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arabwelSo here be the next bits of ÄMM. You finally get to meet the groom, and apologiesin advance - i tried my best to catach allt he damend typos but I uck with those and I have nto had achance to force Fel or anyone else to look at this.
“What a dump!”
Privately, Gustav agreed with his sister’s loud assessment as he surveyed the small manor and the grounds, this place was not worth his attention, and after the wedding he would definitely not return here.
However, as Ulfsson came to greet them, he was quite polite and admiring of the mansion and the grounds- he knew that he would have to have good relations with the father of his future wife, at least for now.
As for his future wife… well, he supposed she would be passable. A small, pale thing with dull blue eyes and a manner akin to a frightened rabbit. But she had the curves, all right, so he wouldn’t be having too much trouble making sure everything would be legal and proper.
He smiled at her, his blue eyes flashing as he reached to take her hand. “Enchante,” he murmured, bending down to brush his lips over the back of her hand.
From the way the girl flushed, it was clear she had never been treated to such courtesy; no wonder, if she lived here in the middle of nowhere.
Gustav suppressed at the shudder of living in a place like this; he belonged to the city, and if not for the fact that Erik Ulfsson was a very rich man with no sons that he was willing to marry this waif of a girl who was now clumsily curtsying to his sister and mother.
His mother was actually treating the girl like someone civilized, but Silvia’s haughty toss of the head showed just how little regard she had for the girl. Gustav was not surprised – sometimes Silvía was too arrogant even for him to bear.
Gustav found himself bemoaning the barbaric surroundings as they settled in; for God’s sake, his sister was even forced to share a room with his bride-to-be! Silvia’s tantrum at finding that out had been horrible to behold. Gustav nearly took pity on the poor girl who would have to endure her, but it was pretty clear that Ulfsson had been right when he said the girl was dull.
Gustav snorted; he knew very well why his sister wanted a room alone for herself; he’d already seen her eye one of the men who had taken care of their horses, and knowing her, she would be tumbling that one – or maybe both of them – before they left.
Thankfully, by the time dinner rolled around Silvia had calmed down enough to be civilized. Not that the dinner was very much so – the food was barely adequate, and their host’s manners were worse than they had been back home in Uleåborg. It was a miracle that his future wife could eat just as daintily as his mother did.
“... So the first bans will be this Sunday.”
Gustav blinked. “Excuse me? I believed they would be done by the time we got here.”
Ulfsson cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortably. “Ah, well, you see. Pastor Belan refused to post the bans until you would both be present.”
“That’s preposterous!” Gustav exclaimed. He would have to stay here far too long if that was the case. “Who does he think he is?”
”He is the pastor,” the quiet voice came from the girl who had not spoken until then. “He wouldn’t say so if it was not the proper thing to do.”
Gustav suppressed a growl as his mother nodded approvingly. “Quite so.”
If only his father had been here! He would have set these fools straight!
**
The Nótts had not been in the house for more than three days and already Ruusa found herself detesting both Master Gustav and Miss Silvia.
Master Gustav was treating miss Anna so very badly –as if Miss Anna had no mind! And his arrogance, criticizing everything as if the house had already passed to him in dowry was infuriating!
Not that his sister was any better – the young blonde was a shrew, who had thrown temper tantrums and made impossible demands since she’d arrived.
Ruusa had never minded the fact that she spent her nights at the foot of Miss Anna’s bed, and most of her time attending to her; it was completely different with the horrible harridan!
She could not help but be very glad that since the first night, miss Silvia had not been abed. She did not know where the woman had been and by God, didn’t want to know!
Ruusa had spent the past nights first comforting Anna until the poor girl could fall asleep. There was some thing horrible oh her mind, something Ruusa did not dare to even guess at. Had been ever since the day she and Viktor had taken her to the woods and been beset by monsters.
The thought of monsters made Ruusa shiver and nearly stab her finger with her needle. The bull-like creature, Bulltaur, had turned out to be not so frightening at all – much like Pastor Belan. But the one who worse shrouds wrapped around his body…
Ruusa shivered again; she could feel a ghostly brush of heat on her face every time she thought of him: She had dreamed of him, too – of running, running as fast as she could but always being caught by the vise-like arms and being pulled against the furnace-like body. She always woke gasping, only to lie alone on her pallet at the foot of Miss Anna’s bed.
She knew miss Anna was plagued by dreams, too – dreams that left her so very shaken. Ruusa wondered if it was the Lord of the Woods calling to her that made Anna’s dreams so fitful – she knew that Hilda had, after all, caught Anna on her way to the woods the day the Nótts arrived.
