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GLOSSARY
Ābandmuos
Evening meal
Dingstat
Meeting-house
Furimund
Breakfast
Huntinna
Bitch
Huora
Whore
Jarl
Earl
Kuhhina
Kitchen
Pfaffo
Parson
Saga
Saw
Seifarēr
Idiot
Swīn
Swine
Ung-menni
Youth
Wirtun
Housewife
AUTHOR’S NOTE
While every effort has been made to preserve historical accuracy throughout this story, some elements of Norse culture remain a mystery or are disputed among historians. Therefore, some aspects of Norse life and beliefs have been “borrowed” from the known practices of surrounding nations while others are fictitious.
Sigrid: Spurned (Sneak Peek)
Sigrid is wary of men. She makes up her mind that she will never allow herself to be forced into a marriage she doesn’t want or be subject to a man who will mistreat her. So far, there has been no one that she trusts enough to let down her guard. Her friend Einar thinks she’s special but as far as she’s concerned, he’s firmly in the friend zone.
When the King comes to her village with his men, the handsome Hagen is determined to catch her attention. He is charming and thoughtful and she soon finds herself deeply in love with him.
But Hagen doesn’t return as he promised and Sigrid is left to wonder what happened to him. And then she has to face the consequences: she is tainted with the scandal that his actions caused.
Sigrid is hurt and angry at his betrayal and when she is faced with an opportune moment for revenge, she takes it, unleashing far greater trouble than she could have imagined.
Einar steps in to rescue her and inadvertently creates another problem. Will she be able to see that he cares for her? Or will her anger and distrust push him away? Will she ever find happiness?
This novella is Book 4 in the Viking Guardians series.
CHAPTER 1
Sigrid looked up as she walked down the road towards Leopolda’s house. She could hear someone approaching on horseback along the road that led to the south. A moment later, three strangers came into view.
“Heill, maid of Merilant!” one of the men greeted her.
“Heill,” she replied, the greeting of the land rolling easily off her tongue.
“We wish to speak with the village leader,” he said. “Can you tell me where we might find him?”
“He is my father. I will take you to where he is working,” she said.
She led them to the field where Alfonso and her brother Farvald were planting a crop.
“Heill!” the stranger called.
Alfonso looked up from his work. He stopped the oxen and walked over to the men.
“Heill,” he returned the greeting. “How may I help you?”
“We are messengers sent by King Haakon,” the man responded. “My name is Dag and we have come to tell you that the King has chosen Merilant to visit. He wishes to spend some time in some of the Christian villages in the realm to see how they differ from the other villages in the land. You might recall that the King is a Christian himself.”
“Of course,” Alfonso replied, but he looked wary. “This is a great honor,” he added, lest the messengers think he was unhappy about the idea.
“The King will arrive in a month when the moon is full,” Dag told him. “This will give you time to prepare the food and lodging suitable for the king’s needs. He will be bringing thirty armed men with him for protection.”
“How long will he require lodging?” Alfonso asked.
“He will stay for three days. During this time, he wishes to observe your farms, your religious practices, and the health and happiness of the village.”
“Is he aware that we are sabbatati Christians?” Alfonso asked, holding his breath. It had been a long time since they had left their homeland of Alemannia so that they could worship as they chose, but the memories were fresh. Kings did not necessarily appreciate the way they practiced their faith.
“He is,” said the messenger. “He wishes to attend one of your worship services so his stay will include the seventh day.”
Alfonso looked alarmed.
“Do not worry,” said Dag, mistaking the cause of his alarm. “The King will be satisfied with whatever hospitality you provide. He is accustomed to travelling throughout the land and he and his men often lodge in places with a little luxury.” He turned to the other men. “Our task here is done,” he said. “We will see you in a month,” he told Alfonso. Then the three of them wheeled their horses around and galloped up the road.
Sigrid and Farvald stood gazing at their father in shock. The King? Coming here to Merilant? Such a thing was unthinkable!
Alfonso was worried. “This is not good news,” he said, looking uneasily after the departing horses.
“Why, Father?” asked Farvald.
Alfonso looked at him. “You were too small to remember when we left Alemannia to come here.” He turned to Sigrid. “And you were born here. But before we left Alemannia, the rulers of the land made laws governing the way we could worship. Some of those laws conflicted with our particular beliefs. So, we left Alemannia to come here, where the rulers of the land had no argument with how we practiced our faith.”
“Yes, we have heard this story,” Farvald reminded him.
“Sorry. I was just remembering.”
“How does that affect us now?” Sigrid wanted to know.
“The King is a Christian, the same as the rulers of Alemannia. I am worried that he might make the same kind of laws in this land. Laws that would prohibit us from practicing our faith as we choose.”
