Chapter 10 #2
“And what does a heathen from a hunting party know about ruling?”
I fix the crown the children gave me as if it is a real one and look over at him. He is well groomed today. His beard is combed and every finger sports a shiny silver ring.
“I know that a leader needs to be able to trust the people around them. And in return, those people support their leader. That’s how a hunting party works. We work with each other.”
Harald waves his hand, and one of his servants appears with two cups of hot wine on a wooden tray.
“No, thank you,” I say, wanting to keep my head clear, but Harald passes me the cup and waves the man away. He takes a mouthful of wine and raises his cup, waiting for me to consecrate our moment. Gently clicking the glasses together, I take a small sip and force myself to swallow.
The red wine is vastly different from the sweetness I tasted last night. Harald is nothing like Shaw, not that I know either man well, but Harald’s method is to gain favor through oppression. Shaw doesn’t seem to seek favor or acceptance, and that is refreshing.
“What is on your mind?” Harald asks as the Vikings begin to lay offerings around us.
“Being a good vessel for the prayers of the people so that the gods might hear and respond,” I reply.
Harald leans over to rest his elbow on the chair, moving close to me so I can smell his overly herbed soap and wax. His clothes are beautifully crafted, the fur edges sewed with delicate patterns on the trim of his tunic.
“The people are easily swayed. After this season, it will be our job to teach them to love the King,” he whispers.
“Will the King come here?” I ask, barely raising my face to his.
“In good time. I want to make sure you are ready to receive a man of such status. Someone who walks in the likeness of a god.”
We are interrupted by four men who carry a dead goat hanging off a thick wooden post. The large, curved horns scraping through the snow remind me of Odin.
“For you Maiden. For tonight’s feast, we killed our best goat in honor of Yule,” the front man says, keeping the post balanced over his steady shoulder.
Harald claps, rising half way out of his chair to survey the creature.
“The horns are the best of our herd and will make a fine mask for you, Jarl.”
Harald roughly pats the second man on the shoulder. “A mask for the Wild Hunt in the name of Odin himself. Thank you, my friends.” The men walk away, turning to head for the stronghold. Large goats take hours to skin and cook, so the kitchen will have their work cut out for them.
Pouring himself more wine, Harald strides across the platform and resumes his seat by me.
The crowd grows larger around us as people leave baskets of fresh bread and apples at my feet, bolts of dyed cloth for dresses or tunics too.
After a few rounds of wagons roll by, there is a lull in the offerings, and I nervously shift in my seat, wondering how best to ask Harald about the map.
“You look like you want another drink,” Harald says, glancing over at me.
“I am alright, thank you. We have a long night of dancing don’t we?” I put on my most cheerful smile.
“Will you finally dance with me?”
“If you treat the rest of the people with grace today.” I offer a compromise, and he accepts.
“I would like to come to a place where you gladly perform the marriage rites, Rasha.”
“How does it benefit me to marry you?” The bold question catches him off guard, and he props his elbow on the chair to lean closer.
“I am not a bad man. I want children and a prosperous clan. I want a lovely wife to warm my bed. Is that not what every Viking man desires? Is that not what you want? A man to protect you?”
“I don’t need protection.” I straighten myself against the back of the chair.
“Your reindeer herd will,” he whispers.
“No one has seen the reindeer herd in years.”
“Not in all your hunts?” he asks, quieter now as his eyes reach mine.
Determined to get a handle on the conversation, I respond, “We don’t hunt that far into the mountain pass.” I have never hunted through the pass because the Beaivi Clan is there to protect the mountain’s earthly riches, not deplete them.
“Maybe we could come to an agreement. If you marry me and I give you the necessary support, you could hunt and find the herd for me?”
Sucking in cold air to keep my lungs working, I don’t know what to say.
He thinks I am naive, and will bargain time out in the mountains against the safety of the reindeer herd.
Harald reaches over to find my hands curled in my lap.
I clench my fingers in vain as he forces my hands apart, lifting my fingers to his mouth.
Tension rolls through the rest of my body.
“Please, Rasha, I know there is more happening in that beautiful head of yours. The King will reward us for providing him the means to conquer these lands, and we will rule without having four councils and four clans. We will be one,” he proposes, kissing my knuckles.
“Even if you gave me twenty of the best hunters, I don’t know where the reindeer are,” I admit as he rubs my fingers in a small effort to warm them against the bright and chilly day.
“What has your brother told you about the blacksmith?” He asks.
Keeping my gaze on the undulating fire in front of us, I murmur, “That he will make our wedding rings if I choose to accept your proposal.”
“Jorvik surprises me. You know I thought he told you all of our plans. He is one person I know I can trust. Your face says it all, little Rasha.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is hard to tell if you are lying, I must admit,” Harald says, and I finally wiggle my fingers free. Tucking my leg underneath me, I lean to sit in the farthest corner of the big chair.
“What should I know about Shaw?” I ask, point blank this time.
“There is a map to the herd’s favorite valleys, and I think he holds it.”
“Well there is an easy answer to that question. He came here at your request, so why not ask him if he has a map to the reindeer herd?”
“Because he was beaten the first night for his resistance to my request, and he previously promised me no such thing exists.”
“Harald, that means someone here is lying. No one has seen reindeer in decades, and it is the hunter’s job to protect the balance of nature.
If you threaten that, there will be vengeance.
” My honesty comes out in a rush, and Harald’s eyes gaze at me while I stumble through putting the information together.
“And if you want to accuse me of lying, then I can do the same. You might be cooking up this reindeer nonsense to leverage me into marrying you, when in fact, the reindeer are fucking safe and sound far away from here.”
Standing up, I gather my dress around me and settle the long folds of fabric over the edge of the platform.
I glance back at Harald with a distrustful glare, not sure what to think.
Shaw is looking for the map that he thinks Bjorn stole from him.
But can I trust Shaw over my own brother?
He wouldn’t have any reason to lie, but Harald and Jorvik have all the motivation in the world to try to manipulate me.