Wedded Life #2
In the afternoon, the fishermen returned and cleaned the fish. Ilona looked expectantly to see Rathnon, but he had gone hunting. He’d probably had his fill of being out at sea.
Hours later, the hunters returned and dressed the game. Rathnon’s eyes glossed over the women until they landed hungrily on his wife. He persuaded her to disappear with him into the woods for a protracted amount of time in amorous abandon.
The next day, Ilona returned to the gardens to tend to them. When she returned, she helped the women make cheese all afternoon. When Rathnon joined her, they vanished into the forest and walked to the loch to bathe together after working up a sweat.
Ilona carried a basket of rocks and deposited them where they had left the others. She had been surprised to see that so many much larger heavy stones had accumulated.
“I am greedy for ye. I want ye, wife, all to myself,” Rathnon confessed to her in Gaelic with an endearing smile.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the women toiled.
They crafted bars of soap in wooden molds for bathing and washing clothes.
Trays of the soap were placed on shelves in the longhouse.
It would take months to cure. The men worked with the carpenter, building more soap molds and another fishing boat.
Everyone except the smallest bairns had tasks they must do, and the days quickly turned into weeks.
One day, while the men hunted and fished, the women labored outside. The women worked, melting fat from slaughtered sheep to make large candles for lanterns in the coming winter. The women were exhausted by the end of their labor.
Ilona helped the children prepare their inventive stories to entertain their parents after dinner. She inspired confidence in the children, encouraging them to share their special tales. At the humorous ones, laughter erupted. A few tales of cunning described how an animal had outsmarted a hunter.
Still others were tender. Two of the lassie’s stories told how the flowers grew to become nests for the birds’ families and a crown for a pretty bride on her wedding day. Everyone enjoyed the children’s entertainment, and they said a special thank you to Ilona for helping the children.
The next day, Ilona went to search for and collect wild berries.
A woman had a young bairn with her. But the child’s mother did nae feel well enough to closely watch him.
It could be hard to pick berries and watch a curious and fast, toddling young bairn at the same time.
Ilona watched him intently and grabbed his hand before he could eat several poisonous berries.
“Nae,” she shouted, drawing the attention of his mother and the other women. When Ilona unfolded his small hand clutching the berries, they gasped as they recognized these were poisonous. Ilona used soapwort in her healing bag and poured water onto his hands to ensure no residue of poison remained.
She entreated the woman to return home with her son. The other women reassured the weeping mother and encouraged her to return to the longhouse. The woman, who held her son clutched to her, hugged Ilona and thanked her.
At dinner, the story of Ilona saving the bairn’s life quickly spread. When Rathnon heard the news, he gazed at his wife with tender admiration.
Ilona had been introduced to the healer, Liv. When the woman saw the healing herbs Ilona had brought, her eyes lit up.
Liv had learned Gaelic many years ago but had nae used it in so long, she asked Sigrid to help make sure her words were understandable.
Fortunately, Ilona grasped everything she said.
The healer and Ilona spent an hour discussing herbal plants, their properties, and their uses.
Liv gratefully accepted all the dried and new bundles of herbs Ilona provided.
She told Liv when they shared a cup of tea, “I would like to bring ye more herbs, long before winter sets in. Please let me know if ye need any special plants.” Soon after, the healing cottage filled with the healing scents of flowers and dried herbs hanging from the rafters.
As the days passed, one after another, Ilona realized she had been married for three months. She had never been happier. Her thoughts were rarely far from Rathnon, her handsome, strong, and virile husband.
The following day, Ilona joined the women to search for madder plant roots to dye the yarn red.
She also scoured the forest for lichens used to color the yarn purple; her mother had taught her how to find them, and they’d foraged them every year.
The men accompanied the women into the forest to chop more wood.
They would craft it into planks and use it for firewood.
Ilona walked fearlessly into the forest, holding her baskets. She had been happy she had found the madder plants. She cut the lichen from the trees and cut the roots of the madder plants she would use to make a lovely red dye.
Rathnon lingered behind the men, watching his beguiling wife with a tantalizing smile.
Her hips swayed as she walked up the hill, inviting him closer.
He secretly hoped he could steal her away to a secluded area and give them both pleasure.
He couldn’t get his fill of her. Rathnon’s appetite for Ilona remained insatiable.
