"And then I suppose the boys will want more of me today too." Konal groaned as he settled into the grass. "This is the hardest I've worked in a long time."
"Then rest." Runa placed herself on the grass, a careful distance away. She knew Konal lusted for her; his eyes were not as good at lying as was his tongue. Every time she beat him in practice, she saw him struggle to control his desire. Today was no different, and his red face was more from just the exertion of practice.
Runa's hands pulsed from sword practice. She rubbed the tough ridge of flesh at the base of her fingers of her sword hand and drifted into thought. Winter had been kinder than years past, and summer was soon to come. In better days, Ulfrik would have been planning a spring festival. She shook her head in dismissal, for Ulfrik would be gone at least two more months and thinking of him would only worsen her loneliness. Ever since the raid on her hall, his absence dug at her. Konal provided a strong presence but he was nothing like Ulfrik. He had neither his confident leadership nor his quick mind. More than anything, she missed his wit and humor. Nye Grenner needed laughter as much as it needed food and drink.
Konal shot to his feet. Runa startled from her thoughts.
"Two sails," he said, pointing to the sparkling stretch of gray ocean.
"Thorod and Skard!" Standing, her hand fell to the sword at her side, as if drawing it could wave away the enemy.
"They come from the wrong direction."
"How can you tell?" Runa was a poor judge of direction, but the two ships seemed to sail directly toward them. Konal ignored her question, shading his eyes with his hand. He began to laugh.
"I recognize those sails. My brother has found me." He turned to her, a wide smile on his face, and grabbed both her shoulders. "He has come at the first good sailing weather, as I foretold!"
Releasing her, he ran yelling down the slope while waving both hands overhead. Runa watched in dumbfounded stillness. Strange feelings welled up, a sudden sadness. Though the ships were not even at the shore, she knew Konal was not mistaken. Fate now worked to remove Konal from the thread of Runa's life. She touched her cheek at the thought, and her breathing grew heavier.
Konal was dancing in the surf, splashing water into the air like a child. His shouting had drawn people from the hall. Gunnar appeared at her side, and tugged her sleeve. "Is everything all right, Mother?"
Blinking several times, she patted Gunnar's head. "Of course. Konal's brother has come." Her voice weakened. "Just as he foretold."
They stared at him waving and shouting, then Gunnar remarked, "That's how I'm going to greet Father when he returns. I'm going to dance in the water like Konal."
Even as the ships slid onto the rocky beach, one man had leapt from the prow and stumbled through the water to Konal. The two men crashed together in the shallows, both of them screaming and wailing in joy. Others leapt the rails into the shallows, some to drag their ships onto the beach and others to slog through the water for Konal. In moments, the men were swarming him and reaching out to touch him. The pile of laughing men looked like boys to Runa. The clump staggered onto the beach where they finally collapsed in a pile. Gunnar laughed. "They're so happy!"
Runa smiled as an afterthought, then guided Gunnar to her side. "Let's greet our guests."
At the edge of the surf, Konal stood arm in arm with his twin. Only Konal's poor clothing distinguished him from his better dressed brother. The two shared the same smile, though the brother's seemed more open. Konal pulled out and grabbed Runa's arm, yanking her forward.
"Here's the woman who saved my life." His arm slipped easily about her shoulder, and she did not resist. "She plucked me from a rock under a cliff, where I surely would've died. Without her, you'd be fetching my bones instead."
The brother, whose name she knew was Kell, looked her up and down. His eyes widened at the pants she wore and the sword at her side, but he met her eyes and held them. "My brother is one-half my life, and so you have rescued me as well. I cannot repay you for keeping Konal well for all this time."
He bowed low and many of the dark men in salt-stained clothing behind him did as well. Several shouted their thanks while others simply looked her in the eye and nodded. A few even wiped away tears.
"I am Runa, ruler of Nye Grenner. I welcome you, Kell, to my lands and home."
Kell snapped up at his name, a wry smile on his face. "Konal's been talking about me, I see. All the good is a lie and all the bad is true, I'm afraid to admit."
Konal roared laughter, unhooked his arm from Runa, then thumped Kell on his shoulder. "How I've missed you, Brother! We've much to discuss. Let's get to the hall. But wait, where's …?"
As his voice drifted off, a dark cloud formed over the men. Heads lowered and eyes darted away. Kell's own voice was solemn as he touched the silver hammer of Thor at his throat. "Down to Ran's Bed at the bottom of the sea. Were our blood not one in the same, I'd have guessed you'd followed them as well."
The somber air lasted only moments as Konal lowered his head and wiped his face. He exhaled and then gave a calm smile. "They were a fine crew, the best of any I'd ever known. Let's share a drink to their memories. Come."
Runa followed along as the gathering of warriors converged on her hall. Only now did she realize how naturally Konal has assumed control, as if the hall were his own. Gunnar joined Konal and Kell, receiving a greeting that Runa again felt overstepped boundaries of a guest. It was as if Konal was taking Kell to his home, inviting him into his hall. Her turbid thoughts settled and she realized that with nearly eighty men pouring off these ships, Konal had the force to settle Nye Grenner as his home. Her heart raced as she realized the real invaders might be walking aside her with smiles and songs rather than war cries and swords.
Runa sat at the high table, Gunnar at her side and Konal where Ulfrik had formerly sat. Male voices filled the hall, happy and vibrant conversations that reminded her of better times. As she closed her eyes, the scene transformed into the festivals of years past. The deep chuckle at her left became Ulfrik's. The sudden shout and crash became Toki's drunken stumbling. The resultant laughter came from the hirdmen. Yet when her eyes opened the scene was filled with unfamiliar actors, though no one was less happy.
Kell had fallen off the table, and his men threw scraps and laughed as he struggled to his feet. In the short few weeks Kell had stayed in Nye Grenner, he had done much good. Seeing the poor state of the buildings and the low stores of food, he had dispatched his ships to buy food and supplies from the Shetland and Orkney Islands. With the larders restocked, he then set his men to restoring the damage wrought over half a decade of disrepair. As the weather warmed into spring, Kell ensured Nye Grenner's people shook off the vestiges of winter. To Runa's embarrassment, Kell had paid for and organized the feast everyone now enjoyed.
The day of celebration drew all the community, comprised mostly women and girls. Though many were married, with husbands long gone and the prospect that many were dead, Kell's crew found plenty of accommodating women. Runa could not condemn them, but neither could she bring herself to join them.
Night still arrived early, and as the sun collapsed, so did many who had drank to excess. Others found the opportunity to slip away with a partner. The hall grew tired and quiet, and the amber light of the hearth fire cast flickering light around those who remained. Konal had reversed himself on the bench so his back rested against the table and legs stretched out. Gunnar and his friends sought mischief among the crowd below the high table and Thora had taken Hakon to free Runa to lead the celebration.