Signe almost ran them down when Johan opened the door to the house. She pushed close against him and over her head Johan could see Astrid watching them from where she sat on the floor playing with Einar, both cleaned up from the fight.

“Johan! You can’t ever leave me with children again.” She hissed with a stressed look on her face.

Note gently got between them and grabbed her shoulders.

“That counts for you too.” She whispered loudly, pointing her finger over her shoulder at Note before letting him lead her outside.

“Hey, painter!” Note called as he pushed her down the stairs. “What’s your name?”

The painter stood on the ground outside, seemingly frozen in excitement…or anxiety. Johan couldn’t tell the difference.

Johan crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, watching as the painter’s eyes widened comically at the sight of Signe. Note guided her right to the guy. She stared curiously up at the guy before she smiled.

“Hi, I’m Signe- oh?”

Her head snapped down, following the descent of the painter as he got down on one knee.

Oh no. He was not going to propose! Johan tok tok a step forward in alarm.

Thankfully the painter only bent his head down against his chest, one fist snapping up to rest over his heart.

“Emil Trymson at your service, lady Signe!” All three of their jaws dropped simultaneously in shock. Johan’s hand came up to cover his mouth.

“Oh, ok.” Signe muttered in confusion, staring dazed down at him.

The painter- Emil, apparently he did have a name, got back on his feet, taking the response as encouragement and closely scrutinizing her face. She leaned back, her head hitting Note’s chest but still she made no move to get away, not uncomfortable but very confused.

“Yeah, no. That’s enough.” Note said and twirled Signe behind him, leaving Emil face-to-face with Note’s chest instead.

“Emil?” Johan turned around to see Astrid quickly approaching, Einar on her hip. She came to a stop beside Johan and glared at the painter. “What are you doing here?”

Emil straightened up, sneering.

Johan bit his lip. Wasn’t there a limit to how much drama someone had to deal with in a single day?

“I should be asking you that.” Emil started and crossed his arms. “I was invited here.”

Johan frowned, he wouldn’t really say that.

“You know each other?” Signe asked, trying unsuccessfully to look over Note’s shoulder at Emil.

“No.” The two visitors both answered, throwing their heads to the side in huffs.

Yeah. They definitely knew each other.

Johan wanted to die.

“No fighting at our house.” He said drily, hoping the visitors would leave. Unfortunately it only seemed to calm them down. They immediately fell silent, settling on sending each other vile looks instead.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Signe asked Emil.

Emil’s eyes snapped away from Astrid, his face paint still very much present on his face, in a split second his face changed.

“Warrior face paint!” He proclaimed proudly with a stupid smile on his face.

“Warrior face paint?” Astrid asked incredulously and snorted dismissively. Johan could tell she was about to say more and leveled a challenging glare at her. He wasn’t going to tolerate any more drama. Not at their house.

In contrast to earlier, Emil didn’t seem to care much about what Astrid said, instead watching Signe eagerly as she burst out laughing.

“Ahaha, that’s awesome!”

Yep, Johan knew she would like it.

“I really like the color.” She laughed, seeming genuinely pleased.

“It’s white!” Emil yelled, laughing happily along with her. From Astrid’s arms, Einar also joined in on the celebration, laughing and happily yelling.

“Yeah!” Signe grinned back. “It’s my favorite color! Not enough people use it for face paint! It’s so much better than black or red. It might not start out as intimidating but then BAM.” Her fist hit her palm and her smile turned dark. “It’s the scariest of them all.”

The painter nodded along enthusiastically. Johan didn’t get it.

Signe fell quiet. She glanced at Note. Then Johan. And back to Emil.

“So, what are you doing here?” She asked Emil seriously, smile disappearing from her face.

Emil visibly steeled himself.

“I wanted to meet you because I painted you.” He said seriously. “And I want to paint your brother.”

Wait, brother? Johan followed his gaze over to see Note. They…they didn’t even look alike...why would he assume? He was right, of course, but how did he know that? Johan eyed Emil, was he supposed to be relieved or offended that he was the only one being excluded?

“You want to paint Note?” Johan asked and leaned heavily over the railing and burst out laughing at Note’s horrified grimace.

“Really?” Signe asked. “Why?”

