In a full green landscape, she arrived dressed in white, walking at the arm of her father, in the aisle created by the villagers. A few strands of her hair had been knotted in a braided bun at the back of her head, letting a great part of her hair free, flowing with the gentle wind.
Her azure eyes looked at me and at this precise moment, it was as if my feet were floating above the ground. Gods, I loved this woman.
She was not only the love of my life, she was my best friend, my confidant and partner.
She was still moving forward, with a reassuring smile on her face, reducing step by step the distance between us to finally stand in front of me, more confident than ever. Her father carefully placed her hand in mine. I seized it to never let it go again. Our fingers intertwined and the contact of her skin on mine made me shiver. I felt a surge of heat rising in me and filling my heart with happiness. She was literally my reason of being in this world. What would I do without her?
We turned back to Gothi who was acting as mistress of ceremonies on this great day. The old woman beckoned us to kneel in order to be at her height. She soaked her long fingernails with black coal dissolved in a near bowl before refocusing on us. Her thumb approached Astrid's forehead and drew the sign of Thor's hammer, a symbol of strength and courage. She proceeded the same way with me, and then Astrid and I both rose up slowly, in front of the assembly.
Astrid smiled at me; I smiled back to her, getting lost in her sky-blue eyes. The village elder snapped her fingers to bring me back to reality. For her part, Astrid was trying to hold back from laughing. I didn't wait any longer; I drew my sword and presented it to my fiancée who did the same with that of her father. Emotion was written all over her face when I gave her my father's sword. With our new swords acquired, Gothi could proceed with our union, strictly speaking. So she took a piece of cloth and sprinkled it with pine needles so that the gods would protect us. The old woman then passed it over our wrists and slowly, tied the ribbon around our folded hands.
"Father, Smith, Warrior,
Mother, Maiden,
Crone, Stranger, I am his and she is mine from this day until the end of my days."
I had been staring at her all along. At the end of our vows, I approached my face to hers and took her chin to kiss her thin lips. I tasted them while they devoured me ardently, desiring me more deeply. Her mouth pressed against mine more insistently as if to seal our union. I ended up biting her lower lip before putting an end to our kiss. I pressed my forehead to hers; we caught our breath before opening our eyes to contemplate us, immersed in each other's gaze. I kissed her forehead. It was as if time was frozen.
Cheers were heard across the crowd of villagers. We were finally, husband and wife.