"Thorkell come, hurry, we got to get to the docks."
"Hey, I'm moving as fast as I can Arfast."
"Well, put more speed in it, or we won't be the first to greet Father among the rest who will get in the way of our path from seeing."
"Alright, brother, I get it."
Two young men, one a drow elf and the other a northern boy, run through the way to the big settlement, causing some trouble for the northern locals who curse them for running recklessly as they do.
Soon, they arrived lucky to be the ones getting their first like others sporting the far sight of boats coming such the level of numbers are low before getting bigger.
Among the few comes a familiar face: these two young men known as this person waves them over.
"Vigi Askelsson, I take it you save this spot for us."
"Yep, you two are lucky that I did. If I hadn't made it in time , I would have been stuck at the back staring at the people's backside."
"Thanks, Vigi." Thorkell, thanks his friend when a hand touches his left shoulder at the time.
"Glad to be here as well." Another vice added itself to the three conversations, and each of them turned their head to see it to be a northern female smiling at them.
Another companion has come to add to the three trips as she knows them as Grima Fromundottir, a beautiful northern girl with pure blonde hair and those pretty blue eyes.
"Grima to be seeing you here."
Throkell was the first one to greet the girl as she responded with a smile to that greeting from the drow elf. The other two couldn't have a problem taking note of the ways he acts towards her, knowing it to be more than a friendly reaction towards her.
"Grima, I take you here to welcome back your father from their expedition out there on the other lands out there."
"Yeah, it would be great to have a home, being quite lonely at home with just me alone."
"Hey, you couldn't have felt lonely when your friends were there to keep you from feeling that way."
"You are right, Arfast, thanks to you guys, I had no reason as you all kept me busy with your annoying me every day to play with you guys."
Grima says, smiling while making eye contact with the young drow Thorkell fully fond of him.
"Oh, guys! Here they come, the boats."
Vigi yells out, drawing his friend's attention to witness the boats of about seven sailing forward to the ducks. It can be seen some of the men and women on these boats standing to look back at the crowds slowly forming at the ducks.
Right there the sound of a horn loudly roars throughout the place to alert those yet to notice the boats until now filling the crowds faster in larger numbers, Lucky for the four they were able to get there in time before this.
Took no time for the boats to set upon the ducks and those inside began to remove themselves from it landing on their feet on the wooden duck as soon as friends and family went to welcome back the long-travel northmen.
Grima waited not when she spotted her father running to him as the two came to embrace each other in a hug, showing to miss each other. Vigi does the same when he sees his uncle taking over as the two do the same.
Throkell and Arfast needed not long to find their father and brother getting off their boat with a body of others looking to be alive and from the mainland.
The two run over to them in doing their greeting back to the settlement.
"Father, welcome back to you two." both together said, which made the man laugh a bit as he smiled to see these two faces after a long time out there.
The older brother made little reaction, smiling for his younger brother Arfast welcoming him back, but nothing toward the drow elf who would call him brother as the feeling for him remains the same.
"Happy to see you both here, but tell me your mother gave you both the alright in coming here."
"We did all our chores to gain permission from our mother to do so."
"Father, those people behind."
It was brought up by Throkell when moving his head to the side to look upon three not-so-well humans tied up at the hands and at the neck connecting.
One was an older male in his 30s, another a female looking to be still around her 20s, and last another female much to be in her teens close to reaching the young adult age as she is now 19.
It would look like this is a family, but the young 19-year-old female shares no treat either from the hair or eyes.
"Yeah, they are slaves. We brought back something you should have been since the day your father brought you to our lands."
"Shut your mouth. Sigehelm or my hand will do the job instead."
"Yes, father." Sigehelm quickly obeyed his father, not wanting to feel his anger.
"Good, how about we end standing and celebrate a nice raid we had this day."
"I wouldn't call it that because we should have grabbed more slaves for our home."
"I think three is enough to take back. Your mother would be pleased with that to replace the ones we lost last year."
While this goes on, Thorkell couldn't stop from checking in with Grima and her father noticing that they were talking to Heatley as if a disagreement was happening. In the end, it looks like the father was the one to end by having the last word, and she is not leaving the girl to be alone, not happy.
