Breaking Through Time

Chapter 20 A matter of a heart

I hear a commotion around us and I feel Ragda being lifted off me as I gasp for air. I sit up and see the crowd surrounding me and Ragda being dragged away by four large men as he shouts

"Let me go! She is promised to me! She will be mine!"

I am a bit confused and my head is throbbing. I see Boleslaw's arm reaching down to help me up. I use it and try to stand back on my feet, but my knees go weak and I start sliding back to the ground. Boleslaw catches me before I hit the ground and carries me out of the crowd. He takes me back to my hut and sits me on my bed.

"Are you ok?" he asks

"Yes...just I hit my head when I dropped to the ground..." I say as I touch the painful area at the back of my head

"Thank you for getting me out of there"

"This man is crazy... You are not safe here... Not with him making a claim on you..."

"It's ok, I will deal with him"

"How?... He is not taking no for an answer..."

"I will think of something..." I say as I am trying to get up.

"Don't try to stand up yet." He says as he grabs my arm, then asks

"What do you need?"

"I just wanted some water"

"I will get it for you, just sit here..."

"Thank you," I say as I relax on the bed, leaning my back against the wooden wall and closing my eyes for a second. I hear Boleslaw

"You should just marry me..." My eyes shoot open and he continues

"So all those men will leave you alone..."

"Boleslaw... You know we can't do that... You are about to marry a real woman. A woman that will make you happy and will give you family... You know that I can do it..."

"Maybe not now... but maybe in time you would?" He looks at me with hope in his eyes

"Thank you for the offer, I know it's coming from a good place, but honestly you don't have to worry... I will stick to the story that I am married. I already have given birth to children, they can't force a widow to re-marry..."

He stands there in silence and finally fills up the cup that he has been holding in his hand for the last few minutes with water. He hands it to me and as I gulp it down he says

"If you want we could make a pretence, that we are engaged, but before we wed I will go back to my land to trade... I will never come back, but everybody will know that you have been spoken for and they will leave you alone..."

"You would do that?"

"To keep you safe? Of course, in a heartbeat."

"And this promise of a marriage to me, would not implicate anything for you to get engaged with the lovely lady back at home?"

"It would not. I will never mention to her about you."

"Ok, then, let's talk with Frida and see what she says about our scheming..." I say with a smirk on my face

I sent Ingrid, the neighbour's daughter to go and fetch Frida for me. Soon she arrives at my hut with Arne. We explain to them our idea with a pretend engagement and Frida agrees that the best thing to do is to announce it tonight at the feast. There will be more wrestling games between men and we agreed that Boleslaw will fight with Arne and once he wins with his victory he will claim me in front of all the village and I will accept.