“Hello again,” Father says in greeting. “I trust you are doing well.”
“Very well,” Dyre replies, his eyes scanning the room until they find me. Instinctively I rise from my seat amongst my siblings and move toward Dyre.
“I see you’ve come to collect my daughter once more,” Father comments wryly.
“Yes, sir,” Dyre replies. It’s ironic for me to hear Dyre refer to someone as ‘sir’ when it’s usually others bestowing those types of respectful words on him. “Hel has become a sort of fixture in my home. I’m not sure what any of us would do without her to brighten our days.”
Father grins proudly, “I’m glad that Hel has found such a happy home with you.”
Dyre ducks his head, embarrassed, undoubtedly thinking about our recent troubles at home. His gaze returns to me as he murmurs, “are you ready?”
I nod, “yes, just let me bid farewell to my family.”
“Of course,” Dyre replies.
Father folds me into his arms and whispers, “I am so proud of the woman you’re becoming, daughter.”
“Thank you, Father,” I reply, my eyes misting up.
Mother is dabbing her eyes sadly as she pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. In my ear, quiet enough that nobody else can hear, she says, “Remember what I’ve told you.”
“I will,” I nod vigorously.
My siblings come and wish me well on my travel home and my entire family files onto the porch as Dyre and I make our leave, me on his back and he on all fours. Once again I’m left turning in my seat to catch a final glimpse of my family before the darkness of night swallow them whole.
“Did you enjoy your visit?” Dyre asks when my family’s new home is long out of sight.
“Yes,” I admit, although my tone sounds unconvincing.
“I’m glad,” Dyre replies, his voice sounding strained.
We travel through the night, Dyre navigating his way through the dark night by magic or sheer memory of the path we follow. The exhaustion of the day washes over me and I drift into a dreamless sleep. Finally, when light dawns and it seems as if we have traveled half the distance to the palace Dyre diverts our course into a dense forest where we make our camp. Dyre lights a fire for warmth as I draw my cloak tighter around myself to fight off the chill of the early morning.
Dyre settles beside me, drawing his thick white legs up to his chest like a child might. Staring into the flames that play across his drawn face, Dyre finally asks, “Did everything I predicted with your mother come to fruition?”
I pause before reluctantly nodding my head, “yes.”
Dyre sighs as if he both feared and anticipated that would be my answer. “Now mind,” he says, “if you have listened to the advice your mother gave you, you have brought bad luck upon us both and then everything that has happened between us these past few months will be as nothing.”
“No,” I nearly choke on the lie, “I haven’t listened to my mother’s advice.”
Dyre exhales audibly, “Good, that’s good.”
I nod wordlessly as guilt gnaws at me.
“I need a few hours rest before we journey the rest of the way home,” Dyre changes the subject.
“Okay,” I murmur agreeably. “Maybe there’s a stream nearby where I can clean myself up a little.”
“Very well,” Dyre replies. “Just don’t stray too far that you get lost.”
“I won’t,” I promise as I stand and leave Dyre to rest after walking through the night carrying me on his back.
Following a rough path through the trees, I come upon a sparkling blue stream. I slip off my soft, well-worn shoes, dipping my toes into the stream to test the temperature. It’s cool, but not so cold that I would become ill bathing in its waters.
After making sure I’m alone I slip off my red gown, dusty from our travels and wade into the middle of the stream, dunking my head under the gentle current to wet my hair.
I break the surface of the stream and wring the excess water from my hair. I feel eyes upon me and I look up sharply. My eyes scan the quiet forest before landing on a man watching me from the shore opposite from where I’ve come. I suddenly feel overexposed in just my wet, white shift and automatically wrap my arms around myself. When the man does not turn or look away I scamper up the bank, out of the stream and run back to where Dyre and I made camp.
I glance over my shoulder several times to make sure the man has not followed me. It dawns on me as I stumble into camp that I left the red gown Rana made me on the shores of the stream, but there's no going back for it now.
