Chapter 3

Alexa waited for Halfdan to come back from his little shopping trip. She was supposed to be sleeping but she found that hard to do. For the first time in her life she understood the trauma that a wife felt waiting and waiting for a husband to come home when his life could be in danger. She thought of all of the things that could happen to him. She imagined Toke sneaking out from behind each corner and jumping him with the gang Halfdan had talked about. Her new husband to be wouldn't have a chance. Finally, nearly four hours later, he opened the door to their room and she breathed a sigh of relief. He appeared all in one piece except for the angry red slash across his cheek from the night before when he'd saved her from the roges in the alley way.

Halfday carried with him several large packages and on his hip he had a new scabbard which meant he'd procured a new sword.

"You're home," she cried jumping up and hugging him nearly upsetting the packages in his arms. She took several from him and laid them on the bed so that she could manage to hug him the way she'd been dying to for the last several hours.

"I missed you too," he laughed.

"You don't understand. I've been so worried." she said, with an almost tear coming to her eye.

Halfdan simply stood there. He wasn't used to anyone being this conscerned over his welfare except for his mother and she was now long dead. He took his hand and raised Alexa's chin so that she was looking into his face.

"Why were you so worried my love?"

"I kept imagining that that Toke guy and his bandits would jump out and attack you or something and you didn't have your sword with you, I had it. I was so afraid." Then the tears did start to fall.

"You've been worried all this time,"

"Yes."

"I'm guessing you didn't get any sleep either."

"It's hard to sleep when you are pacing the floor."

Halfdan took her in his arms and rocked her back and forth, kissing her brow. It would be easy to chastice her for being silly and saying she shouldn't have worried but the truth was that he had been in danger and he had skulked the whole way until he'd managed to buy a new sword. A fine one at that. Even after the purchase he'd been careful not to draw attention to himself. Her worry just proved to him what a fine woman he was marrying. She did truly love him and she was worthy of whatever protection and love he could give her.

Finally he let her go with a solid kiss on her lips.

"I love you for your worrying. You are a fine woman and I could not have chosen anyone better to be my mate. I've arranged for us to be married this afternoon before the sun goes down. The ceremony will of course just be us, but we will try to keep to the old ways. It will be done by a priestess of Freeya. I've arranged everything as best I could. You and I will leave afterwards and travel by horseback onto the road that leads into the next town over. I believe that Toke may have left and took his first mate with him there for the winter months as they cannot sail during that time."

"That sounds like a good plan to me," Alexa nodded. "What did you get me to wear?"

"Like a woman, always wanting to know what you are going to wear? Some things don't change I guess in a thousand years."

"Oh, believe me, it gets a thousand times worse in a thousand years." she responded laughing.

Halfdan began unwrapping one of the bundles for her and withdrew a gown that looked like something glorious from a Renaisasance Festival. It was red and made of shiny silk. The waist was niped in under the bust in an empire style and the sleeves were puffed at the top but yet long and tapered down to a point on her third finger. The bodice was loose and flowed out in yards and yards of silk. The neckline was square coming just above her breasts which had they been much larger would have been pushed up and jutted out. She supposed that that was the intended purpose of the dress and she just wasn't large enough on top to fill it out.

In addition to her wedding dress, he'd also bought her an "everyday" dress. It was made of linen and seemed pretty durable. The skirt was a simple affair that pulled on. Over it another linen garment was placed. It looked like a tunic to her. To top it off a smock in blue was placed over the whole affair. The smock had two large pockets in front. The dress wasn't meant to be pretty it was meant to be serviceable, so she didn't complain. She was supposed to blend in.

Halfdan had also bought himself another set of clothing. They weren't much different from what he already owned, just cleaner. Another wool tunic and set of pants. The tunic was in light green and the pants were in a deep green. Alexa complemented him on them.

"I thought that the colors would camaflauge me in the woods. If you notice, the color of blue of your tunic is also a color found in the woods. I wanted us to have something that wouldn't bring notice to us if we were hinding out."