Ruusa hoped that Pastor Belan’s impending arrival would help Anna feel better; she knew that the priest was someone the young miss loved, even though it was not anything like what the rumours suggested.
It could have been, easily – Pastor Belan was a very, very handsome man, with a wonderful disposition and a gentle manner with everyone he dealt with. By all accounts, he should have been wed already.
She could not help but wonder why he was not. He had said that he did not find interest in women when they spoke in the woods – perhaps his chosen vocation was dearer to him than love? But as a pastor, he was supposed to find a wife…
It all made Ruusa’s head hurt.
Biting her lip, she concentrated again on her task.
**
After his first meeting with Gustav Nótt, Viktor was not impressed An arrogant buffoon with no regard to those around him, he was someone Viktor had not wished upon anyone, let alone sweet Anna!
With, perhaps, the exception of the young man’s sister.
Viktor had not liked the way Silvia Nott had looked at him, not at all. It had made his skin crawl – like he was a piece of meat waiting to be devoured.
No, the Nótts had not endeared themselves to him at all.
It was not until the day after he arrived that he finally had a chance to be alone wit the very distraught bride-to-be; or rather, he had a chance to be with her while Ruusa sat on the other side of the room sewing.
“I heard her last night,” she sobbed quietly against his shoulder. “She... she told him that I am a.... a dull little cow, and that he’s… that he has to marry me because I’m a t-trollop,” she stumbled over the unfamiliar word, “and he will be raising a cuckoo.”
Her words made Viktor bite his lip to not to say something he would regret saying in Anna’s hearing – how dare that whore try to imply Anna was anything but pure?
Anna raised her head, blinking away. “W-what’s a trollop? What did she mean?”
Viktor frowned, not knowing just what to say. “A trollop is a... woman of loose morals, who commits carnal wickedness,” he finally said. “You are not one. You could never be.”
Hi words made her start, and Viktor frowned. “What is it?”
”I’m… I am afraid I have committed... carnal wickedness,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What makes your think so?” the priest asked gently.
Anna’s cheeks flushed. “I... dream;” she whispered. “Of... wicked things. Of him.”
There was no need to ask who he was.
Viktor raised a hand to stroke a lock of blonde hair from Anna’s face. “Anna… dreams, no matter how wicked, are not under your control. They are not sinful. Carnal wickedness is... wickedness of the body. It is partaking in things only meant for those who are wed. You never have done any such thing.”
He watched Anna blush and close her eyes. “Are... are you sure?”
”Absolutely,” Viktor whispered, murky memories from his past threatening to rise and getting squashed again. “Anna, I... I swear, I will do my best to help you.”
Later that day, Anna did not come down to dinner, pleading indisposition; Viktor was left alone to face Silvia’s sly barbs, Gustav’s thinly veiled contempt and the unexpected frostiness from Erik.
Viktor did not think hat the man would believe the rumours; it had to do more with his reluctance to do anything to speed up the wedding. It was clear that both Gustav and his sister wanted everything to happen as quickly as possible.
After the miserable dinner, Viktor excused himself from socializing and retreated into his room for a brief while. He felt restless, the frustration from all the times he’d bit his tongue during the dinner nearly palpable.
It was almost without thought ht he made his way outside, to the edge of the woods. He could feel something tugging at him, telling him he should do so.
The house was not out of sight as he met with Ox and Amen.
“How is the little?” were the bulltaur’s first words.
Viktor shook his head- “Not well. She... she is distressed, by both this travesty as well as her own feelings.”
”What does she feel?” Amen asked from where he was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed across his chest.
”She’s... torn,” Viktor said quietly. “Between what she sees as her duty and between feelings she doesn’t even understand.”
”So, you mean she doesn’t realize that what she wants is for Lordi to have his wicked way with her?” Amen clucked his tongue. “Damn. They both need to stop thinking.”
Viktor could not help but agree.
It was not much later that he made his way back to his room, exhausted, he was hoping for dreamless sleep.
But as he glanced out of the window of his room, he froze.
There was no mistaking the small form that had disappeared between the trees.
Anna.
**
*ducks and hides*
Working on more, promise! Just.. fweleling vaguely disinclinded to write because of the depressed thing. Butpromise ther will be more!
“What a dump!”
Privately, Gustav agreed with his sister’s loud assessment as he surveyed the small manor and the grounds, this place was not worth his attention, and after the wedding he would definitely not return here.
However, as Ulfsson came to greet them, he was quite polite and admiring of the mansion and the grounds- he knew that he would have to have good relations with the father of his future wife, at least for now.
