Winter is coming

Het was duidelijk dat de zomer voorbij was. Het was altijd koud hier in Hillerød, de huizen hadden altijd een flinterdun laagje wit wat de stad eigen maakte. Maar het werd steeds kouder en binnenkort zouden de mensen hun extra dikke gewaden weer uit de kast moeten halen. Er werden maatregelen getroffen voor de komende winter. Houthakkers gingen er dagelijks op uit om hout te halen uit de bossen ten zuiden van de stad. Immers moest er genoeg brandhout zijn voor de strenge winter die eraan kwam. Karren met graan kwamen regelmatig de stad binnen vanuit andere regio's. Vlees werd opgeslagen en ingevroren, mensen die normaal buiten de stad woonde trokken naar Hillerød om er de winter door te brengen. Zo was het altijd gegaan, want iedereen wist dat enkel de dikke muren van de stad de kou tegen konden houden.

Gevolgd door haar twee lijfwachten wandelde ze in de richting van de haven. Er was een nieuwe lading aangekomen en het was haar taak om te checken of alles in orde was. Ze hield ervan om dingen zelf te doen, ze was niet iemand die honderden mannen rond zou commanderen voor dit soort taakjes. Freyja wilde weten of ze genoeg hadden voor de komende winter, ze zou spreken met de mensen die verantwoordelijk waren voor het opslaan van de spullen.

Toen ze bij de haven waren aangekomen zag ze een kraampje met prachtig bond staan. Ze gebaarde aan haar lijfwachten dat ze hier moesten wachten en wandelde er heen. De Skarsgård droeg altijd wolvenbond over haar schouders, het kenmerkte haar als een belangrijk iemand. Met haar hand ging ze over de warme vachten heen, kijkende of ze er misschien eentje zou kopen. Ze zou er de binnenkant van een nieuwe jurk van maken, er waren veel mogelijkheden met dit soort producten en ze vond het handiger als ze deze eerst zelf kon bekijken.

Kleine sneeuwvlokjes kwamen uit de lucht vallen. Ze dwarrelde neer op de lading bond en mengde zich in haar vuurrode haren, winter was coming.

Het was wel duidelijk dat de winter voor de deur stond. De kleine sneeuwvlokjes die nu uit de hemel kwamen dwarrelen bevestigde dat. Binnenkort zouden ze extra goed op de haven moeten gaan letten, om ervoor te zorgen dat deze begaanbaar bleef. Dan zou de stad weer onder een dikke laag sneeuw verstopt liggen, dezelfde sneeuw waarin ze als klein kind vrolijk had gespeeld. Maar nu was de tijd van spelen voorbij, nu was ze de Lady van Hillerød.

Een stem naast haar sprak op, wat natuurlijk haar aandacht trok. "They are indeed," stemde ze met de ander in. Ondanks dat het koud was, trok ze de leren handschoen van haar rechterhand af zodat ze de vacht beter kon voelen. "And they will, you are right." Haar mondhoek trok een beetje omhoog. "I hope we'll have enough for everybody." Waarschijnlijk zou ze als lady van de stad wel zorgen dat de armere mensen ook dit soort warme spullen hadden, zo was ze namelijk wel. "And then I'm not only talking about the furs." Als hun havens dichtvroren en het bleek dat ze te weinig voedsel hadden, dan moest alles door het besneeuwde berglandschap komen, niet bepaald ideaal als je snel voedsel nodig had.

Ze keek toe hoe de ander een wat aangenamere positie aannam om tegen haar te praten, waarbij ze één van haar wachters kort naar de ander zag kijken. Niet iedereen leek zo relaxt te zijn wanneer ze tegen de Lady spraken, maar Freyja vond het alles behalve erg. Ze wilde niet dat mensen haar zagen als iemand die vele malen hoger stond dan hen, ze wilde alleen dat ze wisten dat ze er alles aan zou doen om Hillerød de grote, sterke stad te houden die het nu was.

"You are right, we are strong. Stronger then most people think." Voor een moment richtte ze haar blik weer op de zachte vacht waar ze met haar hand over heen was gegaan. "Some think we are weak because we hide behind our walls." De andere vikingen keken vast op hun neer vanwege hun muur, het was niet gebruikelijk om een muur te hebben als vikingstad. Toch had haar familie generaties geleden besloten om wel die muur te bouwen. "Perhaps not only those who are strong, but those who are also smart survive." Veelbetekenend keek ze hem aan. Lichamelijk was zij niet sterk, maar hier stond ze dan. En niet één van haar broers.

"Tell me, what is the name of the person that descided to have this interesting conversation with me." Ze was oprecht benieuwd naar wat hij nog meer te vertellen had, en het zou wel handig zijn als ze een naam bij een gezicht kon plakken.

It seemed like he wasn't going to agree with her about all those people here being strong. "You can be smart without being strong and strong without being smart, most people are only one of those things," she reacted on his earlier words. Physically she wasn't strong at all, that was a fact and everybody could see that. She was a lady and no warrior that would fight in battle. It was the reason those guards were with her almost every moment of the day when she was exposed to other people. Freyja could not die, the city would get into chaos and her aunt would probably take over the place.

He said that he would like to believe he was strong and smart. The eyes of the red haired lady followed his hands that placed back the fur back with the rest. "Who knows you are," she said with a smile. She didn't knew him, so she could not decide if he was both of those things. On the other side, he was someone from the north and still alive. That must count for something.

His name was Donovar, and his eyes gave away that he was a little bit suspicious now. It was weird that a lady was interessed in his name, she could understand that. He also knew who she was, what spared her from introducing herself at this point. "Don't be so suspicious," she said while investigating him for a bit. "I'm truely interested in certain people." She wanted to bond with the people that were wandering in her city.

