Behind her, Nina felt Erik tense as his grip tightened on her shoulder, not to ease her own obvious agitation but to lessen his own. Though she could not see his face as he stood behind her, she knew quite well that his anxiety must be a great deal greater than hers, as the majority of distasteful comments coming from Emily were not directed at her, but rather at him. An an angry huff escaped the older woman's mouth, Nina felt her crystalline blue eyes raise upwards, but the defensive retort already poised in her throat vanished the moment she saw the exhaustion over both Victor and Emily's faces. Nina knew now that it had been a mistake to have eloped so suddenly without the slightest hint, but as she felt Erik's grip tighten on her shoulder for a second time, she could not bring herself to feel remorseful. This was, afer all, what she had wanted for quite some time, and, though it was clear her friends did not approve greatly of the sudden marriage, Nina knew it was the best possible choice she could have made in life.
"I cannot possibly fathom why either of you would think this acceptable." Emily said, a remark synonymous to at least a dozen others, her fair hair looking limp and her blue eyes sharply boring into both of them. As Nina watched, the exhausted woman slumped into the velvet sofa opposite her before burying her pallor stricken face in her thin hands, and Nina noticed for the first time the utter tiredness of her dear friend. Victor, standing behind his own wife, muttered some quiet words of comfort and shot a sympathetic but wary glance at both Nina and Erik, though he said nothing in their defense lest he should further aggravate his already upset wife. Traces of exhaustion could also be seen in his own features, his complexion an even paler shade and dark circles plaguing the areas beneath his eyes. Somewhere in the distance of their labyrinthine home, Erik and Nina's sensitive ears detected the wailing of a baby, and Victor turned and left the room at once. To the young girl's relief, the crying soon stopped and Emily looked up at first her and then Erik.
"She is just a child, Erik." Emily began, a few new creases deepening in her forehead as she spoke, her teeth clenching with some sort of greater pain. "She is no more than ten and seven years. How could you marry a child?"
The woman's saphirical eyes looked at him pointedly, but Erik retained his seemingly devout silence. He had said nothing since initially informing his wife's friends of their elopement the previous night, and it seemed to all of them that his speechlessness would not soon be broken. Instead of looking away from her as she would have expected any other man to do, however, the man's strange eyes poured into hers unblinkingly, his gold flecked depths burning into hers like twin suns. A small groan left Emily's throat as the aberrant man before her reversed the action she had initially been trying to commence and succeeded in making her incredibly uncomfortable beneath his sight, and she found her own eyes darting away from his to avoid his sight.
The sudden irritation and dislike between the two seemed at a point where it was almost physically palpable, and Nina fought back the urge to scream or make some sort of noise to at last break their agonizing silence. Instead, she buried her fingers tightly into the fine skirts of her dress and let her chest heave painfully beneath her stays, concentrating greatly on the feeling of Erik standing close behind her in order to calm herself. She did not know exactly what was so stressful about the situation, but she could feel some sort of panic quickly rising in her as the agitation in the room continued to grow. As if he could sense her internal anxiety, however, the hand her husband placed over her shoulder loosened slightly and then pressed back into her flesh gently, a careful reminder that, for once, they were not isolated in such a situation.
"You have not even known one another for longer than six months." Emily whispered, her voice aching with a betrayed and disappointed tone as she slumped further into her seat.
"Sometimes," Nina said, her voice low and quiet, her arms crossing over her chest tightly as her long black hair fell around her face in two dark curtains. "Time does not matter."
"And what does matter, Nina? Desire?" Emily snapped, standing suddenly and pacing about the room, her eyes narrowed beneath her bent eyebrows. At her words, Nina felt her face flush in a deeply embarrassed burn as she remembered the things that had taken place last night, the noises that had been made as well as the actions that had been taken. Desire, she was sure they all knew, had a definite factor in their steadfast marriage, and she said nothing in return, favoring the silence she loathed so much in admittance to their mutual weaknesses towards the sinful flame that had engulfed them both. When the both of them refused to say anything in reply, Emily rasped towards Erik in a distraught whisper, "Victor was right. There is something wrong with you."
Nina felt the words suddenly suck something vital from the room, like a flame stealing oxygen from the air around it. She tensed, and felt Erik tense behind her, half expecting him to suddenly begin a raging fit. But, as there had often been that morning, silence prevailed as Emily stared at them both, her eyes wide and regretful.
