Indelible Stains (4/4)
Indelible Stains (4/4)
Author:
hope_tang
Rating: T
Spoilers: First Strike
Disclaimer: Other than being a fan, I have nothing to do with Stargate: Atlantis in any way, shape or form.
Author’s Note: As part of a color fic meme, I was given the prompt John/Elizabeth, blood-red. Thank you all so much for the reviews. They've been a joy to receive.
Part III
~*~*~*~*~*~
Teyla stands underneath the flowering kapuri trees, her hands loosely clasped in front of her, as she waits for the ceremony to begin. A gentle breeze plays with light fabric of her rich spring-green gown while her unbound hair dances in the wind. She tucks the stray strands behind her ear and continues to wait, savoring this moment.
John fidgets as he stands to her left, the warm sunlight gleaming off the commendations pinned to his uniform. She observes that he is indeed an exceedingly handsome man when he cares to dress in this fashion, but she knows he has only eyes for one woman and one woman alone. He is nearly oblivious to the crowd’s presence before them, though a part of him remains constantly aware of his surroundings. The open air, however, is not the source of his agitation.
The deep, rolling call of the marriage drum chases away her stray thoughts and quiets the crowd. The wind picks up to a light gust, swaying the branches of the trees around them so that a shower of pale pink blossoms falls from the sky in a diaphanous curtain. As if summoned from thin air, Elizabeth appears on the other side of the clearing, her ivory gown a shining beacon against the cool shadows of the forest. She does not stand alone, but from the look in John’s eyes, Teyla knows that she might as well have been, for he only sees Elizabeth, walking towards him in time to the low rumble of a single drum.
Behind Teyla, Wex begins to play a second drum, its slow, steady rhythm a half beat faster than that of Jinto’s. As Elizabeth makes her way through a silent crowd of Lantean and Athosian guests, the young man quickens the tempo until he is in perfect counterpoint to his childhood friend, two heartbeats beating in a continuous pulse. Teyla can see the relaxed smile that curves Elizabeth’s lips and the pure happiness in John’s eyes as the moment they have all been waiting for since this story began draws closer to reality. Time contracts and lengthens with every beat. When the bride has finally come to stand underneath the curved branches, the music abruptly ceases.
For a moment, all they hear is the poignant silence. John and Elizabeth settle eyes on each other, and his lips curve in a small genuine smile as a faint blush spreads across her cheeks. Neither he nor she is young anymore, but Teyla sees them as beautiful and joyful as any of the many youthful couples she has joined in her years. This day has been a dream for so long that to think it now true seems to be tempting the capricious fates to snatch it all away. So they wait, with baited breath, but they cannot wait forever.
A bird calls out to its mate somewhere deep in the woods and the spell is broken. Why wait to seize what joy there is in life, however brief and fleeting? Slipping into her role, Teyla steps forward from the shade and raises her hands to speak the first blessing, a benediction of welcome and safekeeping to the crowd gathered before her.
With a clear voice, she calls forth the witnesses-Evan and Jennifer-to testify of John and Elizabeth’s decision to bind their lives together. Rodney and Carson come next, to speak of the couple’s mutual devotion and adoration, a fierce protectiveness towards each other and their people. Mr. Woolsey and the General stand to grant their permission and give their blessings for this union. Despite his slightly casual wording of the traditional phrases of consent, Teyla looks into the serious eyes of the General and understands the sincerity he holds in his every act.
All of this plays out before a silent mass of people, and so she turns to them as a whole, one last rite of passage. She cries out a challenge, a chance for people to speak of secrets and lies, but the crowd remains quiet. After that heartbeat of silence, she turns to John, who steps forward to stand by her side. In the style of her people, she questions him as to his intentions, and he answers the invasive questions unflinchingly. There is no doubt that he loves Elizabeth and will treat her well, so Teyla turns to the bride. The questions are just as blunt and straightforward as the ones thrown at John, but it is no surprise that Elizabeth’s joyful demeanor does not change throughout the conversation. She is honest and open in her emotions; she has nothing to hide.
