When Jane has finished her story, I know more. Tom is dead and Dagny has his stuff. Most things are useful, especially the electronics, the camera and the lenses. That quality of optics is special and pretty much everything is irreplaceable. No one else can use the technology, and the batteries has probably been empty for a while now. There may be some useful electronic components on the camera, and the same with his battery bank. If he recorded a lot of video, it is possible he had a gyro-stabilized selfie stick, and that could be quite valuable parts. Its a good idea to buy everything modern and it is definitely worth sending someone to try to buy everything from Dagny. I can show my own cameras for whoever I send, but who should I send? Iselin? No, not Iselin, because she's known there, and certainly not Ciara. Better to send Kari, and she's probably better at negotiating too. But then there are those damn feasts. Kari should be at the feasts too, and we need the ship too. So it needs to be done after the feast and after we've moved to my islands. Can I persuade Jane to go back with Kari to buy it? Probably. But what should I do with Jane? She just sits there and looks at me but I can't really interpreting her face. Alith looks like she havn't understand anything, which it's good. So, gather yourself and be cool.
"My condolence for Tom's death, and I thank you for telling me your story. Its pretty much what I guessed most humans comming here would experience, or much worse - you atleast made it to civilization and survived. But what do you expect of me by comming here?"
"I want to work at your Academy when its finished, teaching art and painting. Until then I hope you can let me stay here - we're both humans, and I won't be a bother or cost you much."
Freeloader. But yeah; I could let her. I just don't like how she can mess my relationships up, or talk about stuff she shouldn't, and I wonder how useful her skills really are here. But she should have other knowledge and skills that are certainly worth it.
"Well, what usefull skills and knowledge do you have?"
"I know an awful lot about painted art through history in different forms and locations around the world, and I'm quite good on both canvas and wood. Just get me art supplies and I can teach that."
"Do you know how to make and prepare those paints and colors and art supplies? I do not think you can buy it easily or cheaply - have you seen any paintings around here? I've been to the Kings Castle a few times and so far havn't seen any, though they obviously have a few different pains. What other use can you be to the Academy?"
"I know how they made brushes and how to make different paintings and styles, materials and technics, and I know where lots of pigments are from and what they are, and how to process them to imitate different masters."
"Can you get them here, or make most of it yourself and describe for a merchant what you need so they understand it? You can't trust to use names you know because they will have other names or be unknown here. This is Hard level. You need to be able to do everything or figure it out, and I will be of no help. There is no internet."
She gets annoyed when I push her for details, but details are so important, and I need to know how much help she will need.
"I'm willing to try! Don't that bloody mean anything?! I'm not as lucky as you! Bringing a gun with me, and making simple compasses and selling them for an insane amount of gold! Scaring the natives with a torch! Got you your pretty little redhead 'girlfriends', right?! You were given a woman as a bloody sexslave because you wow'ed them with a torch, and you have obviously enjoyed that! But, oh no! You wasn't satisfied with shagging one sexslave - you wanted a matching pair! And now I see you have three all dressed up in pretty things, pretending they're not just your toys! What a man you are! You must love this place! Well maybe you want a fourth? I'm 'exotic', pretty and atleast I can give you a child! Or maybe you don't want that? Living every mans dream of having a bloody harem, but not having to worry about children! How many times have you fucked barbie?!"
As Jane raises her voice, and becomes more aggressive and begins to accuse me, I try to focus and stay in a controlled calm. With my arm I block Alith from calming Jane, and I let Jane continue to dig deeper. When she's done, she stands in front of me and accusingly stares at me from half a meter away, so I just calmly pointing for her to sit down. She continues to stand and stares at me. Challenging and defiant. I give her a pointed stare and point for her to sit down. She sits down with a huff, arms crossed. She is really pissed off, and havn't got a clue how badly she just fucked up. Didn't she learn anything from Tom's fate?
"I get that you needed to ventilate, but you need to understand that if Alith or anyone out there could understand what you where saying, I would have to stop them from lynching you or killing you for deeply insulting mine and their honor, and I would have to do that and so much more to you myself. NO! Sit down and SHUT THE FUCK UP! You will be silent and listen to me, because now I'm trying to save your useless life before you do something so monumentally stupid. Again!"
