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Valkyrie Fallen Chapter 48

Writer's picture: Laurel KnightLaurel Knight

Bjorn

Something was wrong.
When we rose the next morning, I wasn’t certain how to behave with Brenna. I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her warmly, but I held back, knowing it was probably too soon to act that way in front of my sisters. There would be plenty of time to explain to them; for now, it could be a secret we treasured between just the two of us.
But Brenna wouldn’t even hold my eye. I caught her gaze briefly, and her normally clear grey eyes were clouded, troubled. The change in her demeanor weighed on my mind throughout breakfast.
As soon as I was able, I got Brenna alone outside and pulled her to my chest, resting my cheek on her head. Living among us, Brenna had taken on the scents of my home. The distinctive fragrance of lavender in the soap my mother taught Signe how to make, among others, clung to her in a comforting cloud. Even so, there was a note that was all Brenna; something elusive and warm, like sunshine. I inhaled deeply, savoring the tantalizing fragrance, and waited for Brenna to relax into me.
She remained stiff, awkward and uncomfortable, as if she didn’t want to be there. My heart lurched in response, suddenly questioning if I’d been mistaken.
“Brenna, is everything… okay?”
“Yes.” Her response was flat, and she didn’t move to wrap her arms around my waist or even to pull away. She just… stood there.
So I pulled back to search her face. It was closed off, any trace of emotion hidden behind an impassive mask.
“Clearly it’s not,” I hinted. “What’s bothering you?”
She stared at my forehead unseeingly, as if she were looking through me.
“Brenna, look at me.” I used my ‘I mean business’ voice I reserved for when the girls weren’t listening.
As her eyes dropped to mine and focused, I saw the change in her demeanor. All of her hard edges softened, the wall she’d built through the night crumbling. “I have to leave,” she sighed.
“What? Why do you have to leave?”
“Because the Asgardians are involved in this village. If they have their fingers in everything that takes place here, there’s no way I’ll ever get ahead. I might even make it impossible for you, and Søren, and Leif, to get ahead. Odin is determined to punish me, and I don’t want to take you all down with me. I don’t even know why Thor was involved yesterday, but it spells nothing good for us.” She leaned away from me, crossing her arms over her chest, creating a barrier where before there was none.
“So now you just give up? And what, leave? Where will you go?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll find a new village, earn a place, and carry on. It’s not as if I have a choice,” she added bitterly. “Eventually I always have to move on.”
“Maybe eventually, but no one is forcing you to leave now. We haven’t even begun the summer raids, and you’re a part of our crew. How are we supposed to show up that worthless piece of shit Skarde without you?”
“I don’t think you can do it with me, don’t you see what I’m saying? If Odin, and Thor—and who knows which other gods—are involved, he will always win, and whoever is with me will always lose. You’re better off without me.”
“That is not necessarily true. You’re making an assumption, with bits of information that you don’t even know what they mean yet. Why are you sabotaging this before we even see if it works?” I realized, too late, that there was more than one application of my question; our raiding ship, but also whatever had grown between the two of us. I wasn’t certain which one I was arguing for more.
“I can’t let myself get attached to people here, if I’m just going to have to leave,” she snapped. “I already care about all of you too much; if I have to leave anyway, it’s better for me to leave now before I get in any deeper.”
“Ah, so that’s what this is about.” My heart sunk as I finally understood. “You’re running away.”
“No, I’m not running away. I’m trying to do what will be best for everyone,” her tone became indignant, eyes flashing.
I gave her a hard stare and shook my head slowly. “No, you are running. A minor challenge from some gods—which we don’t even know what it means—and you scurry away? No, that’s not the issue. You’re running because you’re getting too attached to us. Maybe all of us, maybe just a few of us.” My eyes tracked to the longhouse, and Brenna turned to follow my gaze.
I knew she cared about my sisters, and I knew she cared—at least a little—for Søren, Leif, and me.
And clearly, that scared her.
When her eyes returned to mine, I saw it—the fear. For all she’d been through, for all she’d lost, she was terrified to open herself again to that pain. “Brenna, you don’t have to be afraid of us. We won’t hurt you. We will be here for you. Just don’t give up on us yet.”
“Don’t you understand? It’s not about you. At least, not that way. I’m afraid that Odin would hurt you... one of you, just to punish me. He doesn’t care about people. To him, we’re all toys, playthings, that he can make do his bidding. His sense of honor, of justice, only serves his self-interest. He would have no qualms against hurting you solely for his own amusement. I don’t want to be the reason something awful happens, just because I was here and you were kind to me.” Her voice hitched at the end with emotion, and I almost lost it.
Placing my hands on her shoulders, I met her gaze with as much confidence as I could bring to my expression. “Nothing is going to happen to us, beyond what was always meant to happen. Besides, don’t you think it’s our choice to decide if we want to take that risk? Don’t I get a say on whether I want you to stay in my life?”
“You didn’t have a say on when I entered it,” she sniffed.
“Didn’t I?” I scratched my beard and raised my eyes to gaze over her shoulder, as if thinking deeply. “As I recall, you turned up and I could have turned you away that first day.”
“You wanted me to leave. Signe made you let me stay.”
At that, I actually chuckled. “Oh, and you think Signe is the boss of me, hm? You don’t think I could have laid down the law if I wanted?”
She looked surprised, as if she honestly hadn’t considered that. “I just assumed-”
“That Signe wanted you here and I didn’t, I know. Well, I certainly wasn’t keen on the idea at the beginning. But Signe was right—we needed someone here, and there were no better options in the village. It was the smart move to try you out and see if you would work, rather than trying to hire some unscrupulous man to look after my sisters. Now, of course, Signe is perfectly capable of running the house again. Thanks to you.”
A hint of a smile curled the corner of her lips. “So you liked me from the beginning?”
I cleared my throat, abruptly uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t say I liked you right away. More like, I didn’t hate you at the beginning and grew to appreciate you more as we got to know each other better.”
“I see.” Such a simple phrase, but when she said it, I heard the emotion behind it. She saw through my bluster as if I were made of water, and I did not fool her. “Well, I still think it would be better for everyone if I left and tried my luck again somewhere else.”
A voice I knew very well barked from nearby, “Why on earth would you think that?” 
I grinned. Søren had impeccable timing. He marched in our direction from the longhouse, Leif a half-step behind him. Søren’s face was serious, his refusal to betray his emotions like armor he wore, just as real as Brenna’s metal pieces. To me, it was plain as day to read him; he was surprised and upset that Brenna wanted to leave.
“Brenna believes that Thor’s appearance yesterday, helping Skarde, means she’s putting us in danger and we’d be better off without her.”
Even Leif was indignant, pushing his hair behind his ears and appealing to her with sincerity. “Of course we wouldn’t be. And you don’t know why Thor was there—we do not know if that had anything to do with you at all. For all we know, he’s been helping Skarde for far longer than when you landed on our shore.”
“That’s what I told her.” I shrugged, glad I now had backup in this argument.
“Don’t you think it’s quite a coincidence that I get deposited in this village by Odin, and Thor just happens to show here weeks later? How often do you think the Asgardians appear on Midgard? I promise it’s not that much.”
The loud, obnoxious caw of a crow shrieked from the fence to my left, and Brenna jumped in response, her eyes wide with trepidation as she took in the black bird.
“Oh no…”
At just that moment, I heard the crunch of approaching footsteps on the gravel path behind me.
Everyone’s eyes turned in unison, and we gazed upon the sprightly older man who approached with a dark grin on his lips.
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