Morning with Lucia
The sun bloomed early on the horizon in the elven lands. Chirps rippled through the chilly forest. The chirps pushed the sluggishness from my mind, much to my chagrin. I rubbed my forehead as I sat up. I looked next to me. Lucia had not yet woken up. She still had her arms around mine. The blissful smile on her face was still in bloom… The heavens could testify that I never did anything that crossed the line. The two of us only slept in each other's embrace. I had no interest in Lucia's flat body. Plus, she didn't plan to do anything before marriage. Last night, I carried her back to our room, and I slept until morning.
"Lucia. Lucia."
I didn't plan to wake Lucia up, but she hugged my arm too tightly for me to get up. Hence, I had to wake her… Hearing my voice, she opened bleary eyes and gave me a warm smile: "Good morning, Travor. The weather is great again!"
"Yeah, the weather isn't bad today."
I peered out window of our wooden home. The elves didn't have any glass. They used green vines as windows. As such, they couldn't keep the wind out entirely. Still, it was enough to reduce the sun's heat blasting through. I thought I could see the vines cheerfully dancing in the wind as if the plants had a life of their own.
The place I was at was, presumably, Lucia's home. However, it wasn't her brother's home. The place was for just one person. There was only one floor, one bedroom, one guest room, one kitchen and one toilet. A huge and soft bed was placed in the bedroom. The elves' bed seemed to be held together with some sort of plant underneath. Their blankets apparently had something to ensure they were always warm. Life in the elven land was completely different to life in the human lands.
It must've been tough on Ascillia and her mother; they only had each other in the lonely forest.
Lucia sat up and got dressed. She turned around to give me a smile and hugged my head. She gently touched her forehead to mine. I had no idea what significance that gesture meant to elves. She bashfully told me, "I wanted to kiss you, but I just woke up, so I'm shy. I, therefore, chose to just touch foreheads with y-."
Before Lucia finished, I clasped her face and gave her a gentle kiss. She shuddered. Her first reaction was to run, but I forcibly clasped her face so that she couldn't leave. The two of us separated. Lucia lowered her red face and ears. She pouted, "I just said that I'm too shy to kiss… we just woke up…"
I gently tapped Lucia's forehead with my own and chuckled: "It's no big deal. We'll be living together in the future. Is there a need to worry about this sort of stuff? Won't good morning kisses become the norm in the future? We don't need to mind these trivial things."
Lucia hugged me. She then climbed onto the bed and literally squashed me underneath. Being petite, she wasn't very heavy, though, so I didn't feel uncomfortable. From my embrace, Lucia gently brushed her face against mine: "Do you have any plans now? You want to have a tour of our place? I want to take you home today. I'm not referring to this place but where my family is, in other words, my clan's home. After we get married, I'll receive some properties. I can let you see them beforehand. I don't understand purchasing or operation, but my brother does. Hence, I feel assured entrusting it to you."
I nodded and hugged Lucia: "I'll try my best because it'll no longer be your property, but our property. Lucia, it'll all be ours, our family and children, in the future."
Upon mentioning children, Lucia's blush seared through her cheeks. She leaned onto my shoulder as she didn't want to let me see her face, apparently. Voice soft, she responded, "So, how many kids do you want? I… I don't know… how many I'll have… I've never thought about it. If you have a desired number, I'll try my best to achieve it…"
To be honest, I couldn't imagine Lucia having children when she was so petite…
"Shame on you, Lin Dongqing! What am I imagining?! I can't allow Lucia to be pregnant! I'm lying to her; if I get her pregnant, I'll be worse than scum!!" I cursed in my mind.
I had no plans of getting Lucia pregnant. Nevertheless, I answered, "As long as they're our children, the number is of no importance."
Lucia gave me a muffled response. Then, she pulled back to look at me when a thought came to mind: "What about Leah, then? Leah is also your adopted daughter. It wouldn't be right to abandon Leah to stay here with me after we get married. Leah is an adorable girl, and she never did anything wrong. I think we should take care of Leah. I'm not Veirya; I can understand Leah, so I can accept her."
Now that wasn't something I expected to be brought up. Lucia caressed my face and giggled: "Don't worry, Travor. Go and bring Leah over. The elves here can accept her. Bring her over. Bring her home. I'll try and be a full-marks mother. I promise to take good care of Leah."
"I know. I know." I kissed Lucia on her cheek then quietly said, "But aren't you worried that I'll run away? I could run away with picking Leah up as an excuse."
"I trust…" — Lucia gently placed her hand on my chest where my heart was — "This. Your heart can't trick me. Nobody can trick their own true feelings. Travor, I've tested your feelings before, and I know you genuinely love me. Therefore, I believe you. I will love you the same way. Travor, you won't betray me, and neither will I. I'll always love you."
"Me, too. I'll love you forever."
The two of us looked into each other's eyes. Lucia sat on my thigh and slowly approached me. Lucia appeared to have developed a fondness for kissing, so she wanted to kiss at every opportunity. I went along with her. She was akin to a little bird, sensitive and afraid, yet was infatuated with the feeling.
When we were romantically kissing, someone suddenly pushed the door open. Lucia's brother appeared at the door. He initially wanted to say something, but then looked at us with a ghastly face. We quickly separated when we saw Lucia's brother. Although embarrassed, Lucia still looked at him with a blissful smile that she couldn't wipe off her face. She cheerfully greeted, "Good morning, Brother. Can you knock before you come in next time, though? It's embarrassing to be caught…"
"What… what… what are you two doing first thing in the morning? Why are you doing something so shameless first thing in the morning…? Wh-What are you two doing…? Could… could you two have done that last night? Y-You…"
Lucia's brother almost collapsed to his knees. He stuttered so badly that he couldn't articulate a complete sentence. Lucia notified, "What's the matter? Aren't we engaged already? This is no longer my place but our place, so you need to knock before you come in. Otherwise, it'll be incredibly awkward. The two of us were blissf-"
"Y-Y-You… you feel that I'm in your way now?!"stuttered Lucia's astonished brother.
Frankly, I never thought that he'd catch us… Lucia was still puzzled. With her head on a slant, she innocently asserted, "Are you not? Brother, I'll be splitting with the main family after I am married, so this is now my home."
"Y-Y-You stole my sister!! You stole my sister with your lies! You dared to steal my sister!! You! I'm going to kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!" Lucia's brother suddenly thundered at me.
He drew the short sword at his belt and lunged toward me. Before I had a chance to react, Lucia zipped over and kicked the dagger away. Before he could make another move, she grabbed choked him with one hand. Gaze frigid, she warned, "Calm down, Brother. You're my brother, not my husband. Henceforward, he will be the one to keep me company and give me love, not you. I respect you, and I love my husband. Hence, I won't allow my husband to insult you, but I also cannot accept you attacking my husband. Brother, I hope you understand that."
"I… I…" Lucia's brother blanched - he could almost feel the white in his cheeks. His words were stuck in his throat, leaving him with only incoherent utterances.
Lucia released her brother. Hopeless, she asked, "Why can you two get along? Brother, do you still not trust him?"
"Obviously, I don't!! How can I trust a stranger to give my sister bliss?! I've never seen him before! How do you expect me to trust him?!!!"
"Let's go, Travor. Let's ignore him. I'll take you home." Lucia grumpily shot her brother a glare. She turned around and looped her arm around mine. She looked back at her brother and provoked him: "Brother, grow up. You need to take care of our child in the future, as well, you know?!"
"No! I refuse!! I absolutely refuse!!"