“Go back? Are you not well? I can run for a healer faster on my own.” He grabbed his clothes and hurried into them.
“It’s not me.” She bent over and braced herself against her knees she trying to calm her racing heart. “Something bad is happening, or will happen, I don’t know.”
Stopping with his shirt midway over his head, he let it slowly slide down into place. “What are you saying?” He held out her undergarment, and she gasped having forgotten how she appeared, she quickly dressed.
“I don’t know what I’m saying exactly and I can’t be sure. It’s just that something feels wrong.”
“This is what happened before isn’t it? I thought you talked to that woman about it. Did she not help you?”
“We didn’t get a chance to finish talking. Oh Klaus, I’m sorry, we need to go back.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she paced again.
Stepping in front of her, Klaus wrapped her in his arms and she sagged into him, clutching his shirt between her fingers.
“It is too dark to travel now, but we will leave at first light.” He brushed the hair away from the side of her face. Keeping her eyes closed, she nodded.
A few moments later Agnethe’s breathing settled, and the tears dried. Klaus helped her to sit by the fire again and pulled her into his lap, wrapping the blankets around their shoulders.
I’m being such a child. “Thank you for being willing to go back. I’m sorry to ruin our time here.”
“You aren’t ruining anything. I wish I could know more of what has upset you though.”
“I wish I could explain it better. It’s like something terrible has happened, or will happen, but not knowing what it is. Or even if it’s real.”
“I will protect you. I’ll not let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” she smiled, “It’s not me. That’s what makes it harder to explain, it’s like someone else is in danger and I don’t know who or why.”
“We’ll go back in the morning. For now, rest if you can.” Nodding, she leaned into him and enjoyed the feel of his arms around her.
At some point she must have fallen asleep and Klaus carried her to bed because she woke with a start. It took her a few seconds to recognize where she was as he gently shook her shoulder.
“Watching you sleep is so enjoyable I didn’t want to wake you,” he said. “But, it’s about daybreak, and we should get going, if you still want to leave.”
Agnethe rubbed her face and stretched. “Yes, thank you for waking me. I’ll get some breakfast started.” As she pushed the blankets aside to get up, the smell of porridge startled her. “Have you already made it?”
“I woke early and thought I would help.”
She gazed at him with a soft expression, “How have I gotten so lucky?” Throwing her hands around his waist she squeezed.
“Wait until you taste it, you may not have the same feelings. I know how it’s made, but I’m not very good at it.” He chuckled and then added, “Whenever it’s my turn to cook with the men, someone always volunteers to do it instead. So, you are fully warned.”
“I’m sure I will love it.”
Wrapping one of the blankets around her shoulders to ward off the morning chill, she scooped some porridge into a bowl. Several lumps dropped in and she bit her lip to keep her face neutral. When she took a bite, she had to squish the sticky ball of mush apart with her tongue to force it down her throat.
“Mmm, you did well.”
Klaus laughed until he double over. “At least now I know what you look like when you lie. I appreciate the effort, but perhaps we can warm up some of the ham instead.”
“I think that would be best.” She tried to hide her chuckle, but it escaped and Klaus joined in with her.
After a quick clean up, they left the cabin and started the long walk back with a hurried pace. A gnawing feeling of dread, scratched at Agnethe’s nerves and gave her a pounding headache, but she did not tell Klaus. A worried expression had graced his face since they’d left and she didn’t want to add to his fears.
17
Tragedy Strikes
The early afternoon streets of Saxebi were crowded with people by the time they arrived. Gray, overcast skies like a heavy blanket pushed Agnethe further into her fears. Putting a finger to his lips, Klaus moved Agnethe behind him when they reached the open front door of their home. Clutching his tunic, she peeked around as they entered. There was no fire, benches were overturned, and it looked as if a storm had blown through the room. The loom was broken into pieces and unravelled string stretched across the floor. Torn blankets and furs lay scattered everywhere.
What happened?
Agnethe stifled a scream with a hand over her mouth and ran from Klaus to the prone body of Solaug near the far wall. Agnethe rolled her over and sighed when her cousin moaned. Glancing up to Klaus she screamed.
“Behind you!”
Klaus spun in time to block a blow aimed at his head. Trond snarled and swung again, but Klaus ducked under his arm and knocked them both to the ground. Agnethe held her breath, but another moan from Solaug drew her attention.
“You. Shouldn’t.” Solaug tried to talk, but it was a broken whisper.
“Shh, don’t talk, save your strength,” Agnethe cooed and brushed the hair away from Solaug’s swollen face. There were bruises on her cheeks, a split in her lip and her nose appeared broken. From the moaning when Agnethe adjusted her, she knew there were more injuries over the rest of her body as well.
“Trond.”
“I know. I know. You’re safe now. Save your strength. I need to get a healer.” Agnethe’s voice was thick as tears streamed down her face. This can’t happen.
