THE WIEKTS

Hart Wiekt lay there, unmoving and barely breathing. There was a distant something at the back of his mind. As if he missed something extremely important but he didn’t know what. Then he started to hear it. It started as a small sound which then grew louder and louder until it overcame his hearing. Noises. There were so many noises. He tried to listen to those sounds and noises to better understand where they came from. No avail. They were muffled and unclear. A clang of metals here and there then barks of orders followed by cries of pain and agony. Clang. Clang. Clang. The noise was so loud, harsh and rude, but it reminded him of a time where the same loud noise was a noise of celebration instead.

Festivities were in the air. Laughter could be heard from every corner of the beautifully decorated house. The music was playing non-stop and the townspeople were standing around the tables containing numerous kinds of food and drinks. Garlands and ribbons placed hanging on the roof adding more fun to the already festive mood. The men were talking and barking laughter on one side of the room, while the women were on the other side, giggling and telling tales of the town.

Soon, the front door burst opened and two people entered the house. The crowd loudly cheered while raising their glasses. The two people — a man and a woman — entered the house with a small and slightly bashful smile plastered on their face. The man was tall, with broad shoulders and strong arms. His eyes were as dark as the night’s sky. His posture was stiff and straight, which gave him the advantage of appearing even taller than he actually was. It was such a beautiful contrast to look at for the woman beside him was small and delicate. She was wearing a small but nervous smile on her beautiful and petite face. She was always felt a bit sad thinking about her height, because she was rather short compared to the other women her age. However, now standing beside her soon-to-be husband, she didn’t even think about it any longer, because her height put her just right to be in the man’s embrace. She flushes a bit thinking about that, and the blush adorning her face made the people around her smiled and laughed. She really was a lovely creature. Then they looked at each other briefly with a bit of an awkward air surrounding them, before they started to walk towards the other end of the house. As they walked, the townspeople gathered around them. They exchanged brief nods and pats on the back as the man passed by, while the women gave a slight touch of encouragement and congratulation on the woman’s arm or hand. During their walk, the mood did not dwindle a bit. If possible, it even grew more and more excited as the couple walked along their way. When the couple reached the end of the house, they sat on the two chairs already provided for them, and only then the crowd’s cheer started to diminish to a cheerful hum.

A man rose from the crowd and went to stand in between the two chairs. This man was a bit shorter than the groom, but he was bigger. His jaw was strong, his shoulders broad, and his posture ramrod straight. It was easy to see some similarities between the groom and this man. He started, “My fellow friends, I welcome you all to this house to celebrate the union of these two young people, Hart and Elydite.”

Another loud cheer erupted from the crowd after he finished his speech. He motioned for the crowd to be silent once more and continued his speech. “I, Arn Wiekt from the House of Wiekt, thank you for your good wishes. It will be the best gift to this young couple. With all your wishes, their union will forever be blessed by the gods. Now, let us start with the main event of the day. The dance!” Arn bellowed while gesturing the musician to start playing. Then, he motioned for the wedded couple to start the dance as in the tradition.

Now, Hart Wiekt was a quiet man. He usually kept to himself and barely spoke to anyone other than his closes friends and family members. Even amongst the small circle of his trusted fellows, he was often seen to stand alone and outside the crowd. He rarely joined in any kind of conversation except if it was about the craft that he learned and studied, blacksmithing. So, it was understandable that a very private man like Hart Wiekt would get a difficulty in performing a very public dance in front of all the townspeople. Therefore, it was also understandable that right after his father, Arn Wiekt, motioned him to start the dance, he tensed and hesitated a bit. Arn, sensing his hesitation, looked at his son and gave him a stern nod. Hart looked at his wife, Elydite, and then back at his father. He was not comfortable with the idea of dancing in front of a lot of people, but this is a part of his duty as a man of House Wiekt. This was something that he must do. If not, then the honor of his family would surely get affected. That would lead to a very difficult and upsetting conversation with his father. So, he did what he must do. He stood up straight, turned to his wife, and asked her to dance.

“May I have this honor?” he mumbled. His father stared at him with a disapproving look. He cleared his throat and spoke again, with stronger voice this time. “Dance with me,” he commanded. The crowd cheered and his father smiled at him proudly.

With a nervous glance towards the waiting crowd, Elydite rose from her seat and started to walk towards the dance floor, when a rather plump woman blocked her way. The woman was Arn Wiekt’s wife, Lianne. She was beaming with happiness for her son. Her plump cheek was adorned with a beautiful blush from the drinks that she consumed. It was easy to see that she was a very attractive woman in her younger age. Even now, when she was ready to be a grandmother, she looked elegant and beautiful, especially when she was full with happiness.

“Wait for your husband, my dear,” she said with an understanding smile. Elydite stopped her steps and smiled back to her mother-in-law. “You must be nervous,” said Lianne again. Elydite nodded and looked down at her feet. She felt a hand caressed her back and she knew that Lianne was comforting her. She gave the kind lady a small smile.

“Come,” said a gruff voice behind her back.

