Chapter 2
At night, the family had set up everything ready for dinner, so that they could all sit down for dinner together. Kai and Gerda carried together the meals to the table, then Kai took a look around the table to ponder how to give the whole table a nicer look for the guests. Someone knocked on the door, earning Gerda's attention, which walked towards the door.
„They must be here already," Announced Gerda opening up the door to see Alfida along with Rollan waiting there.
„Hey welcome home," Gerda said watching Alfida step in and embrace her friend, afterward she stepped away to let Rollan enter as well and both Gerda and Rollan embraced each other tightly.
„Hola mi amor," Greeted Rollan earning a peck on his cheek from the woman, afterward she grabbed the man under his chin and planted her lips on his for a small kiss.
„Bienvenido, cariño" The blonde spoke making Rollan smile at her attempt of greeting him in Spanish.
„Magnifico," Complimented Rollan earning a smile from the woman, which rubbed her nose on his and grabbed him by his arm to lead him into the dining room.
Kai and Alfida had in the meanwhile shared an embrace, then Kai looked at Gerda leading Rollan to greet her parents, which smiled at his presence and held out their hand at the man. Kai looked neutral at his girlfriend, which knew Kai wasn't really happy to have Rollan around.
„Quite interesting, how you still feel different about him after these three years. He has shown to be a good fit for Gerda. They have been around together every often. The way things have been going between them, their relationship will last for good. You don't need to worry about it. You saw it back with King Harald's machines, he would do everything possible to keep her safe, even if it would cost his life," Explained Alfida making Kai nod.
„I know, but I can't explain. I still worry about the future. What if something leads him to do bad things again?"
„You heard the Snow Queen. It was the Fire King, that took control of his mind and spoke into his head things to lead him into trouble," Alfida mentioned, then placed her hand on Kai's cheek to caress it. „Don't worry about it,"
Kai smiled at Alfida's touch and observed all the others reunite together at the table, afterward Alfida rolled her eyes to ask the boyfriend to get to sit down on the table along with her.
„Alfida, Rollan, good to have you two here as well. As our guests you can be the first ones to take from what you want," Told Vegard to the guests, that sat on the round table. „We've got stuffed turkey, rice, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. Feel free to pick, what you want,"
„Thank you," Responded Alfida scooping a bit of rice onto her plate, while Kai observed across the table Gerda tell Rollan something, while he listened to her and glimpsed up at Una using a large knife and fork to cut down the turkey. Rollan got up and held out his hands offering the mother to cut the turkey in her place making the woman smile.
„You don't have to do that. You're our guest," Stated Una, then Vegard got up from his table and got between the two.
„My wife is right, sit down. I'll take it," Commented Vegard making Rollan nod and get back, while Una smiled and got down as well to see her husband take the task.
„Rollan, Alfida, I haven't seen you two for a while. How have things been at the sea?" Questioned Una watching Alfida take a spoon filled with sprouts.
„Oh well, it's not the same as it was months ago. We've been so unlucky at the sea. Our score seems lower by every time we get somewhere," The raven-haired woman explained. „If things keep going this way, we need to orientate ourselves and look for a plan B,"
„I always wanted to do something, where I would help and protect people," Mentioned Rollan. „That what Alfida did before at King Harald,"
„They're always looking for guards. You two could give it a chance there," Suggested Vegard watching Rollan nod and Alfida shake her head.
„After what happened I don't think Harald trusts me," Answered Alfida. „I got my mom's crew to assault his kingdom in order to get into the castle,"
„But it was for a good cause. That could have been pardoned by him,"
„Yes, but some things got broken and…...I gotta handle that a little differently now," Kai's girlfriend said.
„I could give it a try if we get unlucky at sea more often," Rollan commented. „Sooner or later it would be a good thing if I wasn't out on the sea more often. I would like to be able to look at the future along with Gerda. There are things we just need to have time for it," The Spaniard mentioned putting potatoes on his plate, afterward he accepted the spoon from Alfida to take the rice.
„You'd do well if you would stay around here. At the sea, you would be gone for days and by stormy weathers, you wouldn't be able to leave for treasure hunting anyway," Remembered Gerda watching Rollan nod.
„Si. I admit there are times the days over the sea are unbearable for me when I don't see you so often," Confessed the Spaniard making Gerda smile enchanted at the man's comment.
„How many slices do you wish?" Asked Una watching her husband lay on Alfida's plate two pieces of meat. Alfida used her fingers to ask for two, which she happened to receive. Vegard moved to Rollan's plate and took two pieces as well. „What about you, Rollan?"
„Two are fine for now," Responded Rollan watching Vegard place them on Rollan's plate.
„I believe two more would be just right, "Announced Vegard using the fork and the knife to cut the meat down.
„No, no, no. It's alright. Those are enough for now," Assured Rollan watching Vegard put the third slice on the plate. „Okay, that's now good," Rollan said making Vegard chuckle.
