Tara laughed. “Your table manners need some improvement,” she told it. “But at least you are not hungry now.” She picked it up and held it out to examine it. “Where is your mother, little one? Why are you all alone in the world?”
As Tara cradled the kitten close to her chest, it began to purr, softly at first, then loudly and rhythmically until it suddenly fell asleep. Tara laughed. “You are a little champion,” she said. “I am sorry that your mother is not with you but if you are to live with me, you need a name. I think I shall call you Kappi. It means champion.”
That night, Kappi slept beside Tara in a small wooden box she’d found at the other end of the loft. She put some hay in the bottom and Kappi curled up in his cozy little nest as if he’d always slept there. He awoke once in the night, hungry again, and Tara got up and fed him. When she left to work in the field, she wondered if he would still be there when she returned and was overjoyed to hear his plaintive voice telling her that he was hungry. She went to the kitchen for some more milk, this time taking him with her to show Inger.
“Poor little thing,” she said, her motherly instincts taking over. “He is a forest cat.”
“A forest cat?”
“Yes, they are wild cats that live in the forest. But sometimes, they live with people, too. His mother was most likely sick or injured and she probably brought him here hoping that someone would care for him.” Inger reached out to touch the tiny creature and he started to purr. She was won over completely. “I will find her some milk,” she said.
“I think it is a boy. I have named him Kappi,” Tara said. “He slept beside me in a box I found last night.”
“Kappi is a good name,” Inger said. “You shall never go hungry while I am here to feed you!” She stroked the soft fur protectively. “You come to Inger whenever you want food.”
Tara smiled. She was happy to share Kappi and bring a smile to Inger’s face. The elderly woman had been a slave for a long time and had no family to care for her in her old age. Now, she said that the other slaves were her only family; Tara could see that it would mean a lot to her if she had Kappi to love as well.
That night, Tara went to sleep listening to Kappi purring in his little bed beside her. Although this was not the life she would’ve chosen for herself, it had some unexpected bright spots and blessings and she was grateful. She had no idea what the future held, but for now, she was safe, had enough to eat, and had someone to love.
Erik felt weary as he reached the last stop on his return journey from Más Mýrr. Many of his customers had welcomed a second visit; some of them had even sent goods with him to sell on their behalf at the markets, earning him a commission. He’d stopped at many places on his way back to pay his clients what he owed them and to sell more goods that he’d picked up at the markets. It had been a profitable trip and he felt a sense of achievement as he pulled up outside the last house on his run.
He paid the woman of the house for the tapestry she’d sent with him and bought her remaining wooden pegs that hadn’t sold at the markets. She was pleased and bought two wooden bowls from him. He liked to keep his customers happy; once they realized that he was honest and would treat them fairly, they trusted him. He’d kept meticulous records of everything he sold and took on commission and no one felt that he had wronged them in any way. It was a good way to do business. More importantly, it was a faster way to earn the money he needed. His desire to set the young red-haired woman free from Taft had not wavered; he only hoped that she was still there and still alive. Many slaves did not live to be old, either through illness, hardship or mistreatment.
As Erik said goodbye to his last customer, he felt elated that he had achieved his goal. He had earned the money he needed and he had completed the daunting task in a tight timeframe. His next task was to restock his wagon and take the route that led past Taft’s farm. It would be a lot harder; he knew no one on that route and it went through difficult terrain with many water crossings or detours around the fjords. Many people who travelled through that part of the country went by water but that would mean that he was unable to take his goods to the farms. He would be forced to travel overland just as the farmers who lived in those isolated places often did.
But first, he had to stop at his home village for a couple of days. He needed to repair the wagon and restock with some of the goods he had stored there until he needed them. And he had to go to Merilant with a special request.
“Leopolda, greetings!” Erik said when she opened the door.
“Young Erik! What brings you to my door?” asked the elderly widow.
“I am passing through Merilant on my way home to Leið Lykð. I will stop there for but a few days before my next journey.”