"Come on, let go, I would love to have a drink before returning to your mother."
"You know she is going to be upset about you taking so long to come home."
"A risk, I'm willing to take my young son."
Hearing their father say, and he walks to make his way to the great hall where the rest from the boat will go.
"Excuse me, may I borrow Throkell. There is something I would like to talk about privately with him."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
[somewhere further north in the woods]
Away from the settlement of North people, Thorkell and Grima walk side by side in silence, not speaking a word to another after about minutes passing.
It was weird that he found it to be that nothing was said this long when she was the one requesting a private speaking with each other. Thorkell did wonder if he should take up first in starting up the conversation.
"I'm sorry to have you come with me like this, I know that you would rather be with your family since your father and brother have returned."
"Not at all Grima, spreading time with you doesn't bother me at all, and besides, there is always later."
"Glad to hear it, but sadden me at the same time."
"Have I said something wrong to make you feel this sadness?"
Grima stops moving right as Thorkell notices after taking a step or two forward while looking back to see that sad expression all over her face.
Even in that expression, he can still find this young girl to be beautiful, showing how much this elf feels about her.
"I'm to be married."
"What do you mean Grima as to Married who?"
"My father was talking to another fellow Northman while out there on the mainland. Seems that the man's son is the same age as me and has yet to find himself a woman to marry. It makes sense that the two of us are set to be together."
This news of information was difficult to accept, being a hard thing to believe.
"So that's what behind you and your father were talking about. Tell me what your response was to that."
"I have had no choice in the matter of being an only child since the time my mother passed away. My father wants me to be with someone and to start a family before it is too late."
"Then you agree to go with some random stranger's wife."
The tone Thorkell isn't hard to detect of how displeased the drow elf is with this matter. It hurts Grima to know what he can be feeling, and there is nothing to be done about changing it in making things better.
"What am I to do? My father is set on this as there has been an agreement between them and a date set for the wedding."
"I don't understand. You still could have fought against it."
"And what gets into a pointless argument where there is no reason for winning In the end? I will lose no matter what."
"Then what about us? You're going to tell me that you didn't think about it when the feeling toward each other is clear and true."
Thorkell brings this up, knowing there is no longer a point in hiding this where Grima couldn't deny it but wants this not to show their feelings for each other to come out.
"I see because of what I am there, never going to be a chance for us to be together."
It is a truth he knows already, but one can not help in thinking there is a small piece of hope. At that moment, Throkell feels his hand get grabbed and held into another as he looks in, facing closely at Grima.
"That is not the way I feel for Throkell like others who would think the same or would not agree to such a union between our races. I would not care and show those others my feelings for you in front of those yet events, and my fate is set to be this way."
"Then it just decided to be this way, I have to stand to the side and watch one day you end up in the arms of another. How cruel of the fates to be on someone that did nothing to seek their wrath."
"Must it be the way you believe it to be?"
Thorkell looks to be confused by what Grima has just said, wondering about the meaning behind it. She places the other hand on his, letting it stay there for seconds as the two stare each other in the eyes where both would not fight the desire to lay lips upon one another.
Kissing finally in happiness and one that feels to be a goodbye where that same kiss breaks and they lay their head upon each other silently till the girl removes her head and lets go of his hand walking forward with both hands behind her back.
"We are not too young to be on our own out in the world. Surely it won't be tough for us to live somewhere with just the two of us."
"Grima, are you talking about leaving our homes behind?"
"If I was, would you not agree to it by acting upon it like if we were to keep on walking, never stopping, never looking back, feeling no regret for what we did."
"I won't fight such an idea, but this suggestion is a big risk because we will be hunted down by your father as he surely will not stop bringing you back and most likely take my life if possible."
Grima is about to speak back, maybe to change this idea she put out into the two forgetting about it. Then comes the sounds of two hands clapping together where a figure of a woman shows herself out of nowhere walking slowly toward them."
"My, my such a lovely love bird situation you two are in. It made me feel pity for you both, then soon that changed to me feeling disgusted in hearing."