Suddenly Sigrid understood why he was worried. “So, that would mean that we would have to leave this land, too?” she asked.
“I hope it does not come to that,” he replied. “I hope the King is merely taking a friendly interest in the Christians of this land and does not intend to make laws regarding worship practices.”
“Well, the laws would apply to everyone,” Farvald argued. “There are many more pagans than Christians in this land. The King would have to force them to submit, too. And you must remember that it is the Thing councils that pass the laws. They must also be convinced.”
“You are right,” Alfonso conceded. “The King would have a big job and probably a few wars on his hands if he tried to force the people of this land to change their ways.”
“He has not the numbers to do so at this point,” Farvald said. “For now, I think we are safe, Father. Do not worry about what tomorrow will bring.”
“You are right, Son,” Alfonso agreed. “We will face trouble when it comes instead of taking it to heart now.”
Sigrid turned to leave. “I will tell Mother,” she said. “We will need to start making arrangements for the King’s lodging.
Einar’s ox-cart rumbled along the road to Merilant as he took a load of sawn timber to the house Torsten was building. Soon it would be finished and his brother would wed Frida. He was happy for his brother; Frida would make a good wife and it was a love match. He looked up as they approached the village.
“Greetings, Sigrid!” he called to Frida’s sister who was walking towards him with a basket over her arm.
“Greetings, Einar!” she replied.
Her long, silky blonde hair hung down her back and her blue eyes wore a smile. E
inar felt his heart skip a beat; she was beautiful and dainty and he felt big and clumsy beside her. But he knew she was also fierce; she had bravely protected Frida during her long fight to avoid marriage to Fritjof. He shuddered as he thought of how he’d arrived just in time to save Sigrid from being raped by Fritjof. He had never been so grateful to be in the right place at the right time.
Since then, they had become friends; Einar wished it could be more. But Sigrid seemed content to smile and exchange friendly greetings and Einar wondered if they would ever share more personal confidences. Was it because she wished to marry a man from her own people who shared her beliefs? He could understand that. Or was it because she simply did not find him attractive? He was tall and broad-shouldered, with large hands and feet and a thick shock of fair hair that always seemed to be untidy. He knew he wasn’t the most handsome man on earth; was he too big and ugly for her?
In truth, it was none of those things. Sigrid had seen her sister almost forced into a marriage where she would be treated little better than a slave; Fritjof had thoroughly tricked their father into an agreement that was legally binding and then had used the power of the Thing council to enforce it. Since then, Sigrid had been terrified of marrying a man who didn’t love her and treat her with respect. In her mind, it was safer to remain unmarried than to endure a life of suffering and misery with the wrong man.
Now, as she looked at the man standing before her with his ox-cart, she saw someone who had proven himself worthy of her friendship and that was where she was content to leave the matter. But she had some news for him.
“There is news!” she said, excited to share something new.
“What is that?” he asked.
“The King and his men are coming to stay in Merilant!” she exclaimed.
“That is big news!” he agreed. “When are they coming?”
“In a month.”
“And what is the purpose of their visit?”
“The King is doing a tour of the Christian villages in the land. He wants to know how they fare.”
“He is a Christian also,” Einar stated.
“He is.” A shadow crossed her face. “But he is not of the same Christian faith as we are. Father is concerned that he might pass laws that make it difficult for us to worship as we do now.”
Einar wanted to soothe the worried look from her face. “You forget that the Thing has greater power than the King,” he said. “The King cannot pass laws without the consent of the Thing. He is still very powerful, it is true, but he does not have the final say on the matter.”
She looked relieved. “Perhaps Father has forgotten that fact,” she said. “I will remind him. He is worried that we might have to leave the land again as we did in Alemannia.”
“Do not fear,” Einar said. “I am sure that King Haakon simply wants to ensure that all is well in the land.”
“I hope you are right,” she said, then changed the subject. “Are you helping Torsten today?”
“I am,” he said. “He wants the house to be ready so that he and Frida can marry in the haust.”
“Frida is happy now,” Sigrid said. “Torsten will make her a good husband.”
“He is a good brother,” Einar agreed. He looked at the sky. “I must deliver this load to him,” he said. “He does not like waiting when we have the chance to work.”
“And I must take this bread to Leopolda,” Sigrid replied. “She was feeling poorly so my mother made her some food.”
“You are kind neighbors,” Einar said. “Have a good day, Sigrid.”
She smiled at him and he wished that they could spend more time together. Perhaps out of friendship something more could grow. He could live in hope.
