A/N: Sorry for the delay but thank you all once again for all the love! A special shout out to my guest reviewers, I cannot send you all replies but your comments are appreciated all the same :) Also, someone told me that pinkblueyellow92 recommended this fic on Tumblr, so I'd like to thank her for that!
Before this chapter, you'll need to know that lunds are something like sacred groves of the Vikings, where they used to engage in ritual worship or where their magical women practiced their craft. Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Of Longhouses and Witches (Part Two)
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." ― Albert Camus
Honey and snow- the dual hues swept across the secluded pocket of land where she was currently standing. An innocent sort of wonder blossomed in her heart as she beheld the untarnished beauty of the place; it truly appeared as if colossal sheets of stars had been spread across the landscape, though in this case the stars were actually ethereal, delicate flowers whose velvety petals shimmered in the morning light.
She turned in awe to Ayanna. "If I had known earlier that you work in paradise, I'd have tacked that ring on my finger much sooner!"
The morning had started unremarkably enough, with her grumbling incoherently and flailing her hands about uselessly, as someone shook her awake gently but persistently. She had rubbed her bleary eyes open and glowered at the unwanted presence, before she recognised Ayanna and promptly lurched up in embarrassment. How could she forget where she was?
"I'm very sorry for disturbing your sleep Caroline, but I thought to bring you some food."
"Oh please don't apologise, I should be the one to say sorry, Ayanna; I do hope that I have not been a bother to you."
The other woman smiled. "No, of course not. I was hoping to be able to talk to you without an audience hanging about our every word, that's why I chose to wake you up after everyone had left the house. I settled things with Mikael and Esther yesterday; you may have to bear with them later on because they are in awe of your supposed divinity and Mikael himself wishes to do everything possible to make you feel welcome here."
She burst out laughing. "That is so surreal! But it's wonderful as well! Hopefully they won't see through my deception."
"I hope so too. Right now we are alone- Mikael went to the forge to make new weapons for his upcoming voyage, the Pavlovs are taking a stroll in the village, and Esther is combing Rebekah's hair outside where the rest of the children are playing…"
She interrupted her. "Oh yes, I totally forgot to ask you about that! In my time, we tend to have the impression that your people were all filthy savages, so I was most surprised to find you all so concerned about your appearances and personal hygiene. I didn't even know that you all use soap!"
Ayanna chuckled. "It is true, cleanliness is of great importance to all of us and we take immense pride in grooming ourselves to perfection. On Laugardagr, especially, all of us spend most of the day bathing and doing our laundry since it is our Washing Day. As for our soap, it is not simply used for bathing, but also to bleach our hair whenever we can."
"Why on earth would you do that?"
"I thought you knew. Blonde hair is highly sought after in our society; that's another reason why Mikael and Esther had no trouble believing that you are an álfar, since you have the prized hair colour."
"Wow, that's news to me! But in that case, isn't it disappointing for them that out of all their children, only Niklaus and Rebekah have inherited their golden hair?"
"I don't think Esther really cares about that. After all, she is their mother and loves all of her children no matter the colour of their hair. Mikael is an entirely different story though. I know from what you mentioned yesterday that you're aware of Nik's true parentage. So yes, I believe that it does grate at Mikael that the only Mikaelson boy with blonde hair is not his son at all, and it simply serves as a visual reminder of Esther's infidelity. Unfortunately, this also contributes towards his hatred of the poor boy."
They both remained silent for a while.
"Well, this has certainly not been the best start to your morning! Please permit me to make amends. I completely forgot to give you this (raising a thin piece of linen which was covering an earthen bowl on the bench nearby); it is a wild rabbit that I caught early this morning. I left it raw because I knew that you'd want to have its blood. Hopefully this will suffice for now. I shall provide you with another dress to change into once you've eaten."
That was so thoughtful of her! She beamed appreciatively at Ayanna before accepting the bowl of food. She had not caught the scent of the rabbit's blood before, perhaps because she was distracted while talking to Ayanna and also because she did not usually bother to breathe since she was a vampire.
As she ate quietly, she listened to Ayanna's description of her duties in the village. Apparently, magical women like her were known as völur, and it fell upon them to negotiate with guardian spirits, the spirits of animals, the dead, or various deities whenever any villagers faced health crises. Thus, her kind had regular and frequent interactions with supernatural spirits.
She proposed that Caroline should follow her today (it seemed that the villagers sought her help daily in a lund, which was something like a sacred grove), and after she completed her day's work, she would try to break the spell on Caroline's ring and send her home.
"I see no problem with that plan, but I must ask you for a favour. I have only one set of undergarments and wish to wash them, so I was wondering if there was anything else I could wear in the meantime?"
Ayanna raised an eyebrow. "We do not really use undergarments here. Only the wealthiest amongst us, like Esther, sew linen underclothes for their personal use. However, I can provide you with linen cloths and you may utilise them however you wish."