Her husband had come to her side while she was busy with her mother-in-law. Hart put his hand on the small of her back and directed her to the dance floor in the middle of the room. After they reached the dance floor, he took her hand in his and started the dance. They moved together graciously even though rather awkward. They gave the final twirl needed to complete the dance and once again, the crowd cheered loudly. Then, Arn gave the sign for the musician to play yet another fast song and all of the other couples in the crowd started to dance. The young couple went back to their chairs and sat there the whole time without talking to each other. Elydite stole some glances to her husband, but that was all the contact that happened between them.

A young man, younger than Hart by several years approached them. Hart rose to welcome him and they hugged briefly. The young man spoke, “Congratulations, brother.”

“Thoar. Thank you. Enjoying yourself?” Hart asked.

“Of course. Mother has really outdone herself with all the food and drinks this time,” Thoar replied.

“Good. Good. Do you see Roan or Oarn?” He looked around the room to find his younger brothers.

Thoar snorted. “Roan? Must be drunk somewhere in the house. He was kicked from another work yesterday.” He drank his drink and continued, “Oarn is…somewhere. I think.”

Hart sighed. His wedding day and his two brothers were missing. “Thank you, Thoar. Now, go back to the party.”

Hart gave him a pat on the back and pushed him back towards the throng of dancing people. With his brother leaving his side and his parents busy chatting up their fellow friends, there was nothing for Hart to do but to sit and try his best to enjoy the party. His wedding party to be exact. He sat on the throne-like chair made especially for the bride and the groom and stole a glance towards his wife.

His wife. He still couldn’t believe it. He was married to this beautiful woman beside him whom he knew absolutely nothing of. It seemed like yesterday that he was still trying to make his way in the world, alone without any thought whatsoever of having a wife or family. But then, coming from his father, he had it in good nature that this wedding is more a blessing for him. He still remembered the day when his father told him that he was getting married. It was etched in his mind. There was nothing that could erase that day from his memory.

Arn Wiekt was a very strong man. He was a land-owner that was true, but he enjoyed getting his hand dirty in the farmer’s works down in the field. Even after all these years, even after he had enough farmers to work the land, he still went to the farm and worked with them. He was a great figure for those farmers because not only did he offer them a place to work, he also helped them doing their work. As the first son, Hart was supposed to be his heir to continue Arn’s work. However, since that faithful day when Hart saw a blacksmith pounding on a piece of metal and turning it into something entirely different, he was enraptured by the art. Of course, being the son of a land-owner, that was outrageous. However, since Hart was so fond of this particular line of work, he finally broached the subject of being an apprentice for the local blacksmith to his father.

Saying that his father was furious was an understatement of the century. He was more than furious. He banned Hart from even spoke of the matter ever again if he wanted to stay in the house and call himself a Wiekt. Hart stopped talking about his passion since that day. Fortunately, Arn Wiekt was not a close-minded person. Stubborn to the core, yes, but not close-minded. Even he could see the change that was about to come. Soon, there will be nothing left for land-owners in this land. Everything was about to change and he would be damned if he let his sons’ future — and the future of the Wiekt’s name — died before it even begun just because he was too stubborn to see the signs of change. So, he did what he must do to secure the family name and his sons’ future. He sent a message to his old acquaintance who was working as a blacksmith for the Capital. They were once best friend but seeing as this acquaintance of his chose to be a blacksmith instead of a land-owner like his father, they separated after lots of heated arguments regarding the job his friend wanted to take. But now, Arn was prepared to sacrifice his pride in order to ensure his sons, especially his first born, Hart, a better life in the future. Then, deals were made regarding Hart’s future as a blacksmith under the guidance of Bern the master blacksmith from the Capital of Proscris. What was left to do was to let Hart know about the deal between the old friends.

And so, this brought us back to the night that Hart couldn’t forget about. The night when his father told him about the wedding between him and Elydite started like any other night. His father sat by the fire after a day’s work. His mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner for all of them. Then his father suddenly called him.

“Hart, son. Come here,” said Arn to his first-born.

“Yes, Father?” asked Hart while walking to where his father sat by the fire.

“You will start your lesson as Bern’s apprentice tomorrow.” There it was. The big announcement out of nowhere. Hart was stunned and couldn’t do anything except stare at his father. “Yes. Yes. I changed my mind. You can go pursue your blacksmith dream under Bern’s guidance. He’s agreed to be your mentor.”

“Father, I…” Hart was speechless. Nothing could prepare him for this. What changed his father’s mind?

“I know that you’ll be curious why I changed my mind.” Arn sighed heavily and stared into the fire. “I may be extremely disciplined but I’m not someone who is so close-minded. I see the changes that happened, Hart. Farming will soon be left out in the coming era. And I will be damn if I let the future generation of this family get something that is not the best. I will swallow my own pride in order to ensure the prosperity of my children and my children’s children.” His eyes glint with determination at his last sentence.

