"Hakon? Is it?" The Berserker Chief walked up to the table of seven teenagers, who were enjoying the feast.
The healer smirked and stood up to face the Berserker Chief. "Dagur? Is it?"
"Hmn, whatever … I understand you're my brother-in-law now?"
"So it would seem."
"And as the brother of my wife, I'm sure you would be willing to do us both a great favour."
"That depends on the favour."
"Your sister might be pregnant, and she refuses to visit any of the healers or midwives on our Island. Would you—"
"No, two reasons, I'm not the right healer for pregnancies and I possess certain grudges against her. Are you sure to trust her to the person that most of all wants to murder her?"
"She told me of your petty childhood rivalry—"
"Petty? Petty?! You call being left without eyesight 'petty'?" Hakon's face seemed to darken even with a blindfold.
"Are you going to help me or what?" The wife of the Berserker Chief walked up to her brother. "Besides, what did mommy always teach you? Always help those in need." The girl imitated their mother.
The knuckles of the blind healer turned white. "How dare you?"
"We can talk about the many crimes that cover our family name on our way to your healing hut." She began to walk out of the Great Hall, not willing to listen to any protests.
"Oh, I fear that would take a lifetime to retell." Hakon mumbled.
"I hate it when she does that." Dagur mumbled.
"Huh, you didn't live with her for 10 years straight. So you can't judge." Hakon smirked, knowing the horrifying face his brother-in-law was giving.
-000-
"Alvin, do we have a deal?" She said, coming inside the healer's place of work.
"What deal?" The brother come in, pulling the curtain closed behind him.
"Let me spell it out for you. We become allies, keeping each other's secrets shut tight. In exchange, I deliver you Berserker Island and you offer me protection. It's simple blackmail."
"How do I know you just don't actually become pregnant and give birth to a healthy Heir?"
"Because you're going to give me a herb that will prevent pregnancy." She smirked, evilly.
"What?"
"You are going to check if I am indeed pregnant and you will give me a herb that prevented pregnancy."
"I'm not that type of healer for pregnancies. And that type of plant does not exist."
"Then why did I find this book in your old room?" She held up a dusty grey book. "Oh I forgot, you can't read anymore, so I'll tell you the title 'The Woman's Anatomy during Pregnancy', it's also written by you, judging by the hand-writing, so you can't deny that you know what it's got written into it."
He face-palmed. "Yep, I'm a goner." The healer mumbled.
"And besides, I once heard mother talking about such plants, she didn't want more children, unlike Father."
Hakon groaned, he really hated his twin now. "Alright get undressed, I need to see if you're actually pregnant." He could feel her stare on him. "I'm your twin brother." He could still feel the glare. "And I'm blind."
Twenty minutes he asked questions and inspected her, being blind he had to use his touch making him feel unbelievably uncomfortable.
"Are you done? This is going to look very suspicious if my husband will walk in? Or any other person, for that matter. Besides, this is unbelievably awkward."
"And yet you didn't find it awkward when you were 12, when a different man did this to you? A man that wasn't your husband? Hmn."
"You keep your mouth shut? You don't want people to know you're more of a freak than you already are?"
"If you mention anything to anyone be sure that your husband will be first to know that you weren't a maid when you came to his bed … Why did you do it anyway? You know the sort of penalties that would have happened, should Father ever have discovered that?"
"I'm an Outcast. I was born immoral and a criminal. Unlike you, who was always so … saintly. It's difficult to believe that we are twins, being as different as two people could be."
Hakon remained silent. "Put your clothes back on." He ordered, walking up to a bowl of water and washing his hands.
"Am I …?"
"Yes … You are pregnant. I congratulate you." He said, bitterly.
The only sound in the tent was the deep breaths of the girl. "Is there something that could get rid of the child?"
"This question really bothers me, how could you be willing to kill your own child?"
"You know very well why. Firstly, I would make an awful mother and what would it do to the child, should his father be Dagur. Secondly, I need your silence. Thirdly, we both agree that I am a heartless creature. Now give me the herb, and plenty of it, since I want to take some with me, should I fall pregnant again."
Hakon sighed, but stood up anyways and searched his private apothecary for the herb, pressing the jar of each plant to his nostrils. "Here, have it." He put the handful of leaves into her palm. "One leaf per pregnancy, if you eat more or less than that, you could damage yourself greatly. Just swallow that damn thing." He felt the tent and headed for the Great Hall.
"I thought he'd put up more of a fight than that." She said, slipping a leaf into her mouth and swallowing it, instantly feeling queasy.
-000-
"Well?" Dagur asked, upon seeing Hakon enter the Great Hall.
"She's not with child. No." He said, taking his former seat and resuming the feast.
"You're sure?" Dagur demanded.
"Yes … I'm a well-trained healer. I know when women are and are not pregnant."
"Wait a minute, I thought you said that you didn't know about pregnancies." Tuffnut asked, dumb as usual, not knowing to mind his own business.
"My sister has ways to … remind me of certain things." Hakon stuffed his face in the food.