A fresh breeze stirred the grass on the ground and the birds from the trees, carrying the scent of distant rain as Anise emerged from her cellar.
The rainy weather will be returning soon, she thought. A good reason not to delay then.
Anise had spent the night mulling over what to do while she tried to sleep, and while mixing potions that morning she had decided. Tomorrow she would leave for Falkreath. The town wasn't too far away, and Anise knew they had a potions mixer and a trade store. Hopefully they would have something new in the way of spells. If they didn't, she had decided she'd march right up to Dragonsreach in Whiterun and ask the Jarl's personal sorcerer if he had any spell books she could use. She was hoping Falkreath would have something so she wouldn't have to work up the courage.
Anise packed her newest potions away, placing the ones she wanted to sell in a different pocket from the ones she kept with her in case of emergencies. Then she took a moment to eat some simple jerky for lunch before heading on her way to the Riverwood Trader. The path was calm as ever, with birds chirping and grass swaying gently in the breeze. Anise took her time to enjoy the scenery, knowing she would miss home when she left, as she always did when she had to travel. She knew she might have to spend the night at the Falkreath inn if the journey took too long; she was not willing to travel after dark, especially not on unfamiliar roads. So she took her time as she walked, stopping often to collect flowers and herbs for her potions.
...
Anise felt the excitement in the air as soon as she entered Riverwood, and she quickened her pace toward the Riverwood Trader, certain she knew why the town was so joyed.
A wedding is always a happy occasion after all.
The only person looking grumpy that Anise could see was Helgi, Sven's old and incredibly racist mother. Not only would she be upset that Camilla had chosen Faendal over Sven, but the idea of a Bosmer and an Imperial getting married was sure to leave a sour taste in her mouth. Anise couldn't help but quietly hope she'd choke on it.
The Riverwood Trader was just as homey as ever, but it was distinctly lacking a presence Anise was used to.
"Where's Camilla?" She asked Lucian, who was performing Camilla's usual task of sweeping the floor.
"Where do you think," he said sardonically. "As soon as she woke this morning she was out the door. Apparently spending the rest of her life with the little elf isn't enough, she needs to spend her work hours with him too."
"So he did propose! Not that I was expecting any differently." Anise said as she made her way to the counter. "You should see Helgi, she looks as if Faendal asked her to spend the rest of her life with him."
Lucian snorted, smiling a bit, and came over to stand on the other side of the counter.
"Shall we do business before you head off to see my sister? She told me to send you to her as soon as you got here."
"We might as well," Anise said as she pulled out the potions she wished to sell. "I'm sure Camilla and I will have wedding details to discuss long after you've closed for the day."
Lucian counted out the coins for the Frost Resist potions that were Anise's specialty, and Anise picked out a few soul gems to purchase for her enchanting practise, which had been progressing at a disheartening pace.
"I'm leaving for Falkreath tomorrow." Anise said. "To see if they have any spell tomes there."
Lucian looked up from his coins, pinning her with a serious gaze. "The road to Falkreath isn't nearly as safe as the road to Whiterun. These spells you're after can't keep you safe if you die on the way to find them."
"I know, Lucian, I know. I'll be careful I promise-"
"You'll have to travel through what's left of Helgen." Lucian interrupted.
"I've already been there since the...incident." Anise reminded him, stopping herself from calling it a dragon attack.
"Bandits have moved in. It's dangerous."
"I can handle bandits well enough. I got your golden claw didn't I? Besides," she added at Lucian's look. "I'll go around Helgen. Not through."
"You won't travel after dark?" Lucian asked.
"Of course not. I plan to spend the night at the inn if I get there later than sun high, just to be safe. I'll be fine Lucian, you don't have to worry. "
"Of course I'll worry. Between you and my sister I haven't got time to do anything but worry."
Anise laughed and stepped behind the counter to give Lucian a hug. Lucian, for his part, stood very still and grumbled under his breath about foolish women and why did they always have to be out doing things, and couldn't they ever just be happy to stay home?
After saying her goodbyes to Lucian, Anise made her way to the mill by the river. She saw Faendal chopping wood in the usual place, looking just as peaceful and content as ever. Camilla was sitting on a stump off to the side, making a flower crown and smiling to herself. She jumped up as Anise neared, and the two women hugged happily. Waving to Faendal, Anise moved to sit on the large tree stump and Camilla sat beside her.
"So," Anise started, "tell me everything!"
"Oh, where to start!" Camilla said, smiling and putting her hands to her cheeks. "It was so beautiful when I got here, there were torch bugs everywhere and Faendal had cleared some of the wood away so there was a nice space by the pine tree. He looked so happy when he saw my amulet of Mara, but he looked so nervous too. It was very sweet! When I came close enough he took my hands and said that while he often missed Valenwood, there was a beauty in skyrim that all of Valenwood could not match. He said that a woman of my intelligence and heart could choose any man she wanted, but he hoped that I might choose him." Camilla broke off to give a happy laugh, and Anise joined her until the two received a smile from Faendal in the distance. Camilla waved at him and returned to her tale. "So I told him, 'well, you'll have to wait.'"