“Uh- Well. I don’t know what your question refers to, so I will answer both.” Emil hesitated for a second, mouth opening and closing as he searched for the right words. “I painted you because the scene of you walking out of the water was…out of this world! Like a Jotun in real life! A flash of daylight in the middle of the darkness of the night! It was beautiful! I had to immortalize it, it would be a sin to keep such a moment to myself! And that is also why I want to paint your brother! It would be a sin to keep it for myself!”

Johan’s amusement faded and his eyes sharpened.

But Emil didn’t stop there. “In the middle of the black smoke-”

Johan’s head snapped to Emil, eyes cold. That secret didn’t last very long.

Emil slapped a hand over his mouth, face paling. He glanced at Johan and Note and clearly started to panic as Johan pushed away from the railing.

“I-I mean.” Emil stuttered, quickly trying to cover it up. His eyes looked back and forth between them, hands coming up defensively as he rambled. “That was a private moment I should not have been present for, of course I will not paint it! I would never! I barely even saw anything, really that must have been when I fell into the dirt and had to clean my eyes, I didn’t see anything!”

Johan shared a look with Note, who crossed his arms with a frown.

“That’s right.” Johan said, descending the stairs to stand by the others. Signe’s eyes glinted mischievously as he met them. He let Emil steep for a moment before changing his tone. “But you should do it anyway.”

It would be so funny.

Johan’s smile only widened when Note’s head whipped around to glare at him. Note deserved it. Maybe he would stop being so overdramatic if he could see what he looked like.

Signe violently nodded her head, a big smile back on her face.

“Oh, it will be wonderful, Emil.” She grabbed his hands enthusiastically, using her graceful voice to appear innocently ignorant.

“...are you sure?” Emil asked cautiously, eyes on Johan.

“Absolutely, you have my permission.” Johan grinned, forcing down a laugh as he gave Emil a friendly pat on the back.

“Oh!” Emil blinked and a smile grew across his face as he turned down to Signe. “Well, of course it would be wonderful! I am pretty good at painting!”

“Can you show me the painting of me?” Signe asked.

“Of course!”

“It’s getting late, we’ll walk you home.” Johan quickly cut in, seeing the opportunity of getting rid of their visitors. “You never know what’s lurking in the dark.”

Signe and Emil didn’t need any more encouragement and immediately turned and left for the path leading back to the village.

Johan looked back to see two unhappy people watching him. Johan smiled at Astrid where she still stood on the steps with a tired look on her face and a very happy child on her hip, before turning to follow Signe and the painter, making sure to give Note a pat on the back as he walked past him and ignoring the look that was shot back.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

It wasn’t long before he could hear their footsteps following.

Einar yelled happily from his spot in Astrid’s arms and Johan heard Note make a defeated sigh before offering to carry the kid.

And that was how they ended up walking back to the village. Johan at the back with Note beside him, a drowsing child in his arms, Astrid slightly ahead of them, and Signe and Emil so far ahead that they were almost out of view.

“Why did you choose the field?” Johan broke the long silence. He had been wondering about it. With a handful of seeds, Note could just as easily have done the same thing somewhere else.

“It was the field next to where the landslide happened.” Note said silently. “Nature can be horrible. I wanted to see it.”

“Why do you care?” Johan asked. It was months old at that point. Next to a stranded and starving village anything interesting would be long gone.

“I always care.” Note said shortly.

“Oh.” Johan muttered, a pang of guilt in his chest.

“Leif told me the village still has trouble with food.” Note explained, one hand absentmindedly petting the kid’s back, now fast asleep against Note’s shoulder. “They are selling fish again now, but the money is still tight. They didn’t want my help fishing but I still wanted to do something. It made sense to use what was already there. The field wasn’t harvested, only pushed down by the snow. It’s easier.”

Johan nodded silently.

-then jumped as Astrid suddenly broke in. He watched in surprise as she turned, he had been so sure she was too far away to hear them.

“We will be fine.” She said gently. “You are new here, don’t worry too much about us. You have already helped us so much. We will live now, there’s no need to try gathering months old wheat.”

Johan eyes her curiously. Did she think Note was digging through the snow to find dead wheat?

Note kept silent, eyes darkening.

“But thank you.” Astrid gave a small smile over her shoulder before turning back to the path ahead. They were reaching the village now, lights and colorful houses appearing in sight between the trees.

The path became smoother, more walked-down than the one in the forest and while only a couple people were walking on the road, Johan could hear muffled speaking from inside the houses as they passed by them.

