18| A Night To Remember III

The iciness of the drink surprised Mel, but it was a pleasant surprise, one so good that she finished everything in the bowl down to the last drop. The sweet taste lingered at the back of her tongue as she lowered the bowl, freezing to take in the wide-eyed gazes of Bjorn and the young girl. The old man’s mouth hung open.

She stared back at them, her pulse beginning to race. Had she done something wrong? Eustace had told Mel the overseer would instruct her as to what to do during the ceremony and she and Bjorn had been told to drink, and drink she did.

Bjorn’s sigh broke the stagnant silence and he downed the rest of his drink. Mel’s lips broke out into a sheepish smile and she returned the bowl to the platform. His fingers graced her chin and he pulled, guiding it to face him. The light touch made her flinch. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins as his lips touched hers gently, 

A prickly wave of pleasure washed down her neck as the slight touch shifted to a gentle pressure. His thump pulled down at the front of her chin, nudging her lower lip open. It was then she felt the cool texture of the liquid stream into her mouth and wash down her throat. Mel was so taken aback that she stood immobile, her heart beating so fast that she could barely stand it.

Her throat reacted on its own and before she could stop to think about the situation, she swallowed the liquid, her hands clutching the sides of her gown in an effort to compose herself. His large tongue roughly brushed against hers and Mel shuddered. Bjorn stiffened, his eyes darting open.

His lips parted from hers and he straightened to his imposing height, turning away to face the platform. Mel remained still as a statue, a sweet aftertaste of the drink lingering in her mouth, along with a tingling sensation on her tongue and across her lips.

Contrary to her expectations, the old man and young girl seemed unfazed by what had just transpired between them, and the old man announced in a low voice, “The earth now accepts you as one.” There was a monstrous cheer from behind the curtains, along with the heightened rise of music, and Mel jumped out of her skin, darting out of her trance. The old man eyed Mel, a pleasant look in his eyes, “Welcome to Grime, Mel Beowulf.”

She could barely hear the old man’s words behind the happy crowd and the blood rushed to her ears. Their lips… Their lips had touched. She hadn’t been prepared for that. There was no touching of lips at weddings back in Sprite. And why…? Her thoughts fumbled and crashed into one another, leading to an airy mess of her mind. A surreal glow from below grabbed her attention and upon glancing down, the fascinating scenery put her in awe.

Blue veins stretched from her toes and into the floor, branching out into other veins that spread out across the whole floor and walls, going beyond the still curtains. The same situation occurred with Bjorn’s feet and as the snaky blue veins dotted the ceiling like the branches of a tree, the small platform in front of Mel glowed a soft ashen colour, shifting the shimmering blue to a light grey.

The hairs on her skin stood on end and her feet tingled as though there was a pleasant static in the air. Something prompted Mel to inspect her hands and when she brought them to her face, her lips parted open at the way her veins glowed blue. Within a few seconds, the soft colours faded, returning the partitioned chamber back to its previous state. 

The girl swept the bowls off the stand and there was suddenly a grating sound as the stone platform receded into the ground. Almost immediately, the curtains flared open and Mel’s hand flew to her lips. There were steps leading down to a wide table with two large chairs in front of it. More steps followed after the table and ended in an immense hall littered with so many people than she could count. There were large holes in the walls which turned out to be exposed compartments with lighting and even more seating for the guests.

They made their way down and Born helped her to be seated at his side. There was a range of cuisine spread out on the long table and a large feast below. Eustace and Lori, amongst others, came up to give their greetings and blessings to Mel and Bjorn. Annie came after a while and left with a promise of tending to her things in her new home. Families and other guests came up with gifts and greetings for Mel especially and the attention left her dazed, acting as a nice diversion from the unexpected incident.

Bjorn’s smiles were almost automatic as he regarded his people, a probing thought nudging at the confines of the locked cage in his mind. The gifts and greetings regrettably came to a stop and the guests focused on the feast instead, singing and dancing. With no one left to distract him from his troubled mind, the probing thought flared into a burning question that rushed full force out of its cage.

He glanced sideways at Mel only to catch her staring at him. She winced, her eyes widening as though she had been caught in a trap, and she shyly averted her gaze.

Oh, why, oh, why had he done that?

He fought the urge to crack a knuckle, a widely known sign of distress within the circle of his close aides. How could he even ask himself that question? It was a part of the ceremony and he knew it. He had planned for it to be a brief element and not so lengthy… had it even been that long? What if it was all in his head?

He felt lost and he thoroughly disliked that feeling, especially when it was something he couldn’t explain. He had just wanted to drain whatever remnants of the sap in her and instead of just swallowing it himself he had used her tongue as a towel—

Bjorn closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out. His jaw twitched and he opened his eyes, staring into the crowd. He was behaving like this because he was putting meaning into the customary action. It was a requirement, nothing more. If he could have his way, he would sleep back in his former chambers. But to save face for his new wife, staying in the same chamber for the night would be the best he could do.

He already had a wife. He looked towards her once more, the disturbing feeling returning. No matter how he looked at it, she had the appearance of a young girl. She was tall for a normal Sprite citizen, but that was merely the average height for a young teenage Orion. It also didn’t help that she was two full decades younger than him.

This was a girl who was barely past her coming of age by a few years, and she was now his wife. His throat and chest rumbled with a low groan.

_________________________

Eustace, Lori, and the escorts had Mel taken to her new abode, the underground family home for the clan head and his direct family. She hadn’t had time to visit its various wings and rooms. Neither did she have the strength as she was a little fatigued. They eventually left after undressing Mel and taking the ceremonial gown with them, leaving Annie to personally tend to her mistress.

Mel stalked out of the bathing chamber, marveling at the spacious room as Annie rumpled through a storage closet for a nightie. Mel pulled the cotton towel tighter around her frame, the humid soles of her feet nearly sticking to the polished wooden floor. Annie had explained to her that the walls and floors were of stone, but some parts of the residence were cladded with high-quality wood. There were no windows, and this caused Mel to wonder how the air wasn’t stagnant. Then again, she hadn’t thought much of it when she entered the tunnels. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the dark furry rug spread out at the foot of the bed—probably the hide of some large animal.

Curious, she stepped onto the fur carpet and stood still, wiggling her toes in the soft texture. The bath had done a bit to reduce the tired state of her body. She absentmindedly touched her lips and swallowed. She wanted to experience what he did again. Why did she want to do it again? Was it the effects of the drink? She faced the bed, pulling the towel tighter around her body. Her face fell as her excitement faded and giddiness took over her, reality setting in. Her nerves broke out in jitters. Tonight… what was she supposed to do tonight? Her mother had vaguely explained something—a few things… and what they were, she could vaguely remember.

Surely her mother had mentioned a few things aside from penetration but—Mel’s stomach swooped with dismay, and for the first time since she had seen Bjorn, she was taking his size into consideration. 

He was huge. How… how would any of tonight even happen?