Viel Spaß beim Lesen!
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Chapter 4
My senses seemed to
wake up separately. It started with hearing. The low sound of a drum. Far away
and very slowly. Snoring. The creaking of wood and the wind in the trees
outside. Then all of a sudden my sense of smell arrived and if I wasn’t
mistaking, there was a hint of fading cologne or aftershave close to my nose. It
was mixed with the smell of the cold fire, sweat and hide.
After what felt like
hours, I managed to move slightly. There were other smells now, many of them.
And also a lot of sounds.
But the low sound of
the drum I had heard first was still there. Closer now. It took me another few
minutes to realize that it was in fact a heartbeat.
Suddenly I was pulled
into a tight embrace and felt a hand running over my cheek.
“Are you alright?” a
voice whispered and I looked up into the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever
seen.
Carefully I nodded,
still looking up at him with disbelief. Samu. He was here. I raised my hand to
cautiously touch the stubbles on his chin. He was here and he was real. For a
reason I did not understand I felt relieved. At least I wasn’t alone in this terrifying
and unfamiliar world. With Samu by my side it felt like having a piece of home
with me.
Sighing I rested my
face to his chest again, feeling his hand running over my upper arm.
“It’s good to have
you here.” He whispered into my hair and I snuggled tightly into his embrace.
“Likewise.” I
murmured back, wrapping my arm around him.
We stayed like this
for a long time, simply holding each other. I was almost certain that he was as
overtaxed with the whole situation as I was. I didn’t expect a hero. It was
comforting to simply close my eyes and cuddle my face to his neck. We weren’t
alone anymore. That was all that counted for now.
“I wish we had a
chance to talk properly.” He mumbled suddenly and lifted his head. “But as far
as I can see, they won’t grant us the gift of a minute alone.”
“We are alive.” I
whispered almost inaudibly. “That is as good as it gets for us, trust me.” At a
glance around I found myself in one of the beds in the gallery where Yorick had
brought me yesterday to get dressed. There was deep snoring behind the curtains
to our left and right and I was surprised to feel another body moving next to
mine.
“Right.” Samu lay
back and pulled me closer to extend the distance between me and the man that
sat up next to us.
Yorick.
He had taken off his
leather breastplate and it suddenly seemed as if he was only half the size he
had been yesterday wearing it. He gave me a smile and rubbed his tired face,
before yawning deeply.
“Are you alright?” he
asked as well and I nodded, watching him throwing quick gazes around before he
locked eyes with me again. “He refused to let go of you.” He suddenly stated
and pointed at Samu with a grin. “A very disobedient captive.”
I couldn’t help
smiling as well and patted Samu’s arm. “What now?” I asked Yorick. The young
man had left the bed and pulled a woollen pullover over his head before he took
his cuirass and closed the belt with his dagger.
“Now, Mylady?” he
bowed half in earnest, half in jest, and winked at me. “Now you will have to
excuse me for reasons I do not intend to discuss with a lady. Then I might go
and find a servant and some breakfast and we talk.” Quickly he sneaked behind
the curtain to our right, putting his finger on his lips. “Try not to wake my
father before I come back, will you?”
I nodded immediately.
“Of course!” I whispered almost noiselessly, making Yorick chuckle and point at
Samu again.
“He only wants to hug
you and doesn’t seem to have the intention to hump you, silent or not, so I’m
gonna leave you now.” On his tiptoes he made his way over in the direction of
the stairs, but he returned only seconds later with a thoughtful look on his
face. “Another thing: My brother is sleeping on the other side of this curtain.
You do not want to wake him now, believe me.” Grinning he nodded at us and left
again.
I felt Samu moving
another impossible inch closer on the narrow bed and turned back at him with an
insecure smile. “Seems like they are giving us a minute after all.” Carefully I
ran my fingers through his hair. “But we have to be quiet, there are many
people still sleeping around us.”
Samu nodded immediately,
taking my hand to put it on his face.
“God, I seriously
have no idea why, but it feels good to have you here.” He said again, looking
at me closely. “You speak their language?”
“I do.” I confirmed. “It
took a bit of listening, but it is definitely Norwegian and my father is from
Norway.”
“How did we end up
here?” Samu’s nose almost touched mine and he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Do you have any idea? I was supposed to meet you but I wanted to go for a
little hike myself and maybe impress you by a few paths I had discovered
already.” He grimaced. “Turned out to be a very stupid idea. Retrospectively.”
