Lilie loves new shoes (ex_elfen635) wrote in st_margarets, @ 2014-12-20 10:33:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | character: lilie hoch, location: beyond the academy and camden |
Narrative: Yule Engagement (Lilie)
WHO: Lilie Hoch
WHEN: December 20-21st
WHERE: Hoch Estate, Germany
NPCs: The Hoch Family
Most people hated traveling with her family. Lilie loved it. It wasn't devoid of small spats along the way, but Lilie got along with her family enough that traveling with them wasn't that big of a deal. While they sat in their seats, they chatted, joked, and pranked with each other. They kept it harmless because they didn't need to be banned from flying via Lufthansa ever again. Even if her parents had earned some sort of advantage points and some cousin or another was high up within the company to provide discounted tickets, there were some things that you just didn't mess with and flying was it. Lilie's flight from Bangor took her to Philadelphia where she met up with her family before they boarded the direct flight to Frankfurt. When she met up with them, she was a little bummed that it hadn't been later in the day so she could've made the first part of the trip with Valentin, but her parents were in a big rush to go to Germany. Lilie figured it was because Yule was the next day and they didn't want to arrive the day of the festival, but the day before. It was going to be Lilie's first Yule in Germany. Up until then, she and her family were always in Virginia and it was a smaller affair. This was going to be huge and similar to the celebrates around Midsummer, but she didn't think it was going to be quite that big. Midsummer was when they had the Wild Hunt and that's when things got really exciting. Regardless, her mother said that a large number of family would be there for Yule, and Lilie was sort of looking forward to it, despite her apprehensions rooted in the events of the summer. She had yet to talk to anyone about it though, because well, Claire had been kinda absorbed in that Mr. Kaden business and everyone else had problems. She had hers but throwing hers on someone even just to listen felt unfair and selfish. Lilie could be selfish but she didn't seek it out intentionally. So she kept it in and hoped that this celebration wouldn't lead to another fight and she would have to spend the rest of her winter holiday spent in Germany instead of returning and having fun with her friends. Lilie and her family arrived in the late evening and her grandparents were at the airport to meet them. On the drive there, as there had been on the flight there, Lilie's family were talking to each other and the strangeness from the summer departure seemed to go. Lilie concluded that it would pick up again the following summer, but for now it looked like they were burying the issue until they had more time to work on her. Lilie hoped that by then she would be better equipped to argue her point and make them see where she was coming from. Some things in elven culture had to change and it wasn't right to force her to conform at the threat of being disowned. They arrived at the large estate her grandparents owned outside the city of Ettlingen and quickly gathered in. Elves didn't require much sleep, so even after a long flight that had a smattering of naps here and there, the Hoch family was up into the wee hours of the morning talking away. Her grandparents had pulled out a small keg of beer to share and Lilie and her brothers watched some German television while they freely drank of the fermented barley. Eventually sleep became less of an option and more of a requirement, as the busyness of the next day's agenda reminded the Hoch family that there was much to do with little time for a nap. The next day was something of a blur until it came to the feast itself. Family arrived all throughout the day, the elves bringing their brood of children, and the house that often felt obscenely large and empty on a normal basis was filled with family and laughter. Tonight they would light the Yule log and have a great feast. Gifts would be exchanged and the festivities would continue well into the early hours of the morning and possibly straight into the next day. Yule was a twelve-day celebration but the Hoch family unfortunately used their vacation hours for celebrations like Midsummer or Beltane. It was a time As the day passed, the house filled with chatter and love also filled with the smell of delicious foods. Some traditional and some not so traditional, the rooms were filled with people and so if anyone wanted to be alone, they would have to wander into the Black Forest which sat right on the edge of the family's estate. Lilie thrived on having her family around and quickly met up with her two cousins that she was closest to and they were joined by a few others who went into the woods to play some games. It was a good way to avoid work under the pretense of spending time with family that they didn't get to see all the time. It didn't last forever though and as the day started to fade into the evening, it was time to return and prepare for the feast. Lilie was used to the Yule feast back in Virginia spent wearing casual clothing that was a little nicer than usual. Here she had to dress nicer. She and her mother prepared at the same time so they may have taken longer than they would have individually because they were chatting away. Lilie's best friend as her mother. First and foremost. She told her pretty much everything, including some of the other details of her life that most teenage girls would hide. Her mother knew when Lilie lost her virginity and they had a long chat about it that wasn't a full-on lecture. Her mother also knew that Lilie had slept with Mickey and more recently Davian. It wasn't something she frowned upon, because Lilie was young and it was the virility of youth. By the time they finished getting ready, Lilie was dressed nicely and wearing the same blue as her mother. Lilie's dress was one of her nicer ones and not the kind she wore to parties that fellow students threw or when she decided to go to town for some fun. Her hair was left down but the waves straightened. She looked great and when she came to join the others at the feast, everyone else was dressed similarly. During Midsummer the family wore more traditional clothing for the feast. One of the traditions that Lilie didn't mind because it was just clothing and it wasn't like they were making her wear a pink bunny suit. The feast was started with her grandfather at the head since he was the one hosting the festivities. He welcomed them and then offered a prayer of gratitude for the bounteous feast to the gods. It was the only time of the feast (and perhaps the whole day) that there was a quiet reverence on the numerous people there. Even the children were quiet. Lilie wasn't devoted to Odinism but she had a respect for what it taught. It was about celebrating life and renewal. No salvation or eschatological end of