Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

declaration; to have insulted the gods was a very serious matter. As he struggled to his feet Magnus continued.
    "Does not the proverb state 'everyone gets argr as he gets older'? Your brother has fulfilled his duty to the Jarldom, he has produced an heir and he is now free to do as he wishes."
    "That is a proverb for old men, past their prime, not for a man yet to reach his thirtieth year, a man with lands and a title. By Thor's will and over my dead body shall I let him shame this family with his perversions," Gunnar spat his declaration towards his father and brother before turning on his heel and storming out of the room. His men rose from their benches and followed after as swiftly as they were able.
    For seconds there was complete silence in the room. Realising the drama was over and neither Siguard nor Harald intended to respond, or go after Gunnar, the men quickly returned to their own conversation and amusements.
    "I'm sorry, Father." Harald apologised quietly.
    "You are not your brother," Siguard shook his head then looked at Alex his brow creasing briefly into a frown. "I can only pray to the gods that I did the right thing in not insisting you killed him."
    "Oh, I think Harri's red warrior here may surprise us all yet." Magnus smiled benignly at them.
    ****
    Curled up under the rough woven blanket that covered the straw mattress which had been placed on the far side of Harald's room, Alex had been woken from a fitful sleep and lay quietly thinking over yesterday's events. It was only his bladder's demand for immediate attention that got him out of bed. Pulling a long heavy grey cloak and wrapping it tightly around himself he slipped out of the silent house, heading towards the midden to relieve himself.
    Although dawn came early it was still dark, as a thick fog blanketed the farmstead and beyond. Where there should have at least been birdsong, and possibly the calling of the farmstead's livestock instead there was an eerie silence. Having taken care of business, he walked over to the dry stone wall that surrounded the farmstead and leant against it, trying to sort through in his mind the chaos of the last 24 hours.
    Harald had not spoken about his brother's outburst; in fact he'd barely spoken at all. Instead, not long after Gunnar's abrupt exit, he'd bid his father and the skald goodnight and returned to his own rooms. There he'd shown Alex where he was sleeping and then, still fully clothed, he had thrown himself down on his own bed. Laying on his back with his hands clasped behind his head he'd just stared blankly at the ceiling.
    Unsure of what he should do, Alex had turned off the oil lamp at his side of the room before slipping out of his kilt and crawling under the blanket. He'd watched as Harald eventually prepared for bed, only to then listen as he tossed and turned on the other side of the room.
    Staring out over the silent farmstead Alex's mind picked over the events during the evening meal he found himself more frequently returning to the insults Gunnar had thrown at his brother, and the skald's response.
    School history lessons had taught him only a little of the Vikings. He'd been told that they were bloodthirsty barbarians who raped and pillaged their way round Europe before the Conquest. He found it hard to imagine Harald, the gentle farmer who didn't want to fight, that way. From the start he'd had a feeling that perhaps Harald was showing a more personal interest in him, rather than seeing him as just his prisoner, but he'd dismissed it. He still didn't know what the names were that Gunnar called his brother, but the skald's words had seemed to leave little doubt as to their meaning.
    "Which way did he go?" Alex tensed as the words reached him out of the darkness surrounding him.
    "To the forest, through the Loch gates. He's on foot."
    "I knew he'd run." Gunnar's tone was smug. "You two, take horses, follow him, catch him and kill him." The command was delivered in an emotionless tone that made Alex shiver.
    Pulling the cloak up over his head, Alex ducked down into the shelter of the wall, holding his breath as he hoped desperately not to be noticed.
    "What do you want us to do?" Another voice spoke out of the darkness
    "I'll have to go back to my rooms so that when the alarm sounds I can be sent for. The rest of you, stay close to Harald's men. If he does manage to sound the alarm I want them taken down. Ketil, you'll take care of my brother?"
    "Yes." The acknowledgement was