by S. W. Gunn
His mother immediately beamed with joy as she said happily, “Oh Daell I’m so happy to have you home with us, even if it will only be for a few short turns.”
Astir loved to see her joy at his return. It was clear that she missed Daell more than any of the other members of his family.
His mother then said, “Excuse me dear while I go prepare the evenin’ meal, Kelda come assist me.”
Daell coughed loudly which Astir recognized it as a hint that it was time to pay her wager. This time she looked to him and it was he who stuck his tongue out.
She laughed at him and then announced, “Mother I am afraid I must request a change of your plans.”
“How so dear?”
“Well you see mother, I had made a wager with my husband over some matter and since I am the one who lost the wager, I must pay my dues.”
His father interrupted, “And what’s this wager lass?”
Daell grinned evilly. She could see that he was enjoying their little game; she had to admit that she was enjoying it as well. She actually looked forward to this attempt to cook because it would be an excellent opportunity to bond with her new mother and sister.
Daell spoke, “Father the Queen of Heima does not know how to cook a proper meal.”
“What!” His father replied loudly with a look of shock on his face.
“No father, it is not part of her duties. So we made a wager that the loser would cook a meal for the winner and this family. I had hoped that this attempt with my wonderful mother would prove more successful than the first.”
Astir noted he added enough information into his response to allow for more questions. He was such a rascal.
“The first?” Daell's brother asked.
She could see the evil smile forming on Daell’s face, he must have been quite happy to have his family fall into the trap.
He replied to his brother, “Indeed Bjard. We had another wager and she lost, however the attempts of the chefs to instruct my wife on the art of cooking had failed.”
Kelda giggled.
Astir decided to join in the fun by saying, “I failed to cook because I was viciously attacked by a bag of grain flour, a pot of fermenting plants and a scalding hot pan. It was through no fault of my own.”
Daell laughed uncontrollably, which brought his family immediately into laughter.
“Sure my Queen, it was the bag of flour that was at fault.” Daell said.
Daell's mother reached her hand out and held Astir's hand before saying, “Come with me dear. I’ll properly instruct you how to cook a simple meal. I’ll also make sure my pot of flour does not stray too close.”
Kelda stood and announced, “I’m comin’ too.”
Astir followed her as his mother guided her through their home and into the kitchen.
Chapter 16
Daell could hear all three of the women in the kitchen laughing and conversing loudly with each other. It warmed his heart that his family had taken to Astir so easily. It was not difficult as she was as wonderful a person as she was beautiful. He glanced back at his father and brother. They were both staring intently at him.
His father said, “Son I have to admit, I’m quite proud of you boy.”
“Thank you father, while the sun still stays in the sky I was wondering if I could show you something.”
“Son it’ll have to wait, I still have the turn's work to finish in the forge. You best grab an apron so we can finish before the evenin’ meal.”
Daell grinned widely at his words. It had been many cycles since he had last worked on a forge. He was hoping that his father would insist they work the forge so that he could spend some of their time together around the forge. It was one of the few things he had in common with his father.
Bjard spoke next, “Daell, I’m happy to see you have returned however like father, I too have work to complete. Father would it be acceptable if I bring my family tomorrow for the evenin’ meal?”
“Aye son.”
Bjard stood and left.
“Let’s get to work.” His father said as he exited out into the forge room.
Daell stood and walked out into the forge. His father tossed an apron to him as he entered the forge room, which Daell immediately put on.
“Son you start on these pressin’ sheets and I’ll work on this batch of shoes. I received an order of shoes for some hestir. Apparently a large caravan is scheduled to arrive sometime this turn and they needed to re-shoe all of the hestir.”
Daell laughed loudly.
“Father would it be possible we trade tasks?”
His father looked confused as he asked, “Son I thought you didn’t like to work the shoes as you considered it a task for a child?”
With a keen smile Daell replied, “That was the old Daell, plus if I am honest with you, that caravan is my own.”
His father laughed and said, “It’d seem to me that makin’ the shoes for one's own caravan is appropriate”
“I had thought so too father.”
“Very well son, I’m just happy to strikin’ the forge again with my son.”
They shifted positions and began to stoke the fire.
“One more thing son.”
“Yes father?”
His father smiled evilly as stated, “Be careful with your pretty hair.”
Daell laughed before stating, “Father, my wife likes my hair long.”
His father nodded before saying, “I could see why you grew it then, we men sometimes have to do things to make the women folk happy.”
“I actually like it.”
His father grunted before saying, “We’ll see how you like it when you get it caught by a flame in that forge your wife’s plannin’ for you.”
