Wedding Preparations #3
Ilona must have shot it through the heart.
Her father had been a good teacher, and she had been a talented student, seeking her father’s approval and love.
She gave Rathnon a beatific smile of quiet victory.
Ilona did nae shout or yell like lads did when they shot their first deer.
She was poised and confident in her skills, like a warrior before battle.
Together, they walked to the deer, and Rathnon held a knife ready to ensure the deer was dead.
A wounded animal could kill even the strongest hunger if they weren’t careful.
He pulled out the arrow and wiped the tip on the grass, cleaning the blood off of it.
Rathnon sheathed his knife and sized up the deer.
Luckily, they had not ventured far into the forest before they spotted this deer, and he wouldn’t have far to carry it.
If the buck were too heavy, they would need to field dress it.
Squatting, Rathnon got in position, then hoisted the deer over his shoulders, balancing the weight of the animal.
A beautiful animal, it would provide more food for the long winter months.
With this deer, the men and women alike would hold Ilona in higher esteem.
His intuition told him she would wish to return after they took the deer to the longhouse.
Rathnon and Ilona retraced their way back home. People gathered when they saw the stag around his shoulders. The men came to help lift it and move it onto the ground to dress it. Congratulations flowed toward Rathnon about the deer, but he corrected them. “Ilona shot the deer, not me.”
Ilona kent he told the men she had shot the deer when they glanced at her with new appreciation and incredulous expressions on their faces.
Rathnon explained, “The fur and head belong to Ilona. She wants to sew me a winter jacket after the hide is tanned and prepared.” The men nodded. Rathnon left the men in charge of dressing the deer. He looked at Ilona to confirm she wanted to resume hunting.
Ilona said, “Aye, ye promised me a full day of hunting, let’s go. Nae time to waste. I want to ken yer best hunting spots.” He agreed, and they resumed their walk through the forest. Ilona and Rathnon took turns hunting pheasants and rabbits.
Sunlight filtered through the majestic trees and dense foliage, leaving glimpses of yellow on the forest floor. The forest was quiet until broken by birdsong. It seduced her to open her heart and let down her guard.
For her part, Ilona felt enchanted, and it reminded her of home when she hunted with her father. At least when she hunted, Ilona had her father’s approval. In a similar way, she sensed she had pleased and surprised Rathnon with her hunting skills.
The couple sat close to a burn to eat their meal and relax.
Rathnon laid his head on her lap as she leaned her back against a tree.
Ilona stroked his head and his jaw, playing with his hair.
Rathnon relaxed in her care and fell asleep for a quick nap.
When he awakened, he peered into Ilona’s eyes.
She still played with his hair. He sat up and pulled her onto his lap, straddling him.
Ilona felt an innate sense of being safe with Rathnon.
She smiled at him. “Takk, Rathnon, for taking me with ye hunting. I had a marvelous day with ye. I wish this day would never end.” She leaned into him and initiated a tenuous kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Ilona gave heed to her heart, avoiding the war in her mind that continually plagued her.
Rathnon kissed her back with longing in his heart.
He noted by her smile, her tone of voice, and how she gazed at him that he had pleased her and brought her happiness.
She was clearly innocent enough not to know how precarious this position could be.
He wished to please her in other ways and, although tempting, restrained himself from seducing her here in the forest.
To obtain the happiness he wanted for their marriage, Rathnon needed to heed the recommendations of Sigrid.
Finding a special place deep in the forest, he would consummate their marriage in private.
Rathnon hoped to give Ilona time to adjust further to him and their marriage.
He kissed her passionately, calling her “Hjartao mitt” (“my heart” in Old Norse).
The more passionately he kissed her, the more he wanted her, and he became hard underneath her.
Every wriggle of hers intensified his desires.
Finally, he pulled her from him and sat her beside him before he took things too far.
When Ilona repeated his words back to him, he almost forgot his resolve. Rathnon pointed to her heart and put his hands over his heart.
Ilona wished to fully understand him. Every day, he made it harder and harder to leave him. But she had to try.
Rathnon stood and pulled Ilona up to him to kiss her soft lips once more.
Enraptured with each other, their hearts beat fast in response to kissing.
Rathnon picked up the animals they’d shot, and Ilona carried a few to help.
She wanted the feathers from the pheasants to make pillows and mayhap more arrows.
They walked back to the longhouse, each reluctant to leave the magical interlude in the forest behind them.
Hailed as they returned heavily laden game, Rathnon explained how many Ilona had shot with his bow.
The men were more impressed than before.
Clearly the lass had hunting skills equal to many men.
The men wondered how Rathnon had gotten lucky with a beautiful and resourceful woman.
Rathnon and Ilona washed their faces and hands outside the longhouse.
The men dressed and roasted the meat, while others strung the hides and feathers to dry.
Resolved to escape, Ilona would have liked to stay to finish the jacket for Rathnon. But she feared that if she did nae leave soon, she would find other reasons to stay. Like whiskey-colored eyes and soft, loving words. And kisses that could set the world on fire.
Lying on her pallet before Rathnon joined her to sleep, a silent tear streamed down her cheek, protesting her thoughts of leaving.
Ilona thought of her bleak and empty prospects for marriage on Orkney.
Ilona wanted to stay with Rathnon and become his wife, but she couldn’t say farewell to her parents for eternity.
Tremendous guilt tore her heart and cleaved it in two, kenning she betrayed her parents if she stayed.
But leaving Rathnon would betray her heart, and, she feared, her soul.