When the doors to the long-hall were opened, Frida rose from her throne in a clumsy but quick movement.
She was nervous, and she could feel her heart pumping hastily in her chest, while the child in her belly stirred lively around inside of her, feeling the anticipation that lay thick in the air just like everyone else in the village.
Their guests had arrived.
Not only were they very important guests coming from the Northern lands, Frida had understood this much, they were in Kattegat to establish an alliance between the two kingdoms.
Ragnar's and Eysteinn's.
Eysteinn Beli was the king of Götaland, an important and very wealthy kingdom in the lands North of Kattegat. Ragnar had sent for him, invited him to come to his land in order to establish a stronger alliance between the two kingdoms, and thereby creating a sturdier force that they were to bring to the English shores in the next year's raiding.
Frida did not know much about the Geats and their king, but she had heard mumbling between the villagers saying that they were much feared in the lands to the East, as their strength and forcefulness compared to no other race of men in this world.
And as the Geats entered the long-hall, she felt her throat constricting slightly and the hairs in her neck standing while her eyes intriguingly scrutinized the Northern men that entered.
Frida immediately recognized the man walking in front to be their king. He was very tall, almost taller than Floki, and his posture was very sturdy, reminding her of the statue of a god, raised above everyone else, looking down upon the men that surrounded him.
Frida let out a little sigh when his eyes fell upon Ragnar beside her and a smile quickly grew over his lips. She saw Ragnar rising to his feet before throwing his arms out to the sides, a breathy chuckle escaping his lips.
"Eysteinn Beli!" he voiced over the crowd of people that filled the long-hall, "Welcome to Kattegat!"
The Geat king, Eysteinn, took a couple of steps forward while he raised his arms too, a deep and healthy laugh sounding through his large light brown beard before he said: "Regnar Loðbrók! The farmer who made himself king! I was very pleased when your messenger came forth to my throne. The tales of your deeds have long reached my ear, and I must say I am very curious to get to know the man who discovered the lands of the West."
Frida listened carefully to his words, and she quickly realized that his language sounded quite different than the one they spoke here in Kattegat.
It was Norse, but the rhythm was different, faster.
And the way he said Ragnar's name almost sounded as if he was out of breath, the sounds whistling over his lips in the blink of an eye.
When his glare soon fell to Frida, she felt herself blushing, and she quickly forced out a smile.
Eysteinn was a handsome man. He was not as broad as the typical villager here in Kattegat, and his eyes were big and round, his light blue irises very noticeable in contrast with his white blonde hair that hung loosely down over his shoulders.
His stare was sharp and calculating, like a hawk, while his lips were full and curled upwards, causing it to look like he was smiling all the time.
He was dressed in beautiful armor made out of iron. Over his chest there was carved the image of what Frida recognized to be a cow, and over his left shoulder a striking deep blue rope hung down.
It was very obvious from his appearance that he was a king.
When Frida felt Ragnar laying his hand upon hers, she was startled, and she quickly ripped her eyes from Eysteinn's face and turned to look at her husband.
Ragnar smiled smugly at her.
"Please," Ragnar breathed, "You and I are equal in fame, Eysteinn Beli, king of Götaland, for I have too heard many tales of your successful journeys to the Eastern lands."
Frida noticed how both men exchanged looks, before she felt Ragnar's eyes piercing at her face. "Meet my dear wife Frida and my youngest child, Ragnhildir."
Frida stood from her chair with Ragnhildir on her hip, and she reached out her hand for king Eysteinn to take, feeling a nervous shiver run down her spine when their hands touched and their eyes met.
"Pleased to meet you, king Eysteinn," she voiced in a slow breath, "I hope you and my husband will commence a healthy agreement between our kingdoms, as I know he surely wishes for it."
She turned her head to see Ragnar smiling out of the corner of her eye.
Eysteinn bowed his head at her. "I am honored to finally lay my eyes upon the queen of whom it is known is descendant from the wolves."
Frida's eyes widened when she realized what the Götaland king had just said, and she exhaled deeply as Eysteinn's stare fell to the floor on her right, where Freke lay like always.
Frida opened her mouth to object to his words, but she found herself short of them, no sound leaving her lips as she stood there.
Luckily, Ragnar was quick to speak, and he announced that a feast had been prepared for Eysteinn and his men.
And before she knew it, they were all placed at the longtable where abundant plates of food were aligned along the center, excited chatter and laughter sounding loudly between the Geats and the Danes around it.
Frida did not talk much, but she listened carefully to the conversations that were scattered around the table.
"Really?" she heard Ragnar voice, and she curiously turned her ear towards him and Eysteinn who sat with their heads close to each other, both of their faces already ruddy from the heavy amounts of honey mead they had consumed.
