Chapter 23
Here is chapter 23! Hope your all still enjoying! Please Review and Let me know what you think. :)
-Vegter999
Freyja's POV:
The next day I arrived promptly at Agnarr's home, the thought that it would soon be my own as well come autumn persisted in my head. It would be very different that's for sure, but would the difference be to great for me to adapt to? I swept these doubting thoughts under the rug, as I lightly rapped on the door. Loki peeked his head out, gazing at me with a quizzical look on his face.
"Hello Loki, is Agnarr here? He asked me to come by to start teaching Bryn."
Loki's face cleared and he gestured for me to come inside.
"Thank you" I murmured as he stepped out of the way to let me pass.
"Freyja!" Bryn scampered over to me.
"Hey!" I scooped Bryn up, balancing him on my hip.
"What have you been up to?"
"Nothing really. Want to see the pony Father got me?"
"I'd love to." Bryn led me through the back of the house to a fenced paddock where a little white pony just perfect for Bryn's size was tethered to a post.
"What's his name?"
"We haven't thought of one yet" Agnarr remarked, surprising me beyond belief yet again at how quietly he could approach.
"Well, should we get started?"
"Yeah!" Bryn practically hopped up and down excitedly.
I helped him to saddle the pony and led him around the first few laps before allowing him to continue on his own at a slow walking pace.
"Keep your heels down Bryn, that's right. You're doing great."
I glanced at Agnarr once or twice, where he was leaning on the fence railing, his arms folded in front of him.
He caught my eye once and nodded, giving me a wink.
My heart soared at his approval, despite my attempts to keep myself focused on the lesson.
After about a half an hour, Bryn spoke up "Daddy I think I know what I want to call him."
"What?"
"Lightning."
"That's a good name. I like it."
Bryn stopped and ruffled Lightning's mane.
"Daddy, can you, me, and Freyja go out for a ride?"
"I don't see why not. As long as Freyja wants to."
"Sure."
"Bryn, why don't you tie Lightning up for a second and come with us while Freyja and I saddle our horses."
Bryn dutifully obeyed, giving Lightning a soft peck on his cheek before following us.
Agnarr pulled Snowflake out of her stall and allowed me to saddle her, while tending to his own horse, a bay-colored animal with a dark mane and tail.
"I forgot to ask, what is your horse's name? I inquired.
"Odin" Agnarr replied, proudly giving the horse a pat on the neck.
The three of us soon mounted our horses and started off, Bryn strategically placed between the two of us, our own mounts towering over his. A little while later we stopped under a grove of trees, giving the horses a chance to graze and relax.
Bryn fed handfuls of grass to Lightning, while Agnarr and I sat down nearby, enjoying the calming atmosphere of the grove.
My mind suddenly turned to Magni and I looked over my shoulder into the woods, as if he might suddenly materialize out of nowhere. I wondered for what seemed the millionth time in the past few months, if I would ever see him again.
"Something bothering you my lady?"
I started slightly and turned to face Agnarr.
"No I'm fine, I was just thinking..."
Agnarr raised his eyebrows.
"About?"
I sighed.
"Magni. I want to know if he's alive, if he's safe."
"Magni's tough, if anyone's able to survive it's him."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"If the choice had been up to you and not to the people, how would you have punished him? Would you still have banished him?"
Agnarr pondered my question in silence for a moment.
"I would never have banished an old friend like Magni, that I can tell you."
Suddenly a twig snapped from somewhere behind us and Agnarr immediately whirled around, his hand immediately going to the hilt on his sword.
"What was that?" I whispered.
"Shhh" Agnarr hissed.
Another twig snapped and a dark bunny emerged from the bushes. Agnarr's posture immediately relaxed and I breathed out a sigh of relief. The rabbit gazed at us, it's nose twitching a bit, before bounding off.
"I'm glad it wasn't something worse" I remarked.
"Yes, but I think it would be unwise for us to stay here any longer, just in case something worse does come along. Bryn we're leaving now!" Agnarr called. Agnarr helped him mount Lightning and the three of us resumed our ride back to town.
###
By June Bryn's riding skills had improved immensely, he was now able to trot easily, and even canter when Agnarr allowed for it.
"You've done well Freyja. Bryn now looks like he's been riding his whole life."
"He's a good student. Alright Bryn that's good for today!" I called.
Bryn dismounted and led Lightning to the water through, where the pony eagerly slurped at the refreshment.
Agnarr was about to speak once again when Loki padded over to us, making his meticulous signs that I still could not grasp.
"Excuse me Freyja. Apparently Hakon's here to see me."
That can't be good. Wherever Hakon goes, trouble inevitably seems to follow.
"What does he want?"
"Loki says he didn't say. Only that he wants to speak to me alone."
"You don't trust him do you?"
"I trust him about as far as I can throw him, which probably isn't far."
"Yet, your still going to speak with him?"
"As much as I dislike it, yes. Will you watch Bryn until he leaves?"
"Of course."
"Loki, put the horse away and make sure he's groomed and fed." And with that Agnarr marched toward the house.