"That was smart. I wouldn't want to wear my wedding dress out in the woods." Alexa said.

"No, I figured you'd just wear the wedding dress the once and then it would be put up," Halfdan said.

"Yes, I guess you are right. It's so beautiful though. It's a shame it won't get to be worn again." Alexa sighed.

"Come here beautiful." Alexa walked into his arms.

"We have this room for two more hours."

"Hum, what could we do for two more hours?" she began to "mock" start to think.

"Well, as I told you we aren't going to get much of a honeymoon."

"So you want to take my innocence early. You wretched man!" Alexa exclaimed.

"Yes, I am a bad bad man, I want to claim you for myself. I don't want you to ever remember any other man before me." Halfdan said flipping her over on the bed so that he was leaning over her.

"What men Halfdan?"

"Ummm," he growled as he began tugging off his tunic that she'd put on earlier to sleep in, or rather to worry in. It was a simple task to get it off. Before him, her body glowed in her California tan. He ran his hands along her sides and down along her hips, then he used his lips to trace where his hands had been.

"Oh, God," Alexa begged as she felt his lips tracing the sides of her hips tenderly. He began to suck on her hip bones where they jutted out, his other hand reached up and traced along her stomach and up to her breast. He was so gentle and hestitat with his touch. He tentitavily touched her right nipple, stroking it up til it became hard.

"Please, Halfdan," she begged, although she wasn't sure what she was begging for at first. She wanted so much. Halfdan continued rolling the nipple around in his hand as he suckled on her hipbone. Then he licked his way to her belly and the concaveness there. His hand was fully holding onto her breast now, with his thumb flicking her nipple. He lowered his head again and managed to part her thighs easily with his shoulders. He could feel her breathing hard and he knew what she needed. He could even smell her arousal before he even got there. With his free hand he caressed the mound at the apex of her thighs bringing cries from her. She was so beautiful Halfdan thought, even down here. There was a small amount of black hair that covered her entrance but it was artfully arranged, not ugly like some women's private areas were. With his finger he slowly worked a finger through her woman's folds. Again he heard a held back scream from her. She was so soft down here. He let go of her breast so that he could use both hands to explore. And explore he did. Gently he used both hands to pull her folds apart to that he could see inside of her woman's parts. He'd never done this before, though he had of course been inside a woman. He'd never seen what a woman really looked like. He'd been instructed briefly on how to please a woman when he turned 14, but they still didn't tell him all about this.

"Please Halfdan. Do it. I need it," Alexa begged.

"Do what love?"

"You know what? Geez are you gonna make me beg?" Yes, Halfdan thought. Because I'm clueless and I need to know what it is that turns you on and what it was that evidently Jacob did that made you happy that I don't know how to do. Halfdan was burning up with jealousy and fire.

Halfdan continued to stroke her folds with his long fingers hoping that this was what she wanted. He'd been instructed that women liked that as well as having those same fingers inside of them. He was about to do that when she cried out again.

"Please, I will beg."

"Tell me what you want me to do."

"It's embarassing to say it outloud."

"We are to be married in a few hours. Nothing should be embarrassing between husband and wife."

"You think?"

"I know. Tell me what turns you on so much yet at the same time it strikes fear into your heart to simply ask me to do it for you?" Halfdan asked. He heard Alexa sigh softly before she answered him in a voice that was so soft and low that he would have missed it if he hadn't been listening for her answer so intently.

"Lick me."

"Uh, what" he stuttered. He didn't mean to do so. It was just a frail human habit he supposed.

"See I told you that it was embarrassing." Alexa cried out covering her face in her hands looking as if she were about to cry at any minute.

"No, I mean you want me to lick you on your female parts." Halfdan clarified somehow managing to turn what had been a sexy moment into a comforting one because he'd messed things up. Now he was doing penance and trying to make her believe it..."oh, hell, I don't know what I'm trying to make her believe, I don't even know why she's so upset in the first place either," Halfdan thought to himself. Still he comforted her and told her that he knew what she had meant and that it wasn't bad or "dirty" and that she wasn't a "bad" or "dirty" girl for wanting it in the first place.

