Now I'm face to face with someone new [Open]

   It didn’t take long for Iliana to discover she’d arrived in Kattegat at an opportune time. They were hosting a Harvest Feast, and people from all over Sweden were arriving to celebrate. In light of this news, she’d ended up right back at that dress shop from the other day to buy a new gown. She couldn’t very well attend a feast with the Queen, the royal family, and people from villages all over in one of the well-worn dresses she’d had for years.

   She felt like a new person as she arrived outside the Great Hall for the Feast. What a difference a little effort and a new gown made. She’d seen the sacrifice the royal family had offered to the Gods and reveled in the energy filling the crowd around them. Iliana still felt a bit awkward and out of place as she moved with the large group towards the doors, following the Ragnarsson brothers inside. Luckily, she knew there were plenty of people in attendance that few people knew, so she was just one of many unfamiliar faces in the crowd.

   Inside the Great Hall, there were people everywhere; eating, drinking, roaring with laughter. Almost as soon as she entered the Hall, she’d been offered a cup of ale. She sipped at it slowly while wandering about the rim of the hall, trying to take in all the faces. Iliana had never been comfortable in large crowds of people, but knew that was something she’d need to overcome. It would be difficult to live in a place like this and still avoid crowds.

   She spotted Queen Aslaug at the head of the hall, sat on her throne, and noticed the table where the sons of King Ragnar were seated. Iliana wasn’t at all surprised to see a crowd beginning to form around them. She decided it would be best to avoid that area of the hall. If she had to introduce herself to them, she didn’t want it to be all five of them at once. She preferred when her conversations were more one-on-one.

   Iliana managed to find an empty seat along the wall near the back of the hall. It seemed the perfect location for her; She could see just about everything going on in the hall, and it was near enough to the back that a nice chilled breeze swept through any time someone opened the doors, cooling down the over-crowded hall.

   Glancing to the person nearest her, she smiled, nodded her head and raised her cup to them. “Skol!” she greeted, before taking another sip of her drink.

   Iliana watched the woman beside her return her toast. She was a very pretty woman, Iliana decided, glancing her up and down quickly. She’d been about to turn her attention back to the feast when the other woman spoke to her.

   “It is! We didn’t have anything quite like this in Uddevalla,” she answered with a smile. The kingdom she’d grown up in was rather gloomy, especially compared to a place like Kattegat. Iliana was having a hard time deciding which place she liked better. “I’m Iliana,” she introduced herself over the noise of the crowd. “I only reached Kattegat today. It’s so much bigger and busier here than I’d imagined.”

   Turning her attention to the loud crowd in front of her for a moment, she sipped at her drink slowly and smiled at the fun everyone appeared to be having. The ale was making her feel warm all over, and Iliana was surprised she was having such a good time. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said they didn’t have things like this in Uddevalla, and this wasn’t the sort of thing she’d normally enjoy doing in her spare time. But it had seemed the logical thing to do, since she was new here, and couldn’t meet new people and potential customers while all alone in her small house.

   Not wanting to be rude or risk offending the other woman, Iliana didn’t ask who she was when she turned back towards her. If she wanted to make herself known, the redhead assumed she’d introduce herself in her own time. “You’re from Kattegat, then?” she asked instead. “What’s it like here, usually? When there isn’t a feast taking place?” The jeweller was curious about the place she now called home. The young thegn she’d met earlier hadn’t been very chatty, and Iliana hadn’t wanted to ask her too many questions and risk annoying her. Maybe the woman beside her would indulge her.

   Looking down at her cup with a shy smile, Iliana brushed a stray curl behind her ear. “Thank you,” she replied quietly to the compliment. She did actually quite like her name, but she wasn’t used to receiving compliments. “It’s nice to meet you, Rhona,” she added after the other woman introduced herself.

   Everything Rhona was saying made sense. Iliana had heard from some of her customers and friends in Uddevalla how Kattegat had grown into a large trading center over the last few years, and that was exactly the reason she’d decided to leave her home and come here. It probably helped to have so many famous people from here, she thought, her eyes traveling to the table the Ragnarssons occupied.

   Iliana nodded in understanding, and smiled when Rhona asked why she was in Kattegat. “I’m a jewelry maker. I am hoping it’ll be easier to be a jeweller in Kattegat than Uddevalla.” Iron was cheap and readily available in Uddevalla, meaning jewelry was sold cheap in Uddevalla. She knew she’d have to spend more on supplies here in Kattegat, but she was good at what she did, so the hope was she’d still be able to turn a decent profit.