Johan snorted as he caught sight of Signe. She was skipping effortlessly next to a speedwalking Emil, and he could see the huge smile on her face every time she turned to speak to the painter. Maybe Emil wasn’t so bad afterall, Signe did seem very excited about the painting.

Then suddenly Emil started running, his arm shooting up towards the sky.

“Mom!” He yelled.

Johan’s eyes followed the wave to see Odin and Hilda on the porch of a blue house, seemingly on their way out, happily chatting with Ulfhild and Trym who were stood in the doorway.

At Emil’s yell Ulfhild’s eyes snapped towards them. “Emil! You are late for dinner, we have already eaten!”

Despite the light scolding, her face lit up at the sight of him, a gentle smile growing on her face. Though it quickly changed to surprise when she saw who he came with.

“Hi!” Signe greeted happily, coming to a stop beside the painter.

“Hello, Signe! What a lovely surprise, I didn’t realize you two had met!” Ulfhild startled when she noticed the rest of them. “Oh and hello to all of you! Astrid.”

Ulfhild’s smile got tighter when she saw her daughter in law and Johan noticed how Astrid quickly faltered under the attention, her arms crossing weakly.

“Heroes!” Odin welcomed happily, quickly descending the steps to approach them as they gathered. “What are you doing here?”

“Just bringing these three home.” Johan nodded towards Einar who was still fast asleep in Note’s arms.

“And to see the painting.” Signe added with a grin.

Beside them Trym spoke up. “Why are you late?” He asked. Johan turned to see him watching the painter with a hard expression on his face and his arms crossed.

“I was just introducing myself to the new villagers.” Emil quickly excused.

Ulfhild seemingly missed the interaction in favor of turning to Astrid. “Where is my other son, you were supposed to bring him home hours ago.”

“Oh dear,” Hilda chuckled as she came to stand beside Odin. “Don’t worry Ulfhild, it seems like the little man just fell asleep. He is right there.”

Ulfhild turned towards them in surprise, her eyes quickly running over them until she found Note. Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh dear! How adorable!”

Johan had to agree. The kid had cuddled close to Note, his little head now curled up under Note’s jaw, and small hands were gripping his coat tightly. The best thing was that Note looked completely unfazed by it, his face stoic even as the kid slept in his arms. A natural babysitter.

“You are good with children.” Odin commented with an approving nod.

“I love children.” Note said stone faced, but despite his words he easily gave up the child when Astrid reached for him.

Johan huffed. He already knew that. Despite Note’s…intimidating face, he had the softest heart of anyone he had met. It didn’t just stop at children, Note cared about everyone.

“Well, you better get inside Astrid.” Ulfhild said. “You have an eventful day ahead of you tomorrow. Now that we can leave the island again, we finally got you another appointment at the doctors office.”

Johan froze.

“Oh!” Astrid’s eyes widened and for a second she seemed to be at a loss for words. “That’s great..”

“It must be so painful to you to have to carry despite everything.” Odin apologized deeply. “I’m sorry, I wish you could have your child.”

Johan paused. Didn’t Odin know that Note..?

“It’s about time.” Ulfhild agreed strongly, nodding her head.

“To get an abortion?” Note asked sharply.

Johan’s eyes snapped to him, the feeling of unease growing quickly.

Astrid turned to them with a small smile and a nod. “I’m sorry that I ruined your trip to Solstad today but I’m going tomorrow so you get a ride if you want to.”

A cold chill went through Johan. Why was this happening now? She had been pregnant for months, why was it happening now? Ah, Johan shook his head. Really, who cared.

Johan glared at the ground, the corners of his lips pulling down. He cared. Damn it, couldn’t he have met her later? He had to tell her, but…no. They couldn’t risk it. Even if they told just her… it wouldn’t work. Johan glanced around. It wasn’t just Ulfhild’s and Odin’s families present, people were everywhere around them too.

But before he could decide what to do, Note decided for him.

“Why?” Note challenged.

The following silence was deafening. Everyone’s shocked eyes turned to them and Johan watched as Note’s lips thinned.

“What?” Astrid asked, her smile faltering.

Johan eyed Note cautiously.

“Do you want an abortion?” Note elaborated, face darkening. “Or are you getting it because the baby would be dead.”

“What do you mean-”

“If it was alive would you keep it?” Note snapped, taking a step forward.

Astrid stared at him, eyes hardening defensively. “Why are you asking-”

Johan bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He met Signe’s eyes. She also seemed to realize what was going on, and just like Johan she made no move to stop him, instead she tensed up and slowly came closer to them.