Jane had started to stand up, but sits and looks shocked when the door is torn open and Gunhild and Hillevi charge in with weapons drawn, with my sambos worried in the background. I get their reaction as I rarely raise my voice, but I wave them away, they back out and close the door as I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
"You have just accused me of having raped several women, and forcing them to stay with me and continue being raped - which would be horrible - and you stupidly almost forced me to do worse to you. And you were worried about Lagman Filison. You moron! I'm real happy we're speaking English right now, and you should be crying with happiness. Trust me when I say that one bad word or missunderstanding you didn't mean, can end up forcing you to murder someone in cold blood.
They're not my sexslaves, and you've made the same mistake as almost everyone else. I refuse to have sex with trälar - slaves - because they can't defend themself from their owner, and here a 'no' doesn't matter. When they stayed in my cabin on the ship, it was because it was safe. I hired two female guards to help protect them from other men. I didn't have sex with Iselin when I knew she was a slave, and trust me, it was so frustrating when she wanted us too, and she didn't see anything wrong with it. It lasted until I made Iselin a free woman a week later. A week spent in close proximity every day and night, with an unbelieveably sexy woman who wanted to have sex with me, while sleeping in the same cabin. She had become a free woman and was having a day off, and I had given her silver to enjoy herself in town, when she came back a couple of hours later, crawled naked into my bed and wanted us to have sex. She was saving money to buy her freedom, so I wouldn't say 'no' to her. I spent the next weeks trying to avoid sex with her because she was my employee. I didn't ask her to my bed before she became my fiancée a month ago. She's the slave I was given when I used the flashlight, and yes, as pretty much any attractive female slave here, she too have been raped previously in life before she came in to my service. But NOT by me!"
Not 100% truth, but close enough, and Jane needs to know and understand. She's trying to interrupt, but I don't want to hear a 'sorry', and it's my turn to vent and she needs to understand, so I just keep going.
"NO! Shut up! Keep sitting there quietly and listen. Learn! You really don't want to know how Ciara's last year was, before Iselin sacrificed all the silver she owned and bought Ciara as a gift to me, so that I could save her too. She was so filthy, bruised and smelled awful, that I didn't knew she was a redhead until she bathed. Twice. I never touched her, and had no interest in having sex with her. I was just trying to protect her and get her back to health and gain about 15 to 20kg and find something for her to do, since I don't want to sell a human. Elf. Hell, I didn't want to own a person. Ciara's understandibly somewhat mentally broken after her ordeals, and she consider all other men in this world to be creatures, no more than animals. I'm her only exception - partly because I'm human - and she need me to need her. She's so utterly devoted to me its scary. She thinks she went to hell; kidnapped in Scotland by raiders from her life as a noble woman and forced into slavery here, and that is the least bad part of it. She was sold to me cheaply because Iselin fooled Jarl Asshole into thinking, that I would use her for horrible magical experiments and would torture her to death! She lived as a slave to someone who wanted her to suffer and die a painfull horrible death, and he wouldn't even get to see it. She lived in hell!"
I take a deep breath before continuing. It's hard to interpret Jane's face but seems to be a mixture of fear, shock and shivering going through her body. In any case, she keeps quiet, sits still and just stares at me.
"She truly believe that I was sent by the Gods to this world to rescue her from hell, that her old self died and that she is reborn. She was a depressed bundle of sadness without hope a month ago, because she knew that her savior sent by the Gods, didn't want or need her - which was true. Just hours after I proposed to Iselin, she and the others convinced me to accept Ciara as my concubine, and that was difficult. I had to give her a written contract stating she is my concubine, so she would have paperproof that I won't force her away. She refused to be a free woman - twice - and instead wanted a written contract saying she was my concubine. Forever! Specifically worded; forever and all future! Like one word wasn't enough. So I gave her that contract and I can't break it, because it will break her soul, and she will probably commit suicide when I die."
Jane seems to find it hard to accept that, but I think its starting to dawn on her that her life here so far, hasn't been that bad. I silence her before she says anything, and keep talking.