“I can’t even
remember. I … I was in the woods and there was this very thick fog around one
of the hills in the National Park. For the first time in my life I got lost and
it seems that I feel off a rock or something. Yorick found me and took me here,
he’s been keeping me safe for the last 24 hours.”
Again Samu nodded
slowly, absorbing the things I had told him. “It seems that we are only alive
because of the old man, isn’t that right?”
“Oddgeir.” I shrugged
slightly. “In my case it was Yorick, but they have a similar belief.”
“And what would that
be?”
“To them we are Ask
and Embla, the first human beings created by three very powerful Gods. Oddgeir
seems to sense that we are different, when he talked to me, it felt as if he
was looking right through me. Somehow Yorick feels it too.”
“So they think we are
Gods? That’s insane!”
“Not Gods, but
Godsend.” I thought about the night before, realising in surprise that I didn’t
remember much of it. “Yorick and some of the others want to settle. They have
been waiting for a sign from the Gods to tell them where to finally stop and
settle down. And now we turned up out of the blue, obviously different and their
shaman-grandfather believes that the Gods have chosen us to be their miracle.”
Helplessly I shrugged. “I don’t remember much of last night.” Looking up into Samu’s
eyes I suddenly found him smiling.
“Well, Mylady, if I
had not been scared shitless, it would have been amusing to be very honest.”
I cocked my eyebrow.
“What d’you mean, amusing?”
“Do you remember this
potion you drank? It made you quite talkative.”
“And what did I say?”
carefully I shifted my weight to my elbow.
“You simply started
talking and walking around the fire, addressing different people in the crowd.
They were all looking at you with big eyes, especially your friend Yorick. You
stopped right in front of me every few moments and told me stuff about the
Danes in Northumbria and Mercia and a king that was called Alfred and that was
supposed to start fighting the Danes because they were about to enter Wessex.”
He rubbed his cheek. “And I guess you told them not to stay in Wales but to
settle here for now. Their leader seemed quite impressed and there was a lot of
talking and shouting going on. Then you suddenly started to dance and
sing.” Another smile flashed over his
face. “Alanis Morisette, I believe it was Unset. And after that you suddenly
flaked out and I caught you and refused to let go of you because I was scared
that they would take you away from me. So we ended up in this bed with Yorick
next to us because he insisted on not letting you out of his sight. What the
hell is going on with him and that dark bird on his forehead anyway?”
“It’s a raven.” I
corrected, still completely puzzled about the revelations of the yesterevening.
“They are a symbol of Odin and Yorick has been desperate for answers, that is
why he had it made.” Shaking my head slowly, I looked at Samu again. “So it
seems that I offered them a glimpse at their future, right? And now they want
to stay and settle?”
He shrugged
apologetically. “Most of the talk was in their native tongue, I can only tell
you what you told me. But they were quite excited.” He fell silent. “D’you
think that we will get out of this alive?” he suddenly asked, looking at me
very seriously.
All I could do was
shrug myself and rest me face to his chest again. “I have no idea.” I mumble
into his shirting. “Right now I believe they will keep us alive, they still
show great interest in us.”
“In you.” He
corrected in a very low voice. “You have the knowledge they want, I am only a
weird coincident.”
“Not if we make them
believe that we are bound to be together and that I need you to see and answer
their questions.” I put a hand on his face and lifted it carefully. “Hey!” I
tried to smile. “I had a crush on you for the last seven years, you think I’m
gonna sell you off to some nasty Northmen?”
The left corner of
his mouth lifted and he gave me the smile I had always adored. “I hope I won’t
disappoint you. Right at this moment there is not much of a brave man inside of
me. But thank you for the crush, I really appreciate it.” He tried to joke,
succeeding in making me giggle slightly and wrap my arm around him firmly.
“We are in this
together, maybe we will also find a way out.”
When he bent over me,
there was a sudden sound nearby and I looked up appalled. To my surprise and
shock it was Yorick’s older brother. Aevarr, I reminded myself, trying to focus
on his face, because he was stark-naked with his strong arms folded over his broad
chest.
“Did he manage to
bring it up or did my little brother satisfy you, Mylady?” he asked with a grin
and I furrowed my brows.
“Well, ahem …”
Confused I looked at Samu that still had his arms wrapped around me.
“Does he wanna hurt
you?” he whispered and I shook my head slightly, rubbing his hand.
“There was no need
for anything other than sleep.” I managed to answer the naked warrior with a
lot more dignity than I had expected. “I had passed out and it seems that no
one took advantage of that fact.”