„Young man, turkey has plenty of protein. That's good for the conservation of your muscles. You gotta take the fourth one," Said Vegard making Rollan chuckle embarrassed and look at Gerda, which grinned as well at her father's deed.
Kai looked at Alfida slightly confused, then she shrugged her shoulders and grabbed his hand to held it closer to her.
„Leave your dad. He just wants your…..future brother-in-law to feel welcome in this family," Alfida joked making Kai frown.
„I know. He just doesn't really need to go this far. Well, that's just my opinion though," Spoke Kai making Alfida chuckle.
„Come on, don't worry. You two will get along too in the future. You just need to spend more time together and you will see, you will get along just right," Promised Alfida making Kai nod and take a look at his sister, which eyed her boyfriend, that was amazed by Vegard's dish built.
Gerda had lied to sleep about an hour ago together with Luta, which lied above her waist on the bed cover. Something chattered on the glass of the window, perking up the weasel, which recognized the direction of the noise and looked at the window to see nothing. Luta got down to run towards the window and jumped up to look for a possible reason from the noise she heard. She recognized afterward a hand knocking on the glass and placed her paws on the glass to glimpse at the person and recognize Rollan, who had had dinner before with the family. Luta smiled and got down on the floor to return to Gerda, then began to tickle the woman with her nose waking her up softly.
„Luta, what's going on?" Questioned Gerda listening to the weasel squeaking and pointing at the window to see a hand knock on the window making Gerda curious.
„Is that Rollan?" Questioned Gerda, then jumped out of her bed to head to the window to open it to see him stand on the small roof above the backyard exit looking up at the girl. „What are you going here?" Questioned Gerda looking down at her boyfriend, which reached his hand up at the woman, which moved hers down only managing to touch his finger tips. „Come with me, I've got something for you,"
„I'm wearing my nightgown," Mentioned Gerda watching Rollan shrug his shoulders.
„Where I'm taking you, no one won't see you like that. I promise," Rollan commented watching Gerda nod and climb above the windowsill to move slowly down at Rollan, which held out his arms to catch her and bring her down on the roof.
„Oh is that the one that has snowflakes on it?" Questioned Rollan making Gerda nod and show her the imprinted gray snowflakes on her white gown. „You're ready to go?" Questioned Rollan making Gerda nod and give him her hand, then Rollan moved along with his girlfriend over the roof up on the top, so they could see the entire village.
„What are we doing here?" Questioned Gerda, then Rollan pointed at a place, where both could see the largest building with a medium-height roof.
„See the roof there?" Questioned Rollan making Gerda nod. „That's the one from the museum. We're going on top of it,"
„Alright," Answered Gerda, then shrieked as Rollan jumped with Gerda to the next roof, then tried to balance himself on the roof, afterward Gerda had an idea and walked up on the top of the roof while pulling Rollan behind. „Let's do it like this," Suggested Gerda standing on the other side, while Rollan looked at the roof and realized, what Gerda had in mind. Both moved along the roof helping each other to stay balanced on the roof, heading to the end of the one house, then at the edge both looked at each other gaining each other's trust to jump together at the next house. Upon landing on it, both continued their way and Rollan looked at Gerda with a smile, which returned it as well.
After a while the duo arrived at the roof of the museum and saw the oval-shaped half-walls and on the middle was a little overused picnic towel and a small wash bucket turned upside down with a candle in the middle of it and on both sides was a small soup plate filled with a baked dough, which had in the middle notably a blueberry filling.
„Oh my god. Did you do that all?" Asked Gerda surprised making Rollan nod, seconds later he shook his head.
„Okay, the cake I went to Freya's coffee shop and asked for help. I wanted it to be hot at the moment you arrive….except five minutes have passed and it's getting cold…," Commented Rollan making Gerda chuckle.
„Thanks for the invite," Responded Gerda making Rollan smile and lead her to the right side for her to sat up on the wall with her legs crossed and picked her spoon while observing Rollan get to his spot. „You must have a special reason to bring me in the middle of the night all the way up here," Began Gerda moving her spoon to scoop up a bit of the melted blueberry from the top. Rollan widened his eyes at her question, then sat down facing his girlfriend, followed by picking his dessert as well.
„Oh you know….I was meant to do this already before your invite," Responded Rollan shoving his spoon deep into the dessert, afterward shoved it straight into his mouth. „I forgot to talk to you about it,"
„Okay," Responded Gerda. „By the way, this tastes good. If you see Freya or any of the bakers, give her my compliments,"
„I will," Promised Rollan. „I have used a few of the gold coins Alfida and the rest found at that one trip to pay them. Your mother is right about me looking for a better way to obtain money. Things have been gone bad at the sea and you see Alfida's mom travels along with her crew outside of the Scandinavian area just to get, what they want. But they're gone for weeks and maybe months,"
„You and Alfida won't be doing that, right?" Questioned Gerda. „Alfida didn't seem interested in it as well,"
„At the moment, she's got something else in mind. We would be gone only for a couple of days, nothing more. As far as I know, we will leave on the coming Monday," Explained Rollan making Gerda nod, and shove another scoop into her mouth. „Don't worry, I will visit you before I leave,"
„That's sweet," Confessed Gerda. „By the way, I haven't asked this before, but have you ever thought of passing by Spain sometime to see your mom?"
