Orion Vessel

The vessel finally docked at the harbour and Mel tightened her coat around her, warding off the cold wind that brought a renewed anxiety with the ship's arrival. A long bridge stretched out from the side and two large figures made their way down to them, garbed in luxurious fur clothing.

Mel's eyes widened in surprise. They were well dressed and clean. From what she had heard about the bear kin from Orion, she had expected barbarians to be coming for her. The two representatives, one old woman, and a fairly young man came to stand in front of them as Mel's father walked towards them.

They towered over Mel's family a good number of inches. If she could recall Adam's measurements, they were a little over six feet on average.

"Welcome," Harriett forced a weak smile and greeted the visitors. They gave a short bow as a curtsey and Mel's parents did the same.

Mel shifted as her mother subtly tugged at her dress, signalling for her to greet their guests.

"Oh. Excuse me," Mel said and sharply bowed, rising back up to see the old woman's lips turn up in a wrinkly, but sweet smile. The intimidating aura she had felt from the visitors eased almost immediately and Mel looked away, feeling a little guilty for harbouring the possibility that they would be inhospitable people.

'Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all?' Mel reasoned.

"I hope you had a smooth sailing," Mel's father offered with a smile, but she could note the wrinkled crease of worry on his forehead.

The Orion man nodded, his vibrant caramel eyes boring into hers. Mel looked back to the old woman, and the Orion man spoke, "The seas blessed us with a safe travel."

"You have a wonderful abode," the old woman addressed Mel's parents, her voice a deep rich tone that Mel found soothing. "We would be grateful if you would allow us to spend the night in Urn. It would even give my brother and I time to learn more about our bride and her family." Her eyes, a dull brown, shifted from Harriett to Mel once more with a maternal gaze.

Harriett's eyes wavered. Gratitude or relief, Mel couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it seemed her mother was glad Mel would still be with her, even if it was for the night.

"That—that would be wonderful!" Her father clapped his hands, and his eyes brightened. "Please, make yourself at home. We will prepare lodgings back in the castle for the rest of your men."

"Much appreciated," the woman answered with a subtle nod of her head. "Though, only a few. The rest will have to stay behind on the ship…" She looked at the ship where Mel's things were being taken into and she looked back at her father. "If you wouldn't mind, I feel it would be much easier for the lady to have her things on our ship. I hope it's not too much trouble."

Mel's father opened his mouth to speak, but Harriett beat him to it, holding his shoulder and shaking her head. She looked up at the woman. "We would be glad. Thank you very much, Madam…"

The old woman's smile returned, the corners of her eyes wrinkling. "Eustace. Just call me Eustace."

Eustace had apparently turned out to be Mel's mother-in-law and this panicked her to some extent. But the old woman's good graces, soft countenance, and charisma set Mel and her whole family at ease. Although her brother, Enmel, was somewhat aloof, he didn't have much of a presence. The castle received the guests from Orion with morbid curiosity. While Eustace and Enmel were tall and slender-figured, some of the Orions that came to rest in the castle were huge.

This left Mel questioning what her husband would look like, but she was too shy to ask the old woman, and Eustace didn't say much about her son. The reason they had taken such a long time to get in contact with Urn in regards to the union was that they had encountered a few inconveniences on their end. That aside from the fact that some of their men had to go deep into the woods to hunt for rare creatures and materials that only appeared during a certain time frame within the span of every few decades.

Eustace apologized for the delay and brought along numerous gifts for Mel's family, which led to a small send-off party for the young lady. Contrary to what had been expected, Mel had a pleasant evening that day, and the rest of the after-party was spent dining with Eustace, Enmel, and the rest of her family.

And for the first time since she was little, Mel spent the night in her parents' bed, as a last goodbye.