Arn turned his head to look at his son once again and continued, “Now, there’s no need to say thank you because I didn’t do it for free. If you want to go to the Capital with Bern, that’s fine. But not before you give me at least one grandchild. I, at least, want to make sure that there will be someone who will continue our name coming from you. That is my term,” Arn stated firmly with the hint of finality in his words.

“But, Father —“

“You’re not married, I know. I’m not stupid. That is why you’re going to get married first. You’re going to get married when the next moon rises to one of the daughters of my good friend. They are a well-respected family and she is a very nice girl. I’m sure you’ll get along beautifully.” Again the hint of that finality came back in his words stronger than before.

Hart stared at the fire dancing in his father’s feature. He knew that what his father meant was that he would marry this girl no matter what. He also knew that he would never get another chance like this should he declined this generous offer from his father. So, he did what he must do.

Hart answered the proposition just like he always answered his father.

“Yes, Father.”

“Is there something on my face, Mr. Wiekt?” asked Elydite suddenly. Her voice broke his reverie to the past. Apparently he was lost in his own head and memory for a while, enough to let Elydite knew that he was staring at her.

He cleared his throat and tried to find a good explanation for his actions. He only knew her from his father’s story. This wedding was the first time they met face to face. That is why Hart found himself very nervous and out-of-his-depth with this woman — his wife said his conscience — that he didn’t know what to say to answer her question even though it was a very simple question. That was the reason why he found himself with the jumbled words of, “Uhm…no. Nothing. Nothing on your face.”

“Oh.” She looked surprised. That was the longest sentence that she heard her husband spoke since she met him. “Oh. Okay. Is it something I do? Did? Or…”

“No. No. Nothing of sort. Nothing’s wrong with you,” murmured Hart. He cleared his throat again.

“Oh.” Elydite spared him another questioning look before setting her eyes to the dancing crowd once again. Hart glanced at her again and cleared his throat. That successfully garnered the beautiful woman’s attention back to Hart even though he did it out of habit when he was nervous. He always cleared his throat when he was nervous.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Uh…no, it’s. Uh. YoucancallmeHart.” He cringed at himself. Very articulate, Hart, he berated himself. He cleared his throat once again and tried once more. “I mean, uh…you can call me, Hart. Yes, Hart.”

“Oh. I see,” said Elydite. She smiled bashfully and with a blush on her face, she called her husband for the first time since her father told her that he found a good match for her from one of Arn Wiekt’s sons. “Hart.”

Hart looked at her and smiled a nervous smile. She smiled back and there was definitely something extremely funny in that situation because the next second they both smiled and laughed together like an old friend. They laughed until there were tears in their eyes. When their laughter subsided, they smiled at each other and the air around them seemed to lighten. Before they were extremely nervous around each other, but now it seemed like the tension and the nerve was gone, vanished, leaving in its wake a good and light feeling.

“Were you nervous?” Elydite asked with the smile still in her eyes.

“Yes. Were you?” Hart asked back.

She laughed and wiped her teary eyes before she answered, “Terrified.”

They laughed again. And in his mind, Hart couldn’t help but think that once again his father was right. He would surely get along beautifully with this nice and lovely young lady. I think I can really like this woman.

While they were laughing and starting to get to know each other, the party was getting merrier around them. Arn Wiekt stood in the middle of the crowd laughing and chatting with his friends. He glanced at his eldest son and couldn’t help the happy smile to form in his face. He just knew that Hart would do the family proud. He groomed the boy himself. He smiled again, told his friends that he would go for a while, and then he made his way back towards his son. Hart, seeing that his father was coming his way, stood up and held his hand for his wife to take. They stood side by side and Hart gave a smile nod to his father.

“Father.” Hart said.

His father smiled at him and Hart was gaping like a fish out of the water. He was speechless. His father rarely smiled, especially towards his sons. Arn Wiekt was not an overly compassionate man. He did not show his feelings often enough. He smiled to the neighbors and the other land-owners. He smiled to his colleagues, his farmers, and his friends, but he did not smile that way towards his sons.

“Son.” Arn said, his eyes twinkling with pride. “Do stop gaping like a fish.” He laughed.

Hart closed his mouth immediately, but he was still extremely confused inside. Arn squeezed his son’s shoulder and continued, “Contrary to popular belief among you and your brothers, I do care about all of you. You are all my sons. How could I not care? I am proud of you, Hart.”

“Father. I…” There were so many things going on inside Hart’s mind at that time. So many that it was just impossible to say anything except, “…thank you.”

His father gave him a pat in the back and then they continued on with a far easier and lighter subject of conversation. The festivities in the room were starting to lull into a quiet murmur in the background as the night grew darker and darker. Several people had already left the house after saying goodbyes to their friends and the happy couple. When finally the last guest had walked through the door, it was time for the couple to also leave the building and go to the house already prepared for them by their parents. As they were preparing themselves to travel the short distance required to reach the house, the thunder rumbled in the distance and soon it began to pour.

“Ah, look. It’s raining,” Arn Wiekt said. “Even the gods are happy for your union.”

Hearing that, Hart Wiekt looked at his lovely wife and smiled.