Agnarr's POV:
When I came into the room, Hakon was fiddling with one of the small statues of Odin that sat on the small house altar. I briefly wondered if he was planning on stealing it, but almost immediately dismissed the thought as soon as it came to me. He wouldn't risk doing such a thing now, not when he'd regained his family's status.
"Enjoying yourself Hakon?" I asked, sarcastically.
Hakon startled, but quickly recovered, his features smoothing back into a smile that made him look about as honest as a weasel.
"Jarl, please forgive me, I was merely admiring your excellent taste in figurines."
"Is there a point to this visit, or did you simply come here to flatter me about my home decor?"
"Ah yes of course. You see Jarl, since you have chosen Magni's ward as your bride, it seems I'm less respected as a result, in the eyes of my fellow karls that is."
"What would you have me do?" I asked, my exasperation growing with each moment.
"Oh, well Jarl if it not be too bold a request, it would please me greatly if you would make me a member of your council."
I snorted.
"My council? My council is for men who have earned their way and proven themselves to me enough to be worthy of the position. You have not."
"But Jarl, have I not been a loyal follower so far?"
"Yes, and you have been rewarded accordingly. Anything else?"
Hakon was silent for a moment, fury enveloping his eyes and leaving so fast I wondered if it had been there at all.
"No Jarl."
"Then please leave my house."
"As you wish Jarl."
After I personally watched him exit through the front door, I couldn't help tossing my dagger into one of the house poles in frustration. Freyja chose that moment to come in.
"Where's Bryn!?" I inquired, panicking when I didn't see him at her side.
"He wanted to feed Lightning some carrots. Don't worry though, I made sure Gyda was with him before I left."
She glanced at the dagger stuck into the pole and simply raised her eyebrows.
"Now what wrong did that pole ever do you?" I could tell she was trying hard to hold in a giggle.
"I found Hakon incredibly irritating and was happy to pretend it was his head."
"I take it the talk didn't go too well then."
"That arrogant swine insisted that he be made a member of my council just like that." I snapped my fingers for emphasis.
"As if he was so much better than everyone else that I would just grant him a position without him having to even lift a finger."
"And did you?"
"Of course not."
Agnarr sighed and rubbed his temples, which I'd learned by now was a sign that he was stressed.
"Tell me honestly Freyja, do you think I made the right decision?"
"You're asking the woman whose warden was banished practically because of him. I'm probably more than a little biased."
"Perhaps. Tell me anyway."
She made herself comfortable on one of the benches before answering.
"Yes I think you did. Besides his obvious personal hatred for Magni, there's something else about him that I find rather sinister."
"What?"
"I don't know, it's just a feeling that I've got."
"A woman's intuition?"
"You could call it that yes."
I chuckled.
Freyja and I lapsed into silence for a moment.
"Well, I should probably be getting home. It's getting late, and I know Helga will probably need my help with dinner."
"Do you want to accompany you home safely?"
"No that's alright. It's still light out and it's only a little ways up the road. I'll be fine."
"Good night."
"Good night."
She then trudged out the door into the sunlit evening, closing it softly behind her.
###
I stirred on my bed for probably the tenth time tonight, sleep evading my mind as an elusive deer would evade a hunter.
I finally sat up in bed and tossed the covers off of me, pulling on a shirt before making sure that Bryn was sound asleep before trudging for the door. I intended only to sit out on the porch just in case he needed anything.
I pulled open the door, and a lukewarm evening breeze wafted in from outside. I was surprised to see Loki sitting on the steps, and after leaving the door slightly ajar in case Bryn called for me, I slid down beside him.
Loki's gaze was firmly planted on the evening sky, which was lit up with thousands of tiny stars, making them appear as if they were little white dots on a dark blanket.
A silent tear slipped down Loki's cheek, but he didn't move to wipe it away.
"Loki are you alright?"
He made no answer, just continued to gaze at the sky.
I didn't push him to say anything, knowing from experience that he would tell me in his own good time.
He finally picked up a stick and began to draw a picture of a rune in the dirt. I had to squint until I recognized the rune for Mother. It was one of the few I'd taught him before Bjorn made me stop.
The pieces of the puzzle then snapped into place and I felt ashamed for not remembering. Today was the 13th day of the 6th month, the anniversary of the day of Loki's mother's death.
"It's your Mother isn't it?"
Loki nodded sadly, more tears threatening to spill out as he closed his eyes and his lips trembled slightly.
I then did something that I would never dream of doing in public, something that Bjorn highly frowned upon. I leant closer and placed my arm around him. He leant his head on my shoulder and made little sobbing sounds, the closest he'd ever come to talking aloud.
"Shhh, it's alright." I planted a brotherly kiss on the top of his head and rubbed his shoulder. It was just like the way I used to comfort him when we were children. It was a stark contrast to the master and slave facade that were forced to put on before others, a facade that had quickly trapped us within our own lies. It seemed, for tonight at least, we were allowed to just be brothers. At least for tonight, we were both free.