Dead with the Vikings – Chapter 20
A/N
Scandinavians are infamous for being broody and taking on all the guilt in the world. Well, I`m usually pretty positive and happy, but right now I feel guilty. I read and loved all your great reviews, but I never got the time to answer them. It was a choice – either answer them now and post tomorrow, or post now. I am posting a chapter now – so I will just say thank you to you all here!
A lot of you told me about your love for Scandinavia and/or your Scandinavian heritage. We are such a small corner of the world and it fills us with pride when anyone notices us – not to mention likes us. Yay!
I am sending all my love to Rascalthemutant who reads through all my stories and weeds out mistake after mistake. Thank you!
From the previous chapter:
"You will be fine," he said with confidence. I felt calm, like I always did when he was near me and I welcomed the feeling.
We came to an airstrip for private planes. There were a couple of hangars and two planes were out on the runway. Eric parked the car in the parking lot and grabbed our bags. He only had a small sports bag and so did Pam. I looked at them and my larger suitcase, but didn`t comment on it.
We walked over to the two planes and I saw a vampire standing at one of them. There was something familiar about him, something I couldn`t quite place.
We walked closer and then I saw who it was.
Steinngrim.
Chapter 20:
"Steinngrim," I exclaimed before I could stop myself.
He turned around with surprise written all over his face. Maybe he had never learned to hide his feelings or maybe he just didn`t bother to. He looked at me up and down and then to Eric.
"You are right. She recognizes me and I have never seen her before. How very odd."
He then did something vampires never do. He opened his arms and gave me an embrace. I was shocked to my core.
He chuckled. "You will soon find me to be a vampire out of the ordinary."
Pam rolled her eyes and Eric looked away. There was something between those three vampires I couldn`t read. As I couldn`t read Steinngrim`s mind, I looked at him. Could he read mine?
Apparently he could because he frowned. "I can read your mind when you are very loud, but it has taken me centuries of practice. I lost all my telepathy when I was turned and I had to rebuild it."
Eric coughed. "You need to get on the plane, Sookie." I then got my second vampire embrace in a few minutes. This time from Eric.
I looked at him, suddenly nervous. "Aren`t you coming too?"
Eric`s eyes met mine and they were full of pain. "I am getting on the other plane. The plane going to Las Vegas."
"You can`t go to Las Vegas without me. Felipe will never accept it."
"He will have to."
"No, I…" That was as far as I got before I had Eric`s lips on mine. He gave me a very passionate kiss and I couldn`t help kissing him back even though my brain was filled with questions for him.
After minutes of kissing, he pulled back and his eyes were on me again.
"You will take care of yourself and the baby, Sookie. My love will be with you always."
Before I could protest, I had my third vampire hug. Pam gave me an embrace as warm as any cold-blooded vampire could.
"It has been a treat knowing you, Sookie," she said and it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Were we saying goodbye forever?
Eric growled at Pam and she looked down. Apparently she had said too much.
Suddenly my two vampires were inside their plane and it taxied off the runway. I stood there gaping, wondering what had just happened. And wondering what was going to happen.
I didn`t like it one bit.
Xxxx
I had Steinngrim`s arm wrapped around my waist and pulling me into the other plane. The plane without Eric and Pam.
I was stunned. I trusted Eric to do his best to save my life and the life of my, of our, baby. And not only to save us, but to make sure we would live in freedom.
But now I suddenly realized that I wasn`t so sure I trusted that Eric would include himself in my life. I gasped from the shock of that realization. I couldn`t breathe.
"You will be fine, Sookie. I will take care of you," Steinngrim`s soothing voice was in my ear. I looked around. We were now inside the plane, buckled up and the engines were starting to roar. When had that happened?
"Where is Eric going?" I asked.
"They are going to make sure you will be fine. Eric was wise to contact me, though I was very surprised since it has literally been ages since I`ve heard from him. But he knows you will be safe with me. That I won`t hurt you."
"But why?"
The plane started to taxi and I could feel a slight nausea build in my stomach. I didn`t know if it was the pregnancy or the imminent flight. I had never been thrilled about flying. Steinngrim held my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Why what?" Steinngrim smiled. "Why I won`t hurt you?"
"No, why Eric couldn`t come too." I looked at him. "And why you won`t hurt me."
The plane was up in the air and I couldn`t help looking out the window which didn`t improve my nausea. I swallowed heavily.
"Why should I? I`ve always respected people, even before True Blood. And now it is to my advantage, what with us coming out of the coffin and all. As king of…"
"You are king?" I looked at him. I would never have taken him for a vampire who could fight himself into power – or to keep it.