Daell chuckled at his words. His father laughed along. They worked the forge in the same ritualistic manner they had before Daell had left. He was reinvigorated by the effort. The dreaming of his childhood when he last worked the forge with his father had long since passed; his dreams were now a reality. He did miss working the forge, and looked forward to his next harvest celebration. Astir had to know that installing a forge on the palace grounds would also immediately keep him within the palace grounds. Daell had explored much; he now longed to go back to the forge. After they completed the tasks that his father had planned, they extinguished the flames of the forge and cleaned up before heading back into their home.
As soon as Daell entered he could smell the food from the evening meal. The smell let him know that his wife, most likely with extensive aid, had cooked a hafr roast with vegetables. It caused him to smile since it was his favorite meal that his mother had cooked. He had yet to find someone who could make it as well as his mother did. Once he got into the dining hall, he could see that his mother and sister had prepared the table for the meal. His sister was the only one sitting in a chair; Astir and his mother were not in sight yet.
“Please have a seat. Astir will be bringin’ the meal shortly.” His sister announced.
Daell nodded and sat. His father gave Daell a quick slap on his shoulder and then took his seat at the table. A few moments later Daell heard the telltale footsteps of people approaching from the kitchen. His mother came out first with several plates of food, and last out was his wife. She had a large plate which held a hafr roast. She smiled broadly as she caught his eyes. He noticed that she was wearing one of his mother's aprons and she looked no worse for wear. Daell had been confident in his mother's ability to aid her. Astir placed the roast in the center of the table and then circled around the table until she sat in the chair next to him.
Daell looked at her as she sat, she was clearly proud of her work which let him know that she did indeed do the majority of the cooking. It was written on her face as though she had conquered some unknown beast in a massive battle.
“It smells delicious my Queen.” He told her.
His mother said, “Daell your wife is a quick study, I suspect her previous issues were through no fault of her own.”
“Of course mother, it was the bag of grain flour.”
He laughed.
Astir rose from her chair and said, “Let me serve you your meal.”
“I would be humbled to have the Queen of Heima serve me.”
She scooped some of the vegetables on his plate and then cut a generous portion from the roast. Taking a knife she cut a piece of the roast and fed him gently.
“So cute.” His sister said.
His father grunted.
“Thank you my love.” Daell told her.
Astir served herself some food and then sat down to eat.
“Daell I think I rather enjoyed cooking. It was quite fun to converse with your mother and sister. They had some interesting tales of your youth to share.”
He could see by the look on her face that she was about to share one of those embarrassing tales. Daell grinned evilly as the moment of his revenge had finally come as he would now share a story that he acquired from Fregna. He decided to let her regale the audience with one of her stories of his youth before he struck.
With a wide smile on her face she began to speak, “Apparently my husband, shorning poor hafr of their fur has not been the only mischief you have caused. It would seem that at one point, you and Hollurn had visited the market and caused quite a commotion with a fight that you started. You both collected several raw eggs and began pelting each other and anyone within striking distance. It had turned into quite the commotion that caused both of your parents many turns of work to replace the damaged eggs. You both were banned from the market for some time as well.”
Glee was written on her face as she told the tale. She must have expected Daell's usual red face of embarrassment. A look of concern crossed her face when she saw an evil smile on his face instead. Daell knew he was going to enjoy this.
He spoke slowly and firmly, “That is indeed a factual story my wife, I however have a much more interesting tale to tell. I would like to ask my family if they would care to hear about the misadventures of a certain Princess later turned Queen.”
Kelda immediately spoke up “I’d love to hear it.”
His mother and father both nodded. He could see the look of concern on Astir's face.
He continued his story, “Well it would seem that my wife and I am a true match, as I was not the only one who had made many late night escapes to places they did not belong. However my wife took her escapades on these escapes to a level unseen by this humble blacksmith's son. You see my family there is this concoction that one can create by mixing certain elements.”
He paused to take in his wife's reaction. As soon as he mentioned mixing, he noticed a look of recognition and immediate embarrassment on her face.
She interrupted him, “Husband if this story is going where I suspect it is headed, you best tread carefully. Vengeance of the Queen can be most unpleasant.”
Daell chuckled as he said, “My Queen I fear I have no choice, for your unfair investigation against my poor friend Hollurn had forced me to start my own investigation, and it appears that a certain Princess turned Queen was once a very naughty young woman.”
His family laughed at their exchange.
She replied haughtily, “Fine, tell your tale husband. I shall mete out justice against you this evening in our bed.”
Daell was surprised by her boldness as usually she did not talk so publicly about their time in the bed. It was clear that she both enjoyed the whole exchange and felt at ease with his family.
He nodded and then continued his story, “I will accept my punishment as my Queen sees fit, however this story must be told to completion. As I had said before, this certain Princess turned Queen, with her future Premier friend, had learned how to mix a concoction. This was a special concoction as you see it has the property to cause a certain reaction when it contacts the skin of a person. To be specific it binds instantly with that person's skin and can be very difficult to remove once contact is made with skin. Apparently this Princess and her friend had mixed a large vat of this concoction and proceeded to apply it to the undergarments within the drawers of the royal guard. They then applied it to every fork within the palace stores. Afterward they finished their evil deed by applying this concoction to their own personal instructor's whacking stick.”
