Chapter 28
Hey guys, sorry again about the delay, here is chapter 28.
Disclaimer: Any factual research is not mine. All rights go to respective owners. No copyright intended.
I've been super busy the past couple weeks so I haven't had much time to write so for those of you who were wondering what happened to me, I promise I'm still alive and well.
Please be patient with me as I'm trying to get out updates as fast as I can for you guys.
This was another really hard chapter to write so I hope you guys enjoy.
I'm once again so glad to hear that so many people are loving this story. :) Thank you for all the reviews and continued support.
Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. God Bless :)
-Vegter999
Agnarr's POV:
After I saw Freyja back to her chambers, I practically raced back to my own and flopped down on the bed. I hadn't meant to act tense around her, but from the moment I saw her in my mother's stunning wedding dress I wanted to get her alone and...
For Odin's sake man she made herself quite clear and you'll just drive yourself mad if you continue to think about it! No, you are gonna push those thoughts into the deepest, darkest part of your mind, secure them under lock and key and behave rationally!
Behave rationally? Around someone as beautiful as her? Yeah right.
Shut up!
My thoughts whirred around in my head like a spinning wheel on a cart. I sat up, picked up a whetstone and began sharpening my sword, an activity I always found greatly relaxed me. However, today that wasn't to be.
I growled lowly in frustration and strapped my sword around my waist and headed outside again. Perhaps some more of that fresh morning air would clear my head. I chose to go out the back door instead of past Freyja's room, not wishing to wake her. After I'd stepped outside and walked a few paces, my ears picked up the sound of footsteps behind me. Instead of turning my head to see who it was, which would certainly alert my pursuer I was onto them, I continued walking forward normally, giving nothing away in my posture. Then after I'd reached a grove of trees, I slipped behind one of the trunks and drew my sword, waiting in anticipation. When I judged my pursuer was close enough, I gave a loud cry and rammed my shoulder into him, knocking him to the ground, my sword at his throat before I realized it was Arn.
"You're getting rusty Jarl."
"For Thor's sake Arn what were you thinking?! I could've killed you!" I scolded him, helping him to his feet.
"Someone has to keep you on your toes and battle ready" he replied, wiping grass off his tunic and the back of his trousers.
"Why are you here?" I snapped, still irritated that he was stalking me in the wee hours of the morning.
Arn placed a hand over his chest, feigning hurt, before saying "Is it so wrong to want to visit my best friend the day after his wedding to a lovely lady?"
I glared daggers at him until he finally relented.
"Alright. Alright. I came by because I wanted to know if it would be alright to introduce Dagrun to Freyja. She seems like she could use a good lady friend closer to her age."
Dagrun was Arn's wife and Mother to his four, soon to be five, young children.
"And you had to pursue me this early in the morning and almost get your head severed from your neck to ask that question?"
"I told you. Someone has to keep your battle senses in shape. I'll bring her and the children by this afternoon."
"I haven't even made up my mind yet."
"You're right, I just did it for you. Until next time."
He waved his hand above his head as he strutted away.
I shook my head at him before heading back to the house. Well, if I needed something to clear my head I'd certainly gotten it.
###
Freyja's POV:
I woke up to the sound of someone entering my room. I quickly sat up, which caused my head to spin and my vision to swim for a moment. When my senses finally cleared I was met with the sight of a woman who looked to be in her mid- to late thirties, in a plain brown linen dress, typical of the Karl class. Her brown hair was beginning to show streaks of gray and was braided down her back. Her matching brown eyes were warm and friendly.
"Forgive me Lady. I did not mean to startle you, my name is Hulda, I'm to be your handmaiden."
After a few moments of silence spent processing what she said I replied "Oh no, I'm afraid you'll have to excuse my manners. This is all quite new to me."
"I quite understand. Would you like me to help you dress for the day?"
"Oh...um I suppose" I awkwardly climbed out of bed as she opened the wardrobe.
"Which would you prefer Lady?"
"Um..the blue one I guess."
Hulda quickly helped me to slip into the grown, the fabric being finer than anything I had worn in the two years since I'd come to this land. I then sat down and allowed Hulda to do my hair. Since the day called for nothing extravagant, she simply pulled my hair into a knot, and secured it with a hair stick in the typical style of many of the northmen women.
"Will there be anything else Lady?"
"Oh...um no thank you."
Hulda simply nodded to show she understood* and left the room.
As I stood, pacing a few steps and forth across the chamber in my new dress, I couldn't help but feel completely out of place. Shaking off these thoughts I headed outside my room. Agnarr was already up, which didn't exactly surprise me, sitting on a stool in front of the fire pit.
"Good morning" I greeted.
"Good morning. Sleep well?"
"Yes, and as a matter of fact I just met Hulda."
"She wasn't causing you any trouble was she?"
"Oh no, nothing like that. She just surprised me when she came in."
Agnarr looked me up and down for a moment and that feeling of being out of my element quickly returned.
"You wear that dress well."
"Thank you, though to be honest I feel quite awkward in it, seeing as I'm not used to wearing something so fine."
"You'll get used to it soon enough."
Before I could say anything else he continued: "We're to have visitors this afternoon. Arn wishes to introduce his children and his wife to you."
"Oh" I said, slightly surprised that I was to begin meeting people in the community so soon.
"Well, I should be happy to meet them then."
