[Reviews - 660]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2271 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
only one more chapter to go...hope you have enjoyed the road
The snows were melting and the days were getting slightly longer, bringing good cheer to all within the little hall. The winter had been kind to the new hall: the storms were moderate and the snow hadn’t been so deep to prevent them leaving the yard. Even the cows had been able to stay out in the pasture most of the time, leaving the hay for the worst of days when they had all sheltered behind stout walls.


There was still food piled high in the storage sheds, testament to Buffy’s care and attention throughout the summer and autumn. William and Connor had taken the opportunity of the fine days to go hunting and had brought back deer and boar to add to their winter meat. Goose and swan had been tasty treats when they became available, leaving the dried and salted meat for other days and allowing the women to play with Nordlys and gossip to their heart’s content.

The warmth in the late winter sun had tempted Buffy and William out of the hall and away into the woods for a break from their responsibilities, bringing back memories of the time they had spent in the northlands.
Buffy had enjoyed her walk that morning. She and William both woken early, and packing a small basket with food, had escaped the crowded hall for a little time alone. Nordlys had been happy to stay in the company of her Grandmother, playing with the yarns as the Lady Anne wove on the frame set into the wall of the hall itself. Lady Anne was besotted by her grandchild, much the same as Giles was. The little angel could do no wrong in their eyes and Brother Giles was often seen helping Nordlys set out her animals on the sheepskin rug on the floor.

Buffy walked slowly through the woods, holding tight to William’s arm. He swung their basket in the other. She loved this time of year: the promise of the spring around the corner, the leaves on the trees beginning to show the tiniest of buds. It wouldn’t be long before the wild flowers would show their heads and the cycle of life would begin once again. It felt like a good omen for the child she carried. In her heart she hoped it was a boy: William deserved a son, a son he could raise and train to follow in his footsteps. A son who would make them both proud, with his father’s blue, blue eyes that could see into your soul. Her meandering thoughts were interrupted by William stopping and letting go of her arm; he had found the perfect place to stop for their meal. There was a clearing under a linden tree with a branch that lay across the glade, as though the woodland spirit had made it especially for them.

William spread the blanket on the magic tree branch and lifted Buffy up to sit on it. He took advantage of her being trapped by his legs to snatch a kiss from his lady.

‘You are so beautiful,’ he whispered, as he made sure her cloak covered her shoulders. ‘And I love you so much.’ Without saying another word, he jumped up beside her and started unpacking their meal.

‘We’ve done ourselves proud,’ Buffy broke the quiet around them. ‘The hall hasn’t needed much support at all: all the gifts we got for the wedding have seen us through this winter, and now we can make our own luck.’

‘M-hm; you deserve the credit though, it was you that made the man I am pet. Without you I would have been a poor scribe in Lindisfarne, or sold as a slave and ended up who knows where. You built the man, you gave me the strength in my soul to reach for a future where I could be good enough for you.’

‘Oh William, you were always good enough for me. I loved you from the first moment I saw you looking up from the boat, holding Tara so protectively, accepting everything that had happened to you and still looking us in the eye. You were magnificent.’ She leant across and kissed him deeply on the lips.

They sat quietly enjoying the peace and quiet; Buffy snuggled under his protective arm, her head resting on his shoulder. The bread and cheese was eaten with little more conversation, and Buffy passed William a flask of small beer which he gratefully accepted, slaking his thirst before handing it back to his wife.

His wife: it still gave him a thrill to think that Buffy was his wife. He looked down at her: Buffy’s cheeks were glowing and her eyes were closed. This far on in her pregnancy she looked magnificent in his eyes. Large with his child; he loved feeling the baby moving under his hand, and if he held his ear to her full belly he could hear the child’s heart beating away. He found himself thanking God time and time again for the blessings he had received.

He put his hand on her, he couldn’t stop touching her, and felt the muscles tighten under his touch. Buffy seemed to grimace in her sleep; a shadow of pain floated across her face. It was so unlike her that William pulled his hand away, fearful he had hurt her somehow.

Buffy woke up with a gasp and a yelp, clutching her abdomen and tensing all her muscles before forcing herself to relax and breathe through the sudden pain that had enveloped her body. She took a deep calming breath as soon as she was able to and looked towards an obviously scared William.

‘What’s up pet? What is it?’ Poor man: he looked terrified as he had watched her. Buffy tensed again and then got quite pale, before her cheeks flushed with the effort of keeping the yell of pain in.

‘Buffy?’

‘It’s alright William, it’s alright. I’ve been through this before…it’s the baby, it’s time.’