"It's not a big thing, Alexa, what's the difference? I love it when you lick me between my legs. It gives me chills and shivers and feelings that I can't explain. Sometimes I don't think I'll live through it. It feels so wonderful. It's only fair that you should be given the same kind of pleasure on your body."

"Yes, but all my life, I've been taught that it was bad for a woman to ask for that. To just flat out ask for it. I mean if a man goes ahead and offers to do it during sex that's one thing but to demand a man do it for her, then that makes her just a whole new level of bitch."

Halfdan looked then back at Alexa strangely with that peculiar expressession and his head twisted to the side. lips curled and eyes clearly off in wonder trying to imagine the world I'd lived in.

"You say the times you lived in were 'progressive' and that women were equal to men but I don't see how at all. To me it looks like you are still hiding behind the men. You may get the same things the men do but at what cost? And do you get it when you want it? And the way you want it or need it."

Alexa could only nod her head 'no' because even though he was nearly 1100 years younger than her, he had a maturity she had yet to master. He'd seen things in life she prayed she'd never see. She'd lost loved ones yesterday she didn't want to ever lose. Even still, Halfdan's losses trumped hers by a mile. He'd known nothing but loss and sadness growing up. His own father had owned him as a child. How much more abusive can you get than that?

Without saying anything else, Halfdan placed his face down between her legs. He wondered if he could do a good job? Evidently Jacob had done this for her and she'd liked it. He wanted her to like it more when he did it. With his tongue Halfdan slowly traced up the two outside petals tickling as he went. She sighed. Then he found the bud that always made her squirm and he tickled it with his tongue.

"Yes, that's it Halfdan." she almost screamed.

Thankful that he'd found what she needed, he continued to please her, circling the bud and vibrating it as much as possible. He reached up again and found her breasts and held them for himself. He ran his finger over the nipples stimulating them in time with the stimulation he was giving her clit.

"Ah God I'm coming, Halfdan." From experience he knew that soon there would be liquid coming from her. He wondered if he should move or if it would be interesting to see what the liquid was like. It might be sexy to drink it, just the way that she drank his liquid when he came. He heard her scream and then her spasm around him several times. He looked up in time to see the look of total bliss on her face. He'd done that. He'd put that look on her face. He loved her. Then it came, the liquid bliss. He stuck his tongue between the petals of her body and drank. It was an interesting taste. Clear. As he sucked her dry and his tongue moved around her body cleaning her she moved trying to keep her body in contact with his tongue. Eventually it was over and Alexa lay back sated.

"That was unbelievable," she murmurred with her eyes shuttered. She reached out for him hesitantly hoping he would come into her arms. Her hopes were easily answered. She noticed that Halfdan had a huge what people in her time would refer to as "shit eatting" grin on his face.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Hum?" he grunted the smile gone.

"You look like the bird that ate the canary."

"Oh."

"You looked pretty happy with yourself there."

"Oh. No. Only happy if you were happy. You were happy weren't you?" He shot off in rapid fire succession. Maybe he wasn't as grown up as she thought he was she decided. She liked that though. She didn't want an over cocky guy. Jacob could be over cocky and goodness knows that there was no reason for it because it wasn't because he was satisfying her in anyway.

"I was happy, Halfdan." she reaffimed for him, "Just don't get cocky on me. I don't like that trait in guys. I'd think it would make them a bad lover."

Evidently she said the wrong thing because he frowned. Big time frowned. As in gloomy storm cloud Kansas tornado winds coming head for the storm shelter kinda weather frowning.

"What did I say?"

"Why do you say that? Make a bad lover? How many lovers have you had? I thought you'd only been with this Jacob guy?" he asked inignant.

"That's true. I was a virgin up until him and I've only been with him twice. Why are you so jealous?" She shot back at him.

"Because in our time most women are innocent when they are married. They don't sleep with other men before they marry unless they are a slave woman who's bodies are owned and can generally be taken by any man with any authority over them."

