Bridal Price

Vaði Skollson: What He Didn't Understand

You couldn't forgive Hvitserk for what he had done.

It was the deception of it all. You thought– no, you knew you gave him the most love and attention of all the women he was fucking. When he came back from raid, you stood on that pier to welcome him back. When he was hungry and in need of company, you would make him food without question. You were always here for him no matter the need, no matter the want. It was you. You were the only one that was truly here for him no matter the obstacle!

So he should have remembered your name.

"If he didn't know your name, why was he so upset?" Across the table, the earl sat with his fingers deep in his thick cereal and pear porridge. Cream and butter top off the top of the fine smelling cereal.

"I don't know, Vaði... It is... perhaps jealousy." You look to your own dish of rose hips rather than pears. Your sisters had all gone off to start the days work and here you were lagging with the earl and your father. Your father Geir sneers at the broad shouldered man in front of you, slamming down a cup of drink.

"I told you that Ragnarsson would hurt you. He saw you as an object and nothing more! Nephew, it is nothing for you to worry about." Geir says. "In time she will find a real husband and we will laugh about the other night."

"Is that what you want, (Y/N)?" Vaði drops his spoon from his cereal to rub his hands together. His fingers interlock together.

"What do you mean?" You say.

"Do you want another man?" Your cousin asks. You sigh warily. The years ticking by meant it was time for you to find a husband. You could make a living off of selling these pieces of clothes but the work was long, tiresome and slow. If it did not pay off, you would have to sell out your other household services in order to make a living.

Or... you could find a husband and become a joined pair. Work within your home like any housewife while he worked out of the home. You were only getting older and it was past due time for you to be married.

Still your heart felt distant and longing for the affection that Hvitserk once gave you. The days and moments that he would kiss your lips as he moved between your legs. The moment that you gave him everything under the claim that you weren't a virgin only having to reveal that you indeed were later.

"I..." You stumble upon your thoughts. Fond flashbacks of seeing him hop off his boat, yanking him forward to run your lips against his and claim him like your very own husband. "...I have to."

The words come out forcefully when combined with small, harsh puffs of your breath. It was not that you wanted to– but that you had no choice but to move on. No woman should be humiliated in the same way that he humiliated you being clingy as hel and not worth the time to learn your name.

Vaði leans back into his chair, pushing it out to stand. They had arranged your sisters' marriages prior to Vaði's visit. That was why he was here after all. Vaði had always been like a son to your father Geir.

"Then we will find you a new husband." Geir says. Vaði walks to his fuzzy muddy brown coat and drags it over his broad shoulders. Your gaze falls off of the men of your family to your meal in front of you. Like it or not– you had made this decision for yourself. You... just... had to follow through with it.

Because, god damn it (Y/N), you deserve better.

Vaði considers himself a sensible man. He has a love for the men and women of his family, and obligation to take care of Aarhus. He had duties there just as he had duties here. Now, he didn't really know what kind of man to look at for you.

After all, he doesn't find Hvitserk Ragnarsson that attractive. He was kind of skinny like a snappable twig. His arms are nice, he supposes. But he's hairless. What sort of man was without a beard? A prepubescent child. He picks up an apple off a marketplace stand, rubbing it against his fur.