Valhalla Hott (10 page)

of the room with a shaky finger.

Hott lowered his face into his hand when he spotted the rat.

The men in the hut laughed and looked from the rat to the naked

woman. Ulfr strode over to the rat and stuck his sword through it

holding it up. Valerie screamed again.

Valerie jumped up and pulled her tunic over her head,

knowing all eyes were on her. There were even more men

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standing in the doorway hoping to get a peek. She strode angrily

over to Hott.

“Today I want a lock on that door!” she shouted.

Hott looked at her confused. Bera pushed her way through the

men and stood before Hott. Even though she was a big woman, she

was still tiny compared to the huge man and the other men in the

room. She scowled at him and yelled something Valerie didn‟t

understand. Hott nodded, and she was surprised to see him

shuffling about with embarrassment. Bera then took Valerie‟s hand

and pulled her outside past the gawking men.

The two women were joined by the remaining women in the

village, and all of them headed for the river to wash. Many men

trailed behind, but kept their distance. Valerie looked at them in

confusion, wondering why they followed and why it seemed a

normal occurrence. None of the women looked concerned. Hott

and Ulfr were two of the men. She understood why they were

with them. At the riverbank, ten of the men stood nearer than the

others and shuffled about within a few feet of the women. Their

eyes were centered on various women of interest.

The other women had stripped. Valerie could tell one of the

women was no more than a girl really. Her breasts were just

starting to bud. There was an older man and a younger man

keeping an eye on her. She sent a questioning look to Bera who did

her best to explain.

Valerie had been taught the word for brother, but not father.

It didn‟t take her long to figure out the girl was being closely

guarded by her brother and her father. She understood then. The

closer men were protecting their best interests, being the women.

The farther men were either there to just gawk at them, or perhaps

as the first line of defense.

The latter thought was disturbing. The other women in the

village had been murdered. Hott‟s own wife and son had been

killed. Would those awful murdering bastards come back and try

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again? Valerie washed quickly, using a root that soaped mildly,

given to her by Bera. She was getting a headache just thinking

about her situation. When she rubbed at her temples again, Bera

strode over to her and gave her some leaves. Valerie wasn‟t sure

what to do with them. When she just stood looking at them

rubbing her temple, Bera took her hand and led her up the path

past Hott.

When they reached the hut, Bera handed Ulfr the iron pot and

demanded he get something. She pointed at Valerie who was once

more rubbing her temples. Hott hurried over to her and sat her on

the bed pallet.

“I‟m fine,” Valerie said, then used two words she had been

taught. “Head, pain.”

She didn‟t realize she had said head bite, but Hott understood.

Apparently so did Bera, and she scowled at Hott who shrugged

sheepishly. Ulfr rushed in with a pot full of water. Bera tossed the

leaves into the pot and shooed the men out. She lay Valerie down

on her pallet.

“I‟m fine really,” she said again. “I‟m just not used to waking

to a giant rat and a room full of massive, half-clothed armed men. I

mean really, wouldn‟t that give any woman a headache?”

Bera patted her hand and then brought her some tea. Valerie

sipped at it. It was good. Bera then began slicing meat for

breakfast. She left for a little while then came back with some

flatbread she had cooked. She took a piece of the meat and

wrapped the bread around it and handed it to Valerie.

“Thank you,” Valerie said gratefully. Her headache was almost

gone. “Thank you for being so nice to me.”

Bera studied her for a moment. Using words she obviously

felt Valerie would understand she spoke. “You little woman.”

Valerie blushed. She had never thought of herself as little. She

always considered herself to be of average height. But under the

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circumstances she supposed it was now true. Even the young teen

had been taller and broader than she.

“Village need women,” Bera continued. “Hott need his

Valkyrie. Need Biorn.”

Valerie understood. Bera liked Hott and knew how much he

missed his son. It was amazing to think these people actually

believed she would give birth to a new Biorn. Would she? It was a

mystery. It was an intriguing concept.
If you thought you or your

significant other gave birth to your reincarnated father or other close

relative whom you loved, you would be more apt to be kind and gentle

knowing that at some point they would return the favor and think you were

a loved one reborn in turn?

Valerie cocked her head to the side, shrugged her shoulders,

and lifted her hands. “What if I have a girl?” she asked, using the

word she understood to be female.

Bera smiled widely. “Helgi,” she exclaimed and clapped.

She then went on to do her best to explain that Helgi was

Hott and Ulfr‟s mother.

“For heaven sake,” muttered Valerie. “You people are really

family orientated.”

Hott chose that moment to walk in followed by Ulfr. Both

men made a beeline for the food. Bera just shook her head at them.

She once more patted Valerie on the hand and left. Ulfr sat at the

table, his huge body and long legs dwarfing it. Hott settled himself

beside her on the pallet. He ate his breakfast in three bites. He then

kissed her and fondled her for a moment. She looked at Ulfr with

unease. She wasn‟t in the mood for one of them, let alone two of

them. She pointedly removed Hott‟s hand from her breast. He

shrugged and grinned at Ulfr, and she got the distinct feeling they

would try again later. Hott kissed her and rose.

“Latch,” he said, but she didn‟t understand what he meant. He

took his arm and bent it slowly at the elbow into his cupped hand.

She smiled in relief knowing he would work on the door.