As for his future wife… well, he supposed she would be passable. A small, pale thing with dull blue eyes and a manner akin to a frightened rabbit. But she had the curves, all right, so he wouldn’t be having too much trouble making sure everything would be legal and proper.
He smiled at her, his blue eyes flashing as he reached to take her hand. “Enchante,” he murmured, bending down to brush his lips over the back of her hand.
From the way the girl flushed, it was clear she had never been treated to such courtesy; no wonder, if she lived here in the middle of nowhere.
Gustav suppressed at the shudder of living in a place like this; he belonged to the city, and if not for the fact that Erik Ulfsson was a very rich man with no sons that he was willing to marry this waif of a girl who was now clumsily curtsying to his sister and mother.
His mother was actually treating the girl like someone civilized, but Silvia’s haughty toss of the head showed just how little regard she had for the girl. Gustav was not surprised – sometimes Silvía was too arrogant even for him to bear.
Gustav found himself bemoaning the barbaric surroundings as they settled in; for God’s sake, his sister was even forced to share a room with his bride-to-be! Silvia’s tantrum at finding that out had been horrible to behold. Gustav nearly took pity on the poor girl who would have to endure her, but it was pretty clear that Ulfsson had been right when he said the girl was dull.
Gustav snorted; he knew very well why his sister wanted a room alone for herself; he’d already seen her eye one of the men who had taken care of their horses, and knowing her, she would be tumbling that one – or maybe both of them – before they left.
Thankfully, by the time dinner rolled around Silvia had calmed down enough to be civilized. Not that the dinner was very much so – the food was barely adequate, and their host’s manners were worse than they had been back home in Uleåborg. It was a miracle that his future wife could eat just as daintily as his mother did.
“... So the first bans will be this Sunday.”
Gustav blinked. “Excuse me? I believed they would be done by the time we got here.”
Ulfsson cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortably. “Ah, well, you see. Pastor Belan refused to post the bans until you would both be present.”
“That’s preposterous!” Gustav exclaimed. He would have to stay here far too long if that was the case. “Who does he think he is?”
”He is the pastor,” the quiet voice came from the girl who had not spoken until then. “He wouldn’t say so if it was not the proper thing to do.”
Gustav suppressed a growl as his mother nodded approvingly. “Quite so.”
If only his father had been here! He would have set these fools straight!
**
The Nótts had not been in the house for more than three days and already Ruusa found herself detesting both Master Gustav and Miss Silvia.
Master Gustav was treating miss Anna so very badly –as if Miss Anna had no mind! And his arrogance, criticizing everything as if the house had already passed to him in dowry was infuriating!
Not that his sister was any better – the young blonde was a shrew, who had thrown temper tantrums and made impossible demands since she’d arrived.
Ruusa had never minded the fact that she spent her nights at the foot of Miss Anna’s bed, and most of her time attending to her; it was completely different with the horrible harridan!
She could not help but be very glad that since the first night, miss Silvia had not been abed. She did not know where the woman had been and by God, didn’t want to know!
Ruusa had spent the past nights first comforting Anna until the poor girl could fall asleep. There was some thing horrible oh her mind, something Ruusa did not dare to even guess at. Had been ever since the day she and Viktor had taken her to the woods and been beset by monsters.
The thought of monsters made Ruusa shiver and nearly stab her finger with her needle. The bull-like creature, Bulltaur, had turned out to be not so frightening at all – much like Pastor Belan. But the one who worse shrouds wrapped around his body…
Ruusa shivered again; she could feel a ghostly brush of heat on her face every time she thought of him: She had dreamed of him, too – of running, running as fast as she could but always being caught by the vise-like arms and being pulled against the furnace-like body. She always woke gasping, only to lie alone on her pallet at the foot of Miss Anna’s bed.
She knew miss Anna was plagued by dreams, too – dreams that left her so very shaken. Ruusa wondered if it was the Lord of the Woods calling to her that made Anna’s dreams so fitful – she knew that Hilda had, after all, caught Anna on her way to the woods the day the Nótts arrived.
Ruusa hoped that Pastor Belan’s impending arrival would help Anna feel better; she knew that the priest was someone the young miss loved, even though it was not anything like what the rumours suggested.
It could have been, easily – Pastor Belan was a very, very handsome man, with a wonderful disposition and a gentle manner with everyone he dealt with. By all accounts, he should have been wed already.
She could not help but wonder why he was not. He had said that he did not find interest in women when they spoke in the woods – perhaps his chosen vocation was dearer to him than love? But as a pastor, he was supposed to find a wife…
It all made Ruusa’s head hurt.
Biting her lip, she concentrated again on her task.