I trample through the underbrush as I collapse onto the forest floor beside Dyre.
Dyre is all spread out on the ground, his powerful body looking more at ease than I’ve ever seen him before. My rush to catch my breath causes something in Dyre to stir and he blinks rapidly in the morning sun.
“What’s wrong?” Dyre sits up, alertly scanning the surrounding forest.
“There was a man watching me bathe in the stream,” I murmur, my face turning red in embarrassment.
“Where?” Dyre demands as he gets to his feet. “How far away?”
“Just down the path that way,” I point out the way. “But it’s okay, I don’t think he followed me.”
“I’m going anyway to make sure,” Dyre mutters as he stomps out of our camp, leaving me behind.
Dyre had woken the minute he heard Hel’s panicked footsteps running into the area. He knew something was wrong but when he opened his eyes and saw her standing there in just her slip with her wet hair hanging loose around her face the beast in him roared in approval. After all, under all the fur he was still just a man; a man attracted to a beautiful girl, but when he saw the frightened look on her face he pushed his personal feelings away.
Someone had watched her while she bathed; a man. Dyre growls in anger. Hel is his woman. Well not really, no formal commitments have been made and besides, Hel still doesn’t know he’s a man underneath it all but none of that matters. What matters is someone intruded on Hel’s privacy.
When Dyre reaches the stream he finds it silent and empty as if nobody were ever there; Hel’s dress lies on the ground where she discarded it alongside her boots. Dyre scoops it up with his paw and shakes his head. Since day one it has been one thing after another screwing up things for Hel and him.
All Dyre wants is to get home and let the last few months of this year with Hel play out, so this curse might finally be over. Snorting in frustration Dyre turns and returns to camp.
A quarter hour passes before Dyre returns to our campsite grasping my dress and boots tightly in his paw. I’m pacing by the fire when he returns and I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of him. Dyre has become my savior, not only for the ways he’s constantly watching over me but also for all the things he’s done for my family and me. I realize belatedly I haven’t even thanked him since we left my family’s new house and it’s time I should.
Before I can say anything Dyre says, “Whoever was out there is gone now.”
“I didn’t think he had followed me,” I repeat my earlier thought.
“I know,” Dyre nods his head in that regal way of his. “I just had to see with my own eyes.”
“I see you managed to grab my dress,” I mentally curse myself for stating the obvious.
“Your boots too,” Dyre adds. “They were lying by the stream where you left them.”
I glance down at my feet, noticing for the first time that I ran through the woods barefoot. Along the way, brambles and thorns must have grabbed at my feet if the scratches on my feet are any indication. Dyre’s observant eyes notice only seconds after I do.
“You’re injured,” Dyre comments, “come on, sit down and let me tend to those scratches.”
“It’s nothing,” I protest as I sit in the grass and tear a small strip of fabric off the hem of my shift. I wet the fabric with my tongue and wipe the blood away. The scratches are shallow, barely worth fussing over but Dyre still insists on cro
uching down in front of me to see for himself.
Dyre sighs, “just put your boots on and keep them on until we reach home. I’ll send Rana up to see you when we get back.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, the words come out sounding pathetic.
“It’s no trouble,” Dyre waves off my gratitude.
“Not about this,” I say, “about what you’ve done for my family; especially for Arika.”
Dyre is silent for a long minute, “It was the right thing to do for her. Cade is a good man with a good heart.”
“You have a good heart too, Dyre,” I murmur as I kiss his furry cheek. Dyre seems both delighted and embarrassed by my attention.
“How is your family getting on at their new home?” Dyre asks, surprising me.
“Father’s business is flourishing. He embarks on a raid with Bjorn and Donar, my two eldest brothers, next week. Mother, Kiersten, and Britta are enjoying their new status in a way only they can. I’m sure Kiersten and Britta have made the traveling merchants very rich these past months. Espen and Leif have such agreeable personalities they would be happy anywhere. I think Axel is the one having the hardest transition. He’s a hard worker; he’s not used to things coming so easily.”