I must have looked puzzled or maybe Steinngrim had read my thoughts. He laughed. "I never was a fighter, but I`m not stupid and brains are important if you want power. And I`m king of a country most vampires shun. I mean, who would want to live in the land of the midnight sun? It would be like humans choosing to live in the land of poisonous gasses. When you add to it that my country was dirt poor up until 50 years ago, competition was scarce. I haven`t had to fight that much."
"You`re king of Norway?" I remembered the commercials with the fjords and the mountains – and the midnight sun.
Steinngrim nodded proudly. "I am. It`s not the most important vampire country in the world, but it`s my birth country and I`m sentimental." Steinngrimm looked at me. "Much more so than Eric. He moved to other countries, other fights. I stayed behind."
I nodded. Eric had been called Viking by other vampires, but he had never flashed it himself. Apart from the sword I had seen him fight with in New Orleans and the gibberish Norse he spoke in intimate situations, Eric never showed his Nordic heritage. Of course, he looked like a Viking even in Fangtasia t-shirts, but that was his build and colors giving him away.
Steinngrim continued. "I have a great working relationship with the humans and we have become sort of a safe haven for vampires from other parts of the world. At least in the winter. Which was probably why Eric called me. He wanted the services of our VPP."
"VPP?"
Steinngrim beamed. "Vampire Protection Plan. We hide vampires and give them new identities. Only with you it`s going to be different. You are the first human I`m going to hide."
"So Eric called you to hide me? Not himself or Pam?"
"You will be safe," Steinngrim answered, completely ignoring my question. "The human government is helping out and if we can teach you Norwegian quickly, you`ll blend right in with the locals. Eric told me you knew some Norse?"
"I sort of had it in my brain when I woke up back in the past, in your past. I think it`s still there."
Steinngrim smiled and it was weird to see the fangs in his mouth.
"Splendid. Splendid. Then maybe you could go into teaching. We help out the historic department at the universities and also run a Viking Knowledge Park for kids and people interested in the Viking age. Someone with fresh knowledge of Norse, a knowledge that hasn`t been tainted by a thousand years of other languages, is very valuable."
This conversation turned weirder and weirder. Was I, Sookie Stackhouse, barmaid with no education, going to teach at universities? I shook my head.
"It`s all up to you, of course," Steinngrim said quickly. "You are free to live your life as you want in my kingdom. I will take measures to ensure your safety, but apart from that you are free as a bird."
"Why are you doing this for me?" I finally asked. I wasn`t exactly used to the word `freedom` coming out of fanged mouths.
Steinngrim looked at me. "To be honest, I`m not doing it for you, but for Eric. He means a lot to me." Steinngrim smiled and jerked his whole body in my direction. "And of course your story about going back and being my friend in a past I can`t remember, was just too funny to resist." He laughed and slapped his own thigh. "I had to meet you after Eric told me."
"But if you and Eric are close, why isn`t he living in Norway too?"
Steinngrim was quiet for a long time. "Eric and I are not as close as I would have wanted us to be. We started out as newly made vampires together. We had different makers and I suppose I was luckier with mine than he was with his. Eric`s first centuries as a vampire were tough, they really were. And I guess I`m a reminder. I`m not sure. I only know I jumped in my plane the moment I heard from him."
"So Eric won`t be joining me?" I almost whispered.
Steinngrim looked out the window.
"You know what? We are flying against the sun and I need to go back to the storage compartment and crawl into my coffin before you are sitting with a big pile of ashes next to you." He bent over and gave me a hug. The number of non-sexual vamp hugs I had gotten today was a few 100 percent more than I had gotten my entire life, but his hug was very welcome. I sighed in some kind of relief.
Steinngrim pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket.
"In this envelope you`ll find your new passport and papers. Please destroy all your credit cards and other things with your name on it. Even your library card has to go." He handed it over to me. "You are now Susanne Sørensen. I tried to make it as close to your old name as possible so you would feel comfortable with it."
And with that I was alone. Well, apart from whoever was controlling the plane. I leaned my chair back and decided to look at the papers later and to sleep at little. One can be very practical when one is desperate enough.
xxxx
When I woke up, the sun was shining, I was hungry and I wanted to throw up. I went to the pantry to try and find some food, but then my stomach contents told me they wanted to get out and I ran for the toilet. I made it just in time and wondered if one also made some kind of mile-high club if one threw up in a plane.
A tear ran down my cheek at the thought of making the mile-high club. It wasn`t that I was particularly horny, with my head halfway down the toilet, but I might have been if Eric had been there to brush my hair away from my face.
