Word Count: 6,082
Summary of Events:
Hallbjörn went for a ride on one of his father's mares and thought, with some trepidation, about his impending departure for Deuschbren later that week. Bergljót was helping her siblings make jam, but was resentful of the fact that her older sister had given her the job that kept her cooped up in the house on such a fine summer day. Hallbjörn watched the last of the supplies get loaded onto the ship before embarking and setting off on the week-long voyage . . .
Excerpt of the Day:
Mother waved while Father stood stoically beside her. Hallbjörn stood still and put on a brave face in spite of the sudden fear that had swelled within him. There was no going back now; he wouldn’t step onto dry land for another week, and when he did so, it would not be his homeland, but a foreign land.
The only thing that kept his mind at ease was that he was fluent in the language of Deuschbren: Weisdrucke — also the language of Außtöst and Zeig, although each having their own subtle dialectical differences — so he wouldn’t necessarily be at the mercy of strangers.
Even still, he’d never left Ena before, and his stomach convulsed in fear at what might lie ahead. The farthest he’d gone was to one of the little islands hardly a day’s voyage from Óðinnborg, where Father and Mother kept a small estate for getaways.
“Have you ever left Ena before?” Hallbjörn startled slightly and turned to look at the young woman who’d softly queried.
“No,” Hallbjörn replied. “I haven’t.”
“Oh,” she said.
“You haven’t either?” he asked.
“No,” she replied, looking at him somewhat fearfully.
Hallbjörn nodded and looked out at the rising cliffs, topped with handsome mansions belonging to rich noblemen whose business did not need the amount of green space as Father’s did.
“What is your name?” she asked quietly.
“Hallbjörn Óðinnson,” he replied. “And yours?”
“Maria Hrfansdóttir,” she replied. “My father is General Hrfan Lárusson.”
“And how came you to be offered as my dinner guest and dancing partner?” he asked.
“Father didn’t think it would be fitting for you — being the King’s Own Horse-Breeder’s heir — to fall in love with a foreign woman,” Maria replied.
“I doubt I would have,” Hallbjörn replied. “I’m not inclined to get married yet.”
“Why not?” Maria asked.
“Mostly because I haven’t found a woman I really like,” Hallbjörn said. “Not that I recall having met you before or anything.”
“Father has an estate out in the country where he lives most of the time because he doesn’t really like the city bustle,” Maria replied. “It’s where I’ve grown up. I think it’s because Father didn’t want King Ármann to meet me.”
“He certainly didn’t seem to have any feelings toward you,” Hallbjörn said. “Why would your father be concerned?”
“Because of the law,” Maria replied. “But the only reason I’m sure King Ármann didn’t have any feelings toward me was because on the pier was the first time he’d ever seen me. Although I’m also sure that Father told King Ármann things about me that led King Ármann to believe I wasn’t worth his while.”
“That’s always good to know,” Hallbjörn said.
He watched as the beach on which he’d ridden the other day — as well as countless times before — came into view, a narrow grey line at the foot of the grassy slopes dotted with trees. He wondered how small he’d looked to the sailors while galloping there.
Pronunciations:
Weisdrucke: visedrookuh
Außtöst: owsstoast
Zeig: zayg
Hrfansdóttir: herfanzdoughteer
Hrfan: herfan
Lárusson: lahroosohn
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