“That's what my mother has always taught me," Eira replied.
For a moment, there was a flash of pain in Taft's eyes but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. "You are right. Once again, I am really sorry. I hope you can be happy here."
"I hope so too."
Taft got up and walked to the door. He stopped suddenly and turned towards her. "You wouldn't have anything for headaches, would you?" he asked tentatively.
Eira rose to her feet. "I have nothing at the moment but I can get something today. You do not feel well?"
He touched his forehead. "Something like that. I have not slept well for a couple of days now."
"I shall see to it later. Take care of yourself." She sank back into the bedding after he’d gone. It looked like things were changing. She smiled and got up to wash.
When Eira joined her for breakfast, Kaarina could see the happiness on her face. “Have you been dreaming about Halvar?” she teased.
"You know, it wouldn't be bad to dream about that hunk of a man,” Eira joked.
"Someone's falling in love,” Kaarina giggled. "Whatever happened to 'men only want women to make families with', eh?"
Eira deliberately avoided the question by moving away. She wasn’t in the mood for Kaarina to probe her true feelings towards Halvar. "Would you like to go with me to the woods later this morning? I need to pick some herbs,” she said.
Kaarina shook her head. "I am sorry, but I cannot. Father has asked me to come to the farm with him today. There is a lot of work to do before winter comes and he needs all the help he can get.”
"Why did he not ask for my help as well?" Eira asked.
"I know not. He probably does not wish to disturb you."
"Or he wants me to get him some herbs."
Kaarina's head shot up. "He is ill?"
"It appears so. He asked me to make something for his headaches.”
"He said nothing to me,” Kaarina said.
“He probably does not wish to worry you.” Eira got to her feet. "I must go now. I have to hand out some medicine that I made yesterday. And I need to be back from collecting in time to help with the cooking.”
"Okay, Eira. Stay safe out there." Kaarina gave her a pat on the back.
"What is that for? Don't tell me you want to cry because I'm leaving you." Now it was Eira’s turn to tease.
"Off you go! Get out of here before I whack you with a broom!"
Eira laughed as she left. Kaarina smiled too. Maybe everything was going to be fine.
Halvar called Canute to him. “I need you to finish up here,” he said as the men loaded the day’s harvest onto a cart to be dried out and stored for the winter.
"Where are you heading to?" Canute asked.
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me,” Halvar replied. “I’ll see you back at the village.” He clapped Canute on the shoulder and made his way through the heaps of harvested maize. It was around this time of the day that Eira would be on her herb-collecting run and he wanted to catch her while she was out in the forest. He would be able to spend more time with her today since most of the villagers were at their farms. If she wasn't collecting herbs, she would most likely be at the house since Taft had only Kaarina with him today.
Halvar spotted Eira walking away from the village as he returned from the farm. He was hoping that he might be able to catch her to ask her for something for his sleeping problems but she had a big head start on him and was already almost to the edge of the woods. He started to follow her but as she entered the forest, he realized that she might be afraid if she thought someone was trailing her. He decided to follow her along the path and meet up with her when she stopped. She was walking quickly, determined to reach her goal, and he lengthened his stride to catch up. She went deeper and deeper into the woods, towards the stone boundary markers on the trail that went across the mountains. Now and then he caught a glimpse of her through the trees as she hurried along the path. He hoped that she remembered his warning about the slave raiders.
Eira knew where there was a stand of birch trees. She hoped to find some leaf buds to help Taft’s headaches. She reached the area near the stone boundary markers and stopped, looking around. She felt uneasy, remembering Halvar’s warning about the slave raiders. She stood still and listened but could hear nothing but the whisper of the wind in the trees. She quickly got out her pouch and started to pick what she needed.
Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air and stuck into the tree she was picking from. The shot was precise, intended to merely graze her skin rather than kill. It nicked her arm before plunging into the tree beside her. She screamed and started to run but she had only taken a few steps when she realized that the path back to the village was blocked by two men. Two huge Slavic slave raiders! Even though she was within the village boundaries, they had been bold enough to enter. She screamed again and began to run away from the village, away from help. It was