"I will say one thing in my defense, madame, and one thing only." Erik began, his voice dangerously silky as he spoke. "I am incredibly fond of this woman." He paused momentarily, raising his other hand to Nina's shoulder and sweeping her long black hair over the other, his gloved fingers running through the silky tendrils absentmindedly as his cat's eyes glimmered into the young woman's image. "Had I married her in a month, or a year, or in ten years, there would be no difference in the amount of affection I hold for her." He paused again, and this time Nina could hear the deep exhale of a concentrated breath being released behind her, as if her husband was suddenly preparing to sing some unimaginabley difficult aria. "If, however, you continue to believe our marriage is based purely on desire, you may continue to critique me for my misuse and clouded common sense. You will say that I took advantage of a young girl, and that may be quite true. But there is nothing to be done now. I only ask that you spare my wife from the torment of your words."
"Oh," Emily began quickly, giving a small jump when her husband reentered the room from the door behind her. "Erik. . . Erik you must believe I did not mean-"
"I understand quite well what you meant." He said, curtly, his eyes flinty and sharp enough to pierce any man's soul. "Believe me, madame, there is validity in your words. I had hoped that you, the dear friends of my closest companion, would harbor the ability to look past these imperfections, but it appears I was wrong."
"Erik, you must believe me when I say I apologize, I truly-"
"There is no need for an apology." Erik said, his lips twisting into a small, unnerving smile. "I have dealt with far greater insults in my life."
"We must apologize still." Victor said, his pale face set and serious, hands folding as he contemplated the two people opposite him.
"Then we must apologize, as well." Nina said in return, tilting her chin upwards slightly to lean the back of her head against her husband's abdomen, a great deal of ill feeling leaving her when she felt the perpetually strong comfort behind her. "It would have been in all of our best interests to have told you of our imminent marriage beforehand. We simply did not do so because we were afraid of some sort of interference, and I do believe neither of us has the patience to deal with such an interference."
Victor gave a small, understanding nod and Emily buried her face in her hands for the second time that morning, though this time it seemed to be out of mere exhaustion instead of anger. When next she looked upwards, however, she gave both Erik and Nina a weary sort of smile and parted her pink lips.
"What can be done then?" Emily said, quietly, still smiling sleepily with her weary sort of smile. "You are married, then. We have two options to pursue now, one of them being completely ignoring you both for the remainder of our lives for such betrayal, and the other accepting you both and your marriage completely. And I don't think we have the heart to do anything but the latter."
With a broad grin, Nina flung herself forwards into her friend's arms, giving her a broad embrace, and Victor watched on with an equally as broad smile, his handsome blue eyes flashing with a mixture of joy and relief. Even Erik, who stood motionless where he had been for the past twenty minutes, allowed himself a small and rare smile at seeing his dear wife so pleased. Maybe, he mused to himself fanatically, these people may even be inclined to enjoy his presence as much as he enjoyed theirs.
"You know what this now means, don't you?" Victor said, as soon as the two women separated, still smiling ecstatically, his voice lilting with excitement. Nina looked up at him, her eyes inquisitive and waiting for his further explanation. Happily, the young man glanced up at Erik and then back at the young woman now seated comfortabley next to his wife before continuing. "The whole thing calls for a party! You are, after all, a young and wealthy couple. It is about time you both enter into society with one another!"
Both Emily and Victor seemed incredibly pleased at this prospect, but Nina felt her smile disappear as she looked at her husband's suddenly grave face and dwelled on a few past experiences herself. "Oh," She began, softly, giving a small, uncertain smile as she looked back at her friends. "That is a very colorful idea, but I'm afraid Erik does not enjoy parties." Feeling her heart begin to beat strangely in her chest, Nina remembered the last time she had attended the kind of party she knew Emily and Victor would have in mind. It had been in Paris, with Rousseau, some stupid festivity for some stupid occasion, and he had lured her away from the other guests into a more dark and private setting. In some spare room, they had danced slowly to the music playing somewhere in the distance. He had put his large hands on her hips, and was resting his forehead against her shoulder, and she herself had been exponentially growing more excited and more nervous. And then, as soon as the music got louder, he had backed her up against some wall and pressed his face into her neck, all without saying a word. When she heard him inhale deeply, no doubt taking in the scent of her long dark hair, Nina had been stricken with a vast sense of discomfort and had pushed him away roughly.
There was, for a fleeting moment, a vaguely mad look in his eye as he stumbled away from her, fuming internally, but the look vanished within seconds and he willingly led her back into the main room where the other guests were still communing. Nina had not thought of the instance for months, having tried to repress the memory as best as she could, but now, after having retrieved it from the depths of her compartmentalized mind, she knew now that it had been one of the first of many hints of Rousseau's madness.
Her mind playing over the scene again, she gave a small shudder which went unnoticed by all except Erik.
"But you really must have a party!" Emily said after both she and Erik continued their prolonged silence. "It's an absolute necessity. And I'm sure you will both enjoy yourselves."