"Just keep listning. Kari - the taller woman with the golden hair and blue eyes - plotted so that The King gave her to me as my concubine when I got his land and support; a gift I couldn't refuse. She's been planning and scheming to become my wife since before she met me, and spent weeks behind the scenes making sure to become my concubine, and she only let me know so I got a couple of days to prepare myself for it. She also made sure I would have to take her virginity, to bind herself to me - while my fiancée was in the next room - using tradition and law so that I wouldn't insult the King for his gift. With her the machinations never end, but there are benefits to have a local female Machiavelli on my side, even thought her scheming forced my timetable to propose to Iselin. A month after I got here, I went from zero to three girlfriends in two days.
I usually don't complain about my lovelife - even when I was alone for a decade - but I only chose Iselin. Ciara and Kari chosed me, against my wishes. But I'm good at making the logical decisions and accepting reality, so I'm not gonna be an asshole about it because both Ciara and Kari are lovely women I care about, and I like them both or at least starting to.
I don't care about an apology from you since it pretty meaningless for me. It's just to make yourself feel better. Learn! If you ever do anything rash like that again, or falsely accuse me of keeping sexslaves; don't shout it infront of witnesses, or I will be forced to demand stupid honor and I will have to follow the law and make an example of you."
The silence becomes a little oppressive when I stop talking, and Jane doesn't seem to know what to say. I don't want to hear a pathetic 'sorry', and it's better to give her a hard reality check.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
"Listen and learn about The Law here. With what you just insulted and accused me with, there is only one really likely outcome, and we both would hate it. I could demand a duel to first blood, where I have to win to prove my honor and that the Gods favour me, and I could actually kill you and claim all your belongings. But a duel is risky for me, because as a woman you could get a champion that would maim or kill me, and I sure as hell don't trust you to give you that option. So the for me safer option would be having you judged by the Ting for the deep insult, and there is only one good outcome for me that I would try to get, and you don't even know the language enough to argue for your side. As a noname woman without kin or resources, against my status and connections, you would probably be sentenced to be my slave to pay your debt, or become my Nidambott, which is pretty much a branded slave for life, and literally the lowest of all slaves. But I obviously don't want that. The best and easy option for me, would be to argue that you're not worth my time and money. You're just a worthless, broke, homeless, kinless, lustfull, stupid, lazy woman without usable skills trying to abuse the law to become my slave, to get a nice comfortable future, after I refused to accept your offer to be my concubine. Then all your belongings would be mine, but much more importantly for me; I might not be forced to rape you infront of witnesses, just to prove my manliness.
After such a sentence infront of a Ting, your future would be in absolute ruin, and you have a distinct look, is bad at speaking norse and can't change your name and blend in. You would have to beg or steal just to survive the coming winter, because no-one thinking of status would want to be associated with you in any way. People do get thrown out to starve to death in the cold by their own family, just because there isn't enough food - and you would be worse off with your ruined reputation. You would probably even find it hard to sell your body for food and someplace to sleep, because you would taint status by association, which forced sex with a slave doesn't do, and you probably wouldn't like to be used by those that accept your payment. Your best option might be going south to another country on a foreign ship, paying the fair with your body to its foreign Captain or crew, hoping they don't just sell you as an exotic pretty sexslave when you get there. Then you still would have to earn money and make a living somehow."
Jane has stayed silent, and has gone through many emotions and wanted to interrupt but I havn't let her, and her big eyes stares at me when I calmly and resignedly tell her about the consequences, and what could happen because she carelessly insulted and accused me. This is now her and my world. Most things arn't particularly wrong, but it gets worse.
"That's actually not the worst outcome for either you or me, because even if I don't look or behave that way, and you obviously don't think about it, as you see me as just a normal nobody you could push around, you know I'm a King - and you have just insulted a Kings honor, and his fiancée, and concubines, to his face. Yeah. I don't have to drag you infront of a Ting, I could sentence you by myself here and now, even if this isn't my country. There is so much worse sentences that I could - and actually should use - to uphold my stupid honor, and I'm literally meaning medieval stuff. We're modern humans, but we're in medieval viking times. If I was the ruthless sadistic bastard you thought, I wouldn't have told you to sit down, shut up and listen, even though we're using English. I would have ordered the guards to hold you, told them what you said, and then done pretty much whatever horrible thing I wanted to you, until I decided your insult was paid. It's not limited to beatings, whipping, stoning, rape, torture, maiming, burning, branding or just killing you. I could do all of it, and more. I could make you my prisoner, and have you manacled alone in a dungeon, just starving in the pitch black silent stinking damp cold, desperatly living on whatever scraps I give you, just waiting for my next visit where I could continue to torture and rape you for years or decades, until you finally die."