It took anise a moment of pause to register what Camilla had said.
"What?"
Camilla laughed again. "That's just what Faendal's face looked like when I said that. I told him 'you'll have to wait. Because my dream wedding has always taken place in Evening's Star. With you.' He was so relieved he kissed me right there!" Camilla laughed again, the joy clear as the shining sun on her face.
"I'm so happy for you." Anise said. "For the both of you. A wedding during Evening's Star huh? Why then?"
Camilla picked up her unfinished flower crown and began working on it again, and Anise picked a few flowers to start one of her own.
"I've always liked the idea of a wedding at the end of the year, so that the couple can start the new year together. That and..."
Anise looked up at Camilla's pause and found her friend starting steadfastly at the flowers in her lap, a red flush making its way up her face.
"And I always thought...I thought it would be a rather cozy time to have ones wedding night." Camilla rushed the last words out quickly, raising her head and trying very hard not to look embarrassed.
Anise laughed softly, "Ah, I see your true motivations now. Perhaps I should gift you an amulet of Diabella for your wedding, or maybe some stamina potions for Faendal."
Camilla's blush grew redder, and with an aggravated grumble in the back of her throat she shoved Anise hard enough that she almost fell from the stump they were sitting on. The two women laughed a bit, but Anise noticed the undertone of worry in her friend's manner.
"Camilla, what's wrong? Are Imperials so conservative that you feel guilty about looking forward to your wedding night?"
Anise's home in High Rock shared no border with the Imperial land of Cyrodiil, and as she had come from a poor family, Anise had never studied lives or cultures outside of her own. She had become used to Skyrim's ways after a year of living there, but had no knowledge of how things might be conducted in Camilla's homeland.
Camilla shook her head, "No, it isn't that. It's...well, it's the race issue."
Camilla looked ashamed, but Anise understood right away. Bosmer and Imperial customs would be fairly different, especially concerning marriage. Anise wasn't certain they even had marriage in Valenwood, at least not in the same vein as Imperials.
"It's alright," Anise said, putting her hand on Camilla's shoulder. "It would be a bit nerve wrecking, marrying someone whose customs are so different from yours."
Camilla smiled gratefully.
"It isn't that he's Bosmer," she agreed, "It's that his culture and mine are so different, we'll probably have misunderstandings, and have to compromise constantly. I worry that we'll always have to work around those things."
"Well, all marriage is compromise." Anise said, continuing to work on the flower crown in her hands. "And when you decide to tie your life to someone else's, there's bound to be a few misunderstandings. I think that once you get used to each other's way of doing things, it'll be easier than you thought. And I think that's common with all partnerships."
Camilla smiled, though she still looked nervous.
"I suppose that's true," she said. "And we've done well enough so far. I suppose I feel guilty as well, as we seem to be following my own customs so far. The amulet of Mara, and his proposal to me. Even his pledging the rest of his life, these are things they don't do in Valenwood, at least to my knowledge. I want us to be equals, and that means I must be the one compromising as well."
Anise nodded, thinking for a moment.
"Well, what if you had your wedding in the woods here?" Anise asked. "I know Imperial custom is to have a large ceremony at a temple of Mara, but what if you brought the priest out here?"
Camilla sat on that for a moment, looking at the woods around them thoughtfully. Then she smiled widely, looking just as happy as she had before.
"That's perfect! A wedding blessed by Mara for me, but out in the woods that he loves so much! I'll go to Riften and drag that priest here if I have to." Camilla said, looking suddenly quite determined. "Perhaps there are other Bosmer traditions we can work into our wedding as well. After all, all I need is a ceremony and a priest of Mara. There might be a Valenwood style dress I could make, or some form of binding words they use for occasions like this. Faendal and I will have to discuss it, but I very much like this idea. Thank you Anise, I feel much better."
She looked much better as well, practically glowing with determination and joy.
She and Faendal have nothing to worry about. Anise thought. Even if they encounter troubles because of their differing cultures, they'll work it out just fine.
"Oh," Anise started. "Before I forget, with all this wedding business. I'm going to Falkreath tomorrow."
...
Anise was exhausted by the time she returned to her little cabin. Camilla had given her a far longer and far sterner talk than Lucian had, and once she had run that course the two of them had gone back to wedding talk. Weddings were a far bigger deal in Cyrodiil than they were in Skyrim, and Camilla had enjoyed having someone to talk with about hers.
Anise washed her hands and face with water from a small bowl she kept on her dresser and changed into a simpler pair of enchanted robes that she used for sleep. She hung her Apprentice Mage robes from a length of rope she had stretched from wall to wall, and put her shoes on the ground beneath them. Then she fell into bed, falling slowly into sleep while crickets serenaded her.