"Yes," she heard Eysteinn murmur from his beard, "A ship will bring her here tomorrow at noon. She is my only child, so you can understand my precaution of not bringing her here before I knew…"
His eyes lingered on Ragnar's face as he weighed the words in his head.
Ragnar chuckled in a quick breath, saying: "That I did not wish to kill you?"
The Götaland king broke into a heartwarming laugh that filled the entire room. "Yes, my dear friend. Ingeborg is my dearest possession."
Frida took a small sip from her horn as she let her eyes travel around the room, still listening carefully to the kings' conversation.
"Worry not," Ragnar assured him, "I do not think badly about men who take precautions. It shows that they do not rush into action. Too many men have died from acting before thinking, aroused by their own idea of power. But power is nothing without knowledge."
"Hear, hear!" Eysteinn concurred while raising his drinking horn. "I always knew that the son of Sigurd would be wiser than most men, especially as he was given the name Loðbrók."
Frida furrowed her brows as their conversation progressed. She wished that she had heard everything of it.
Who was this Ingeborg that would come tomorrow?
Who was this Sigurd? Ragnar's father?
And what meaning held the word Loðbrók?
Frida had always thought it Ragnar's true name.
Her eyes flew back to the two kings when Ragnar said: "I will let Bjørn know that she is coming. He might not be… What can I say, too delighted with the idea of a planned marriage, but…"
The sound of Rollo's roaring laughter drowned out the rest of Ragnar's sentence, and Frida shot a couple of hard eyes at the brown bear. He looked to be telling a story from their last raid in England.
Frida sighed out and turned her eyes back to the two kings at her side, exerting herself fully to hear their every word. She needed to know what marriage they were talking about.
Was Bjørn to get married?
However, to Frida's dismay, the subject of their conversation had changed to something quite different.
To her.
"Queen Frida, I have heard many stories about you," Eysteinn smiled before taking a bite of a chicken leg, his round eyes shining at her, "And your wolves."
His eyes once more fell to Freke who was placed at the floor just behind her, with Ragnhildir curled up in his fur, sleeping soundly.
Frida felt her blood rushing through her veins, and she nervously looked at Ragnar.
His lips were curled, and he was looking at her through the corner of his eyes, one of his hands gently running through his beard. He blinked at her before reaching over to grab a piece of flatbread from his plate.
She cleared her throat and tried to look indifferent, smiling innocently at the Götaland king.
"I must admit I am surprised to hear this. What stories, if I may ask?" she smiled in a thin voice, as she shakenly reached for her drinking horn to down some of its relaxing contents.
She did not know why this man still made her nervous.
She watched Eysteinn downing the rest of his drinking horn, before waving his hand for one of the servants to fill it once more.
"Oh don't be unsettled," the Geat king laughed. "There is a story that tells of a woman who was not of these lands, who came wandering through the woods one night and into the village of a Danish king…"
His eyes rested upon Ragnar who sat staring into his horn, smiling.
"And when he saw her natural beauty and the powerful wolf she had brought with her, he knew that she was meant to be his queen. And so he married her on the spot, well-knowing that the All-father had sent her to him."
Because she did not know what to say, Frida took a long and healthy sip of her mead. Her eyes were big and her heart beating. Even as she knew the story was not about her, she could not help but to recognize some of it.
It did sound extraordinarily alike the things she had experienced after coming to Kattegat.
She opened her mouth to speak, but before even a sound escaped her lips, Ragnar's voice sounded between the three of them. "It is true that our gods are very interested in this woman. They have sent her many gifts."
Frida watched as Ragnar reached over to lift the golden necklace that was hanging over her chest, showing it to king Eysteinn. The Geat leaned in to get a better look at it, its pinkish rose color strange and mysteriously godlike in Ragnar's rough hands.
"By Odin's great beard," Eysteinn sighed out as he took in the sight of the fine jewelry.
Frida felt her cheeks burn, and she caught Ragnar's eyes, tilting her head at him.
Why did he not just tell Eysteinn the truth?
Why did he let him believe in this myth?
She narrowed her eyes a little at him, but he merely curled his lips at her, before he turned his face back to Eysteinn.
"It seems like farmers are people too, right my friend?" Eysteinn laughed, causing Ragnar to spill some of the liquids from his drinking horn as he burst out in an honest and hearty laughter.
Frida looked at the two men with strange eyes before she shook her head.
Even though the sun had just downed behind the Western mountains, the two men beside her were already so drunk that they spoke gibberish.
She sighed out. It was going to be a long night.
In Swedish there is a proverb that says "Farmers are people too" which basically just refers to the obvious, that farmers are people and should therefore be treated decently.