William then copied his wife and went equally white, his hand shaking as his brain tried to take in what she’d said. He eventually managed to process the words and then he moved as if hell itself was on his heels. He grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her down from the branch, desperate to get her back to the shelter of the hall. He was shaking so much Buffy wondered how he managed to stay upright at all. She smiled down at him, trying to reassure the man before he really hurt himself or her. ‘William, you’re hurting me, stop pulling!’

‘Baby…’ he managed to stutter and Buffy raised her arm and pulled it out of Williams tightening grasp.

‘You’re hurting me William and we have to walk back to the hall… you get the blanket,’ was all she managed to get out before William, who had been staring at her slack-mouthed again, moved swiftly to swing her up into his arms and ran with her down the path they had strolled up that morning.

William came through the gates like a creature possessed by a demon. He was running flat out for the hall, little noticing who was in his way, Buffy held close to his chest. He barrelled Andrew and Sara over before kicking the door in and pushing his way past his mother and Helga.

Tara, who had been sitting quietly talking to the Lady Anne, tried not to laugh as the great lord of the hall, thane to Athelred, managed to squeak out ‘baby!’ before carefully placing Buffy on her bed and stumbling backwards towards the fire.

Tara turned to look at Buffy and Buffy didn’t look happy. She obviously had been trying desperately to get William to put her down and allow her to walk, but he’d been deaf to all of her pleas. The lady Anne and Helga pushed the man out of the way, sending him falling over a badly placed basket of fleece and onto his arse. William still couldn’t talk as Buffy was helped back onto her feet.

‘Bed, and baby,’ he managed.

Anne took a deep breath. ‘You go and cut some wood for the fire William, we’ll need a nice warm fire.’ She signalled Connor, ‘would you please look after him and keep him out of our way, because he’s going to be useless here…’

Connor grinned, helped his friend up onto his feet and escorted him outside. He handed William an axe and stood well back out of the way. What a wonderful idea, brilliant, and he attacked the wood pile as though it were Grendel’s mother raiding his home. Thus thought William as he swung the axe, decimating the wood pile.

Tara and Sara made the bed comfortable, laying down the sheepskins that had been prepared to welcome the new arrival, and the hanging was pulled over to give Buffy some privacy.

Buffy refused to take to her bed too early, she knew that she would have to keep active as long as possible to make things easier for herself.
Hildelith took over running the hall while the other women were busy, leaving Andrew to care for all the children; Nordlys was almost asleep anyway.

Connor had brought William a plate of food and some small beer but William couldn’t believe it was evening already. The closing in of the evening early, and the stillness, had confused him. Connor led the befuddled man back into the hall, and sat him near the fire. They talked quietly, not disturbing the women who were working behind the curtain. A curtain that protected their eyes, but not their ears: they could hear every cry and groan Buffy made, William starting at every noise. He felt sick to his stomach: he had fought in battle, but he couldn’t face his wife in so much pain. He started praying, almost begging God to keep Buffy alive. Brother Giles came and sat by the shaking and scared man.

‘I promise never to touch Buffy again if this is what childbirth is about,’ he whispered to the churchman.

‘Why would you do that?’ Connor asked in astonishment. ‘Knowing my mother, that would cause you a lot of grief. Buffy is a vibrant woman and although I’m glad I’m not a woman, this is their battle, their fight. If you reject her after all this she will feel it in her soul.’

‘I’m not rejecting her, its just that I’m not going near her again, causing her all this agony!’ A scream made him go white, his hands becoming bloodless as he gripped his cup harder and harder.

‘This is nothing: it’s her third child William, not her first, she knew what she was letting herself in for. Don’t belittle her fight by making her yearn for you after all this is over? Can you imagine sleeping next to her for the next twenty years without touching her?’

William shook his head, and kept it down. He just wanted this over and Buffy safe.

Nordlys had become distressed at the noise, so Andrew had taken her down the end of the hall away from the bed and was telling her tales of the garden he had been planting. The little girl seemed quite happy with her doll and her friend. The wooden animals she collected were all being cared for, washed and fed, before being ‘taken’ out to the ‘fields’ that had been made with a piece of green fabric. A late evening meal came and went with little ceremony: William had been unable to eat a thing, all he could do was sit and listen to the moans and groans coming from the far end of the hall. They seemed quieter to his ears, as though Buffy was becoming weaker, although they were coming more frequently. Quiet voices could be heard from the other side of the curtain, women’s voices encouraging and caressing Buffy.
Sara put her head out and asked for some more cold water, in a far too cheerful voice for William’s comfort but he did as he was bid, bringing the bucket and passing it through to his mother.

‘Is she going to die?’ he asked as another groan cut through the over-quiet hall.

‘There’s no reason to think that, my child, she’s doing very well, and with God’s blessing she will come through this birthing; she’s strong and healthy, and Tara is skilled… just leave us to our work, and why would you think there was something wrong?’

