Unlucky turn of events [open]

Ylva was having the worst day in her entire life. It had all started when she was walking  down to the shoreline like she always did, but this time at night. One of Halfdan’s men stopped her. She just had to leave her dog at home today. She just had to try and feel normal for once. Her father was right, she wasn’t normal and she never would be. Plus it had ended up biting her in the end. If her dog has been with her the man would have maybe left her alone. Left her to herself like most . He hadn’t know she was blind, or at least she was pretty sure he hadn’t known. For it he did he was the rudest man she had even met. The Viking had grabbed her and pulled her to him.  Telling her she was rude for ignoring him when he waved to her to come over to him. “ I have been trying to get your attention” He told her.

She tired to pull away from him, to get away but he was much to strong “ what’s your problem women” the man had demanded as he gave her a rough shake. “You think you’re too good for me?” He had asked next. She could smell the mead on his breath, and so she knew he was very drunk. That had to be why this was happening. Most of the new Viking men left her alone other wise. Ylva had felt around until she had felt his chest.”I wasn’t ignoring you.I’m blind so I couldn’t see you, now please let go” she said giving him a hard push. This only seemed to anger the man more, and he now grabbed onto her painfully. “Let go!” She had screamed at him then. Hitting and pushing with all her might until she felt herself being thrown onto the ground”so you’re the blind one. My mistake” was what she head him say next. Ylva didn’t move until she heard him walking away from her, once she felt it was okay to move she did.  She pushed herself up and already knew something was wrong.

Her leg hurt and it felt wet so she knew she was bleeding. She was hit with yet another problem as well. Because he had knocked her down she had know idea what way she was facing now. If she could see she knew her eyes would be burly from the tears falling down. This was why she didn’t like people, why she didn’t talk to people, why she didn’t trust people.  They always hurt her, however it was normally emotionally and not physically. She knew other people were around, she knew other people had seen what had happened just now. Did anyone try to step in and help her? No of course they didn’t help her.  She was the useless blind girl. Ylva at least knew her father would find out who did this and try to challenge them if not kill them instantly for what they had done to her.

The only trouble would be getting home so she could get help with her bleeding leg. Slowly moving onto her Legs Ylva felt a shooting pain every time she took a step as well as her leg felt more wet. Whatever had happened was deep as well as bad. She kept moving forward the best she could, reaching her hand out trying to find something that would show her what way she was facing. Anything at all to help her get home. She also knew she had many tears poring out of her eyes. She made it quite a bit father down the path when she finally decided she needed to ask for help. “Hello” she said as she kept walking forward “Can someone please help me” she said hoping and praying someone, anyone was around to help her. “Please, I need help” she said before tripping and falling to the ground.  Ylva just sat there after that. She would never leave her dog at home again, at least this had showed her how stupid it was to do so. Even if no one decided to help her, her father would notice she was gone at some point and try to come and find her.

Hakon had been hard at work all day in his forge, working on a battle-ax. It was well past dark when he finished it, and his grumbling stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He'd been too absorbed in his work. He inspected the ax one final time, running his thumb along the edge with satisfaction. It was a killing weapon. He set it in the rack where he kept all his finished works. The man who'd ordered the ax would be coming to pick it up the day after tomorrow, and he would get paid well for his work. He quickly counted the coins in his pocket--more than enough to run to the tavern and get himself a meal and an ale. Hakon didn't feel like cooking tonight, not after how hard he'd worked. He walked over to the barrel of rainwater outside his shop, splashed handfuls of it on his face and arms to clean the soot and smoke from his skin.

He set off down the street at an easy walk. It was a calm night, quiet and serene, the moon bright and high in the sky. Hakon was in an extraordinarily good mood. He always was, once he finished a project. Working in his forge was his calling, he was sure of that. He caught sight of a woman on the street ahead of him and he slowed down, hands loose by his sides. He knew sometimes women could be nervous being alone at night, and he knew he was a big, intimidating man. Working in the forge built strong men with brawny arms. Then her voice reached his ears--please, I need help--and he noticed she was limping. He breaks into a run and reaches her in a few seconds. His dark eyes rake over her, noticing the blood soaking through her dress.