„Si, I just haven't thought about it, when to do it exactly," Responded Rollan passing his hand behind his neck. „I haven't seen her in three years nor do I know if she has received any of my letters. I really would like to see her, let her know I'm good here, have made some good friends…...you….." Rollan finished making Gerda smile and take another scoop.
„Your mother…..how is she like?" Questioned Gerda. „I know how you described her as a person, but I never got to know her looks,"
„Oh well, the last time I saw her, she was around my height. She had black hair, just like me, the hair was tied. She looked like a simple woman ay any other around our village," Explained Rollan making Gerda nod and take another bite of her dessert, then widened her eyes as she felt something hard get between her teeth.
„What's that?" Mumbled Gerda shoving her thumb and index finger against the lips to pick out from her mouth a small ring with a lapis lazuli attached to the ring. Gerda opened her mouth astonished by her discovery, afterward, Rollan got up from his place and grabbed the hand, where Gerda had the ring, bowing down with one knee.
„Gerda... Meeting you was one of the best things, that happened to me when I came over here on an adventure. You're the most extraordinary and kindest girl I have ever met in my life. Your heart has always found a way to see the good in everybody and forgive an idioto like me. I want to spend the rest of my days by your side as your husband and give you the love and life you deserve to have. I might not be the richest person when it comes to materialistic items. One thing I can assure you, as long as you wear this ring, I'll be doing everything that is within my reach to give, you what you need,"
Gerda's eyes got filled with tears of joy, making Rollan smile at seeing the impact his speech made, afterward the blonde embraced the Spaniard tightly making him smile relieved, and placed his arms around hers.
„Que dices?" Questioned Rollan splitting along with Gerda off each other's arms.
„Yes, I will!" Answered Gerda overexcited, then held her hand out for Rollan to put the ring on her finger, afterward he pecked Gerda's hand and looked up at her with an amused smile. Gerda, still euphorically about, what had happened threw herself at Rollan's arms, causing him to fall down on his back, and began to spread kisses all over his face.
„Oy….amor…...cálmate," Commented Rollan watching Gerda stop and sat up, followed by himself. Gerda chuckled about Rollan's sudden reaction and wrapped her arms around his left shoulder lying her chin above it.
„I wasn't expecting the proposal to be early…..well I had thought, that you would wait for a little longer,"
„With the income, I have at the moment, it would make things harder for me to get you the most fitting ring. I picked this one because they would fit your eyes,"
„You're right. They're really close to my eye color. You have a good eye," Commented Gerda leaning her cheek beside his face, making him smile enamored with the blonde.
About an hour later, the duo stood on top of the house looking above the village together to see the half-moon in the sky.
„That was a good meal back there. Thank you for taking me out," Gerda said giving Rollan a kiss on his cheek. „Where will you spend the night? At the pension?"
„Like usual," Answered Rollan making Gerda nod, then she moved to the edge of the roof along with Rollan to look at the window, where she let it open to enter back again.
„See you tomorrow," Gerda said making Rollan smile and approach the woman for a kiss making Gerda smile, afterward she nudged Rollan causing him to lose his balance and she let herself fall as well, transforming into her dragon-themed self to catch the boy in midfall and flapped up in the air carrying a scared Rollan in her arms, which sighed afterward relieved about the catch.
„So, what do you say? Pretty quick," Questioned the blonde earning a nod from Rollan, which got placed down on the ground and watched Gerda float in front of him with help of her wings.
„Amazing," Commented Rollan holding his hands out for Gerda to grab them. „We will see each other again really soon,"
„Yes, we will," Answered Gerda earning a smile from Rollan and she flew up, while waving at the raven-haired man, then turned around to enter the room, landing on the ground of her bedroom.
Gerda transformed back into herself, followed by being jumped by Luta, which was happy to see her owner again making Gerda smile and embrace her weasel.
„Oh Luta, you can't believe, what happened," Gerda started sensing Luta tickle her with the nose, then moved her head up upon hearing footsteps and looked at the door to see it open back to reveal Kai standing there bewildered at seeing his sister awake.
„Gerda, did you hear someone cry?" Questioned Kai stepping into the room making Gerda nod.
„That must have been Rollan out there," Gerda commented. „He had taken me out to eat on top of the museum and I got proposed there,"
„Proposed?" Questioned Kai confused, then Gerda held out her hand to the raven-haired, which gasped to see Gerda had a ring on her finger. „You two are getting married!?" Asked Kai surprised while Gerda stood there with a big smile in her bedroom.