instruct him in his steps. It was a simple but elegant dance. It required them to be close together, however. Not inappropriately, but close.
Raeliel noticed many things about Saelhil at this distance. He had a nice smell to him. His eyes, those separate colors, truly were entrancing. She didn't realize she was staring until he'd probably already noticed, and at that point she would quickly look away. His arms were strong, and he was good at dancing. Raeliel was noticing many things about him now.

Raeliel wasn't the only one to study her partner at such close proximity. Saelhil was quietly taking note of her features, from the shape of her nose to the way her hips swayed beneath his hand. Ralda had been right when she said Raeliel was small... Her body was lithe and almost delicate, much different than the sturdy build of most of the women of his village. His wife reminded him of a doll; she was beautiful and refined, almost to the point of not being real. But she was very real, and he knew that from the way she gently led him in the smooth dance, forcing his muscles, which were so used to the quick movements of leaf-walking or of his people's dances, to slow down and move with grace. They were so close that he could feel her warm breath on his face, he could smell the perfume Ralda had put into her hair. For a few moments, he became rather smitten with her refined beauty.

Raeliel danced with him, admiring how well he adjusted to the moves. She glanced back to his face once she felt it was 'safe' to do so, only to find him still looking at her. Her eyes seemed to get trapped in his gaze, and for a moment everything about him seemed to draw her in. She was incredibly aware of how close their faces were, and how the distance was slowly closing with each step. They were going to kiss. It seemed ready to happen so naturally, as if another part in the dance, but at the last moment Raeliel managed to turn her head. Her heart was racing. What was getting into her?! She'd almost kissed him! Luckily, the music finally ended, and she pulled away slightly. She cleared her throat a little. "You...you learn very quickly. You did a good job." She pulled away entirely now. "I...am going to get a drink." She went back to the table and sat down to sip from her water. She was quite flustered. What in the world had come over her during that dance??

(I'm going to bed for the night, I'll respond tomorrow morning!)

{Night!}

Saelhil found his head tilting slightly, his eyes focusing on hers before flickering to her lips. The kiss at the end of the ceremony had been nice... He was pulled rather rudely back into reality when Raeliel had pulled away. After a few blinks to get himself focused, he nodded numbly. "Thank you..." Saelhil watched as she quickly turned away and returned to the table, then exhaled quietly and rubbed his neck. He had always felt so emotional with music, so had he been so overcome with the excitement of the wedding and the romance of the song that he had... no, no, of course not. He wanted to make the marriage work, but surely he wasn't that dedicated, not yet. But... hadn't Raeliel been leaning closer to him, as well? He felt very confused, but he ended up deciding that she was just trying to keep up the appearance of two newlyweds in love. Yes, of course, that was it.

Raeliel tried to simply gather herself, and drink from the water in her cup. When she felt she was clear-headed enough, she stood up once more. Her eyes looked around the scene, all the dancing elves making merry. When her eyes drifted over Saelhil, they were somehow caught for a moment. But instead she frowned, and quickly looked away. The frown soon vanished when she spotted Saelhil's little sister! She went over to the child and smiled. "Hello! Would you like to dance with me?" She held out a hand to the girl. Dancing with her would probably be a lot more fun than dancing with Saelhil. There was no possible chance for that strange thing to happen again.