Ted and Danny

At another place, even northerner than the northern Icelands, a ship bobbed up and down next to a half-broken rusty landing pier. Contrasting the stage, the ship was big and well-maintained, though the grey planks, white sailcloth, and silver ornaments gave it the image of an ancient snow-tipped mountain. Unmovable, cold, and ever-lasting. The other ships on the pier looked like fishing boats compared to it.

The pier ended at a couple of run-down houses. Surprisingly, the muddy streets were full of people, or better to say, full of vagabonds and rogues. The blades glinting on their sides or hidden in their sleeves gave the only shine to their filthy exterior. It was hard to say if the bodies leaning against the houses belonged to drunkards or rotting corpses. Even at a mass burial, the smell could not get worse than here.

With a bang, the door to a bar was kicked open, and out strode a burly man without any hair but with plenty of scars to compensate. One of which went from his left cheek all the way to the upper right side of his head, effectively parting his face in two. He snarled at the thin, lanky man following behind. "You brought your message, now get lost! By maelstrom and thunder, she's not a leash you can pull left and right however you want!"

When his voice boomed through the village, the rogues on the street hastily scurried away like rats discovering a cat in their midst. The lanky man followed them. A few seconds later, only the ones in deep - and sometimes endless - sleep were left.

The burly man grunted and scratched his belly through the thick barrier of fur clothing he wore. He looked rather satisfied. That was, until another big man appeared at the door behind him, leisurely taking a gulp of his mug of beer or whatever that almost black liquid was supposed to be.

"So, Captain, King, or -", the new man halted and burped loudly, then continued as if it was nothing the matter, "- whatever... what's the new course? Do we follow the plan or save your pretty sister's ass once again?"

The burly man turned very slowly to his companion and his scared face twisted to a murderous look that would have made any predator envious. "What's that about my sister's pretty ass, Ted? Wanna say that again?"

Ted turned pale, the mug instinctively lowering into a defensive position as he seemed to chew on his tongue to find a response.

Suddenly, a shout from the bar broke the stalemate. "Don't make him piss his pants, Cap! He smells enough as is!"

What followed was the hooting and laughing of several men, or to be precise, the whole crew of the former pirate turned king of the Glacial Coast. Rapidly, the burly man's grimace turned into a shark's grin, and he clapped Ted on the shoulder. "No need to worry, new one. I will just pop out your eyes if you ever dare to look her way."

The crew in the bar roared and guffawed even louder, while Ted gulped. "If... If you say so, Captain..."

"I say so. And I say, we are departing. Pick up your lazy asses, boys! And don't forget the barrels! It will take a while before we get more of old Freddy's nasty piss water! C'mon!"

.

While the pirates were fast to pack and depart, the journey of Katherine and company had turned excruciatingly slow. Even the horses were yawning when they trotted along the earthen path at a walking pace. On the advice of the doctor, Katherine was allowed only four hours of light travel a day, with a long break in between.

The soldiers who complained to their prince and commander were soon forced into training sessions with him, after which they hastily picked up multiple new hobbies. None of them dared complain more than once. Instead, they went hunting, learned cooking, trained among themselves, played cards, carved wood, and did any work they could find to not appear bored ever again.

Nathaniel was very satisfied with this development, as it gave him even more time with his wife. Since the painful episode, he did not leave her side for more than a few minutes.

Opposite to that was Ethan. Whenever possible he was put out of Katherine's sight, and forced to stay in a tent when they rested. Though she knew he was still there, not seeing him helped reduce Katherine's stress level by more than half, and the tongue that had sharpened with each traveling day before, soon vanished behind her smile. Though she still felt pain once in a while, it was way lighter than the first time. The doctor was now sure that the baby would be alright if she continued to be careful like now.

On a particular evening, when a knowledgeable soldier found a field of mushrooms in the forest and another had hunted a boar, the soldiers decided to show their new cooking skills and prepare a feast. Both Katherine and Nathaniel were positively surprised by the men's eagerness, though not exactly as much by the end result. The meat was too salty and the mushrooms hacked into an inch of their lives. They almost looked like brownish flour. Nonetheless, Katherine appreciated their afford and ate two bowls of fried mushrooms with a smile.

Lady Brandon sat next to them with her own bowl of food and even chewed on the salty meat. Seeing Katherine's lifted brows, she explained: "It reminds me of home, you know? Sailors use salt for food preservation. Fish for example. You seldom use so much salt in the Icelands, because you don't travel for weeks and weeks without land in sight."

Katherine sighed. "I'd love to see the sea. Once would be enough. I'd cherish that view for the rest of my life."

Lady Brandon laughed. "Believe me, once is never enough. You will want to come again and again, maybe even stay... there..."

Lady Brandon's sentence slowed when she noticed Nathaniel's cold glare. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, have you two already thought of a name? Or started thinking about it? I know it is still some time until birth, but a good name also takes time to find... what? Don't tell me you've not thought of it at all? But you do know that your child needs a name, right?"

"Of course, we know!", Katherine retorted with an uneasy flicker in her violet eyes. "I just thought... maybe not so soon? We still have over six months if the doc's predictions are right..."

While talking, she glanced at Nathaniel from the corner of her eye. Just like when she'd told him of the pregnancy, her husband had stilled completely. But maybe used to the shock now, it took less time for him to recover. He slowly lowered his cutlery, the face as pale and expressionless as always. His voice, though, sounded somewhat far away. "She is right. There is still much time. So much can happen in that time..."

He did not say more than that, but both women understood what he meant, and though it was Katherine's own argumentation, it was also her face that darkened first. Staring straight at him, she did not coat her words in sugar. "You still think our baby will die."

He held her gaze, not surprised but stubborn and somewhat sorrowful. "I wish for you that it will not."

"But you think that it will, right? You don't want to choose a name because you fear it will make it more real for me, that I will be sadder for a Lina or Danny than a nameless child. You hold no hopes at all."

When Katherine's voice raised at the end, Nathaniel stood up. "Let's talk in the tent."

He offered her a hand, but she ignored it and stomped toward the tent by herself, leaving him behind. Her chest hurt like hell.

At first, she'd thought she could hold herself back with the thought that he would see for himself in the future. But it hurt! It hurt so much to see him inwardly prepare for the worst. Nothing had even happened yet! Why, just why did he not dare to see any hope?