The Last Marigold

To Love A Woman

"What the fuck did you say, Somerhild?" Wolfgard took a step forward, turning cold angry eyes on Somerhild, who stood quaking with fear. 

"You will not address my woman with that fucking tone, Wolfgard!" Alrik pulled Somerhild to his side, shielding her from his cousin's misbegotten wrath. Somerhild met his gaze with more confidence under the aegis of Alrik's care. Alrik's threatening grimace served to calm him. He saw no benefit in calling forth Alrik's anger with an insult to his woman. 

Wolfgard scrubbed a palm over his face then raked his hand through his elflocks. He had no control over his frustration. Everything of value seemed to slip from his fucking grasp. He spent twenty hard days and nights traveling to East Anglia and back, rallying just over five thousand men to his cause. Even making peace with that horse-faced prick Cnut. Only to return to news that Su'a was trapped inside Uppsala. Gods! If Ravn or Bodil learned of her existence, she was as good as dead. Thinking on the matter further, he decided she would be better off dead. He shuttered to think of what they would do in the interim. 

"Why did you not stop her, Somerhild?" Wolfgard asked in a calmer tone. 

Clutching at Alrik's coat, she answered, "I tried, but you know how she is when there is an idea to be acted upon." 

Wolfgard grudgingly agreed and Alrik gave a chuckle. Somerhild continued, "The Volva, she advised that it was the only recourse toward victory." No one would argue the Volva's words. 

A defeated look came over Wolfgard, "She will be killed. She is the only one of her kind in all of the North. They will spot her like a fox in a henhouse." He strode the length of the tent with an anxious gait. 

Concern touched Alrik's face as well, "Wolfgard speaks true. Her chances at surviving a siege for weeks hold up in a keep where those in command would have her neck are slim at best. This plan feels poorly concieved."

"She promised she would hide and find a way until the time was right," Somerhild retorted, "We must trust in the Volva's sight." 

Wolfgard stopped suddenly and asked, "How will we know that the gate has been disabled?" 

"Su'a will set the stable alight. The blaze and ensuing smoke will act as a signal for battle's commencement." She returned, stepping forward no longer feeling the need to shrink from Wolfgard's anger. 

"We must trust in Su'a," Somerhild clasped Wolfgard's large hand between her palms. "It is this versus weeks of siege which will only be a detriment to the innocents within." Wolfgard gave her a stiff acknowledging nod. Somerhild gave Alrik one last glance and tight-lipped smile before retiring. 

Wolfgard strode to the fire to add kindling to the remaining cinders. "I will tear Uppsala apart, plank by plank before I let them kill her."

"I know, Lord. As would I, if the places were reversed," Alrik said empathizing with Wolfgard's despair.  "You should have told her, Cousin. You should have told her what you feel for her."

The corners of Wolfgard's eyes pricked. They filled dangerously with fluid, in a manner they hadn't done before. Perhaps, he stood too near the fire and the smoke was beginning to affect him. 

He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, unwilling to look away from the flames. "How do I admit to a slave, a thrall of inferior standing that I..." He sniffed again in a play for time, "That I would see her every dream made flesh. That she need only ask and I would give her wings so she could fly." 

Wolfgard turned to Alrik fully expecting his usual jovial reaction but he stood arms folded looking impassable as he listened. Wolfgard settled near the fire resting his back against his bed. His arms lazily dangled over his bent knees, "I am quite willingly helpless in her arms. I do not feel whole until I have held her... until I have breathed her," He said with a passion that moved Alrik, "I feel her, as much a part of me as my blood and every bit as necessary. These last weeks apart, the only thoughts that kept me sane were remembering her words, they soothed me at night and the hope kindled by the knowledge that I'd be returning to her arms with the break of each day." 

Alrik sighed, ambling across the tent to sit next to Wolfgard on the ground, "Marigold's station in some antiquated cast system is not what has kept you from telling her of your love for her. Be her title slave or queen, she is human. She is a woman, Wolfgard, and I know you see her as such. What has kept you from confessing has been fear," Wolfgard began to interject but Alrik held up a hand to force his silence. He continued, "You, Cousin, fear change. Perhaps, you even fear commitment. Feeling, perchance, that once you admit your attachment your life will somehow change for the worse. " He turned to face his cousin. "Let me be the first disspell this notion. Your life will be much improved, as Somerhild has done for me."

Offering a disbelieving smile, Wolfgard asked, "You truly love her don't you?"

"With my life," Alrik answered without a hint of pretension or hesitation. "It makes you no less a man, loving and committing to only one woman. Even one that others may not approve of. I have watched Marigold most carefully these passed months, out of concern for you. I find her to be singularly beneficent, intelligent, courageous to a fault, and stubborn as a mule. Just look how she's cared for this clan in your stead. The risks she takes further still, to ensure it's future. " Wolfgard nodded solemly. None of these actions escaped his notice. Marigold had been an effective leader in his absence. His people attested to as much. And, if not for her stirring encouragement, he would not have found the will to muster men to his cause. 

"I have known you all my life, Wolfgard, and I will say, I have never seen this side of you. You've changed since she arrived and I'm in favor of it. You're no longer a immutable wall, everything seemed to slam against. A man whose only redeeming qualities were his tactical skills in battle, honor, and valor." 

Wolfgard playfully nudged Alrik, "I'll thank you to have a care in describing my character, Alrik, especially in front of others."  His smile fell as he continued, "You were not wrong, Cousin. I have changed. This change may have been prescipitated by her, but, in truth, it was not for her. It spawned from necessity. Times were changing and I had to change with them or be left behind." He paused thoughtfully for a moment then turned to Alrik with a grin, "After we rout that cocksucker, Orm, and we win back our home, we shall start afresh. To bless the start of this new era we shall have a wedding!" He threw his meaty arm around Alrik's shoulders, giving him a rough shake. 

"You will take Marigold as your wife?" Alrik gave a happy smile. 

"Something to consider, but, no. You shall marry Somerhild with my blessing."