He looks up into her face, concern etching his features, and with a start he notices something strange about her eyes. Hakon knows there's a blind girl in the village, but he's never met her before. He tends to keep to himself. She's crying, tears running down her pretty face in little rivers, and he sight tugs at his heart. His voice is low and gentle when he speaks to her, trying to soothe her. "I'm here, what do you need? I have bandages in my forge, it isn't very far. Just down the street." He moves in closer to her, placing his arm under her hand so she can lean on him a little. He wants to get closer, take more of her weight, but he doesn't want to frighten her. "You can lean on me if you want. My name is Hakon, and I'm not going to hurt you."

Ylva was still on the ground crying when she heard someone com running up to her body. Maybe her father had noticed she was gone a lot sooner that she had thought he would have and he was here to help her home. If it was her father he was going to punish her greatly for this. She would be kept at home for weeks, and he would bend her over his knee and spank her, and so many other things she didn't want to think about. However the voice that came out was not her father at all but someone else. "I'm here, what do you need? I have bandages in my forge, it isn't very far. Just down the street." It was the voice of a man. A man she was pretty sure she hadn't met before. He didn't give off any vibes that most people with ill intentions sometimes gave off. He was touching her hand next, his body was mush closer to hers now. It took everything in her not to lash out and tell him not to touch her. This person, whoever they were was trying to help her. "You can lean on me if you want. My name is Hakon, and I'm not going to hurt you." was what he told her next.

It took a few moments of convincing on her own part before she reached out for his body and leaned into him." I'm Ylva, I had a run in with one of Halfdan's men by the manor. He threw me down and I'm pretty sure I am bleeding" she said to him first. He was offering her help, maybe she could get all bandaged up and her father wouldn't be nearly as angry at her. " The man hadn't know I was blind so he was very rough with me, and I had tried to get away. Normally I have my dog with me, but I tried to go to the shoreline alone.... Could you please help me bandage it up" she said next. She wasn't sure how bad her injury was, but she knew it needed to be cleaned and taken care of soon. Ylva hated that she was having to ask for help and rely on someone else, but what was she going to do. She was lost and bleeding and her leg was hurting so badly. " I'm sorry you have to deal with the blind girl. I know we have never met before Hakon because I don't remember your voice...However you are the only person who bothered to help me...so thank you" she said as she leaned on him more.

She left them walking a little bit further down the road when she spoke again. " I'm tusting you to be true to your word too, please do not hurt me more than I have already been hurt today. she hoped he was an honest person, or he could just take her somewhere and have his way with her. It wouldn't be like she would be able to fight back and defend herself. She would be the perfect target for something like that. So she silently prayed he was kind.

She's so young and frightened. Hakon remembers what it's like to be alone, to be scared, but he never had to contend with an obstacle like blindness. She's a brave little one, and he softens even further when she tells him one of Halfdan's men did this to her. They're brutes, the lot of them, but it isn't his place to say that, and besides he isn't the kindest of men either. They do appreciate fine weaponry, though, and pay him well for his work. He can't complain, he has more to his name than he ever imagined he would, and he gained it all through his own hard work. "Ylva." He repeats her name back to her with a smile. "I'm sure he wouldn't have been so rough with you if he knew what that name means. I will help you clean and bandage your leg, little wolf." He's trying so hard to keep himself calm, but all he wants to do is run to the manor and challenge every man there to a fight. That's one thing he's good at, fighting, and the other is forging.

He isn't so sure he's good at kindness or patience, though he is trying. He's a fair hand at treating wounds though--it's an occupational hazard of working in a forge. He can't count the number of times he's burnt himself, or cut his hand on a newly sharpened blade. Hakon has learned to keep a store of bandages in his forge. He laughs lightly as she continues, apologizing to him for having to deal with the blind girl. He has a pleasant laugh, deep and warm, although he seldom uses it. "And I'm sorry you have to deal with an orphan, little wolf. Helping you is no trouble at all. I'm only alive to help you because a stranger saw past what I am on the outside and gave me a chance." He helps her slowly to her feet, supporting as much of her weight as she'll allow him to take. They're walking slowly but he doesn't mind keeping her pace, her leg must be hurting her terribly.

