Huge THANK YOU goes to my amazing betas bethanyyerinn and Zana Zira. You are brilliant! *lots of hugs*
Chapter 1
"You were born together,
And together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you…"
(Kahlil Gibran)
Somewhere in the North, Year 752, Day 25 of the Severe Frost Month…
Outside the wind bellows wrathfully and flicks the snowflakes into whirlwinds of ice. Dogs bark somewhere in the distance. Even the oldest villager cannot recall such a bitter and snowy winter. The trees double over from the snow's weight; some of them have already lost branches to it. Nature has fallen into a stupor as the raging elements wrap it in a white blanket.
The room is lit up by a fire in a fireplace and an oil lamp on a wooden table. There's not much furniture in the room, but the place looks neat and tidy, thanks to the mistress of this house – Brita, who currently suffers from the pains of childbirth. Her husband Aggi is gone to bring a midwife.
Brita lies in a bed, under bear skin covers and cries out when the pain gets too much. On the edge of the bed her first born child, Dagni, ten winters old, sits. The child wipes the sweat off her mother's forehead.
"I cannot hold on anymore. Where are they? Gods, give me strength," Brita moans and her fingers dig into the animal skin.
"I am sure they will be here in any minute. Father left a long time ago," Dagni answers calmly. She has seen many times how cows, sheep, and other animals give birth and thus has some knowledge about the process.
She has barely finished talking when the door opens and the wind almost puts out the light. A tall, broad-shouldered man walks in with a tiny, slim woman.
"Aggi," Brita groans and looks at her husband pleadingly.
The man takes his fur coat off and throws it at the table. He walks to the bed towards his beloved wife.
"Have no fear. All will be well. I have brought Tilda." He soothes the woman and caresses her hair.
Tilda shakes the snow off of her shoulders and looks at Dagni. "I will need hot water and clean cloths. Is everything ready?" Her voice is raspy.
"Yes. I have prepared everything," the child answers seriously.
"Good." The midwife smiles and squeezes the girl's shoulder.
"Hold on, it will be over soon," Tilda tells Brita.
"I am trying." Brita's smile is crooked and pained. In another instant a scream escapes her throat.
The midwife detaches a small bag from her woven belt and opens it. Strange and unfamiliar words start to pour from her mouth as she spreads a blue powder in all four directions and above the bed.
"Aggi, take Dagni with you and go. It seems that the situation… is more complicated than we thought," Tilda says after some hesitation.
"Come here, my lovely," Aggi says tenderly and opens his arms.
Dagni walks to her father with a questioning look on her face. "Father, will mother be well?" There is obvious fear in her voice.
"Do not worry, Tilda is here so nothing bad will happen." Aggi kisses her forehead. "Put this on and let's go outside. Let's see Ulrika."
"Yes, yes I want to see her." Dagni grabs her little fur coat, ready to run outside.
"Hold on a moment." Aggi bends down to kiss his wife. He picks his daughter up and walks out to the stable to see the newborn foal and its mother Ulrika.
The only sounds that they hear for three hours, even from outside, are Brita's screams and chanting that gets louder as time passes.
Aggi sits on a pile of straw with sleeping Dagni in his lap. There is a white horse beside them that chews lazily. Next to her the little foal lies, nudging its mother's udder from time to time and suckling energetically.
The man stares at the moon that peeks into the stable through a cleft in the door and prays to all the gods to protect his wife and the child who is about to arrive into this world.
The sky has turned grey, the sign of approaching dawn, when a sharp squeal sounds from the house.
"Dagni, wake up." The man gingerly shakes his daughter.
"What? Is the baby born?" the little girl asks drowsily.
"Yes. Your sister or brother is born. Come." Aggi helps her to her feet and they walk towards the house.
The first thing he notices is a small, shrieking bundle that his wife holds.
"It's a boy," Tilda smiles and taps Aggi's shoulder. "I know deep down in your heart you wanted a boy and for being a good man the gods have granted you your wish."
The midwife leans towards Brita. "Dear, let me see the child to examine him and then I will try to foresee his future."
The newborn baby squirms and whines in the woman's arms. Tilda lays him on the table and unwraps the cloths. As soon as the baby feels freedom he kicks his tiny feet.
"Ha, I can tell you he will be a restless child," Tilda laughs as the baby kicks her in the thigh.
Aggi leans towards his son and his beard tickles the baby's nose. Instantly little hands grab it.
"Add curiosity to the list." Laughter rumbles in the man's chest.
The midwife nods her agreement. "The boy is very healthy and strong." Tilda goes on as she examines the flailing baby. It seems that the boy does not mind being touched, lifted, or turned over, and he makes some happy noises.
"Hold on, what is this?" Tilda suddenly stops and stares at the baby.
