Circumnavigating Yggdrasil

Erica

Clara heard many people say that drowning was horrible, but she never realized that it would be so cold. She thought she would freeze to death before the air ran out of her lungs. 

Suddenly, she was plummeting downwards, no longer able to feel the water around her. She flapped her arms and legs in vain and braced herself for the impact. Drawing all the courage she had, she opened her eyes and saw the ground, which wasn't far now. Burying her head in her hands, she braced herself for the impact.

She was awoken by a frail-looking lady, clad in a white robe, looking down curiously at her. She had a puzzled look in her kind eyes and was assessing Clara's attire. 

"Who are you?" she asked her.

"Oh thank Frey! You and you're friend were found just outside the village in the raven pond. Some soldiers who were patrolling the area heard shouts, so they went and saw your friend, carrying you on his shoulder. Mind you, the boy cannot speak well, so we couldn't understand a thing he said. They brought you here straight without ado. I honestly thought you were not gonna wake up, young woman."

Her mind was spinning. Who had rescued her and what in the world was this place?

"Who are you, lady? Where are we? Who rescued me and what friend do I have?"

"Well, the brown-eyed boy of course! I'm Erica, the chief healer of our village, Axeholme. Look, he's over there."

She turned around.

"BEN!" She yelled. Ben woke with a start and raised himself dizzily.

"Clara. You're awake. Thank god!"

"Where are we? Why is this old woman saying you cannot speak properly to her?"

"They speak Old Nordic. I know a bit, but not as much to make a conversation. Wait a minute, how did you know what she was saying?"

"I talked in our tongue with her and she answered in the same."

Ben opened his mouth in astonishment. He turned towards Erica, who was seeing them with a puzzled look.

He talked to her in some gibberish, broken language.

Erica turned towards Clara and said, "See? He cannot speak well at all. In which tongue did you two converse earlier? It doesn't seem to be from around this region?"

"We are speaking in the same language I spoke to Ben in, madam."

Ben gasped.

"You know Old Nordic, Clara?"

"No. How would I?" "Then how did you just speak to her right now?"

"In English!" "No! You spoke old nordic. How come you're the only one who can understand her?"

"She is speaking in English too, Ben!"

"No. She's speaking to you in Nordic."

"Oh god, my head is spinning!"

"If you do not believe me, look at her."

Erica's face was with an expression of ignorance and puzzlement. 

"Erica," Clara asked her, " Could you understand us when we were talking amongst ourselves?"

"No, child. It was a completely different dialect."

It felt like the world was slipping from beneath her feet.

"Wait a minute. First things first. How are you here with me?"

"Well, when you turned around and jumped, I jumped after you to try and bring you back to the shore. But the current pulled us into some sort of whirlpool, and when I managed to drag us to the surface, the forest disappeared. There was nobody around, so I started to yell, and a band of people in armor jumped in and saved us. I passed out and woke up when I heard you scream."

Ben jumped after her to save her.

She was trying not to cry. Her admiration for him increased. A girl who he just met for a day, and he put himself in danger to rescue her.

"Thank you, Ben." was all she managed to say.

"Now Children," Erica called them. " If the people see you in this attire, they'll burn you thinking you're spies from afar. Change into the clothes I laid out for you. I shall be back."

Clara looked around. It was a large place, with a lot of haystacks resembling beds arranged in a line. She herself was on one, and above them was hay covering the wooden walls of the place. there were separate rooms with curtains at their back, and clothes were laid out beside her. 

"Seems like a hut." Ben offered.

"Yeah. She told me that we are in Axeholme. Does it ring any bells?"

"Yes, it does. If it is what I think it is, then we were fools to wander into the damned forest."

" Tell me what you know."

"It was a popular Viking village. When my grandmother was alive, she used to tell me stories bout how brave people were here. I don't remember any of them now."

"So we jumped into a river in Scottside and somehow magically got transported to Axeholme?"

"I guess that is it. Come on, let's change. I feel like the nurse will kill us if she sees us in our clothes when she returns. What was her name, though?"

"Erica, the chief healer of Axeholme."

Ben grabbed his pile and went into the room. He came out dressed in a tunic and trousers.

"They fit and breathe well."

"Really? We're god knows where and you're happy that the clothes fit?"

"Oh come on. We need to know where we are if we want answers to how we can go back home. Go on and change."

They gave her a purple frock, which, surprisingly fit her well, and there were small pockets in it too.

She took her necklace and stashed it in the pocket, hoping to avert eyes from her, especially as it was night.

