The Hermit Herbalist

Chapter 15 - Reality Knocks

Clint was happy to wake up beside a warm body.  A warm, smooth, curvaceous body.  Clint tightened his hold and began to press his lips to her shoulder, neck, and behind the ear.  A hum vibrated through the body next to him and he felt a hand clutch his hip.  His own hand went down between her legs and he heard a gasp.  "Clint," Loki whispered.

"What?" Clint asked as he inserted a finger and Loki arched off the mattress.

"We're not alone," she stated and Clint froze.  He glanced over his shoulder and sure enough, Healer Ogen, Gyda, and several other women all looking at them. 

"Holy f*ck!" Clint exclaimed, doing an undignified roll/dive out of the bed.  He took the sheets with him, leaving Loki with only the pillows to cover herself.

"Grace and eloquence.  Surely, those must be mortal qualities," Ogen commented with a wicked grin on his face.  Clint tossed the sheets back to Loki and grabbed his vest, using that to shield his manhood from the rest of the room.  "I've seen worse, laddie," Ogen said as he walked over to Loki, followed by Gyda.

"Thanks for the insulpliment," Clint fired back as he quickly put his pants on.  Ogen raised his eyebrow as Gyda covered Loki with her robe and helped her out of the bed.  Clint glanced up and saw Ogen's puzzled expression.  "It's a cross between an insult and a compliment.  An insulpliment.  We mash words on Midgard."

"Sounds terrible," Ogen responded as he made Loki drink something from a cup and Gyda let her to a chair in a corner.  The other maids pulled the bedsheets off and Clint watched with trepidation as they examined it and Ogen spoke quietly with Loki.  She blushed several times during the conversation and Ogen gave her many a wink.  

"Am I invisible now?" Clint finally asked and they all looked back at him.  He made a face as he pulled his pants up, stuck his boots on, and slipped his shirt over his head.  "I was a part of last night too, you know."

"Do you want me to examine your manhood and ask you invasive questions?  I can, you know," Ogen suggested and Loki giggled, covering her mouth as quick as she could.  

"Um... actually... I'll pass then," Clint answered and Ogen nodded.  He glanced back at Loki and his hand went out, lightly touching a hickey on her neck.

"Was it enjoyable for you, dearest?" he whispered.  Gyda squeezed Loki's hand as the young woman nodded.

"Yes, Ogen.  He was very attentive and caring," she responded.  Gyda squeaked with happiness and hugged Loki tightly.  

"Here are the bedclothes, Ogen," one of the maidens said, handing the blood stained clothes to the healer.  Ogen gave them a cursory examination; he had only needed to talk to Loki to get the truth.  He looked at Clint and smiled a big smile.

"She is a true wife!  And together, they are a true married couple!" Ogen declared and all the women cheered.  They threw the windows open and displayed the sheets to the waiting villagers.  Clint felt an embarrassing heat fill his cheeks and he walked over to Loki, wrapping her in his arms.  "May they soon be blessed with a strong and healthy child of their blood!" Ogen said and Loki stiffened in Clint's arms.  He glanced down at her, but she shook her head quickly.  Cheering and clapping could be heard from outside and Ogen turned back to face them.  "Come on downstairs.  The innkeep has a hearty breakfast for you.  You will eat and we will all return you to your home."  The door was open and the man from the previous evening put his head in.

"Come on down, young lovers!  I have food and drink waiting for you by the fire," he said.  Clint went against protocol, shoved everyone out, and let Loki get properly dressed.  She thanked him, but was quick to get into a dress and go downstairs with him.  Breakfast was bread, smothered in honey, bacon, sliced apples, and some kind of eggs in a metal skillet and cider.  Clint had to admit, it was not bad.  He had shown Loki how to scramble eggs, fry eggs, and make them into a killer omelet.  Those were secrets he had shared with her, but the eggs in the skillet were not something he could snicker at.  All in all, it was delicious.  Ogen, Gyda, and everyone else left them alone until they had finished eating, and Clint insisted on giving the innkeeper something for his trouble.  "Oh!  It's no trouble at all!  We've all been waiting so long for our Ikol to be handfasted to a man worth a damn," he said and Clint laughed.  

Once they were outside the inn, the villagers all began cheering and Clint found out he had to pick her up and carry her back to the house.  Clint swept Loki into his arms and they began to walk back towards her cottage.  Loki clung to him, smiling up at him the entire walk back to her house.  They got a lot of advice from the older, married couples on how to behave with one another.  Clint was not one to blush much, but some of the things the women said to Loki made her face warm and pink.  When they finally arrived at the door, the entire village stopped and Ogen opened the door.  "Go!  Enter this house, your new dwelling as a married man and woman," Ogen said and Clint stepped inside with Loki still in his arms.  He turned around and watched as Ogen closed the door behind them.  Clint put Loki down and they stared at one another.  A mere second later, they burst out laughing, embracing each other.  

"That was an entirely different experience!" Clint commented.

"Probably an understatement for you," Loki returned as they parted and she walked over to where a new and bigger bed had been put in place of her old one.  Clint nodded as he went with her and they sat down beside each other on the straw mattress.

"Our weddings are definitely nothing like that on earth," he said absentmindedly, leaning back until he was splayed out.  Loki glanced over her shoulder to study him as he continued, "You have the wedding mass or quick ceremony (depending).  After that, all your guests go to a venue, and the reception begins."

"Reception?" Loki posed.

"Our equivalent of the feast they had after the handfasting," Clint explained and Loki nodded in understanding.  "During the reception, there's dancing, music, speeches from the best man and maid of honor-"

"What makes a person the best of all men and the maid of all honor?" Loki queried.  Clint's mind literally blanked at the question, before he started to chuckle, reached up, and pulled Loki down so that she was lying next to him.

"No, no, no! The best man is the title given to the guy the groom picks to second him at the wedding.  He's usually been his best friend for a while, and has to hold the rings until it's time to put them on," Clint said once he was under control.  Loki raised her eyebrow as the 'maid of honor' position had yet to be explained.  "Basically the same thing but for the bride."

"Ah."  Loki pondered this for a second before she said, "Oh!  Gyda was my maid of honor."  Clint had to agree with her.  There was no other girl in the village that Loki trusted or loved half as much as the young healer girl.

"Yep.  I guess she was the closest thing to a maid of honor you got," he responded.  He nuzzled her close, pressing his lips to her forehead, nose, cheek, and lips.  Loki hummed as he continued his travels down her neck to where her clothed breast was.  He mouthed it through the material, and Loki was getting more and more aroused.  Suddenly, Clint stopped and looked up at her.  Loki looked down at him and raised her eyebrow.  "I have an important question."

"It better be!" she hissed, obviously displeased that he had ceased his ministrations.  

"Let's talk about babies."

"Alright, that is an important question."