Author's Notes: This is a historical fanfiction about Harold Godwinson and William I (the Conqueror). This first chapter is basically talking about the life of Harold. It isn't initially focused on England (a.k.a. Arthur Kirkland) primarily; however, the next chapters will! I'm assuming that this story might be finished within 4-5 chapters, if they're all around the length of this first one!
In addition, I just want to note that this chapter might be a little boring - but hey, it's an introduction to Harold's life, and you'll get a glimpse of how some of the characters' personalities are (with regards to the relationship between Harold and Arthur in particular). I assure you that in the upcoming chapters, the major theme of this story will begin to unfold, as well as Arthur's role.
(Historical endnotes are, well, at the end).
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1022 in the year of our lord, anno domini. Harold was born.
"Ahhhhhh!" a high pitch scream echoed throughout the manor. The large openness of the rooms with its stone walls didn't do much to absorb the shriek of agony. Most of the lowly servants were huddled right next to the door where the feminine cry came from, putting one side of their heads onto the door, listening into whatever's happening beyond. One of the maids almost tripped, trying to hear the voices in the next room. "Watch it!" one of the male servants whispered to and warned the clumsy female. The maid simply gave an apologetic look. The sadness of her face seemed like a satisfactory apology to the male, and they continued to listen in on the business inside the private room.
"Madam, you are doing absolutely great!" one of the lady of the manor's closest maids (and also a midwife) said. The midwife kept reassuring the lady and spewed religious quotes she memorized just for this moment. Along with the maid were two others of the same position as her, the earl, and a male friend of the earl.
"Now, please confess your sins." the maid solemnly suggested. The lady quickly did as she was told, and as soon as she was done, screamed again because of the pain.
"Oh - Agnes, I don't think I can take this anymore!..." the lady replied.
"We're with you, my dear. I have faith in our lord" the husband said. As soon as he finished the sentence, there was a great gasp that all of the participants in the room made collectively. The main midwife proceeded to position herself so she could deliver the new life that would enter the world at this very moment. First the head came out. Then the whole body, with the limp and dangling placenta the symbol of the biological and emotional connection between the newborn baby with its mother.
"It's... it's a healthy young boy!" the midwife cried in joy as the little one cried its first sound.
"Well, I must say - he looks like strong one - I'll tell you that!" the friend of the earl said.
"Right indeed, Arthur!" the nobleman chirped in, chuckling with joy as he saw his precious heir. The woman who experienced such suffering for hours on end was finally relieved in the now absence of pain. Of course, she was also happy to see that she birthed such a beautiful boy.
"Agnes, would you mind if I could hold my little precious?" the woman in the bed asked. She moved both of her hands into a carrying posture, signalling that she wanted the newly born child.
"Of course not m'lady. You have all the right to do so!" Agnes replied, and swiftly proceeded to cut the placenta - the act of differentiating and separating the two individuals, and carrying the baby and placing him delicately between the mother's arms.
"He's... beautiful. That's the only word I can think of as of this moment." the woman quickly whispered. The baby's eyes were closed, his face being the equivalent of an angel's.
"I congratulate you both, lord and lady - Godwin and Gytha, with sincerity for this fine new healthy male. Now you have two heirs, my friend!" Arthur said, happily patting on the lord's back.
"Thank you Arthur. We both appreciate it." Godwin said, taking in the scene reminiscent of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. His angelic wife holding the newly born son seemed like an image from heaven.
Suddenly, everyone's back shivered with fear as the crackling sound of lightning and thunder immediately pierced through the air outside the stone walls. As soon as this happened, the baby began to cry, hurting everyones' ear drums. A crow flew in from a window, shrieking loudly, probably due to panic from the sudden storm that came out of nowhere.
The crow crashed into the opposite wall and died.
What a stupid crow.
The baby suddenly stopped crying after the avian came into the room. He began giggling.
Giggling.
Hee.
Hee.
Hee.
'Was this a bad omen?' Gytha silently asked herself. Truth be told, everyone wondered that.
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1046, in the year of our lord, anno domini.
Being a dashing man at a prime age of 22 years, Harold was peacefully strolling along a granular pathway, looking at the amazing variety of plants. Forget-me-nots, wild carrots (which were surprisingly delicious, as he would know due to prior tasty experiences), beautiful oak trees with hard little acorns that they occasionally drop during the summertime, and bright yellow dandelions. Then there's this plant, and then there's that plant, and oh - don't forget about that one, and how about-...
"HAROLD!" a man from a far distance off shouted. The sudden shout of his name made Harold autonomously stand upright from an original kneeling position (by looking at all the flora), and look towards the direction of the source of that loud cry.
It was Arthur. Or, as Harold calls him, "ye olde pooper of fun".
"HELLO, YE OLDE POOPER OF FUN!" Harold shouted back at the man, while snickering to himself. 'That hairy-eyebrowed man always ruins the fun in everything...' Harold solemnly thought. As the dashing young man unwillingly walked with unease to Arthur, ye olde pooper of fun annoyingly waited for the man to come closer to him, all the while crossing his arms and tapping his right foot impatiently against the earth.
"Right then. Ignoring the name-calling you have oh-so graciously decided to do, I just came to see whether you were actually practicing with your sword" Arthur sneeringly announced, looking at the adjacent sword a few meters away from the two conversing men.
