Tova

TOVA

There was a sharp rap on the door and my mother opened it with shaking hands to reveal a very tall, very large imposing man who had to duck to get through our doorway.  I was sitting at the kitchen table dressed in my Sunday outfit, even though it was only Tuesday.  There was a small fur cloak that was laying out on the table that my mother had painstakingly made, the fur cut out from her very own coat, making it unusable for her.  My father stood, rigid, back to the door, staring into the fireplace.

“Is she ready?” the man asked.  His voice was gruff, but not unkind.

“He won’t hurt her?” my mother asked in a begging voice.  The man answer, the gruffness dropped from his voice and replaced with sympathy.

“No.  She is his bride.  It has been foretold.”

“She is only six!” my mother cried out.  “How can she be someone’s bride?  She is too young!”

“He will not mate her until she turns of age,” the man reassured her.  “But he wants her with him to train as future queen and to keep her safe.  There are many out there who would hunt her and do her harm or worse, just to get to him, if it was known.”

“We would keep her safe,” my father finally spoke, turning away from the fire.  I saw the man step back a moment.  My daddy looked ugly, but he was not an ugly man.  He had just gotten in a fight a long time ago.  His face was badly scarred, and he was missing a leg and a hand.

He saw the look on the man’s face and bristled.  “You doubt I can keep my daughter safe?” he shouted.  The man was solemn. 

“I do not doubt it for a moment,” the man soothed.  “But it was his Highness’s orders.  I cannot go against it.” 

My father turned back to the fireplace, no longer looking at me.  My mother came forward and wrapped the new cloak around me, tying the ribbons with trembling fingers.  The man stepped forward with a vial that he uncorked.

“Drink this,” he said kindly, handing me the vial.  I looked at my mother who looked at the man.

“It’s a long journey and uncomfortable by Sleipnir.  Their eight legs get us there faster but it is a jarring ride,” the man said with a slight smile.  “This will cause her to sleep for much of it.”

My mother nodded to me, and I drank the potion, the roots bitter and causing me to wrinkle my nose. 

“Will I ever be able to see her again,” my mother whispered.  The man shook his head at her. 

“Say your goodbyes and then forget about her.  Have another child.  You are still young.”  He handed over a small leather bag.  “This will help make your lives a little more comfortable.”

My mother took the bag and my father growled into the fireplace.  “Blood money.”  He was bent over, looking into the fire, hand on the stone chimney above him.  I could hear a catch in his voice.  I wanted him to come to me and toss me in the air like he does because it makes both of us laugh. 

I was starting to get sleepy, and I wobbled a little bit.  The man noticed.  “It is time.”

My mother let out a cry of anguish and ran to me, snatching me up in her arms.  “No!” she shrieked. 

The man gently pried me from her arms.  I started crying because mama was crying, not because I knew what was going on.  My father still didn’t turn around as the man took me from my tiny hut.  I could still hear my mother screaming in the house and I waited for my father to come out and get me.  He did not.

I was put down and turned around so that I was facing the large man. 

“Hello, little one.  My name is Birgir.  I will be your keeper from now on.” 

I smiled at him, my eyes becoming heavy.  “Hello,” I answered back.  “My name is Tova.”

He grinned at me.  “I know, little Tova.”  He lifted me up again, getting my feet out of the snow so that they stayed dry.  He carried me over to the Sleipnir and I shied back.  I had seen normal horses, but this was a massive beast and he had eight legs.  He was scary and I was afraid, so I hid my face in Birgir’s coat.

“Shh, little one.  This is Bo.  He will someday be your special friend but for today, he will carry us both.”  The horse reached over and nuzzled me, and I giggled, putting out my hand to touch his nose.  He blew his air with pleasure, and I giggled again.  Birgir appeared pleased.

“You will be great friends someday.”

In a smooth move, Birgir mounted Bo and held me in front of him.  I could barely keep my eyes open by this time, so I wiggled until I was comfortable in Birgir’s arms.  I heard an ordered shout in a language I didn’t know, and we began to move.  The wind picked up and it was cold.  I shivered and Birgir moved a little, wrapping his cloak around me.  I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up and opened my eyes to see that I was being carried through a hall with large ceilings.  The walls were made of stone, and it was drafty.  Without Birgir’s cloak around me, I was cold.  I heard a voice coming from Birgir’s left and I turned to see a beautiful lady wearing a dress of emerald green trimmed with fur.  She was tall, keeping up with Brigir’s long pace.

“She is just a child,” she said, unpleased. 

“So were you,” Birgir answered.

“I grew to love the High King,” she snapped back.

“So will she,” he said, softly.

The woman was silent for a moment.  “I don’t know about that.  My son is a hard man, even though I tried to raise him not to be.”