When Ylva asks him not to hurt her more than she's already been hurt today, he lightly pats her arm in a reassuring way. "I promise I will not hurt you, Ylva. It would be foolish of me to attack a wolf." He smiles at her, forgetting that she can't see it, but she's just so young and scared that he wants to make her feel comfortable. "Turn right here." He guides her to turn toward his shop, pausing when they reach the door. He pushes it open and leads her inside. He doesn't close the door behind them, thinking maybe she'll be more comfortable with it open. At least with the door open, she can be reassured that he isn't going to try to hurt her, or to prevent her escape if she wants to run from him. There's a bench against the wall where he sits sometimes when he decides to take a rare break, and he guides her toward it. "You can sit here, if you like." He walks to a cupboard in the back of the shop and rummages around for a few seconds. Bandages and rags in hand, he also grabs a small wooden bowl and a bundle of dried herbs he buys from the village wise-woman.

He dips the bowl into the water barrel and crushes the herbs in his fingers. They crumble, releasing their sweet scent into the air, and he breathes it in deeply. Hakon swirls the bowl around, watching the plant dust drift in the water before walking back to the bench. He kneels down before her, setting the bowl beside him and dipping a rag into the herb-sweetened water. He looks up at Ylva. "Show me where you think the blood is coming from. I will clean and bandage it for you, and then I will walk you home." He squeezes the excess water from the rag while he waits for her answer.

Ylva was shocked to say the least when she heard Hakon say "I'm sure he wouldn't have been so rough with you if he knew what that name means. I will help you clean and bandage your leg, little wolf." to her. That he knew her name sake, and that he thought it was a reason for people not to mess with her. No one had ever said anyhting like that to her. Most people would make jokes about her name. That she had been named incorrectly, that she needed a better name suited to a blind person. However here was this man, who was going out of his way to help her saying something so nice. It made her feel weird honestly. "And I'm sorry you have to deal with an orphan, little wolf. Helping you is no trouble at all. I'm only alive to help you because a stranger saw past what I am on the outside and gave me a chance." had been what he had said to her next as he helps her up and starts walking with her. She found herself glad that a person had helped him, and that because of it he was here to help her in return. " Well I am glad someone helped you, and that you are in turn helping me... no one has called me little wolf before...not even my father... I like it. " She said to him, and she did. She liked the sound of it. Like she could be tough and be feared.

Hakon kept surprising her with what he said next "I promise I will not hurt you, Ylva. It would be foolish of me to attack a wolf." that attacking her would be foolish. Part of her wondered if he was making fun of her ,but he sounded nothing but sincere. He sounded honest and kind, she could hear it in his voice. Something hat calmed her down and calmed her fears just a bit. He then told her to turn right, and she made sure she listened to him. She allowed him to guild her body around, trusting him more than she first had.She knew that they were now in the building he told her that they would be going to. She had heard the door open and not shut, so that also made her feel better. If he planed to hurt her he wouldn't do it with the door wide open. At least she was pretty sure he wouldn't.

People would see then, and her father would be told. "You can sit here, if you like." He had said next to her. She gladly took the seat as she felt her leave her side and go somewhere else. She hears him moving things around as she reaches her hand up and wipes her eyes of her tears from her face. She had stopped crying on the walk over here. She trusted Hakon , something she didn't give to many people. AS she is sitting there she can smell all kinds of things, leading her to believe she is in the forge. He must be the blacksmith then. Being blind hasd some advantages she could smell things better and hear things better. " thank you for going through all this trouble. I'll find a way to make it up to you Hakon. You name it, and I'll try to do it.." she said to him before he came back over to her. She would do her best to make it up to him. Seeing as he had to spend his free time doing this instead of something he wanted.

Once he was in front of her on her seat she heard him say  "Show me where you think the blood is coming from. I will clean and bandage it for you, and then I will walk you home." To her. Taking a deep breath she pulled up bed dress until it was to her mid thighs. She felt blood on her hand, and was worried. " How bad is it? It hurts a lot more than most of my bumps and bruises." she asked him. She hoped he would just be truthful and tell her. She knew it had to be decently bad form all the wetness of blood she could feel on her hands and all over the side of her dress.