**
After his first meeting with Gustav Nótt, Viktor was not impressed An arrogant buffoon with no regard to those around him, he was someone Viktor had not wished upon anyone, let alone sweet Anna!
With, perhaps, the exception of the young man’s sister.
Viktor had not liked the way Silvia Nott had looked at him, not at all. It had made his skin crawl – like he was a piece of meat waiting to be devoured.
No, the Nótts had not endeared themselves to him at all.
It was not until the day after he arrived that he finally had a chance to be alone wit the very distraught bride-to-be; or rather, he had a chance to be with her while Ruusa sat on the other side of the room sewing.
“I heard her last night,” she sobbed quietly against his shoulder. “She... she told him that I am a.... a dull little cow, and that he’s… that he has to marry me because I’m a t-trollop,” she stumbled over the unfamiliar word, “and he will be raising a cuckoo.”
Her words made Viktor bite his lip to not to say something he would regret saying in Anna’s hearing – how dare that whore try to imply Anna was anything but pure?
Anna raised her head, blinking away. “W-what’s a trollop? What did she mean?”
Viktor frowned, not knowing just what to say. “A trollop is a... woman of loose morals, who commits carnal wickedness,” he finally said. “You are not one. You could never be.”
Hi words made her start, and Viktor frowned. “What is it?”
”I’m… I am afraid I have committed... carnal wickedness,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What makes your think so?” the priest asked gently.
Anna’s cheeks flushed. “I... dream;” she whispered. “Of... wicked things. Of him.”
There was no need to ask who he was.
Viktor raised a hand to stroke a lock of blonde hair from Anna’s face. “Anna… dreams, no matter how wicked, are not under your control. They are not sinful. Carnal wickedness is... wickedness of the body. It is partaking in things only meant for those who are wed. You never have done any such thing.”
He watched Anna blush and close her eyes. “Are... are you sure?”
”Absolutely,” Viktor whispered, murky memories from his past threatening to rise and getting squashed again. “Anna, I... I swear, I will do my best to help you.”
Later that day, Anna did not come down to dinner, pleading indisposition; Viktor was left alone to face Silvia’s sly barbs, Gustav’s thinly veiled contempt and the unexpected frostiness from Erik.
Viktor did not think hat the man would believe the rumours; it had to do more with his reluctance to do anything to speed up the wedding. It was clear that both Gustav and his sister wanted everything to happen as quickly as possible.
After the miserable dinner, Viktor excused himself from socializing and retreated into his room for a brief while. He felt restless, the frustration from all the times he’d bit his tongue during the dinner nearly palpable.
It was almost without thought ht he made his way outside, to the edge of the woods. He could feel something tugging at him, telling him he should do so.
The house was not out of sight as he met with Ox and Amen.
“How is the little?” were the bulltaur’s first words.
Viktor shook his head- “Not well. She... she is distressed, by both this travesty as well as her own feelings.”
”What does she feel?” Amen asked from where he was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed across his chest.
”She’s... torn,” Viktor said quietly. “Between what she sees as her duty and between feelings she doesn’t even understand.”
”So, you mean she doesn’t realize that what she wants is for Lordi to have his wicked way with her?” Amen clucked his tongue. “Damn. They both need to stop thinking.”
Viktor could not help but agree.
It was not much later that he made his way back to his room, exhausted, he was hoping for dreamless sleep.
But as he glanced out of the window of his room, he froze.
There was no mistaking the small form that had disappeared between the trees.
Anna.
**
*ducks and hides*
Working on more, promise! Just.. fweleling vaguely disinclinded to write because of the depressed thing. Butpromise ther will be more!
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-13 04:47 am (UTC)Evil-Sylvia will notice Anna missing, unless she busy the whole night having sex. Which isn't unbelievable. *strangles Sylvia* But Anna-angel has the right idea, I think.
Maybe she should just stay in the woods until the wedding's called off.
Anyway - loved chapter. *awaits more*
Hope you're feeling cheerfuller soon.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-13 04:49 am (UTC)and I will nto tell onw hat will happen, i am ev0l like that! :P but I can tell you this, Anna is bt going to stay int eh woods :P
feeling a little better, but not much. hate these bouts of irrational self-loathing so m8uch...
*hugs'
no subject
Date: 2006-07-13 05:07 am (UTC)*Hug*
Enjoying it muchly.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-13 05:09 am (UTC)Makes me happy that you enjoy it :)
sometimes I felel that writing is the only thing I anm good for - liek, I should jsut coocoon up with a computer cause I am totally useless with everything else....
belh. *goes to gorge on cookies for cheering self up*
no subject
Date: 2006-07-13 06:20 pm (UTC)oh and I posted this here 'cuz you disabled your comments ;)