Valka lay back in the sweet summer grass. She had never seen a sky so clear and blue before. Their summer months had been peaceful and pleasant…a miracle in Valka's eyes. Heyannir was here, marking midsummer. The days were long and hot. Valka could feel her skin freckling and smiled: how she loved sunshine.
Flopping over onto her belly, Valka came face to face with a sheep. It chewed noisily in her face, its eyes blank and bored. Valka stuck out her tongue in jest, but the sheep simply continued its munching.
"Not up for a conversation are you?" She asked, leaning on her palm. She hadn't had a decent conversation in days: Stoick had taken a band of Vikings out on a voyage to try to pinpoint the location of Helheim's Gate. He had been gone for two weeks, sailing gods know where. Spitelout had insisted he come, but with Lundy entering her final days of pregnancy, Stoick had ordered him to stay put.
"Your wife will never forgive you if you're not there," he had told him.
Begrudgingly, Spite had listened.
Valka didn't mind talking about the soon to arrive Jorgenson, but it was all anyone could talk about. Even her mother had become completely engrossed, to the point where she was butting heads with Lundy's mother, Ragna.
She missed Stoick: she missed talking with him late at night, their quiet little moments, even their arguments.
Although Valka had to admit, it was nice to not have to listen to him chastise her views on dragons.
She had tried to convince him to cancel the voyage, to no avail.
"The dragons haven't attacked for months! You're just looking for a fight!"
"I'm not going to sit here and wait for them to make the first move Valka!"
"You're putting everyone at risk-"
"If it ends the war it'll be worth it."
He was impossibly stubborn, more immovable than that boulder he supposedly broke into two.
Valka sighed, turning onto her back once more. The sheep interloper had meandered off to join his fellow herd mates. She supposed she ought to go check in on Lundy, but being out here in the fields of Berk made it difficult to leave.
"The sooner you check on her, the sooner you can leave," she told herself, forcing herself up.
But it was not to be.
"Valka! Hey, Valka!"
Odina trotted up behind Valka as she made her way towards the Jorgenson residence. She was dressed simply, her face flushed with excitement: she looked almost cheerful.
"Oh, hey Odina. Are you going to check on Lundy?"
"I just ran home to change. She's been having pains all morning. We think the baby will be here by nightfall!" Odina was absolutely delighted. She was practically bouncing. "You coming?"
Valka smiled, "Of course I am!"
For every ounce of cheer Odina possessed, Lundy possessed twice that amount of rage.
"I never want to do this again!" She grunted, pausing her pacing to ride another wave of agony.
"You've heard mothers say that before dear, and look at them now," Ragna soothed her daughter by stroking her raven hair. "Five babies later, then they say they're done."
"Not me, one and done,"
Valka gave a weak smile as Lundy caught her eye. She had been busying herself by untying every knot in the house: from apron strings to necklaces, and all of the coils in their hair.
"You're not even halfway there yet Lundy," Ragna continued.
"Certainly feels like I am!"
Ragna and Ursula glanced at one another worriedly. Ragna sighed.
"Alright, we'll check you again. Relax yourself."
To Lundy's dismay, she was barely more than halfway through her labor. She began to sob.
In the attempts to console her, Ursula approached Valka calmly.
"Why don't you find your brother? Give him an update, tell him not to wander too far."
"Do you think it'll be soon?"
"No way to tell, but if she's this miserable now…" she smirked. "Just go and warn him."
Valka darted out of the house, slightly embarrassed at her loose hair. Word must have spread by now, so everyone glanced at Valka expectantly. Valka could only say, "not yet," as she continued her search for her brother.
She found him in the ring.
"Una! Throw the damn knife already!"
Little Una Underwood trembled where she stood, knife in hand as she faced a target. Starkard and Ack stood behind Spitelout, both in awe and in fear of the mighty Jorgenson before them. Spitelout, after all, was still a legend in Berk's arena for his pageantry in his final exam.
"I-I can't…" Una sputtered. Starkard laughed, but Ack elbowed him in the ribs.
"Thor damn it girl!" Spite grabbed the knife out of her hand and hurled it at the target for a slightly off center bullseye. Starkard clapped his hands boisterously, but Ack remained solemn.
Una sobbed even harder.
"Quit your crying! If you aren't going to learn then you're going to leave in disgrace!"
"Spitelout Jorgenson!"
