Third day... third chapter

Chapter 26

Freira came that morning to bring Gunnar to our house so Erik and he could play around together. We talked about the weather and then they left. Fiora also came bringing her two children. She was a gorgeous even she was a lot older than me, and she was married to a man of much superior social status to her. I thought that was always well dressed and I'm sure she would have been a great fashion and shoes designer and if she was born in another era.

The kids were running around, practicing with sword and playing with wooden toys for over two hours until I sat down with them and told them that he had an idea for the celebration to be held at the Palace of Halvar in two days.

"You know what I was thinking? Why don't we make a theater play for the celebration?"

"A what?"

"A theater play" I answered "A function: with actors, decorated and a story to tell. We would tell the attack and our victory and you'll perform it."

"Like a game!"

"That's it! Like when you play to be your favorite warrior. Let's see..." The children, who had me in high regard because of Audr's party and all fun and games I prepared for them, they listened attentively and were enthusiastic about my idea.

During the afternoon, while the kids practiced with numbers (writing zero to five), somebody knocked on the door. Helga came in greeting cheerfully. She took off the fur that she was wearing and placed it at a safe distance from the fire, but close to it so the fur keep being warm.

"I don't like this calm"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I think a big blizzard is coming" I sighed and looked out the window "Do not worry. If things get ugly, Eric and children take refuge anywhere. They have coats, they can make fire and they have the horse to keep them warm."

"No doubt that Eric is able to protect him and the child from the cold, but I would rather have them here" she placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled at her.

"You look terrible. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't sleep well tonight."

"Why?"

"It's that..." Helga was the closest thing to a friend I had in that world, but she was also Eric's mother, and I don't know if talking about certain things with the one who is your mother in law is a good idea.

"What? It's something wrong with Eric? Halvar told me what happened while we were in Puerto Black. Are things going the same?"

"I don't know, I guess, what did Halvar say?"

"That Eric and you are lying together" she said with finesse. She was classy. I smiled.

"Yes… that's true" I saw she was concerned about me, as I had my face as white as a ghost.

"So, aren't you happy with that situation? I thought you fancied my son."

"It isn't that!" I screamed and Helga freaked out "Of course I like Eric, I like him very much" It was much more than like. I loved him "And I'm very happy at home."

"And what is the problem?"

"The kids" I replied. Helga raised an eyebrow "Last night Eric wanted… that… he wanted to be with me but…

"Did he forced you?" she asked shrilly.

"Of course not! I also wanted to be with him" I answered "But I wouldn't do it in front of children."

"Where you were you?"

"In our bed."

"What about the children?"

"In theirs."

"I do not see the problem."

"By Odin, Helga! Children may have heard or seen us."

"Is it that you meant to leave them in the street?"

"For god's sake! [1]Why doesn't anyone understand me?"

"What I understand is that you're embarrassed to be with my son in the presence of my grandchildren."

"At last!"

"You doesn't need to" she smiled and took my hand "My grandchildren adore you. You have been like a gift from the gods; they took Audd and in return they have brought you to us, to my grandchildren and to my son" both of us were moved to tears "They won't stop loving you. Leif sure is very happy with this. At first he didn't wanted, but I know how much he worry that you could go with Ivar..."

"I don't say it because of that" Helga narrowed her eyes and I heard her thinking she didn't understand anything "I guess it's normal for your children sleep two meters while you are making love with your man."

"If it bothers you that much the children are present, tell Eric. But it is not an unsolvable problem" I ended the conversation and we went back to be closer to the kids.

The kids were doing homework, practicing writing, learning history and Norse religion for a while. We then proceeded to discuss Halvar's party and things that we were going to prepare for the celebration. Erik and Audr were showing Helga and me how they were going to play Eric and me in the surprise we were preparing for Halvar when we heard a male voices near the doorstep.

"All afternoon! Alone, as if I had no wife" Halvar said. The children stopped their games, picked up everything we were doing with the help of their grandmother and the three were planted determined to conceal.

"If she is here, she was at twenty yards" Eric replied.

"I hope Sookie has made cakes" Leif said. I ran to open the door.

"You are here!" I made Leif came in and put him by the fire.

"Are you going to come home someday?" Halvar asked loudly.

"You missed me that much?" Helga asked.

"Never! But I've been all afternoon alone in a house without a woman."

"What it means" Helga said "Is that he had to put together a snack by himself after spending the afternoon snoring in his throne. Oh, by the gods, son, what such beautiful beavers!" I looked at the pile of dead animals Eric was bringing strapped on a string.

"Do you get them near the rapids, where I taught you?" Eric nodded "You were always a good hunter. Better than your brother" he said as if it hurt to speak, and I felt it was not because he cared Eric to be better at something than Leif, but because it hurt to speak of her missing son.

"He has predatory instinct" I said smiling. Eric smiled at me and Helga raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, these are beautiful" She said pointing to two that Eric was carrying in his hands. The two beavers were clear colored, almost white.

"These are for you" Eric said. I caressed their skin.

"For me?"