We lapse into silence and I find myself asking, “Do you miss your family?”
“Yes, I miss them terribly,” Dyre replies without hesitation. He sits down in the grass beside me and stares into the fire.
“What happened to them?” I ask quietly. The last time I asked Dyre about his family he shut me out, but so much has happened since then.
“My mother became ill quickly. Some disease a traveling merchant or warrior brought to the palace from foreign lands. I was briefly affected by it but got better after several weeks’ time. My mother was not so lucky. She died when I was barely out of boyhood. My father remarried not long after but he died a few years later. He was murdered.” Dyre’s tone turns bitter and angry.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him, placing my hand on his front leg. Dyre winces and I realize I’ve placed my hand over the wound from the hunter’s arrow. Clearing my throat I say, “Tell me about them, about the good times I mean. What were your parents like?”
Dyre doesn’t look up from the fire as he calls up a forgotten memory. “My mother was the kindest being you could ever meet. She was beautiful and caring, and she just loved everyone and everything with all her heart. And everyone loved her in return.”
I smile at Dyre’s description of his mother, “and your father?” I prompt.
“My father wasn’t quite as open with his feelings as my mother,” Dyre replies, “but he loved us in his own quiet way. He cared about the creatures around him, but he also expected the best of everyone. He wanted everyone to rise to their full potential. After mother died he was never quite the same. His judgment became clouded and in the end someone he believed he could trust betrayed him in the most lethal way.”
I feel sad for Dyre, losing his parents only a few years apart. I can’t imagine losing Mother or Father, let alone them both within such a short time and in such cruel manners. Dismissing the miserable thought I ask, “But before that, was your youth happy?”
Dyre nods eagerly, “Oh yes, my youth was everything a boy could ask for and more.”
I’m struck by the phrasing of Dyre’s comment. I know he’s very much male, but do animals think of themselves as boys and girls, men and women? I file the thought away for later and instead say, “You said your father remarried. What happened to your stepmother?”
“I don’t want to talk or think about her,” Dyre snaps. I reel back at his tone and he finally looks up, sensing my shock. Dyre’s expression softens, “I’m sorry. My father’s years with my stepmother were an unpleasant time in my life and I’d rather not relive them.”
“It’s alright,” I smile weakly. “I understand. Some things are just too hard to talk about.”
“Exactly,” Dyre nods. His posture shifts, “We should get going so we make it back to the palace before darkness falls again.”
“Oh, yes I suppose you’re right,” I answer, noting the finality in his tone. My trip into Dyre’s past is firmly over.
Dyre bends onto all fours, allowing me to mount his back again. We leave the forest behind in our wake as Dyre returns to the smoother path around the forest. I lose myself in thoughts of everything I’ve seen in the past day while Dyre mutely carries me home.
Chapter Ten
We arrive back to the palace as twilight descends on the world. The guards are quick to open the palace door and let us inside. The guard that helped me with the water I needed for Dyre’s wound tips his head to me in greeting as I dismount from Dyre’s back and follow him down the corridor.
Just like the first time I entered the palace, the staff materializes the minute Dyre and I enter the receiving room. Rana, Gustav, and the other male servant whose name I’ve yet to learn look relieved to see me.
“Hel, we’re so glad you’ve returned,” Rana dematerializes before appearing right in front of where I stand. She pulls me into a surprisingly strong hug. Behind her, Gustav nods his agreement. My brow furrows. It’s almost as if they were afraid I wouldn’t come back.
“It was nice visiting with my family, but this is my home now,” I smile to reassure them. My words seem to satisfy them because I notice when they visibly relax.
