Neledh || ONC 2023

Chapter 2 | Nadine

The first month Nadine had been helping in Rouen she still went home every evening, but as the days turned into weeks, into a month, she now had a small room in the village. Though her mothers had initially been weary of the strangers from the north, after a month of no incidents they had been convinced it was safe enough for Nadine to stay overnight in Rouen.

She was gracious for the new taste of freedom and enjoyed the company of many new people, speaking a language she had never heard before. Fortunately, for the cooperation, they also spoke a lingua franca and they were able to communicate.

Most work from day to day were old wounds that played up from time to time, as the ex-warriors were most of the time too capable to get hurt while building homes. It created time for Nadine and Anders to talk and slowly teach other words in their native language.

Anders was old for a warrior, which was also one of the reasons he had stayed behind instead of following his brethren back home. His old age and medical knowledge made it, that he wouldn't be called away for the rebuilding unless something was amiss.

It was nice working together with someone with a lot of knowledge in a completely different way than Nadine had. There were methods that were extremely common for him to use that were foreign for her and vice versa. It created many late night conversations about the best way to treat some of the warriors with older wounds.

Winter became spring and new ships appeared in the harbor. Anders had been called away by the captain as their old crew had arrived and Nadine gladly shoved Anders out of the infirmary. She was more than capable to look after it on her own for the rest of the day, or how long the ship would stay. Anders might not see them ever again, it would at least be a year. He should take his time reacquainting himself with his friends.

A day later the ships had left, they would return at the end of summer. The visit, although short, had lifted the spirits of the men in Rouen. Anders and the captain told many a story about their old crew, they had been a tight-knit family.

The houses that had been salvaged from the original village had been redistributed. Anders and the captain shared a four-room apartment and Nadine had been given the rooms next to the house that was used for medical practices. 

As the days turned shorter, the ships visited the harbor once more and stayed for a few hours to restock on provisions. Anders' old crew hadn't yet arrived when Nadine received a message from her mothers that she was needed in the forest for the annual celebration of life. 

The last of the new children had been born and the clearing would be cleaned to make room for new children. Although Nadine had never participated and wasn't planning to, it was still a highly important part of her being. She had joined in the celebration from the moment she had been allowed to join and wasn't planning on breaking that streak of participation. 

"You made it!"

Her ma threw herself at Nadine who was unable to catch her and they both fell on the ground, while her mom was laughing at her partner's enthusiasm at seeing their daughter again.

The ceremony was, as always a bittersweet experience. Many new children had been born, but just as many had stayed inside their flowers and had withered with the seasons.

"Will you stay a little longer? Till the winter solstice?"

Nadine heard the hope in Raine's voice, but had to decline. She would travel back to the forest for the celebration.  But staying so long in that restricted place wasn't something she was willing to do.

Rouen called to her spirit is a way she couldn't explain, though she did try telling her mothers. They looked at each other in resignation and didn't bring staying longer up again.

They had heard something in Nadine's story that Nadine herself hadn't found out yet.

When the clearing was empty once again, Nadine bit goodbye to her family and returned to Rouen.

A ship was departing from the quay, while Anders and the captain were waving it goodbye.

A third figure stood next to them. They were leaning on a stick and were easily a head taller than the two men standing next to them.

Anders turned around and excitedly tapped the other person's arm to turn their attention to the shortly arrived Nadine. The captain said something to the beardless person next to him, while Anders came forward to engulf Nadine in a bear hug.

"You just missed my old crew, though Eira decided to join our young settlement."

The newly introduced person stepped forward and extended their hand for Nadine take.

"I'm Eira Thyradottir, nice to meet you."

-

February 7, 2023