"I thought in this time any man had authority over a woman."

"No, women have rights. You could have told me no."

"Gee, thanks for telling me that now." she said, just to make him feel bad. She had no idea how bad it did make him feel. Of course, she hadn't taken into account the fact that his mother had been a thrall and slave to the whims of his own father. The only thing that had saved her from the other men on the estate had been that it had been a generally known fact that she belonged to Hrorik and that any other man who tasted her pleasures would feel Hrorik's axe. At one time she and Hrorik had been deeply in love but his father's love of money and positition had come in between so he had married Gunhild, a shrew of a woman who had lorded over the first 14 years of his life with a switch and a cane.

"I would never have forced you," he said rolling off of her and standing up. He was truly in a state now. Halfdan was shaking. He didn't know what hurt worse. His heart was aching fiercely for he'd believed that this woman had loved him. Stupid. He'd only known her a matter of hours really. Any nave would have known better and he wasn't that innocent. Not after everything he'd been through. She could have easily taken him for everything he had, had she known he had anything at all to take. Luckily he always took what silver he had with him in a coin purse, so she couldn't steal that from him. Most women wouldn't steal a man's armor, even if it could be pawned and sold. He'd just felt differently about her. He'd thought her story to be true. Even more telling, was that his body still hurt for her. Even as betrayed as he felt he still wanted and needed her. He walked over to the bedside where he'd discarded his clothing. He began picking up the clothing and shaking them out with the intentions of putting them back on. Let her find her own way in the world he thought.

Halfdan felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Alexa standing behind him, large tears in her eyes.

"You are leaving me?" she asked.

"What would you have me do?" he asked brusquely.

"I would have you stay."

"Why?"

"Because I love you. I don't even understand really why you are leaving. I was just joking. I know you never forced me. I've told you the truth about everything. I've only been with Jacob the twice. Women in my time do things willingly. I know you don't understand that but it's a different time period. I thought I cared about him. I'd not met you yet. Can't you understand that I've agreed to marry you after having only known you less than 24 hours. That's an amazing thing to me. I figured I'd be in my upper 20s before I'd marry and I'm only 21, though I suppose you think I'm an old woman. I'm not a whore Halfdan, not compared to my roommate anyway, just don't tell her I ever said that. I couldn't imagine losing you now that I've found you and I thought you cared about me too or is this mission of yours too important."

Halfdan whirled around on her.

"This has nothing to do with Toke. I just couldn't understand why a beautiful girl like you would lower herself by losing her innocence before her marriage, that's all."

"Well, you were the one doing a great deal of the instigating. Saying we wouldn't have time for a honeymoon and all that."

"I suppose I could have made time for one."

"You didn't tell me that."

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm holding you to standards you aren't used to."

"And I'm sure you'll do it a lot more before this marriage is through too." she sighed.

Halfdan smiled in the way that she had grown to quickly love. "Will you forgive me?" he asked in a kind voice.

"Yes," she answered, "as long as you put your stuff down and don't leave me here by myself." Alexa decided she wasn't crazy about how needy she was sounding, but she was needy at the moment. She was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. She needed the physcial protection that Halfdan could provide and she really was falling in love with him. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like if he walked out the door at that moment.

"I probably wouldn't do it anyway. I would be too worried about you by the time I even got to the bottom of the staircase," he sighed.

Alexa laughed. Perhaps, just perhaps, Halfdan truly did love her. She hugged him to herself noticing that his body was in a rather stiff condition. Yes, he did still love her, or at the very least he did desire her.

"I see you are still interested in me," she laughed.

"I guess the evidence is there," he smiled at her again.

"So after subtracting all the time for that useless fight how much time do we have left for our honeymoon?" she asked.

"Time enough," he replied, picking her up in one fell swoop and carrying her back to bed.