Valka, hands like vices on her hips, stomped her way into the ring. Immediately, the three teens straightened up, though Una still had tears in her light eyes.
"Is this your idea of teaching?"
"I didn't ask for this job!" Spitelout huffed, yanking the knife out of the target.
"I'm surprised they actually gave it to you willingly, considering what a terrible job you're doing."
She turned towards Una, a short girl for her age but pleasantly plump, with thick dark hair and large dark eyes. Pretty, but frightened.
"Are you okay Una?"
"Y-yes, Mrs. Chief."
Valka smiled, "Please, call me Valka."
Una nodded, still uncertain. Valka could sense the flight in her eyes.
"I'm sorry my brother here is being such a jerk to you. Do you not like throwing knives?"
"N-n-no…"
"She doesn't like doing anything!" Starkard hollered impatiently.
Una's cheeks turned crimson. Valka thought she saw the girl look timidly over at Ack, but only very briefly. Valka smiled and announced: "Class is dismissed for today-"
"What?!" Starkard moaned.
"You can't do that!" Spitelout growled irritably.
"I'm the Chief's wife, and considering that you are soon going to be indisposed…"
At that, Spitelout paled. He blinked, once, twice, before scowling.
"Get out of here runts, class dismissed!"
The three teens scrambled out of the arena. Una gave Valka a tiny, gracious wave.
Without an audience, Spitelout softened. The change was instantaneous.
"Is she…"
"She's okay Spite, for a laboring woman," Valka helped Smitelout put the training supplies into the cart. "She's using some words I've never heard come out of her mouth."
Spitelout chuckled weakly. Valka frowned.
"You can talk to me Spite. I may be Stoick's wife but I'm still your sister, and I can still tell when something is bothering you."
"Oh…there's a lot bothering me," Spitelout slammed the target into the cart. "Having to deal with those three idiots, Stoick and half of the other warriors being gone while I'm stuck here, Mum's cough-"
"That's not what I meant Spite and you know it." She danced around him in an attempt to catch his gaze. "You're worried about Lundy, because of what happened to your mother."
"I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Oh come on! Stop being so dense."
"I'm not being dense Valka, now stop it."
"Not until you talk to me-"
"Leave it-"
"Spite-"
"FINE!" he snapped, slamming the gate to the arena shut. Valka could hear the dragons warbling in their pens. Her heart ached for them as well for her brother.
"I was two when my mother died, okay? I don't even remember her, what she looked like, what she sounded like, even what she smelled like. My wife is about ready to go through the same thing that killed my mother and there is nothing I can do!" His eyes glistened, "If something happens to her, I'm a goner Valka. I'm lost without her. I want my child, our child, to know her mother, the way I never got to know mine. I've been able to put on a brave face for nine months but I can't anymore Val, I just can't!"
He slumped to the ground, head in his hands. Valka had never seen him like this before.
"Hey…Spite…it's going to be okay," she knelt down beside him. "She's going to be okay."
"You don't know that."
"I also know that Lundy's a lot tougher than she looks."
"So was my mother…"
"Look," now she sat beside him, hand on his shoulder. "We've done everything we can so far, every bit of superstitious ritual. The gods are on our side today, even the weather is fortuitous. The only thing that any of us can do now is be there for her and help her," she paused in thought. "Is that why you've been out here?"
Spitelout nodded weakly. "I couldn't…if something happened I-"
"Should be there, no matter if it's something good or something bad. Lundy needs you."
Spitelout shook his head, unconvinced.
Valka smiled sweetly, remembering something.
"Did you say 'her mother?'?"
"Huh?" He blinked, before barely cracking a small smile. "Oh, yeah. I think it's a girl."
"Really? I had thought you would have wanted a boy."
"I mean, in the future maybe…I don't know. Boys just seem to have all these expectations put on them, in there…" He gestured broadly to the arena behind them. "And I guess I got used to having a girl around," he nudged her. "Between you and Mum and Lundy…but she's convinced it's a boy."
"I guess you'll find out soon enough huh?"
Her brother gulped, the tension still visible in his jaw. "Yeah. I guess so."
"I SWEAR TO THOR I AM NEVER LETTING YOU TOUCH ME AGAIN!"
Spitelout had barely stepped foot in the door before Lundy began her tirade. Frozen where he stood, Spite glanced at Valka in fright, but his sister nudged him further in.
"She's been yelling at everyone. Just stay clear of her hands."
