They might have realised that Gertrud’s disappearance, even if only for a short time, was connected... But then she remembered the whispers about Sami magic stealing women away, and she wondered again at what they had been told.
There were some pitying looks sent her way by those around her.
Did they think Embla had been seduced by magic and stolen away?That even the wild man of the woods had rejected her?
She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Runar wanted her, but he would never have kept a woman by force. She sneaked a peek at Gertrud, who was pushing her meat away as if she suspected it was tainted, and Embla felt a moment of pity for her half-sister.
It was an unusual feeling. Previously, she had always envied Gertrud. Her rich and powerful husband, her children, and even her beauty. But now she saw the truth. That Gertrud was a woman in the prime of her life, married to a man who was in the shadow of his. Runar must have seemed like an exciting escape.
Why had she left, only to return? And, more importantly, why had Embla done the same?
The question took her breath away, and she tried to think of something else to distract herself.
‘Why are we feasting?’ she asked, ‘Has there been a birth or a wedding?’ She searched the room, ready to offer congratulations to whoever was being honoured.
Gertrud’s eyes met hers, the same soft blue as her own. ‘We searched for you and found your cap near the caves. When the ice sheet melted, and the caves were found to be empty...we finally lost all hope.’
‘This is your funeral feast,’ added the Jarl, and he chuckled as he reached for his goblet. ‘Although, we did not expect you to attend it yourself.’
Embla dropped the bread down onto her silver platter, her appetite finally dead and buried.
Once the food was gone, the men began to organise drinking games, and the children played with their new toys. Gertrud, Embla, and Asa moved to sit in the sewing room of the Jarl’s private chambers. Here they could sew by the light of the large brazier, undisturbed by the chaos in the Hall beyond.
Usually, Embla loved the peace and quiet, and preferred moving out of the noisy Hall when her chores were done. But tonight, she had no chores and the unspoken questions of her mother and half-sister filled the silence.
Before she had even picked up her needle, Gertrud asked, ‘When Runar left, why did you run after him?’
Asa must have wondered the same, because her mother put down her embroidery and looked at her expectantly.
‘I wanted to say goodbye,’ replied Embla, avoiding both their eyes. Should she pretend nothing had happened with Runar? People might have their suspicions, but no one would know the truth.
‘You became close then?’ asked Asa with a curious look.
Her mother must be so confused by the reactions of everyone to Runar. Surely, anyone else would have been treated as a hero for bringing her home, but not him. He had been accepted begrudgingly, and the tension between himself and the Jarl had been obvious, if strangely restrained.
‘We became friends.’
‘The gifts he made the children were lovely,’ said Asa, glancing between her and Gertrud with growing concern and confusion. ‘He cannot be so bad if he looked after you so well for all that time and made gifts for the children? Did he hurt you, or...take advantage of you?’
‘Of course not! Runar is a good man! If anyone says that then they are a liar!’ snapped Embla, and her mother looked taken aback by her tone.
To Embla’s surprise Gertrud nodded, her voice as low as the crackle of the wood in the brazier. ‘He is.’
She had not expected her half-sister to agree with her. But the woman who sat next to her now seemed so different to the woman she had previously known.
Embla’s time away appeared to have changed them both.
With a bravery she hadn’t known she possessed, Embla asked the one question that had plagued her mind for weeks. ‘Did you love him?’
‘So, you know what happened?’ There was no shock in her expression; if anything, she look relieved.
Embla nodded, and Gertrud smiled, carefully pulling on her thread to tighten her stitch. ‘IthoughtI loved him...but it was only for a moment.’
‘So, you didn’t actually love him?’
‘No... I wanted to. But we were not suited to one another.’
‘Because of the way he lives, out in the wilderness all alone?’
