Dream of Me/Believe in Me

innocently. “Always best to leave them wanting more.”
    The Wolf laughed as he lifted his head to a sky so blue as to be an ache behind the eyes. Pleasure still resonatedwithin him but he felt something far beyond that, a vast, all-encompassing delight in the world itself simply because it included one remarkable woman.
    He grasped the reins in his powerful hands and dug his heels into his mount's sides. Over his shoulder, he said, “I promise you, my wife wants for nothing.”
    Dragon's laugh followed him out through the gates and down the hill. Wolf gave the horse his head and the powerful animal quickly leaped to the gallop, long legs stretched out, hooves throwing up clods of earth. The wind streamed by, the ground flying beneath them. Horse and man raced on, one with a world that was open, wild, and free.

Chapter EIGHTEEN

    C YMBRA MADE A FINAL COUNT OF THE BARRELS laid up in racks in the storage shed, added it to the other tallies she had taken, and nodded. “I think we are finished.”
    Beside her, Brita's shoulders sagged with relief. The half-dozen women with them exchanged weary smiles that bespoke the same emotion.
    It was near midnight on the last day before the guests were due to begin arriving. Rarely had any of the women been up at such an hour, for the deep of night was a time when spirits roamed and sensible people kept to their beds. The darkness made them uneasy yet they had done their best to ignore it. Cymbra was grateful for that and much else.
    She and many others had labored long and hard at a mammoth task that should more rightly have taken a month rather than a mere week. Yet it was done. Everything was in readiness.
    “Go to your beds,” she said after hugging each woman and offering her thanks. They stood just outside thestorage shed, cooled by the freshening breeze from the sea. The sky appeared as a helmet of stars. A few stray wisps of gray smoke rose from the banked fires always left burning in the kitchens and the great hall. Slumbering birds rustled in the thatched roofs while an owl hooted nearby.
    “Rest well, for truly no one has earned it more. I wish I could tell you all to just sleep for the next few days but alas, there will be yet more to do before we may have fair respite.”
    “Do not concern yourself with that, my lady,” one of the women said. “All that remains now is to prepare the food, serve it, keep the drink flowing, and clean up. Beside what we've already done, that seems easy enough.”
    The other women nodded their agreement. They went off to get what sleep they could, comforted to know that at least now the end was within sight.
    Brita walked with Cymbra partway across the hill top before taking her own leave. She slept in the women's hall, set apart for the unmarried women and strictly off-limits to the men. So it would remain in the coming days as well. The women, including Brita, had let her know how much they appreciated that. In the past, misunderstandings had been known to occur especially when the mead and ale flowed freely.
    Alone, Cymbra paused for a moment and looked up at the star-draped sky. The night was a little cooler than it had been, the first faint reminder that summer would end soon. She wrapped her cloak more closely around herself as she picked out the familiar shapes above. Her eyes were drawn to the Great Bear, standing astride the heavens.
    She caught herself wondering if perchance Wolf was also looking at the stars and smiled at the thought. It amazed her that even with miles separating them, she was able to feel his presence so clearly. It was almost as thoughif she only closed her eyes and reached out with her heart, he would be there.
    She hoped he was resting, for judging by the sheer quantity of game that had flowed back into the hill fort, rest was much due. They had enough meat not only for the feasting but for the winter as well. Although what she was going to do with that bear, she didn't know. At the very least, it would need heavy seasoning. She preferred thinking about that rather than of her husband challenging such a deadly creature.
    With a little sigh, she glanced toward the berm, seeing there the dark, looming shapes of the men posted at guard. Unlike at Holyhood, they were all awake and alert, hard men keen of eye and swift of sword. Several had turned away from their scrutiny of the approaches to the hill fort and were watching her. She had no doubt they were following the Wolf's orders and would continue