Frida

Chapter 28 - Haunted

It was the second day of Frida and Ragnar's wedding, and the whole village as well as the guests that had come to join them in their celebration were still gathered more or less around the longhouse, enjoying themselves however they felt like.

Some were spending their time playing board games, others held wrestling competitions, in which Frida had heard Bjørn and Rollo to have had quite the match, while other villagers were simply spread around the marketplace and having a good time in the sun chatting with their relatives and friends.

As Frida wanted to spend as much time with Ragnar as possible, because she could simply not get enough of being in his presence, she had joined him and many of their friends at a table just outside the longhouse, where they were currently playing a drinking game. It had not come to her as a surprise that it was actually the norm in Norse culture that weddings would persist of huge amounts of strong beverages, let alone playing games that encouraged heavy drinking.

Frida had placed herself strategically, between Athelstan and Ragnar, so that they each had a woman on the other side of them, counteracting her having to join their game. She did not like being too drunk with such a big belly, as she would have to relieve herself all the time.

She was being lazy.

"Ok, we all know this game, yes?" Torstein called out from the other side of the table while he waved his arm in the air for attention, his voice already rather sluggish for a man that was about to be in a drinking contest, and Frida giggled to herself when she saw how his eyes rolled around in his head.

"We're all paired up, woman and man. When it is your turn, the woman will start drinking while the man recites a poem. When she cannot drink anymore, the horn will be passed to the man, who has to finish it while the woman finishes the poem. The pair who can drink the most without sounding drunk wins, agreed?"

Frida looked at Torstein with big eyes, and she heard Athelstan sighing out next to her. She turned her head to see his despondent expression, and she laughed heartwarmingly at him, while she padded him encouragingly on the shoulder.

"Yeah, prepare yourself, priest," Floki snickered from the other end of the table, and laughter broke out from all around the table.

Athelstan rolled his head on his shoulders, tilting it from side to side as if he was about to become violent, and Frida shook her head at him, smiling widely. This was going to be fun.

"Frida has agreed to be the judge of how well-spoken we are, so shut up when the queen talks," Torstein's voice flared, and Frida blushed lightly as his friendly eyes locked with hers.

"And no favoring!" Rollo muttered, making Frida turn her eyes to him. "Just because he fucks a lot doesn't mean he drinks a lot."

A smug smile spread across Rollo's lips as he raised his eyebrows at Frida, and she widened her eyes while blushing heavily, earning a couple of snickers from around the table.

"Careful you're not already losing points there, brother," Ragnar smiled, and Frida felt a slight nudge on her thigh.

"Alright," Torstein laughed. "Let's have Floki and Helga start, shall we?"

Frida was very surprised to see how much the women around the table could actually drink. Floki was already half way through the poem when Helga passed him the horn, and she did not seem even out of breath when she continued the verse:

"The ruler of Danes chose him the doughty,
courage is known when the craven flee,
in the tumult of battle he needs trusty fighters,
conquest follows king who may count on his men."