Freya entered the tent carrying a dish of food, and Archer looked at her, laughed, and remarked, “Freya, you look like a raccoon today!” Freya didn’t see the funny side of what Archer had said, and complained to him, “How can you be so cruel as to call a lady a raccoon?” Archer shot back quickly, “Lady? You must be joking,” and continued to laugh as he bit into one of the sausages that Freya had brought him. The oil splashed his beard, making the rays of sunlight bounce off it as they entered the tent.
“I didn’t sleep well,” said Freya, as she rubbed her eyes. She had lain awake last night, with so many thoughts swirling around her mind. Finally, she had been able to get a few precious hours of sleep when dawn came, although it was nowhere near enough. Her head felt numb, and her eyes seemed to be trying to pop out of her skull. She had not felt this tired in such a long time.
Archer continued to grin and laugh, and remarked, “Not sleeping well? What a joke!” Freya felt the anger rising in her and yelled, “Really!? Archer!!” She grabbed a piece of firewood from the floor and moved towards him. Archer dropped his food and took a defensive stance. Despite Freya’s efforts, there was no way she could beat the superior Archer. He grabbed her wrist and twisted, forcing her to drop the weapon. Still grinning, Archer remarked, “There’s no way you can beat me in a million years, you rat!”
At that moment, a voice came from the entrance, “Did I interrupt something?” Lucius stood at the tent’s opening, his voice making Archer and Freya stop their in tracks and straighten up. Archer nervously coughed out, “Greetings, Your Majesty,” and knelt down in front of him while pulling Freya down to do the same.
Freya felt uncomfortable to see Lucius again so suddenly and was further worried by the stern look on his face. Lucius looked at Archer and asked him, “Are you aware that the child beside you saved my life recently?” Archer was sweating and nodded as he replied, “Yes, I know Your Majesty. What an honor it is.” Lucius continued, “I was not able to reward her properly yesterday, but I intend to make amends for that now.”
Archer shook his head, and said, “There is no need Your Majesty. She simply did what was required of her. Such action does not warrant a reward.”
Freya felt the anger rising up inside her. How could Archer say that? He knew that they needed all the help they could get, and here he was almost refusing a golden opportunity to finally improve their lives. As she glared at Archer, Lucius called to Herro, “Please bring it over here.”
Herro placed a small box on the table. It looked like the kind of box that may contain gold pieces. Freya wondered exactly what was inside and desperately wanted to open it there and then, but she knew she would have to contain herself. Herro announced, “It is just a small token of gratitude from His Majesty, for saving his life.”
Archer looked at Herro and then Lucius, and said, “Your Majesty, I offer all of my thanks. Come Freya, we must thank His Majesty together for this kind gesture.” Freya started to speak, “But I’m not a knight, so how can I….?” Archer caught Freya’s eye and she could feel his glare, so she stopped speaking and slowly approached Lucius and knelt in front of him. She tried not to look at Lucius, but she was unable to keep herself from staring at him. Lucius looked down and quietly said, “So, you’re Freya.”
When Freya looked up and fully took in the sight of Lucius standing before her, she saw a well-dressed, regal figure, looking down at her as if he had never seen her before. She heard Lucius ask her where she had come from, and her heart began to beat faster. An image of Shilo’s face appeared in her mind, and she realized that she had not thought of him for a long time. She wondered if Lucius was still staring intently at her, but she was afraid to look up to confirm it. The thought suddenly came to her that if she had been captured by Shilo, all of this would have been pointless.
Since Freya seemed unable to answer His Majesty’s question, Archer reasoned that he had better fill in this silent pause. He began to say, “She is from the Flanders region in the south Your Majesty. You may be aware of the fine cheese that is local to that area.”
Freya heard Archer’s reply and wondered why he had lied to His Majesty. She began to tremble slightly, wondering if there was a penalty for lying to royalty. She had never been anywhere near Flanders, and yet Archer was telling a barefaced lie to His Majesty. She bit her lips and tried to steady her nerves.
It seemed that Lucius was unconcerned about Flanders, or indeed its cheeses, and he went on to say, “Well, Freya of Flanders, I wanted to reward you with something special. You saved my life, and that is deserving of some recognition.” It was not noticeable to anybody in the tent, but Freya’s heart felt as though it had sunk upon hearing those words. She started to imagine that Lucius’ eyes were showing different colours. Could he really be about to say what she desperately wanted to hear? She managed to find the will to say, “I’m OK,” before Lucius could continue. Somewhere in her belly, she had a slight sense that danger may be approaching.
Her sudden response caught Lucius by surprise and his face took a grim twist. With a sudden and serious tone, he asked, “Are you refusing my favour?” Freya looked at his face and thought to herself that she certainly did want to refuse his favour. What good could come of it, based on the stern and almost cruel expression that was now on his face? She also knew though, that if she were to refuse and reveal her innermost thoughts, she could face a more serious problem. Lucius was, after all, a royal.
As the thoughts raced through Freya’s mind, Archer suddenly interrupted again. “Your Majesty, please forgive Freya. She must be overcome with emotion at this amazing situation that she finds herself in. Please try to understand.” Archer seemed to be in awe of His Majesty, even though Freya continued to poke him in his side. Lucius finally revealed the reward that he was willing to grant Freya, “I have decided to make Freya my servant.”
Upon uttering these words, shock waves seemed to ripple around the room. Herro gasped in surprise, and Gemini grabbed his sword loudly in order to steady himself. Archer’s face was blown up in an expression of shock, almost as if his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Only Freya’s face was covered with despair, but this went entirely unnoticed by everyone in the tent.
Archer dropped to his knees in front of Lucius and cried out, “Your Majesty, it is an honour to the family.” Freya watched him and decided not to stop him, as he had had a completely different reaction than her. She knew that it would be far better for Lucius to see Archer’s dramatic reaction than her look of disappointment. She wondered what was going through Archer’s crazed head at that moment, and if he thought that she was somehow getting a noble title from this appointment.
Gathering all of her strength and courage, she fixed her dried eyes on Lucius and looked directly into his eyes. She so desperately wanted to ask why he was doing this to her. If she had known on the day that saved him, that this would be the end result, she would have run away quickly and not cared whether he lived or died.