To be honest, she doubted that her ancestors had been both smart and strong. Most of the man that had been lord of Hillerød before her ended up dying in battle after all, not the smartest thing to do as a leader. Freyja didn't even know how to fight properly, and she was not planning on getting herself in so much trouble that she had to fight for her life. The red haired lady was used to other people protecting her, her father always made sure of that. But now he was gone she was just a tasty shark meal, waiting to be taken by the first hungry shark that swam by. "You're right.." she agreed with him while her eyes gazed over the other people around. Some seemed to be strong, but there was no way everybody used their brains instead of their human instincs. She considered herself as one of the smart people, definately not strong. Perhaps she wasn't smart either.

A little smile appeared on her face while the other person said he had not much to offer her. "Yet here we are, still talking." That meant he did had to offer her something, his company at this right moment.

Freyja pointed her eyes at Donovar again when he told her that the most people of her status didn't really care about the lower ones. "I'm not like most people," she immediately said after he was done talking. "But I don't blame you for thinking like that." The people had to know that she was nothing like the other lords and ladies, those who used their power for their own good and never thought about the lower class. Freyja wanted to be a lady of the people, but she knew she had to earn that place first.

This day turned out very different then she had in mind. At first she thought she was going to stroll around the city for a bit, but now she found herself in a situation that quite surprised her. This little encounter was not something she had every day. Not much people had the courage to walk up to her like that, and she had to admit she liked it a lot. Finally someone that wasn’t scared off because of her status and name. He was going to take her words as a compliment then, what made her grin for a moment. Yes, he was an amusing company to have.

She told him she was not like most people, and narrowed her eyes a little bit when he seemed to question her words. It was not like she was angry, she was actually quite amused and a little smile danced around her lips. “Didn’t I?” she spoke while raising her eyebrows in a playful way. It was not like she had to defend herself or something. He wanted her to give him the chance to figure out who she was. Again there was this amused expression on her face that she wasn’t able to hold back. “Alright then,” she agreed with it after a brief silence. She knew that this meant they were going to see each other more then this one time and she had to say she didn’t mind that at all.

“Perhaps I should invite you to dinner tonight,” she said with an amused look in her eyes. Probably not the best idea, to invite someone into her castle that she met on the streets. There was just this thing about him she was not able to place. Maybe it was because he was not afraid to talk to her, knowing who she was and what kind off power she had. Most people didn’t spoke to her like this, they were much more reserved. He, in contrast, didn’t seem to bother at all. He spoke decent, yet straight to the point and with this bit of self-assurance in it. “And since you knew who I was, I also think you are able to find the way to where I live.” Everybody knew the Lady lived in the castle that was built in the centre of the city. The Skarsgårds had been living in that castle since they built it by their own hands. She looked at him with a certain curiosity in her eyes, she wanted to know if he was going to accept the offer she made him just now.

She couldn’t help but smile when she saw the big smile that appeared on his face when she invited him for dinner. They were strangers, they knew nothing much more then their names. There was just this part in her that wanted to know him better He was certainly not scared of her, something she approved. Perhaps she would finally have someone to talk to as a normal human being, not as a noble. The formal talk was getting on her nerves some days, and even her handmaidens talked to her with a certain distance. She really liked the idea of someone breaking with that norm.

Finding her castle wasn’t going to be a problem to him, which she expected. She followed his gaze to the large castle that was visible everywhere in the city. Her ancestors mad build it all. The walls, the houses, the castle, the harbour. Even though it all looked a bit cold and gray, so did most places in the north. The little snowflakes that were falling from the sky gave the city a certain softness. Freyja always loved the snow. She remembered that when she was still a child, she used to make snow angels in it. Sometimes her brothers had joined her, but they were always busy with training and fighting. She had never been like that. But now she was the lady of a city like this, she had to learn how to fight. If she didn’t, there would be no viking respecting her. It was hard for a young woman who had recently lost her father and two of her brothers.

“At dusk,” she said while looking back at him again. For a moment she seemed to forget about all the problems of the past few weeks. A dinner would do no harm, right? After all, she was the lady, there was nobody to forbid her to invite people into her castle. “I’ll tell my guards I have a special guest tonight, just say your name and they will let you in.” She was looking forward to it already, she rarely ever had guests that were no important Lords or Ladies who came to her city for political reasons.

Freyja had been preparing herself for her guest tonight. She tried to keep herself from showing off too much. After all she was not planning on impressing him that much, but she also wanted to look good for him. Strange, she never felt like doing so for other guests. After she brushed her hair for the third time, she decides she was ready and left her chambers, going to the room she always dined in with her family and important guests. Today her brothers were busy, so she would normally dine all by herself. Not today though, today it would be only her and her guest.

A smile appeared on her face when she saw him standing in the dining room while she walked in. “You found my castle, I see.” Of course, he had found her castle, there was no way anyone could miss the big building. Freyja had left her guards a note to bring him to the dining room when he arrived. They had shown her a confused glare, but there was no-one who wanted to go against the words their Lady. It surprised her that none of her brothers had come to her, telling her that she was being stupid, inviting strangers for dinner. She only saw it as a chance to meet new people, to meet people that were living in her village and northerners from other parts of Falkreath. Donovar seemed to be an interesting individual. The guards had not frightened him to come up to her and talk to her while knowing who she was. You needed a certain character trait to attempt such things.

“Do you want anything to drink?” she asked him while she walked over to the table with some different drinks on it: wine, ale, rum and water. For herself she filled a glass with wine, although she knew she should not drink too much of it. She had to admit she felt a bit nervous, so the wine would help her to get comfortable with the whole situation. She looked up at the guards standing next to the door, signed them to leave and they did. Her eyes went back to Donovar again, waiting for his answer.