Chapter 76
Silky spent a part of her morning watering the gardens and the fruit trees.
She smiled at the antics of a couple of young sprites as they pestered the old raven who lived in the big pine tree in front of the house.
The stately old bird with the splash of white on one wing merely ignored the sprite children as they flitted about the branches of the big tree while attempting to get his attention.
Turning off the garden hose, Silky noticed a small splash of color near the inukshuk Freya had built.
When she went to investigate, she saw it was a freshly picked rose laid across a small scroll of parchment.
The spriggan had left it there for her to find.
Taking up both blossom and scroll, Silky reentered the big house that was now her home.
She put the bloom in water and began heating up a kettle of water for her tea.
One did not read one's mail without freshly brewed tea readily to hand.
Pouring herself a cup of fresh cream, Silky sipped at it delicately, in an almost cat like manner.
One did not gulp down fresh cream, one sipped to prolong the enjoyment.
The whistling kettle interrupted her musings and with a rustling of silken garments, she quickly shut off the stove burner.
Carefully transferring the hot water to her favorite tea kettle, Silky then carried the Japanese cast iron tea kettle into the breakfast nook she had largely taken over.
Its coziness suited her.
With everything now ready and in place, Silky carefully broke the seal on the small bit of parchment she'd found in the garden.
She smiled slightly at his surprisingly neat hand writing.
If one went by appearances alone, one would surmise that the spriggan was illiterate, an unlettered, uncouth, fur clad denizen of forests and mountains.
She read:
"My hen Silver Quine,
I troost that ye ur daein' weel in yer new haem? I see that yer fowk has shot a craw fur a time and hae gart arrangements fur yer caur while they ur away.
They ur guid fowk, yer new fowk. The rose came frae a garden favored by an acquaintance ay yoors, the Leannan Sidhe.
Please enjoy its subtle fragrance.
S."
Silky's heart warmed as she read his brief note.
The spriggan had found her when she was a wandering banshee without a family to haunt.
Her family had died out and their home had quickly fallen into ruin.
A passing Leannan Sidhe had urged her to seek out another family as it was pointless to stay where she was.
She had encountered the spriggan and he had brought her to the fae hospital for treatment.
There she had seen something most unusual, a mortal human brought in by the selfsame spriggan.
Later that same human had assured her that she would be alright.
Now she was living with that same human and his family, a Jotun girl, a wood wife and a guardian wolf.
Silky smiled as she rolled up the bit of parchment and tied it with a silken thread.
It would join the others the spriggan had sent her.
In response Silky made a couple of small seed cakes, the huge stove warming up the kitchen as they baked.
Roger was a bit of an eccentric as he avidly sought out and used antique cooking ware.
He had refurbished the monstrous stove with great care and it was the heart of their kitchen.
Fortunately the appropriate cake pans were a part of his modest collection and required only wiping the insides with butter before filling them with the freshly made batter.
While the seed cakes were baking, Silky gently added fresh wood to the front parlour's fireplace where the salamander lived.
The creature stirred only slightly as it napped, dreaming of bonfires and glowing embers, no doubt.
With the cakes now cooled off, Silky wrapped them in brightly colored paper and tied the two bundles up with a silken thread.
Placing the seed cakes in a small wicker basket, Silky took up her hazel wand and struck it against the kitchen window sill twelve times.
Knowing that Hazel, the centaurian postal carrier would have likely traveled a long distance to pick up her package, she set a small plate laden with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies alongside the package, for him to enjoy.
Soon her ears picked up the faint clopping of a centaur's hooves and she knew her package would be on its way to the spriggan, and the cookies would be gone.
Her evening was spent quietly, Silky worked on her sewing or rather her embroidery. She was now embroidering the grey silken bodice she was making for Freya and it was almost half finished.
As she worked, she put her thoughts of love for her family and her home, of her gratitude at having a home again after her long solitude.
These thoughts and more were silently imbued into the elaborate design she was embroidering into her gift for Freya.
The girl would be turning fourteen in a few months and Silky wanted to have it ready before then.
Silky yawned just before the enormous grandfather clock in the main hallway struck the hour of midnight.
She smiled as the huge clock tolled the hour, by now her friend the spriggan would have received her little surprise package.
Theirs was a quiet sort of a friendship, born of his having helped her in her hour of need without expecting anything in return.
After all, spriggans and banshees rarely had reason to deal with each other.
He had found her and had guided her to the fae hospital and when it was time for her to leave, he aided her transition into a silky and led her to her new home.
Roger followed Anita and Freya to the Ericcson household where they had been invited to dinner.
He had met Peter Ericcson only that morning when they all had gone out to hunt for elk or whatever else they could hunt.
Luck had been with them, right off the bat and Roger had shot a young male right outside the rocky dell.
That carcass had gone to Olaf and he had quickly bundled it up and carried it home to share with Sigurd's family and Olaf's wife Elise and her large smoker.