She came out of the room feeling very open all of a sudden. She found Ben, dressed like a townie in a dressing competition. 

"So what should we do now?"

"We wait for Erica. She seemed more friendly than the bunch I came with."

Both of them stood there, with nervousness creeping up around Clara. After what felt like an eternity, Ben broke the silence.

" You look beautiful in that gown, Clara," he said.

She was so surprised she blurted out, "What?!"

"I said you look beautiful."

"We are in an unknown land. We don't speak their language, and we don't know how to even go home, and that's the first thought you get?"

Ben looked as if someone punched him in the stomach.

"At least you understand them." He said with a weak smile.

" Someone's coming," he said.

Erica returned with two of the most perfect girls Clara saw in her whole life.

They weren't beautiful in the sense of beauty.

They looked like they were deities in disguise.

Their arms had identical tattoos shaped like a spear, and their eyes seemed to assess everything in the room.

The twins, she guessed, had a strapped sword at their backs, but a cloak covered most of it. Their stance was that of predators planning an ambush, and one sister's hand was resting a dagger strapped to her waist.

She turned to Ben. He was staring with his mouth open, mute to everything around him.

Erica started speaking.

Clara couldn't believe her ears. She heard gibberish and couldn't understand even a single word.

"Ben. What is she talking about right now?"

"I thought you understood Nordic, Clara?"

"I cannot understand it now."

Desperation filled her face. 

She looked toward Ben. 

"Can you translate for now?"

"I...I think so. She asked us to tell what happened to these girls I guess."

"Wow. Now that is very easy, isn't it?"

"You seemed to know how to talk in the same dialect too. what happened now?"

Erica and the girls started talking amongst themselves. 

Clara stashed her hands into her gown's pockets and started fiddling with the necklace.

"The girl was talking fine before you came. I do not know what traversed from then to now, Selene."

The Necklace!

She took it out and wore it. 

"Erica, can you understand me now?" she asked.

"Oh thank god you found your voice again. Selene here was almost convinced you were a spy."

Ben was observing carefully. Then he said, "The necklace is acting as a translator, isn't it?"

" I guess so. That might explain why it glows so powerfully."

"Quit bickering amongst yourselves!" Erica snapped.

"This is Selene and that is Astra, twin sisters and the generals of Axeholme. They were patrolling the area near the raven pond when they heard him shouting," she said with a finger toward Ben.

Clara was again awestruck seeing them. 

They weren't identical, but their presence was so strong she couldn't think of anything else.

Selene was an inch taller than Astra, Clara realized as she approached her.

"I am Selene, and this is my younger sister, Astra. Tell us what happened otherwise you face certain death."

"What?!" Ben exclaimed.

Astra looked at Ben and said, "You were speaking illegibly and were dressed as if you were witches. We burn witches on stakes in this kingdom."

"Our patrol wanted to leave you in the pond to drown." Selene stepped in. " We wanted to give you a chance in case you turned out to be refugees."

Clara ran it through Ben. She then got an Idea.

"Ben. Hold my hand. Maybe the necklace can work for us both." 

He held her hand and then spoke.

"We are refugees. Well, kind of. Maybe half refugees and half lost." Ben told her. 

"How is it that you speak so flawlessly now, raven eyed traveler?" Astra inquired.

"One might guess that they are using an artifact, possibly that necklace, as a translator," Selene said to no one in particular.

"Now, we do not have a lot of time, travelers. The council must have the news you were found, and they will demand answers. How about you tell us the whole story and then we decide what needs to be said."

She looked towards Ben, and he told them what happened at the feast.

"I still did not understand why you jumped into the pond, Clara."

"Not now, Ben."

"So you tell us you are from the future, transported here from a lake on some mystical ceremony?" Erica asked them.

"They sound like witches to me." Astra pointed.

"But we are not!"

"If you tell the council what you told us, you'll be hunted for sport. Do not tell anyone in this village about what really happened. Say that you were abducted from your lands and brought here by Ferni. You woke up just yesterday and ran towards a portal, and ended up in the pond."

"We don't even know what Ferni is."

"They're part men and part wolves," Selene told them. "They are those mortals who pledged their lives to Fenrys wolf. They are humans who are turned by some kind of rite that gives them strength, speed, agility, and they are always in packs."

"You mean like werewolves?" Ben asked.

"Werewolves? What is that, a sword?" Astra said.

"Nothing." Ben shut his mouth.

"Get ready, and do not speak hastily. If all goes well, we shall have a much more detailed conversation."

"And what if it doesn't?" Clara asked.

The question hung in the air, unanswered, as they started towards the door.