"What happened?" Brita asks, frightened, and sits up in her bed to hear better what the midwife has to say.
"Bring a light over here," Tilda tells Aggi as she touches the baby's leg.
Aggi holds the oil lamp above the boy and tries to control his shaking voice. "What did you see? Is there something wrong with my boy?"
After a torturing silence Tilda asks the man to put the lamp down. "Your boy is marked. But I cannot tell you yet if it is a good or a bad sign. Do you see this mark?" Tilda turns to Aggi and points her finger at the baby's leg.
"Yes, I see it." The man's voice breaks as he stares at a small, black mark on his boy's left thigh.
Brita starts to weep bitterly and she hides her face in her hands. "My poor child, my poor boy. I do not want anything bad to happen to him!" Her voice is desperate.
"Maybe this is nothing bad. You need to stay calm, or your milk might dry up. Feed the boy." The midwife wraps the baby in cloths and takes him to his mother.
"Let's wait till she falls asleep to look into his future. I do not want her to get more anxious if I see something bad," Tilda whispers to the man.
"You are right." Aggi glances at his wife, who is feeding and caressing their newborn son.
Tilda pours water into a clay bowl, detaches another small bag, and takes out some dry herbs to add them to the water. "Here, drink this. It will make your milk even richer and the boy will gain weight quickly. Also, it will help you relax." The midwife hands the bowl to Brita as soon as she finishes feeding the baby.
"It tastes nice." Brita finishes drinking. "Thank you."
Dagni, who has been sitting in the corner the whole time, gets up and walks to her mother's bed. "He is so small. Was I this small too?" she asks and plays with her brother's nose.
"Yes. And you were shrieking worse," Aggi laughs. He takes the bowl from his wife. "Go to sleep. You need to rest." He kisses Brita and puts the baby into a basket that stands near the bed.
"Have you thought about a name?" Tilda asks the parents.
"Yes. We want to name him Castiel." Aggi looks down at the baby, who is already asleep.
The man takes a seat beside Tilda, who sips ale with a thoughtful face. Aggi takes another mug and pours some drink for himself.
"You know that I have no right to tell you a lie or hide something," Tilda whispers and scrapes her nails against the table surface. She gets a nod for a reply. "You also know, that my prophecies always come true. Are you ready to hear about your boy's future?"
Aggi looks at Brita, who has fallen asleep thanks to the midwife's herbs. He nods at the witch. "Yes, I am ready."
Tilda opens a red bag and Aggi thinks how many of them she carries with her. The witch closes her eyes and mutters some words. She puts her hand inside the bag and pulls something out. Her hand draws odd signs in the air, and then she unclenches her fist. Various colored stones scatter on the table. Each of them has a different symbol engraved on it.
Aggi holds his breath at the sight before his eyes. Then he recalls that his daughter is in the room too. But when he turns around to check on her, Dagni is asleep in her bed.
Tilda's brows furrow as she looks down at the stones and their arrangement. Aggi's heart starts to beat faster when he notices sweat forming above the woman's brows. The witch looks like she has turned into a stone.
"In the name of the gods, what do you see?" Aggi rasps and prepares himself to hear something sinister.
Tilda rubs her forehead and glances at the man in sympathy. "Your boy will live happily and carefree until he turns twenty-three winters old. When he turns twenty three, a stranger will come into his life and their meeting will be fatal. This meeting will bring him great suffering."
Aggi grits his teeth in rage. No, this will not happen. He will make sure of it! "I will shred the bastard into pieces, if he…" Aggi's enraged speech is cut off by Tilda's raised hand. "What? Is there something else?" The man rises from his chair.
"I see the eyes. Burning eyes. Peeking through the darkness. This stranger is not a human." Tilda's hands tremble.
"Not human? What in the gods' name is it then?" Aggi's knuckles turn white as he clenches his fists.
"One of those we do not speak of." Tilda hangs her head.
The man's face turns deathly pale with desperation and fear. Why his boy? What has he done, how has he angered the gods, to deserve such a fate?
After a long silence, Tilda speaks. "Forgive me for such a hideous prophecy, but you know the rules." She gets up from her seat. "I will go. I do not need your escorting. Stay with your family. Spend as much time as possible by your son's side. And it's better if Brita does not know about the prophecy." Tilda stops at the door, her hands straightening the wrinkles on her dress. "I am not sure if it will help or not, but don't let Castiel go in the woods."
She opens the door and walks outside. The wind has already sneaked into the room and put out the light from the lamp. The fire has died in the fireplace, but the embers are still bright red and it's enough to see the man sitting at the table. His shoulders are slumped and shaking.
The wolves howl pitifully from the woods as Aggi sits at the table crying over his newborn son's fate.