They packed up their belongings, meager though they were and dressed. Alexa put on her red wedding gown and tried to do something with her long dark hair with the silver comb Halfdan loaned her. He told her it was his mothers so she was extra careful in making sure that none of the vicious snarls in her hair didn't break any of the fine teeth that made up the precious comb. After announcing herself ready, she turned herself around only to see Halfdan looking at her somewhat stunned.

"Do I look that bad? I know I'd look better with some makeup but I'm just not the kind of girl who carries makeup around in my bag you know," she bagan rambling.

"You are beautiful. What's makeup?" he asked.

"Oh, it's this stuff women put on their faces to hide their imperfections and flaws. You know like how you have that little place on your face," she quickly pointed to a small acne lesion that mared his otherwise perfect complection. "Back home a girl would cover that up, so that her boyfriend wouldn't see it."

"Do the men cover up their imperfections too?"

"No, not most men anyway. It's not seen as manly."

"I wouldn't think it would be." he snorted in the way men had evidently been doing for thousands of years. Alexa couldn't help but laugh. Evidently some things just never changed did they?

"Are you ready to go visit the priestess?" he asked softly, as if he were afriad that if he said it too loud she'd change her mind and back out.

"Yeah, I'm ready, but I thought you said we weren't getting married until this evening? What are we doing until then?"

"We've got some things to do til then. I've got to get you fed first. We need to find some horses. I've got to scout around and see if I can find out for sure that Toke has left."

"Ah, and what will I be doing all this time?"

"Doing what you will always be doing."

"Following you I guess." she sighed.

"At times, when it's not safe to stand beside me."

"Okay, I can accept that answer," and she supposed she could. It wouldn't be prudent in this day and age to always be standing by his side. Not when he was fighting and he needed to be protecting her.

"Halfdan?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to teach me to fight? Just in case."

"I'd rather I didn't have to."

"It would probably be smart to do so." Alexa said walking up to him and placing her arms around him. Sometimes using a little feminine wiles was a good idea. "I mean what if I got caught out and you weren't there to protect me and I had to protect myself?"

"That's not going to happen."

"Anything can happen Halfdan. You know that." She replied running her fingers through his dark silky black hair.

"Don't think I don't know what you are trying to do to me." He mumbled.

"Is it working?"

"Yes,"

"Then after the wedding is through and we are on the road you can teach me how to defend myself. I'm just used to being self-reliant and I don't like the idea of being totally helpless."

"Well, we'll see." he replied, leaning down and kissing the tip of her nose and taking up her bag. They walked downstairs hand and hand. Alexa looked the place over good in the daylight. It really did seem like a seedy place in the light of day now that she wasn't so sick and so tired and so frightened out of her wits. Halfdan walked her over to the bar and sat her down on a stool. He ordered some dish she'd never heard of and she prayed it was edible. When it came, it turned out to be something similar to burgoo, served with warm wine. She was so hungry she figured it could have tasted like shit and she would have eaten it. They didn't talk much while eating, they simply enjoyed each other's company and sporadically held hands under the table. Alexa wondered silently what was going on in her old world and if anyone had found her car. Were there search parties looking for her? Was her roommate freaking out? Had her poor parents been notified she was missing yet? She even wondered if Jacob gave a damn.

Halfdan on the other hand was trying hard not to pinch himself. It was hard not to stare at the beauty sitting across from him. She'd just fallen into his life, just as so many other things had fallen into his life. It was strange how the Norns had woven his life. The three ladies who manipulated a man's fate and changed his destiny. For a man born a slave he'd certainly been given much opportunity in the last 6 months of his life. He'd literally went from a slave to a king. Today he was marrying his princess. When he was a slave he'd often wondered if he would ever marry. There was not a single woman on the entire estate who had struck his fancy enough that he could imagine wanting to live with them his whole life, giving up what little he had to put shelter over their heads and food on their table. Protecting them and giving them children. It wasn't that he didn't want children. All Danish men loved the idea of passing on their livlihood to a younger version of themselves but there just didn't seem to be any woman who lived up to the high standard of womanhood that his mother had set before him. Except this one sitting in front of him. He knew in his heart that Deirdre would have loved her. She would have accepted her. So would Sigrid. He prayed that someday he would conquer Tore so that he could get his lands back in order that he could free Sigrid and take back his home. He could make Alexa the lady of his estate. It was a title that would fit her perfectly for she was a lady, he knew that inately, no matter what state she had come to him in. She was fierce too. He couldn't believe she'd actually asked him to learn to fight. He'd known he'd need to teach her to fight and he was dreading broaching the subject, but no, she had brought it up herself. She wanted to learn to protect herself and what was theirs. He couldn't imagine being more proud to call her his. Sundown could not come any sooner for him, for he wanted this marriage to take place soon.

