Chapter 24
The waitress smiled at her and asked gently, "How old are you dearie?"
Freya replied, "Ah'm almost twalve summers."
The woman chuckled and said, "Well, we'll have to make this old place much bigger if you make stopping by here a regular thing!"
Roger smiled and remarked, "We could make this a refueling stop on our way to Ape Lake, though I'm not sure if your facilities here could handle a Martin Mariner PBM5-A."
The young man grinned and said, "We had a couple of CL-215's here last summer during fire season, they were out practicing water drops using the lake as a water source.
"If our airport could handle a CL-215, it might be able to handle a Martin Mariner."
Roger smiled at him and said, "That's good to hear!"
They retrieved their bags and walked to the Cessna parked alongside the flightline.
After a quick preflight fluids and controls check, Roger heaved on the propeller a few times to clear the bottom cylinders in case any oil had settled in them overnight.
The engine caught on the first try and after coughing a bit to clear its cylinders, was soon running at a fast idle while Roger checked over the instruments and made ready to enter the runway.
During this, he chuckled to himself and when Freya asked, "Tis somethin' funny?"
He replied, "Here I thought you guys were a hidden people, it turns out you're more like an open secret around here. Your neighbors knew of you but chose to keep quiet about it. 'No sense tellin' th' gummint' seems to be the prevailing attitude around here."
Freya could only shrug in reply.
The flight itself was more like a hop, skip and a jump from the airport and soon Roger was easing the Cessna 195 businessliner with floats onto the placid surface of Ape Lake and taxiing closer to the rocky shore.
A small group of very large people emerged from the forest and gathered near the Cessna looking it over curiously.
Roger stepped out onto the float on his side of the plane and tossed a mooring line to Sigurd, Freya's enormous father.
He easily caught the line and pulled the Cessna closer to shore to tie it off to a big chunk of driftwood by the shore.
A few moments later and Roger stood quietly watching while Sigurd embraced his daughter and they had a good cry.
He mused about how Sigurd for all his size, was a very tender hearted, gentle man underneath his great height and enormous frame that weighed nearly eight hundred pounds, the bulk of it solid muscle.
This giant of a man was softly weeping as he held his only daughter and comforted her too. Freya, as big as she was, seemed like a small child by comparison.
Sigurd smiled at Roger through his reddish thicket of a beard and said, "Me thenks t'ye fur bringin' me yoongest bairn haem sae quickly!"
Roger smiled at him and replied, "You're very welcome. I hope you don't mind if I brought a few things, to help with the memorial feast as my way of exressing my condolences."
Sigurd smiled and replied, "Ye did'na huv tae, but me guidwife wull 'preciate whate'er ye brooght."
Olaf and Leif, two of Freya's older brothers helped Roger empty to the Cessna of its precious cargo, which was loaded onto a hand cart.
Sigurd nodded his approval of the four cases of Guinness Extra Stout Roger had brought with him and commented, "Och! Me ooncle wull enjoy thes!"
Roger chuckled and commented, "There's 96 bottles there, I would like at least one of them!"
Sigurd winked at him and said merrily, "Ah cannae guarantee 'at yoo'll get one once we get back tae haem, better drink et noo!"
They paused to open a few bottles and handed them around, even Freya got one and after a moment of reflection and a brief interruption when Roger deliberately spilled a small amount of his Guinness and said, "First sip goes to the those who went before us, for they are thirsty."
Sigurd and the others followed suit and they all partook in the malty beverage from Ireland.
Stashing the empties where they could be retrieved later, they set out for the small dell hiding the village of the giants.
The dell lay snuggled against the deeply forested, mighty shoulders of Ape mountain and before long, even though Roger kept himself in shape.
He still struggled to keep up with his giant hosts, even with Freya holding his hand and sometimes pulling him along, he still lagged behind at times.
The long uphill slog from the lake really tired him out and when they crested the rise and the trail leveled out he felt much better, then it was a matter of keeping up.
He knew they were almost there when they were greeted by the small pack of guardian wolves and he got a thorough going over by the pony sized alpha pair. The rest of the pack simply said, "Hello!" in their own lupine way.
Gudrun and her older sister, Barbara greeted them warmly and after enveloping him in one of her immense hugs she said, "Ye did'na huv tae brin' enythin', yoor're uir guest, ye ken?"
