Page 86 of The Caged Viking

“Whatever you say, m’lady,” Frida replied.

When she emerged from the back door of the keep, Kirstin saw Egil.

“You’re about to leave?”

“Yea. I just came back to get some extra rope I need.”

“How long will you be gone?”

He shrugged. “A few days, no longer than a sennight.”

“I’ll miss you.” She gave him a hug, which she could tell embarrassed him, but in a nice way.

He was about to walk away when he turned and said, “I must say, it was generous of you to give Zoya yer amber necklet.”

“What? I didn’t give her anything.”

Egil frowned and muttered, “Damn bothersome wench!”

But then Kirstin thought of something alarming. “Oh, my God!” She turned and began to run back to the keep, yelling over her shoulder to Egil, “Don’t you dare leave until I speak to you.”

Quickly, she made her way to the bedroom she had been sharing with Hauk where he’d placed his travel chest until he could regain his own bedchamber. She opened the lid and began to toss items here and there, searching for the pouch which had held the necklace, which she’d taken off after going to the bathing hut. She soon discovered that not only was the necklace missing, but her two arm rings, as well.

Had Hauk hidden them?

Or Zoya stolen them?

She could take no chances. She ran though the keep and out into the back courtyard again, then raced toward the fjord where the longship was still, thankfully, docked. When she reached the wharf, panting for breath, she told an astonished Egil, “Help me get on the boat and search Zoya’s belongings. She’s taken some important things from me, not just the necklace.”

Nodding, with more swear words under his breath, Egil helped her over the wooden gangway to board the ship. A short time later, they’d searched all of Zoya’s belongings, and her body, as well. Not only did Kirstin find her necklace, and the two arm rings, but a number of Hauk’s belongings as well.

“Thank you,” she said to Egil while two of the sailors held Zoya who would surely attack her. She spoke in a foreign language, possibly Russian, and was clearly hurling curses at Kirstin.

Kirstin put the necklace and two arm rings on, then picked up a sack of Hauk’s belts and brooches, along with some gold coins and a silver chalice. She let Zoya keep the wrist watch she’d placed in Hauk’s trunk when its battery ran out. With a look of disdain at Zoya for her thieving, Kirstin walked back to shore, listening to Zoya screeching the whole time behind her. Egil was not going to have a pleasant journey. Kirstin watched until the longship was out of sight.

Walking back to the keep, she felt like she was still floating in the afterglow of her night with Hauk. She’d told him that she loved him, and she did, which filled her with joy. And fear. Because she wasn’t sure what the future held for them.

She shrugged. It was in God’s hand.

Just then, she noticed some color off to the left, beyond the beached ships. She really hadn’t explored much outside the longhouse. When she got there, she saw a carpet of moss near a bend in the fjord, surrounded by some hardy wildflowers, surprising for this time of year. She decided to gather a bunch to put in water, which would be a cheery sight. Besides, they would be dead once the first frost hit, which came early this far north. On the other hand, she thought, sniffing the flowers, which still retained some fragrance, maybe she could use them in the soapmaking she planned for that afternoon.

Sitting down on the velvety moss a short time later, her back propped against a rock, she thought this was a rather magical spot, the kind little girls would adopt to play pretend games, or a quiet place for older girls to read or write in journals. Looking more closely at the pile of flowers on her lap—Christmas roses, winter jasmine, and irises—she realized they were really rather pathetic, on their last legs, almost dry, not as vibrant as she’d thought. Still, she was reminded of her father’s Blue Dragon vineyard which had a field of wildflowers which was never mowed and therefore provided lovely blooms during three seasons. Moss was abundant there, too, beside the pond.

She closed her eyes and imagined that field, picturing herself as a young girl just lying there on a green mossy coverlet in the midst of a floral bed, no doubt pretending she was some fairy princess, like Sleeping Beauty. Suddenly, a shiver rippled over her skin, and she folded her arms over her chest, her fingers inadvertently touching the arm rings.

With a gasp, she stood, realizing what could happen, but it was too late. Without any warning, she felt dizzy and fainted into the bed of flowers. A short time later, she was home.

But it wasn’t Haukshire.

* * *

Sometimes, love sucks, even for a Viking…

The hunting trip lasted longer than Hauk had anticipated, ten days. Not because they hadn’t found a bounty of large game, but more because they had been so successful and wanted to bring these carcasses back to process for preservation. There would be plenty of time for another, even two additional hunting trips. It was always good to have more food on hand in case the winter was harsher than usual.

The twelve men in his party, divided into six groups, now carried on long poles and a sledge the gutted carcasses and skins of six deer, eight boar, and a moose. Some of them might return for a large bear they’d spotted, but first they would have to skin and cut up this meat and prepare it for drying, salting, smoking, or cold storage in underground pits. Later, they would stretch and dry the skins.

Still some distance from Haukshire, they were greeted by three whooping youthlings, Gorm and his former tormentors, now comrades-in-mischief, who had no business being so far from home, being not yet weaponed, but he couldn’t dampen their eagerness. They were speaking all at once, elbowing each other, jumping up and down, and Hauk found it impossible to decipher what they were saying. In the end, Hauk realized they were simply excited about the outcome of the other hunting parties…fishing, birding, and small game. Apparently, the cold cellar was now filling with the meat of squirrels, geese, ducks, turkey, and sea birds. All kinds of fish had been dried and salted, including cod, haddock, mackerel, halibut, pike, perch, and flounder, according to the three scamps who tried to outdo each other in reciting the names of the catches. And they said that the younger children had been sent out to gather nuts and late mushrooms under Signe’s guidance, which at the present filled two barrels. What these three urchins had contributed wasn’t clear.