The celebration of Dagur's return went all day and into the night. There weren't as many disgruntled Vikings as Iris thought. Most supported Dagur's decisions and the new heads of the six traitor families were already sucking up to him. For the most part he had been ignoring them to instead focus on her.
When they had exited the great hall, several people were waiting outside. Iris recognized one of the widows with them. They all looked overly excited.
"Chief," one man said eagerly. "We imagine you and your bride to be have traveled long without much rest. We have brought suitable clothing for both of you and have baths ready for you to wash off the grime from your travels."
"That sounds great," Dagur sighed. "I don't know about you but I could use a wash up."
"You are not taking a bath with me," Iris said firmly. He pouted. "I mean it." The widow chuckled.
"You may come with us," she said calmly. "Our chief can go with the men. I'm sure they have much to discuss."
"If anything happens," Dagur began but Iris interrupted him.
"I have Enigma," she soothed. "I'll be fine." Enigma raised her head proudly, puffing out her chest.
"Alright." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Go get cleaned up."
The widow, who's name was Ellie, lead her along with the other three women to her home. A large wooden tub sat in the back room steaming slightly. Iris pulled off her gloves and leaned down to start on her boots when a small pair of hands reached them first. The adult women urged her to sit while a pair of young girls tugged off her boots. One woman took off her vest.
"I can get undressed myself," Iris said quickly but Ellie shook her head.
"It is an honor to assist you," she explained. "Let us do our duty. These ladies won in the fight to be able to assist you your first days here. It is a great honor to their families as well."
Iris couldn't argue. Were chiefs and chieftesses treated so regally in the book? She couldn't remember but things were very obviously different. Plus she'd read about this same cliche scenario in so many other books she just meekly let the women strip her and help her into the tub regardless how uncomfortable it was. Once the hot water hit her sore muscles, Iris decided it was not all that bad.
The women chattered as they helped her wash up. One unbraided her hair and began washing it. She listened to them, absorbing the gossip. Apparently with the decrease of men in the village, courtships were getting vicious. The news that she was to marry Dagur had crushed a lot of women's hearts who had hope sparked by his return. It was a good thing he announced it when he did Iris thought.
"Do you think chief Dagur will settle the marriage issues?" one woman asked.
"He'll do what he can with the amount of single men available," Iris said absently. "It will be better to bring men from other clans here to marry into the Berserker tribe. Not only will it help with the marriage crisis but it will help bring new blood into the clan and fix strained relations." She realized all of them fell silent. "Ah. Sorry. I didn't mean to speak my mind."
"Do not apologize my lady," Ellie said. "You are our future chieftess, the figurehead of the women in the tribe. Our spokesperson. You may speak whatever you desire."
"Well then." She shifted to look at the women behind her. "What else is going on that I should know?"
By the time she was done getting washed up, dried off, and dressed, Iris knew most of the gossip in the village. Births were at a three year low, children were getting sick easier and taking longer to recover, some women were missing cycles but weren't pregnant. To make matters worse, they hadn't had a healer in over a year after the first one was drug out on a raid and was killed. Eligible bachelors were using their status to their advantage with all the single and widowed women around to get favors and not all savory ones either. This was going to be an interesting mess to deal with.
They lead her out of Ellie's house to the festival ground, it was actually an official place she learned. It felt weird to wear a dress. It wasn't something she typically wore but she couldn't tell the excited women no. She wore a black under dress with long sleeves and a gold embroidered over dress that opened along the sides halfway down the dress. It stopped a few inches above the under dress hem and was tied at her shoulders. Flowers and dragons have been delicately sewn along the hems of the over dress. Large metal disks with a Skrill carved onto them sat where the ties met the dress. They also placed a wide black belt around her waist and a grey furred shawl over her shoulders.
They had brushed and rebraided her black wavy hair. However they included little beads and other decorations in the braid. When she turned her head the beads would click together.
Enigma wasn't exempt from getting dolled up either. Her mane had been brushed, her scales wiped down, and it seemed some little girls braided parts of her mane with flowers dotting the braids. The dragon looked pleased with the attention and even let the two girls climb on her back.
