Macha's Journey

Freyr nodded at Rana. "Good to see you in such good health. Why did you come down personally to deliver these?" Kochi was still at war and he found it odd that Rana would leave her country at this time.

Patting Freyr on the back she led him to her ship. "Come, come, let us talk." Conor divulged many interesting things to her before she put him out of his misery.

When she and Freyr sat down in her office, she poured him a drink. "Did Tyr tell you where I found those things?"

Freyr shook his head no. Tyr had only reported that he accomplished his mission, but the chest was stolen afterward.

A smug smile formed on Rana"s lips. "I found them off a pesky man from Phocée. He said Queen Alala ordered him to only attack Kochi and Ma.r.s.eille merchant ships. She has been paying him."

Freyr knew that recently his merchants were being attacked more, but he thought the increase in attacks had been caused by the war. A disappointed sigh came from him. "So, it seems like we have a common enemy again." He deliberated for a moment, weighing his options, "I will cut off trade with Toowoomba and support your war efforts behind the scenes. I can deepen the discount on weapons. Will that suffice?"

Rana nodded her head. "Good. Good. All works out for everyone. I have to go. Visit sometime." She came down personally to deliver the news because she hoped for Freyr"s cooperation. The offer he extended was not as strong as she wished, but it was better than nothing.

As she saw him off the ship, she mentioned in pa.s.sing, "Tyr"s woman, that Macha. Her bounty is not so much. I hoped it would be more."

This news made Freyr resist doing a double take. He had never heard that Macha had a bounty on her. Since he was not her boyfriend or family relation, it would not be his place to investigate it. He needed to inform Tyr of the situation.

The situation with Macha remained complicated for him. He realized he should not openly help her, but he still wanted her to be safe. If he took care of this situation for her, it would imply that he did not trust his cousin to protect her. It also frustrated him because he wanted to believe that she could take care of herself. The whole thing gave him a headache.

As Freyr rode back to the palace, he reflected on how busy he was. The trial for Jarnvid approached and tension was high amongst the n.o.bles. Many secrets were being brought to light and a few peers had been executed for criminal activities or treason.

****

Fenrir filed for a divorce as soon as she heard about Jarnvid"s illegal activity. She helped him do a few deliveries and shady things, so she wanted to distance herself from him as much as possible. It had only been a few years since she left Tyr and figured she would hop back to him. He had always been obedient.

Today was Boreas"s Day and she wore a tight black dress that barely covered her. To keep warm she put on a black fur coat. Tyr always liked when she wore black. Fenrir"s heels clicked against the wooden floor as she strolled into his office.

Tyr sat reading a few papers. He wanted to finish his work quickly so he could take Macha to The White Rabbit for dinner. When the door opened he glanced up. Fenrir was one of the last people he expected to see today. He crossed his arms, "What do you want?"

Fenrir slowly removed her coat and tossed it on Macha"s head. "Tyr baby, I realized that you are the one I really love. Please forgive me." She rushed over to his desk and hopped onto it.

Tyr stood up and backed away from his desk. He did not know what tricks Fenrir played and his heart beat faster. Glancing at Macha he responded, "I don"t feel that way for you anymore." He held his hands up as if they were a barrier to keep her away.

She swung across his desk, "Baby, you say that, but your heart still beats for me. We were together for so long. How can you forget about me so easily?" She made a pout and slipped off his desk. Her hips swayed as she walked over to Tyr.

Holding Fenrir back by her shoulders, Tyr"s eyes grew cold. "Stop it. Quit playing with me. What do you really want?" All of Fenrir"s actions were the same as before. This time Tyr had more confidence in himself and understood that it was not normal to be treated like that.

Macha ripped the coat off of her head. The d.a.m.n thing smelled heavily with perfume and it p.i.s.sed her off. She contemplated how she wanted to smack the b.i.t.c.h, but she remained seated. It was up to Tyr to deal with the situation. Despite her trust, her eyes shot daggers at the two.

Fenrir traced a circle around Tyr"s chest. "How can I prove I mean it? Can I rejoin the guild? We can go on missions again and compete in the tournaments together like before. Hmm, baby?" The amount of resistance Tyr put up was annoying. She hated acting so nice to him.

The thought of Fenrir rejoining the guild sounded appealing. She had been a good fighter and he could use someone of her strength for the harder requests and missions. The tournaments always held a source of pride for a guild and he wished they did better.

