Chapter 9
Finn noticed when Esther later spoke outdoors to Bennett's Wife. He wondered if the girl's mother would take offense on behalf of her daughter or if she would warn the girl to leave Finn and Rika alone. Afterward, Esther talked to her son.
"Ayanna will talk to Celesta. She will say she saw the girl talking to you. She will especially tell the girl not to use any spells that might interfere with your courting Rika."
"That's a relief." Finn had no idea what level of spell-casting Celesta had achieved. Some girls her age were barely getting started, according to Esther.
"That does not mean that Celesta will not use her normal feminine wiles to split up you and Rika."
"Feminine wiles? What can she do?" Finn wondered.
"I don't believe she will back off from this. So, watch your step, son."
Finn found this all very annoying. His arm hurt, his father didn't want him to marry Rika, and now Celesta was interfering. What more could go wrong?
Since his arm was wounded, he was not in the mood to practice sword fighting with his two younger brothers. At one point he wandered out to the meadow where the younger boys were guarding the stock. Kol was chasing another boy in play, but when he saw Finn, he stopped and walked to where the young man stood.
"No bears today, Finn," he announced.
"You weren't really watching, were you?"
"Yes, I was! Sorta," Kol admitted. "Niklaus is watching. He's good at it."
Finn noticed that the eleven-year-old was chatting with a boy his age, and really, neither of them were looking around.
"It's a good thing the sheep and cattle are calm," he commented to the boy.
"I guess they forgot about the bear. I sometimes wonder how all these animals could come over the sea in the boats. They must be awfully huge. The boats, I mean."
"They seemed huge to me because I was as little as Rebekah is, but they are not as huge as you might think. All these cows and sheep didn't come on the boats, only some of them. Since the time we arrived, the number of animals has tripled."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the bulls and the rams have been busy mating with the cows and sheep to make calves and lambs. And we have many pigs and chickens."
"Are you and Rika going to do that when you get married?" Kol asked in all innocence.
"What?"
"Are you going to climb on her and make a baby?"
Taken aback by the boy's question, Finn managed to say, "I guess I will,"
"That's weird. Will she let you? I mean, it seems like the cows or ewes or hens run away sometimes like they don't want to make a baby."
Finn wasn't sure how to answer these questions. Where was a bear when you needed one? "Kol, a man and a woman are supposed to both agree to make a baby. They get married so they can start a family with many children." He thought he shouldn't mention that having sex was supposed to be fun, babies or not. That's what his father Mikael had told him. So had a couple of boys a bit older than Finn, but unless there was marriage, babies were not the goal.
"How will I know who I have to marry? I think girls act funny and are sort of weird," Kol said. He had been upset when Rebekah was born and he had seen that she was missing a part. His mother had told him that the baby was a normal girl, and he had accepted that. Now Rebekah seemed giggly and a nuisance.
"I guess they are," Finn said, and he had to laugh at Kol's expression. "But I love Rika's weirdness. Look over there. Those two lambs are heading for the woods. Go get them."
Kol, carrying his spear as usual, ran off to stop the two gambling lambs from straying. So did another boy who was being diligent and saw them.
Walking back to the house, Finn met Rika. They gave each other a hug and a kiss, but nothing too passionate. There were many people out and about who could see them.
"Kol asked me if I was going to climb on you to make a baby," Finn said with a broad grin.
"He did? What did you say?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"I said I planned on it." He gave her another quick kiss.
"My father said he will get some men to build us a small hut. Very soon. He wants me to marry you before your father gets back."
"Everyone wants us to marry before my father gets back," Finn said, shaking his head. Sometimes he felt unsure of disobeying his father. On the other hand, Finn felt he was a man now and had a right to make his own decisions.
"I don't really want people watching while you 'climb on top of me,'" she giggled.
"I certainly don't plan to do it like a bull or a ram," Finn chuckled.
"I should hope not. We'll do it the man and woman way. I expect you to be gentle with me."
"I will be gentle," he promised, but in truth he wasn't sure he could be gentle. He had been told it was very uncomfortable the first time for a woman, gentle or not.
They had time to go for a walk in the woods south of the village. The weather was nice, neither hot nor cold. They talked as they followed the contour of the terrain, which sloped downhill a bit and then upward. All around them the land either rose or fell away because they were in the foothills of the forested mountains to the west. Coming to a clearing, they stood and looked at the bluish uplands.
"Have you ever wanted to climb those mountains? They seem so high compared to these hills," Rika said.
"I never thought about it. The older people here say those are just high hills compared to the mountains of the homeland," Finn said. He had been too young when the settlers' ships had sailed away to recall the Scandinavian peaks. All he remembered was the coast near the village and the forest.
After a short while, they began walking back toward the village. They skirted around a rocky spot which led to a cave. It was known that there was a short system of underground passages in the area. The temperature inside was quite cool and some foods were stored there. After they walked by the entrance, the ground under Rika gave way, and with a surprised cry, she fell down into the hole.
Fearful that she was injured, Finn knelt at the edge of the hole and looked into the darkness. "Are you hurt, Rika? Please answer me."
"I think I'm alright, except my ankle hurts a little. I might have twisted it when I landed down here," the girl said in a shaky voice.
Finn's eyes adjusted to the dim light below and he could see Rika's blond hair and pale face. She was about fifteen feet below him, too far for him to reach her with his good arm.
Rika's eyes also adjusted to the reduced light and she looked around. She knew it was a side passage of the cave because there were some baskets of fruit resting there. In fact, some dirt and rocks from the new opening above were covering one of the baskets. Beyond where she sat on a pile of dirt, there was just darkness. Torches were normally used to light the tunnels when a person went there on purpose.
"It's very dark down here, Finn. I don't think I can find my way out to the cave opening."
"Stay where you are. I'm going to get help," Finn said. He stood and hurried toward the village center and went to Rika's home first. The brothers Anders and Jan were sitting outside their long house.
"There's a cave-in by the cave entrance and Rika fell in! We either need a ladder to put down the hole or torches to find her in the cave," Finn explained.
"Is she hurt?" Jan asked, alarmed for his daughter.
"Maybe her ankle. She may have twisted it."
"Let's hope it's not broken," Anders said. He and his brother were already lame.
"Take our tall ladder, Finn," Jan said. "Anders, go with him. I see Erik over there. Get him, too."
In a short time, Finn, Anders, Erik and a couple of other men were by the hole. After speaking to Rika and assured that she was still sitting there, the men prepared to lower the ladder.
"Can you move over to one side?" Finn asked the girl.
"Yes. Give me a moment."
"Look at the thickness of the earth here," Anders said, studying the edge of the hole. "I don't understand why it would cave in at this point."
"That is very strange," Erik agreed. "People have walked through here many times."
Finn shook his head in disbelief that the ground would give way under Rika. Looking around, he noticed that several women had come to watch the rescue. One of them was Celesta. Surely she had had nothing to do with this! Or had she?
A/N Did Celesta cast a spell or was the accident just a natural happening? Thanks for reading, guys. I really appreciate it. And thank you for those who are reading and following some of my other stories.
