The Birth and Revelations #3
Rathnon missed Ilona and Thor as soon as he left them behind.
He turned his focus to actions, but he felt the ache in his chest, knowing what he must do and how long he would be away from them.
He jumped into taking charge and barking orders to the men to take advantage of the tide.
They rowed the long oars in the Viking ships and glided across the waves.
The wind and weather were in their favor for the present.
The ships plowed through the waves as the men rowed with vigor.
They ate in shifts while other men continued to row.
They had taken items to trade or sell on Orkney.
Rathnon took a few of Ilona’s wool blankets to sell or barter with.
He had one to gift her parents and a sword to gift to her father.
Later, when they bedded down in shifts on their ship, Rathnon hoped her parents would agree to return with him to see their daughter and grandson.
He wished to surprise Ilona by their arrival.
In the darkness, Rathnon clutched his jacket Ilona made for him against the cold wind, while he stood watch, on lookout for unforeseen dangers or other ships.
Rathnon wondered what Ilona, Sigrid, and Thor were doing and pictured them in their cozy home.
He couldn’t wait to return to them. He recalled before he met Ilona how much the lure of the sea and adventure called to him.
But now with his family, its allure had dimmed.
The cold wind blew across the sea. Rathnon’s memories kept him warm with thoughts of Ilona and her passionate kisses and responses to his overtures.
The ships traced their path across the sea to Orkney over the space of several days. They made land on Orkney, and the men ventured into the village to trade items. The men would eat and drink at the inn to quell any fears of their motives during this visit.
Rathnon left a man in charge and took his friend and translator, Olaf, with him and rode to Ilona’s home.
He carried Ilona’s letter to her parents in his saddlebag.
He noticed all the details surrounding them and demonstrated far greater confidence in his ability to speak Gaelic than when he had captured Ilona.
But he had taken Olaf to ensure no misunderstandings arose.
He hoped his visit did not alarm her parents, especially since Ilona did not accompany him.
Sailing on treacherous seas, Rathnon wanted his son older before he took him on a hazardous ocean voyage.
He hoped they had received the previous letter he and Sigrid had sent to them and would be willing to travel with him.
Rathnon and Olaf rode up to Ilona’s parents’ home and reined in their horses, tying their reins to trees nearby.
He took in the flourishing garden to be able to describe it to Ilona upon his return.
Rathnon pounded his fist against the door of the stone cottage that had smoke curling out of its chimney.
The door opened to a tall man with dark piercing eyes who assessed them in a sharp, quick glance.
Rathnon paid respect to Ilona’s father and bowed as he introduced himself and Olaf.
“I am Rathnon, your daughter’s husband and father of your grandson, Thor.
This is my friend and translator, Olaf, who will help our conversation.
I am happy to say Ilona has taught me Gaelic as I taught her the Norse language.
” He handed him the letter from Ilona and saw the moment her father recognized his daughter’s handwriting.
He smiled and invited them in and called his wife to attend to their guests.
He bade them sit down and poured them glasses of potent whiskey.
“I am Ewan and pleased ye have come. This is my wife, Ilona’s mother.
Welcome to our home.” Rhona, Ilona’s mother, welcomed them with a big smile.
Rathnon could see from where Ilona derived her beauty, as her mother was still a beautiful woman.
She brought glasses of ale and trays of bread, meats, cheeses, and fresh fruit for the men to quench their hunger and thirst from their long journey.
“Thank ye for this delicious food and your welcome. Please read Ilona’s letter and then you can ask me questions.” Ewan read the letter first and then handed it to his wife. Rathnon noted the tears in her mother’s eyes as she read the letter.
After several minutes, Rathnon began the difficult conversation.
“I will not apologize for taking llona, for I love her and our son with all my heart.
I fell in love with her the first time I saw her and have grown to love her more each day.
I do regret I have had to wait until now to visit ye as we reside far away from ye.