   “What do you do, if you don’t spend much time in the market?” She wondered, but quickly added, “If you don’t me asking, of course.” She didn’t need anyone thinking she was nosy, or rude. That was no way to make friends or get new customers.

   This seemed to be going well, Iliana thought when Rhona reacted positively and continued to join her in conversation. Iliana was a pessimistic person, and coming from a place like Uddevalla, where most people were content to mind their own business and stick to themselves, it was sometimes hard for her to open up and have real conversations with people she didn’t know. But that would never work if she wanted to be successful here in Kattegat. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to know and hopefully befriend the people who lived here.

    Laughing lightly at the other woman’s assessment, she could only nod her head in agreement. While she’d certainly had plenty of customers back home, it wasn’t the sort of business she’d get here. After all, the trading community of Uddevalla wasn’t exactly what anyone could call ‘bustling’. Even if everyone who lived there bought her jewelry, how many necklaces did one person need? About two, if any at all, it turns out. But here, new people were always coming and going, so she was hopeful.

    “Thank you!” she replied again, this time more emphatically. After all, she’d worked hard on the jewelry she was wearing, and all of the jewelry she made. “That would be good. I do like to keep busy,” she added with a soft laugh. “Especially here, since I don’t really know anyone yet.”

    Taking another small sip of her drink when Rhona did, Iliana watched the other woman start to chuckle and quirked an eyebrow, wondering what she could be laughing about. The redhead could only nod in agreement at Rhona’s first statement. It was important to ask questions, she thought. But she was a bit reluctant to bother people and risk offending them. But she’d keep those worries to herself for the moment. No need to sound like a whinging baby.

    At her second statement, and watching while Rhona lifted her sleeve to reveal scars along her arm, Iliana realized the woman beside her was a fighter. She probably could’ve guessed, given the very confident air she had about her, but Iliana had been so preoccupied taking in her surroundings and trying not to upset her, she hadn’t picked up any of the cues. “So, you’re a shield maiden? Or are you still training?” She was intrigued. The redhead was always in awe of such strong women. “My mother was a shield maiden,” she offered with a small smile. It wasn’t really important information to share, but sometimes it made people more trusting, when you had a little bit in common with them.

   Iliana nodded at the other woman. “That would be nice!” she admitted, when Rhona said her business should increase soon. She was doing her best to become more outgoing now that she was in a new place. She wouldn’t be able to rely on familiar faces wandering into her shop to say hello, and leave with a new piece of jewelry or two.

    Listening as Rhona told her to stand up for herself if anyone gave her trouble, Iliana sent her a weak smile. That wasn’t something she typically had a problem with. Unfortunately, she had one of those faces that just said ‘don’t talk to me’ and it usually made it hard for her to make friends. The ale she’d been drinking tonight at the feast was probably the main reason she’d appeared so friendly and agreeable. But it was something she was working on. “Thanks,” she answered anyway, not wanting to feel any more awkward by trying to explain. “I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

    She was practically in awe of Rhona after she explained about her mother, and how she’d become a shield maiden. It couldn’t have been the easiest life growing up. “Sounds like she must also be a very strong person, just in a different way?” Being a mother sounded hard to Iliana. She wasn’t too sure she’d ever make a very good one. “Do you get to help train other people to become vikings and shield maidens?”

    When Rhona asked how she ended up a jeweller, Iliana shrugged a little bit. “Well, I was never passionate about fighting, and my mother said if you didn’t love it, then it wasn’t for you. And my father was a blacksmith, and tried to teach me to be as well, but it didn’t work out the way he’d wanted either.” She smiled a bit, recalling how frustrated her father would become at her lack of interest. He believed she had the talent to be a blacksmith, just not the desire. Nor the upper body strength.

    “And then my mother died when I was twelve, and my father died when I was thirteen, so I sort of had to make do with what I knew. I’d been using his tools and supplies for a little while to make myself and my mother some trinkets and jewelry, and it was basically the only skill I had, so I just kept at it until I got better.” Because what thirteen year olds were master crafters at that age? Roughly zero. “There had been a jeweller in Uddevalla who showed me a few tricks and tips, and when she moved away with her husband, I was the only option left.” Luckily, she was a quick study.

    She sent Rhona a small smile and another shrug. She didn’t like talking about her parents too much. She always hated when the look on people’s faces changed from curiosity to pity. Gesturing towards the crowded hall, she asked, “Do you know most of the people here?” Being a shield maiden was an important rank, so Iliana imagined Rhona would know quite a lot of the people in Kattegat.