She blushed and thanked her gratefully. After eating, she went to bathe and changed into an emerald dress of Ayanna's, before fastening a simple bone pin onto the matching cloak that she'd been given.
Once she was ready, Ayanna showed her a certain area in the Longhouse that had been set aside for her (it was close to the central hearth, marking the Mikaelsons' respect for her). She quickly placed the box with the marble slab and her Prom dress there, ensuring that the garment concealed the box from prying eyes, before Ayanna led her to the sacred grove.
They had walked through a ring of trees surrounding the lund, ending up here in this little piece of heaven. She sped past Ayanna to the centre of the grove and flung herself down among the flowers, looking around at the beautiful surroundings in pure delight.
"This place is seriously awesome! I'm so happy that we're going to spend the whole day here!"
Ayanna actually giggled as she joined her, lying down on the grass and gazing up at the sky. "I love this place too; it's wonderful for me to be able to work here every day! After all, nature is where witches like me feel most comfortable."
"So you're just going to wait here until someone appears with a health complaint?"
"Yes, that's what I usually do. Although since you're here, we can talk about whatever you want before anyone comes along. I can't counter the spells on your ring yet anyway, because I don't want to risk someone spotting us and getting suspicious."
She grinned. "You're going to regret that offer! I have so many questions that I hardly know where to begin!"
"Start with the simplest one then."
"Let me see… where's Esther? I thought she was your apprentice and would be here too."
"She usually comes here only in the afternoons. She is the Chief's wife, so she has numerous other responsibilities to attend to in the mornings, such as solving the disputes or listening to the grievances of the women in the village. Mikael is also planning to embark on a sea journey soon, so she has the added burden of completing the weaving of the sails for his ship. She has been preparing them for over a year now."
"It really sounds like hard work! It's no wonder that she couldn't keep track of Nik yesterday, what with being so busy."
"Yes, I face the same problem with my girl. Dalla is Finn's age and she runs around with the boys all the time, making it extremely difficult for me to keep an eye on her. I'm hoping that she will stop being such a hoyden when she grows up."
"Don't worry; I'm sure she'll turn out just fine. That reminds me, Finn seems so quiet and withdrawn for such a small boy. Why is that?"
"I think the boy is simply shy and sensitive, so he doesn't really talk much to others. Esther worries about him, but she is so busy that oftentimes she simply leaves it up to the gods to take care of him along with her other children."
"I see." She picked a flower and idly plucked out its petals one by one, absorbed deeply in her whirling thoughts.
"Ayanna, I never understood why Mikael let Nik have his family name if he detested him so much. Why did he do that?"
"Ah, that is a long and sad story and he had a couple of reasons for what he did, but I'll tell you everything I know."
I first met the Mikaelsons when they migrated here after the death of their first son Aaron. Esther was pregnant with Elijah at the time, and we became friends after I helped her with the baby's delivery. Slowly, I learnt that theirs was an arranged marriage, though it was not exactly devoid of love- Mikael had fallen for Esther from the moment he first laid eyes upon her. She, on the other hand, respected and cared for him, but it was never truly enough.
I feel sorry for Mikael sometimes; the man had been brought up in a military family where all the men took pride in fighting battles and setting sail on lengthy voyages, so he had no proper idea how to display tenderness and affection towards his beloved wife.
It so happened that he left for a long raid some time after Finn's birth. Esther started taking walks in the woods whenever the children were asleep, because the forest reminded her of her homeland. A few months after that, she came to me with distress and misery etched all over her face, all at once declaring that she had fallen in love with the chief of the nearby village.
I was aghast and couldn't bring myself to speak for several moments; we all knew that the accursed neighbouring village was infested by wolves, and I couldn't fathom how Esther could betray Mikael like that, especially when she already had two children with him. She was still my friend, however, so I tried convincing her to see reason and end the affair before it became too late.
How naïve I was! The worst was yet to come- Esther was carrying her lover's child. I was terrified for her. If Mikael found out what had happened, it was highly probable that he would kill both her and the child in his fury. I begged her to take a potion that I had brewed; it would get rid of the foetus and hopefully save her from Mikael's wrath, but she stubbornly refused to take it.
"This child is a symbol of my love," she told me. "I would die a thousand deaths rather than lose my baby. Let Mikael come, I will bear whatever punishment he metes out for this."
It was a time of complete madness. We were both so very young, and so very scared. I spent days praying to the goddesses Frigg and Freyja, singing ritual galdr-songs for the protection of both the mother and the child. Nik was born eight months later, a few days before Mikael was due to come home. Esther adored the child- often spending hours tracing his little fingers and toes, and humming soft lullabies to him.
When Mikael arrived, I think the entire village must have held its breath in anticipation. It was no secret that the child was not of his blood. Someone must have informed him of what had occurred, for the first thing he did was grab Esther's hand and lead both her and the new baby to the nearest outhouse before shutting the door behind them. I waited outside for a long time, anxious to find out what would happen.