Teyla smiles and signals to Elizabeth that it is time. John steps forward to face Elizabeth, both of them turning perpendicular to the crowd. He shyly helps her untie the knot of the crimson sash wrapped around her waist before Elizabeth slips the cloth away from her and presents the unfolded length to Teyla. She takes it from the bride and instructs her friends to clasp hands. When they have done so, she drapes the cloth over their interlaced fingers, wrapping the smooth fabric around their wrists before letting the tasseled ends drop towards the earth underneath them. As she symbolically binds them together, she calls upon the Ancestors to look kindly on this union, to bless this couple with fertility and safety, happiness and wealth. A drumbeat echoes her every word, two heartbeats singing into the sunlit day, first in steady counterpoint before gradually quickening.
As she speaks the final blessing, Teyla raises her arms to present the new husband and wife. By the moment the last word is spoken, Jinto and Wex have matched two heartbeats into one, just as two bloodlines have joined into a singular family today. Their hands still bound by the crimson sash, John and Elizabeth kiss briefly in front of the gathered crowd, a fervent gesture of happiness that is no less powerful for its brevity than any sign of love. Their people cheer, and red flower pedals fill the air as the newlywed couple turn and walk hand-in-hand down the aisle.
Teyla smiles to hear Elizabeth’s shriek of surprised laughter when John sweeps her off her feet and carries her into ‘jumper One, also known as his ‘jumper. The ends of the blood-red sash dance in the wind as the newlyweds disappear from view. The two of them will certainly be delayed in rejoining the festivities, but she knows that no one will think it unseemly if the bride and groom reappear slightly flushed or mussed. There will be talk, of course, but that will pale in comparison to the comments that will fly when the tidings are known in perhaps a month or so from now.
In her questioning of Elizabeth, asking her of the reasons she chose John as her husband, Teyla had avoided the most obvious question, because there is no need to ask it. Elizabeth glows with an inner radiance, a joy that is not solely rooted in her marriage to the man she loves, and anyone who has watched her closely over the past few months will know that she has wrapped the sash far more loosely than she has before. Anyone who knows John well would also know, judging from the reverent way he has treated Elizabeth for the past three weeks or so and the tenderness in his eyes as he helped her undo the knot of her sash. These are two people who are deeply in love with each other, and who have not only been just married, but will soon be parents as well.
Blood leaves its own undeniable marks, binding one generation to another with no reprieve, but Love stains just as deeply, choosing two souls to unite into one life. For all that they have been through, John and Elizabeth would take none of it back. Blood has marked their skin, but Love has stained their souls.
Teyla knows her friends can live with that.
Author:
hope_tang
Rating: T
Spoilers: First Strike
Disclaimer: Other than being a fan, I have nothing to do with Stargate: Atlantis in any way, shape or form.
Author’s Note: As part of a color fic meme, I was given the prompt John/Elizabeth, blood-red. Thank you all so much for the reviews. They've been a joy to receive.
Part III
~*~*~*~*~*~
Teyla stands underneath the flowering kapuri trees, her hands loosely clasped in front of her, as she waits for the ceremony to begin. A gentle breeze plays with light fabric of her rich spring-green gown while her unbound hair dances in the wind. She tucks the stray strands behind her ear and continues to wait, savoring this moment.
John fidgets as he stands to her left, the warm sunlight gleaming off the commendations pinned to his uniform. She observes that he is indeed an exceedingly handsome man when he cares to dress in this fashion, but she knows he has only eyes for one woman and one woman alone. He is nearly oblivious to the crowd’s presence before them, though a part of him remains constantly aware of his surroundings. The open air, however, is not the source of his agitation.
The deep, rolling call of the marriage drum chases away her stray thoughts and quiets the crowd. The wind picks up to a light gust, swaying the branches of the trees around them so that a shower of pale pink blossoms falls from the sky in a diaphanous curtain. As if summoned from thin air, Elizabeth appears on the other side of the clearing, her ivory gown a shining beacon against the cool shadows of the forest. She does not stand alone, but from the look in John’s eyes, Teyla knows that she might as well have been, for he only sees Elizabeth, walking towards him in time to the low rumble of a single drum.
Behind Teyla, Wex begins to play a second drum, its slow, steady rhythm a half beat faster than that of Jinto’s. As Elizabeth makes her way through a silent crowd of Lantean and Athosian guests, the young man quickens the tempo until he is in perfect counterpoint to his childhood friend, two heartbeats beating in a continuous pulse. Teyla can see the relaxed smile that curves Elizabeth’s lips and the pure happiness in John’s eyes as the moment they have all been waiting for since this story began draws closer to reality. Time contracts and lengthens with every beat. When the bride has finally come to stand underneath the curved branches, the music abruptly ceases.
