This is so far the longest chapter, and I didn't write every single wedding celebration and preparation. I didn't have the longest attention span to study all of that.
I applaud to the writers who have studied and wrote viking weddings and took their time trying to get every detail while there are people like me who just didn't care enough to be accurate. I APPLAUD YOU! *CLAPS*
Anyway, enjoy :)
"Valka dear, you need to get up! It's your wedding day!"
Valka heard her mother's voice cry outside of the door. She groaned and turned her face to the window. She saw stars still in the say with the sun just about to rise over the horizon.
"Why do we need to get up so early?"
"We need you to get ready. We need to get you bathed, put your makeup on; fix your hair, put on the dress and shoes. Now get up, you're getting married in seven hours!"
Valka let out a loud moan and buried her face inside of her pillow.
~oOo~
"Stoick son, wake up! You need to get up and get ready for the wedding!"
Stoick only sighed hearing his father cry outside of his room. He knew he had a lot of preparing to do, but he wasn't prepared for it at all.
~oOo~
The Bath House was probably the worst experience for the both of them. Valka was in a room with her mother and other married women in the village. Stoick was in a separate room with his father and the other married men as well. While getting clean, they were given advice on how to please their spouse and tips on how to make a marriage happy. Once that was done, they went with their groups to go back home to finish the preparations.
It was now ten in the morning and the bride and groom were getting dressed. Stoick put on a dark teal tunic with fur and ring mail covering it and put his shoulder pads on. He fixed his short red beard and combed out his hair. Then his father put the cape and helmet on his son.
Meanwhile, Valka was taking a longer time getting ready. She got into her dress and shoes, but her hair was untamable. Her long chestnut hair was being unbraided and combed out. Her mother kept pulling knots and tangles out, but after a few minutes her hair was flowing down to her hips. Then her mother put Valka's makeup on, and draped the amulet over her shoulders and placed the bridle crown on her daughter's head.
~oOo~
It's now noon and everyone was waiting for the bride in The Great Hall. The Chief was standing with his son waiting for Valka to walk through the door.
Stoick was having many feelings, but love was not one of them. Valka was more of an acquaintance than a friend. Mainly he was feeling awkward about this. He knew this was happening, but he didn't know he would be this tense. His heart started to pound when he heard the doors opening.
Everyone turned their heads to the doors. Stoick was shocked at what he was looking at. Valka was in a wedding gown; her brown hair was flowing in the wind and a tall bridle crown was on her head. The Chief smiled at both his son and daughter-in-law. For the first time, little Valka Jorgenson looked like a young woman.
Once Valka was next to Stoick, everything was nerve-racking. Both of them were having a hard time listening to The Chief because they were both thinking about breaking tradition. They knew everyone thought they would be consummating the marriage, but they decided to wait.
Valka started to feel woozy again thinking about it. Stoick must have noticed because she felt him brush his elbow with hers. She looked up at him and saw him mouth "are you okay?" at her. She nodded and went back to face her chief. After many long agonizing minutes, the couple gave their "I dos" and Stoick gave Valka a quick kiss. The crowd cheered and the couple turned to face them.
"You know, that kiss was very awkward." Valka whispered for only Stoick to hear.
"Hey, you didn't kiss back."
"You never gave me a chance to respond."
"That's your loss then." Stoick whispered back receiving a snort from her.
"EVERYONE TO YOUR SEATS, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A FEAST SOON!" The Chief roared to the crowd and they scattered to their assigned seats. Stoick and Valka sat at a table by The Chief's chair with The Jorgensons. The bride and groom watched people dance to the music from the band. Men and women were drinking mead and children were running around the tables.
Valka felt a hand on her shoulder and saw her brother with a plate of food.
"Hey sis, you want some boar?"
"What did you do to it?" Valka ask making her Spitelout laugh.
"What, can't a nice big brother give his only sister some hot fresh meat for the last time?"
"Spitelout, you know we'll come by to have dinner with you guys right?"
"Yeah I know, but seriously do you want the boar? If not I'll eat the rest."
"Well yeah I want the boar!" she cried playfully snatching the plate from his hands. "You gonna get something for Stoick?"
Spitelout smiled and said "yeah, I got something for my new brother."
He walked behind his oblivious brother-in-law and thumped him behind the ear.
"OUCH!" Stoick cried holding the back of his ear and looked up at Spitelout. He saw the smug look on his face while hearing Valka trying not to laugh beside him. "What was that for?"
"That was my little way of saying 'welcome to the family'."
"Well I feel very accepted." Stoick said sarcastically still rubbing his ear.
~oOo~
After hours of dancing, drinking, and mingling, The Chief looked out the window and saw the sunset. He smiled and singled one of the men closest by.
"Can you go tell Mrs. Jorgenson that she needs Valka to get ready?" The man nodded and went to find the mother of the bride. A few moments later, Mrs. Jorgenson, Valka and two other women left The Great Hall to The Haddock household. The Chief then went to look for his son and saw him talking to Alvin.
"Son, it's time to go." The Chief saw his son turn green and said bye to his friend. Stoick followed his father and two other witnesses to their house seeing a candle lit in his bedroom. Once they got inside, they waited until they got the okay to enter.
"By the way, you and Valka will be going on a two month vacation starting in the morning."