That seems to have more than scared her, which is important, and I could see her rising panic and how her eyes quickly shifted between me and Alith, Aliths weapon and the small window.
"So please - please - be careful what you say and do, especially to me and other powerful people, and be so grateful you're using English and we're in this small private room. Don't force me to do horrible things, and don't destroy your life."
My calm and matter-of-fact voice probably helps to dampen her panic and flight instinct a bit, and she just collapses and starts crying. Every woman's weapon. Tears.
"Ignoring your horrible accusation, it's not wise to be aggressive and confrontational with someone you want something from, and you're just gravel in the carefully built machine and image I spent the last months making. A stupid careless bitch in my social life. You have no skills I really need to motivate me otherwise. What you can do - paint - will probably be a long time and a lot of gold invested, before I can even see if your claim is correct and worth it."
Jane's tears and despair makes me want to cry and comfort her. I have to focus on what I say, and the last is said with controlled low volume. Damnit. I cannot comfort her. Stand your ground. Damnit. I can't be in here.
"Alith, I'll send in Gunhild. Jane probably needs to cry. Do not trust her, and stop her from leaving if she tries to escape. I'm going out to the others."
I pointedly take Jane's backpack with me when I open the door and go out. The others have apparently hovered around the door and are curious and worried, but some try to be a little nonchalant about it. Ciara doesn't try to hide anything and she hugs me and gives me a kiss, and I happily accept both. She doesn't know what was said, but she knows I didn't like it, and she glares at Jane as she leads me away. I signal to Gunhild to accompany Alith in the room. I just sit on the bench, trying to relax and think. I'm an asshole, even though Jane technically fucked up worse than Tom. I'm grateful we talked in private and in English. Ciara stands behind me and tries to massage my scalp, neck and shoulders, while Kari and Iselin sit on opposite sides. It's so nice that they have embraced massage, and Ciara seams to be the most eager to massage me. I guess she's trying to make that niché hers. I really should read that book I have about massage, and gently try to get better. Alith comes out, sends in Hillevi and closes the door behind them, then she sit down opposite me and is really serious.
"Lord, I didn't understand the language, but I seemed to recognize words here and there, and I saw how you froze and became very calm when she agressively accused and scolded you right in the face. The words she threw at my Lord while she gestured out here; 'sex slaves'. Was she accusing my Lord of forcing himself on Miss Iselin, Miss Ciara and Miss Kari to have sex?"
How the hell do I answer that? Damned if you do, damned if you don't. However, I notice that Alith doesn't mention that Jane also gestured towards her. I realize that I have already taken too long to think, because Ciara has stopped massaging me, and the room is quiet and everyone is focusing on my answer. Easy choice.
"Yes, like many she has had preconceived notions about the time on the ship, and here. She accused me, but I forgive her for that, and it shouldn't be spread by you. She is just a lonely woman lost in life who is quite desperate, whose life has changed completely and in the moment she said a stupid thing she already regrets. She doesn't understand this world or her new life here, because she is used to a completely different life, and different law. She is not even worth my effort in demanding restoration of honor etc as I should, because it feels more like a burden and she's not worth it."
"So her backpack and belongings is enough penance?"
I didn't consider that. "I'll give that back to her, but she doesn't know that. I just took it to make a point, and so she hopefully won't do anything stupid. Again. Jane and her fiance Tom came here by mistake when I did, but they got into trouble. They weren't prepared at all, and arrived in Hildifjoer just after I left. Then Tom messed up. He betrayed her by having sex with another woman after a few days, when they had been a couple for a few years. They broke up, and he messed up more. Tom was convicted of beating and raping Lagman Filison's wife in Hildifjoer, and he was sentenced to slavery until spring. Which he then tried to escape from by removing his neckring and sail away aboard Danr's ship that Jane sailed here with, but it was discovered before they left the harbor. He was sentenced to death and drowned. As you all heard Jane speaks a completely different language and has barely been able to talk to people for three months. She comes from a rich family and has never even lived on an ordinary farm before. She have never cared for animals or worked hard, and doesn't seem to understand the world, life and law here. In her old life, the worst thing that would've happened to her after such an accusation, is possibly a fine and public apology."