Lundy had been stripped of her clothes and was leaning against the post of their bed. Women surrounded her, giving her quiet words of encouragement as nature took its course: Lundy was nearing the end.
"Spite, get over here and hold your wife," Ursula instructed firmly, wiping her hands on a rag. Spitelout found movement in his feet once more, and gingerly placed his hands exactly where Lundy wanted them…so much for her not wanting him to touch her.
"We're almost there, should be soon," Ursula whispered to Valka.
"Is she…?"
"So far so good. Everything is progressing normally-"
"Oh my gods, oh my gods, ow ow ow ow!"
"Ursula! Quick! Bring more cloths!" Ragna called from her daughter's side. "Odina, water!"
No one addressed Valka: she stood there in the midst of the chaos, the eye of a vortex in which she was rendered powerless. Time seemed to slow down: Lundy opened her mouth to wail, yet Valka could hear nothing. Her mother tore more shreds of cloth, though the rips were muted. Valka could only stand and observe the haunting beauty of the scene, observe the peculiar tenderness in which Spitelout held Lundy. She had never seen him so gentle, so affectionate. He lowered his face down right before hers, the tips of their nose brushing against one another's. Lundy even managed a brief smile as he whispered something to her. The gleam in his eye was enough to melt a thousand frozen hearts.
Valka's heart ached for Stoick.
"Thatta girl Lund! One more push now!"
Lundy groaned once more, before her body recoiled away from the release of the squalling baby in her mother's arms.
"It's a boy!" Ragna cried, her grin as wide as her face.
Lundy wept not with exhaustion but with tears of joy. Carefully, she was laid back onto the bed, Spitelout behind her, never letting her go. Ragna swaddled the babe and pressed him into Lundy's awaiting arms.
"A boy, oh my little boy!" Lundy kissed the forehead of the red face babe, her cheeks glistening with tears that refused to let up.
To Valka's amazement, Spitelout too was crying.
"I love you Lundy," he sputtered, kissing his wife's temple. "I love you. Oh gods, thank you."
"No wonder you were in such pain," Odina leaned over top Lundy's shoulder, her finger brushing against the baby's cheek. He stirred, but did not cry and did not wake. "That's some head he has there."
"He's going to be a smart one," Lundy beamed. "It was worth it."
Mother and baby had been bathed and cleaned. Lundy wore a simple frock while her son remained in swaddling clothes. He had fed at her breast not once but twice, a sight to behold according to the other mothers. Spitelout had gone to the hall at Lundy's insistence: he had not wanted to leave her, but Lundy kindly shooed him away.
"I'm fine Spite," she had said. "We're fine. Go on, celebrate. We'll be here."
"Have you thought of a 'Lout' name?" Odina smirked as the baby yawned, his tiny mouth puckering into a little "O."
"We have a few days. It'll be Spite's decision," she glanced up at Valka with tired eyes, "I had thought about Smitelout."
"Oh Lundy, you don't have to do that."
The baby fussed, whimpering softly. His lips pursed in a sucking motion.
"Again? Oh my love…" Lundy rolled her eyes, undoing her frock so that the baby could suckle.
"You alright Valka?" Odina asked suddenly. Valka had not realized she had been staring at the baby, her long finger stroking the downy dark hair at his crown.
"Huh? Oh…yeah, I'm fine. Just fine."
"The two of you," Lundy began, only to be interrupted by a yawn. "Sorry. The two of you need to have babies of your own, or else my little guy is going to be the only babe on Berk."
"Maybe when our husbands get home Lund," Odina chuckled. "Maybe."
Three new voices filled the tranquility of the house: Solfried, Hilly, and Phlegma had arrived, along with Gothi, who hobbled in in silence. Solfried and Hilly squealed, while Phlegma nodded in approval.
Valka decided to take her leave. She gave Lundy a cautious embrace before pecking the baby—her dear, sweet nephew—on his head.
She managed to hold onto her tears until she got home. Once she reached the quiet solitude of her empty home, Valka fell against the door and wept.
She missed Stoick. Right now she wanted nothing more than his presence, his arms around her, his lingering kisses. The bed had grown far too cold, too big for her body. She would much rather have Stoick draped around her instead of blankets, to listen to his boisterous snores instead of the crickets chirping. Six months of marriage, and already Valka felt as if her entire world spun around the axis that was her husband.
Six months in, she considered, perhaps Lundy was right: perhaps it was time to try.
All she needed was Stoick to come home.