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| "I do not pretend to know her attacker's motives but if he did not get what he wanted from her...sex or her death, he very well might." Ragnar knew the types well enough, he liked to think. Still, he did not want any woman or child to leave Stavanger Bay unescorted despite the trouble and irritation that it may cause. The irritation was easily dealt with, easily dismissed by the Jarl whereas the thought of a male out there with the intent to rape the women, or kill them even ...that was not something that Ragnar wanted on his conscious. It was better to be safe and annoyed that keep the scars that would surely linger forever from either event, such as Julooke carried. He wasn't changing his mind on his deceleration; the woman and children could deal with it, or they could stay within the safety of Stavanger Bay. A small furrow in his brow formed when she spoke that they felt close, telling him exactly what he had feared without her needing to question him or say it outright. Thistle did not believe him. Her wording was enough to tell him that and it stabbed at his heart, slashed like an axe. He could never convince her that he needed her just as much as she needed him, that he loved her as much as she loved him ...that he could love two women at once, without sacrificing the love of the other in the process. He couldn't even convince her of it when it had just been them, when Nerian hadn't even been in the equation. "They will only be apprentices until they are a year old, my love." Meaning that they could apprentice in which ever trade they wanted, without reservations. "Gyda is not a shield-maiden," She didn't show any of the drive for it, not like Junior had. "She has shown no initiative for it, and that is alright," Not all women could be shield-maidens, after all. It didn't make them any less of a woman. "She will take whichever trades she wants, and we will not influence her. The same with the boys." He would not tell them what they could and could not be. It was their life, not his. He held no expectations other than they apprentice in something and do their part as contributing members of the pack. Otherwise he would be forced with the obligation of having them seek a new home. It was not fair of him to hold it toward his subordinates but wave it for his children. There were no exceptions, not even for blood or love. |