The next day Raegan woke up feeling refreshed, for she surprisingly slept very soundly. She stretched out her arms and let out a blissful sigh as rays of warm sunlight peeked through the shutters -

Raegan's smile dropped. Wait, sunlight? She shot out of bed to her window and pushed up the shutters, squinting when the blazing of the sun burned her eyes.

Her blood ran cold as the realization hit that she had slept in. It was forbidden to sleep after the rooster crowed, for there was farm chores and cooking and schooling and training to be done. Hurriedly, she changed out of her nightgown and put her hair into a ponytail that turned out to be quite messy because of her shaking hands.

Quietly, Raegan opened her bedroom door and observed the rest of the house. The fire was freshly lit, and on the table was one placement left. Hers. Splashing water was heard and her eyes found Ingrid at the basin in the corner by the door, presumably washing her and her husband's dishes.

Oh this is bad. She thought. I even missed breakfast. Rae had difficulty swallowing the lump in her throat. He's going to kill me.

Her father was nowhere to be seen, but the young viking let out a heavy sigh and decided not to postpone the inevitable. The door was shut behind her and she made her presence known to the household.

She was not expecting her mother to turn around and have the biggest smile Rae had ever seen. "Good morning, mon trésor!"

Raegan blinked. "Uh, good… morning?"

Ingrid dried her hands with a clean rag. "Did you sleep well?"

"...Yea." Raegan answered uncomfortably.

Ingrid happily nodded, and sat down at the table, gesturing to the seat across from her in the process. "Come and eat something before you help me with the chores."

Raegan focused her gaze on her boots. "Actually, I just want to see dad and receive my punishment for sleeping in."

Ingrid frowned. She hated, just HATED seeing Raegan, a brilliant, courageous, and kindhearted girl turned into a little puddle of nerves by the very thought of her father. But her smile returned when Raegan looked up for an explanation as to where he was. "Rae, your father isn't here"

Raegan's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean -" Then yesterday came to mind. "OH!" She exclaimed in relief, putting a hand over her palpitating heart. "He's on a trip." It broke Ingrid's heart to see Raegan look so relieved her father wasn't there, which gave her all the more reason to act on her decision. "Wait, why did you let me sleep in?" Raegan wondered, walking up and sitting down at the table. "You know he doesn't like that. Sleeping in is for the weak, lazy, or injured." She recited.

"You're father isn't here." Ingrid pointed out again, which didn't sit right with Rae. "And you're not lazy. You didn't sleep well the night before and needed rest, oui?"

Raegan shrugged. "I guess."

"Then there's nothing wrong with it." Ingrid pushed the bowl of porridge toward Raegan. "Now, eat. We have lots to do today."

Raegan picked up her spoon and dug in. "Like what?" She asked, blowing onto her spoon after to cool the porridge off before taking a bite.

"Well, how does a big feast sound for dinner tonight?" Raegan across the table surprisedly. "With Yak steaks, roast duck and seared salmon, lots of roasted vegetables and beans. Bread and cheese, and then we can finish off with a berry pie?"

Raegan's mouth watered at the thought of a great feast. She had few feasts in her lifetime, for occasions that called for them - weddings, festivals, war celebrations, etc - were forbidden. But Ingrid, during the prosperous summer and autumn months, would once or twice have her help make a feast and they would invite Aric's brother and his family to eat it with them. Raegan loved these feasts because there was delicious food, glorious storytelling, sometimes even music and dancing, but most of all, there were people. It was the only socializing she ever did and her little cousin, Wrenlou, adored her, as did her uncle and aunt.

She sometimes wished there would be more people at these small parties, but sadly the Calder clan had come down to just her small family and her uncle's small family due to dragon attacks, and had been that way for as long as she could remember.

Still, it was loads of fun with just the six of them.

"So, does that mean Uncle Aren, Aunt Erika and Wrenlou are coming?" Raegan asked excitedly.

"Actually no." Raegan's face fell. "We'll have them over when your father returns." Ingrid said hurriedly, then clasped her hands together on the table. "I was thinking about inviting the chief over. Would you be OK with that instead? It's been a while since we've had him over for dinner."

"I'd never turn away our great leader." Raegan said obediently, feeling a little bit better that there would be other people. "But won't Stoick feel weird coming here when dad isn't? They're buddies after all."

"He didn't seem awkward when I asked him yesterday. You're father will be missed of course but I think we'll have fun." If Raegan had been paying close attention, she would have noticed the Bog Burglar mischievous glint in her mother's eyes, a surefire tell that she was up to something. But Raegan was too distracted by the thought of amazing food and company.

The chief was one of the few people Aric let into the house. He didn't want Raegan to be influenced by anyone, for she may get the temptation to venture off the property.

So the day went by quickly, especially since they got a late start on their day. After their chores, Ingrid ventured into the village to get fresh salmon and berries from the vendors to save time, while at home Raegan prepared a duck, took Yak steaks from their preserves, and picked vegetables and beans from the garden and prepared the pie. Once Ingrid returned, she did the hard work of roasting the duck to perfection and cooking the Yak steaks perfectly, and Raegan took care of the vegetables and pie. They thought that they wouldn't be ready by the time the chief arrived mid afternoon, but just before their guest arrived, everything was set.

Ingrid shooed Raegan to her room just as a knock on the door sounded. "Go finish getting ready. You look a mess."

Raegan blushed when she saw how disheveled she looked in the mirror. From working all day, her hair was more messy than what it was this morning, her shirt had a stain on it, and her face had patches of dirt on it from the garden. So she changed into a fresh tunic, washed her face and lined her eyes, then fixed her ponytail.

The chief's booming voice could be heard from the main hall, and her heart became light with excitement. Their chief had always been attentive to her, and always praised her for her hard work. Praise from a leader was something that definitely boosted one's ego.

Raegan smiled in the mirror, then ran and flung her door open, greeting the chief with a wave. "Hi, Chi-ef…" The last syllable was whispered as she took in the sight in the main room.

Ingrid and Stoick jumped when the door opened and now had nervous expressions on their faces, but that wasn't what Raegan focused on. What captured the young girl's attention was what was next to Stoick. A person. A boy to be precise, who seemed just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

A/N

mon trésor - my treasure