A few hours later, they jumped three young bulls while they were sparring for the fall mating season and a chance at mating for their first times.
In a twinkling, Roger had shot all three of them and the hunters returned home. Roger had given his share of the meat to Peter for his young family to eat over the coming winter months.
The Jotuns had quickly bundled up the fresh kills and simply slung them over their massive shoulders with ease.
Their sheer strength never failed to impress Roger, even Freya slender as she was, was far stronger than him.
He knew that she would reach her full height before she was sixteen and she would continue to fill out until she was eighteen and became a full grown Jotun woman, ready to declare her hearts desire.
Something he was secretly dreading, though he would not admit it, not even to himself.
To his pleasant surprise, the Ericcson household turned out to be Induna's old cottage.
Freya, as Induna's heir, had decided that the cottage was to be given to a young couple who in turn, would fill the cottage with life and love.
Roger could plainly see they had upheld their end of the bargain.
A large work shed stood behind the cottage, at the moment it was closed up, but Roger suspected it was Peter's doing.
Now that the Jotuns were no longer in hiding, they were starting to build out in the open more and planting their extensive gardens in more easily accessible places instead of the traditional rocky clefts.
Nearby, a large smoker had been added and at the moment, was filled with elk meat being cured in an herb scented smoke cloud.
Jotun smoked meats were among the best he had tried and he wondered why Freya hadn't brought up the idea of building one of their own behind the house.
The fact that the backyard was now mostly gardens and the local air pollution regulations was a factor to consider.
A jotun scale smoker would likely require a permit and Roger disliked bureaucrats intensely.
There was always that one petty little wannabe tyrant and somehow, Roger always caught its attention
Perhaps a smaller scale smoker might be in order.
Roger smiled at the sight of the scattered toys in front of the cottage, toys meant children and Jotun children were always a delight.
Their curiosity was boundless like all children and their little minds just soaked up knowledge like sentient sponges.
Sasha and her mate Golden eyes went up to the two house wolves calmly watching them approach.
They sniffed each other over and were soon good friends.
Sasha lolled her pink tongue out while Roger made his acquaintance with the Ericcson household wolves.
He was in the middle of giving the smaller female a good rump scratching when Peter Ericcson came outside, holding a tankard in one massive hand.
Peter chuckled and said cheerfully, "Ye may cam tae regret givin' 'er a scratchin', she'll nae leave ye be noo!"
Roger grinned at his gigantic host and replied,"I don't mind, just ask these two, they'll tell you I do this all the time to Sasha!"
He disengaged himself from the young female who looked at him as if to say,"Where are you going? You're not finished yet!"
Peter led them inside the brightly lit cottage and the aroma of Helga's cooking delighted their noses.
Dinner would be very good indeed!
Roger and Freya looked around inside the cottage, they had not seen it since they had emptied it of Induna's enormous book collection, and the changes were profound.
It was now a family home, with furniture all hand made by Peter himself.
He was a pretty good carpenter and Roger made a mental note to ask him about making an adult sized bed for Freya.
She was now almost too big, even for the huge bed once slept in by the retired circus giant, the house had been built for.
Roger knew she would outgrow that massive bed fairly soon, Peter would be the one to ask about building her, her own bed.
Helga smiled as Freya told her, "Th' hoose is sae full ay life noo! Ah'm glad tae see it bein' lived in."
Freya smiled at Helga and said, "It took us weeks tae remove aw ay me granny's books, we couldnae take 'em aw at once. We had tae pack them uirselves an' take 'em one plane load at a time at first. Then Dena's relatives helped us oot an' packed aw th' books verra quickly. Th' books ur in storage noo an' th' library is nearly finished."
Helga looked thoughtful and asked, "Were thaur onie books fur th' bairns? Ah'd loch tae hae a coupla books fur me wee ones tae read."
Freya grinned at her and replied, "Ah hae me books frae when Ah was a lass, Ah'll see if Ah can get copies made an' ye kin hae them!"
Helga broke into a big smile and she enveloped Freya in a big hug.
Even though Freya herself was nearly eight feet tall, the nine foot tall Helga simply engulfed her in her matronly bosom.
Roger chuckled and remarked drily, "Now you know how I feel when your auntie Barbara glomps onto me."
The two giantess' separated and Freya retorted, "Helga hugged me tae show 'er appreciation, me auntie hugs ye tae annoy me."
She grinned and remarked, "Besides Ah'm nae that much smaller than 'er, sae th' size difference isnae as great."
Roger laughed and replied, "True that, the size difference between you two is not the same as the size difference between us when we hug."
Freya paused a moment before she replied and Anita chimed in gleefully, "Except when you two hug each other, neither of you wants it to end!"
As both Roger and Freya blushed, Anita broke into the giggles.
Her comment had struck home because it was true.
Helga laughed nervously and said brightly, "Dinner wull be ready verra soon."
