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Chapter 3

After three days of being there I realized two things: the first was that I already knew all the words related to household (such as bed, kitchen, fire, table, goat milk... etc.) which facilitated my understanding of the needs of children. The second was that those same children had not bathed in those three days.

I filled the bucket for the second time and I poured over the pot to heat the water, then I prepared a basin of wood suitable for bathing.

"To the water" I told Audr. I undressed the little girl who insisted on bathing with his carved wooden deer. I washed her hair and body with the same soap. With Eric and Leif everything was more complicated. They scrambled and rolled around until they got even dirtier, I caught Leif by the ear and Eric by the hair, and after finishing as bathed as them, I got all the accumulated grime cleaned.

My relationship with Halvar remained fairly distant, but in his eyes and on his lips, even in his voice, often saw Eric, which I made me easy to distrust and sulk him as being in a good mood. Helga treated me well, I think she likes to talk with me in Latin (and I'm not great conversing in that language). She was a cultured woman, but I haven't asked how she came to speak the language of the ancient Romans. I advanced in leaps and bounds in the Nordic language they used and already managed to shout and scold the children quite comfortably.

The days were getting increasingly heavy, the fog leave late in the morning and came early at the afternoon and moisture soaked everything. The waves hit the cliffs so hard it was weird not seeing the hard and black stones crumble due the power of the sea. The anguish of the climate seemed to have made the rest of town dam. Many of the women had left their good mood and wandered thoughtful, taciturn and silent around the town few streets. They came and went to the port, and waiting for the sea to give us a truce from the fog and moisture to disperse. I looked forward to the winter came, because at least the cold ice and snow would replace this cold that penetrated to the bone.

On the seventh day of thick fog, vicious humidity and wrathful sea, some of the women invited me to go with them to the forest to collect firewood due the fireplaces devoured fires hungrier than ever. I took the horse and hooked a small trailer. I get Audr and Eric up and cover them to the eyes with two wolf furs. Leif led the horse down the road in the company of other cars and the other women. They talked about their husbands, their sons and their brothers, and wondered if they would be back soon and... or if they would. The boats were gone for weeks, before I arrived, loaded with men from the village. The anguish of women wasn't due only to the uncertainty of never seeing their men, but to the fact that if they didn't return triumphant from sea, provided with tuna, cod, whale oil and other food, their children will suffer hungry and cold in winter and some don't even overcome. I turned on the car and I rummaged Eric blonde hair, understanding at last the hard times he had had to live as a human. We were stopping as we found good wood for fires.

Eric and Audr collected twigs, while Leif and I managed to get some good sized logs. Some trees had fallen because of the wind whipping us at night, but they were green wood useless for us. And the dry wood of fallen trees there for some time, was wet because of the bloody mist, but it was better than nothing and Leif and I managed to catch three whole trunks, that would serve us to spend the next few days, while the green ones dried by the fire and the expected snow arrive.

I massaged my tired neck and I wore a white sepia linen dress to sleep. I wore nothing underneath and I was very comfortable as well. I picked up the iron plate and inserted within a few embers of the fire to warm the foot of my bed. I got into it and lay down in the center, waiting for my little companions decided to get out of their beds and sleep with me. As always, the first to arrive was the little Audr who snuggled against my chest. Eric hugged my back and Leif followed, lying next to his sister. I did not sleep until the three of them were by my side.

Within a fortnight I began to handle myself with the language quite fluently. I've always heard that to learn a language is best to be among natives who don't speak otherwise. Well how right is who said it! The children and Helga helped me a lot. Often watching Leif do homework while he was showing me the name of things. Eric also liked to tell his life and made it with some understandable words, pictures and gestures, to which he put names. Audr taught me many things from the home, pointing with their fingers the names of the things she was seeing. I think we are learning to speak both at the same time.

Despite the harshness of life, I was happy to be where I was, although I missed my vampire. I never went to bed at night without being tired. I always did tired. Tired of working around the house and dealing with the kids. Leif was a sun, and although he was mischief, as the largest he struggled to work. Audr was adorable, she barely made me work with her rag dolls and wooden toys. Eric was the worst: Sometimes I was tempted to look him in the neck to see if it had a 666 birthmark announcing my future vampire was actually the antichrist. Not that he was bad, it was like having to take care of five children over the account. While everyone went to bed exhausted, he still had the energy to ask for stories, annoy his brother or putting bugs on Audr's bed. God, how I loved him.

I did not know how long I had been slept when a strange sound woke me up. In the distance, the powerful sound of a horn could be heard. Leif and Eric woke up startled. Down in the street, a stir was heard. I lit a candle and walked to the window. The women ran towards the port. The horn sounded again, this time accompanied by the sound of other horns. My heart jumped breast because it was not unusual to suffer attacks from other Viking villages, and although I hadn't expected and neither experienced one, I knew that the horn announcing an attack could sound at any time. I had to put the kids safe.

Audr rubbed her eyes and asked what happened. Eric and Leif uncovered and helped her up, taking her out of bed. They went down hurriedly and opened the front door of the house.

"Is father" Leif shouted.

"Father?" I asked.

"Is Father, Audr!" Eric grabbed his sister by her little hand and he inlaid her in a thick leather "Come on, Sookie. Boats arrive!"

I covered my shoulders with one of the furs which lay in bed and followed the kids to the street. The women ran to the port joyful, shouting the names of their husbands or their children, happy to see them again and distressed at the prospect they didn't come on the boats.

Helga and Halvar were in port as well as the rest of the people. However, all made way for the children, who were placed next to the chiefs and me behind them.

"Over there," the watchman said. The waves were strong and often confused me with the sound of the keel of a ship breaking water. After about two minutes, a ghostly figure appeared out of the mist over our heads and many of the people who were there couldn't suppress an "oh". The head and neck of a huge sea dragon in black had just emerged from the white fog. Seconds later, it followed the rest of the boat. More ghostly heads of mythological animals arrived in port. Women began shouting names, and from the deck, the voices of men were heard responding to them calls: they had returned. They started down the dock. It wasn't very different than the scenes that can be seen today at airports, ports and train or buses stations. Beloved people returning home.

Helga, Halvar and children looked on deck for someone. Finally, Helga put her hands to her mouth to cover a cry of happiness, stepped forward and extended his arms towards the figure climbed out of the boat.

The air left my lungs and I thought my heart would leave my chest trough the mouth. He wore the long beard also mustache. He was thinner than normal, but he was the same blond, strong and wonderful as ever.

"Son" Halvar hugged Eric and gave him a loud pat on the back.

"Father."

"Eric" Helga hugged him and danced with him embrace. After they separated, she stroked his beard and held his cheeks, then kiss him on the mouth "Son" She hug him again as he returned the gesture with love and children pulled the chain in his pants waiting for the moment he pays attention to them. He separated from his mother and bent, full height, to embrace Leif, Eric and Audr that hung from his neck.

"Unload the boat" Halvar shouted. Eric stand up with Audr in his arms, while Leif and small Eric threw a flood of questions. Helga grabbed his arm, the arm that was not holding the girl, and together they walked toward the palace. I stood there, standing motionless, staring at the man I loved being Human walking with his human family. My heart was a rush of emotions and my head one of thoughts. A firm and comforting hand on my back pulled me from my inner thoughts. Halvar gently pushed me forward, urging me to walk home, following the rest of the family.