All Chapters of Tova's Four Kingdoms: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

TOVAI exhaled through my nose, my anxiety high. I had gone and made the king mad, again. At this rate he would kill me before he wed me. I looked over at Birgir who looked amused.“Queen Tova has a unique way of looking at a situation,” he said, somewhat defending me. I turned an outraged look on him and he choked on his chuckle before bowing himself out of the barn.I ignored the King and went to the tack room, pulling down Bo’s saddle and equipment. The King looked on with amusement while I saddled Bo, who was excited about the prospect of running with his favorite friend, Troi. I was less than excited, and Bo picked up on my mood, nudging me with his nose incessantly, until I laughed and kissed it.“You have blood on your shift,” the King said, suddenly. I looked down in surprise and saw a smear near my shoulder. I shrugged.“Not mine,” I said, continuing to saddle Bo. The king looked surprised.“Do you not want to go and change?”I looked at him. “Would it please your g

TOVA When I got back to the stable, Birgir was waiting for me to help me unsaddle Bo. He looked at my face, seeing the unshed tears that bubbled right behind the surface and leaned down to whisper to me. “What happened?” I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t admit, even to my best friend, that the King had kissed me and found me lacking so much that he had abruptly left, not speaking another word to me. Instead, I busied myself by taking the saddle off Bo and running the curry brush down his back, an act I knew he loved. He nuzzled me and I felt better, even smiling now. Birgir still looked at me with concern. “Did he hurt you, Tova?” he asked, quietly, even though the King had already left the stable. “No, of course not, Birgir,” I smiled at him, reassuringly, but his look of concern didn’t leave his face. “I will ask the King about it,” he warned me. I shrugged. “Go ahead,” I said, calling his bluff. I would have caved when I was younger but th

ERIK I heard a knock at my door. I checked the time. Birgir was prompt. “Enter!” I shouted. The door to my chamber opened a little and Birgir slipped in. He bowed his head. “My Grace,” he said, respectfully. I smiled at him and held out my hand. “Don’t be so stuffy. When there’s no one else around, please call me Erik.” I smiled ruefully. “You changed my diapers, my companion. There are no secrets between us.” He laughed and took a seat in the chair that I indicated. “How can I help you, my friend,” he asked. I paused, unsure how to broach the subject. “I want to get your opinion on Tova,” I said. “I know that you must be diplomatic when around anyone else, so I wanted to give you the opportunity to be honest and upfront with me.” He looked at me shrewdly. “Are you having feelings for her, Erik?” he asked, forgoing all pretense. “I am,” I admitted. “I am finding that I admire her. She is different than the other women I have had opportunity to surround myself w

TOVA The pain in my head threatened to cause me to lose consciousness the moment I regained it. I could feel the blood trickling down the side of my face, and I realized that they had hit me much harder than I had originally thought. I carefully opened my eyes. I was bound to the center pole of a meager hut. Huts in this part of the country were built raised since the ground is permanently frozen eight inches under the topsoil. A log is driven into the ground, eight inches deep, and then cemented into place with a combination of animal hair, saw dust, gravel, and tree sap from the Bidor tree. Then a hut is built around the log. First, stones are laid on the ground as a foundation. Animal hair, wool, dried grasses, and branches are put on top of the stones as insulation and then a floating wooden floor of halved logs are laid on top. Depending on the riches of the person building the hut, the logs may be smoothed and sanded. Walls are built around out of stone and a thatch r

ERIK I watched Tova drift off to sleep. Birgir went to the fire and gathered a bunch of herbs, tying them together in a bundle. He lit the end on fire and then blew out the flame, creating a smudge. He wrapped a stiff piece of bark around the bundle, making a little cornucopia with the smoking end at the large end of the cone. He sat in front of Tova, holding the smudge in front of her face. Her breathing deepened as she drifted into a deeper sleep. Satisfied, he stubbed out the smudge on the dirt floor and then went back to the pot that was boiling on the fire, the herbs and roots inside turning the water to a noxious shade of green. I watched him dip strips of linen into the water and pull them out, letting them cool slightly in the air before bringing them to Tova’s sleeping form. I braced myself for what I was going to see. He removed the light sheet that was covering her body and gently pulled off the used strips of linen, setting them aside to be cleaned and used again