Then Peter spoke up, "Woods onie ay ye loch a cup ay me ale? Ah jist got it frae Old Harald yestereve."
Grateful for the distraction, Roger cheerfully accepted a foaming tankard of Peter's ale, as did Freya.
When Peter glanced at Anita, she quickly shook her head and politely begged off, saying, "I can't handle that stuff, it's too strong for me. Do you have any tea?"
Helga smiled and said, "Why yes, Ah dae, cam wi' me an' Ah'll make ye some." With that, Anita followed her towering hostess into her kitchen.
Before long Anita and Helga were like old friends, chatting gaily over tea and nibblies.
Peter chuckled at the sight of his lovely wife smiling and laughing while talking to a girl little more than half her height and less than a fourth her weight.
He said, "Ah hink me guidwife's foond a new mukker! We get sae few visitors frae ootwith uir wee hamlet."
Freya smiled and said, "Anita's kind ay an ootsider doon south. She writes these fancy stories an' lives in 'er oan warld, thes place is loch a dream warld tae 'er. Ah ken she'll be writin' aboot thes place verra soon."
Dinner was served, like most Jotun cooking it was simple fare and served generously.
Anita flushed when she saw her portion of the hearty stew served in a hollowed out round loaf of multigrain bread.
In a small voice she said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to finish this, I don't eat this much ordinarily...Sorry."
Helga smiled at her diminutive guest and replied, "Nae worries lass! What ye dorn't eat we'll gie tae the wolvies ootwith. Eat what ye can an' leave th' rest fur the wolvies."
She glanced over at her two children and said firmly, "That doesnae include ye twa wee scamps! Eat yer scran!"
Then she glanced at Peter and said, "Ah'm includin' you in tha' last remark!"
Peter grinned at his wife and dug into his meal with gusto, stopping occasionally to take a sup of his ale.
Freya meanwhile, was quickly demolishing her portion of the meal, causing Roger to comment, "I hope you people don't think I'm starving this girl, and that she's finally getting enough to eat!"
Peter just smiled and remarked "Aw uir young 'uns eat loch they be starvin'. Ah'm jist wondrin' whaur she's puttin' aw tha scran sence she's sae thin an' aw."
Freya retorted by pulling up her sleeve and showing off her impressive biceps for one so slender.
Peter chuckled and said cheerfully, "She's puttin it inter 'er muscles instead ay 'er hips an' breasts!"
Roger commented drily, "The men who've seen her in a swimsuit haven't complained, except for when I object to their taking photos!"
He grinned and remarked, "It's better I give them a thumping than her, she's scary strong and could easily hurt some fool who's pissed her off!"
Peter laughed and said with a grin, "Ye dorn't wanter dae that! Me guidwife, she's an angel but she diz hae a temper when she's been wronged."
Helga smiled and retorted, "An' that stoatin' lout ay yer brother shooldnae tooched me rear an Ah woodsnae blacked 'is eye! Me rear is onie fer ye tae tooch, nae heem!"
Roger couldn't help chuckling over that comment as it reminded him of Freya's first day at school a few years ago, when she gave the school bully and his henchmen a painful lesson in manners.
He smiled and said, "when Freya first entered school, she attracted the schoolyard's bully boys who got a brand new set of black eyes and some painful lumps for their troubles. One boy's father tried to make a nuisance of himself at school and I had to educate him a little bit. The school police got involved and he was arrested. The bully boys themselves got expelled and sent to other schools in the city."
After dinner and a couple of more tankards of ale, Roger was feeling pretty relaxed while Freya, Anita and Helga were having quite the gabfest and Peter was busy trying to get their kids to go to sleep.
They were pretty excited over meeting a couple of the 'wee fowk' as non Jotuns were called and resisted getting put to bed.
The eldest, a girl, thought it was funny that she was nearly as tall as Anita and she was a lass of only seven years old.
The boy, a sturdy lad of five was fascinated by Anita's way of talking, to him her accent was quite amazing and her smartphone was like nothing he had ever seen before.
Roger had generally refrained from exposing the Jotuns to too much technology from 'doon south' as he felt their ancient ways should be preserved as much as possible.
Yet he also had contradicted himself by exposing Freya to the outside world and by letting her fly their bulky sea plane.
Her parents were absolutely delighted at how she was doing in school and the things she had already done.
As they made their way back to her parents house, Freya as usual took Roger's hand and strolled along in near total darkness in perfect ease.
Anita on the other hand, clung to him and muttered, "Note to self: Eat more carrots or get a flashlight, as the one on my phone barely works anymore!"
Freya chuckled and remarked, "We're nearly thaur, nae worries!"
"Easy for you to say, you see like a cat in the dark with those big blue eyes of yours!" Muttered Anita.
Freya simply laughed, her ability to see in the dark was nearly legendary amongst her 'wee fowk' friends.
Her response to any comments about it was usually, " Ah didnae grow up in th' city, Ah grew up in th' forest with nae lights tae see by."