Astir was about as red in the face as the bodice she wore on their first night together. Daell was quite proud of himself. He utilized the biggest story he had at the key time to ensure he would make the most of it. As he completed the story his whole family had laughed so hard they had tears in their eyes.
Once they finally calmed down from his story, his father was the first to speak, “I can see why you have ended up married to my son lass, he was as much trouble as a hafr getting into the stores.”
Astir once again stuck her tongue out at him and said, “I will be seeing you in the evening my King.”
“I look forward to it.”
Astir turned to his mother and asked, “Mother I was wondering something.”
His mother looked curious.
“Yes dear?”
“I was wondering if you happened to own any silfur goblets.”
His family once again laughed except this time however, it was at Daell's expense.
“Well played my Queen.” Daell told her.
She gave him a cheeky smile.
His mother answered her question, “As a matter of fact I do my dear, would you like to see it?”
“Actually mother I would love to see it.”
When his mother returned with the silfur goblet, Daell had to admit that Astir had won this round. He was so embarrassed by it that he had completely forgotten how badly made it was.
Astir held the goblet and commented, “It is well made.”
His father chortled before saying, “Maybe for small child lass, I suspect that my son could craft a far superior goblet with his eyes closed now.”
Daell was flattered deeply by his father. In his entire time blacksmithing with his father, he never received any sort of compliment about his work. Usually it was a nod or a grunt, nothing more.
“Father, I love it. I believe that sometimes something made with emotion is far superior than it may physically appear.”
His father grunted again.
“Would you like to keep it dear?” His mother asked.
Astir shook her head before saying, “Oh no mother, I could never take this from you. It must have very special meaning to you.”
His mother nodded and said softly, “It does, but it would mean so much more to me if you took it. It just sits in a container by my bed. I believe it’ll find a much better audience in your home.”
Daell was doomed. His own mother had been beguiled by his bride, and was now firmly on her side of the fence. The last thing he would need was his wife placing it on some mantle so she could regale the tale behind its existence.
Astir reached out and gently touched his mother’s arm before saying, “Mother I am deeply flattered, and know better than to say no to such a generous gift from you. I know the perfect display location for it.”
Daell interjected, “On the mantle near the portrait of your father?”
It seemed like a perfect location to Daell.
There was a twinkle in Astir’s eyes as she answered, “No husband, I will place it on the drinking stand by my throne.”
Daell groaned. That would mean she could tell the tale to every dignitary, family member and even during every council meeting if she chose.
With an evil grin she continued, “I love you so much that I only wish to share with all of how sweet and caring you are.”
He could easily hear the sound of pleasure in her voice. Knowing he had to strike back, he decided that it was time to call for a complete payment of their wager.
Turning to his father he asked, “Father I was curious about something.”
“Yes son?”
“Have you ever made a wager with your wife about something?”
He nodded and said, �
�Indeed son, durin’ our youth your mother was quite the playful lass. She’s very much your mother.”
“Well I did forget to mention a detail about the wager I made with my wife.”
Astir looked curious. Daell could see in her eyes that she was wondering where he was headed with the conversation.
His father asked, “What detail is that son?”
Daell turned to his mother and asked, “Mother do you happen to have some ben oil?”
Astir laughed before calling out, “Daell Skeidsson, you are truly a rascal!”
He grinned at her.
“Yes I do.” His mother answered.
Daell asked her, “Mother could you bring it to my wife? I believe she would love to borrow it from you.”
His mother looked at Astir and asked, “Dear do you need some ben oil?”
Astir stood as she said, “Yes mother, I do need some ben oil. I will have to make a request of the whole family for this evening however.”
His mother looked curiously at Astir and asked, “What is that dear?”
Moving to the floor by his feet she continued, “Please ignore the screams begging for mercy from your son that you may hear this evening.”
Even Daell had to laugh vigorously at her words.
Chapter 17
Astir stirred awake the next morning. Daell’s old bed was quite small and cramped. However she found that she did not mind since it forced her to have to lie closely next to him, which was something she could do for half a turn, or more, if given the chance. She could hear, and feel, his slow breathing as he continued sleeping. Taking a moment to glance around his tiny bedroom she saw that it was smaller than any room within her palace, even the closets. It made her wonder how many of her people had lived like this. She felt bad about it since she had lived in complete opulence while people like her husband’s family had lived in what could only be described as a hovel and yet they seemed not only happier than people in the palace, but overall a better people. Maybe there is something more to their lifestyle that she had not seen that made them as they were? Her husband finally awoke.
He said groggily, “I hope you do not mind the accommodations? I am afraid my bed was originally only intended for one.”