Claimed by the Viking

Chapter 3 : Back and Forth

Adelheid was sitting on the bed, her mind blank. While shuffling in the trunks, she had indeed find some clothes, which were not in a very good shape: a yellowish undershirt which was too large for her and un undyed brown dress that was itchy and did not fit her at all, leaving her chest area very constricted and her waist too loose. She must have been ridiculous, but at least, she was covered from her neck to her ankles.

The fabric was too thin and let the cold reach her skin, so Adelheid had used one of the furs too wrap herself in, managing to make it remain on her shoulders like a cape with a belt she had found. She probably looked ridiculous, but she was dressed, which made her feel much safer. Her shirt which the Viking had shred was so damaged that it was irrecuperable, so Adelheid had left it in a corner, wondering where they had put the blue dress and green cape she had been wearing when she escaped the village. Only her boots she had found in a corner, glad to have something that fit her feet to wear.

Since then, she had remained in the cabin, door locked, for five days. Five days without seeing the jarl. Only one man came every day to bring her meals and water, but he spoke Norse and she wasn't able to communicate with him. He also picked up a bucket made for her personnal needs every day and she had felt extremely embarassed about that. She had tried to question him about the ships that had been seen, but with no result, and she deduced that they must not have been the ones they chased since no sign of an assault had happened.

Adelheid felt dirty, and that was what made her feel the worse about herself. She had tried to comb her hair with fingers, but without any warm water or oil to do so, she had only ripped some of her hair, leaving her head throbbing. Therefore, she had managed to tie it out of her face in a very messy bun at the nape of her neck. It was probably extremely ugly but at least her dirty hair was not itching her neck and cheeks anymore that way. It was no longer the beautiful hair that everyone complimented her about, to whom she used to proudly answer that she had inherited it from her mother. She felt a bit down because of that, but at the same time it was not her priority to look good at that moment.

She was dirty and ugly yes. But also dressed and safe. She was glad for that. She had worried that the Viking would come and try to force her into submission again, but she believed that her state of ugliness would help her repulse him, but he had made no appearance at all, leaving her alone in the cabin. She didn't know if she was glad to stay alone that way or if she felt lonely.

Around the middle of one day, while she was eating some cold broth, the cabin's door suddenly opened, startling Adelheid. Her spoon dropped in the broth, splashing some liquid on the nasty dress she was wearing, but she didn't care about that. Her eyes were glued to the man in the doorway: it was the Jarl. He was dressed in his usual clothes, furs covering him warmly, making him appear tall and intimidating.

He eyed her up, seemingly taking in consideration her outfit and nodded, probably happy that she was at her lowest, Adelheid thought.

"We have arrived. You'll be brought to the women's house. Someone will bring you to wash and change yourself before giving you some tasks. Then you'll do the service at the feast celebrating our return." He told her while looking around absentmindedly before going out, leaving the door wide opened behind him.

A bit hesitant, Adelheid went on the deck. All men were occupied by puting things down the ship in smaller barks to bring them on land. Over there, many people had gathered, apparently to welcome back the men. Some families hugging each other, some couples kissing openly, which was quite indecent back in her country but seemed normal here. She felt out of place here at this village. Or was it a town? It seemed quite big but she had no idea what it truly was.

She saw that the Jarl was already in one of the barks, going over the land, people greeting him warmly. She was shocked to see two women openly hugging him as lovers would and holding his arms while he walked further into town. She felt bad. She knew that if she became his concubine, she would just be another trophy for him. She had never had much expectations of her previous betrothed, but at least she would not have been a woman amongst many. Maybe he wouldn't have been loyal, but she would have been the only one with the title of wife. She sighed at the thought that her expectations were so low.