Hakon grinned as she said she was glad someone had once helped him, therefore making it possible for him to help her. "It's strange sometimes, isn't it, the way the gods plan the courses of our lives? For years now I have been making a good living for myself because of the kindness of an old blacksmith, and now I have been given a chance to repay it." His old master had been a patient old man, far too good of a man for this harsh world. He'd taken a chance on a rough orphan who swaggered into his shop demanding to be made his apprentice, and he'd taken him on without a thought. Hakon knew he would never have that deep goodness in him, not when he'd grown up the way he had. He knew the way of the world too much, saw how people were more bent to cruelty than kindness. The old blacksmith had been the exception, not the rule, and yet Hakon had always admired that about him. He'd prayed over and over for the chance to prove to himself that he's a good man, not one of the countless brutes that walk the earth like so many bugs. And it had taken them many years because the gods are mysteries to men, but eventually they'd sent a blind little wolf to prove his goodness.

They reach his forge and he guides her to the bench and prepares the water and rags to tend her cut. When he's walking back, crushing the herbs into the water, she says she'll find a way to make this up to him. He only chuckles, shaking his head as he swirls the bowl. "There is no need to make this up to me, little wolf. Do not trouble yourself." He kneels down beside her, averting his eyes politely as she pulled her dress up above mid-thigh. He'd been with plenty of women before, so the sight of a bare thigh was nothing new to him, but that was not his intention with the young woman before him. He waits until she asks how bad it is, and that's when he finally leans forward to inspect the cut. He takes his damp rag and gently wipes away the blood around the cut so he can see it better. Blood still oozes from a few places but most of the bleeding seems to have slowed. He dips the rag in the water again, watching the red suffuse through it, before squeezing it out and beginning to clean the wound out. He moves his hands slowly, carefully. He isn't by nature a gentle man, but he's trying. His own wounds he wipes off roughly before wrapping a quick bandage around and returning to work, but Ylva is scared enough without his carelessness hurting her.

His dark, serious eyes assess the wound quickly before he answers her question. "It doesn't seem too bad, little wolf. It's longer than it is deep, jagged though. That's probably why it hurts so much. It stretches from here," he gently touches the top of the long scrape with his rag, "to here." He touches the bottom of the cut, just above her knee. He gently wipes the length of it one last time, hands careful, before setting aside his rag. "It was easy to clean, too, but I'm sorry if it hurt. I'm going to start bandaging it now." Bandaging is a much easier task than cleaning, leaving him free to talk again. He grabs a strip of old linen from the pile he'd grabbed from his cabinet and winds it twice around her leg before tying it off, then grabs another strip and repeats the process. "You said you were going to the shoreline when this happened. Is that one of your favorite places?" He's hoping to distract her from the bandaging, because he's wrapping them tight enough to constrict the wound and stop what little blood flow remains, and he knows it can't be a pleasant sensation. He mentally kicks himself when he realizes he should have talked her through the cleaning, too, since that would have been even worse.

Ylva had a small smile on her face when he said  "There is no need to make this up to me, little wolf. Do not trouble yourself." to her. She thought it was kind of him to say she didn't have to make it up to him, she would still centrality try to find a way to make it up to him none the less. Maybe she would bring him something to eat one day, but then again she wouldn't be able to make that herself, and she wanted to personally do something to repay him. Her thoughts were interruted when Hakon gently put a cold wet thing onto her leg. Her best guess was it was a rag, or cloth of some kind. The cloth burns on her leg, but it also feels good. Like its slowly relieving the stinging sensation. Hakon hasn't said much the entire time he was working on her leg, and it starts to make her worry. Maybe the cut was a lot worse then she had thought it was, and that was why he wasn't telling her what was going on. It certainly hurt quite a bit as he was rubbing it, no matter how gentle he was being with her.

Ylva was use to getting hurt, she ran into things all the time, but this was much worse. She hadn't been expecting to be thrown to the ground, so she hadn't been ready for the fall. She hadn't been able to bras herself, and took the fall in more force. Hakon finally spoke saying "It doesn't seem too bad, little wolf. It's longer than it is deep, jagged though. That's probably why it hurts so much. It stretches from here, he said as he moved the cloth down her leg "to here." he said. The cut was much longer than anything she had ever gotten before. However she was glad he had said it wasn't deep. If it wasn't deep it meant that it would be easier to heal. It wouldnt take as long as other injuries would. She just hoped that it wasn't going to leave a scar now as well. That was all she needed, was for her body to be scared up as well as being blind. She really wouldn't find a partner if that was the case. "It was easy to clean, too, but I'm sorry if it hurt. I'm going to start bandaging it now." Hankon said next.