I tried to feel him through the bond, to get the reassurance, but I couldn`t. He was probably asleep or maybe I was just too far away, but it made me sad. I really wanted the little reminder of him.
The lonely tear brought a few friends and suddenly I was in full cry-mode. I cried and I vomited and I just felt sorry for myself.
When my stomach was empty, I got up, sniffed away the last tears, washed my face and went looking for food.
Xxxx
"Please fasten your seatbelts. We are getting ready for landing at Oslo Airport, Torp," a voice called out from the loudspeakers.
I had eaten a delicious dinner I had warmed in the microwave and was now sitting in my seat, trying to buckle up. I looked out of the window and saw high mountains with snow and tiny islands out in the sea. It looked a little like the sea I had sailed through not so long ago (or a thousand years ago depending how you looked at it) and the islands and mountains I had stared at, trying to determine where I was.
A tiny airport came out of the horizon and soon I was swallowing heavily again. I tried my best not to throw up and was happy when I actually succeeded. I drew a breath and looked at my new papers.
I was apparently the Norwegian citizen Susanne Sørensen, born in the, to me unknown, city of Tønsberg. The birth date was the same, but I had magically become a year younger. I felt like Zsa Zsa Gabor all of the sudden, lying myself younger than I was.
Xxxx
If I had been afraid Norwegian customs would notice any un-Norwegian behavior from me, I was wrong. They just waved me through without even looking at my passport. I was relieved because I would not have been able to lie even if my life depended on it. And my life probably did.
Outside I was greeted by a tall, young man with hair so blond it was almost white. His eyes were even lighter blue than Eric`s and his smile was wide. And white.
"Susanne Sørensen?" he asked.
"Uh huh." I tried to answer in a way that wouldn`t give my real nationality away. Though, for all I knew, Norwegians didn`t even say `Uh huh`.
He walked closer to me and spoke in English. "Welcome to Norway. We`ll teach you Norwegian in no time, but for the time being we will just speak English."
I nodded.
He gave me his hand. "I`m Sjur Prestegården." I took his hand, but I didn`t catch his name at all. He must have seen it because he repeated himself. When I still looked like one huge question mark, he said his first name slowly. "It`s pronounced almost the way you say `sure`. So just call me `Sure` and we`ll be fine."
"Sure," I said, both in an effort to say his name and in agreement.
He smiled a 1000 Watt smile and I couldn`t help smiling back. If it hadn`t been for Eric I might have been attracted to him. That was when I realized I couldn`t hear his thoughts.
"What are you?" I asked.
"Oh, I`m sorry. I`m Steinngrim`s day man." I must have looked at him funny, because he laughed. "And no, I`m not gay, if you are worried about that."
I shook my head. "No, why would I mind if you were gay?"
He waggled his eyebrows and I groaned. He was flirting with me? His winking answered that question, but he still hadn`t told me what he was.
Without thinking, I took his hand again, to feel him, feel his true nature.
"You work fast, Susanne. I like that." If he had waggled his eyebrows any harder, they would both have come off. I almost wanted to see that.
"No," I said with a sigh. "I was just wondering what you were. What kind of supe you are. You don`t feel human."
He was surprised first, but then his smile was back. "You mean because you can`t read my mind?" Now he looked so proud I almost wanted to slap him.
"Yes."
"Steinngrim taught me how to keep my thoughts to myself. It`s not that often I get to practice it. I mean, Steinngrim is the only telepath I know, so I was really excited when I heard of your ability. You not hearing me feels like I graduated. Like you gave me the stamp of approval."
I was getting annoyed by Sjur`s boyish charm, but it could have been because I was tired. I gave him a smile. Or at least a facial expression that was as close to a smile as I could muster.
"That`s impressive, Sjur. Now, I`m sorry for being such a drag, but I`m dead tired and I would really love it if we could go to wherever we are going."
Sjur looked at me and his smile disappeared. Suddenly he was all arms and legs and if I hadn`t stood my ground, he would have carried me.
"I`m so sorry, Susanne. I`m so sorry. Just sit down here for a moment while I retrieve your luggage and Steinngrim`s coffin and we will be on our way."
Xxxx
A couple of hours later I was in a soft bed in a nice bedroom in what looked like an old castle. And by old, I mean really old. Viking Age old. The alarm clock on the night stand and the modern mattress under me told me I was still in my own time, but I could have been fooled. Furniture, curtains, fur rugs and the castle itself had me wondering if I had been taken back in time again.
I was half asleep, half awake, when I heard a soft knock on the door.
"Yes," I called out.