Roger smiled at his gigantic hostess and said, "I figured you might like some potatoes and some yams to feed the guests at the repast, and I know Old Harald will get mighty thirsty while eulogizing Induna."
Gudrun glanced over at her aged though still hale, uncle who was contemplating the cases of Guinness before him.
He raised one great, graying eyebrow and rumbled, "Thaur's fife bottles missin'!"
Sigurd laughed and replied, "Ah see ye can still coont! We wanted tae make sure th' swally was acceptable!"
Old Harald grinned, reached himself a bottle and popped the cap off with ease.
He took a long sip off the bottle and grinned, "Thes is verra guid, Ah loch et!"
Roger and Freya put their bags in her old room and prepared to see Induna.
They went to pay their respects to Induna as she lay in her cabin, under her shroud.
Curled up at her feet was Astrid, the former alpha female wolf and long time lupine companion to Induna.
As they entered the cottage, Astrid struggled to rise and greet them until Freya knelt down beside her and wrapped her arms around the aged wolf's great graying head.
Roger stood there with mixed emotions as Freya wept while Astrid licked her hands.
The old wolf looked at them with unseeing eyes, as cataracts had robbed her of her sight while age had robbed her of her strength.
Freya rose to her feet and Roger reached down to scratch Astrid's ears while Freya paid her respects to Induna.
Astrid gave his hand an appreciative lick as Freya spoke softly to Induna's recumbent form and he scratched her great jawline causing her to grin like an immense collie.
Leaving the cottage, they walked briskly back to her parent's house to prepare for the evening's events.
Striding purposefully along, Freya acknowledged graciously the other giants' offerings of condolences and help, while Roger barely kept up with her pace.
Seeing Sigurd and two of his sons working on setting up a couple of bonfires for the evening, Roger fell in with them to help.
While carefully arranging the wood, Sigurd commented to him, "Ah see yoo've dain thes afore!"
He grinned at his gigantic host and replied, "I've helped Freya with a couple of winter solstice feasts since she came to live with me. Plus, I've built a few fires in my time!"
Sigurd smiled at him and remarked, "Yoo'll mak' a guid guidman someday."
He laughed and replied, "Sigurd, I've been married twice, both of them ended up in disaster. Marriage is not for me I'm afraid."
Sigurd merely shrugged and on him, it resembled a mountain heaving its mighty shoulders, and replied, "Ye jist huvnae mit th' reit hen yit!"
Roger just grinned and continued arranging the sticks for the fire.
That evening, the bonfires crackled merrily while the gathered Jotuns celebrated the life of Induna Hagridsdottir.
Her oldest daughter, Barbara Olafsdottir now wore the dark robes of the crone as Gudrun wore the forest colored robes of the matron and Freya now wore the white robes of the maiden of youth.
Roger was struck by how beautiful she was becoming .
To him she was this towering young goddess, a tall willowy girl, her budding flowers about to bloom with a hint of great beauty to come.
He felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart palpitate.
His closed his eyes tightly and shook his head to clear it of those intrusive thoughts, now was not the time to think of such things!
He sat beside her and ate quietly, his digital recorder discreetly capturing everything it heard.
He felt a slight twinge of guilt about not asking, but felt the language spoken and the stories told, needed to be recorded.
He would ask for forgiveness later.
The bonfires slowly died down until only the glowing embers gave their soft light.
All around him the giants sat in silent reflection, each alone in their thoughts while united in sorrow.
Couples sat closer together, parents held their children with the youngest ones either nursing at their mother's breast or perched on a lap.
Freya sat beside him, too big now to sit on her mother's lap or perch on her father's knee.
She was at that odd age where she was on the cusp of womanhood, yet too young to marry or declare her heart's desire.
Freya sighed and leaned against Roger, the now much smaller companion she lived with and had hidden feelings for.
At midnight, Barbara, Gudrun and Freya stood in a small circle with hands clasped.
They represented the three aspects of the white goddess, birth and youth with hopes for the future.
Maturity and motherhood and family with hopes for the present and finally, old age and infirmity with a longing for a peaceful death.
They began to sing in an ancient language now nearly forgotten, the language of old Jotunheim.
Freya's sweet voice sang brightly of hopes and dreams of love and a good life.
Gudrun's warm voice sang of maturity and responsibility and hopes for a better life.
Barbara's deeper voice sang of gratitude for a life well lived and acceptance of death and its promise of eternal rest.
Having finished singing the trio fell silent and stood with heads bowed in reverence.