She realized she had been mostly silent with him this whole time, maybe it was because she was still a little scared. She had her dress pulled up in front of a man, and Hakon had been nothing but kind, and had cleaned her cut and was wrapping it up at she thought. The act of cleaning it had hurt, so she hoped the act of bandaging it wouldn't have to hurt as badly. "You said you were going to the shoreline when this happened. Is that one of your favorite places?" Hankon said to her next as he is wrapping her leg. His touch is still soft, but more firm. She can feel his fingers ghost around her upper thigh and its a different feeling. Like a soft tickle. She knew she needed to say something soon, and he had asked her a question.

Taking a deep breath Ylva said"I'm sorry I've been so quite" to him before saying " But yes, its my favorite place in the whole world." to him before a smile came onto her face. "I love the sounds, and the feel of everything around me when I'm down there." she said next before sucking a sharp pained breath in. The wrapping was hurting more, but she was sure it was to make the blood stop. " I like to just sit and let the waves hit me,even though most people get all worked up and scared when I do. They think that me being blind is.. ow..I should stay away from dangerous stuff." she said with a roll of her blind eyes, a small smirk on her face. Ylva loved to do things she was told not too. Like she did tonight. Leaving the house without her dog and trying to do things alone. "Also I meant what I said, I'll make your trouble to you.Even if you don't want me too." she said before taking another pained breath as he finished wrapping her leg.

His hands are as gentle as he can make them be, but even then Hakon isn't a gentle man. His arms are thick with corded muscle from swinging a hammer in a forge all day. He always moves powerfully, like a man who isn't accustomed to his own strength, and maybe that's the truth of it. Hakon had never been strong until he'd started working for the blacksmith, until he'd started eating every day and learning to swing his hammer and build his strength. Before that, he'd been constantly on the brink of starvation, wretched and thin. But now he's lean and strong, his frame powerful. He thanks the gods every day for his transition from half-starved, wretchedly thin orphan to strong blacksmith, to a man finally able to help someone besides himself. He finds that he likes being kind, it makes him feel like the old blacksmith he apprenticed to in his youth, the man who unwittingly--or had some part of him known?--saved his life.

He listens to Ylva talk about the shoreline as he bandages her leg, focusing on not making the bandages too tight, and yet tight enough to keep the bleeding from starting again when he walks her home. It takes only a few minutes, and the sound of her voice is a pleasant distraction from the slick blood coating his fingers. He finishes his task and leans back on his haunches, smiling up at her. "Well, forget them, I say. If you like to let the waves hit you, let them hit you. You seem able to handle yourself, little wolf." He dips his gory hands into the water bowl to wash the blood from them, then wipes them dry on his soot-stained trousers. "People will always underestimate you because of your eyes. Pay them no mind."


Hakon laughs as he stands, strides to the door and flings the bloody water outside. "Your friendship is enough, little wolf." He walks over to the rack where he keeps his finished projects, running his fingers down some of the small knives resting there. He selects one, tests its weight in his hand, slashes it quickly through the air a few times. Satisfied, he slides it into a simple leather sheath and grasps it by the covered blade, holding the handle toward Ylva. He presses it gently into her palm so she can grasp it. "And take this. Conceal it beneath your skirts, at your back, wherever you can get to it quickly and easily. Any other women having troubles with Halfdan's men, send them to me." His voice is quiet and serious, waiting for her to take the little knife. He has plenty like that one, and can easily make more.

He glances quickly toward the open door, ensuring there's no one out there to hear him. Finding the coast clear, he returns his blue eyes to Ylva. "I can take you home whenever you wish. Where do you live?"