The sight of Tyr hesitating made Macha stand up and throw the fur coat on the ground. She could not believe he even contemplated accepting Fenrir back. Her body shook with anger and pain. His hesitation and seeing Fenrir on him like that felt like a slap in the face to her. Not wanting to see more, she stormed out of the office.

Ullr was entering the office and overheard the conversation. He smiled and thanked the stars for such an easy opportunity for him to take advantage of. She flew past him and ran down the stairs. He caught up to Macha as she dashed into the cold winter air.

He put his coat around Macha and she turned around, "Don"t you dare..." She a.s.sumed Tyr ran after her, but it was only Ullr. She held back her tears and whispered, "Pardon me. I thought you were someone else." She kept her eyes on the ground and sniffled.

"Macha, let me take you out tonight. Seeing you like this breaks my heart." Since she did not react, he added, "I"ll even keep today a secret from Lady Valois. I won"t force you to study. We can both just relax."

The mention of Hrod caused a cry to become caught in her throat. Macha nodded her head. She needed to unwind. Who knew if Tyr would spend the night with Fenrir, anyway.

Tyr moved to chase Macha, but Fenrir pulled on his arm. "Babe, you don"t need her. She"s so small and weak. You deserve someone better who can stand beside you. Stop lowering your standards." Fenrir pushed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against Tyr"s arm.

Luna walked in to see if Macha got the wedding ring yet. She spent the last few days avoiding her friend because she could barely hold the news in. When Krystof told her that Tyr ordered matching wedding rings she jumped for joy.

The warm smile that had been plastered on Luna"s face disappeared. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?" she yelled.

The moment Luna spotted Fenrir attached to his arm like they used to be, Tyr was intimidated by his sister for the first time in his adult life. .

Luna"s eyes grew cold, and she stormed up to Fenrir, "Get your filthy hands off my brother."

Fenrir snuggled against Tyr, "We were just talking about me joining the guild again. He needs capable people for the missions you know. I can"t let my baby go off without me." She pretended to dust some lint off of Tyr"s shirt.

Luna"s eyes narrowed as she looked at Tyr, "How could," but she was cut off.

Tyr took Fenrir"s hands and held them together in front of her. His voice was clear and held no warmth, "Fenrir, it"s Boreas"s Day. I don"t know what tricks you"re playing, but your presence upset the woman I love. It would be great if you joined the guild, but I doubt I would join any mission that you"re involved with." After seeing Macha"s reaction he realized that would be a terrible idea.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Talk with Luna about rejoining, but you"ll go through the same membership criteria everyone else does. If Luna and Macha think you"re worthy, I"ll give you the final interview."

Tyr let go of Fenrir"s hands and opened a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a box and put it in his pocket. He looked at his sister, "Excuse me. I need to track Macha down and try to salvage today."

Tyr ran out of the office and searched his apartment to see if Macha went into one of the rooms. Azi lay with his belly up. He currently was shedding his scales and had been lazy for the past few months. After the process was completed he would be slightly bigger.

Tyr ran his fingers through his hair. He looked out the window and thought he spotted Ullr open the door for Macha before getting into a Rosenkrantz carriage.

The sight caused him to clench his teeth and run into the hallway. He jumped down the stairs. A brown aura enveloped him and he created a crater at the bottom of the stairwell. He would pay for the damages to the floor below, but he wanted to catch up to the carriage before it left.

Under his breath, he cursed Fenrir for showing up today and cursed Ullr for being such an opportunist. Most of all, he cursed himself for making Macha upset on their anniversary.

Tyr ran out the entrance of the lobby but the carriage had already left. He stalked up to the guards at the front gate, "Where did they go?" He did not want to let Ullr spend today with Macha.

Aerim turned to see the Captain, the falling snow blended in with her white hair. The Captain seemed upset, "Um, who?" The last time she tried to talk with Captain Tyr was when she wanted to find Macha to teach her how to make hard candy. He scared her that day.

The question made a scowl form on his face. "Who else would I be looking for? Macha obviously," Tyr really did not think his question was that difficult. He remembered Aerim and Macha were friends so he checked his temper and quickly added in a kinder voice, "We had a misunderstanding. I just want to catch up to her." He forced a smile on his face.

The explanation made sense, and the Captain seemed to calm down. If they had a misunderstanding that would explain his foul mood. "Oh, she and Lord Rosenkrantz went to the restaurant district. He was talking about getting some gelato."