Northern Legends

Chapter 6

Hraerek no longer understood the world. Only a few moments ago, Cassandra snuggled up sensually to him, and the next she sat frightened in front of him and begged him to leave her alone. What had caused this change? Had it to do with his words? He had only praised her beauty, but to Cassandra it had worked like a bucket of ice water. Before he could react, Fenris was at her side and stood protectively before her. as if he were the monster who tried to hurt her. Cassandra reached out to the wolf and stroked his back, reassuring him.

"It's all right. It's all right," she whispered softly to his fur. The animal relaxed visibly. Fenris slowly approached Cassandra and licked her cheek. Over and over until she smiled. It seemed to please her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just too much has happened that I don't know how to handle it myself."

Her words were true. Hraerek could see it in her eyes. He saw so much vulnerability and fear in them that he just wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from the rest of the world. But now it would be better to leave some distance between the two of you. If he wanted to get closer to her, he had to gain her trust first. And if the first step was to leave her alone, then so be it.

Hraerek could trust Fenris on this one. The Grey Wolf liked Cassandra and lay down next to her when she kept on scratching his head. Hjalmar, on the other hand, watched the situation attentively and did not let his brother out of his sight. He was the calmer of the two, while Fenris was rather playful. But he didn't seem to be bothered by that and enjoyed Cassandra's caresses. One should be a wolf! Hraerek turned away shaking his head and looked at the meat, which was now ready and exuded a delicious smell.

"Come here. The food is ready", he said to Cassandra. She looked up from Fenris, who had meanwhile laid down on his stomach and wallowed in happiness. Carefully she stood up and came towards him, then sat down on the fur next to the fire.

"Thank you," she murmured softly before accepting the meat. It tasted bland and dry, but it would satisfy them both. Despite her petite size, Cassandra devoured the food with great zeal, leaving hardly anything left. Hraerek handed her the bag of mead. She took a big sip before she gave it back to him.

Then there was silence. They both stared into the fire and let the warmth fill their bodies. Cassandra had pulled her legs close to her upper body and pulled the sleeves of her shirt over the back of her hands.

"What do we do now?" she asked. Without looking at her, he knew that the question was meant for him.

"I'll take you to Cielon. But first we'll make one more stop so you can change into something more suitable."

Cassandra looked at him confused.

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"They would attract too much attention. It may be that such clothing is normal in your country, but here people are very alert to things and people who don't know each other. Some might even think you're a spy from Soleia. Lately, we've been exposing traveling salesmen and making short work of them.

Hraerek had already worked out a plan. He would take Cassandra to Hilda. The old woman was a good friend of his, not to mention a gifted healer. She could heal broken bones, help the terminally ill back on their feet and knew the right medicine for every ailment. However, she lived half a day's walk from Cielon; out in the woods. Hilda had retreated there a few years ago, after her daughter and husband had been killed in an attack. She had never recovered from her loss and soon after moved to one of the old hunting lodges that the warriors of Cielon often used to spend the night there when they were on the road for a longer time.

Hraerek knew that she had not disposed of her daughter Freya's clothes since she had died. She had not brought herself to give away the last mementos of her only child. He had known Freya himself; she was a beautiful girl of sixteen years, who not only possessed her mother's knowledge, but also her father Armon's hawk-eye with which she never missed her target with bow and arrow when she went hunting with him. Hraereks father Thrand was very good friends with Armon at that time and often asked for advice from him when he was at a loss. Together they developed new fighting strategies that were supposed to give them an advantage in the fight against the Soleian warriors. But before they could realize their plans there was another attack. He remembered exactly how his father stood back to back with Armon and fought against the soldiers. They trusted each other blindly, which is why his father was hit even harder when Armon's chest was pierced with a soleian sword. Mourning for the loss of his friend spread throughout Cielon. Armon had been a highly respected warrior who was always just. At his funeral he was laid on one of the ships with the other warriors who had fallen that day and sent up to the open sea. Thrand himself fired the arrow, which set the ship alight. She had won that day, but the loss and grief for her loved ones weighed more heavily.

"When do we start?" Cassandra asked. Hraerek turned to her and his thoughts, which had been clouded by the grey veils of the past, became clear again.

"At sunrise. Sleep a little longer. We have a long march ahead of us."

Cassandra nodded. She got up and got her coat and her boots. She put the boots on before cuddling up to Fenris and spreading the coat over her.

"Good night."

Her words were so soft that Hraerek hardly understood them. But their meaning was. She really was a strange woman. Hjalmar, who was still wide awake unlike Fenris, came over to him and lay down next to him. He laid his head on Hraerek's thigh before he yawned heartily.

"That was an exciting day, wasn't it, my friend?"

He stroked his wolf over the giant black head. Meanwhile, Cassandra was fast asleep and clung closer to Fenris. He had long known that animals had a sense of who they could and could not trust. His father had explained to him as a small boy that they had an instinctive feeling for this, from which humans could only learn. They soon noticed who had a good heart and whose was just lies. So if his two furry friends had decided to trust Cassandra, why wouldn't he?

Translated with the help of DeepL.