"I have never seen a dragon like this one," one of the women said. "It is amazing."
"Her name is Enigma," Iris said as she slipped on soft leather shoes that should've been called slippers. "She can get moody sometimes so be careful." Enigma snorted at that.
"I can see the chief," Ellie said, snapping Iris back to the now.
Dagur looked pretty good cleaned up. His hair was still crazy looking, granted he had been keeping it short, but his scruffy beard had been tidied up. He was wearing armor instead of normal clothes but she recognized it. It was the armor he had worn in the illustrations in her book. Seeing in real life was much more impressive. He was sitting at a large table that had piles of food on it.
He looked bored surrounded by a bunch of men. However when Jager, who lounged behind him, perked up he spotted her. His mouth fell open as he stared at her which caused the women around her to giggle and nudge her. She blushed, shooing them away, as he got up and quickly walked towards her. His eyes were dark.
Before she could say anything he grabbed her and kissed her. She whimpered, startled by the rough kiss as the Vikings around them began to whoop and cheer. His rough hands cupped her face, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Save it for the wedding night," one Viking yelled. Dagur pulled one hand away, still kissing her, and must have made a gesture because the Vikings laughed. Finally he pulled back, breathing heavily as he stared down at her.
"You're beautiful," he murmured. "Not that you aren't every day. This is my first time seeing you in a dress though. It makes you even more beautiful."
"You're embarrassing," she muttered. Her heart was finally calming down. "Let's go. I'm hungry."
Dagur stepped back, sweeping his arm out to show her the way. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. Her fingers laced between his. He tightened his hand before heading back to the table he had been at before.
Instead of letting her sit in her down chair, he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. She scowled at him, trying to wiggle away, but he held on tight. With a grin he started poking at her sides which made her squeal and cause the surrounding Vikings to laugh. Scowling again she accepted her fate of being on his lap.
"Here," he said. He offered her a metal goblet. It must have been made from pewter if her history knowledge was correct. "Some mulled wine. Don't worry, its watered down."
"Thank you," she drawled. "Would rather not get drunk for the first time infront of all your people."
"That's my privilege," he growled playfully. She snorted as he took a drink from the large wooden mug he was holding.
The wine was warm and sweet with a little hint of honey. It reminded her of home squeezed grape juice that had been left outside in the middle of summer for too long. The after taste was slightly bitter thanks to the alcohol. However it was a pleasant sipping drink. Good thing it wasn't her first time tasting alcohol. She'd sneaked tastes of her parents homemade brews before.
Dagur fed her bits of food from the trays before them. For the store houses being low, they managed to pull together a grand feast. A few deer were hanging over another much lower fire with hunks missing. Whole chickens, or at least one time whole, dotted the tables along with platters of fish. Large pumpkins and squash sat steaming on the tables along with homemade loaves of bread, various spreads, and plates of sliced cabbage. Cooked apples smothered in honey and what looked like cinnamon sat among the various uncooked fruits and vegetables.
He offered her another piece of meat but she held it before him instead of eating it herself. With a grin he grabbed it from her fingers, nipping at her fingertips. Iris squealed and smacked his chest while he laughed. With a sniff she reached forward and grabbed a piece of brown bread and took a bite. It was a fragrant rye bread.
"We have to talk later," she mumbled as she ate the bread. "The ladies who took care of me told about some things that are happening. Not good things."
"What a coincidence," he groaned. "My men were telling me before you got here about all the terrible things happening."
"First order of business we need a healer. There hasn't been one here in a year." He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You didn't know?"
"No. They mostly complained about the lack of manpower needed to cut down trees and lack of ore to craft weapons. Plus that the single women were causing problems."
"Oh I have a lot more to tell you." He scowled at the people around them, causing them to hurry away, and nodded for her to continue. "Child births are decreasing, children are getting sick and not recovering as fast, women are, er."
"You can tell me." Iris leaned towards his ear and whispered about the lack of cycles but no pregnancies. "Ah. Um. I'll have to get used to hearing about that."
