15 #2
He had no warning, no clue, though he should have been more careful, for she was no longer the innocent child whoa??d smiled at him so simply, so sweetly. There was no smile now. She brought up her knee and kicked him in the groin. She caught him squarely. He yowled again and dropped her.
Entti heard his raw moans, saw him drop to his knees and hug himself.
She started to run. She saw the men staring at her.
Then she stopped, frowned down at his bent head.
a??Ia??m sorry,a?? she said, and came down to her haunches in front of him, and placed her hands on his shoulders.
a??Ia??m sorry, Hafter, it wasna??t well done of me.
You are what you are, after all, and I shouldna??t have punished you so severely for it.a??
He moaned, his head still down. Rorik grimaced, for he and every other man could imagine the relentless waves of nausea that were holding Hafter bent down like a frail old man.
Finally, Hafter said, panting, a??No, it wasna??t well done of you. Ah, I wish you werena??t so smart now.a??
a??Ia??m sorry. I had to protect myself. I will no longer allow you or any man to bed me. I cannot do it. It was difficult for me before, but now, I will not be a whore. If you will promise to restrain yourself and what emerges from your mouth, I promise never to do that again. I am sorry.a??
a??Do you truly not wish to bed me again? Did you truly never wish to bed me? Did you truly never enjoy me?a??
a??Everyone is listening to you. Be quiet. I shouldna??t have blamed you for believing that I would now willingly bed with any of you louts. But it is so. There will be no more of it. Now, stand up, youa??ve mewled quite long enough. Youa??re a man, stand up.a??
Hafter stood, with difficulty, but he stood. a??I never thought of you as a whore, Entti.a??
a??Ha! What then, Hafter? Your beloved mother?
A virgin come to Hawkfell Island to be admired and worshiped?
Forget not, all you ever had to do was snap your fingers and tell me to part my legs and I did.
I will do so no longer. Never again. So, Hafter, if you didna??t think of me as a whore, then what? a??
He just looked at her. a??You were Entti, thata??s all. You were sweet and gentle and gave me all I wished to have. You never yelled at me in anger.a??
Entti snorted and turned away from him. a??Youa??re a fool,a?? she said. a??Keep your distance!a??
Mirana and Rorik could only stare, as did all their other people.
a??This is passing strange,a?? Rorik said, then clasped Miranaa??s fingers with his. a??Why doesna??t Hafter clout her? Why does he just look at her so pathetically? By the gods, he would kill a man if he struck him, much less tried to destroy his manhood.a??
a??He has a care for his hide, though he did sound as though he were dying,a?? Mirana said.
a??He was, or at least he prayed that he would.
The pain is beyond normal suffering. It is worse than belly cramps, worse than a knife wound in the shoulder.
I wonder what he will do to her once he recovers himself sufficiently.
Unlike Hafter, when you tried to unman me, I was fast and saved myself from dire pain.
Poor Hafter didna??t have a chance. Entti still surprises me.a??
a??She cooks very well.a??
a??That doesna??t surprise me at all. All you damned womena??a??
She giggled. It was an odd sound, an unexpected sound. He stared down at her. Slowly, he smiled, showing his even white teeth. Then he leaned down and lightly kissed her mouth.
a??Let us go to the food tables and leave Hafter and Entti to sort themselves out.a??
It was late. The beautiful day had become somber, with dark storm clouds thickening overhead.
The wind was whipping up the crops and making the more narrow fir trees bend and sway.
The birds had quieted as had the animals and the children.
Even Kerzog was still, lying with his big head on his front paws, asleep, for hea??d eaten every scrap of food thrown to him, and still begged for more.
The rain began. It was quickly dark. Rorik was smiling like an idiot, Mirana walking at his side, toward his sleeping chamber.
He fastened a rush torch light to the holder in the wall, then turned to face his wife.
Her face was flushed for shea??d drunk a bit of his small store of wine from the rich vineyards south of the Seine herself.
She looked beautiful. She pleased his eyes and his senses.
At the moment, he didna??t care why hea??d married her.
If something was done it was done and nothing could change it, a philosophy his sire had dinned in his ears since he was a boy.
It was indeed done, and now he would have her, surely an excellent consequence of this marriage.
a??I have only one other gown,a?? Mirana said, fingering the fine cream wool of her overtunic. a??This beautiful tunic and gown I will pack in your trunk. I was careful not to stain it.a??
a??Aye, you were,a?? he said. a??Let me remove the brooches for you. It is one of Astaa??s gowns, from many years ago. She told me shea??d been saving it, for what she didna??t know, just that she was far too stout to wear it now.a??
a??The women have all been more than kind to me.a??
a??Aye. I didna??t understand it. Perhaps someday one of you will explain it to me. But it is good now that you are my wife and their mistress.a??
As he unfastened the brooches, Mirana said, a??I have no weapons.a??
a??No, you dona??t. But I do.a??
a??I always had my own knife, since I came to Clontarf. Gunleik gave it to me.a??
a??Ah, the one you used to prick my throat?a??
She nodded.
a??If you dona??t wish to use it to torment me or to flay the flesh from me, then what is your reason for having it?a??
He laid the brooches on top of his chest, and stepped back to watch her as she eased the tunic down over her hips, stepped out of it, and carefully folded it. He watched her lay it gently in his chest, placing the brooches on top of it.