"Yes, I assure you both that you will enjoy yourselves quite fastidiously." Victor said, at once, pressing his hands into his wife's shoulders and looking at Erik with a gleeful and earnest expression. "We will invite all of our friends and acquaintances. They will adore you both, of that I am positive! Think of the fun, the laughter, the music!"
At his words, Emily seemed to be sparked with a sudden and riveting idea and, from where he stood, Erik felt his graveness grow more and more immense. "You both should sing!" She shouted, her thin eyebrows raising happily as she grabbed her friends small, dark hands in her own pale ones.
"And Anshel, too!" Victor intervened.
"And Anshel, too." Emily confirmed, with a small, pleased nod.
Sparing a glance to her husband, as soon as Nina's crystalline blue eyes collided with Erik's catlike yellow ones they both knew they were trapped by her friends' already encroaching plans. Giving a small, imperceptible sigh, she gave him a little lopsided grin and a slight, apologetic and sympathetic shrug, and he rolled his eyes at her fondly, consenting to endure whatever torment her companions would put him through. From his simple physical gestures, she knew quite well what he meant and, for that, she smiled at him gratefully, standing at once to sit again in front of him, and his gloved hands returned again to her gently sloping shoulders.
"Where is Anshel, anyways?" Nina asked, interrupting Victor and Emily's excited chatter after a few minutes, her eyes flashing with curiosity.
"He usually spends the Sabbath in his room reading or writing, studying for something I'm sure," Victor supplied, immediately, his eyebrows furrowing as his lips clamped in slight uncertainty. "But he informed me he would be going out today to do some business."
As soon as the other man's words filtered into his ears, Erik had to stifle a small chortle of laughter. Before taking Nina here to inform her friends of their previous night's marriage, he had wandered to Nadir's own home to inform his only friend of the same topic. He had found the Persian considerably out of ease, preparing for, as he had said, "To go out for some business." He knew, without a doubt, that the two were most likely to be with one another. He could only wonder at the nature of their relationship, however. When it came to that, he was just as ignorant and oblivious as the rest of them. What a Jew and Muslim would do or say to one another, he was not entirely certain of.
"It is odd of him." Emily added after a few moments, her pale face turning serious. "He is usually so devoted to his studies. I can't imagine what sort of business would allow him to abandon it. He has been acting very strange lately."
Erik was tempted to laugh again and remark to them all, 'stranger that usual?' but held back the phrase, positive it would bring him only disapproval. Instead, he assumed a contemplative and serene expression before saying in a gentle tone, "Perhaps you should speak to him."
"No," Victor said with a solemn shake of the head, his lips still twisting in faint worry. "He always becomes so flustered whenever I try to speak with him alone. It almost seems like he experiences some sort of nervous fit or something similar to that." With a heavy exhale, the man fell beside his wife on the small velvet settee, taking her hand in his and setting his jaw in a squared and thoughtful line. "I really am quite concerned. He has been looking thinner than usual lately."
"Perhaps," Nina began, quietly, letting the back of her head brush against the perpendicular slope of her husband's abdomen, comforted when she felt the warmth radiating from his body. "If I may say, perhaps he would feel more comfortable talking with Erik." Pausing, she looked up at her husband by tilting her chin upwards, letting her hands drape over his. "You do seem to get along quite well." She added when he looked down at her disdainfully.
Erik was about to scoff and correct her when Emily interrupted him,saying in a gentle voice after seeing his discontented expression, "Oh, please, won't you, Erik? You do get along quite well."
Though compelled with every atom in his body to simply decline, he gave a grudging nod, his grip on Nina tightening slightly as he did so. He had to please these people, after all, if he wanted to truly make his wife happy. However humiliating and tedious a task they asked him of, he knew he would have to do it in order to appease them both and preserve their relationship with Nina, one he knew made her ineffably peaceful. Feeling a sudden wave of dread and exhaustion course through him, he merely had to look down to remind himself of the dark haired reason why he did the things he did.
"I will do so, if you truly believe his behavior requires such a task." He murmured after a few seconds, and the joyful look both Emily and Victor gave him further affirmed his growing dread.
"Thank you so much, Erik." Victor relayed, immediately. "He really does mean quite a bit to us." In response, Erik nodded, and silence reigned over the room again, though this time it was of a more peaceful nature. In the distance, the familiar cry of an infant repeated itself, and the young man got up again to tend to his child, quitting the room with a gentle step.
"You know, Erik," Emily said after a few long moments, her face softening into a supremely motherly expression. "We really are quite pleased for you both. We only wished we had gotten to know you in a deeper level before you married. And I did not at all mean what I said when there was something wrong with you."
"Erik understands." Nina said, adopting a serene and impassive look that was not too dissimilar from Erik's own countenance.
And he did.