"Excuse you," she scoffed. "I don't announce mine. I bet you don't even know any of the times I had mine. Anyways! There trouble between both sides of single adults. Some of the men are using it to their advantage to extort favors and the women are fighting more which is causing a decrease in their work. Kind of hard to process wool when the workers are have a brawl."
"I'll have to reach out to some of the other chiefs. Find a healer. At least someone temporarily until I can get someone permanent. Think your mom would want the job?"
"Dagur."
"I know. I know." He sighed. "The bachelors will help solve the manpower problem once marriages can be conducted. I'll have to see what is seized from the traitors to figure out dowerys."
"What about the men from that island you told me about?" He looked at her curiously. "Where you got locked up? Um. Castaway Island?"
"Outcast island? Nope. They hate me. It won't work."
"You could have another chief help mediate. Beggars can't be choosers Dagur."
"I hate it when you're right." He scowled at the table, stabbing at a piece of meat until it was mush. "Alright. I'll send a Terror mail to Hiccup. He could possibly mediate. He's good at that, being all level headed and logical."
"Cause its so bad." Iris leaned her head against his shoulder. While this was extremely embarrassing, it was comfy. "Here comes Rohan. Think its more bad news?"
"I don't want to hear it," Dagur called to the elder. "If its bad news it can wait until tomorrow."
"I just wanted to inform you the guards seized the raided goods from the traitors and secured the goods in the treasury," Rohan said calmly. "While the families aren't pleased, they are more scared of facing you and the families loyal to Berserk. They don't wish to be banished." Well that is a logical fear. "And I spoke with the other elders. They, along with myself, are wanting to know when the wedding will be. The tribe will need time to get ready of course, the bride's bridal clothes completed, messages sent to the tribes who will still speak to us, but we are curious if there is a timeline."
"That we will discuss later," Dagur said. "Iris and I, privately. Once we've decided I will inform the tribe."
"Of course chief," Rohan said with a slight bow. "My lady, you are looking lovely. I hope the clothes are to your taste."
"They are thank you," she said politely. He smiled.
"My granddaughters were excited to tell me about how they got to help care for your dragon," he said as he looked at Enigma. The dragon snorted, lifting her head proudly. "I warms my heart to hear cheer in their voices again. Thank you."
"They did a wonderful job," Iris said. "I will be happy to call on them again when I need Enigma cared for. I did not know they were your granddaughters."
"Yes. They got permission to accompany their mother, who also attended to you. It is an honor to tend to someone as wise as you. I heard of what you and the other women discussed."
"It's nothing. This place is to be my home. How could I face Dagur if I ignored everything?" Dagur squeezed her tightly, a proud look on his face. "Now if you'll excuse us. I think my betrothed owes me a dance. I've never danced to Viking music before."
"I get the hint," Dagur chuckled. He helped her off his lap to stand up himself. "Rohan, we will all talk at a later time. I need to keep my lady entertained."
Iris wasn't lying when she said she never danced to Viking music before. It didn't matter though since Dagur simply grabbed her and swung her around. She laughed as he spun her round. Her feet barely touched the ground but it was some of the most fun she had in a while.
"You crazy man," she gasped. He finally stopped after the third song to catch their breath. "That was not showing me how to dance!"
"I can't let you do that," he growled. His eyes danced mischievously. "Every man here would want you, married or not, if I let you dance. I have no intention on letting them even think for a second there's a chance."
She shook her head. The sun was already setting. They had been partying for most of the day and were still going strong. She, on the other hand, was getting tired. The exhaustion she felt earlier before the festivities gave her a second wind came crashing back.
"You'll be sleeping at my house," Dagur said softly when she leaned against him. "I don't have anything there anymore except for the bare minimum. Someone or ones looted it the first chance they got. Rohan had said he'd tried to find some replacements but who knows how that went."
"As long as there is a bed I don't care," she yawned. "Maybe a pillow so I don't have to lay on you all night."
