of fresh vegetables and fruits. Dining was a boisterous affair; the guests all talked at once, but Brewster was the loudest. Björn, quiet by nature, observed that Rathe joined in some of the revelry, but the princess did not.
Princess Aleanna demurely studied Björn. Very perceptive, she was perplexed by the affinity she felt for this man. He was like no one she had ever met. Even while he ate, she noticed that he had not a wasted motion. He did not initiate any conversation and spoke only briefly when spoken to. At the same time, she noticed that he seemed to be aware of everything around him.
She decided he was not a handsome man. His hawk-like features precluded that, but she found him oddly attractive. Part of it, she thought, was the contrast between his gray hair and his youthful face. While not young, he certainly wasn’t old; in fact, he seemed to be in the prime of life.
Occasionally he returned her gaze, and she found herself blushing and looking away. But when she thought his attention had moved on, she continued to stare at him, fascinated by his dark, penetrating eyes and the way they changed color. They changed from charcoal to blue to green and back to dark gray. She didn’t know if it was the light, his mood or if he did it on purpose. Whatever the reason, she felt captivated by them. Fleetingly, she was afraid she was making a fool of herself by staring, but she couldn’t help it. She was also afraid of what she must be communicating to this stranger.
While the king roared, even with food in his mouth, Björn noticed that the prince and princess showed better manners. He wondered if that was from the influence of their mother, whom he learned had died when they were young; it was certainly not from the king. The kitchen maids brought in more filled bowls as the food disappeared. As was his custom, Björn ate sparingly, sampling the meat dishes and consuming some of each of the vegetables and fruits offered.
At the conclusion of the meal, the king ordered the servants to clear the table. Björn noticed that while they acted quickly to remove the remnants of the meal, they did not seem to be at all intimidated by the bark of their king. It was apparent that there was great rapport between the royalty and the servants. Shortly, the kitchen maids returned with mugs of ale and a plate of cheeses.
“Well, Northlander,” Brewster began, “we should be ready to leave in a few days, as it will take some time to assemble our army again.” With a scowling voice, he berated his guest, “We tried to be ready for your arrival, but had to send our men home to work their farms when you took so long to get here.”
Björn gave no indication that he noticed the implied criticism. He watched wordlessly as the King arose and picked up some clean ale mugs from the sideboard.
“Here we are,” he said, placing a mug in front of him, “and this is Carigo.” He indicated its location with another mug. “And here is Delph.” He placed a mug between the other two. “We will have to fight our way through Delph’s army to get to Carigo. Your job is to stay with Aleanna at all times. We will have our best men close to her also, but you will be responsible for her safety.” He frowned. “I do not like taking our army into the plains against the Delphs, but we do not have a choice. We will group soldiers into an arrow formation with Aleanna and you in the center. When you have a chance to get through, you will go on. When we see you are safe, we will withdraw.”
Brewster looked expectantly at Björn, who sat quietly, his hands clasped in front of him and his eyes staring down at the table in front of him.
The king couldn’t take the silence. “Well, what do you think of our plan? Can you protect Aleanna? Of course, we will have to choose a horse for you. That pony of yours cannot keep up.”
Björn ignored the comment about Jago, and finally looked up at Brewster. “I can see that you have given this a great deal of thought. Have you also considered how many men you will lose in the battle? Do you realize how much this will weaken your defenses, leaving the Kallthom castle vulnerable to the Delphs if they defeat you on the plains?”
Hitting the table and bouncing the mugs, Brewster bellowed, “They will not defeat us!”
“Perhaps not,” replied Björn, “but you will suffer severe losses. That will leave your army weakened if the Delphs decide to attack your castle.”
Brewster responded quickly. “We have thought of that. Of course we do not like the possibility of that happening, but uniting with Carigo will enable us to easily defeat the Delphs. It is worth the risk. Anyway, that is not your concern. Your job is to escort my daughter safely to Carigo, not to protect our castle.”
The two men glared at one another, measuring each other’s resolve. It was painfully quiet for several moments.
When Björn spoke again, shoulders forward and eyes probing into Brewster’s, it was with disapproval. “The reason I took longer than you expected to get to Kallthom was because I was exploring the safest and best options for getting Aleanna to Carigo,” he said. “I will not take the risk of trying to guard your daughter in the midst of a battle because too many things can happen—we cannot be sure she and I would not get separated. I cannot accept the responsibility for her safety when events along the way are out of my control.”
The king stared open-mouthed at the Northlander, and Rathe seemed puzzled. Aleanna surprisingly looked disappointed, and Brewster’s advisors all began shouting accusations.
“Why did you bother to come here if you were not going to take the job we offered?” shouted one of the them.
When they had quieted, Björn spoke again, “I was not simply wasting my time while you were waiting for me. I traveled through the plains from Kallthom to Carigo, studying the layout of the land carefully.”
“So do you have a better plan?” asked Rathe.
“I have a plan that I believe gives us a better chance of getting Aleanna safely to Carigo. We will cross the mountains you call the Ice Mountains and travel behind the Delph plains.”
The king drew an audible gasped, then yelled, “You are insane! No one can cross those mountains!”
An advisor added loudly, “Even if you could, there are monsters on the other side!”
Confidently, Björn spoke again. “You are mistaken about crossing the mountains, because I crossed them, and here I am. You are correct about the monsters; they do exist in the mountains, plains and forests on the other side. In addition to the monsters, there are brigands and other dangers, but I found nothing that would stop us from reaching Carigo.”
Astonished silence met Björn’s statement, then the king and his advisors all began to shout at once. Rathe and Aleanna did not say a word. They studied Björn in silence.
Rathe finally asked, “How many soldiers do you plan to accompany you?”
Björn answered, knowing that his answer would not be well accepted, “Soldiers will not be necessary. The Princess and I will travel alone.”
“You are absolutely insane,” Brewster wailed. “There is no way I will allow you to take my daughter unescorted by our army.”
Again, silence reigned, and everyone looked at the Northlander.
Finally Rathe spoke. “Are you certain you can reach Carigo safely by crossing the mountains?”
The Northlander replied forcefully, “Nothing is ever certain. There are grave dangers involved in taking this route around the mountains and passing behind Delph, but I still believe it is far less dangerous than attempting