Solaug tried to move her hand and Agnethe reached to hold it, her cousin’s weak grip made tears fall faster. A healer won’t make it in time. Behind her, the men grunted and smashed furniture as they slammed into each other, but she ignored it.
“Solaug, please stay with me." Don’t leave me too.
“You. Made.” Solaug coughed from the effort, leaning to her side, and blood trickled out of her mouth.
“Don’t talk, please.”
Solaug swallowed, “I was happy. Here. With you.”
“No. No. Don’t do this.”
Solaug smiled, a crooked broken smile and her hand went limp. Agnethe yanked Solaug to her chest and rocked. In the back of her mind she noticed the silent room, but didn’t care. Another person she loved had been ripped from her life.
Will I ever get to keep my family?
A gentle hand on her shoulder made her jump.
“Get away!”
“Agnethe,” Klaus said, kneeling beside her.
“This isn’t right.”
“No, it isn’t.” Klaus reached for her, but she leaned away, clutching Solaug harder. “She’s gone, Love. Let her go.” With gentle yet firm hands, he pulled Agnethe away from her cousin, cradled her in his arms and carried her outside. Sliding down the rough walls of the house, he held her while she sobbed.
Finally, with nothing left but random hiccups, she glanced at Klaus. “You’re hurt again.”
He huffed and brushed his fingers through her hair. “It’s nothing. Just need a bit more of your loving care, I guess.”
She sniffed and wiped away the remaining tears. “Did you kill him?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I hope he suffered more than Solaug. “What now?”
“On the boats, we explain what happened, then everyone decides by vote if they thought the killing was justified. I don’t know what happens in a town like this.”
“A representative of the council needs to come. But I mean, what now for us?”
“Oh.” Klaus stroked her hair in silence. “I won’t leave you alone and joining me to fight is not an option.”
Neither of them spoke for several minutes. I have no more family, Klaus will leave to fight, and I don’t know my mother’s secret. That woman knows.
“I can’t live here any m
ore. When you leave, I’m going to find that woman again. She has information that I need and maybe I can stay with her.”
Klaus twisted, so they sat face to face. “I am not leaving without you, and that’s that.” He cocked his eyebrow at her and pressed his lips together into a tight line.
“Alright.” Plucking at a string on her apron, she kept her eyes focused on her lap. “What happens next then?”
“We’ll go home, to my settlement. We can start our life there where it’s quiet and peaceful. You’ll like it. It sits on the edge of the river in a bay, with rolling hills in the distance and rich farm land all around. Along the way, we can look for that woman if you want.”
“That sounds nice.” She tried to picture the home he described. It was everything she wanted, but a part of her still didn’t believe it was true.
“We’ll get some sheep and I’ll build you a loom, if you want.”
“Yes, very much. But, what about joining the men?”
“I’ll send word of what happened, but you are more important to me than anything else.”
“I’m afraid,” she whispered.
He pulled her tight to his chest. “I will keep you safe, Agnethe. I promise.”
“Will you keep yourself safe as well?”
“As much as possible, yes.” He leaned back and lifted her chin. “I will not leave you.”
“Everyone else has.” Two tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I won’t. We’ll build our farm, have children, and grow old together.” He brushed her face with his thumb. “On our way I can tell you about the others who farm with us. You might need to prepare for my mother. Thornhild, is a—strong woman.” The corner of his mouth quirked up.
“I love you.”
“And I you.”
They both turned as two men approached the house laughing and called out to Klaus. “I thought you were heading to a cabin. That as far as you got?”
Klaus and Agnethe stood up, and the men turned serious when they saw the blood.
“What has happened?”
“Garran. Erik.” Klaus said as he clasped their arms in greeting. “There has been trouble and a council representative needs summoned.”
“I’ll go, but should you leave for the boats first?” Erik asked.
“There is no guilt against me. You remember the man I fought not long ago right out here?”
“Yes,” they said together.
“The coward that slunk away like a whipped dog with his mother,” Garran added.
Klaus huffed a half grin. “That’s the one. He returned and murdered my wife’s cousin, Solaug.” Shifting his weight, his expression hardened. “His death was my right. And my honor.”
Erik nodded and gripped Klaus’ arm before heading away at a brisk pace toward the center of town. As Agnethe watched him leave, a woman stepped out of the shadows. It was the hooded woman.
18
A Secret Restored
“She's back,” Agnethe gasped, drawing Klaus’ attention. “I need to speak with her alone. Do you mind?”
“Let me get a bench for you and bring it out here.”
Agnethe nodded and smiled.
“Can you help me, Garran?” He followed after Klaus without hesitation.
“They needn’t run away from me,” The woman said as she approached Agnethe.
“They are retrieving a bench for us. I’d rather not go inside,” Agnethe said.
“Something has happened then.”