Aevarr broke into
laughter. “They should have!” he simply stated, pointing at Samu. “I offered
him to join me and my wife last night, but he was too afraid to let go of you
and leave you with Yorick.”
My head spun around
alarmed. “They offered you to join them last night?” I asked soundlessly and he
shrugged.
“Maybe, I guess so.”
He answered evasively. “I wasn’t sure. Beside the fact that I wouldn’t want a
threesome with the beef cake over there, I would in my position never dare
fucking one of their wives! Above it all leave you alone in bed with another one
of them!”
I hushed him down,
cutting him a look. Of course he had no idea. He didn’t know the rules, didn’t
know the habits of the Northmen, but we had to iron this out right away if he
wanted to live to see the next day.
“He is very sorry
about that!” I told Aevarr with my most humble voice and a bow. “He was too
scared to leave me!" I added submissively, quickly pulling Samu into an
upright position. “Bow deeply and tell him that you are sorry!”
His eyes became
round. “I have to tell him that I’m sorry because I didn’t fuck his woman?”
“Do it!” I insisted
with my teeth gritted and a smile that was almost painful. “Trust me and do it.
Tell him that she’s more than beautiful and that you are very sorry for not
sharing their bed. Tell him!”
“But he doesn’t
understand me anyway.”
“It’s not what you
say but how you say it and now talk, you fool or d’you want him to cut your
throat for your restiveness?”
Samu swallowed hard
and finally nodded, bowing deeply. “I can’t say how sorry I am, Sir!” he
stuttered. “I wish I could have joined you but … I was too scared to leave
Elida with Yorick and … your wife is beautiful and it would have been the
greatest pleasure …”
“Enough.” I
whispered, nodding at Aevarr. “He is more than sorry and tells you that you
have the most beautiful wife any man could ask for but he was afraid and needed
to stay with me.”
Aevarr nodded, being
content with the explanation and the apology. With a yawn he scratched his
crotch and left, grunting: “Next time. If Idun still wants him.”
Samu was pale when I
looked at him and I wrapped my arms around him, resting his face to my neck.
“Have I … Did I
seriously just tell this guy I’m sorry for NOT fucking his wife?” he whispered
breathlessly, shoving me away slightly to look into my eyes.
I nodded and grabbed
his chin. “And you will also apologize to his wife as soon as we see her!”
“For not fucking
her.” Completely confused he stared at me and I nodded affirmatively.
“Samu. Look at me and
listen!” I demanded, still holding his chin. “The two of us are special to
them. We have been sent by their Gods and we are kind of sacred. If you would
have accepted their offer last night and she would have conceived, either from
you or her husband, this child would have been blessed, even sacred as well.
That is why they wanted you to spend the night with them. A Godsend man
fathering one of their new-borns, that means a lot to these people.”
He looked at me
without saying a word. Then he suddenly nodded with a thoughtful look on his
face. “So if he asks me again …”
“If we don’t find an
excuse or their shaman forbids it, you might have to …”
“But what about you?”
suddenly alarmed he put his hands on my cheeks. “What if one of them wants a
sacred child with you and …”
“I think they won’t
dare.” I tried to calm him, even though I wasn’t quite sure about it. “You
would only participate and kind of donor some sperm, in my case I would be
carrying and the man who did it would most probably be accused of violating a
sanctuary. But don’t be afraid, I believe that we can convince them that we are
here on earth to be exclusive to each other.” I smiled bleakly, resting my
forehead to his chin. “Promise me not to leave my side.” I suddenly heard
myself say and he pulled me closer, kissing my hair.
“I promise.” He
whispered hoarsely.
We found Idun on our
way downstairs and I made Samu kneel in front of her and apologize. At first
she had been reserved but the she nodded, brushing her hair.
“Maybe I will come
for you next month.” She said, waving at us to leave her alone to get dressed
properly.
The ground-floor was
already filled with people that sat around the fires where they had most
probably spent the night. A murmur went through the crowd when Samu and I made
our way over the compacted mud floor.
My eyes found Yorick
on a small bench by the biggest fireplace in the middle of the house. He was
dipping bread into a mug, chewing cautiously. When he saw us, he yelled
something after a woman that was cleaning plates and mugs in a big water vat.
She looked up at him
in distress and I was quick to stand between them, putting a hand on her arm.
“Can you get us some
food?” I asked and she nodded immediately.