Of course Note didn’t stop there. Johan could tell he was getting angry now.

“Are you getting an abortion to get rid of an unwanted fetus or to rid yourself of a dead one?!”

The image of his backpack, innocently sitting against the couch back at the house, flashed through his mind.

“He’s not unwanted!” Astrid yelled back, now angry.

Maybe he would have time to go get his backpack?

Beside him Note was steaming with anger and Johan grimaced, drawing in a tense breath-

“I am the deity- Jotun of life! The baby will live!”

There it was.

People gasped.

Johan squeezed his eyes shut for just a second- and opened them to see a pale Odin staring down at Note with wide eyes.

Ulhild’s hands covered her mouth, still standing on the doorsteps. Behind her Trym watched with an open mouth, both still on the porch, and right below them stood Emil, stiff with shock.

Signe froze and grimaced, barely a few steps away from them.

“-unless of course you just don’t want it. Then you should get the abortion.” Note finished, anger faltering and arms crossing over his chest at the realization of what he just admitted to.

Astrid stood there in stunned silence. All of them did.

Johan felt his heart hammering in his chest, shoulders tense, and after finishing the reveal, Note quickly glanced at him before turning to glare at the ground.

Slowly Johan heard whispering start up. It seemed the yelling had drawn a crowd. He sighed.

Ok yeah, he was not leaving his backpack behind, he should go get-

“You-” Astrid’s hands flew to her lips, bright blue eyes tearing up. “Really?”

“Really.” Note confirmed coldly, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Emil. He saw it earlier, just ask him.”

“Is that how you did it?!” Emil burst out.

Odin’s jaw dropped. “You know?!”

Emil cowered away even as Odin whipped around. Johan avoided his eyes. Well, they had a good few days at the house.

Ulfhild gasped dramatically. “Never in my wildest dreams…I knew there was something going on with you three but a Jotun!”

“Jotuns.” Johan corrected, meeting Odin’s eyes for a split second as his word made silence fall yet again. It was too late to keep it secret anyways. “Plural.”

He turned to Astrid. “Get the abortion if you want it, but yeah, have all the facts first. If you want the baby, it will live.”

“You’re not lying to me?” Astrid demanded, one hand on her stomach.

“Astrid, don’t be rude.” Ulfhild snapped but nobody paid her any attention.

“Not lying.” Note forced out through gritted teeth.

Johan turned to Odin. What would happen now depended on him.

Their eyes met and an unspoken conversation followed. For a long moment they just watched each other.

Then finally Odin seemed to decide. He gave Johan a curt nod and looked away, turning to the people around them.

“I can vouch for them.” His powerful voice spoke, and immediately Johan breathed out, stumbling as the relief washed over him.

They could stay.

Johan met Note’s concerned eyes with a smile.

Astrid looked searchingly at Signe. She was probably remembering the night they first arrived at the island. A flash of light and all the nøkks were gone.

“I’m Death.” Signe added helpfully, a smile on her face that didn’t reach her stressed eyes.

It seemed Astrid found what she was looking for, because soon her head cocked to the side and her bottom lip started wobbling, a sob breaking free from her lips.

“Trygve’s child will live. Our child!” She cried.

Ulfhild choked. “A grandchild! Trym, did you hear that?! A living grandchild!” Tears ran down her face as she surged down the steps. “Astrid, my daughter!”

Suddenly a big hand landed on Johan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry kid, I will take care of this.” Odin spoke gently, giving a reassuring smile before straightening and turning to the villagers around them.

“People! Everyone here, let it spread to everyone absent. I have kept something from you all. Our heroes are not like us, they are part of the very Jotun that protects us.”

His voice carried on with practiced ease, and while he was speaking Signe finally managed to get over to them.

“Well, that secret didn’t last long.” She muttered when she finally stopped beside them, more to herself than anyone else but when Johan heard it, it settled the last bit of worry he had. A surprised laugh forced its way out of him.

“That could have gone so bad.” Johan said, only loud enough for the three of them to hear.

Note’s neck blushed and he tried to turn away but Johan quickly threw an arm over his shoulders and pulled him back in before throwing his other arm around Signe. She laughed loudly in relief. “For a moment there I was so scared.”

“Yeah, me too.” Johan admitted, eyes on Odin and a strange, warm feeling growing in his chest.

This could be a good thing. A really good thing.