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After the two men left, Valerie turned around the room

thinking. Her toes scuffed the reeds and dirt. When Hott ducked

back inside, she took his hand and told him she wanted a wood

floor. It wasn‟t as hard to explain as she thought it would be. Hott

seemed to think about it and finally nodded. She could have her

wood floor. A gleam came into his eye.

“Ulfr help,” he said suggestively.

Valerie was about to get annoyed. For heaven sakes, he was

practically saying they would exchange sex for the wood floor.

Then she thought about it for a minute. Bartering might not just be

a bad idea. Ulfr ducked his head in the door. She had to admit her

first experience with a threesome hadn‟t been unpleasant at all. In

fact it had been the sexiest and most kinky fun thing she had ever

experienced. But perhaps she could negotiate a bit more.

She lifted her fingers and began listing off items she wanted.

“A huge bowl, a fry pan, oil, clothes,” she said, using words she

hoped were right.

Hott laughed and held up his hand. “Bowl?”

Valerie made a round circle with her arms and indicated how

deep she wanted it. When Hott cocked his head in question, she

mimicked sitting on it to pee. There was no way she was going to

go outside in the middle of the night only to have her ass bit by

God only knows what when she dropped her drawers!

Ulfr chuckled and nodded. “Fry pan?” he asked.

“Yes and a chicken,” she insisted.

She clucked for them. Then indicated the measurement of an

iron pan and how deep and asked for oil. Both men looked

confused at the word oil. She thought for a second. She mimicked

cooking the chicken in the oil. They still looked confused. Turning

red she imitated using it on her fingers and lubing her behind,

which also wasn‟t a bad plan. They of course got the idea then.

Hott kissed her hard on the mouth. “I find this oil we call

grease,” he explained in his language. “I make clothes soon.”

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Both men left. Valerie went outside and began scanning the

area for things she wanted. She was an enterprising young woman,

she could think of something to make her life easier. She strolled

down by the river and combed the banks, well aware some of the

other men in the village were watching her. There was no need for

her to feel any concern, though. She remained in sight of Hott who

was diligently fixing the rest of the roof with Ulf. Both men

glanced towards her often.

Not too far was a clump of dried mud. After examining it she

determined it was clay. Valerie gathered some in her cooking pot,

thinking she could just rinse it out well later. She scooped up

mounds of the clay and brought it near the hut. She mixed the clay

with small stones and went to work. She spent most of the

morning fashioning a very primitive barbeque. She asked Hott to

light a fire inside to dry it out. He scratched his head at her

contraption, but shrugged good-naturedly.

When Ulfr approached her holding a live chicken by the feet,

her eyes rose in horror. He made the motion of her killing it. He

thrust it at her smiling widely obviously thinking she would be

thrilled—he was mistaken! She ducked behind Hott. In her little

world live chicken were meant to be fed, and actual dead chicken

came plucked, packaged and fresh or frozen. There was no happy

medium. Ulfr frowned and clucked at her. She did what she

thought was a perfect imitation of miming. She pointed at the

chicken, then to Ulfr and trailed her finger under her throat.

“You kill it. And don‟t bring it back until it‟s a real chicken I

can cook.”

She stormed off with both Hott and Ulfr howling with

laughter. Valerie wandered back to the river wondering if maybe

later she could make some cups out of the clay. It wasn‟t a bad

idea, and she had yet to see any utensils for eating, except long

wooden spoons. She gathered up some lengthy soft leaves thinking

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of toilet paper. She collected a few of the roots Bera had told her

were edible and tasty.

Later on in the day, Hott found Valerie three iron bars long

enough to fit over her barbeque. She melted the fat Ulfr had given

her into an iron pan and cooked the sections of chicken. She was

happy to have the salt that Bera gave her, the woman had also

added a few herbs to add flavor.

The two men and Valerie sat down at a new larger and

uncharred table the men had made eating fried chicken, cheese,

flatbread and roasted roots. From their eager enthusiasm at

downing the food, she assumed she had done well. The entire

chicken was eaten as well as the few berries from a wooden bowl

she had found while wandering, and hot cooked apples on a plate

drizzled with a small amount of honey Bera had given her from

their winter storage supply.

When dinner was finished, Hott and Ulfr helped Valerie

scoop up the wooden plates and bowls and her iron pot, and they

headed for the river. She noted the other women doing the same

thing as they all seemed to emerge from their dwellings. The

villagers trailed down a well-worn path single file, or in pairs as

though it were a nightly occurrence.

It became apparent the village had a set time for eating. It

looked to be about an hour and a half before dusk fell, and Valerie

had understood from Bera in single words and hand motions earlier

that morning the women gathered to wash at a set time. She wasn‟t

positive, but felt they thought the women would be more

vulnerable to prey—both man and beast—at a later time.

Everyone gathered together to keep safe made perfect sense to her.

Valerie enjoyed spending time at the river with the other

women. She learned so many new words from them she was

already starting to follow conversations. She knew two of the

women were married. She also learned the young girl‟s father had

put his foot down. No man was allowed to wed his daughter for a

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few more years. Valerie found that to be a relief. She had been

surprised the men would even ask—she was a little girl!

Again she was reminded she was in a barbaric time, and she

imagined the women in this village were treated like gold. Just

shifting her gaze to Hott and Ulfr she could see the tension as

Hott‟s jaw twitched when another looked her way. Ulfr‟s hand

fisted when a head motioned in her direction. A quick glance at a