The Escape #3
Rathnon knew what he could have lost if she had escaped, and it gutted him. It served as the reason he had been keen to leave the city of Bj?rgvin swiftly behind, for his lass had too sharp an intellect and cunning.
Ilona would have earned her passage on a sailing ship in the busy port.
But the captain of the ship’s intentions could have been entirely different from hers.
From the first moment he saw her, Rathnon was overcome.
He was compelled by a need to protect and claim Ilona for his own.
No other woman affected him like Ilona did.
He would kill whoever dared to harm her.
Perhaps he was indeed part wolf, for they mated for life and were extremely protective of their mates.
The next morning, Ilona filled their waterskins from the well and prepared a sack of food for them to share.
She carried a long sack and a basket for herb and berry collection.
Rathnon carried his bow and arrows and an empty bucket.
Ilona would later fill it with water to soak the branches, bark, and pine needles.
They walked to where Ilona remembered seeing a cluster of birch trees nearby that a storm had felled.
From the dead trees, Ilona carefully stripped away the outer bark and tucked it in her long sack.
She cut the inner bark, or bast, which would be used to make the baskets.
When her bag was full, she searched for ash and willow trees, and Rathnon helped her cut dimensions of the bark and branches.
At the burn, Rathnon filled the bucket with water, and they sat while Ilona stripped the leaves from the willow branches and soaked the stripped bark in the bucket to soften it and make it easier to bend and weave.
Rathnon watched in fascination as Ilona quickly and deftly wove the baskets.
First, she made a few simple rectangular ones with lids by binding them with willow branches.
Then she wove round ones to be used to contain many items. The baskets dried in the sun while Rathnon accompanied her to find wild herbs, garlic, onions, berries, and flowers.
Ilona found more willow trees as they followed the burn, and she cut off strips of the bark and wove a large split willow stillskeppa-style basket. When done making the basket, she wove sturdy handles. They shared their mid-morning meal and drank from their waterskins.
Rathnon built a fire ring with stones and then, using his trusty ax, chopped kindling and wood for a fire. He fashioned a spit to roast the meat on. While Ilona intently focused on weaving a particular basket in the afternoon, Rathnon showed her his bow and pointed.
“I will hunt for dinner.”
Ilona smiled at Rathnon and nodded. She continued working on her basket.
She next deftly wove small baskets for the children.
While the sun hung high in the sky, she pounded the onions, berries, and herbs on sections of large flat rocks, then painted on small pieces of the silver birch bark.
Before Rathnon returned from hunting, she drew the outlines of a wolf, fish, bear, baby goat, sword, pine tree, a sailing ship, and flowers.
Then she fashioned pine needles to a sturdy stick and used it to paint colors from the crushed herbs, onions, and berries into the designs.
Ilona left a couple to dry. Tired of sitting, Ilona stood and stretched.
As she looked around, she spied a hazelnut bush and picked its leaves.
She could harvest the nuts when they were ripe in the fall.
Their green leaves could dye yarn she could later spin and weave.
Rathnon returned with a pheasant and many rabbits.
With strings of game tied together in both hands, Ilona hugged him and smiled.
She helped him to dress and clean the game, and he pushed it onto his wooden skewers over the firepit.
Ilona used her flint and started the fire while he continued to clean the game.
Rathnon showed his reliance on her and respected her independent skills.
It meant a lot to Ilona. He proved he could be a thoughtful husband and partner.
Ilona showed him what she had crafted and painted. Handing him her makeshift paintbrush, she gave him the birch bark to paint while she observed him. Like everything she learned and understood about him, Rathnon was detail oriented and drew and painted with precision.
Ilona held up the small baskets she had woven. After naming each child, she pointed to the animals and flowers for them to place inside their treasure boxes. Rathnon understood her intentions and smiled warmly at her. Her baskets would delight the children and their parents.
At home in nature, Ilona enjoyed crafting many things with great artistry. He imagined her hands on him as she explored his body and stroked his skin after they wed. Exercising great restraint, Rathnon could hardly keep his hands to himself. He had to use his arm to cover his erection.
To distract himself, he turned the meat on the spit.
The aroma of roasted meat wafted in the air.
While their meat continued to cook, he pulled her up and led her to a point on the slope of the mountain, covered in dense forests, and pointed to the view.
Ilona stilled as she viewed the length of the rugged coastline, the sea, and the curl of smoke from the longhouse far below.
Filled with great excitement, Ilona picked up stones and rocks and fashioned them into a giant circumference.
Her actions filled Rathnon with curiosity.
She constructed a picture of a dwelling with rocks and stones.
Ilona pointed to Rathnon, herself, and the make-believe house.
“Our home. I can watch for your sailing ship's return home from the sea.” Ilona rocked an imaginary baby in her arms and pointed to the house, saying, “Hjem.” (“Home.”) The site of her holding his imaginary babe in her arms filled him with great joy.
With a family, he hoped she would never leave him.
Then, with the clarity of her vision, he realized she wanted him to build them a home here for their future family.
He nodded hesitantly. Rathnon wanted to please her and make her happy.
Most of all, he wanted her to stay with him and make a family together.
Although close to the river, there was no well.
Building here would require many trips to get water. The panoramic view was glorious though.
Rathnon recognized that the view most likely reminded her of her home on Orkney with its spectacular mountain vistas and views of the sea.
Ilona had fashioned a home like those in Scotland.
Her diagram had a common room and two bedrooms. One for them and one for the bairns.
Rathnon would need the help of the men in the village to construct their home.
He placed his hand on his jaw and stroked his beard in thought.
Contemplating how it might be built, he walked around the circumference and studied its dimensions in relation to the surrounding area.
Ilona pointed to a Norway spruce tree, rocks, and then pointed to the dirt.
She drew dimensions of planks in the dirt with a stick, and Rathnon recognized she wanted wooden or stone floors.
He studied her intently. He was a warrior and a hunter, not a carpenter.
Ilona drew more pictures in the dirt. Her drawing looked like a loft.
The loft could be used by older children or by guests.
Ilona pointed to the second room that he thought she meant for their bairns, and she said, “For Sigrid.”
Ilona meant for his aunt to live with them as a family. He picked her up in his arms, holding her up above him, before letting her slide down his body to the ground as he kissed her. He led her back to their firepit, turned the meat, and sat beside her under a tree.
Ilona wasn’t done expressing her desires.
She pantomimed a bairn in her arms, then drew eight stick figures in the dirt to represent how many children she wanted.
To tease her, Rathnon added two more lines to her neat row and smiled mischievously at her.
Ilona merely smiled at him and then made a more elaborate drawing of a chair on rocking legs, and she rocked back and forth with an imaginary bairn in her arms. She wanted a rocking chair.