Kedev sat by her mother, and pulled her hair in to braids, tying them to the back of her head with a small, blue-budded flowering vine. She twined the hair left over in to four loops, and wrapped them around the vine. Sareen turned herself toward her daughter and smiled, tilting her head ever so slightly. She looked beautiful, and with her face painted and her hair done, she had an extra touch elegance about her. Her high cheekbones and brow ridge looked less worn and aged, even though she was still quite young. Her already thick lashed and rosy eyes were heavily lined with black, and thin streaks of blue capped it all off.
Her bony and calloused hands, working hands, had been painted in designs with a soft shimmering blue, and appeared to have a clear glossy coat around the patterns, and looked kind and delicate, like she had never suffered poverty or hardship a day in her life. And now, with the help of Kedev, her deep black hair was shaped lovingly in to the perfect dressing. And there was her dress. It was a warmly lined thick fabric; a tight dark blue stomacher laced as tightly as it would go around her waist. The base dress was light blue, close the the color of the streaks on her eyes, and it had no shoulder or sleeves.
Long, fingerless gloves of the same fabric covered her arms to just below her shoulders, and a short frill was sewn to the top. It was the best she could buy with her earnings and stature, but it was still one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Kedev wore a dress of the same maker, green this time, full shouldered, lined a bit thicker, longer, and instead of a stomacher (Sareen said she was too young to be wearing one at fifteen) she had a worn brown leather belt, loosely tied around her hips. The front locks of her hair had been heated and curled, and a fine thin strap of leather was fastened around a curl.
They wanted to look their best for the wedding. Pure, virginal, innocent; the ideal image for a young bride. And her daughter. "You look beautiful.", they said simultaneously to each other, and giggled after. "Thank you.", Kedev smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair from her bright blue eyes. Her joy and happiness had not faded to angst and unprecedented anger with her growing, filling body as she entered her teenage years. She was still the cheerful bright sun in the still dreary fog that flowed throughout the city of Windhelm.
Oftentimes, when citizens were feeling down, and their last drought of happiness came from a bottle of strong drink, they would visit her in her home, spend an hour there, talking and laughing and soaking in the radiant blissfulness that made her glow about in a special way. Her behavior stood out like a white flower in an endless sea of charred forest, and for that, she and Sareen got by well enough. She had made friends with even the sourest of persons, given the exception of some of the more firmly planted of the cruel Dunmer tormentors of before.
But today was not about Kedev. Today was about about Sareen and Revyn, and their union. A number of their family and friends had gathered in Whiterun, and the Priestess' of Kynareth had permitted a blossom from the Gildergreen to be plucked and preserved as a wedding gift from most of the people there, as many of them were poor, like Sareen and Revyn. But a few, mostly the family of an old patient of Sareen's named Myra, were spectacular and lavish. Myra had been very sick as a child, as she was not of a normal birth.
It was a long and winding story that brought to her being. Her mother was an Imperial Noblewoman, who had not married by age thirty-one. Her father was an Altmer Nobleman, who was the least favored son of a high-up Thalmor General. The two families decided to make a marriage alliance. Both families thought that they were getting the better end of the deal, while thinking they had killed two bird with one stone, as neither family felt particularly proud of their children. But her mother and father fell in love, to the surprise of everyone they knew, and conceived three times before Myra, one involving birth.
Unfortunately, the firstborn child died before it turned four. But Myra survived. Myra was kept in health by Sareen most of the time, and her family payed a hefty sum, most of which went to her savings. The savings had been stolen by Gods knew who, but after the Empire regained control of Skyrim, they looked through old reports of crimes and problems, scrolling through every file or written document, and made sure that all crimes were repaid or caught again. When they could not find who had committed the theft, they paid her every last Septim, the whole 4,000.
She was overjoyed at having her money back, and used almost 2,500 of it on the wedding. Thanks to Myra, she was going to have a lovely wedding. But Myra wasn't done there. Her husband and children each brought a gift of their own making or choosing, and with those gifts were more gifts. Baubles or pictures made from dried noodles and paste from the smallest children, and ornamental items and jewelry from the older ones. Paintings and books and lesser pieces of furniture were waiting for Sareen and Revyn to reveal to the other guests. They knew that they would have to sell or give back some of it, someday.
They were not particularly useful items, and they would be going through some money needs. Kedev got to have a peek at the beautiful things before the wedding, as her mother was being finished up by her best friend and Maid of Honor, a pregnant Nord woman named Catherine, and Kedev decided to sneak around the area and check on the music and flowers and food. They were all set, so she wanted something else to do. She decided to take a peek at the wedding presents.