“Yes, I was overwhelmed with sadness again, stronger than ever, but I didn’t make it back in time to help.”
The two men came out of the house with the bench and set it down near Agnethe. Klaus acknowledged the woman who smiled and dipped her head in return.
“We will be just over there,” he pointed to a cart alongside of the road. “If you need me, call out.”
Agnethe smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He hugged her close and then kissed her tenderly, but with enough strength to let her know he didn’t like leaving. When he walked away, she could feel heat in her cheeks as she turned to the woman.
“Shall we sit,” she asked.
“Thank you.” The woman waited until the men walked away and then sat down, only pulling her hood back enough to see her face.
Why does she hide? “I didn’t get your name last time we spoke,” Agnethe said.
“No, I didn’t offer it. You need to know what I have to say before I tell you who I am. I don’t want my identity to cloud your ability to hear me.”
That’s not worrisome at all. “Alright. The council member will be here soon, so we don't have much time.”
“Long ago, Skuld, the Norn of future fate, had a piece of thread stolen from her and it was used to weave the fate of a human woman together with a spell that binds Midgard to Asgard by the goddess Freya. That woman would have the ability to heal like Eir and See like Frigg and using those gifts, she’d strengthen the spell so it would last until Ragnarok.”
“Why would Freya do such a thing? Her magic is more powerful than anyone other than Odin.”
“She taught Odin his magic,” the woman chuckled. “The two of them made the spell together actually, but even their powers cannot bind another realm forever. Someone from that realm must add their powers as well. At the time they did not have a Midgardian that was trustworthy to help them. Freya used the thread so that by the time the spell was weakening, the woman would be available.”
“You can’t mean me,” Agnethe leaned away from her.
The woman reached out to her and patted her hand. “No child, it is not you. However, the spell is weakening, and the one needed will arrive soon. Your premonitions attest to that. In order to keep the lineage protected, only one woman was told of the fate of her future descendent. It is arcanum knowledge, and that woman was charged with telling only her daughter. The secret would pass through the generations from mother to daughter. Your mother knew of it.” The woman watched Agnethe, letting her realize what she implied.
“That’s what she was going to tell me. But you said it wasn’t me.” Agnethe furrowed her brow and started to get up to pace. Holding her hand, the woman kept her on the bench.
“You mustn’t worry,” she glanced over to Klaus and raised her eyebrows at Agnethe so she would stay calm. “You are not the one who will strengthen the spell, but you must know of it to pass it on to your own daughter.”
“Will it be her? My daughter? What will happen to her? There must be dangers to someone like that.”
“Slow down, stay calm. There are always dangers in this life as you well know. I don’t know if it is your daughter, or hers, but it is coming.”
“What do I do now?”
“You live your life, hold the secret within yourself and pass it on at the right time. No one else can find out for your protection.”
“You called my feelings premonitions, are they because of this?”
“I believe so, as a small portion of the gift of Sight. I can help you to learn how to cope with them and keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed.”
“Will you tell me who you are now? How do you know all of this if it is only told to one woman at a time?”
“My name is Gersemi and Freya is my mother.”
Agnethe held her breath and stared at the woman. Freya’s daughter. How can that be?
“Breathe, dear.”
Agnethe sucked in a deep breath and swallowed.
“Shall I continue?”
Agnethe nodded, not able to form words as she listened.
“I left Asgard a long time ago thinking I could live a regular life with a human man that I fell in love with. Unfortunately I didn’t think through how I would not age or change as he, or my children, did. Eventually I had to fake my death and allow my family to move on without me. I did not go back to Asgard however, but by tying my daughter to the spell, my mother drew me back to her, hoping to keep me at her side.”
“So. . .my family. . .we. . .
?”
“Yes, you are a direct descendent of the gods. Which is why you cannot let anyone know. Asgard has many enemies. Do you understand?”
“I think so.” Agnethe nodded, “Yes, I do. As much as it both makes sense and doesn’t, I know who I am now.”
“Good. Now I need to be going, but let me help you with your premonitions quickly before the men arrive.”
Agnethe stood watching the flames of another pyre rise into the air. This time, however, her hand was entwined with that of her husband, and she didn’t wonder what was to happen to her. They were leaving that afternoon to head for Klaus’ settlement and start their new lives together. A tear slid down her cheek as she thought of how Solaug would have loved to have seen it, but she closed her eyes and wished her cousin well in the afterlife. There was hope in her heart now and she would keep only the good memories.
Klaus wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against him. Others in the crowd began to disperse and Agnethe noticed Bierka, Heidrun and Malfrid huddled together, but none of them looked her way. Trond’s body would be buried and left ignored so he entered the underworld as a coward for all time. A small part of Agnethe felt pity for her aunt.
“Are you ready?” Klaus asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
Looking up at him, she held his gaze with a soft smile. “Yes, I am. Let’s go home.”
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