Valknut

CHAPTER|36 Sibling Jealousy

Kieran watched Kára’s every move, unable to tear his eyes from her while she lifted her skirts ever so slightly to display her slender feet, for the briefest second, to step over the threshold to enter the hall. He couldn’t stop watching while she slowly and gracefully turned while scanning the gathering for familiar faces. He couldn’t help smile when he saw the way her eyes lit up when she saw Klaufi. As she walked towards them, he couldn’t help but compare her to a doe. 

She had the slender long neck, and from what he could see, the shapeliest of legs. The biggest most beautiful eyes and the most perfect form. She moved equally gracefully; making her way through the rowdy gathering of drunken men who were swaying side to side and bumping into everything within reach. Yet, not once did she lose her footing, or hesitate, or stop. She maneuvered through the moving crowd as if it didn’t exist. 

As she neared, he could smell her. The scent she was wearing was a tantalizing combination of something sweet and something musky and he couldn’t quite put his finger on the combination. But it sure made his head whirl …and in a good way. Something so sweet and gentle and so ... delicious... needed protecting and before he knew it, Kieran was puffing out his chest and standing up tall and straight. 

So captured was he by Kára, he missed the roaring laughter coming from his companions as they watched him drool over a woman. 

Kára walked straight into Klaufi’s welcoming arms. After a brief hug, Klaufi introduced her to his friends. Kára nodded and smiled at everyone, except Catriona. When she learned of Catriona’s place within her family, it seemed she grew suddenly frigid. Her blue eyes, instead of exuding the warmth of the dancing fire, suddenly became cold ice shards. A nervous energy blew around the group. This was not how Klaufi foresaw how the introductions would go. 

A usually warm and gentler person, he had expected Kára to open up to Catriona the way the rest of them had. After all she was their sister, taken away from them so many years ago. Perhaps yes, before Kára was old enough to remember her, but Catriona was her sister nonetheless. The least she could do was extend some cordiality to her family, even if she were meeting Catriona for the first time ... well technically at least. 

Cold and distrustful... that’s not at all what he expected. 

While Kieran missed the subtle change in Kára, Catriona did not. She had been excited about meeting her new family, be it Olaf’s parents, or his siblings, or her own supposed siblings. So far everyone had been happy and loving and accepting of her. She had not been prepared for a meeting any different from the previous introductions. She had imagined this moment to be anything but cold. Well, cold deserved cold right? Just as Kára’s countenance had changed, so did Catriona’s. No longer was the group making merry and enjoying the festivities. No longer were they laughing and chatting in each other’s company. Now they just stood, fumbling for what to say while the two women looked each other down with frigid stares and tight smiles. 

A brief moment of mumbling and shuffling later, Aggi and Bjorn broke free of the group, apologizing for having to leave. They had forgotten to attend to... something… their parents had asked for. Olaf stood tall and protective behind Catriona, while Kieran still smiled lost in his own world. Having had enough of the awkwardness, Klaufi grabbed Kára’s arm, excused them from the group and dragged her to a corner of the hall where he thought he could have a quiet word with her. 

“What's the matter with ye? I thought you'd be thrilled to learn that yer sister lived. But instead ye are distrustful and... cold. What's gotten into ye?” 

“I don’t see any resemblance to mother or father in her. How could ye be so sure she's our sister? Just because she was in possession of some rustic old medallion from god knows where? Our sister died in that fire with mother and father. She could not be Asdis.” 

“How would ye know? Ye never even knew Asdis. Well not really. Ye were too young to remember her.” 

“But ye spoke of her so many times, I feel like I did know her. And she’s nothing like the girl ye spoke of.” 

“How could be? She’s had a difficult life. Difficulties change people. Doesn’t mean she’s not family!” 

“I apologize if ye feel I have done something wrong brother of mine. But I cannot simply trust and love a person just because ye ask it of me. If she truly is our sister, she will earn my trust... slowly. Till then I'm in no hurry to welcome her blindly like it seems all of ye have done.” 

With that Kára broke free of Klaufi’s grip and sauntered off into the crowd. 

********************** 

“What was that all about?” Catriona grumbled to Olaf as they three watched the exchange between Klaufi and Kára. 

“I’m not sure, but that girl better come to her senses. Family or not, she's not going to be treating ye or anyone else the way she just did.” Olaf muttered. 

“Dinnae worry so much my love, I can handle the likes of her. The question is, can Kieran?” 

Olaf looked at Catriona with wide unbelieving eyes. “Ye sure ye want your brother mixing with the likes of her? After the way she just treated ye?” 

Catriona just shrugged. “Love comes in various forms. I have never seen Kieran so flattened by a woman before, and it isn’t from lust. He's had his fair share of beautiful maidens warming his bed. This is probably something more, even if he behaves like a boy who’s never seen a girl before. Only time will tell, I guess. Am I to stop him from finding what we have just because I don’t approve of the girl?” 

Olaf hugged Catriona and planted a kiss on her forehead. “It's endearing to see ye be so kind. Even to someone ye don’t trust. I do hope the two of ye come around… for everyone’s sake. It wouldn’t be nice to see her or anyone else, pushing and pulling Kieran’s strings or yer buttons… unless that someone is me…” 

“Ye want to pull Kieran’s strings?” Catriona asked wide eyed and astonished. 

“No I meant push yer… oh never mind pretty one. It’s a joke ye didn’t seem to catch” Olaf answered grimacing. 

“Are ye so sure that I didn’t?” Catriona winked before turning around and heading out the hall. 

“Och ye little red-fox!” Olaf exclaimed before following her out.