They begin to have some understanding of her situation even if it does not excuse it in their eyes, especially not in Ciara's who actually has some in common with Jane. Alith also seems to think that I have a far too bleeding heart, but she can feel personally insulted for what Jane accused her of being.
"Jane does not know what to do, has no real prospects or skills for a life here, and seems to be used to an easy life. Given my reputation, the Academy and the riches I have accumulated, she seems to have hoped that I would just support her so she could live a comfortable life painting and teaching art, and assumed that I would take her as a concubine or similar, given that she is a pretty woman from Midgard."
They glare at the bedroom door and Kari gets that controlled neutral face. Yep, they don't want to share, and I fully understand that. It doesn't matter if shes pretty as I value what I have, besides; appearance has always been a low priority for me, and I sure as hell don't care about adding notches. It will probably be hard enough for my relationships to work and be happy in the long run, and I do not need Jane hanging around and influencing them with preconceived notions and prejudices.
"Unfortunately, she has a really good chess move to play, even if it only pushes the problem a generation. Kari, you will be impressed by it. It something that Midgard calls genetic compatibility. Genetics is knowledge about how the bodys building blocks are transfered from parents to children, and how the body works. It's not something we really discussed because it is what it is and we can't do anything about it. I also didn't want to think about it and have been busy with everything else, but it's something I have known about since the beginning. I'm a human, and you are elves. Genetically we're not the same. There's a lot of different types of birds, even though they have a lot in common in looks, you never see mixes. Oak and beech trees have a lot in common but they never mix, and trees are far far biologically simpler than a bird, which is far simpler than a human or elf body. Its probable that I can't have children with elves, no matter how intensely we try, and if a child were to be born, the child might have terrible health problems or deformities. We may look alike, but there is differences in our bodies. Your red eye colors and certain hair colors doesn't exist in humans, and we have other ear shapes too. That her face looks slightly different from mine doesn't matter, since genetically she is a human. A child between us will take characteristics from us both, but will probably have her brown eyes and dark hair, since my bluegrey eyes and lighter hair color is a weak genetic trait. Our child will likely be influenced by her intelligence, not mine. A son will likely take more from me, while a daughter from us both. Midgard knows a hell of a lot about how the body really works, and its not my area of knowledge. It is likely that I'm immune to some diseases that you elves have, and others that are quite harmless to you, are life threatening to me. We are different, and when it comes to children that is incredibly important. Jane is probably my only chance to become a father, no matter what I or you want - and she knows it."
Given how everyone looks at me, or just stare into nothingness, is it something they have never even thought about, and why would they? They didn't know about genetics and don't know about DNA. In their legends and Sagas there are no such restrictions between races, beings and spirits. On the contrary there are changelings, halfbreeds and everything else, and thats without the Gods active participation. Sleipner, the god Odens eightlegged horse, was birthed by Loke after he transformed himself to a mare. For some unknown reason the latin quote; 'Una Salus Victus' - the only hope of the damned - jumps into my head, followed by its wonderful introductory text in the 'Andromeda' TV series where it was used. 'Request: One Mark V ECM unit, 1000km of fullerene cable, one low-yield nuclear warhead. Purpose: Surprise party for foreign dignitary. Signed; Argosy Special Operations.' Ciara interrupts the silence and my thoughts:
"Something common, but for us not dangerous, can kill you?"
Oops. My reaction when Alith was ill will definitely be viewed in a different way, and I cannot do much to stop that. So I just nod. The silence is oppressive before Kari takes us back on topic:
"It is an impressive move. Simple - but oh so powerful. So you need to keep her close, safe, healthy and comfortable. You two don't have to have sex, but if you want to be more certain of a healthy child, she needs to be the mother - not us. But at the same time, your child might not be able to have children in turn, because the child is a human. It only postpones the problem, but that may be enough time to find another solution, or just see if children with us is possible and if they grow up healthy."
Again, I nod to confirm. Another quote pops into my head, from the movie Wargames; 'The only winning move, is not to play.' A bit like trying to play against Kari in her plans. But this is a game we all have to play, and its both a blessing and a curse that Jane isn't Kari, since Kari avoided being a problem. Genetic compatibility also has its drawbacks when used like she did, and it is also a matter of time and will. I think my will is stronger than hers, and my side have more game pieces.