Ylva couldn't keep the smile that formed on her face when she heard Hakon say "Well, forget them, I say. If you like to let the waves hit you, let them hit you. You seem able to handle yourself, little wolf." Here he was again being kind and they had just met. He had no reason to be kind, or to lie to her. So she knew his words were true. What he said next only made the smile bigger. "People will always underestimate you because of your eyes. Pay them no mind." These were the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. Not even her father would say things this kind, and if he did she knew from the sound of his voice it was forced. That he never meant the kind things he said, that he truly did think that Ylva was a waste of space, but she was his only child. So he had let her live. He had raised her, but he had originally wanted to kill her. She wondered sometimes if she was only alive because of his promise to her mother. Even though she had been a slave the last Earl had let him keep, he had promised to take care of the child he had put into her. " I hope whoever my father forces me to marry will have a smilier out look to you." she told him, addressing his comments about ignoring people and how they underestimated her." If he can ever find anyone to marry me" Her smile fell slightly after she said this. She was very aware she was not going to be given any choice in the matter. She would marry whoever he said she would, no matter what kind of man they were.

She could hear Hakon moving around, and she wondered what he was doing now. Her leg was cleaned and wrapped up. Maybe he was cleaning things up and putting them away so he wouldn't have to later in the night. After she was gone and he was able to do what he wanted to do again. She wondered what he did in his free time, surely he did more fun things then take care of injured people. Ylva was sure whatever he did had to be much more fun. Maybe he had friends, something she didn't really have. Sure she had people who would speak to her, but real friends? No not really. So what Hakon said next made her smile return to the largeness it was before. "Your friendship is enough, little wolf." did he really mean that? Did he really want to be her friend? Ylva hoped that he did. That maybe she could come and visit him somedays, and maybe listen to him make his many weapons. " Friendship sounds nice.." she simply said. She didn't want to sound to strong or excited. Didn't want him to change his mind.

That would be more fun then spending her time alone by the sea like she did most days. Yes it was her favorite thing to do, but that was because she didn't really have other things to do. She didn't have other options. However if Hakon is her friend, maybe she would have new favorite things to do. Ylva wouldn't get her hopes up to much though, she wasn't going to let he hurt her like everyone else had in her life. She was brough back to him when she heard him come back over to her and get close again. "And take this. Conceal it beneath your skirts, at your back, wherever you can get to it quickly and easily. Any other women having troubles with Halfdan's men, send them to me." was what he said as he took her hand and placed something into it.

Taking it into her hands Ylva slowly feels around it. Hakon had given her a knife! She was shocked by this man in front of her. Surly he couldn't want to just give her this for free, he had to want something in return for all his troubles, but it sounded as if he didn't. Telling her to send anyone else who has trouble with Halfdan's men to him for their own knife. " Thank you, I'll take very good care of it.I'll keep it with me always." she told him and she held it close to her chest. She meant it too, she would make sure to keep it with her always.  "I can take you home whenever you wish. Where do you live?" he said to her shortly after. She guessed she would have to go home soon. Not that she wanted to at all. Her father would be most displeased with her, and she was sure she was going to be punished. How was still to be seen, it depended on his mood, and how much she upset him. Most of the time he simply hit her, or sent her to bed without a meal.

Taking a deep breath she said " I am ready to go whenever you are ready. Thank you for your unbelievable kindness. I live in the hut that is across from the seamstress. Its a little larger then some of the others. . . she paused " I wouldn't recommend staying around after you leave me. My father is going to be very mad and I wouldn't want my new friend to have to hear that." she said as she stood up and bit her lip. Slightly nervous to go home.  

Hakon is moving around his forge like a man who knows every inch of the space, because he does. He's barely paying attention to what he's doing as he moves around and puts his supplies away. Most of his attention is focused on his conversation with Ylva. His eyes soften as she talks about the marriage her father will one day force her to make, and he pauses what he's doing to respond to that. "What is wrong with being unmarried? There is no point in binding yourself to someone who does not value you. I have never been married, but I am happy in my life, with my forge." He shrugs. "There are times I think it would be nice to be married, but I have been alone all my life, so I suppose I just don't know any other way." He shrugs, turning his attention to the cabinet and putting the unused bandages into it. "It is probably different for women, though. I do not know. But if marriage is something you want, I am sure the gods will send you a good husband."