“Hel,” Dyre says my name to capture my attention. He gestures to a second female servant standing at Gustav’s side, “I’d like you to meet Siglynn. Now that Rana is acting as your personal attendant, Siglynn will be taking Rana’s place in the kitchens. She’s also Gustav’s fiancée.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, milady,” Siglynn curtsies before me. The mist that surrounds Siglynn is a majestic blue that compliments her long wavy hair and sweet face. Even the maid’s uniform looks like the fashion of a noblewoman on her hourglass figure. Her smile makes me want to get to know her, so unlike the welcome I received from Gerda on my first day at the palace. My smile cracks as memories of Gerda and the poisoning slip into the forefront of my mind. I quickly push them back to the recesses of my mind where they belong.
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too, Siglynn.” I say, restoring a full smile to my face, “but please, just call me Hel.”
“Of course, Hel,” Siglynn nods her head before stepping back beside her beaming fiancé.
“See, I told you that the two of them would instantly like each other,” Gustav smiles slyly at Dyre.
“Yes, yes, you were right,” Dyre rolls his eyes. “Do you ever tire of reminding me?”
Gustav laughs, the sound echoing around the room, “never.”
“Be nice,” Siglynn scolds her fiancé and I like her even more for it. Turning back to Dyre and I she asks, “Should we set out dinner in the great hall?”
“Yes, if you would,” Dyre replies.
“I’ll take your things upstairs,” Rana comes forward to claim the bag Dyre brought with us. I momentarily panic before I remember I retrieved the small candle my mother gave me from a secret panel in my dress after Dyre retrieved it from the river bank. “I’m sure you’ve worked up an appetite on your trip home.”
“Oh yes,” I reply as I place a hand over my rumbling stomach. “I’m afraid I haven’t eaten since I dined with my family last night.”
“Shame on you, sire,” Rana scolds Dyre, “for not properly feeding this girl. She must be starving by now.”
Dyre lowers his head in shame, “I’m sorry, but I only brought enough from the kitchen to get us through the first night.”
“You need better forethought,” Rana pats Dyre’s snout affectionately. Turning back to me she continues, “now you, young lady; get yourself over to the great hall. Dinner will be served momentarily.”
“Thank you, Rana,” I grin appreciatively as I excuse myself to enter the great hall. Dyre stays to talk to his attendants for a few extra minutes.
Quicker than is humanly possible Rana and Siglynn e
nter the great hall through the servant’s door between the kitchen and great hall. Their arms are laden with plates of intoxicating smelling food. They set the food down in front of me and remove the plate coverings. Steam wafts up and I inhale deeply.
“Everything smells delicious,” I praise Rana and Siglynn. Siglynn moves to serve me but I move quickly to stop her, “don’t worry, I can serve myself.”
“But milady,” Siglynn protests, “I mean Hel-”
“Don’t waste your breath,” Rana tells her as she grins over at me. “This one is a stubborn one.”
“It’s true,” I agree. “I haven’t lost the want to do things for myself.”
“That’s an admirable trait,” Siglynn replies as she steps back. Together she and Rana bid me a good meal and disappear from the room, leaving me alone. I help myself to a little bit of everything on the table and pour myself a goblet of the fruity drink sitting in a large pitcher. I’ve missed the taste while I was away.
I lean back in my seat, relaxing before I indulge in the feast Rana and Siglynn have brought for me.
“Feel better?” Dyre asks, entering the room after I’ve eaten some of what I put on my plate.
I nod, wiping my mouth with a cloth, “much better now.”
Dyre snorts back a laugh as he sits down at the head of the table. He intensely watches me finish my meal, making me squirm uncomfortably. I finally swig the last sip of the fruity drink in my goblet and push back from the table.
“I’m exhausted from the trip back; I think I might turn in early,” I tell him, getting nervous under his unyielding scrutiny.
“Sleep well, Hel,” Dyre replies, standing to watch me leave the room.
“I will,” I nod, ducking out of the room and crossing the receiving room to the grand staircase. As I climb up to the second floor I worriedly wonder if Dyre knows about the candle I have hidden in my gown. I quickly dismiss the thought. There’s no way he could know about that.
My bedchamber looks the same when I step inside and I realize just how much I’ve missed this room while I was away. Rana appears out of nowhere, startling me as she offers to help me get ready for bed.
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