She crept up to large covered cargo wagon, and lifted the canvas for a brief second. A strong young hand smacked her's, and she let the fold drop. She was about to turn around and sulk away, when she saw who it was. The last time she had seen him was when she was four and he was nine. They had played together as much as they could, and got in to such mischief. But now, instead of a pale spindly little child, he was tall and lean and handsome. His black hair had grown almost to his hips now, and he tied it back in to a ponytail. His Imperial features stood out and mixed with the features of a wildman.
Fiery brown eyes peered out from the streams of black hair that ran over his light brown face. Olwen had surely grown up. Unbeknownst to Kedev, she herself had grown, too. Her hay yellow hair had been streaked with sun-bleached locks, and waved and curled about her body, tumbling to her knees, and a spray of light freckles were sprinkled across a smooth meshed but strong nose. Her skin was still very light, but had a pleasant and warm pink about it, as if her whole body blushed constantly. She was of normal height for a Nord girl her age, 5'2", and her body had started to fill out.
Creating curves that weren't there before, details that weren't as defined when she was a little girl. She had even developed bosom enough that her mother wouldn't let her out of the house if she wasn't wearing a chest wrapping or something the cover under her dresses. She was still rather thin, though. She didn't get quite the right nutrients all the time. But what really changed was her eyes. Her eyes had changed from a bubbly bright baby blue, to a deepened, darkend blue, due to how dark it was in Windhelm.
The sun always shined, and it was strong enough to bleach hair, but not enough to light the streets or darken skin. But right now she was breathtaken by her old friend being sure a beautiful creature. Myra's son wasn't like his siblings. They had all inherited the Elvish genes of their family, but he had been born with the gene line of his mother's mother. Imperial blood ran through his veins, and not enough a small point shaped his ears. He inherited height, and that was the last he was given of his Altmer side.
He gave her a soulful look of quiet anger, but after a few minutes, he smiled and laughed, and pulled her in to an embrace. "Kedev! It's been far too long since I last saw you! You've changed so much!", he exclaimed, crushing her in a strong hug. "Olwen, you're breaking my bones.", she managed to gasp. He put her down again, and looked her over. In he back of his mind, he was taken completely aback by her appearance, and thought only of her fresh and familiar face and what she could possibly look like under thick layers of her dress and loose belt, other than the flatness of a child.
A child. He couldn't not place that word in front of Kedev any longer. She was now a woman, and she must have a woman's body. That stirred him a bit, to see someone he grew up with, ripened and full. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his consciousness, and thought of the fondness and memories they had to catch up on. "Kedev you look so different!", he smiled, the everlasting joy of Kedev's presence seeping in to his heart. "As have you! How old are you know, eighteen? You gotten so tall!", Kedev replied giddily. She didn't need to imagine what he was like under the tunic and coats; It was clear he was muscular.
"Nineteen now. And you... You're fifteen, right? Gods. Dibella seems to have picked a favorite.", he said, regretting saying the last part, but glad he did. They both blushed and went silent. They started walking toward the procession, talking about old times and new times. (The wedding would take place at the top of the stairs to Dragonsreach ) "So, Sareen and Revyn are finally getting married, huh? Haven't we been waiting for years for them to do that?", Olwen said, twisting a stalk of grass from the ground and chewing on ther end.
"Longer if you're me. They've known each other ever since they came to Windhelm, and they only recently decided they would marry one another.", she said. They sat on the steps that overlooked the waterfall, and were silent. She was getting sprayed with water, so she moved closer to the dry spot, where Olwen was sitting. He didn't mind. In fact, it looked like he was trying to scoot closer to her at the same moment. "Actually, we do have a present for you. My mother is a Priestess of Mara, as you know. She doesn't like the way your mother holds you back in all forms of meeting men."
"Such wearing a stomacher or a ankle length skirt, or a corset, or cutting your hair, or any of the sort. But she figured your mother wouldn't mind a small Token of Mara. It's a bracelet that shows that you're interested in finding a prospective husband. Not interested in marrying anyone who inquires, just giving them a chance. Here.", he said, pulling a small box from a pocket inside of his tunic. She opened it to find a delicate chain bracelet, with amethyst gems dangling around it. "Oh, Olwen. Thank you, and your mother, and her temple, and Mara for this gift. Mother can't object to this.", Kedev said sweetly.
She was delighted and touched by the gift. She immediately fastened it around her wrist, and threw Olwen in to a hug. He hugged her back. As they pulled away from each other's arms, Olwen held the jeweled wrist of Kedev's arm lightly. "So.", he said softly. "I see you have a Token of Mara...". Kedev's heart froze.