"You tell me."
"I like her a lot, Pallavi. I plan to make her mine."
Pallavi laughed and stood up. "You shall need more than that, fool. You're going to have to open that mouth of yours and tell her how you feel. Neither of you has parents to make it happen for you. Unless you are afraid she is an evil witch, of course."
The words hung in the air as Pallavi limped away. With a sigh, Halvar conceded that she was right. He might be the best warrior in the area and he might know how to grow good crops on his farm. But he had no idea how to go about wooing a beautiful woman.
CHAPTER 5
D ays turned into weeks and Eira began to fit into her new life. Just as her father had told her, she focused on doing good for the people of the village, and it wasn’t long before her reputation as a healer grew. She knew what herbs and plants from the forest would relieve various ailments and she was generous with her knowledge. Her friendship with Kaarina grew stronger and many people began to see them as sisters rather than cousins.
Unfortunately, Taft disliked her and lost no opportunity to say so. He constantly reminded her that she wasn’t one of them. Kaarina’s mother had died several years earlier and her brothers were all married so it was just the three of them in the household; Taft seemed to have no inclination to take another wife. Even though Eira did what she could to help around the house and farm, Taft still resented her.
"You're a disease," he'd say. "A pest that was thrown out by her own people because they couldn't bear to have an evil witch among them. Everywhere you go, trouble follows you."
At first, his hatred was a shock to Eira. She didn't have the slightest clue as to why he felt this way about her. She tried to get him to tell her why he resented her but he refused. Instead, he continued to say hateful things to her whenever he pleased.
As a result, Eira began spending more time away from the village, wandering through the woods. She said that it was to collect plants for her remedies. She always came home with something that she’d found. But the real reason was that nature was so much kinder than the people she lived with. Out there, no one bothered her with hateful words or venomous looks. The birds and the animals left her alone and she was free to enjoy the cool wind on her cheeks and listen to it sighing through the trees. The only animals she was concerned about were the brown bear and the grey wolf. She only ever saw a bear once, in the middle of a patch of wild raspberries. It looked as startled as she and by mutual consent, they gave each other plenty of space. Sometimes, as evening approached, she would hear a wolf howling in the distance but she had never seen one come close.
Kaarina often accompanied her on her jaunts into the forest. She had begged Eira to teach her about roots one day at the stream.
"Why do you want to be a healer, Kaarina?" Eira asked her several days later as they walked beside the stream on their way to find kvann, an herb used for a variety of remedies.
Kaarina threw a pebble which skimmed over the water for a while before sinking. "I don't know," she answered. "Maybe I want to be able to help people like you do."
“But I’m not a true Wise Woman. They use spells and magic to accompany their healing.”
“Why don’t you?” Kaarina asked.
“Are you crazy? There is no way I want to become involved in witchcraft! That has already caused enough trouble for me. No thank you! I’ll stick to herbs and remedies and that will be enough for me.”
“Will you teach me what you know?” Kaarina asked.
Eira smiled and picked up a fungus by the banks. "Do you know what this is?" she asked.
The other girl took the fungus and examined it. "I don't know but it doesn't look like anything I would want to eat."
"Kaarina! You eat everything in sight!"
"Don't blame me. My father feeds me like a pig. It seems he'd rather sell me to be butchered than as a wife."
Eira laughed. Kaarina was very good at making light of situations, which was another reason their friendship was thriving. For Eira, Kaarina's silly jokes offered her a way to ease the burden that surrounded her heart.
"This fungus is used to treat sexual dysfunction," Eira said.
Kaarina’s eyes opened wide in surprise. "I shall need to get as many as possible for my husband. He will need them when we get married."
"Kaarina!" Eira screeched, doubling over with laughter. "You're such a..."
"Oh, come on. There's nothing wrong with planning ahead! Show me where to find them!”
"What is all this about?" a voice asked, startling the two of them. A moment later, Halvar stepped out from behind a spruce tree.
"Chief Halvar!” Kaarina exclaimed.
The women fell silent, accustomed to behaving with decorum in a man’s presence.
"Please. You can have some fun among yourselves out here,” Halvar told them. “Now, what was it you were saying about some herb?" he asked, looking towards Eira.
Kaarina giggled. "May I take my leave, sir?" she asked.
"I am not here to send anyone away,” Halvar told her. "Is there anything wrong with a clan leader having fun once in a while too?"
"Not at all. I just need to head back to the village now. There are some chores I must finish."
Eira tried not
