Kings of Fate A Prequel Novella by A.E. Rayne

Author:A.E. Rayne [Rayne, A.E.]
Language: eng
Format: E, P, U, B
Publisher: A. E. Rayne
Published: 2020-01-26T22:00:00+00:00

Eadmund should have been in the hall.

He should have stopped after two cups.

Now he couldn’t count how many cups of ale he’d had, but Thorgils could.

‘Too many!’ he grumbled, taking a seat opposite Eadmund, a piping hot meat-stick in one hand, a big chunk already missing from it. ‘If your father comes out and sees you, he’s going to send the lovely Orla straight back to Alekka, isn’t he? And then how will you ever get a tribe of orange-haired babies to chase around?’

Eadmund wasn’t drunk enough to think that that sounded like a welcome prospect.

‘What do you think you’re doing, then?’ Thorgils wondered, helping himself to Eadmund’s cup, getting a grumble in return. ‘Turning away every good thing that comes your way? Every chance to climb out of that dark hole of yours? Orla seems like the perfect woman. Imagine what will happen if you spurn her? Mess this up? Eirik won’t give up, will he? He needs heirs for his throne. You might end up with a wife like Odda!’ Thorgils laughed, though just the thought of his mother made him shiver, and he glanced around the square, hoping she wasn’t within earshot. Odda Svanter was a dried-up shrew of a woman who had given birth to a generous giant of a son. It made little sense to either of them, but there it was. You couldn’t pick your family, but you could pick your wife, and Eadmund looked ready to ruin another chance to make himself happy. Thorgils gobbled down the last of his hot meat which burned his throat and had him reaching for Eadmund’s cup again, though this time Eadmund was faster and he snatched it away.

‘My father’s dead,’ Thorgils said. ‘And Odda doesn’t want me to find a wife. Who would chop her wood and light her fires and bring her ale? She has no interest in me being happy, or anyone else for that matter, but you?’ He grinned, though his eyes were sad. ‘You do. Take the chance. Two kings and one lord are trying to help a shit like you. Let them, Eadmund. Take the chance!’

Eadmund threw back the last drop of ale, ready to raise his hand to Ketil to bring him some more.

But he didn’t.

‘Alright,’ he grumbled reluctantly. ‘Alright.’ And pushing himself up from the bench, Eadmund stumbled, turning towards the hall.

Thorgils jumped to his feet. ‘Perhaps we should throw you into the sea first? Wake you up a bit? You don’t want to fall on the poor girl. She’ll never marry you then!’

But Eadmund was already well on his way to the hall, determined to stop himself thinking about anything, past, present, or future. He was just going to do what they all wanted. All of them. His father, his friends. They’d all tried to change him, to help him. He needed to stop being a burden to them, a waste of their time. He would do what they wanted.

He would go along with all of it.

He would marry Orla Berras.

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