Birgir answered.  “Your son is the High King, Ruler of all of Oremgoth.  He can’t be a gentle ruler.  Your husband wasn’t a gentle ruler.”

“But yet he was a gentle man,” the woman answered.  Birgir chuckled. 

“My lady, perhaps you forget I was your best friend when we were children after you were brought here to be Kelkin’s bride.  I have heard your woes.  I know your heartaches.  And I knew your fears.  Kelkin wasn’t a gentle king, but he was a gentle lover and kind husband.”

“That is true, my friend,” she put her hand on Birgir’s arm.  “I pray my son is that for this young one.”

We entered a room that was plush.  It had a tall, ornate door and there were thick rugs on the floor.  The fireplace was lit and pushing its comforting warmth into the area.  Birgir put me down on my feet and I looked around, eyes wide. 

“Let me see you, child,” said the woman, kneeling in front of me.  “I have been told your name is Tova?”

“Yes, m’lady,” I said, attempting a curtsy.  She smiled.

“You may call me Lady Ulka,” she said, raising me to my feet and pulling back my hood.  She gasped at the sight of my hair.

“Raven black,” she said with wonder to Birgir. 

“Just like yours, Ulka,” he said with a smile.

I started to shake, thinking I did something wrong.  Lady Ulka reached forward and put her hands on my shoulders.

“Do not be afraid, Tova.  Black hair is a rarity in this land.  It is a thing of beauty that not everyone has.  Paired with your beautiful blue eyes I would think that you will be a beautiful creature when you are grown.”

“Yes, Lady Ulka,” I said, not sure what I needed to say in response.  Her lips twisted with amusement but then she sat back on her heels and clapped her hands.  Three women came out of the second room that I had not noticed before.

“Tova, these are your maids.  You will listen to only them, Birgir and me.  No one else.  If someone was to come here and tell you that you are summoned, you wait until one of these women or Birgir or myself comes to get you.  It is a dangerous place for the future bride of the High King.”

I nodded, looking at the women.  They all looked young and pretty and I was excited to perhaps have someone to play with. 

Lady Ulka looked at the maids.  “Girls, I don’t need to remind you how angry High King Erik’s concubines will be when they find out of her presence and the intentions Erik has for her.  No food that you have not personally prepared or supervised will enter her chamber.  She will only leave these rooms with a guard escorting her wherever she goes.  No one is to enter her chamber without the explicit permission of Birgir or myself, and that includes the children of the harem.”  She sighed deeply.  “It has been foretold that she will unite the four kingdoms under High King Erik’s rule.  She is valuable and her death is the death of us all.”

“Yes, mistress,” the girls chorused.  They seemed nice but I wasn’t really paying attention to them.  I was confused and I was hungry, but I was too well brought up to complain to anyone.  Fortunately, Lady Ulka sensed my discomfort and clapped her hands again. 

“Go.  Bring Mistress Tova some dinner and then put her to bed.  She has long days ahead of her and I do not want her starting out her time with us sick.”

One of the girls bowed to her and ran out of the room, hopefully down to the kitchen.  Lady Ulka knelt to my level again and gently undid the ribbons my mother had tied that morning.  She lifted the cloak off from me, wrinkling her nose slightly from the heavy smell of tallow that my father used to tan the leather.

“Did your mother make this?” she asked, gently.  I nodded, fighting back tears.  I was beginning to feel overwhelmed, and I didn’t know what was going on.

“We shall keep this for you, then.  Somewhere safe.  And now a bath.  Nice and warm with lots of bubbles, then into a nightshirt and slippers for a very informal dinner.”  She beckoned to one of the remaining girls who came forward and took my hand in hers. 

“Come with me, mistress,” she said. 

I whispered to her.  “My name is Tova, please, ma’am.” The girl giggled. 

“I should be whipped if I called you that, mistress.”  She led me to another room where there was more stone but another fireplace that had been lit so it was not cold.  I was relieved to see a privy hole in the corner along with a sunken bath filled to the brim with fragrant bubbles.  I stopped short in awe and the girl tugged me forward.  I let her lead me to the edge and then obediently put my hands up for her to take off my dress.  She unlaced my leather booties, and I took off my woolen undergarments before slipping into the hot, soapy water.  I lay back and floated, a skill I was extraordinarily proud of having learned it last summer in the creek that flowed by our house.  The girl giggled again and grabbed a brush with a long handle. 

“Come to the edge, mistress.  I must clean your body and wash your hair.” 

I submitted myself to her gentle ministrations and then, properly dried and wrapped in a nightshirt and fine woolen robe, ate my dinner of thickened broth with root vegetables and large chunks of meat.  Belly full, warm and satisfied, I dozed off in my chair.