The Viking's Wife

Chapter One

Edited by: bat_woman_

Chapter One

the Vanir- Norse gods of fertility

Joormooir- midwife/shawman

896 BC

Lining up my arrow with the target I released and watched as the arrow hit dead center with the arrow that I had released earlier that day. I grabbed another from the basket on my back and begin to line up. I am twenty winters now and I have not seen my husband since our wedding. I have been an adult since I was fifteen winters when my moons started. I was sure Arne would come for me but he didn't. When Eirik came home to celebrate with our family and village, he brought me a beautiful white horse with a black mark upon her forehead, a gold necklace with an amber stone, a gold krasten for my head and a roll of silk fabric. That was a long time ago.

"My Lady, your cousins birthing is hard. Your mother is calling for your aid." My personal thrall said as she bowed before me and didn't meet my eyes. I walked over to the thrall.

"Return this my father hut then to Ingas hut with my herbs." I told her, handing her my bow. She bowed and hurried off to father's cabin. I ran to Ingas hut to help my mother with birth my younger cousins child.

Reaching the cabin I knocked on the wooden and heard the latch open as one of the thralls opened to allowed me entrance into the hut.

"Katra, the babe is turned wrong. Your hands are smaller. I need you reach into your cousin's birth canal and turn the child then guide him throughout. The normal birthing position was not working and joormooir has suggested this. Your cousin is weak, Katra, she may not make it through the birthing. We must give her our strength and help the child." My mother instructed me.

"Yes Mama." I say to my mother as I walk to the basin of water that was boiling of the fire in the middle of the hut's dirt floor. I walked over to the bed where my mother has a stool out for me. I sat and start to reach my hands into the birth canal. Inga started to scream in pain.

"Have you reached the babe yet?" Mother asked me

"Ja." I replied to her.

"What is the babes position?" She asks. I fell for the babe.

"The babes head and feet are to the side. I will turn the child so his head is facing the way out and then guide him." My mother nodded "Good Katra. May the Vanir guide your hands." When mama says this I guide the babe into the right position. When his head faces the proper position I grab the back of his neck and guide the babe out of the birth canal. "We are almost there Inga. Just a little bit more and you shall have your child." I coaxed to her. "Inga you need to push."

The babe starts to move more easily down the canal. When the babes head reached the opening I bring the face of the babe out. After that the rest of the babes small body came with a rush of the birthing liquid.

I handed the babe over to the joormooir and she helped the child breath while I finished the birthing process. When the sound of a cry pierced threw silence of the hut we all breathed a sigh of relief. The joormooir brought the child to Igna.

"You gave birth to strong boy, Igna." The joormooir said as she handed Igna her child. After delivering the afterbirth I went to Inga when I reached her I looked down at the babe in her arms.

"A handsome boy." I say to Inga.

"Yes, he is." Inga replies. That's when she looks at me with a small smile and a spiteful look in her eyes and I know what about to come. "To bad your husband has decided you are not worthy of his seed. It must hurt seeing me with my first child and so much younger then you are Katra." I look down at her without a smile and feel the knife twist in my hurt at her words.