Translator's note: This time I haven't taken so long to update, and I promises that I will update as soon as I get 10 reviews for this chapter.


Chapter 9

The next day I was horrible, I had bags under my eyes while Eric looked spectacular or more gorgeous than normal. What Freira was giving him was making the bastard feel wonderful.

We were eating a good breakfast, because the day had turned to be icy, and cloudless.

"Tomorrow we'll go and clean the weed from the field, today and tomorrow we could take a last look at mushrooms, before the snow that's is coming buries them"

"How do you know that it will snow soon?" I asked.

"These cloudless days after the storm ones advertise of the snow on these lands. It's like the calm before the storm" He told me "Audr came to earth in one of these days" I stared at him with the wooden spoon halfway to my mouth.

"You mean it's Audr's birthday[1]?"

"The, what of Audr?"

"The anniversarium" I told him in Latin "of Audr's birth"

"Oh, yeah" he sipped his milk "It will be five autumns since she was born."

As the boss had planned, we went looking for mushrooms at midmorning. I picked so many wild strawberries and also we were lucky enough that Audr see a hare and that it lead us, not without some troubles, to Eric the father, Leif and Erik the young, to its burrow. So that day we ate a terrific hare's broth with some parsnips, which is what I used instead of potatoes. Eric keep the mother and the kits in a wooden cage to take care of them until we could eat them with a good size.

In the afternoon I started the plan I had devised during the morning. Audr, children and me deserved feast. And the birth of the baby of the family was so a happy and wonderful event that deserves a celebration.

"Can I borrow your hammer and your... your...?" I don't know how to say chisel in Nordic "that" I said pointing it. Eric was fixing a pole of the stable. It was a shame pulling away the hammer from his hand because the bastard was spectacular. He gave it to me and followed me, thinking about what I would do with that. I went inside the house and grabbed a birch twig had meticulously selected. It was like a magician's stick, but in miniature, the size of a pen. I placed the chisel and hammer up, closed my eyes and when he was lowering his hand with all my strength, Eric took my wrist.

"I will do whatever you want to do."

"Oh, thank you. Can you open a round hole in the middle of this little piece of wood about this size" I indicated "and file it? At its thickest point, please" Eric grab the wood, took it, turned with a tool similar to a spiral bit, and opened the hole I had asked. All the while he still judge me with his eyes. I don't have to know anything about Viking Tools!

He filed it, introduced the index finger in the hole to check it doesn't scrape and handed it to me.

"Happy?"

"Yes, a lot. Thank you" I turned and opened one of the trunks to which I have access and started pulling ribbons and bows in different colors. Eric thought he couldn't left his task for too long, it wasn't important how curious he felt about my madness. Also thought that being a woman, it wouldn't be important neither. I stuck my tongue, he was surprised and left with a frown, wondering what the reason I had made that gesture was?

I started crimping ribbons on the stick and then waved to see if it worked. I was sure that the little Audr would love to go dancing and jumping with them. Also, I could teach her some of the tricks girls in artistic gymnastics use. She would go crazy. I finished a new rag doll too and let some other things settled. I started making dinner late and I had to hide everything done between Eric's straw and wool bed to keep children of seeing it. Eric didn't went out of the house that night and he was very concerned that the house was cozy. He glanced at me more than once wondering what I was up to. He also thought that he liked how my eyes sparkled in the light of the fire and wondered if the bare, sweaty skin would shine in the same way. I pricked with the needle which I was using to embroider a linen cloth.

I told Erik, Leif and Audr the stories of the three little pigs and the Sleeping Beauty. Leif heard the first story paying attention and fairy tale with less attention. Eric stopped me and told me not to tell that nonsense to his children. According to him, those weren't "stories for future Viking warriors." So instead he told us how in one of his trips he had get four polar bear furs, waiting, attacking and fighting with the sword and shield with the bears and how one of them had been nothing more nothing less, the bear that had claimed the life of Asgeir the Barbarian (a local legend). I covered Audr's ears when he began giving details about blood and guts.

Erik didn't get to sleep until the middle of the night while Eric was snoring soundly.

I got up early. I heard Eric bustling outside the house. I took a wool fabric over and greeted him with bleary eyes. He was preparing the horse.

"Are you leaving?"

"We are leaving" he said "We have to clear the land before the snows arrive, avoid that when the first snow comes weeds damage the grain. Ensure that they haven't germinated at wrong time or it'll freeze and we'll lose the harvest."

"And you're going to make me walk while you are going in a war horse trotting?"

"You'll go over it with me" he threw some bags that carried farm tools inside and the horse complained, I could swear that it stared so bad his owner that its eyes flashed fire for a second.

"Why don't you hook it to the cart instead of loading it like a common mule?" Both man and beast snorted at once offended by my words.

"It's a war horse! I'm not tying it to the fucking cart" The horse scratched the earth with the hull, agreeing with its owner. I went to the stable ruminating.

"You're same jerk with horse and with Corvette" I whispered "I don't have time for you" I shouted "I have a lor of things to do."

Eric protested, but ignored him. I prepared breakfast for everyone and I ate a hurry runs. Eric tell me again that we had work to do in the field, and as much as it seduced me the idea to go riding with him on my back, or hugging his body, I had a birthday party to prepare. So he ended up taking to Leif.

"Be here on afternoon" I told them "Here, honey" I gave Leif a bag with food for the day and made him bend over to give me a kiss.

"Did you also put food for me, or not, woman?" Eric believed me quite capable of leaving him without eating, he was thinking that I was on it.

"I was hoping you bite your tongue during the journey and swallow it?" I gave a scourge to the horse and they went out to brisk trot. "Share the cheese and bacon!" I turned back and mentally organized my morning "Erik, I have many things to do, would you will keep an eye on your sister, right?" The boy nodded.

"But only if you made oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow" I wriggled his hair and kissed his forehead.

"Just like your Dad. We have to cut your hair a little, it's very long."

"The Vikings wear long hair."

"Not in my house" I concluded. Erik crossed his arms and gave defeated. I spent all morning going back and forth, changing rabbits for apples, alerting mothers to let their children go or take them to my house a little bit in after noon, and setting everything ready. I regretted not telling before Helga, because as soon as she found out what I was planning she was glad to come to help me with everything.

Halvar and Helga came to eat at home that day, so I prepared roasted rabbit and chicken, parsnips and a plate of peas with bacon. An hour later when the sun was in its highest point, we started to receive visitors and see some children arrive. Mothers didn't know very well to what they came, but I explained that it was a party due to the celebration Audr's fifth autumn since she was birth. The girl received her gifts, mine and hers grandmother: red wool dress and a new butterfly-shaped brooch. She got angry when I didn't let her wear them because I hope that with all the traditional games that I had prepared, the children were going to get very dirty. Soon the children understood the concept of "Anniversary Party" and parents too, because they started to bring things and join the celebration.

The party was being a success, I prepared milk with hazelnut butter, apple pies and strawberry cake, milk, rye and barley bread, there was beer and mead the last was also lowered for children (Erik and Audr were drinking goat milk and that's all) I don't think Audr deserve less than this party feast.


[1] She said this in english.