###
Later that afternoon a knock came at the door. Loki quickly answered it and let in Arn, a woman with brown hair and eyes to match, and four young children, two boys and two girls. One of the little girls was balanced on the woman I assumed to be Dagrun's hip, and her belly was just beginning to show signs of being with child. The two little boys seemed to be arguing with each other, though over what I did not know, and the other little girl clung to her mother's dress, her face partially obscured by the cloth. Agnarr and I quickly stood up to greet them.
"Lady, may I have the pleasure of introducing my wife Dagrun, my sons, Bjorn and Agnarr though we usually call him Little Agnarr when your husband's around, and my two daughters Alva and Sigrun."
"It is very nice to meet you all" I replied warmly.
The little girl, Sigrun, came out from behind her mother and scurried over, stopping only a few feet away and gazing up at me with curious brown eyes that were so similar to her mother's.
She reached out and fingered my dress, rubbing the fine material between her finger's.
"I like your dress" she mumbled shyly, so I had to think a moment before I realized what she'd said.
"Thank you" I bent down to her level.
"So your Sigrun? That's a pretty name."
"Say thank you" Dagrun reminded her when she covered her face shyly.
She mumbled "thank you" before scurrying back behind her mother.
"Well, I suppose we'll leave you ladies to get better aquainted" Agnarr jumped in when silence once again filled the room.
"Where are you going?" I asked, nervous that he would be leaving it up to me to entertain Dagrun.
"On a hunt. I think the boys could use a little more practice in their archery skills don't you think Dagrun?" Arn addressed her.
The two little boys gasped in delight and began begging their mother to let them go.
"Oh alright, but listen to your Father and Uncle Agnarr understand?"
They nodded vigorously, scurrying out the door and pulling Arn along with them. Agnarr looked between the two of us for a moment before I gave him a reassuring nod, and closed the door, leaving me alone with Dagrun and her two girls. After another moment of awkward silence Dagrun spoke up.
"I apologize Lady, Sigrun can be quite shy at times" Dagrun said.
"Oh there is no need to apologize, I understand, and please call me Freyja."
Dagrun tilted her head curiously.
"You're quite unlike Valdis."
"Oh how so?"
"You're more..." she looked me up and down for a second before finally settling on a word "...unassuming."
"That is not always a bad thing."
"I never said it was." We lapsed into another awkward silence.
"Oh how remiss of me, please sit down" I gestured to a chair opposite the one I sat down in. Dagrun placed her two little girls on a couple chairs next to her before settling in herself.
"You must not misunderstand me Lady, I had no wish to offend you on the matter of your character, merely to point out the great difference I have so far observed between you and Agnarr's first wife. It intrigues me."
"Were you close to her? Valdis I mean?"
"I was on good terms with the Jarl's wife but, I wouldn't necessarily call the relationship we shared close."
"How did you know her?"
"My husband, as you've seen, is good friends with the Jarl and therefore our paths crossed often whenever we were invited to his home or at the Thing."
"I see."
"May I ask you a question Lady?"
"If you promise to stop calling me Lady" I smiled at her to show I was only joking.
"Very well, Freyja, how was it you and Agnarr came to meet? I understand you hadn't been in this town much before the previous year or so."
"It's a long story, but to give you the short version, Agnarr wounded my dog and I came upon them both. When I saw what he'd done to Kai I yelled at him that Kai was trained to regard anyone he didn't know as an enemy."
"You yelled at the Jarl?" Dagrun asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Keep in mind I hadn't exactly known who he was at the time" I giggled, recalling the memory.
A small smile graced Dagrun's features as she nodded for me to continue.
"Well I carried Kai, who was deeply injured, on my shoulders back to Magni's. When I was back at the same spot the next day, Agnarr was there waiting for me and he gave me some Hvonn for Kai's wound and apologized, especially when Baldr, who'd accompanied me, told him who I was and that Kai was Magni's animal."
Dagrun stared at me for a moment.
"Now I understand why Agnarr likes you so much. You weren't afraid to challenge him, just like his mother wasn't afraid of Bjorn."
"Yes, he's told me that himself" I replied, smiling.
"What about you? How did you and Arn meet?"
"Mommy met Daddy on the day they got married" Sigrun piped up.
"It was arranged you see. My parents liked him very much, and frankly so did I. I'd never spoken to him myself, but heard of his character from many people who knew him well, including Agnarr."
"He seems to adore you very much."
She nodded.
"He is a good husband and father, as I'm sure Agnarr will be too you and your children."
I stiffened and my cheeks reddened slightly at the mention of children.
Thankfully, Dagrun didn't seem to notice, and if she did she didn't say anything.
Our conversation was interrupted by a loud banging on the door.
"What in the name of Odin...?" Dagrun wondered aloud, as she tried to get up from the chair but, her pregnancy prevented her.
"Don't worry, I'll get it" I admonished.
When I got to the door and opened it, there stood Arn breathing heavily.
"Arn are you alri..." I stopped mid-sentence when I saw what he and Agnarr had brought home with them. Tied by it's large front and back paws to a rather large log was a huge bear. It's mouth hung open, exposing it's tremendous and razor-sharp teeth. It's claws alone looked to be about the breadth of my hand, and it's massive body was covered in thick brown fur.
"What do you think? Agnarr shot it down" Arn exclaimed proudly.
"I helped tie it up" Little Agnarr exclaimed proudly.
"So did I!" Bjorn exclaimed indignantly.
"It'll contribute some good meat for the feast tonight eh Freyja?" Agnarr asked.
I struggled not to look at the poor animal as I forced a smile and said "It will do very well."
*In Viking culture people didn't usually bow to those above them if they were free people, as the Vikings had no concept of Kings or rulers that should be held in such special regard as to require the need to bow before them.