Chapter 12 Freija
Freija
“I watch everything you do, princess.”
How on earth was I going to survive this meeting with those words running through my mind on an unending loop?
At the far end of the room sat Halvar. He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his thickly corded forearms. Ancestors, why was that as distracting as his words?
“Freija, would you like to get us started?” Father asked, drawing my attention away from where it shouldn’t be.
“Uh, yes. Yes, of course.” I straightened and smoothed out the papers before me.
As all eyes turned my way, it felt like the stone ceiling and walls were closing in on me.
So I took a deep breath, rolled my shoulders, and focused on the important matter here: my people.
“We need to adapt our sustenance intake and distribution methods. As the human population increases in Skolvik, so too will the strain on our food sources. Not to mention the need to adapt our hunting plans so as not to raise any suspicion of our presence here.”
Silent nods flitted around the table.
“I have put together a report on the matter, including our current numbers, a population projection for our own societal growth, and historical numbers and trends.” Except the fish numbers. I still didn’t have those.
Handing the report to my right, I continued, “The crux of the matter is this: we need to make changes to our intake and distribution methods now, should we want to keep pace and avoid mountain residents going hungry.”
A warmth settled over my cheeks as people started asking questions, but I fielded each with knowledge and respect. I’d worked on this for weeks, spent hours bent over ledgers and books to the point of hurting my neck and back, all out of desperation to get this right on behalf of the Fjell Fae.
“Would we need to increase our foraging teams?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Depending on the growth seasons and where the humans settle.”
“What about the deer numbers? Those are always high,” another asked.
“While we have historically had more than enough game meat, the human villagers have increased their intake of it too, moving from fishing to hunting.” It was an interesting trend. One I’d be keeping an eye on.
“I think we could delay the matter,” Karl-Mogens said. “There’s still time and we don’t know for certain whether more humans will move to the area—”
“I disagree,” I interjected and sat forward in my seat. “We can either wait for the problem to arise, or we can lessen its inevitable harm now before people go hungry waiting for us to implement stronger measures.”
Karl-Mogens pursed his lips and scrunched his brow as if he didn’t like being interrupted, especially by a woman. He was usually full of sage wisdom, but I truly felt that in this case he was wrong.
“Moreover,” I continued, “if the population of humans in Skolvik continues to rise—which I think we can all agree is likely considering the increase in sailings to and from their small harbor—we will have more competition for resources.”
“Very good point,” Father said from the head of the table.
Halvar nodded softly.
“If we don’t do something about this now, we will run into more issues. My initial proposal is outlined here. You will see in my report that the number of resources is already dwindling compared to our historic averages.”
I peered around the table. Some nodded, others narrowed their gazes in thought, while Halvar’s eyes had glazed over. Now was the time to put on more pressure.
“Father, I really think it behooves the mountain to think ahead on this matter. We don’t want to fall behind, and I have it on good authority that the Forest is looking into this too.
” I hated playing that card, but Ragnhild and I had had extensive conversations about this when I first started looking into the matter, and if there was one thing all of the monarchs were—for all four fae factions—it was competitive.
Father may have been quiet, studious, and calculative, but he never wanted to be derelict in his duties when compared to the others.
Especially when it came to the well-being of his people.
Which was something I could wholeheartedly relate to.
He nodded. “It’s always better to be prepared for stormy conditions before the storm arrives.”
More nods circled the table, and hope swelled in my chest.
“With that said,” I started, brushing my hand over my forehead, “we are still missing some crucial information regarding ways to diversify our resources.”
The room stilled, and my heart pounded against my chest.
“We need more solutions. Creative ones, that will help our people for centuries to come. Initial reports from some of the southern mountains and our friends in the forest reveal some interesting prospects. Ones I believe are worth further study.”
Still no one moved.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I propose a venture to the south to see these methods firsthand and collect more information. I would be happy to go as the lead on this report.”
There. I’d done it. Said what I needed to. Vouched for myself and this work.
Council members looked between one another as if holding a silent conversation.
Halvar’s gaze now roamed the room, monitoring each person around the table. Meanwhile, I wanted to break the quiet with more reasoning. I didn’t often beg, but…
Karl-Mogens cleared his throat. “I do not think it’s a princess’s place to be gallivanting off on an excursion like that.”
Birger nodded. “There are far more important things for a young lady of your standing to be doing.”
Like what? It was as if they were verbally patting me on the head and belittling my place among them. Did they even want to help our people? Did they want me to be a good queen who did everything she could for the mountain?
Father tapped the table, drawing everyone’s attention. “I agree to your measures.”
My heart burst with relief and joy. The muscles in my back relaxed. Our people were going to get the food they needed when they needed it in the years to come.
“Please inform each sector in the mountain of what is required of them,” he continued, “and report back to us in a fortnight with any implementation issues.”
I smiled. “Of course. Thank you.”
