09| Bjorn Beowulf

The sky had been cloudy the morning they set for Orion, the late afternoon they arrived, and the early evening she set foot on the wide streets of the Grime clan. This led to Mel wondering if the sun ever rose in this part of Orion.

Mel was faced with a large domed concrete structure and she faltered behind Eustace. Anna was standing at the closed entrance of the building and her mood visibly brightened when she caught sight of Mel.

Other servants moved around, carrying whatever luggage from the caravan into the building. From the corner of her eyes, Mel could catch sight of the peeping masses through the surrounding homes, along with passers-by bold enough to linger out in the streets and stare at Mel with rapt attention and excitement.

Mel blushed, not used to all the attention at a go. Anna hugged Mel to her side and gingerly urged her into the building. Eustace walked in after them and paused almost immediately. From the floor to the walls, to the spiralling staircase leading upstairs and underground, a round polished wooden hall swallowed her whole. Her eyes widened. She had never seen so much of a wooden surface. The ship cabin had been small, but a hall of this magnitude was so immense, that Mel was dazed.

There were no windows in the interior of the structure, but soft white light from glowing crystals embedded into the domed ceiling beamed off the polished wooden surfaces in a pure white sheen.

Mel's low expectations before Eustace explained the underground to her had been thwarted by the dazzling interior. If this was how the buildings alone were, she wondered how the structures underground would be. Then again, what were those crystals? They were nothing like she had seen before, not even in the noblest houses she had visited in Sprite.

"No words can express how much it pleases me to see you this happy," Eustace whispered at her ear and Mel snapped out of her reverie, the blood rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment.

She had been openly ogling the building like some peasant! As if she had never seen beautiful things before.

She spluttered, "It's—I—"

A heavy footfall caught everyone's attention, Mel included. It sounded like a step made to purposely announce the new arrival.

Mel looked up and her eyes stopped on the huge figure standing on one of the steps. A heavy fur coat draped an immense build. A build far more domineering than Enmel's. And Enmel was one of the tallest and largest men she had seen among the Orion so far.

A gloved hand extended from broad shoulders to rest on the handrail of the staircase.

Mel couldn't see his face clearly from the wide distance, but he was close enough for her to make out a well-set face, striking white hair, and sharp blue eyes.

There was a stillness in the air and Mel's heart caught in her throat. He was staring right at her. He held her gaze for so long that she felt the air being sucked out of her chest. Catching her breath she looked away, clasping her hand to her chest.

"Bjorn," Eustace called out, a tense smile on her lips as she walked to the bottom of the staircase.

The man took slow steps down to meet his mother, the heels of his heavy boots echoing off the wooden floorboards of each step. Mel hadn't heard him coming from the top earlier, or had she been too engrossed in her sightseeing to notice any other presence in the room?

A frightened Anna stood beside Mel, rigid. Her hold on Mel's arm tightened a little bit.

Mel's heart thundered. She didn't know what to feel. The only thought that ran through her head was that this was him. Her husband-to-be. She couldn't decipher his age from the long distance but the brief encounter was enough to tell her that he didn't carry the demeanour of someone within her age range.

It then dawned on her that it hadn't occurred to her to ask just exactly who she was to wed.

He stopped right in front of Eustace, towering over her. There was noticeable displeasure deep-set in his turned-down lips.

'Wait. She had said we would get here before him. Unless he came earlier than usual…' Mel pondered.

Eustace's smile only evened out to a genuine one and she reached out to pat his cheek. The grown man squeezed his eyes shut and his facial features eased as a relieved sigh escaped him. The displeasure in his face was gone.

'What was that all about?' Mel mentally asked herself, her feet glued to the floor.

He raised his head and turned towards Mel. She flinched as he walked towards her. His steps were agile for such a large build, and he walked which such grace unexpected from a were-beast.

Bjorn stopped right in front of her. Anne stepped back, leaving her lady defenceless in front of the domineering figure.

Mel stood transfixed, staring at the dashingly handsome features of the were-bear. He had a defined jawline complemented by a dizzying shad of silver-blue eyes which was further highlighted by the presence of well-set cheekbones.

His jaw was dotted with a film of hair and a stubble moustache showed signs of regrowth.

To Mel's surprise, he looked little to nothing like his mother!

Bjorn politely offered her his hand. "Welcome."