“Your pacing is making me dizzy,” Saga said with a grin.
“I am sorry,” she said and joined her on a seat near the hearth.
“You have no reason to apologize,” Vigdis said. “You have a great deal to process and it is only natural you are worried.”
“I feel very badly about your servants, Saga.”
“Do not worry about them. It’s been adjustment enough having me as their lady; there’s only so much that is unfamiliar we can expect them to accept.”
“Saga!” Vigdis said placing her hand over her mouth.
“I am only partly jesting, sister,” she said and shrugged. “You recall how fearful some of them were of me when I first arrived. These people are superstitious over the least little thing. And I have no idea what is going on here, but it is far beyond anything any of them or I have ever witnessed. All I am saying is that I am not surprised.”
“I will help in any way that I can,” Elspeth said.
“There is no need for that or for you to worry about it. Giric will hire more people from the village or Prestwick and we will be manage.”
“May I ask if Freydis had any insight last evening?”
“She did not and was quite anxious to return to her dwelling to cast the runes. She said she would need to be alone in order to do so,” Vigdis said.
Elspeth drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. She didn’t know what to think about any of it. And while she was grateful that Magnus was the kind of man who would go to see the woman here safely, she couldn’t help but feel the loss of having him nearby. Every part of her yearned for him as though he were her lifeline in this stormy sea of confusion.
“Tell me again about the man you saw,” Vigdis said. “You said he was sitting. Could you make out any of his features?”
“Nay. I could only make out his glowing eyes. I was so afraid at that moment I just wanted to run away.”
“Freydis did not feel fear from him,” Saga said. “She was convinced he was a sage and had a message for you both. She feels your destinies are connected and that you are a Volur.”
“And what is that?” Elspeth asked.
“In our world they have magical abilities like seeing into the future and healing the sick. In your world, according to my husband, you would be called a witch.”
“I am not able to heal anyone.”
“But you have seen things before they’ve occurred.”
“Aye, I have many times since I was a small child. But I still say this is not possible because I am Christian. Will all my respect, I must emphasize that I do not believe in your gods.”
“You do not have to believe in our gods to be influenced by them. It does not work the way you think. There is a reason Odin has blessed you with one of his ravens. It is a great honour that you should accept,” Saga said a little more firmly than Elspeth cared for.
She was not trying to insult them, she was merely trying to explain her predicament. It was not that easy to even consider that everything she believed was either not true, or only a portion of reality.
“You have faith in your gods and I have faith in my God. It is possible that even if what Freydis suspects is true, that I have some kind of power, that we may disagree on the source.”
Saga opened her mouth and closed it again when Vigdis placed her hand on her leg.
“You are correct, Lady Elspeth,” Vigdis said. “How could we possibly know if this gift is from Odin or your God? And perhaps that is not the question to be answered at this moment.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean perhaps the more important question is what is the purpose of the gift? What are its properties and how are you to use them?”
While that may be true, what if she was not able to glean answers to any of the questions they posed? What if she never fully understood what was happening, or why, or how?
“There’s only one thing I’m certain of right now,” Saga said after a while.
“And what is that?” Elspeth asked, welcoming any clarity.