The only sounds were a faint crackle from the glowing embers and the soughing of the air through the great pines surrounding the dell.
Roger slowly became aware of a small presence next to him, looking down he saw a tiny humanoid face with large eyes looking up at him.
He blinked and shook his head wondering if the ale was affecting his vision.
The tiny creature was still there with a smile on its pretty face.
Not sure of what to do or say and not wanting to break the silence, he offered it a bit of food from his platter.
With perfect little hands it selected a few morsels from his platter and popped them one by one into its pretty little mouth.
After a few moments, it smiled at him, curtsied and scampered away into the darkness.
Leaving Roger to wonder if he had really seen what he belatedly realized, was a perfectly formed tiny female of her species.
Whatever she was.
He was still pondering what he had seen when Freya rejoined him.
It was very late, the memorial was over, Induna would be laid to rest in the morning and the after feast would take place in the late afternoon.
Roger decided he would mention his tiny visitor later on, with a twinge of regret he realized that Induna would have known of the tiny being he'd just seen and shared food with.
The Jotuns silently left the gathering to return to their homes, leaving the dimly glowing bed of coals to burn itself out.
Freya took his hand and they followed her enormous parents and remaining brothers home.
Roger had changed into his sleeping attire and was sitting quietly while Freya also changed, she was about to blow out the candles when she looked at him curiously and asked,"Is somethin' amiss? Yoo've been verra quiet since th' fire died doon."
He smiled at his giant companion and replied, "Tonight, after you three had finished singing and we were reflecting on Induna's passing. I saw a small creature like a tiny woman I think, at least she had all the right bits."
Freya asked only one question, "Did ye feed 'er?"
Roger nodded a 'yes' and she commented, "Ye lochly fed a wuid guidwife an' she may attach herself tae ye."
Roger looked at her and said curiously, "And?"
Freya smiled and replied, "If a wuid guidwife attaches herself tae a man, it's fer life."
Freya looked thoughtful and muttered, "If we dornt see 'er afore we lae fer haem, it may be aw reit."
She fell silent and said glumly, "Me granny would've knoon whit tae dae."
Freya suddenly grinned wickedly, a look he'd never seen her have before.
With a gleam in her bright blue eyes she said firmly, "Sleep wi' me!"
At his baffled expression, she elaborated,"If ye sleep wi' me uir scents wull mingle while we sleep. Wuid wives hae verra guid noses an' she'll smell uir mingled scent. Me folks wullnae notice, but she wull!"
Roger asked, "Do you think this'll work? Couldn't I just explain why I can't take her with me and apologize?"
Freya could only shrug and remark, "Ah cannae say it wull work, Ah ne'er heard ay a wuid guidwife approachin' a wee man afore."
Roger muttered, "Two years ago, no one ever heard of a Jotun girl living with a 'wee man' before either. Yet it's worked so far."
She grinned at him and peeled off her nightshirt, revealing her budding breasts and long, lithe limbs.
She slipped under her blankets, beckoned to him and said firmly, "Come an' sleep wi' me an' we'll see if it helps."
The look in her eyes left no room for arguments.
Reluctantly, he stepped over to her bed to lie down, when she said quietly, "Tak' aff yer nightshirt, otherwise uir scents cannae mingle."
Seeing how serious she was, Roger sighed and reluctantly peeled off his nightshirt, wearing only his underwear now, he lay down beside his seven-foot tall, youthful companion.
She blew out the candles, leaving only the fat night candle casting its soft glow over their forms as they adjusted to their new sleeping arrangements.
The next morning couldn't come soon enough for Roger, sleeping in such close proximity with a nearly nude Freya had not been restful.
He had struggled valiantly to keep a small distance between them while she had snuggled against him and made him keenly aware of her developing body.
The arrangement had left him feeling exhausted rather than refreshed.
She, on the other hand, positively glowed with happiness at having spent the night with him while practically in the nude.
A bath and a good breakfast helped clear the cobwebs and he was ready for the next thing, Induna's funeral.
The procession left Induna's cottage where she had lain on her funerary bier.
Four men carried the funerary bier while the family followed close behind, immediately behind her walked Astrid, her great lupine companion in her old age.
Astrid walked slowly and painfully, struggling to keep pace, yet refusing all help.
She would accompany Induna, no matter what.
Alongside the small procession, the rest of the guardian pack walked in solidarity with Astrid, the one time alpha female of the pack.