For a moment, all they hear is the poignant silence. John and Elizabeth settle eyes on each other, and his lips curve in a small genuine smile as a faint blush spreads across her cheeks. Neither he nor she is young anymore, but Teyla sees them as beautiful and joyful as any of the many youthful couples she has joined in her years. This day has been a dream for so long that to think it now true seems to be tempting the capricious fates to snatch it all away. So they wait, with baited breath, but they cannot wait forever.
A bird calls out to its mate somewhere deep in the woods and the spell is broken. Why wait to seize what joy there is in life, however brief and fleeting? Slipping into her role, Teyla steps forward from the shade and raises her hands to speak the first blessing, a benediction of welcome and safekeeping to the crowd gathered before her.
With a clear voice, she calls forth the witnesses-Evan and Jennifer-to testify of John and Elizabeth’s decision to bind their lives together. Rodney and Carson come next, to speak of the couple’s mutual devotion and adoration, a fierce protectiveness towards each other and their people. Mr. Woolsey and the General stand to grant their permission and give their blessings for this union. Despite his slightly casual wording of the traditional phrases of consent, Teyla looks into the serious eyes of the General and understands the sincerity he holds in his every act.
All of this plays out before a silent mass of people, and so she turns to them as a whole, one last rite of passage. She cries out a challenge, a chance for people to speak of secrets and lies, but the crowd remains quiet. After that heartbeat of silence, she turns to John, who steps forward to stand by her side. In the style of her people, she questions him as to his intentions, and he answers the invasive questions unflinchingly. There is no doubt that he loves Elizabeth and will treat her well, so Teyla turns to the bride. The questions are just as blunt and straightforward as the ones thrown at John, but it is no surprise that Elizabeth’s joyful demeanor does not change throughout the conversation. She is honest and open in her emotions; she has nothing to hide.
Teyla smiles and signals to Elizabeth that it is time. John steps forward to face Elizabeth, both of them turning perpendicular to the crowd. He shyly helps her untie the knot of the crimson sash wrapped around her waist before Elizabeth slips the cloth away from her and presents the unfolded length to Teyla. She takes it from the bride and instructs her friends to clasp hands. When they have done so, she drapes the cloth over their interlaced fingers, wrapping the smooth fabric around their wrists before letting the tasseled ends drop towards the earth underneath them. As she symbolically binds them together, she calls upon the Ancestors to look kindly on this union, to bless this couple with fertility and safety, happiness and wealth. A drumbeat echoes her every word, two heartbeats singing into the sunlit day, first in steady counterpoint before gradually quickening.
As she speaks the final blessing, Teyla raises her arms to present the new husband and wife. By the moment the last word is spoken, Jinto and Wex have matched two heartbeats into one, just as two bloodlines have joined into a singular family today. Their hands still bound by the crimson sash, John and Elizabeth kiss briefly in front of the gathered crowd, a fervent gesture of happiness that is no less powerful for its brevity than any sign of love. Their people cheer, and red flower pedals fill the air as the newlywed couple turn and walk hand-in-hand down the aisle.
Teyla smiles to hear Elizabeth’s shriek of surprised laughter when John sweeps her off her feet and carries her into ‘jumper One, also known as his ‘jumper. The ends of the blood-red sash dance in the wind as the newlyweds disappear from view. The two of them will certainly be delayed in rejoining the festivities, but she knows that no one will think it unseemly if the bride and groom reappear slightly flushed or mussed. There will be talk, of course, but that will pale in comparison to the comments that will fly when the tidings are known in perhaps a month or so from now.
In her questioning of Elizabeth, asking her of the reasons she chose John as her husband, Teyla had avoided the most obvious question, because there is no need to ask it. Elizabeth glows with an inner radiance, a joy that is not solely rooted in her marriage to the man she loves, and anyone who has watched her closely over the past few months will know that she has wrapped the sash far more loosely than she has before. Anyone who knows John well would also know, judging from the reverent way he has treated Elizabeth for the past three weeks or so and the tenderness in his eyes as he helped her undo the knot of her sash. These are two people who are deeply in love with each other, and who have not only been just married, but will soon be parents as well.
Blood leaves its own undeniable marks, binding one generation to another with no reprieve, but Love stains just as deeply, choosing two souls to unite into one life. For all that they have been through, John and Elizabeth would take none of it back. Blood has marked their skin, but Love has stained their souls.
Teyla knows her friends can live with that.