The shadows were lengthening in the night sky long before he finally came out. I was shocked to see tears streaming down his face. He gave me a curt nod, and then strode off towards the Longhouse. I rushed inside the outhouse to find Esther and saw her weeping, hiding her face in her baby's neck.
She never told me anything about what exactly happened that day, but made me promise never to reveal the true identity of Nik's father under any circumstances. Following that, we were all stunned when Mikael chose to preside over the rites of birth of the child. In our culture, the child has to be recognised by the father of the household nine nights after birth. I think Mikael agreed to do this not only because of his love for Esther, but also because he wished to spite the real father of the child. He placed the infant on his knee while sitting on a traditional high seat, and water was sprinkled on the babe to represent his admittance into the family.
When the time came for him to name the child, Mikael proved that he was not willing to simply brush everything aside, and refused to call the baby Aaron according to Esther's wishes. Instead, he named him Niklaus after one of his ancestors who had been reviled for being a craven simpleton.
You may not understand the significance of this act, but we often name children after our forefathers or specific deities, since we believe that certain qualities are connected to certain names and that these traits will be carried on when the names are re-used by new generations. Thus, Mikael had his revenge by naming Esther's bastard son Niklaus.
Over time, Esther learnt to love Mikael and she even had Kol and Rebekah with him. I believe that he is content with her as well, but his happiness is always cut short whenever he catches sight of Nik, and that is when his temper takes a turn for the worst. That's why Esther tries to keep them apart as much as possible, and she restrains herself from being too affectionate with Nik in front of Mikael.
That was a lot for her to take in. She had always imagined Mikael to be some kind of demon who abused his wife and children for no rhyme or reason, but this put things in a new perspective. She had never really taken the time to consider how hard it must be for someone to live with a formerly cheating spouse, let alone one who had a child as a result of the affair. It must have been hell for Mikael to be subjected to that, so it was unsurprising that he found it near impossible to love Nik like he did his other children.
Her thoughts were disrupted as a villager entered the grove, seeking a cure for the severe pain in his chest. The next few hours passed by at a snail's pace, as she observed Ayanna treat patients with poultices containing various herbs, or call upon the spirits to heal them as required.
Esther made an appearance about halfway into the afternoon, bringing some freshly cooked meat and vegetables with her. Caroline was amused when she noticed her reverent attitude towards her, but continued to play her part and ate the lunch provided. Esther told her that she was welcome to stay with them for as long as she wanted, and to feel free to ask them for anything she needed. She thanked her for her consideration and said that she would take her up on the kind offer.
The day passed pleasantly enough, and Esther left sometime in the evening to prepare dinner. Ayanna took the opportunity to cast a boundary spell around the lund, ensuring that nobody else would enter the grove that day. She then proceeded to take hold of Caroline's hand, closing her eyes and chanting some unintelligible mantras under her breath.
Suddenly, Caroline's hand burst into flames and she screamed in terror, quickly yanking it out of Ayanna's grasp and beating it on the ground to put out the fire. Ayanna's face was ashen when she glanced at her.
"I am so sorry Caroline! Something is seriously wrong here but I can't figure it out, even the spirits are not helping me to reverse the enchantments on your ring. I think we need to take a break from this and try again another day."
All of her hopes had been dashed. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed in anguish, wanting more than anything in the world to flee from this terrible nightmare.
I had a hard time with this chapter because most of the two parts were written after 4x20, which really drained my inspiration. Sorry for the lack of Askr and Embla, but hopefully it's come out fine in the end!
Now for the notes…
1. Lördag/Laugardagr translates into Washing Day in Old Norse, and is known as Saturn's Day or Saturday in English. In fact, most people are not aware that four days of the week are named after Norse gods- Tuesday is Tyr's Day, Wednesday is Odin's Day, Thursday is Thor's Day and Friday is Frigg or Freyja's Day.
2. Frigg is a major goddess in Norse paganism. She is said to be the wife of Odin, "foremost among the goddesses" and the queen of Asgard.
3. Some kind of shamanistic priesthood seems to have existed among the Vikings, focusing especially on magical women known as völur. These priests in the context of the Shamanistic ritual would advocate for human clients and act to restore or assure productive relations between the human community as a whole and the supernatural community, mainly through supernatural soul travel and quests.
4. The Vikings' love of blonde hair and the description of their birthing rituals in the chapter are all true. Additionally, putting the child on the knee of the father confirmed his or her status as a member of the clan and bestowed the rights connected to this status. The child could no longer be killed, or exposed by the parents, without its being considered murder.
Thank you all for reading, please don't forget to leave a review behind! :) I'd like to know if you think the pace of the story is ok, and I'm also going to leave out the love triangle so hope you're all happy! :)
Till next time,
Christine Rose
