Title: It's you
Characters/Pairing: Damon/Elena
Rating: M
Genre: historical AU / romance
Sumary: Her father takes a decision that changes her life forever.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot!
Note: The fiction is historically incorrect. I simply took a few names and facts that I manipulated and used in a way suitable for the fiction.
The first time she ever heard of Kievan Rus, Elena was seven years old. Her father told her of a land where Vikings not only fought with other tribes but also lived with them. They honored the god Thor, but there were people who believed in the Christian God of her mother. She loved her father's stories because that's what they were, goodnight stories.
When she was ten, she heard her parents fight. Elena hated when they fought because it usually meant some of her father's other wives had done or said something. She hated his other wives. Her mother had once told her that the Christian God allowed for only one wife. Sometimes Elena wished for her father to be Christian, dreaming of the three of them living together. Yet that would mean she'd lose Rolo and she didn't like that.
Later that night, her father sat at her bench.
"'Lena, I have to tell you something." He took a hold of her hand.
"Elena, tomorrow I'm sailing towards Kievan Rus. Their king sent a messenger asking for help. The khaganats attacked him again and though he is a great warrier, he failed to protect his land. Our king sends us to fight by his side."
Elena knew she should not cry. She was a Viking, she wouldn't cry!
"That's why you fought with mother today." She did not need to see Alaric's face to know she was in trouble. "I wasn't listening, father. I was searching for Odo and heard you talking."
"It's Loki's deed, my dear. He wants to trick you, but you do not need to fear. We did not fight, but merely discussed my duty to our king. Your mother thinks I'm too old to go to war, but in the name of Thor I will not die in an unknown land. I will return to you, my little one, do not fear for me."
And he did return. After seven years of war, he finally returned home.
"As my only unmarried daughter, you have no other choice!"
Had her father always been this stubborn or did it happen with age?
"But father, I do not wish to marry! I have our people, my herbs, and now you've returned. And if I did want to, I'd not choose-"
"I believe you do not understand, daughter. I do not seek your consent. You're going to marry Tsar Demyan."
Elena looked to her mother in confusion.
"But father, I-"
"Elena, may I present you to Stefan. He's the brother of your future husband."
His brother, he had sent his brother to fetch her as if she were a dog or a-
"He's here to sign the papers."
Stefan watched as the girl's rich brown eyes grew in disbelief.
"Father, you don't mean that I'll be marrying him without actually marrying him." She turned towards Stefan. "And will I also have the honor of spending my wedding night with you, your highness?"
She bent her head and bowed before him. "Because if the answer is yes," she looked him straight in the eye. "I've to tell you that I'd be most pl-"
"Enough, Elena!"
She continued anyway.
"-pleased to do so. But then in whose bed am I going to spend the nights in-"
"I said that's enough."
Stefan turned his bemused smile towards the еarl.
"I'm sure she does not mean to disrespect you, Alaric. We have to excuse her behavior, just this once."
Elena took a cautious look at her father. Katerina stood behind him and looked at her disapprovingly.
"It is not every day that a girl understands she'll be leaving not only her friends and family, but also her country, only to be married to an unknown king through his little brother."
She hadn't even though of it that way. She would be leaving them, leave everything behind and maybe never lay eyes upon her family, her home. Ever. Elena tried to meet her father's eyes but he averted his gaze. Her mother looked resignedly at her and Elena finally understood that there was no way around it. Her father had given his word to the king and there was no turning back.
"May I leave you, father." her whisper was barely audible. "I've to-"
She turned and fled the room.
Elena wanted to hide, she wanted to cry, to scream. She had never even imagined. She knew that women were goods. They were traded for land and wealth. They forged contracts and were given as tokens of goodwill. They had slaves. She had grown up with tales of victories and conquerors.
But this wasn't her story. It couldn't be, shouldn't be this way. And yet her father had given her to a man she'd never seen and brought his brother so he'd take her away. She hated him! She hated Alaric. She hated Stefan and most of all she hated that Damyan. She hated him with a vengeance.