"Awe but I like that part." She poked him in the side even though she knew he wouldn't feel it through his armor. "Come on. Let's go before any of them try to stop us."
In the growing shadows they left the festival ground and headed into the village. A pair of armored men appeared and followed after them. At a wave of Dagur's hand though they stopped. The guards here were pretty loyal to him it appeared. They didn't need to worry though. Jager and Enigma were perfect escorts as they walked stealthily through the houses.
Dagur's house was pretty big. Twin wooden columns sat on either side of the front door, reaching to the roof, and had dragons carved into them. A small porch sat in front with a small set of steps on either side along the house. The roof was curved like an upside down ship hull while the walls were stoned. She wondered if maybe it was part of a ship.
Inside was surprisingly clean. Iris wasn't too surprised though. Rohan had probably sent someone right away to clean up. A fire was crackling in the fireplace. She peeked through a door frame to her right. It was the kitchen, a stove dominating the outer wall. A rough wooden table sat away from the stove and the counters that spread from it with five chairs.
Her curiosity sated for the moment she followed Dagur up a ladder type stairs. Up here were three doors, two on either side of the simple stairs and one directly ahead of them. Dagur opened that door and pulled her in.
A bed took up about half of the room while two dressers sat on either side. Iris recognized a weapons rack to the left of the door when you entered. Her and Dagur's bows were already there along with their gear on a pair of armor stands. Two others sat bare.
To her glee their bags were already here. She grabbed hers and opened it once she plopped her butt on the bed. Her extra clothes and random stuffs were in here as was something else. She looked at it sitting at the bottom of her pack, chewing on her lower lip.
"What's in there?" Dagur asked as he sat next to her.
"It's embarrassing," she said feeling shy.
"Come on. Show me."
"Alright but don't you dare laugh at it!" He nodded seriously.
Taking everything else out Iris reached in and pulled out the wool weaving she had been working on before. She nudged Dagur off the bed, directing him to stand in front of it, and stood on the bed. With some difficulty she managed to unfold it and held it up and out as far as she could.
Before they left she had finally finished it. There had been some sleepless nights working in her old room to hide it from Dagur. A forest scene had been woven into the lower portion of the weaving. Rising up from the trees was a roaring Skrill, done based on Dagur's drawing, while at the top Enigma and Jager were in a pouncing arch aiming down towards the Skrill. She had messed up on the lightning that was supposed to extend from the Skrill to their two dragons and instead looked like weird waves in the sky.
"You made this?" Dagur asked. She heard shock in his voice.
"Yeah," Iris answered. "It was supposed to be a wall hanging for our loft but, well, things changed. I rushed to get it done before we left."
She felt a tug and let go, letting it fall quietly down. Dagur stood with it in his hands, staring at the Skrill in awe before shifting the weaving to admire Jager. She was pretty proud of how he and Enigma turned out. They weren't angry looking but instead looked calm, as if they were swooping to see a friend.
"This is amazing," he said quietly. "You need to teach the women how to make these. I've never seen one done with such detail. This could solve part of the dowry problem."
"We'll need wool, lots of it," Iris explained. "All spun and dyed in different colors. A lot dyed. One this big takes a whole lot of wool."
"They can do small ones. If they had this detail, the size doesn't matter. Something like this would buy a large flock of sheep with some cows."
"You really think so?" He looked up at her, his eyes dancing.
"I know so. That's not just me talking. Merchants would have no problem selling something like this. Vikings all over the Archipelago would be clamoring over these."
"Then I have an idea." She plopped down on the bed to tug off her shoes. "If these would be so popular, why don't I work on some smallers ones for the tribes you want to meet with? They can be gifts, a sign of friendship. I can try and do each one with the tribe symbol and colors so their all personal."
"That's an idea." He folded the hanging and set in on a chest that sat near the bedroom door. He sat on the only chair and worked on removing his boots. "I don't know if all the tribes would appreciate it but its worth a shot."
"Let me help you," she said when he started working on the rest of his armor. "Should planting be starting soon?" He nodded. "I think we should extend the fields. Its going to take a lot more crops to replace what was depleted."
