Sophie opened the door and was about to step outside when she realized Eirik was sitting on her front steps with something across his knees. She thought for a moment, trying to remember if she'd promised to meet him that morning and had forgotten, but she couldn't recall any conversation about them doing anything. "Have you been out here very long?" she asked, closing the door behind her and sitting beside him.
"A few minutes. I know how you don't like getting up too early," he smiled.
"I don't mind getting up early if I have something to do." she said. "We didn't make plans, did we?"
He shook his head. "No, I just wanted to give you something this morning before you get too busy."
"Too busy doing what?" she eyed him suspiciously.
"My father has a feast planned for this evening. In your honor."
"For what?"
"For saving us. The city."
She frowned. "I did what anyone else would have done," she said. "It wasn't anything special."
"No one else had the knowledge you did," he said. "We could have done everything in our power, but we still would have lost a lot of people."
"Well, he doesn't have to throw a party."
"Throw a party?" he asked.
"Plan a feast," she muttered.
"Of course he does. That's what we do around here,"
"I don't have to stand up and give a speech, do I?"
"A speech?"
"Do I have to get up in front of everyone and talk?"
"Probably not. But everyone might come around and talk to you,"
"Fine."
"I brought you something. But maybe I should present it at the......what did you call it? A party?"
"Yeah. We call them parties," she laughed softly.
He seemed to be considering, but finally handed her the long, slender item that he had wrapped in some kind of thin material. "I'll give it to you now."
"What is it?"
"Open it and find out."
She unwrapped it, finding a very fine looking sword, encrusted with jewels around the hilt. It was slightly larger than the children's sword she used for sparring, and appeared to be well made, and very sharp. "Did you make this?" she pulled it free of the leather scabbard and stood up to swing it around.
"I did."
"It's perfect!" she said, amazed that it was larger but still as light at the one she'd been practicing with. "When did you make it?"
"I started working on it just before the plague came through." he said. He cleared his throat. "I was hoping it could be.........a wedding present."
"You thought I was going to get married?" she laughed, returning the blade to the safety of it's sheathe before sitting down beside him.
"I was hoping you might consider it," he said softly.
"But....to who?" she asked.
"To me,"
Her mouth dropped open.
"I know you've been adamant that you wouldn't marry Ulriech, and he's married now anyway, so thankfully that's no longer an option. But I was hoping that you weren't completely opposed to marriage."
"Are you.....proposing?"
He cleared his throat again. He wasn't usually a nervous person, but he was slightly out of his element at that very moment and his mouth felt very dry. "Yes," his voice cracked.
"Well then," she said after taking a deep breath. "You'll have to get in line."
"Get in what?"
"Hydyr and Thorsten have also proposed marriage," she said. "Although they didn't give me such a nice gift."
"Hydyr?!" he was suddenly on his feet and his voice echoed around the house. "And Thorsten?!" Before she could say anything else, he stormed off.
Sophie stared, open-mouthed, after him. He had never been so serious that he hadn't been able to tell if she was teasing or not. Not that it wasn't true. After the Trials, Hydyr and Thorsten had both made offers of marriage to her, but she'd turned them both down. What kind of a woman did Eirik think she was!?
With a huff, she stood up and went back inside, taking her new sword with her. If he was going to be so hot-headed, she was going to let him stew about it for a while before telling him that she had never, not even for a second, considered either of them. "The audacity!" she muttered to herself.
It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door and she sighed. It took him long enough to figure it out! She walked over and opened the door.
"Sabine?"
"I'm here to get you ready for the celebration this evening," the old woman said with a bright smile. "Let's get going!"
"Right now?" Sophie asked. "It's not even midday!"
"It's going to take a while, hurry up!"
Shutting the door behind her, she sprinted to catch up to the woman, who was much more spry than she appeared. "What's going to take a while?" she asked. "I could just put on a nice dress and call it good."
"Yes. Well, we could do that. But we aren't going to."
"Why? she laughed.
"I am going to make you look so fancy that if Eirik isn't already in love with you, he will be after tonight!"
"Sabine!" she exclaimed.
"I think the two of you should have been wed long before Ulriech and that wench he married!" the woman said. She turned around and motioned for her to hurry up but Sophie was having to jog just to keep up with her.
"Well, you should know," she panted, finally catching up to her. "He just happened to make me an offer,"
"When?" Sabine stopped suddenly.
"Just now. Well, a couple hours ago." Sophie said.
"Then how come you haven't made an announcement before the council!?"
"I.....," Sophie sighed. "I thought he was teasing, so I told him that Hydyr and Thorsten had both asked me. He didn't take it so well."
"Can you blame him? Hydyr and Thorsten? Hm!"
"Maybe I should go find him and explain. I thought he knew me well enough to know when I was joking. Or teasing,"
Sabine walked up the steps of her house and pushed the door open, waiting for Sophie to enter the house. "He knows you well enough, but if he was asking you to marry him, he was probably being the most serious he's ever been."
Sophie sank into a nearby chair with a groan. "Sabine, I should go find him and explain!"
"No. We're going to get you ready and you're going to look beautiful, and then you're going to get up in front of everyone and tell them that you are going to take Eirik as your husband!"
"I am?"
"Well, you want to, don't you?"
"Yes. I do." she said softly.
"Then that's what you're going to do!"
"What if he's changed his mind by then!?"
"Eirik? Change his mind?" Sabine laughed. "Once he's made up his mind about something as serious as marriage, there's no changing it."
Sabine had already enlisted the help of some of her friends and they were already waiting with a hot bath and new clothes for Sophie. They scrubbed and washed and polished every inch of her before rubbing her hair until it was nearly dry and braiding it in a soft, feminine style, unlike their usual tight braids.
The new dress that they'd been working on since well before the plague, was the softest material she'd felt since she'd come to be there. It was a dark blue color with softly flared sleeves and a beautiful leather corset with copper buckles. They even had a pair of brand new, soft leather shoes and the three women stood back to take a look before Sabine nodded. "Perfect!"
By then, a few more hours had passed and Sophie was beginning to feel a tiny prick of anxiety about her announcement. She was about to follow the women out the door, but Sabine turned around and stopped her. "We're going to the hall," she said. "You wait ten minutes and then follow us. If you go now, you'll get there before we do and we don't want to miss anything!"
"What?" Sophie gasped.
"Okay. Five minutes!"
"Fine. Five minutes." she agreed.
Sabine smiled the brightest smile Sophie had ever seen and closed the door behind them, leaving her to pace back and forth across the room while she counted for five minutes.
"Time's up, I'm going!" she said. She stepped out through the door and skipped down the steps towards the great hall.
It was almost eerie walking through town and not seeing a single soul out in the street. It felt strange to know that everyone was at the hall waiting to celebrate her and she was so preoccupied by these thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her until it was too late.