days to worry about. You made what you did of this life and didn't waste time worrying about what happened after. The end was the end, but your death would bring new life. Beer and other alcohol flowed freely at the tables and there was plenty of it. Lilie had seen the overstocked room filled with kegs and bottles of all kinds. It was certainly enough to serve a horde of elves, but also the equivalent of three frat parties of the most raucous fraternities at a party school. Lilie had a few to drink already when her grandfather stood up in his cheer and began shouting in German to get the attention of all their relatives. It took him a few minutes but eventually it got quiet enough for him to speak and be heard. Only a few loud whispers remained but they were the children who were high on sugar from the dessert table. "Welcome, family," her grandfather started and her grandmother whispered to him that he already welcomed him. Her grandfather and those that heard burst into laughter that took another minute to die down. Apparently her grandfather already had a bit too much to drink. He cleared his throat and tried again, "Yule is a time of celebration. It is when the Oak King is reborn and the long days of darkness are bathed in light more and more each day. It is a time of introspection but more important, planning. A time when we can look to our future and see what joy and happiness we will have." There were a few cheers and a number of people raised their mugs in agreement. Lilie sat at the main table with the main part of the family and was one of those. She knew all about this already, but it was fun to hear her grandfather talk about it. Despite the apparent youthfulness of his appearance, he sounded more of his age now than he had before. Sage-like. When he turned his gaze to her, she thought it would move along to the rest of the family, but it remained fixed on her. Lilie sat up a little straighter and looked confused. "Lilie, come here," he directed and Lilie knew that all eyes had now fixed on her, because she could practically feel their gazes on her skin. Lilie looked around confused, but stood, making her way over to her grandfather. Her grandmother now stood next to him and she was placed in between them, their arms around her. She wasn't sure if it was meant to be a sign of affection or to keep her from running away. A sinking feeling started at the pit of her stomach and began growing. "As many of you know, our youngest granddaughter, Lilie, will be old enough to marry soon," her grandfather said loudly and Lilie's eyes searched her relatives for a sympathetic face. Instead she found everyone looking on excitedly at the prospect that she was going to be married soon. It made her angry and her nails dug into the palms of her hands, but she managed to disguise her feelings as neutrality. She wasn't sure what they were doing or what sort of game her grandparents were playing. Was this a ploy to make her feel guilty? It might be. "She will be embarking on a future to carrying on our family name and to preserve our people," her grandfather said loudly, his hand squeezing tightly on the size of her shoulder, "And not just anyone would be able to marry our Lilie. The Hoch family is one of strength and honor, and we have long served our Erlkönig faithfully and dutifully. We would have never thought though that the king would deem our Lilie worthy of all the elven maidens to marry his son." There were a number of loud gasps that made up a collective one and the chattering started. Lilie's face snapped in the direction of her grandfather, her face a mixture of shock and horror. "Yes," her grandmother spoke this time, "our Lilie has been chosen as the betrothed of our Erlkönig. She is the most fortunate of all elven maidens as she will be carrying on the most pure and prestigious of family lines." Her grandparents were almost literally glowing with pride. They stood a little taller and surveyed the room of relatives. Lilie was still looking between them before she stared forward and let out a shaky breath. What the fuck just happened? What had they done? What did her parents think? Lilie's eyes immediately went to her parents and brothers who were smiling and immediately began clapping. This spread and soon the room was a din of celebration and her grandfather was shouting to bring out the best brew and that this Yule was one to celebrate more than others. Lilie stood motionless though, her family hugging her and she awkwardly returning the ones offer. They were all saying she was shocked at her good fortune, but Lilie was just shocked. Thunderstruck. She thought she had more time. She thought she'd have at least another year to figure this out and talk her family out of it but they'd moved ahead. She was given a choice over the summer and now it was taken away. If she walked away from this, it wasn't just about upsetting her family and being disowned, but angering the entirety of the elven community, which was vast and well networked. She thought she'd have some supporters upon the more liberal elves, but even they showed a faithfulness to the Erlkönig. And now Lilie was set to be the crown princess and all she wanted to do was find a hole to crawl into and maybe die. She couldn't even escape either, as the never-ending line of family continued to shower congratulations on her. They were breaking into song again and it was like the feast had somehow found a renewed energy and all sourced in the family's great luck that Lilie would be married to the most prestigious of all elven families. She was going to be married to a perfect stranger. Lilie didn't even know what he looked like. During the Wild Hunt it was also a big mess of people and the Erlkönig and his family arrived right before the hunt itself and went to a feast for one family or another. The Hochs weren't due to host him for at least another decade and now they were marrying into the family. "Lilie," her mother said and kissed her forehead, "Are you okay?" Now that someone finally asked, Lilie wanted to say no. She wasn't okay. She was anything but okay. But when she looked at her mother's face and knew the ears of every elf in the room was now listening to hear what Lilie had to say about it, she could only respond with, "Just surprised." "It is the best Yule gift anyone could imagine," her mother said and Lilie couldn't see this as a gift. It was a death sentence. But she forced a shaky smile onto her face and told herself that she could fake it for tonight. But the next few days would be counting the hours down until she could fly back to St. Margaret's and get away from . . . her family. The one group of people she treasured above everyone else were now the people she wanted to be farthest from. Someone placed a champagne glass into her hands and they were now making toasts to her and to the Erlkönig's son. Many happy years ahead and many children to be born. A blessed new beginning for the future elf princess. Happy Yule. |