"The soil is too rocky," he sighed.
"Did you forget there is a breed of dragon that enjoys eating rocks?" She took his upper armor and set it on one of the empty armor stands. "Didn't you used to ride one?"
"Yeah but what does that-oh! I see now."
"They can help get the rocks out of the soil, have a good meal, and turn over the soil while they are rooting around. Add some fertilizer to the mix and there you go. New fields."
With a stretch she began to untie the straps of the overdress she was wearing. Once untied and the belt removed it slide off with ease. She folded it up to set on the dresser when familiar arms wrapped around her waist.
"The outfit suits you," he muttered. "If the clan hadn't been there I would have tossed you over my shoulder and carried you off that very second. I didn't want anyone to see you but me."
"You'll have to get used to it," she teased. "You're the one who wants to marry me and make me chieftess. That's going to make me have to see people."
"I'll just keep you locked up." He placed a kiss on her neck that sent shivers up her spine.
"You weren't this possessive before."
"That's because I didn't have to worry about anyone but your parents seeing you. Now there are other people who can see you, can have thoughts about you, and that makes me want to kill each one of them."
"You can't do that."
"I know." Finally he let her go so she could turn around.
While she had been putting part of his armor away and took off part of her clothes he had finished removing his armor and put a pair of trousers on. His chest was bare. While it wasn't the first time she had seen him half naked, for some reason her heart felt fluttery seeing him like this now.
"Can I use the other room to get changed?" she asked, pulling a long shirt from her bag. He gave her a dangerous grin.
"How about I help you instead?"
She stared at him, feeling her face warm up under his gaze. For a second she wanted to argue but instead she turned around and pulled her braid out of the way. A few straps on the back would need to be untied so she could take it off. Nothing happened.
"Well?" she asked, glancing back at him. Dagur's face was full of disbelief. "Aren't you the one who offered?"
"I did," he said quietly.
He stepped up to her so she turned her head forward again. She felt his fingers tips brush against her skin as he worked at the straps. It caused more shivers to travel her spine. He gave a soft curse as he struggled with one of the straps which made her giggle.
Once the last strap was gone the underdress was looser. She pushed off her shoulders and wiggled it off her body. The whole time she kept her back to Dagur. If she looked at him she knew she would lose her nerve. She pulled on the long shirt, it stopped just above her knees, and turned around to see Dagur with a hand over his eyes. His cheeks were pink.
"You okay?" she asked shyly.
"That was dangerous," he said roughly. "I barely kept myself from grabbing you."
"You were the one who offered to help."
"I didn't expect you to agree! Usually you say no and shoo me off!" He moved his hand and looked at her.
"Aren't you the one who told me to just do it and consequences be damned? Don't be going back on your word now." She undid her braid and finger combed the rest out to remove the colorful beads.
"I wouldn't dream of it." He had gotten closer. "You're changing and its surprising. I like it."
"Anyone would if they followed someone they love to a whole different world."
"And I'll always be grateful for that." She set the beads aside to look up at him. His eyes were dark. "I'm not gonna lie. I want you. Right now. But I know, you're not ready."
Her heart jumped at his honest words. It made her face heat up and her legs feel tingly. Add the smoldering look he had and she knew why women swooned. She stepped closer to him, placing her hand on his chest over his scar.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm just, I don't know. Scared? Nervous? Self conscious? All of it probably. What if I disappoint you?"
He slide his hand under her chin and urged her to lift her face. When she finally looked up at him he was staring straight at her. There was no expression on his face. That made her feel a little nervous.
"You will never disappoint me," he said seriously. "You are perfect in every way. My Valkyrie. I will wait as long as you need me to. I promise."
That was a heavy promise. However she knew he never went back on his promises, anyone could trust his word. That was one of the things she loved about him.
With a relieved sigh Iris stepped up to him and slide her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her. This was comfortable, like she belonged right here. Maybe she did.
It makes me snicker how many people have stopped at Chapter 16 after the first 7 chapters. Like damn!