Sitting down next to
Yorick, I leaned towards the warmth of the fire and gave him a grin. “Be
friendly!” I said, wondering a little just how teasingly I sounded. Luckily he
only raised his eyebrows.
“Friendly?” he
repeated amused. “I didn’t hit her and I have neither humped her or her sister,
that is pretty decent for a Norwegian Warrior, don’t you think, Mylady?”
“Well, if that is
your way of being decent and friendly, I must really wonder how you expect one
of them to become a wife one day.”
He shook his head
back and laughed, but it suddenly sounded bitter. “There is no chance for
anything other than the daughter of a Northman to be my wife. If I ever try and
find another one again.” He added, emptying his mug. With that he got up,
leaving me perplexed and with an apology caught in my throat.
From my other side Samu
handed me mug as well. “Warm Ale, seriously?” he whispered, nodding thankfully
at the woman that brought us bread and a wooden plate with a few pieces of
cheese and two apples.
“Is there a knife
somewhere?” I asked him, my mind still far away with Yorick. I had to tell him
that I was sorry, I had never meant to be rude and disrespectful, especially
towards something like his family or a late wife. Looking after him, I was
waiting for him to return with a bad gut feeling, but the door that had closed
behind him remained shut.
“You don’t need a
knife, see?” Samu took one of the apples between his hands and broke it in two,
handing me one half. “Well, look at that! I actually found something I can
contribute! Apple breaking. Now I have meaning.”
Giggling I took a
bite of the fruit and sipped the cup. It was indeed Ale again. Sweeter this
time and warm, but nevertheless Ale. I shuddered with disgust. “I would pay a
lot of money for a triple espresso macchiato.”
Samu rolled his eyes,
chewing on his apple. “I’d sell my Porsche for a full breakfast at my favourite
restaurant in Helsinki!”
I rested my head to
his shoulder. “What would you order?” I asked to distract me.
He sighed and took a
piece of cheese. “A lot of eggs and bacon, some salmon, fruit salad and chocolate
spread with coconut and marshmallows.” He answered without even thinking about
it.
“Good choice.” I
agreed, watching Aevarr that had returned from the rain outside.
He took off his coat
and signalized at one of the women that he wanted a drink.
“Morning, father!” he
yelled through the enormous hall and clapped his hands. “Where’s Yori?”
With a drinking horn
he sat down on the trunk of a tree that had been carved into a bench without a
lot of skill and effort.
“He only left a
minute ago.” I answered, bowing my head in the direction of the Jarl that made
his way down the stairs to join us. He wore a simple robe over his woollen
pants. It almost made him look like an ordinary old man. If there hadn’t been
this distinctive glint in his eyes and the armful of weapons he carried with
him.
“Clean them.” He
simply stated, grabbing the drinking horn that was offered to him and threw the
whole set of armaments – including an axe, a speer, two daggers and a
breastplate – down on the floor.
Massaging his neck,
he walked around the fire to take the place he had already occupied the night
before. “Find Yori!” he grunted into the small crowd around us. Not at anyone
in particular, but somehow two men jumped up right away and rushed outside.
“We need time to
think.” The Jarl emptied his drinking horn and wiped his mouth with a sigh.
Looking directly at me, he scratched his beard and leaned back.
“We have found a
cloister of their Gods by the sea yesterday, but it is only a small
accumulation of houses, not adequate as a fortress to stay longer than a few
days.” Still rubbing his bearded chin, he nodded at me. “What d’you say, Seeress?”
he rested his elbows on his knees, almost piercing through me with his dark
eyes.
“I’d say you’re
right.” I answered carefully. “If you won’t go back to Wales anytime soon, you
should consider finding a safer place than this to stay. “ Sipping my Ale
again, I wracked my brains about the possible outcomes of the decision that the
Jarl had devolved on me. In any case it was for the best if they all settled
somewhere safe for the time being. They could still change their minds, leave
the country and go back to Wales or to Wessex to support the Danes that would
soon start invading the whole of Britain. Or they could stay and build a life
here. As far as I remembered, there were many cities on this coastline founded
by the Vikings. Wicklow came to my mind. A county where historians were still
discussing whether the name was traceable back to Norwegian or Viking origins
or not.
I looked at Havar,
trying to swallow down my fear. “Wicklow. The Black Castle, it would make
sense.”
He eyed me up,
eagerly interested. “A castle you say?”
“Surrounded by broad
acres.” I looked at Samu again that had been listening to our conversation silently.