‘All the yelling and screaming, she sounds like she’s in agony.’

‘Well she’s not, she’s just working very hard. Now you go back to your ale and your friends and leave this to us.’

It was heading towards late night when Helga had come free of the curtain. William stood up but she shook her head and called Connor to her side.
‘She wants an offering to be given to Frigga and Eir while she labours: she doesn’t want to ask William, she fears that Brother Giles would object.’ Helga spoke quietly; although it had never been mentioned, she knew that William followed the White Christ and would have problems making the sacrifice Buffy felt was needed and her soul craved.

Connor nodded and headed towards the door, taking a barrel of mead with him to offer to the Goddesses. There would be no blood spilled for the two ladies of healing and life. The churchman had been praying in the corner of the hall since Buffy’ first cries had rent the air; he turned his head from the figure leaving the hall and he ensured that he didn’t see what was going on. He knew how strong Buffy’s own faith was, and he would do nothing to upset her while she laboured. He would keep his preaching for a better time when a woman in labour needed her faith to keep her safe.

No sooner had Connor left the room when the air was filled with the welcome cry of a new born child. William felt the tears trickling down his face but did nothing to stop them. He looked anxiously at the curtain, waiting for one of the women to pull it back, and allow the hall to meet its newest member, but nothing happened. He could hear Buffy shouting again, and he could hear someone singing softly to the child. Connor came back into the hall and took his place beside William.
‘I know what you’re going through. I hated it when Willow and Tara were in the straw, but all we can do is wait.’ He poured more ale into William’s cup and signalled one of the serving maids to bring more food. Maybe they could get the Thane to eat at some point.

William nodded, then looked at his friend. The man his wife loved like a son. He could smell honey wine strongly and Connor looked damp, as though he’d been out in the rain that now fell outside. ‘Wha’?’ he pointed at the damp stains covering the other man’s tunic.

‘I gave an offering to Frigga and to Eir, to protect Buffy, and in her name. She didn’t want to put you in an awkward position with brother Giles by asking you to do it.’

William felt his heart overfill again; with all that was going on she still protected his position in the hall and with his people.

It seemed forever that the quiet words of encouragement kept coming from the sectioned off part of the hall. Suddenly there was another shout of triumph from Buffy and Tara, and a second cry came from behind the curtain.

‘Two babies: twins!’ yelled Connor as he clapped William on the back.

‘Twins… two?’ William echoed back to his friend.

‘Twins,’ Connor confirmed. The delight was evident on both their faces, echoed only by the relief that Buffy seemed well so far.

The curtain was drawn back before the mead jug had made its way round the whole hall. It was Lady Anne who pulled the curtain aside and smiled at the silly grin plastered on his face. She was tired and a little dirty and very sweaty, even though Buffy had been doing most of the work. And relieved that nothing disastrous had gone wrong during the day.

‘William, would you like to meet your sons?’ she asked in a quiet voice, startling the man out of his reverie. He made his way across the hall, barely noticing where he trod. His eyes locked on the bundles in his wife’s arms.

Buffy looked tired but radiant; she looked up at William and started to speak.

‘I have born two children William, both sons, and I claim them as yours: do you accept the claim?’ she spoke the traditional claim, a small part of her heart upset that the Lady Anne had already told William the sex of his children; that should have been her job.

‘My sons,’ the joy was obvious in his voice. ‘I accept your claim, Elizabeth of Trondheim: these are my sons.’

He signalled to Andrew to bring his daughter across. ‘Come and meet your brothers, poppet.’

Nordlys looked down at the babies and smiled at her momma. She just wanted to go to bed, and hugged her dolly closer. She snuggled down on Andrew’s shoulder and smiled slowly, closing her eyes.

The lady Anne looked at her son and daughter-in-law with their little family. Nothing could have made her happier, but she’d have to apologise to Buffy in the morning for telling William that he had sons. Her excitement had gotten the better of her; however, she should have known better.

Buffy was worn out from her labours, but she managed to stay awake long enough to feed her new babies and eat a little of the soup that had been prepared especially for her, filled with good chicken and vegetables. All she wanted to do was sleep. William kissed her gently and went to make his bed on the benches with the other men, but Buffy had other ideas.

‘Stay: just hold me, please?’ she asked, her eyes giving him a pleading look. She didn’t want him to abandon her to an empty, lonely bed on this night. It was too strong a reminder of the night she had brought Nordlys into the world.

William lay gently at his wife’s side, Nordlys curled into his free arm, and the two new arrivals snuggled into their mother. As sleep claimed him he didn’t think it was possible to be happier in this world.


Chapter End Notes:
well?



You must login (register) to review.