Aeleva; The Viking Saxon

Chapter 25

The next few days consisted of Osric attending the many prayers of the day and then going to the library to study. I attended mass in the morning and then would have to entertain myself for the rest of the day.

I was discovering Canterbury. Now that I looked a Saxon, no one looked twice at me. Canterbury was big, bigger then any Mercian city I had ever been too, which were none. The walls were built by the romans 500 years ago. They still stood as strong and powerful as when they had been built.

It was time for evening mass but Osric had a habit of missing them. He had only come to the monastery a few months ago and had not yet taken the cloth. Even for a monk he spent a lot of time in the libraries. I went about searching the library for him, and then the smaller rooms around the library that I knew he liked to use for even more solitude when discussing pulleys or what else he finds interesting.

"Aeleva, good evening." Prince Ecgfrith shocked me when he spoke to me. I had not expected anyone to be in the rooms. He was stood over a table with another man I recognised but did not know. The man seemed to be lost in the paper he was staring at. 

"My Lord, forgive me, I was looking for my brother." I apologised for the intrusion, embarrassed that I had disturbed him.

"It is prayers, what makes you think he will be in here?" Ecgfrith asked.

"He prefers the company of books over people, My Lord."

Ecgfrith laughs at my statement. I knew they were close friends. My face reddens at the thought I had insulted the Prince.

"I am sorry, my lord. I did not mean to say-"

He raised his hand to silence me. He chuckles lightly as his eyes meet mine. The genuine smile Ecgfrith gave me, relaxed my worry.

"No, I am not offended. I am pleased you have your brothers gift of honesty. He prefers candour over court politics." He said gently. "I assume you are the same."

I nodded in response to his question. "I do not know of this life my lord. I am not familiar with it." I admitted, looking to the ground, embarrassed I could not dance the dance of the noble men.

"No, it seems not. Come, look at this, you know as much of the Danes as I." He beckoned me over to view the map. It was similar to the one King Oddi had in Thanet.

"You have met Ealdorman Alwin." Ecgfrith, pointed to the other man. I had seen him in the great hall when we ate for the evening. Occasionally I had passed him in a corridor here and there. Most of the Ealdormen appeared the same to me. Older, wiser, more knowledgeable in how to conduct themselves, I did not try to befriend them. They were above me. I struggled in Canterbury, the nuances of Mercian court confused me. I had grown used to the blunt ways of the Danish. It was not becoming for someone to act that way in this court, it made you appear vulgar. However the Prince saw it as virtuous. 

"A pleasure Aeleva." Ealdorman Alwin nodded to me. He gave me a polite smile and turned back to the paper on the desk. He was older, perhaps had a few sons, his hair short and body lean. The main way, I had found, to distinguish a Saxon from a Dane, was their hair. Saxon men wore it shorter and preferred to not have a beard. Danish men were a lot more extravagant. Many grew long beards and must have spent hours on it's up keep. Despite what the priest preached in Marden, Danes took pride in their appearance and were quite neat folk.

"Look here" Prince Ecgfrith pointed to the table, to show a map. "Here we are, at Canterbury." Ecgfrith said and pointed to the circle in the middle of the map. The circle had small turrets around it to signify the walls and defences along them. "Here is Reculver, we have made defences against the raiders here, and all along the north coast of Kent. As you can see." He proceeded to point to the north coast of the Kingdom.