He only smiles over at her when she says friendship sounds nice, he's too busy selecting the right knife for her to respond properly. He gives it to Ylva, telling her to conceal it on her at all times, and he grins when she holds it to her chest and says she'll always keep it with her. "Good. I carved a protection rune into the handle when I made it. This is a knife that was forged to keep its owner safe. May it never fail you." He runs one finger lightly down the sheathed blade before drawing his hand away, a simple blessing to the knife he's given her. He watches her stand, listens to her describing her house. He knew the one, it wasn't too far from here. He's heard the man there had a blind daughter, but as he'd never met the man or the daughter, he'd never paid too much attention. He wasn't one for gossip anyway, and he'd been busy learning from the blacksmith when Ylva had been born to a slave. Although that much was known in the town, Hakon himself didn't know anything of it. He sees her lip tremble and can tell that she's nervous to go home, and he sighs. Hakon knows that if he lets her stay here, it will cause more problems for Ylva in the long run, but he feels bad seeing her so nervous, especially when she says he should leave quickly.

"If you wish me to leave quickly, I will, it is up to you. I can tell your father what happened, if you wish." He smiles, offering his arm to her. "I will not tell him about the knife. That is your secret, little wolf."

Ylva smiled at Hakon when he spoke to her."What is wrong with being unmarried? There is no point in binding yourself to someone who does not value you. I have never been married, but I am happy in my life, with my forge." She wished it was that simple. That he father would let her simply remain unmarried. No he would push her onto any man that would take her as a wife. Weather she liked he person or not did not matter to him. He simply wanted her married and on her own. Sure she knew he hoped to get her with someone who would gather her favor, but she had no idea who he had in mind. If she knew he was planing offering her hand out at the Harvest feast in Kattegat she might not have begged so much to go. So complete unaware of the plan her father was brewing behind her back. "There are times I think it would be nice to be married, but I have been alone all my life, so I suppose I just don't know any other way." was what Hakon said next. It made Ylva smile a bit. She was sure her new friend would find someone someday. With how kind, and caring he was. "It is probably different for women, though. I do not know. But if marriage is something you want, I am sure the gods will send you a good husband." was what he decided to finish with. Ylva wasn't completely sure what she wanted, sure she wanted t get married. However she worried whoever her father would pick could be cruel. Her father wasn't the nicest person in the whole world, even if he did love her. What if her husband was horrible, and beat her for being blind? Maybe Hakon was right and she would be blessed with a good loving husband.

Realizing that she hadn't said anything Ylva took a deep breath. " My father cares not if I want to marry or not. I will marry if he says so, I will have no choice. So weather I want to or not matters not." she said at first before turning away and continuing. " I'm sure you will find someone lovely someday that will steal your heart and marry you." she said with a smile before letting out a hard laugh. " The way the gods have been "blessing me" I'm sure whoever I'm forced to marry will be just as cruel as the fact I can not see." she said to him" But you are right, most women want to get married, myself included. I just don't hold high hopes for them being kind and loving to a useless blind wife" she finishes with a shake of her head.She didn't mean to come off as bitter and cold as she did to her new friend. But this was how she truly felt. Why bother hiding herself from him if he was going to be a friend to her. She was sure a friend would want her to be honest and true with her feelings.

Ylva made sure to hold the knife even closer to herself as he told her that it had a rune of protection on it.She would make sure to treasure it always, and keep it close. She would also need to learn how to use it, how to hold it and be ready to protect herself. Maybe she could ask him, or one of the viking men that was nice to her to show her. " Thank you so much for your kindness." she said with a smile. A smile that slowly fell as he talked about taking her home. That he would talk to her father for her. Something that was beyond kind of him to offer, but she didn't want anything to happen to Hakon. Ylva's father could be unpredictable. He could snap at her new friend and tell him to never come near his child again. He could also think Hakon was lying or something. It would just be best for her to try and talk to her father on her own. That way he couldn't scare him away. " I am grateful for the offer to try and talk to him, but it would best if I did it alone...my father can be a bit unreasonable sometimes." she said with a huff before reaching her hand out toward where she thought his body was." Its best I talk to him alone, so he can't change his mind about taking me to the feast and tell you to stay away for no reason other than feels like it." she said as she waited for him to take her arm and lead her back home. She prayed her father wouldn't be too angry.