The Shieldmaiden's proposal [with Fenrir13]
 

The darkness of the night was almost fallen over the Viskan village.
Everything was already covered by a thick coat of snow and the temperature was decreasing quickly, while a thin layer of ice was forming over the calm water of the fjord.
A glacial wind was blowing all over the land, howling in a ghostly way.
A bright fire was lighted in every house and the flames were reflecting over the snow through the slits in the wooden walls.


Freja Skarsgård was stirring with a wooden spoon the mutton stew she was going to eat for dinner, singing softly to herself.

In her youth she had been the best shieldmaiden of the entire territory and many of her shields were decorating the walls of the main hall, along with her sword, and even today, at her forties, she was considered a very strong and independent woman.
Since her husband's death, more then ten years ago, she had been on her own, on the big house next to the hill.
She was wealthy enough to pay some men for cultivate her fields and take care of her sheep, so she was living a comfortable life.
Her only regret was that she never had any children, despite many attempts.
But in time she got used to the solitude, since she had refused to marry again.

That evening, anyway, Freja was peacefully making supper, when suddenly she heard something coming from behind the door of the pantry....something that sounded to her like some clumsy steps.
Since the pantry had a small opening next to the ground for passing wood into the house without going all around the building every time, she knew that sometimes some little animal had tried to sneak in to steal food.

So she stood up, sighing, and she went towards the door with one sharp knife clutched in her hand.
A second after she opened the door with a firm movement.

(Great post ^^ Hope mine is alright, too.)

It wasn´t easy being quiet in a well filled pantry, espacially when you were cold, desperate and couldn´t see what was in front of you. Hakon had knocked over a barrel of expensive southern wine while looking for a bit of bread and maybe ham. It felt like years since he had last tasted meat... but even so, he would only steal as much as he needed. The boy didn´t consider himself a thief. Stupid barrel, he thought, the last think he needed right now was a strong drink because he was quite content just melting snow when he wanted to something against his aching, dry throat.
He took a moment to tuck his loot under his slender, but strong arms and tried to escape the same way he entered, but before he could get away the woman slammed the door open holding a knife in his hand.
"Fuck...", he mumbled and froze, knowing perfectly well that even a small wound could end his life since there was nobody who could treat him. The body of a fourteen year old was a delicate thing.
He didn´t look though, either due to having been poorly fed by his former master. Nonetheless he was above average height for his age and would have been handsome if someone had combed his light blonde hair, which almost fell to his shoulders at this point. The dirty old tunic he wore and the qually shabby pants completed appearance of someone who without a doubt was an escaped slave.
Realizing his situation the boy did the only sensible thing and threw away the food he had wanted to carry away and dropped flat on the ground in front of the woman. "Mistress, I beg your pardon. I am only a poor thrall who needs to feed his weak old father. Forgive me!", he begged. His pride certainly wasn´t very strong, alltough he had found enough courage to run away from his master. However, his story was a lie... he had no intention of returning "home". He had left so his father wouldn´t have another mouth to feed. Which was hard work for an elderly slave who "owned" nothing but a hut and a small field. Big grey eyes watched Freya carefully while she made her decision.

Among all the things she had feared to find in that pantry, a young boy with dirty clothes was the last one, for sure.

She raised the knife for a second, giving him a fierce glance, but then...the boy just threw himself on the ground, begging for forgiveness, catching her totally unprepared.

But after a second of confusion, she shook her head, taking a deep breath.
-Stand up, lad.- she ordered with a stern voice -I want to look at you in your eyes, you little thief.- she said, taking a step back -Come out from there-

The woman observed him, focusing on his worn out clothes and his dirty hair.

-....i should call the Jarl's guards and allow them to taking you away.- she threatened -You know that the punishment for stealing is the cut of the hand?- added a moment later.

She was trying to scare him, wanting to get the truth from him.

-Now, without lying...who are you and where do you came from?- she asked.

Hakon closed his eyes when he saw Freya raising her knife. He thought he was dead for sure, so when she asked him to get up and allow her to get a good look at him he obeyed. After all he had been a Thrall for all of his life. She didn´t need to make any new threats either, he already was terribly scarred. "My name is Hakon Thorgeirson. I come from a farm not far from here and was born a Thrall in the service of my master, Guthrum. Our master recently decided to give a big portion of our field to a warrior of his so we hardly still have enough to survive. Since I´ll only grow and require more food I thought it was for the better if I leave home...", the boy started to explain and looked at the woman with his sad grey eyes.

The woman couldn't avoid noticing how scared the lad seemed.

And she found herself thinking that he looked really sincere to her, with his big eyes.

She listened his story, frowning a bit.

-So...basically you ran away from home.- she said, rolling her eyes -You don't think about your mother? She will be worried. You should go back.- she said again, trying to decide what was the best thing to do.

Freja lowered the knife.

-As i said, maybe i should call the guards and let them handle this...- she repeated.

But then, suddenly, something happened.