“However, I must also agree with the Council.”
My smile dropped and air lodged in my throat.
“Now is not the time for you to be venturing on a research mission. With the threats of kidnapping it would be unwise to let you travel far from the mountain, and as previously discussed I’m not interested in sending a team of researches at this time.
We should request reports from different regions instead. ”
No. I’d tried so hard. Secondary sources. Potential unreliable narrators. That wouldn’t be good enough. I wrung my fingers in my lap and did my best not to slouch in my chair. But what else could I do? He was the king.
“Very well, Father,” I muttered.
“Excellent, excellent.” He clasped his hands in front of him on the table and turned his attention to the other end of the room.
“Now, onto our next matter. Astrid has informed me that all the preparations are in place for my birthday ball in a few weeks’ time.
We will have a large number of guests in attendance.
Related to that, do you have a security update, Halvar? ”
Halvar leaned forward. “The measures we discussed last week have been implemented, with fortifications underway near the dungeons. As for the Princess’s safety, I am with her at all times, or one of my guards is. Plus, her training has gone well.”
My despair cracked further.
I had tried to grow used to being talked about like this over the years.
Does the princess need to study Latin? What do you think is in the princess’s best interests, Your Majesty?
It was a steady stream of being treated like an object.
To many of them, I wasn’t just a fae woman.
I was a thing. An heir. Something with high value and even higher pressures.
Not to mention, now, an even larger target.
My responsibility, it turned out, was to politely grin and bear it, no matter how much it irked me.
“Very good,” the king replied.
All eyes flicked to me, and I rolled my shoulders against the prickle that ran across them.
“Speaking of the princess,” Birger said. “Where are we in the process of finding a marriage candidate? Did you review the list?”
I should’ve known this would come up. Pinching my lips together, I nodded. “I have extended an invitation to Hans Fredrickson from Almstad out east.”
“Good lad,” someone said.
“Wise choice.”
“Studious, if I recall correctly,” Father added.
Others nodded in agreement, and I swallowed hard. They hadn’t been like this with Edvard or the few who came before him. This pressure that filled the room and pressed down on my shoulders was far weightier.
“Such an alliance would be fruitful for the Fjell Fae,” Thyra said with a toothy smile that set my nerves on edge. “With his father as governor of Almstad, he won’t shy away from our traditions nor this arrangement.”
There they went again. Talking about me as if I weren’t sitting beside them, their equal in position at this table, if not in years of life led. Yet, I was still that thing: the heir.
“Where does it state that marriage for the monarch is a requirement?” I interjected, trying my best to keep my voice level. “Where in our history books has that been specified?”
“It hasn’t. It’s the way it has always been,” Thyra replied.
Karl-Mogens and Birger both nodded.
Father didn’t move. His hand pressed against his mouth as he rested his elbow on the table, looking deep in thought.
“Change is good,” I countered. “I could serve this mountain well even without a consort.”
“Change can also cause irreparable damage to something that isn’t broken,” Karl-Mogens added.
I breathed in through my nose to calm my racing pulse.
It wasn’t their lives, their marriage being discussed.
How would they like being told whom they would marry?
Whom they would sleep beside every night?
Whom they would have sex with to secure the royal line?
I wanted to slam my hand against the table.
Yell. Scream. Shout. Speak for myself and not be heard as if I were a piece of flesh which they could decide the fate of.
But that wouldn’t do. This was one of the most important expectations of me. As heir and woman.
Looking to father beside me, I tried to catch his gaze, but it was firmly on the middle of the table and lost in thought.
“There is a large group of excellent candidates should Hans not be a good match,” Thyra said with a doff of her hair. “From governors’ sons to elite scholars.”
“Why not a soldier?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, knowing full well what we’d been told growing up. I avoided looking at the only soldier in the room. “They are trained to protect and serve.”
Thyra scoffed. “You need someone who can represent you diplomatically. Soldiers are not that. They are tools of war.”
Father cleared his throat. “What do you think, Halvar?”
Whipping my head to the other end of the table, I sucked in a breath.
Those cold eyes rose slowly, and he stared right at the King. “I think the princess knows what is best for her.”
My heart stopped beating. Had he sided with me?
Father’s fingers tapped against the tabletop in a steady rhythm that matched the racing of my pulse. The room fell silent, as if sensing that a decision was about to be made. This was it.
“We will continue with the tradition of an arranged marriage,” he commanded.
My stomach tightened and my throat closed as if a mountain had crushed my body and all the hope that resided therein.
“I think it’s what is best for the Fjell Fae, and for you, Freija. I hope one of the people on the list from your mother and the council will prove satisfactory. Meeting adjourned.”
That was it.
The decision was made for me. To be the perfect princess they expected me to be, I had to marry someone who met their standards—not just my own.
And I wanted that perfection, but to what extent and at what cost?