"You know, you're going to regret this in case of an attack where I just so happen to decide not save your arse from a person who is fed up with your stubbornness." the Englishman remarked in a jokingly, yet insulting manner. He had a half-smile, with the left side of his mouth arched up, showing a little bit of his stained teeth due to the lack of basic hygiene.
Harold sighed while looking at Arthur with an unsurprised face. He fully knew well that he had to practice and do as Arthur says - in case of ye olde pooper of fun mentioning the sloth of the young man. 'Well, it wouldn't exactly be sloth, if one were to consider the fact that his time has been productive in learning more about the natural terra the lord gave us' Harold reasoned.
'Nope. Certainly not a sin of sloth at all.'
Walking up to the lustrous sword that gleamed in the sunlight, temporarily blinding the young man, Harold picked the sharp weapon up and within less than a second, surprisingly stabbed in the direction of Arthur.
The sword came within 1 cm from spilling the guts of the now shocked and frightened man.
"What in the heavens are you doing, you madman!" Arthur shouted with disgust.
Harold laughed -
his arse off.
Ye olde pooper of fun was red in the face with embarrassment.
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It was during sunset when the news came. Harold, and his three brothers Tostig, Gyrth, and Leofwine, Godwin, Gytha, and of course, Ye olde pooper of fun were sitting around the lavishly huge wooden dinner table in Godwin's manor. There were such finely meats as lamb, beef, and hedgehog; there were also roast geese and ducks.
"Mmm! This..mmm... is... hhh...is...mmm... simply ravishing!" Leofwine delightfully lauded highly as he ate a breast of one of the geese. He then burped for a whole ten seconds in one go.
The brothers laughed and gave him praises for his fine burp. Leofwine was definitely the best burper - possibly in all of the land of the Angles.
"Oh! I might beat you this time, dear brother." Harold challenged his younger brother. It took him some moments and preparation in order to get the biggest and longest one out of his digestion system.
But then he did it.
It lasted for a measly 5 seconds.
"Oh Harold! I thought you could've at least beaten me that time!" Leofwine remarked with confidence because of his rival brother's loss in the burping challenge they informally created.
"I think your older brother, Sweyen, once won against Leofwine onetime..." Gyrth said, thinking about the past.
"Hmm... oh yes, yes! I remember that time now!" Tostig replied in realization of the incident.
The seven men and woman continued on with their dinner, while the 4 brothers talked and bickered while they ate their hearty meals. In between, servants would occasionally take the empty plates, or set new dishes onto the table. Arthur ate in silence (or rather, in annoyance of the brothers), while the Earl and his wife quietly conversed with each other.
What a typical family (plus one guest, of course).
"Um, m-m-master." a lowly male servant said quietly right beside Godwin. His stammering voice was almost unheard by the earl because of the four males who are still continuing their burping contest.
"What is it?" the earl asked in annoyance, being interrupted from his dinner.
"I've just heard rather shocking news." the servant replied with a stoic face.
"Well? Spit it out peasant." the earl said with a mouth full of hedgehog.
"Well..."
...
"Sweyen-has-recently-been-exiled-for-abducting-the-abbess-of-Leominister." the servile man said, all in one breath. 3 of the brothers heard what the man said, and immediately became silent. Harold was the only brother who just realized what the servant said, after his laugh was the only thing to be heard for miles. Gytha's cheeks immediately turned from a rosy pink colour to a ghostly white. Godwin had no visible sign of any emotion at all on his face.
Arthur then stood up hastily and slapped both of his hands on the table, glaring at the servant who brought the unfortunate news.
"What in god's name did you just say?" he asked in disbelief.
"You heard what he said." Godwin replied to the Angle.
"Well...ye-yes, bu-" Arthur stammered, while Godwin simply interrupted and said, "There is no need for more bickering. We must act rationally. Harold. You will be my heir because Sweyen is obviously not available for the position now. We will eat in silence!" Godwin stressed the last word with a thunderous voice.
The rest of the dinner was very awkwardly silent. The brothers all looked at Harold, wondering what he was thinking of at that time.
To be quite blunt,
Harold was shocked.
He may never see his brother again. The absence of his brother has now made him the next Earl of Wessex, pretty much the position just a little lower than that of the king of all of England.
He felt horrible for taking it away from dear old Sweyen.
'Oh, Sweyen. Why?
...
Why did you do such an idiotic thing?'
For the remainder of the meal, Harold didn't eat, while the others only ate the leftovers they had from their plates.
Is being the Earl of Wessex destined for Harold?
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Some Historical Insight:
-I talked all about that religious babble because Christianity obviously was popular back then in Europe. Also, the reason why the midwife told Gytha to admit all of her sins was because back then, the chance of a mother surviving childbirth was so low that Christian churches made it clear that expecting mothers should admit their sins in case they die during those critical moments
-Godwin is the Earl of Wessex, and married Gytha. They had the following children (in order of their age): Sweyn, Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine, and a daughter, Edith of Wessex
-the reason why I didn't mention Edith of Wessex during the dinner was because by that time, she was already married to Edward the Confessor. Thus, I, as any other person would, assume that she would be living with Ed then
-yes, they did eat hedgehogs, geese, and duck back in the Middle Ages
-yes, burping was seen as respectful back in the Middle Ages as well
-the crow thing never actually happened. That was just dramatic license on my part for a great foreshadowing element and for symbolical purposes