“The Black Castle in Wicklow, have you ever been there?” I asked him and he
nodded immediately.
“I visited the ruins once.
It has a beautiful landscape and the remains of the fortress are still on this
headland, it is bizarre.” Chewing on a piece of bread he slowly shook his head.
“On the other hand, right now it might be standing on that rocky ridge right in
front of the old harbour. Most probably there are people living there at the
moment.” He looked at me closely. “You wanna take them there.” he didn’t even
sound surprised and I nodded ponderingly.
“It would be a lot
safer than here and it has a harbour for their ships and fields around it,
hasn’t it?”
He nodded again,
rubbing his face with a disbelieving look in his eyes. “Are we now planning the
wars for the gentlemen?” he asked me directly and I saw refusal when he held my
stare.
“I mean no harm to
anyone.” I straightened my back. “If the Jarl lets me, I will go in as a
negotiator and I will try to have all the residents spared.”
Samu chuckled dryly.
“No one will listen to you.” He stated with a bitter undertone in his voice. “No
one except those fools who believe that we are sacred.” He lowered his gaze and
shook his head. “Have you ever considered, that it was the fog, this weird and
scary and thick fog that seems to mess with reality and causes spatiotemporal
anomalies? Has it ever occurred to you that we should leg it and run as fast as
we can back into that forest and into that white shit and pray for it to take
us back home?” his eyes were burning when he looked at me again. “How far is
Wicklow? 40 miles? We’d be 40 miles away from here, 40 miles away from hope or
any chance of return. Now tell me again, you wanna go to Wicklow and watch them
slaughter their nasty ways through the county. I intend to stay.”
Completely
dumbfounded I held his gaze. Jesus Christ, he was right! Had I been completely
blockheaded? Grabbing his hand for support, I nodded. I rested my face to his
shoulder for a few deep breaths, then I turned back at the Jarl. “It is a good
40 miles south, down the coast.” I told him in a shaky voice. “You’d be in a
very good position there.”
The Jarl threw a gaze
around the room. Most of his closest henchmen had been listening and I saw
Yorick talking to his brother.
“When do we ride and
see it for ourselves?” Aevarr got up from his bench by the fire. He seemed
exalted and rubbed his wife’s back.
“I’d say, we ride
now.” Havar laughed and clapped his hands. “Oddgeir!” he yelled through the
room. “Cast your runes for our plans! Are the Gods with us?”
With the help of one
of the warriors, the old shaman walked around the fire. To my surprise he
handed his leather pouch to me and signalized me to get up.
“You do it.” He
demanded and drew a circle onto the floor with his walking stick. “Right here.”
I looked up at him
with a bad feeling in my guts. Samu’s arm was suddenly around my waist and he
held me close. “I’m here.” He whispered into my hair. “I have no idea if this
is of any assistance for you, but I am here.”
Flutteringly I took
hold of his arm and closed my eyes for a second. Then I slipped my fingers into
the pouch and reached for the small pieces of bone that had been smoothed by
age and frequent use. I held my breath and threw the runes down onto the floor
in one swift move.
The whole room had
fallen silent and I watched the shaman walk around the runes on the floor,
watching them closely form different angles. Then he suddenly laughed and
looked at me.
“Thor is with you,
child.” He stated and I cocked my head in confusion.
The old man pointed
at the pouch in my hand. “His rune is missing, the ᚦ. He decided
to stay with you and so shall all of us.” He stepped closer, signalizing at me
to get up. “When you cast the runes, Thor as well as Tyr decided to stay in
your hand.”
Again there was a low murmur of excitement
around us and I found Samu looking up at me.
Something in his eyes had changed when his
gaze travelled over my face. I saw his mouth open but he remained silent.
“The ᚦ and the ᛏ!“ the
shaman yelled enthusiastically and touched my forehead with his richly
ornamented stick. “I can feel them inside of you.” Suddenly his walking stick
was removed from my forehead and the old man laughed shakily. “You shall ride
to wherever she is guiding you.” He insisted and I heard a low: “Are you
fucking kidding me?” escape Samu’s mouth.
With big eyes he looked up at me, covering his
lips with his hands. Then he suddenly got up, reaching out his hands towards
me.
“I need to have a word with her.” He said in a
very serious voice and even though he didn’t understand a word, Oddgeir nodded
at him, giving way for us to walk around the fire.
“Let them discuss.” He hushed down a few
complaints from the crowd. “Get yourself ready and saddle the horses, you will
be riding before long!”
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