A deafening thunder sounded in the sky, while a cold blow of wind seemed to reach them from nowhere, almost magically, since the door was closed.
And a second later one shield, one of Freja's favorites, fell down from the wall, spinning around a few times and the stopping at once.
The arrow carved over the shield was pointing straight to the boy's feet.
The woman felt a shiver running all over his body, just to stop in her womb, catching her breath.
It was like if the Gods were trying to tell her something, something really important, something that she couldn't ignore.

So she looked at him once more.

-....or maybe i have another solution.- she whispered.

"My mother died of a fever ages ago", Hakon answered,"Otherwise I would not have tried to run away. Or at least asked my parents first, alltough they would have surely told me to stay home, thinking I would get killed." For the first time the resemblance of a smile was seen on his face. "By now though father should know that I made it", he claimed, seeing Freya lowering her knife,"So if you have to kill or mutilate me, all I ask for is that you don´t send me back to Guthrums farm."
Then suddenly an omen occured. Hakon held his breath, for he had never experienced something like it. Slaves usually only saw religious ceremonies from afar, so they knew little of the awe aspiring powers of the supernatural. "...what other solution?", the boy asked after a few moments, expecting she would keep him as slave and beat him with a rod, or rather sell him, since this would prevent the possibility of a quarrel with Guthrum who would surely demand Hakon back if he knew what had happened to the lad. It was likely that he would be killed then, because other Thralls likely had already tried to repeat what the boy had accomplished. Killing Hakon therefore, would intimidate them into being obedient again.

-I'm sorry to hear that.- she answered him about his mother, sincerely -And i'm not going to hurt you in any way. You are nothing more than a child.- she added while she slipped the knife between her belt and her hip.

What happened next left them breathless, but Freja was the first to react at the strange phenomenon.

She gave a deep look at her shield, on the ground, before raising her eyes toward Hakon.

-Maybe you can stay here.- she said, suddenly -I have felt the Gods presence many times in my life, during my battles, but they never visited my home before tonight. You have seen what just happened.- she told him, before turning her back to him and marching back to her stew.

-You must be hungry and cold. Come, lad.-

"Thank you... you are so generous, mistress. Could you tell me your name? Mine is simply Hakon.", the boy said happily and sat down opposite to the woman. He was glad to get some hot stew, in fact, it was better than anything he had eaten in quite a while. He felt truly blessed, and promised to thank the gods in some fashion as soon as he had the opportunity.

After Hakon had finished his meal he leaned back a little and sighted. For days he had felt his empty stomaching aching. Now hunger seemed as if it was only a faint memory and he wasn´t cold anymore, either.
"You are such a good cook...", the boy said,"May I have some water, too? I am so thirsty..."
After hesitating he added, " The Gods were truly generous this day. I think we can say that we saw an actual miracle just now."
Then he became a little silent, remembering his mother. The Gods had not shown mercy to her. Right now she probably spent eternity in the nightmarish realm of Hel, the Goddes who claimed all souls who did not die in battle, or as some priest claimed, with a sword in their hands.

-I'm Freja Skarsgård.- she answered, letting him some time to maybe recognize it. After all, she was pretty renowned for many miles around -Are you feeling better now, Hakon?- she asked later, after the boy was fed and warmed.

After that, she nodded her head at his plea, standing up and bringing to him a metal cup full of water -Here you are. Drink.-

Freja did go back to her bench, sitting once more and studying the young man who was right in front of her, trying to decide what to do.

-How old are you, Hakon?- she asked after a while, before his consideration about the Gods.

-Miracles are happening all the time, all around us. The Gods are always with us and tonight they decided to pay me a visit, it seems. I was drowning in self pity, thinking about my only regret, a few hours ago...then suddenly they sent me you.- she smiled a little, observing him very carefully -Like an answer to a prayer.- she concluded.

-Anyway, you must take a bath before that i will let you climb on one of my beds, lad.- she added then -Your hair haven't met any soap in a long time, i guess. I will take a look for something clean that you can wear, also.-

When Freya told the boy her full name his eyes widened as he realized who she was. "That Freya Skarsgård who burned the fleet of Jarl Siegmund and once defeated three champions in a row?", Hakon asked and looked at her with awe. Of course he had heard of her. Many popular songs told of her deeds around these parts.

"Yes, Its been so long since I had a full stomach...", the boy said and smiled. Gratefully he received the water and drank maybe a little too quickly. While he did that he noticed how Freya was studying him. "I am fourteen.", Hakon replied his smile now becoming a little sad, " I know I don´t look like much. At my age most boys are almost trained warriors. But I am strong."

"We should some sort of sacrifice to thank them for their sign", Hakon advised. He didn´t want to come off ungrateful to the gods and for such a special omen he thought they needed to make the kind of offering only a wealthy landowner could make... like a bull or maybe a good horse. Alltough maybe there was already some sort of ceremony in the next few days. The boy scratched his head wondering about that, Freya probably could teach him a lot, since he didn´t know a lot about religous matters. He thought so hard about how he could show his gratefulness that he almost overheard Freya mentioning "her greatest regret".

Hakon nodded when the woman said that he needed a bath before going to bed. He definately agreed with that. Now that the boy was no longer hungry, thirsty and cold he became aware of how dirty he was and how his hair has been itching the entire time.