Steinngrim`s head peeped in. I hadn`t noticed it had become dark again.
"I need to talk to you, Sook… Susanne."
I sat up in bed and nodded. Steinngrim`s face looked grim and a sudden fear hit me. He was carrying a laptop – another thing that didn`t fit into the room.
"I`ve found some news here you have to read."
Steinngrim put the laptop in my lap and opened it. I looked at the news site he had found. It was apparently from Nevada, with news about people winning millions and ads from various casinos. Then I focused on the news article in the middle. I gasped.
"Plane crashed in desert," the headline said. "A small plane crashed just south of Las Vegas at 2:30 this morning. Louisiana resident Sookie Stackhouse (27) died in the plane crash. Two vampires are believed to have met their final deaths too."
I couldn`t read the rest of the article because the room had decided to play spinning wheels with me. Steinngrim held me close and I was thankful he was the hugging kind of vampire, as rare as they were. I leaned over and started to cry into his shirt. When I remembered how Eric had reacted when I cried into his shirts or jackets, I cried even harder. How could I survive if Eric was gone?
A/N:
I hope you don`t all hate me now. All I can say is, the story isn`t over until the fat lady sings.
Scandinavian people
Now that I have you all hating me (?!), I might as well throw in something controversial as my information on Scandinavia today – so all my fellow Scandinavians can hate me too… (just kidding – I hope).
I was born and raised in Denmark, have lived in Sweden and now live in Norway. Though the Scandinavians are pretty much alike seen from the outside, there are some national differences. Here is a quick run-through. And these are of course my own very personal observations:-D
There are 9 million Swedes, 5 million Danes and 4 million Norwegians. Needless to say that Sweden feels like the big brother in Scandinavia. And is resented for it in Denmark and Norway. The three countries are really like three siblings. They love each other, but also quarrel all the time.
Swedes: They are often looked at as the "perfect" ones in Scandinavia. They dress well, the do the right things, they have profitable and well known international companies and they even have musicians, actors and directors who have international fame. Danes and Norwegians hate that. Danes generally think Swedes are a bit boring and they make fun of Sweden and all the rules and regulations (you can`t even buy wine in the supermarket – the horror).
The worst part about Swedes, when looked at from the other two countries – they don`t really care about Denmark and Norway. They are the worst at understanding other Scandinavian language (so Danes and Norwegians speak half-Swedish to them) and they know very little about the cultural life in the two neighbor countries. Especially for Norwegians, who know absolutely EVERYTHING about Sweden, this is a very bitter pill to swallow.
Danes: They are often looked at as the cozy and slightly anarchistic ones in Scandinavia. They can`t dress at all, they are slightly overweight, they are definitely tradesmen but it`s with a beer and a handshake. They have managed to make Norwegians believe Denmark is all "hygge" (a Danish word for being cozy, relaxed, enjoying yourself in the company of others) when the country actually is the one with the largest internal conflicts. Danes can discuss – and they love doing it. Most Norwegians and Swedes love Danes until they meet them…
Danes think of themselves as more continental than Swedes and Norwegians. Danish sounds very differently from Swedish and Norwegian, but written it`s almost the same.
Norwegians: They are the little brother in Scandinavia and the other two other countries usually see them as naïve, cute, but not very cool. They were the poor cousin from the countryside up until Norway found oil and became the rich ones in Scandinavia. The other two countries recent that and feel they never worked for their wealth. Norwegians have a self esteem problem and hate the fact that there are no famous Norwegian actors (not since Liv Ullman and honestly – how famous was she?) or musicians (not since A-ha). They are proud of their classics like Henrik Ibsen (A Dollhouse) and Edward Munch (Scream), though.
Norwegians are the sporty ones in Scandinavia. No surprise they won 9 gold medals, 8 silver and 6 bronze in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver – and was the 4th best country, even as tiny as it is. Norwegians also climb mountains and cross the Poles. A friend of mine just crossed the South Pole with no help – as the first person in the world. And she is an ittybitty woman of 50 kilos.
Jokes
Norwegians tell jokes about the Swedes (Why do Swedes always bring a rock when they visit the jungle? Because then, if they meet a dangerous animal, they can drop the rock and run much faster), the Swedes tell jokes about the Norwegians (How do Norwegians kill a wasp? They chase it under a dresser and then they saw off the legs of the dresser) and Danes tell jokes about the people of the second largest Danish city – Århus (Why do people from Århus stand by the windows when there`s a thunderstorm? They think they are being photographed). Yeah, I never said we had a sense of humor…
The three thinnest books in the world are about:
Norwegian humor
Danish compromises
Laidback Swedes