Dream Love

VI

The kiss was like nothing Erika had ever experienced before. As the kiss became deeper and more passionate, she began to feel a tightening in the pit of her stomach and a feeling of heaviness in her arms. Her eyes had closed of their own accord. All signs of passion. Realizing what was happening, she pulled away from Haldor.

"No! I don't know you. I don't know who I am anymore. I'm scared that I'm losing my mind! I have dreams of you and this woman and I have seen your life together and her death. I watched you make your declaration at her funeral pyre. I heard the thunder as the gods agreed with it.  I have seen you love her..me...her" Erika sat down and let her head fall into her hands. Taking a deep breath, she let out a sob. "I don't know anything anymore. I can't sleep anymore without seeing you and Ylva together. I mean, my body and heart obviously knows you. I don't know just how firm my grasp on reality is anymore. I feel like I'm losing my mind." Raising her face, she looked at Haldor.

Seeing her tear streaked face, Haldor felt his heart drop into his stomach. She was in pain. The only thing he knew to do to ease that pain was to tell her the entire story. So, he picked he up and sat her in his lap. It was often Ylva's favorite place to sit and Haldor was hoping that the action would soothe Erika.

"There are so many things to tell you. Where do I begin? I guess I'll start with the reason we met and were married. It seemed that you had an uncle that was favored by the English crown. It seemed that he also had a son who wanted you for his own. Your father, Ylva's father, I mean, knew this. He also knew the both men were known for their cruelty. There were stories about vassals being beaten or whipped to death for sport, or to merely liven up an otherwise boring day. After hearing these reports, Kian called upon my father for a betrothal for Ylva. He knew that she would be in good hands. We have never mistreated our woman. Others of our kind did, but father would never allow it. The last to rape a female slave was publicly castrated to show how he meant what he said. Now, to continue. Your father, I'm sorry, Ylva's father was desperate to secure an engagement between our two families. It would not only keep you out of Edward's hands, but the keep would also stay out of English hands. The keep  is the sore spot in all of this. You see, that keep was very strategically placed. It guards the lands East and South of it from the coast. Nothing could come towards it without notice. When Edward and his father realized that they had been cheated of what they thought was rightfully theirs the attacks began. You said you dreamed of Ylva's murder. Do you remember any conversations that were spoken that night?"

Erika rubbed her forehead where a migraine was beginning to form. Why had she thought that this was going to be easy? "Yes. We, I mean you and Ylva were in bed and were talking about how passionate you two still were after twenty years together. You were also talking about passing you title to your nephew since we had not had any children." Erika's head snapped up and looked at Haldor with large tear filled eyes. I couldn't give you children. I wanted to, but for some reason, I was never able to conceive." Haldor realized that Erika had started to refer to herself in the first person when she talked about Ylva. He didn't bother to correct her. It was after all, Ylva's spirit in this woman. "I know what it was. I have a hormone imbalance. I take medication for it now." Erika was getting excited. Haldor gently steered the conversation back to the dreams that she had been having. "You had said that maybe it was a good thing because of all of the wars we had during all of those years..... Oh! I just realized. The attacks were Edward and his father, weren't they?" At Haldor's nod, she felt cold inside. 

"Aye, Little Wolf, it was. Greed, nothing more, is what was behind everything that happened to us. I think Freya knew that any children we had would have been in terrible danger. I'm glad we didn't have any, as much as I wanted them. I was hard enough to lose you. Losing a child would have broke me. There is more to the story, but your head is hurting and you need to rest some more." Haldor was gently rubbing circles on her neck as he spoke. He could feel the tension in her neck. He picked her up and took her back to their bedroom and laid her on the bed. He closed the curtains to darken the room and left, gently cloing the door behind him.

Ragnar met him in the kitchen. "She's really nothing like her."

"Yes she is. In every way that counts. it's her. I just have to find a better way to protect her this time."