As soon as Floki's father heard his innocent comment, he became pale. He immediately put him down and got on his knees. He then closed his eyes and pressed against each other and started praying to Goddess Freya…
'Oh Goddess Freya, please forgive this boy. He is just a child who said something that he shouldn't have. He didn't mean to disrespect you. Please forgive him.' His father prayed. After he was done, he looked at Floki who was standing by him.
Floki's mother had taught him that whenever he would see someone praying, then they should not be disturbed. Or otherwise, Gods would be angered and they will punish you. That is why when his father got on his knees he silently stood by his side, not daring to say a word.
"Floki immediately apologize to Goddess Freya." His father said in a strict voice.
"Did I say something wrong father?" Floki asked.
"Yes. The word that you associated with Goddess Freya is an unpure word. Never associate that word with any Gods in the future. Do you understand?" his father said.
"You mean Gold…." Before Floki could complete his sentence, his father grabbed his mouth and didn't let him speak further.
"No! Don't say the word. Just apologize to her." His father said. Seeing how serious was his father, Floki also bend his knees and started praying to Goddess Freya, asking for forgiveness.
After they were done, they started moving once again towards their destination. To celebrate today's day, their village organizes a special festival every year. Merchants and small villages from neighboring also come to the village and then everyone celebrates this night.
As their village was not big enough, they couldn't accommodate everyone. That is why the merchants open their stalls on the outskirts of the village. That way there will less traffic in the village.
Floki's mother was responsible for properly handling the stall area. It was her responsibility to see to it that every merchant pays for opening up the stalls there. As well as see to it every merchant would only use the are assigned to them.
As Floki and his father, made their way to the outskirts of the village they saw a line of tents being lined up. The stalls were of various shapes and sizes. Some of the stalls were selling food while others were selling souvenirs. And many stalls were of various games like hook the fish, where a person had to catch the fish with the help of a hook. And there were many more games which were as fun as hook the fish…
Soon Floki and his father were able to locate the mother. She was standing at the other end of the tent commanding some men and women alike. She seemed very busy but as soon as he saw Floki and his father, she dropped everything and came running towards them
"Mama!" Floki yelled from his father's arm.
"You finally woke up huh?" his mother commented while ruffling Floki's hair.
"How is the work going?" Floki's father asked his wife with a smile on his face.
"Everything is working out just fine. And you know what, from my calculation this year the festival would be able to earn a lot more than last year." She said.
"Really now? That is interesting. It seems you did a pretty good job with the merchants." Floki's father said.
"Of course. No one could resist my charms." She said with a pretty smile.
"I can agree to it… By the way, you look rather beautiful today." Floki's father said with a sly smile on his face.
"Is that so?" she said while coming closer to her husband.
"Yeah. It seems I have to reward you for your efforts tonight." Floki's father said.
"I would love to receive your reward." Floki's mother said.
"Papa! Mama! I would like to receive a reward too. After all, I have also been a good boy this year." Floki said innocently. Hearing his comment, both husband and wife got embarrassed and increase the distance between them.
"Of course my son. Today is the day when you will also get rewarded." Floki's father said while stepping backward….
BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
It was then the sound of a horn resounded throughout the village. All the people in the village stopped their respective work and started looking here and there as no one had any idea about what that horn meant.
Floki's father had a bad feeling when he heard the horn. Thus he pushed his son toward his wife and then started running towards the outskirts…
Their small village was in the middle of nowhere. They were literally in the middle of grasslands so it was pretty easy to spot anything in some distance.
As Floki's father came outside the village, he with some more people saw the horn was blown by a party or riders heading their way. They were all some distance away, but from the sheer size of the party, Floki's father started having a bad feeling.
This party was not waving any flags. Thus they were not with the empire. Seeing this he understood, that this party of riders belongs to bandits….
"BANDITS!!! RUN AWAY!!!" Floki's father immediately started yelling. Hearing him, all the people of the village who heard his cry started running. Chaos soon spread everywhere, people started running toward their loved ones. While merchants left all of their merchandise behind and started running away with their rides.
Floki's father started running toward his wife and son. He knew that they had a horse in their home. If they could make it there in time, they could leave immediately. Thus he started running toward them.
"RUN MICHELE RUN!" Floki father's yelled to his wife standing with Floki in her arms, oblivious of what was happening…
Hearing her husband's yells, she understood that something bad was coming their way. So she started running at full speed towards her house. She also had the same idea as her husband and understood that they could really use a horse right about now.