#514 a.d.

[arendholmislands]

Around Ærra līða the construction of the ships began. It was amazing how many trees Ordlaf, Praen and Wasa had managed to cut down over the winter. Unfortunately not all of the logs turned out to be suitable to be turned into planks for the ships, but they were put to good use as materials for some new buildings on Arendholm:

There was now a bigger well in the center of what was slowly turning into a proper settlement.

And Ordlaf, Praen and Wasa had built themselves a simple wooden hut near the woods.

The biggest of the new buildings was a big hall that would soon become the new home of Bodowin, Frida and their children. The hut near the bay was bursting at the seams after the latest addition to their family and Bodowin was hoping that a new home would improve Frida's spirits.

On top of that they'd also began with the construction of a wooden palisade, that - once finished- would encircle the entire settlement. After all, turbulent times lay ahead...

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[arendholmislands]

Boda often accompanied Esthrid into the woods on her search for more of the goatweed. She loves to learn about all the things that Esthrid knew about the herbs that grew around here and she enjoyed the sense of serenity found among the dense bushes and tall trees of the forest.

Today however, the usual serenity was disturbed by an unexpectedly bare view of one of their new neighbors.

Boda, who for all her life only had to share the island with her family and the local wildlife, still hadn't quite got used to the presence of the three men on "her" island. But judging by Esthrid's reaction, the other woman was no more accustomed to suddenly being confronted with a naked man's behind.

Careful not to be noticed, they slowly backed away, only daring to quicken their step once they were out of hearing range. When they reached the same small path between some berry bushes that they came from, they finally stopped. Looking at each other they broke out into roaring laughter that lasted until their bellies hurt and their cheeks were wet with tears. With everything that'd been going on, it felt good to find moments to laugh like that again.

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[arendholmislands]

"The crops are doing well this year", Bodowin noted. He and Esthrid were standing in her little garden, where Bodowin had been waiting for his brother for what slowly began to feel like an eternity.

"They are!", Esthrid, who was watering the plants with the water they collected by putting out big clay pots whenever it rained, replied.

An awkward moment of silence followed. Bodowin and Esthrid didn't openly dislike each other, but Esthrid did not have the best opinion of her husband's brother due to his at times unfair treatment of Boda. And while there had never been so much as an unkind word from her, Bodowin did pick up on the fact that his brother's wife might not be his biggest fan.

When Hildulf finally turned around the corner, Bodowin visibly relaxed.

"Well", Hildulf looked at Bodowin with a slight smirk. "What are we waiting for?"

Bodowin raised his eyebrows. "That would be YOU, dear brother."

They set off to the bay, but the wind carried their voices back so that you could still hear them even after they were long out of sight:

"So...? What took you so long?" - "I had important things to do." - "Pfft - and what were those important things?" - "None of your business!" - "You overslept didn't you?" - "I did NOT!" - "Well then what DID you do?"

Hildulf remained silent. His brother didn't need to know that hearing his daughter's bright laugh this morning made him not want to leave the island for the first time since they'd arrived on Arendolm.

But the Angles of Wallsend were waiting for word on the comissioned ships and with Wēodmōnaþ coming to an end it was high time to set their sails for the British coast again.

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[arendholmislands]

The dark spirits (at least that's what Esthrid said it was) did not let go off Frida easily.

But as the days went by and turned into weeks, things slowly began to shift. One morning as Esthrid came back from her walk with Leofraed, she found Frida in front of their hut, preparing the fish that the boys had caught the evening before - something that she hadn't done in what felt like ages.

Maybe the tea is finally working , she thought while quietly observing her dear friend.

When Esthrid had found some goatweed in the islands' woods, she'd begun drying its leaves and flowers, which she'd then use to brew a tea for Frida. She remembered the plant because it was the same one that her villages' chieftess and herbalist Mairenn had used back when Esthrid's own mother had suffered from a similar condition. Mairenn had called it something else, but Esthrid rememberd that she'd told her how it could be used for both wounds of the mind and the body.

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[arendholmislands]

"Fetch, Graegfell!" -"Good wolf!

"What is it?", Boda mustered her wolf friend who'd retrieved the stick and was now looking at her expactantly. "Ohhh... I know what you want. You want a treat?

Graegfell let out an approving howl.

"Psst! If you want a treat, you have to be quiet! You heard what uncle Hildulf said last time."

To everybody's surprise - especially her father, who'd told her over and over that Graegfell was not a dog but a wild animal - Boda had managed to teach the wolf some commands over the summer.

What Boda didn't tell anyone was that she'd started to give the wolf small pieces of meat or fish whenever he'd do something she wanted him to do. Of course that didn't escape her uncle's keen eye for long. Hildulf had scolded her about wasting their hard caught fish and hare on an animal who was very much able to catch its own food.

His words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, though.

"I think there's still some hare left over from last night. But you have to stay here while I try to smuggle something out.", she whispered into Graegfells ear.

The wolf, as if he had understood every word Boda had said, laid down on the ground behind the house and watched her as she disappeared behind the corner.

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[arendholmislands]

Even in summer Arendholm was rarely sunny, but on the days that it was Boda could usually be found at the beach.

She also liked to watch as the sun turned into a big fiery ball that was then swallowed up by the ocean - clearing the stage for the moon and stars to shine.

When she was still small, Boda had asked her mother over and over to tell her the tale about how Wodan and his brothers placed the steorran, the little lights in the sky, all around Middilgard. She sometimes wondered how they made some of them stay in the same place each night, while others seemed to move as the seasons changed.

While Boda was outside, pondering the wonders of their world, Esthrid and Bodowin took advantage of this rare moment of having the house all to themselves.

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[arendholmislands]

Bodowin felt as if his wife had been taken from him and replaced by someone closely resembling her, but with empty, sad eyes.

To make matters worse, Leofraed was not what you would call an "easy" baby. He seemed to be crying constantly, no matter what Frida did or did not do.

Esthrid and Boda tried to help by taking over most of the household chores, looking after the older boys and helping with Leofraed wherever possible.

Weeks went by, but Frida's condition remained unchanged.

Boda: "How is she today? I brought fresh blackberries, her favorite."

Bodowin: "That's nice of you, but she didn't get up yet. Last night was a bad night..."

He smiled, when all he wanted to do was scream: I don't know what to do! Tell me, what can I do?! But he knew that his thirteen year old daughter would hardly have the answer to those questions.

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[arendholmislands]

Frida bore another son, Leofraed.

But with the birth came a darkness that cast Frida's mind into an impenetrable fog. She wouldn't leave the bed for days, staring into the corner of the room, where light and shadows danced around and mocked her silently.

One night Bodowin woke up to find his wife on the floor, laughing manically, Leofraed screaming from the top of his lungs beside her.

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