She straightened then and turned to say very seriously, a??It was just a part of what I wore every day, like my gown or my shoes.a??
a??Youa??re a woman.a??
a??Aye,a?? she said, standing very close to him now, her gown very much still in place. a??This is very strange, Rorik. Are you certain about the king? Would Einar truly have dishonored me by selling me to him?a??
a??That is what Kron said.a?? He waited, wishing she would tell him that her fear of that hadna??t pushed her into marriage with him.
She said nothing. Well, hea??d given her an excellent reason for accepting him, and if it had been her reason, why then, it was his own fault, his own doing.
She slipped off her shoes and toed them across the floor until they were lying against the trunk.
She looked up at him then. a??Many girls are sold in marriage, their consent unimportant. Perhaps Einar thinks he honors me. The man is, after all, a king. Perhapsa??a??
a??Dona??t weave a false thread, Mirana. Einar had no more notion of honoring you than would a bear.a??
a??Youa??re right. If he believed it would honor me, why then, he would have told me, bragged of his negotiations to me, of his brilliance. He kept silent.a??
a??Enough of your half-brother. There are other things I wish you to consider this night.a??
She started to pull off her gown, then stopped. She looked at him straightly. a??When you brought me here you stripped down my gown and looked at me. You played with me, but there was no enjoyment, either for you or for me. It was awful. Will you do that again?a??
He gave her a fascinated look. He was remembering her breasts, their softness, their weight. a??Aye, but it will be different this time. There will be play between us, but it will give you much pleasure.a??
She was silent for a long moment, standing motionless.
Then she waved her hand about her, toward the bed, toward the clothing trunk that stood at the foot of the box bed.
a??You have been married before. You had a wife and babes.
You know what all this is about. You slept with a woman every night and awoke with her every morning.
You must have known her habits and everything else about her.
You understand things that I dona??t yet even comprehend.
It makes me nervous, Rorik. It makes me feel as helpless as a warrior who has no weapons.a??
He saw Inga in that moment, her hair a rich golden blond, shining as brightly as ripe barley in the bright sunlight.
She was frowning at him, her pale blue eyes narrowed fiercely, angry at something hea??d done or something hea??d said.
He couldna??t remember. Odd that he would remember a frown and not a smile, but the gods and men knew that life was filled with both.
Should he tell Mirana that? They would fight, but they would hopefully find pleasure and joy in each other as well.
No, she would discover it for herself. Shea??d already known rage at him.
If he gave her joy with him now, it would balance the scales.
And he wanted those scales balanced. He wanted them well tilted.
a??What did you say? Oh, you speak of intimacy between a man and a woman.
You worry about my experience and your inexperience.
It will not matter in a little while, for we will begin that intimacy right now, Mirana.
Come here and I will help you off with that gown.
It is lovely and you are lovely wearing it.
I do not remember Asta ever being so slender, but I suppose she was when she was a girl.a??
Mirana didna??t want to be naked in front of him but she didna??t see there was a choice.
Too, since hea??d already had a wife, he knew what was to be done and when it was to be done.
She would have to trust him. Once the gown was neatly folded in his trunk, once she stood there wearing only a soft cotton shift, he smiled down at her.
a??Sit on the bed and Ia??ll free your hair from the ribbons and braids.a??
She did as she was bid. His fingers were gentle, and when he splayed his fingers to comb them through the braids, smoothing her hair into loose ripples down her back, she smiled up at him.
a??That feels better. My head feels lighter.a??
a??Now your shift.a??
a??I would prefer it if you would take off your clothes first, Rorik.a??
He grinned at her, stepped back, and stripped off his clothes very very quickly.
He stood there naked, letting her look her fill at him.
a??Youa??ve already seen me,a?? he said, when she remained quiet and staring for a very long time.
He began to fidget. Did she find him repellent?
He drew himself up straighter. He was a man and his body was very different from hers.
He was large and hairy and his rod, swelled now and jutting toward her, might frighten a maid.
a??But it is different now,a?? she said, still staring at his belly and his groin.
a??I suppose it is,a?? he agreed, and kept his arms at his sides, but it was difficult to remain still with her just looking and looking at him, unmoving.
His member swelled more, he couldna??t help that, and seeing her looking at him so intently, so very absorbed in what she was seeing, made him only bigger.
a??Your shift, Mirana,a?? he said at last.
a??Could you please douse the rush light?a??
He shook his head. a??Nay. A husband has rights. One of them is to see his wife, to see all of her, in every fine detail, to study her and her endowments, so that he will have no questions, no doubts, about his acquisition.a??
a??Just as youa??re letting me see if my acquisition pleases me?a??
a??If you will, though the comparison isna??t much to my liking.a??
a??Nor to mine.a??
a??Then neither of us will be acquisitive this night,a?? he said, and walked to the bed. a??We will be a man and a woman coming together for the first time. There is magic in that, Mirana, and in the future if we are fortunate.a??
a??I think it is good fortune that brought you to me,a?? she said, and held out her arms to her husband.
For an instant, he thought of the misery that had been responsible for bringing him to Clontarf. But that was over now and he wouldna??t let the past touch them.
He smiled at her, at his wife.