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The nation Chapter 41
“You have been cheating on me for years Harden, the village is more important. The People are more important, the crops, the stores, everything but me. Why am I last on your list husband, why?” Like running into another tree, Harden was stunned by his wife’s admission.Briaunna was also stunned. She believed that her parents were perfect, that they would always do the right thing and protect her and The People. Now, she was hearing things that made little sense to her. Her mother was having an affair with another man, her father was too distracted to be a good husband. What was happening? “You have never been last on my list, why would you say that?”“Harden,” Indra wiped at her nose, “whether you meant to put me last or not, that is exactly how I feel. Last.”“Rognvald told me, that fucker. I had to find out from that snake in the grass.” Harden let the anger fill his words.Indra was not sure how to respond, first off, she was surprised by the fact that Rognvald knew. That meant t
The nation Chapter 42
“Hold on!” A voice called, one that she thought was familiar.Then with almost no effort at all, she was lifted out of the snow by a man, a big man. “It’s ok, I have you.” He said. “Why are you walking around by yourself?”“I’m going to the council meeting.”“You are? Me too.” The man had joy in his voice.When Brie lifted her head up to see who had picked her up, she was surprised that it was Erek. Simple Erek did not sound that simple anymore. Brie decided to play it smart and not give away too much.“I’ll carry you to the door then I’ll put you down.”“Why would you do that?”“So, you can pretend like you made it on your own, it’ll be our secret.”Brie had never heard Erek speak like this, he usually had one- or two-word answers and blank stares. Who was this Erek? “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” she said honestly. “Well let’s get moving, I’m freezing.”Erek walked them towards the meeting house. When the two got close to the council room Erek set Briaunna down.“Now you can walk i
The nation Chapter 43
Much of the gossip was just idle chat and good-natured banter to help pass the time away. Erek was not the only topic of conversation, the women talked about their men too, not one of them was off limits. But, that night after the council meeting when Indra went after Erek, she was not in control of herself, she was guided by her lustful inhibitions. None of the gossip played in her head when she walked after Erek. Not one time did she think about what she was doing, she just needed to feel a man again, her regret came shortly after her orgasm. Gasping from pleasure, Indra looked down and saw a face that wasn’t her husbands, it was the face of a frightened and bewildered Erek.Indra was in the third month of her pregnancy now; she stayed home and in her bed on most days. Her feet swelled to an absurd size; they wouldn’t fit into her moccasins anymore. The nausea and vomiting have left her weak and with little appetite, fortunately her nausea was almost over, she only puked now if some
The nation Chapter 44
What Sokonan intuited from this statement was; I don’t have time for any other problems right now, you know; like a pregnant wife.“Harden, you know you aren’t in this alone, you do not need to carry the weight of the village on your shoulders. Ondu will survive, The People will survive.” Sokonan put some force into her words. “Winter is always hard on The People, it is ok to let nature take its course.”Harden slapped his leg, making Sokonan flinch at the sudden sound.“What if I, or we, can do something about it? Aren’t we compelled to do whatever is in our power to do to make things better? What if a group leaving is the right thing to do?”“Is that what has been bothering you lately? What Rognvald said about some people leaving Ondu?” Sokonan looked like she had figured out Harden’s problem, she had only uncovered a part of it.The three hearths that were meant to heat the meeting room had fires burning brightly in them, casting the familiar dancing shadows along the tough tanned
The nation Chapter 45
When Callum wasn’t hunting, he and Kaya were spending as much time together as they could. In winter keeping warm was a necessity so they spent a lot of time at the Flistedt’s pottery shop, more specifically near the kiln. The kiln was burning every day, wood was a priority for the Flistedt’s, just as food was, and they all took turns gathering, cutting, and stacking wood. Wood was the one thing that the village was not lacking, the problem was going outside to gather it, the wind and cold were unrelenting. When winter fell on the land, it came down and firmly plundered it, leaving nothing exposed unfrozen.“Hey! Not too close to the kiln.” Kaya laughed, “you’ll burn your ass.”“Are you sure your parents aren’t gonna be mad that we keep hanging out in here? I mean do they know we are...” He trailed off.“That we are what? More than friends now? They know.”“They know?”“Yep, they are lovebirds still to this day. They told me that they know what we are getting up to,” Kaya pulled her h
The nation Chapter 46
In Rog’s world, everyone would be doing what they were good at, or if it were a skill that needed more people to be doing it then he would have people learn to do it. Hunters would hunt, cooks would cook, farmers farm, etc. But not everyone saw eye to eye with Rognvald, not everyone shared his views. Most of the people still prayed to the old Gods and still followed the old ways, stay on the feather’s edge and all that. Rognvald thought it was all rubbish, trash. He did not believe in any of the Gods, not one single one. He believed in himself, and the power of manipulation.Tombold won’t just go away or not become a problem, Rognvald knew that this would somehow turn into a problem for him. Erek he can deal with or at least figure out how to handle him, but Tombold was a factor that was too far out of reach. Rognvald could send Erek hunting at every chance, keeping him away from as many people as possible, limiting the opportunity to confront Indra or Harden. Rognvald chuckled to him
The nation Chapter 47
“So, what, I just wanna know what you heard, I don’t care whether it’s true or not. I am so bored from the weather being bad, I mean we’re all stuck inside for the most part. So, just tell me already.”“I heard him tell my mom,” he bent forward and lowered his voice so that only Marx would hear. “My dad said a group of The People were gonna be leaving Ondu.”“For what?”“What do you mean for what? Don’t you know about the food shortage?”“Yes, you idiot, everyone is on rations.” She made a, duh, gesture.“Come on Marx, you don’t gotta be mean about it. But yeah, that’s what I heard my dad say. A group will be leaving in the spring to try and cross the Domea river.”Marx gasped so loud that Callum blushed.“Keep it down! I don’t know if it is true and that’s why I didn’t want to say anything. Maybe I misunderstood what I heard, ya know?”Only a few heads turned when Marx gasped, to be honest there were only a few people in the meeting house any way, everyone gathered around one of the
The nation Chapter 48
“I’ll freeze to death.” Kaya said while hugging herself dramatically.“No, you won’t. But, if you do, I promise to bring you inside and thaw you out. If I didn’t your mother would tan my hide. Oh, is that venison I smell?”“Dad, is that your stomach talking again?”“Maybe, but I have to leave you girls now. Leave you to investigate that smell.” Tombold slunk off to try and sneak up on Kathryn, he rarely succeeded.“So, Kaya, when was the last time you saw Callum?” Marx already knew the answer, she had seen Callum last, before he left for his hunting trip.“About five or six days ago, I hate going out in the cold if I can help it. He usually comes here to see me, but he must have been busy prepping for the trip.”Rognvald knew little about living off the land. His father and grandfather tried to teach him about such things, but he showed little interest, so they let him find his own path. Rognvald found his path indeed, it led him to seek positions of power so he could tell other peopl