"Wait what?" Stoick asked, but before his father could say anything more, Mrs. Jorgenson signaled them to come in. Stoick took one last deep breath before walking in. The room was lit with candles all over the room and Valka was in a robe sitting on the bed with her bridle crown still on. Two of the female witnesses were on the bed with her. Mrs. Jorgenson gently pulled her daughter off the bed for her to stand next to her.
"Can you declare that this is your son?" Mrs. Jorgenson asked with her hands on her daughter's shoulders.
"Yes this is my son; can you declare that this is your daughter?"
"Yes this is my daughter."
After that statement, Stoick knew what he had to do. Valka took one step closer to her husband, with trembling hands he took off her bridle crown to symbolize deflowering her. The Chief gestured to the witnesses and they left the room. Valka sat at the foot of the bed rubbing her hands nervously. She heard Stoick clear his throat to get her attention.
"So what now?" Valka asked looking up at her husband. Stoick put his pointer finger up telling her "one moment". He goes to open the door and found the six witnesses trying to listen in.
"OUT!" Stoick yelled at them. Valka could hear some of the witnesses whispering under their breaths.
"Sheesh, you get one job."
"Calm down, Stoick."
"Okay we'll go."
Valka chuckled right after Stoick shut the door.
"I am so sorry about this mess." Stoick said sitting on the bed next to her.
"It's no big deal. I mean hey, I got to have a big wedding, not all the girls here could have that."
"True, but not all of those girls are forced to have children."
"That's true too, but that's why we agreed to wait, right?"
Stoick smiled and said "yeah, but I wish those witnesses would just leave."
"I thought you got rid of them."
"Oh you think so?" Stoick asked getting off of the bed and opened the door again with the witnesses on the other side. The six witnesses smiled nervously at the bride and groom before he slammed the door shut.
"They're not going to leave until they hear something." Valka said seeing him pacing around the room.
"Well, maybe that's what we'll give them."
Valka cocked a brow at him. Stoick then took the ring mail off of his tunic and dropped it on the floor with a clatter. Valka stared at the ring mail and finally understood what he was doing. She jumped off the bed and picked up her spare nightgown and dropped it on the floor. Stoick looked around the room and went to put his palms on the bed making it move.
"Do something." Stoick hissed at her while trying
"Like what?" she breathed back
"I don't know, make noises or something."
"What kind of noises?"
"Well, what kind of noises does a woman make when she's losing her virginity?"
"How should I know?"
"Well I don't know either." Stoick hissed back at her, and then he got an idea. He walked over to her and pinched her arm.
"OUCH!"
"Sorry, didn't think it would hurt." Stoick said in a sympathetic tone.
"What do you mean 'you didn't think it would hurt'? That's obviously going to hurt!" Valka cried holding her arm. After she yelled at him, they heard a door shut.
"Shush." Stoick breathed trying to hear voices outside. He went to a window and saw the witnesses walking to The Great Hall.
"Hey, the witnesses left. I can't believe we actually tricked them. I didn't think it would work." Stoick said proudly turning his head to see his wife shocked.
"We are the first Vikings to trick the witnesses." Valka said and started to laugh. "I-I can't believe we-we did that!"
Stoick started to laugh with her, and then remembered a slight issue.
"What's wrong, Stoick?"
"Women bleed during their first time right?"
"Yeah why?" Valka realized what he was saying then cringed and turned her head towards the bed, the non-bloodstained bed.
"I got it." Valka heard Stoick say behind her. He went to his dresser and pulled out a dagger. He stretched out an arm over the bed sheets and cut his forearm. Stoick flinched at the sting, and then let the blood flow out to stain the sheets. Valka was having a hard time seeing the blood draining out from his arm. Once he thought it was enough he tried to put pressure on his arm, but half of his forearm was now crimson.
Valka saw him struggling and left to find a rag. Valka returned with a piece of cloth and started to put pressure on his arm. They sat on the bed as he watched her place her tiny hands on his massive arm. He watched her every move even when she pulled her hair back to not let it fall in the blood. "Quit staring." He heard her say.
"I wasn't staring! I was just…..observing."
"Staring." She said with a smirk.
Once the blood started to clot, she got up to get new rags and put water on one of them from a flower vase. She wiped off the dried blood from his arm and wrapped it up with the clean one.
"Thanks Valka."
"More like thank you. You literally drawled blood to save my butt."
Stoick chuckled while clutching his wrapped up arm. For some reason, he remembered what his father said before he walked into his room.
"Um Valka I hate to get you upset, but my dad just told me that he is sending us on a two month vacation tomorrow.
"What, why?"
"I don't know why. He just told me right before I walked in here."
"He really wants grandkids I guess."
"Yeah maybe, but it might be a good thing."
"How can it be a good thing?"
"Well, maybe we can finally get to know each other more. You know like a date or something like that."
"Alright, but where are we going anyway?"
"I have no idea, but we might as well make it last right?"
"Yeah I guess." Valka yawned then said "so, where are we going to sleep?"
"I'll take the floor, you take the bed." He said as he ungracefully rolled off the bed.
Valka rolled her eyes at him and folded the sheets on the other side of the bed. She slid under the covers and saw Stoick use his cape as a blanket. "Goodnight, Stoick."
"Night, Valka."
How was that? I tried to be funny, but I think I failed at writing humor. Also, Gobber has a cameo in the next chapter, YAY! Don't worry, he'll be in this story a lot more that just a cameo. Don't forget to review and please no flames.