Nena by Ann Boelter (digital book reader txt) 📕

He stepped closer and squinted at the figures. “In fact, I think I see a Teclan star on her arm.”

“You do not.”

But Jarl saw her glance back at the carving again, still not always able to recognize his ways of saying one thing and meaning another. He pulled her into a brief hug, then keeping his arm around her shoulders, led her toward the back of the boat. “Come. Let me show you the rest.” They walked further down the boardwalk to the middle of the ship. Jarl leapt across the short expanse of open water to the deck of the boat, but Nena’s feet remained planted on the planks.

“It’s alright. It’s not far,” Jarl encouraged.

“It’s not the distance,” she said, as she watched Jarl’s body unconsciously compensating for the rolling motion of the boat beneath him.

“I will catch you,” he said.

Nena chose a spot near him and leaped across, sure that she could do something as simple as stand on her own. She landed with both feet solid and flat on the boat’s floor, but then it shifted, and she staggered. Jarl grabbed her flailing arm and supported her. She looked up embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I wobble about like a newborn fawn.”

“Your body will soon learn to adjust to the motion. You won’t even notice it—like riding a horse.”

She looked out over the still surface of the water. “It looks so calm, but I feel its power even now, from below. I cannot imagine how it must feel when it is angry.”

Jarl shook his head. “No, you cannot. It is a fierce and terrifying thing. Even knowing the ship is blessed by the gods, it is a trying experience for the bravest man. But it will not be rough for our voyage.”

“How do you know that?”

He glanced at the brilliant red sunset with satisfaction. “A red sky at night means fair weather, and when a storm is coming, I feel it. Here.” He placed his hand on his chest. “I’m surprised you Teclan are not masters of that. Your senses with other things seem so much keener than normal.”

“We learn those other things. They are not natural abilities.”

“So is predicting a storm. Though not all are able to learn it well. I will teach you someday.” He stepped further toward the stern, pulling her with him. “Here is where the horses will ride. And here is where we will sleep. If the weather is wet or the sun too fierce, we pull this canopy over us. And this.” He touched the huge roll of bound canvas. “We lift up to catch the wind. Often it will take us to our destination with little effort. But if the wind is still, then we row.” He pointed to the oars on either side.

“How long will it take us?” she asked.

“Not long. It will only be a three day journey to the northwest shore.”

“Three whole days on the Great Sea.” Nena shivered.

Jarl pulled her closer, knowing her family’s fear of going out on the water. “You will be safe with me. I am from a sea tribe. And though mine is a sea far from here, this sea also recognizes me. And now it recognizes you, too.”

She nodded, unconvinced but determined. If he had told her it would be dangerous and they might very well die, she would still go with him. As he had been willing to die rather than live without her, she, too, felt the same.

Sensing that her uneasiness remained, Jarl changed the subject. “The northwest shore is a beautiful place at the base of a great mountain. It is not so tall as the Teclan mountain, but still large. We can go there if the summers are too hot, or anytime we want to hunt. The coastline has rich grasslands and fertile soil for growing food. And there are great rocks jutting out into the sea to protect the port we will build. They shall provide safe harbor for the ships even in bad weather.”

“It sounds wonderful,” she said.

“It will be,” he agreed. “We should return to camp and get some sleep. We will need to be up and ready at first light.”

“I thought your men who were retiring were going to settle on the northeast shore?” she asked, after his guard had taken away the plates of their evening meal.

“They were.” He looked at her curiously “But the storms come from the south and west and they will be much worse coming off the Great Sea than the land.”

“But the men say the northeast shore is closer for the trader’s coming from the far, far east, and more direct for the other Northman boats coming off the river.”

“Do they now?” He smiled. “How is it you know so much?”

“I listen.”

“And I do not?” he asked.

She shrugged, and he pulled her in close, reaching for a spot where he knew she was ticklish. “And what else do my men say?” he asked.

“They say,” she said, as she squirmed away from his fingers, “they say the far, far easterners will not be able to trade with you because they will not be able to cross the Great Sea.” His fingers found her ticklish spot, despite her evasive maneuvers. She could not control her giggles. “Jarl, stop, please,” she gasped.

He knew she hated it when he did that. Apparently for Teclan, it was unthinkable for an adult to be tickled, but it was his one weapon against her when she sassed him.

“You can tell my loose-mouthed men, since you seem to be so in touch with them, that if our settlement was destroyed by a sea storm, we would not have to worry about trading with the far, far easterners. There would be nothing left to trade with. And for their peace of mind, we will be settling where the Volga River joins the Great Sea. The other Northman boats will find us easily and the far, far easterners will not have to cross the sea, only the