10| The Bride-To-Be

Mel went to bed early that evening, not just exhausted from the trip, but disrupted by an entirely new feeling.

She never saw Bjorn again for the rest of that evening, but she could clearly recall the shivers that ravaged her whole being at the sound of his voice. A light shiver coursed every surface of her skin and she tightened the covers around her. The fur of the bed covers did little to nothing to alleviate the strange sensation.

She could remember the silken white strands of his hair, cut short at the nape of his neck. They hadn't seemed that impressive until he had stood before her. The way his eyes studied her made her giddy. The memory of his deep, rich voice enveloped her with a vague warmth.

Her heart ached. She had maybe expected her future husband to be fair-looking, but not this…

Mel sat upright, unable to sleep from her burning cheeks. What was wrong with her? She had to get a hold of herself!

She slapped her hands to her cheeks and winced at the stinging pain in both of them. Her palms remained glued to her cheeks, but the sting couldn't ebb the emotions brewing within her.

She knew this feeling all too well. It was nothing new. She had been attracted to a few nobles from back home but had never had such a striking encounter. There had literally been nothing special with Bjorn's greeting and here she was, abashed like a maturing child.

Mel closed her eyes in the dark and took slow steady breaths to calm herself down. It worked, but just a bit. Eustace had taken her into other chambers of the dome. She would have loved to see the underground, but her fascination had shifted somewhere else upon meeting Bjorn.

Thoughts of him filled her head ever since then. Focusing on Eustace's introduction into Bjorn's abode had been a struggle. The man was in the same structure as her. Was her underground or above ground? It was a useless question but it bugged her at the moment.

"No. No. No." She vigorously shook her head and laid back down. "I need to sleep. I can't behave like this."

She recalled Eustace saying something about wedding preparations.

Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Mel shifted and the exhaustion took over her excitement. The young woman eventually drifted off to sleep, tossing and turning all the while as her consciousness left her.

___________________________

Bjorn strode into his study, with Eustace right behind him. She closed the door and stood near the entrance, a deep gratifying sigh escaping her lungs.

"You're home early," she finally said.

Bjorn didn't answer her at first. He took off his fur coat in a fluid stroke and placed it on the chair at his desk. He looked at the wall, taking off his leather gloves and flinging them with a smack on the wooden table.

He pulled off the second light jacket on him to reveal a short dark tunic shirt. Bjorn lifted his head and drew in a lengthy intake of breath. He rubbed the back of his neck, his other hand planted on his hip.

"We had this talk," he grumbled, turning around to face his mother.

"Yes, we did," Eustace calmly replied, stalking forward to ease herself into the chair facing Bjorn's table. "And you never followed through."

His jaw flexed, an annoyed frown taking over his features. "I said more time was needed—"

"Time." Eustace shook her head and slapped her hands on the armrests of the chair. "Bjorn. For how many years? I understand you have been busy taking up your duties after your father, but you are breaking the one promise your father laid down."

"Promise?" Bjorn scowled. "That was utter foolishness. Not even great-grandfather approved. Introducing a rule into the tablets out of spite…" He pointed at the door, emphasising each word he spoke, "That wo—" he shook his head "—girl shouldn't even be here." Eustace's face wrinkled up in offense and she opened her mouth to speak to Bjorn but he continued, "This affects all of us. She isn't even from a decent clan so what do we gain? Absolutely nothing!"

"Bjorn!" Eustace sprung to her feet.

"No." He rested his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Despite our agreement to wait, you still went ahead to bring her here. I leave for a few weeks and you've already shipped off to Urn to bring her over."

"An agreement?" Eustace's brows shot up. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Are we really talking about an agreement here, Bjorn?"

He frowned and tensed. His mother may have a smaller figure but she had an imposing constitution that not even his father could fight against. One of the very reasons Mel's family had been spared.

Eustace shook her head, disappointed. "You, my boy, are the one who kept pushing and pushing and pushing this agreement from time to time. Promises to bring the poor girl over years back turned to 'we will do it the following week' or 'we will do it when she comes of age until it got us to where we are now.

"She was supposed to have been here long before she was of age so she would have been raised in the proper way befitting of a Grime heir, but the moment your father passed away, you deemed it unnecessary, offering your selfish 'sympathy' for the woman to be closer to her family."

Bjorn's eyes narrowed at his mother's words, unable to deny the truth in them, but she didn't stop there. "Need I remind you how disappointed I was to learn of all the interactions you made the with Urn head nit once did you make mention of the union and you shunned the man the second instance he brought it up, how is any of that proper?!"

"I would have appreciated it if you had told me of what you were about to do—"

"What?" Eustace grumbled. "So you can push it off again? I don't believe you even have a choice in the matter after all the postponing you have done. Even if your father made that promise in an unsuitable state it doesn't change the fact that it has been set in stone and agreed upon… or do you really want to blame a woman who had no hand in any of this?"

" No." Bjorn straightened and sat down, resting an elbow on the armrest of the chair and placing his chin on his raised hand. Cocking his head slightly to the side, he regarded his mother. "I won't complain, but need I remind you that I also am affected by this."

"Says the man who doesn't get to leave his home," Eustace snapped and a gentle frown coursed Bjorn's features. As much as he hated it, she had a point. "That young woman felt so distraught about leaving, but she did it anyway. Imagine how it was so hard for me to tell her her parents wouldn't be attending the ceremony." She eyed him. "The ceremony, Bjorn. When will it be?"

He stared at her for a while before washing his hand absentmindedly. "I won't press any further, so whenever you see fit."

"Tomorrow night—"

"Too soon!" Bjorn cut in with a worrying glance. "For her at least, she just arrived here. Push it till the week's end."

"That's—"

"That's just in three days," Bjorn mumbled. "That should give her enough time to be accustomed to our domain."

His mother narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" he questioned.

"Nothing," she answered. "You're awfully compliant all of a sudden."

"While I am in no rush to marry, you gave me quite a scare when you left with one of my ships to bring her here during my absence. I didn't like it," he finished with a growl.

It had truly irritated him to learn of Mel's arrival, but he had been unnerved when he finally met her youthful countenance. She had appeared far too young for his liking. And she was so small. Along with her naive look, would she even have the strength or even be capable of handling some of the affairs of the clan?

The way she even carried herself… was she lacking in any pride?

"Still doesn't explain the fact that you withheld such information from the Urns," Eustace's words broke the train of his thoughts. His eyes flicked from the table to his mother as she kept talking, "If you wanted it postponed, you could have kept reminding them with the same ease you did with me. You can't speak of me doing such a thing behind your back when you deceived me all this time."

Bjorn grunted.

Eustace's face mellowed and she walked to the door. "I don't want to bring this up as you're a grown man and all… but Lori has moved on, it's time for you to do the same."

Bjorn's brows drew down in a hardened glare. "Do not mention her name," he warned, drawing out each word. "That was decades ago. She has no relevance in this issue."

Eustace sighed and opened the door slightly. "I hope that isn't the case," she said without looking at him and leaves the study, closing the door behind her.