Sigrid watched Einar continue on his way to deliver the building materials to Torsten. She hadn’t forgotten how he had saved her from Fritjof. Ironically, the same incident that had shown Einar to be worthy of her friendship had made her afraid of being married to a man who could control and possess her as he chose. Einar was large and strong and handsome, but that didn’t mean that he would make a good husband. Still, if she ever decided to marry, perhaps it would be to someone such as Einar. After all, he’d placed his own safety on the line to save her from Fritjof. But if she were ever to wed, it would be to someone who clearly loved her. She would never marry for convenience or because it suited the rest of the family. Perhaps she would find a husband at the next eindingida. The annual event would be happening again in the autumn and many of her friends had been successful at finding love with young people from other Christian villages.
She dropped the basket at Leopolda’s house and turned to go home.
“Mother, are you inside?” she called as she opened the door.
“I am here,” Minna replied from the kitchen.
“I have news, Mother,” Sigrid said.
“What is that?”
“The King is coming to stay here in Merilant for three days.”
Minna gasped. “Surely, you must be joking!”
“I am not,” Sigrid replied. “He wishes to visit the Christian villages in the land.”
Minna wrung her hands together in a gesture of agitation. “Entertaining a king is something we have never done,” she said. “It will take much preparation. How long do we have?”
“The king will be here in one month. But his messengers assure us that he is not demanding and will be satisfied with our hospitality.”
Minna paced around the kitchen, thinking aloud. “We must find the king lodging. And food. And make sure that his horses are cared for.”
“He will be bringing thirty men with him,” Sigrid said.
Minna gaped at her. “Thirty men?” she gasped.
Sigrid grinned. “Come on, Mother, the village fed the refugees from Myrkvior Fjall until they could build homes of their own and there were at least thirty of them.”
“But that was different,” Minna argued. “We cared for them because they were homeless and needed our hospitality. This is the King! We will surely fail to entertain him to the standards to which he is accustomed.”
Sigrid rolled her eyes. “Father was fretting that the King will force us to worship his way and you are fretting about entertaining him. Parents!”
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When Halvar takes his younger sister Freja to the festival of the Disting, he expects her to be on her best behavior. After all, she’s supposed to be finding a husband.
But Freja cannot help herself. Wild and free-spirited, she is a skilled archer and a keen competitor who ignores the rules for women in her society. She finds a way to join the men-only archery competition and her talent catches the eye of a jarl, who decides he must meet her.
Freja’s mind is as sharp as her aim and she eagerly engages in the discussions surrounding the politics of the land. The jarl has never met a woman like Freja and he cannot stop thinking about her.
But with trouble looming in the form of a new king, the jarl must do his best to keep his people safe and he is forced to attend to political matters. When the crisis passes, the jarl’s thoughts turn to Freja. Is the difference in their social status too great? Can they be together? Or must the jarl bow to the will of the people and take a wife who will offer a political advantage?
This novella is set in the days of King Haakon the Good of Norway, a time when the Vikings left their homelands to raid and plunder; when Christianity was making tentative approaches and kings fought for the right to rule.
MORE TITLES BY KAITLYNN CLARKSON
Eira: Banished (Viking Guardians Book 1)
Eira has some unusual talents. Unfortunately, they land her in so much trouble that even her father, a mighty warrior, cannot save her. She finds herself alone, banished to a village that doesn’t want her and facing hostile strangers with nowhere to go.
Things go from bad to worse and
Eira is certain that her end has come. But when Halvar, the village chieftain, comes to her rescue, she’s safe. Or so she thinks.
When fresh trouble finds her, she is forced to flee into the forest for her own safety. Will Halvar be able to find her in time to save her life? Can she trust him with her heart?
This novella is set in the days of King Haakon of Norway, a time when the Vikings left their homelands to raid and plunder; when Christianity was making tentative approaches and kings fought for the right to rule. It can be read as a standalone or enjoyed as the first of a series.
Kaarina: Rejected
Forced to flee from her father’s rage, Kaarina is escorted to a Christian village on the coast, where she finds employment and lodging with the kindly Emiline. Halvar, the village chief, remains at the village for the winter and she has her friend Eira for company. She begins to feel secure at last.
But she has a secret phobia that she is ashamed to speak of. It threatens to paralyze her until Emiline’s handsome young neighbor Landwulf befriends her. He helps her to conquer her fear and she faces a growing desire to get to know him better.
Landwulf’s parents notice the blossoming friendship between the two and take action. Even as Kaarina is drawn to the Christians’ simple faith, Landwulf’s parents send him to another village to find a wife from among their own people.
Kaarina is devastated. While Halvar departs to protect their old village from her father, Kaarina does her best to mend a broken heart. When Landwulf returns, he begins to build a house for his new bride and Kaarina does her best to avoid him.
But one day, she is forced to come face to face with the man she loved. Have things changed between them? Can Kaarina trust him with her heart?
Frida: Claimed (Viking Guardians Book 3) Page 10