Ilona misses ye very much and has shared many stories about growing up here.
“I work for the King of Norway, and I am not able to move here for ye to see Ilona as often as ye wish. I am a warrior for the king and a negotiator for trade. Ye are most welcome to come visit Ilona and myself anytime ye’d like.”
“Although worried for our only daughter’s welfare and safety when she first disappeared, we have come to understand through her letter that despite yer kidnapping her, ye have made her happy and fulfilled her as a wife and given her the chance to be a mother.
She shared with us aspects of your life that bring her happiness, and we are grateful. ”
“I hoped to win yer blessings and approval, for Ilona loves ye deeply and misses ye. Pardon me for a moment, I brought ye a few gifts.” He stood and went out to his horse, where he took two large bundles with him back into the house.
Rathnon presented the long bundle to Ewan, and the bulkier bundle to Rhona.
They opened the gifts and Rathnon could tell by the appreciative smile on Ilona’s father’s face he liked the sword.
“Thank ye for this gift, made with great skill and artistry.”
Rathnon studied the expressions on Ilona’s mother’s face as she unwrapped her gift. Her expression told it all as a bright smile lit up her entire face and tears of happiness filled her eyes. He thought she recognized her daughter’s work as she examined the weave and design of the woolen blanket.
“Thank ye for the lovely blanket. I suspect my daughter wove this. Her skills in weaving now are masterful. We will put this to good use. It is a lovely gift from both of ye.”
“Ilona will be happy ye enjoy her gift for ye.
I know she poured her love into it as she does in everything.
Besides bringing ye these gifts, I bring ye an invitation to accompany me home to visit and stay with us for as long as ye like.
I would bring ye back or have trustworthy men return ye home whenever ye wish.
Ye are welcome to visit us anytime ye like, but it may be difficult to find our location the first time ye visit.
Returning with us, ye will have my men and me to protect ye and provide for ye on the trip.
Nae need for ye to row yourselves. This is the most favorable time to travel in the North Sea.
I realize ye may need to contact friends to manage yer farm in your absence, but I would like to return to Ilona as soon as possible.
“Ye will bring great joy to Ilona to come and surprise her for a visit. I did not disclose to her I left to visit ye and invite ye to our home in the event ye would not be able to visit now. I didn’t want to return and disappoint her.”
“Ye seem to understand our daughter well. We will need to speak to our neighbor to see what we can work out and if he’s still aggregable, and let ye ken. We have a room with one bed for ye to use while ye are here. We’d like ye to stay with us.”
“Thank ye. It is kind of ye. We do not want to inconvenience ye since we are two men with hearty appetites. We like to sleep out in the forest and hunt and fish. We could bring ye game or fish to prepare, or we could roast it and have ye join us. We will leave ye to discuss yer needs together and with yer neighbors, and we will bed down in the forest. I will check back with ye tomorrow.” Rathnon and his friend stood.
“Thank ye, for yer hospitality. I am happy to finally have the opportunity to meet ye both.”
He bowed and they left and mounted their horses.
They rode away to the same forest where Rathnon had first seen Ilona.
They made a campfire, stocked it with wood they had chopped, and fished in the river for their dinner.
Olaf and Rathnon caught an abundance of fish, and Rathnon carried the bountiful catch across the field and meadow to the stone cottage.
He knocked on the door and handed the string of large fish to Ilona’s father.
His eyes grew wide when he beheld the large number and sizes of the fish.
“Please return at sunset and join us for dinner. We will dine with the fish ye caught.”
“Thank ye, we will.” Rathnon returned to the forest and groomed his horse.
Olaf left to scope out game in the area for the following day’s hunting.
Rathnon led his horse to the river to drink and then tied him to an area lush with grasses.
Wildflowers filled the meadows, and Rathnon appreciated how Ilona had developed her appreciation of nature and love of flowers, which grew in abundance.
He planned to pick flowers later and bring a bouquet to her mother.