As they walked up a steep hill, one small lad carried a basket of blueberries for his mother. He tripped and spilled the berries. As Ilona moved to him to help him pick up the berries, a huge brown bear stood in front of them on its hind legs and roared.
With a cry torn from her lips, Ilona’s only thought focused on the bairn. She threw herself over the bairn to protect his life with her own. She heard shrieks and screams around her and thundering feet. Unspeakable pain ripped into her as the bear’s claws tore through her back.
The next thing she kent, a thunderous war cry reverberated in the air.
Ilona heard the bear fall as she crouched over the young bairn.
Someone lifted her tenderly in their arms, and she heard the mother’s cry for her son and her sobbing, “Takk, takk, takk.” Then blessed darkness claimed her into its clutches of oblivion—a relief compared to the searing pain in her back.
When she awakened, she lay on her side and naked under a wool and fur blanket.
Ilona looked into the worried eyes of her husband.
With brows drawn sternly together, he looked as if berating someone for their behavior.
Sleepy, Ilona tried to remember how she’d gotten here, for she recognized the interior of the healer’s hut.
“Rathnon,” she said, feeling tremendously tired and sore. “What happened? Why am I here? Is the wee bairn all right?”
Rathnon’s eyes opened wide, and he knelt at his wife’s side and held her hand. With his palm, he smoothed loose tendrils of her hair back from her face and kissed her hands.
“My love, the bairn is fine.” He said in Gaelic, his fluency much improved and with greater confidence to communicate to her more easily. Ye saved his life, and his family is extremely grateful to ye. Do ye nae remember what happened?”
“Suddenly, a gigantic bear stood directly in front of us and roared at the bairn. I kent the bear would kill the wee bairn, and I had to protect him. That’s all I remember.”
“Ye protected him with yer life. Ye are so courageous. While others ran away, ye threw yerself on top of the bairn to spare his life and potentially sacrifice yer own. The bear attacked ye and scratched yer back, tearing into yer skin. Luckily, I was close to ye, and I threw my ax and then a knife at him. He fell over, and then I killed him. I am sorry I was nae next to ye to protect ye from being injured. I needed to be there for ye.” He hung his head in heartache and in shame.
Ilona stretched her hand forward to stroke his cheek.
“Rathnon, ye cannae blame yerself. Ye cannae protect me nor anyone else every moment of every day. We are nae that fragile. Accidents can happen to anyone anytime. I am thankful ye were near us when ye were. Ye saved the bairn and my life. I am grateful to ye for yer quick thinking and speedy attack in our defense.”
“I did what anyone would do.”
“Nae, ye did more than anyone. Ye are a strong warrior with a brawny arm and powerful aim. If not for ye and yer trusty ax, I would have more injuries.” Ilona stroked his head as she ran her fingers through his hair. Rathnon found it soothing.
After a couple of minutes, Ilona said, “Ye look tired. How long have I been here?”
“This is the second day. Yesterday, it seemed ye were dreaming.”
“I’m sorry to give ye cause for worry and lack of sleep. Did ye get any rest?”
Liv allowed a few moments of privacy to the couple. She observed the expression of devotion and love on Rathnon’s face. Liv had prepared a healing broth and brought it over to Ilona.
“Lass, here’s nourishing broth for ye. Yer husband never stirred by yer side, unless he couldn’t hold himself anymore and had to relieve himself outside. He held yer hand and spoke to ye for hours while ye slept.
“Now Rathnon, ye can see Ilona is awake and drinking the broth. See to yerself. Take a nap and eat. Besides, yer wife needs privacy while I change her bandages. I will watch over the lass well in yer absence.”
“Aye, Rathnon, I ken ye are fatigued. Sitting in the chair and sleeping for a few moments cannae be comfortable. Please see to yer needs. Liv will watch over me. I ken it will take time to change my bandages.”
Rathnon did nae want to leave his wife, but at the two women’s insistence, he decided to go relieve and wash himself. “I will leave only briefly. But I will return to stay with ye. Send someone to fetch me if ye need me before then.”
He softly kissed her lips and yearned to pull her into his arms but refrained, afraid of causing her pain or further injury. He stood and ran a hand through his beard, gazing at Ilona thoughtfully before taking his leave.