"The beaver fur is great, warm, soft and does not let water or moisture came in. These are the nicest I've captured" he said pointing the two animals whose skin he had chosen for me and left the other twelve, dark brown and even one animal on the table, of different colors, some clear brown, dark brown and there was even a black one "Not that I have the best hands of the valley to the skin, but I think I can get boots for all of us from these animals" Erik came up to the table and showed his admiration with expressions of astonishment. I stroked his hair. Eric grabbed me by the waist and make me give him a welcome kiss. It was the first time he kissed me in front of his parents. Halvar coughed and Helga smiled excitedly.

"I picked this for you" Leif said, and pulled out from inside his clothes a bouquet of white flowers with fine petals "They are Edelweiss."

"Oh, Edelweiss! Thank you very much, are they beautiful" I smelt them and grabbed a container to put them on the table.

"Haven't you hunted anything big brother?" Erik laughed "Leif has just picked flowers! Leif has just picked flowers!" Crooned, mocking his brother.

"Of course not! These two big yellow ones fell into the traps that I set. "Right, father?"

"Right."

"Leif went hunting, but he screwed up, and instead of a beaver, captured a flower!" Erik shouted, splitting laughter. Leif chased him around the table, despite how tired he was "Poor Leif he think he is great at hunting, but even the silly beavers makes jokes about him" One of the dead beavers fell to the floor with a plop and Eric stopped their game.

"By the way, what were you doing that you were so suffocated?" he grabbed Erik and covered his mouth so he stop teasing his brother with silly rhymes.

"It's a secret!" Audr said whit a hussy smile.

"Are you going to keep secrets from me?" Eric released his son, he picked her up, gave her a somersault and placed on the shoulders.

"Come on, let's go" Helga pushed her husband away "we in the way here." Halvar was going to ask why he was in the way. But he realized it as soon as he saw the family picture we were.

"Okay, okay. Hey, for the party..."

"Which party?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you!" And I told him everything.

"So, son, I need you to come help me kill the animals we'll eat to celebrate the victory... a goat ..."

"Okay" the children and I were assigning the pieces leaned on the table.

"We may also need to kill some young sow" he said.

"As you wish" but Eric was already focused on us, with his hand leaning on his son, Leif, shoulder and the other hand caressing my nape. "I'll take the ones Leif has hunted."

"Which one is for me?" asked the girl. Halvar gave up, and left pulled by his wife from the arm.

"The black one" his father said "It'll make two lovely booties. What you hide from me, anyway?"

"It's a secret! ... We cannot tell" Audr said. Eric frowned.

"To him we can tell and we have to tell" I told "You don't want we throw him out from home while we practicing, right?" the girl laughed softly.

"What's going on?" He pulled his daughter down and left her on the bench.

"A theater performance!" Erik shouted.

"Ah, I want to tell him before" protested Audr "We are going to per..."

"A theater performance" Erik interrupted "It's like... like..."

"I'll explain to you, I'll explain to you!" Audr insisted.

"Let's see, you explain it to me" Erik opened his mouth to continue, but his father covered it with one of his huge hands "Listen to your sister."

"Well... well... it's a theater performance, and the theater is... is... is when... Sookie!" I laughed.

"We'll represent the fight against Harald and his men. The children will perform as you, the adults, and our enemies."

"I'll be you!" Erik got to say.

"What about me?" Leif asked at the end.

"Didn't you want to be grown up?" Erik asked him "Well this is just for kids."

"Erik..." I scolded him.

"Okay, okay. You can still perform as Harald the evil one" The young Erik granted.

"I don't want to perform as Harald!"

"And you won't play Harald" I comforted "So far we have only spoken of the plot (the attack to the people we represent, rescue boats and victory over enemies)"

"My father will be thrilled. You can play your grandfather, Leif."

"I don't want to be the grandfather" Leif said "He didn't fight."

"Yes he did" Eric said "And very bravely, as always."

"I rather be you."

"But I'll play as him!"

"We've talked about it, and we'll draw lots" I picked up a stone, put my arms behind my back and played with the stone passing from hand to hand. Leif and Eric chose one arm each one, I pulled my hands out and showed them. Leif ducked his head and Erik jumped with joy.

"Well, alea jacta est[2]. Leif, you have to be Halvar or Helgi, you choose."

"I'll be Sookie" Audr told Eric, grabbing his hand. He pinched her little nose.

"But we don't have a Harald!" Erik said "No one of the other kids wanted to play him"

"Well, if anyone wants to play him, I'll do it" I said.

"You cannot be Harald! You're a girl!" protested the middle son of the family.

"I'll play Harald" Eric intervened.

"Do you?" we asked all at once. He nodded.

"But you can't be Harald, father" Erik told him "You are much more strong, tall, handsome, clever, brave and better than Harald the stinky" I laughed "Or not?!"

"Much better."

"But if you don't know the old Harald!" He laughed. "However, I do."

"Because you defeated him!" Erik sighed.

"Harald wasn't actually on the boats, in the boats was his lieutenant and right hand Einarr Hawkeye" Eric told his children the adventure the attack was (all very sweetened) and the kids were making a mental note of the moments that were going to play in front of the whole village. After his story, Eric and Leif were to wash and change their clothes and Erik stayed building his own castles in the air.

[1] She said it in English.

[2] Die is cast