"Halfdan?"

"Hum?"

"You are a hundred miles away. You aren't having cold feet on me are you?"

"Cold feet?" he knew it had to being one of her sayings but he didn't know what it meant.

"You don't want to call things off or something do you?" she looked so scared that it was delicious. He wanted to haul her off upstairs again and prove to her that he still wanted her and wanted her badly.

"No, I'm actually daydreaming about tonight. It can't come quickly enough for me." he said smiling.

"Oh, well, that's good," she replied finishing the last bit of her burgoo and wiping her mouth on the back of her hand for lack of anything else. At that moment the door to the Inn opened and two sailors walked in. Halfdan saw them before Alexa did because he knew better than to ever sit with his back to a door. The expression on his face told her more than anything else could. She wondered what would be best. To try to sit it out or try to smuggle him out somehow before he could try to fight them. Because she could see it in his eyes. He wanted to fight them. They had to be part of Toke's crew. Some of the people he remembered killing his brother and the others. The absolute fire in his eyes scared her.

"Halfdan," she whispered under her breath. "Is that some of you know's people? The one's who killed your family?"

"Yes," he replied tersely. She was surprised she even got an answer.

"Don't do this. Not today. You promised me a marriage not a funeral," she begged with her eyes.

"I'm sure it would be over quickly and I can take them," he said.

"There's two of them and one of you," she said, "and you haven't taught me to defend myself yet. What if something did happen to you? What would happen to me? What would they do to me?"

Halfdan continued to sit there quietly mulling his anger. He didn't want to leave. He'd come so far to kill these men and now to just leave? But she was right. What would happen to her if he challenged them and lost? It would be better to leave alive and fight another day. Wouldn't he at least like to have said he'd married this creature and took care of her for awhile. He knew the blood debt couldn't be put off indefinately but maybe for this one night. Einar, his friend who knew of his blood debt would be upset with him for putting his heart before his duty but Einar wasn't here right now was he? How would Odin feel? Would the great God punish him for breaking his oath? But they'd put Alexa in his path for some reason hadn't they?

"Can we not slip out the back or something? This is making me nervous," Alexa took his hand on top of the table, but he released it. Halfdan slowly moved out grabbing their pack and putting an arm around her. He'd noticed an exit that led into a back alley. It would be the best way out.

Alexa didn't begin breathing again until they were standing in the hot sunshine on the street outside.

"Thank you. I know walking away like that must have been hard, but I was afraid of losing you," she said, looking at the ground. For some reason, Halfdan could still make her feel shy at times. She felt him take her face in his hands and gently kiss her.

"I would do much more difficult things than that for you, if needs be," he replied making her stomach do flip flops. "Now, lets set about getting a horse. I can't expect you to walk all over Ireland."

The rest of the day was spent preparing for their journey, buying meager provisons, and a horse that for some reason Alexa named Julia. Luckily, in her mind, they saw no hide nor hair of Toke, only the early encounter with his men. The rest of the day was spent laughing and getting to know one another better. It made Alexa feel better to know that Halfdan immediately felt like a friend. Had he been born in her time period she honestly thought he would have been her friend there as well. She wondered absently what he would have been like and what he would have done for a living. Would he have went into the military? Would he have went to college and played sports with his athletic prowess? Either way she was sure she would have fallen head over heels for him just as she was now.