“No.”
The girl sank. “Have you met anyone? Your valkyrie was the one called Göll, wasn’t it? Ah!” Her mouth fell open. “My name! I’ve not introduced myself. I’ve Tove.”
Erik just nodded.
“Now you say, ‘I’m Erik.’”
“But you already know.”
“It… of course I know. But we’re meant to be introduced.”
Erik chuckled. “Right.” He held out his hand. “I’m Erik.”
She looked at his hand and then back up, grinning. She slapped her hand around his forearm. “Good. We’re introduced.”
There was nothing to do but shake his head at how odd the girl was.
“I’ll help you plow.”
Erik raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. “I’m pretty sure this is a one person job. And I should get back to breaking up the stuff.”
“Then we can take turns!”
Tove was maybe a bit more than half a foot shorter than Erik and the rig was hard enough for him to push, but he felt like the sight of her pushing it would be worth the lost time. He switched the tools and walked it to the edge of where he’d stopped tilling before, handing it to Tove.
She pushed, trying not to show the effort on her face at first, but eventually giving in as her face reddened. It was slow progress, but she was getting somewhere at least.
“Alright, that’s enough of that.”
She turned around immediately. “It was working! Do you mean to insult me?”
Erik laughed. “No, I’m trying to get the work done so I can afford to eat.”
Tove screwed up her face, turning back to the plow. She pushed it another six inches through the soil before noticing something.
“There are places for straps! For a harness!”
“I’m not going to wear a harness.”
She ignored him and ran toward the door to the house, pushing it open without knocking. Erik could hear pained complaints followed by Tove’s voice, full of annoyance.
“Shut your gob, old man! I just need the harness!”
He could feel that the likelihood of him getting paid was becoming worse with every minute she was in the house. She came running back outside, holding a leather harness.
“I found it!”
Erik decided to just turn around and start pushing the plow, hoping that maybe she would put it down and leave. It was a hope he knew wasn’t going to pan out, but it was worth a try.
Tove ran up beside him. “Ignoring me won’t plow the field any faster.”
“I’m flatly rejecting that statement.”
“What?” She looked at the harness. “This is not sized like I expected it would be. Must be meant for a goat?”
She phrased it as a question as though Erik would have been able to offer any insight into animal harnesses.
“I don’t believe you’ll fit into this.” She said those words with implication that she was joking.
Erik stopped. “Why would I wear a harness?”
“You could pull the plow while I hold onto it.”
He rolled his head back for a moment, exasperated. “Well, since it looks like it’d fit you, how about you pop it on?”
She looked at it for a minute, considering the idea. “Sure. I think it buckles in the back, though.”
She started putting the straps over her arms and the leather pushed up her chest, making it noticeable for the first time beneath her loose clothes. Erik wasn’t sure whether to feel embarrassed for looking or for the fact that his brain hadn’t really registered her as a girl until just now.
“Okay, buckle me up and hook it to the plow.”
Erik shook his head, but did as she asked. “This isn’t right. This isn’t how you’re supposed to plow fields.”
“It ought to make the work go faster, right? How can you find reason to complain about being done sooner?” She was strapped to the plow and turned around to face him, looking rather pleased with herself. “Alright. You push and I’ll pull. It’s simple.”
She turned around and started walking without giving him any time to complain. Erik barely grabbed the handles before it turned over onto Tove. Left with no other choice, he pushed the plow as she pulled. They were nearly at a jog tilling through the first row and when they hit the end she spun around, hopping in place.
“Didn’t I say?” She smiled a wide, genuine smile and Erik couldn’t bring himself to be upset.
“You did. I was wrong to ever doubt you.”
She nodded, a sly look on her face. “Remember you said that.”
They turned the plow around and kept going. A few people passed over the next hour, all of them laughing. Erik felt bad seeing the people pointing at her.
“Maybe we should unhook you and stop this. I can finish it from here.”
Tove stopped dead when he finished talking. She turned to him with an intense look on her face, no hint of a smile. “Those people are idiots and fools. You can never let them make you think as they do.” Her smile returned. “Besides, my idea is working well. What are a few laughs if we finish our work sooner?”
“Our work?”
“Isn’t it?” She started pulling again, dragging the plow through the last row.
“So you’re after half my money?”
“I’ve my own money, thank you.”
“Then what are you after?”
“Adventure,” she said, huffing as she took heavy steps forward.
At least she was forthright, though Erik had to admit that adventure sounded a bit more fulfilling than the work they’d spent the day doing. He chuckled to himself at the thought that wandering around with a sword might be the easier way to live.
In spite of their combined inability to move in a straight line, they managed to properly make rows just under half of the field when the light started trending toward dark. Erik put his shirt back on and left the plow and Tove walked with him back toward the city.
“That’s no kind of beard for a man.” She brushed her hand over the stubble that had begun growing in on his chin.
Erik rubbed the area she’d touched. “Yeah, I wasn’t allowed to grow one.”
“Wasn’t allowed?” She laughed. “What sort of world has it become?”
They were
