_Of How Wulnoth met with Edgiva again_
The man held the curtain aside and invited them to follow him.
"The Atheling bids you come," he said. "And he says to him called the
Wanderer that not yet has he received that reward which was promised to
him."
"Come, Wanderer," laughed Wahrmund, "we may as well go through with
it now. By Thor! 't is strange that I, a Dane, should be amongst these
Saxons, but I feel inclined to see this to the end. How sayest thou?"
Little need to ask Wulnoth such a question, for the one desire of his
heart was to see his Princess. Therefore the two followed their guide,
and were ushered into an apartment where sat the two men whom they had
seen watching in the church.
And the younger, he who did not wear the crown, came to welcome them
and said--
"Greeting, friends, and again thanks for the aid you rendered me in
securing honor for King Edmund's body."
Then he turned to the other, and went on--
"Ethelred, my royal and dear brother, these are the two of whom I told
you, and to their help are we indebted, for otherwise it would have
been a hard matter to gain the body of the martyr."
"We thank you from our hearts, strangers," said the one called
Ethelred. And Wahrmund whispered to his friend--
"By Thor! 'T is Ethelred, the King of the West Saxons. He is son of the
noble Ethelwulf the Bretwalda, and the other must be his brother, the
Atheling Alfred."
Then did the King continue, looking hard at Wulnoth, and he said--
"But what is this? We have no Dane here, brother! This hair and those
blue eyes are surely of the land of our fathers!"
"That is so, royal brother," answered Alfred. "According to all I have
heard from the wise Wyborga, this man is of the noble house of Cerdic,
he from whom our own house also traces its descent."
"Is that so?" the King cried. "It is good in one way, and yet 't is
strange to think of one of such royal blood joining our foes."
"Strange is this man's story, my brother," Alfred replied. "I have it
as it was told to me," and he told the King how Wulnoth came to Lethra
with his father and of all that had happened since.
But the King shook his head as he listened, and said that this did not
explain how Wulnoth came to be in Hungwar's army, seeing that it was
Hungwar who gave Lethra to fire and sword.
So Wulnoth spoke, and told how he had two tasks to do--one to find
Guthred the Prince, and the other to find the mightiest and the
strongest. And at that Alfred the Atheling smiled gently.
"Now, brother," he said to the King, "this is a task for priests, and
perchance a fair teacher whom we two wot of, and not for us. Thou
seest how this man chances to be with the Danes, and thou seest how
't is but a step to discovering that for which he seeks. Let this good
warrior"--and he pointed to Wahrmund--"tarry here with us and let the
other go to his reward."
But the King looked grave and he said slowly--
"This man is a thrall, and Edgiva is a king's daughter."
"This man is of our blood, and can noble blood be debased because a
thrall collar is placed upon the neck? My word is pledged, brother,
that this man shall see the lady, and I pray you to allow it."
"Let it be so," said the King, and the Atheling laughed. "Follow me, O
Wanderer," he said to Wulnoth; and as the Wanderer obeyed, he heard the
deep laugh of Wahrmund, and the words--
"Of a truth, O King, a wondrous thing is love. You might offer yon man
a golden crown now, and he would not take it in exchange for a few
moments with a fair maiden."
The Atheling led Wulnoth to another chamber and bade him wait there,
and presently there came a light step, and Edgiva stood before him,
holding out her hands with a smile upon her lips.
And when Wulnoth saw her all his strength seemed to go, and only a
great love seized upon him so that he dropped on his knees and took her
hands and kissed them, and cried, as if he had been a weak woman and
not a mighty man, and he said--
"O my Princess! my Princess! I have wandered far to see you, and my
heart has grown weary with longing. Why have you hidden yourself from
me all this time, and I was your watcher who guarded you? Oh! why have
you done this thing, my Princess?"
And Edgiva bent over him, and in her beautiful eyes there were tears
also as she bade him rise and come and sit beside her.
But Wulnoth shook his head and answered that might not be, for she was
the King's daughter and he but a thrall.
"Now nay, Wulnoth," answered Edgiva. "Even if what thou sayest is true,
then it would be mine to command and thine to obey. But this is not so.
Thou and I are friends as we were in the dear old days when we were in
Lethra--"
"But I angered you, my Princess," he said. "I angered you in the woods
when I spoke of Thor." And Edgiva looked grave.
"Nay, not angered, Wulnoth," she said gently. "I was grieved, but I
knew it would all come right in the end. Now, Wulnoth, tell me, for we
have but little time, and perchance we may not meet again yet--"
"Not meet!" he cried. "Oh, my Princess, thou wilt not send me away
again!"
"Wulnoth, thou hast thy work, and I have mine," she answered, "and we
must fulfil our tasks. Now listen then to my words. Thou hast longed to
find me again?"
"I have longed to find you, O Princess," he answered. "For I am thy
watcher."
"And only because thou art my watcher?" she answered softly, and he
made no reply.
"Canst thou not answer my question, Wulnoth?" she asked again. "Hast
thou longed to find me only because thou art my watcher?"
And then he looked up, and his strong face was full of light, yet his
voice was full of pain, and he said--
"Oh, my Princess, that is the first cruel thing that thou hast done to
me, for why wilt thou have me tell my heart's story to thee, seeing
that thou art so far away from me? Yet if thou wilt have it so, it
shall be. I have longed for thee, Edgiva, because I love thee--because
not a maiden in the world has moved my heart as thou hast done; because
in my dreams thou hast smiled upon me. I love thee, Princess--I who am
thrall and thy watcher--and now that the matter is told, send for thy
servants and have me cast out."
And then, while he knelt there with bowed head, one little arm crept
round his neck, and a dear, gentle voice spoke in his ear saying--
"Oh, thou great, strong, hero-hearted, foolish Wulnoth! Had it been
my wish to cast thee forth, dost thou think I had let thee see me, or
speak such words as thou hast now done? Wulnoth, they are heart music
to me. Thou foolish Wulnoth, to be jealous as thou wast in the forest!
Thou loyal Wulnoth, to resist the temptation wherewith Wyborga tempted
thee to tarry there with me! Kiss me, Wulnoth, my great bear of a
lover, for truly thou art as big and as strong and as shaggy as a bear,
but thou art my love, and no other love have I had, save my Lord Whom I
serve."
Then all music came into Wulnoth's soul, for he knew that Edgiva loved
him, and he felt that nothing else mattered in this world now, and he
asked her how it was since she loved him that she had fled away from
him in the past.
"Canst thou not see, Wulnoth?" Edgiva answered. "It was because I loved
thee. But I had learnt to love the Lord, and thou didst know nothing of
Him, and hadst thou made me thy wife then, I should have followed thee
and have forgotten my Lord."
"Yet I am not a Christian now, Edgiva," he said. "And not even to win
thee would I call myself one unless I could do so honestly."
"I know that, Wulnoth," she answered. "But the time will come when thou
dost understand. Tell me, dost thou still think the Lord a nithing, and
His worship fit only for weaklings?" And at that Wulnoth shook his head.
"Princess," he said, "I am like a man who walks in a wood having lost
his way, or like those who are caught by the sea fog off a rocky shore.
I know not what to think. For of a truth it seems strange for strong
men to suffer wrong when they have swords by their sides; and yet I
have seen the King die, and--it was more than I could fathom; and I
have looked at the image in the church yonder--the image on the cross,
and it seemed to speak to me. I know not what to think."
"And hast thou found the mightiest leader yet, Wulnoth?" she asked. And
he shook his head again.
"Nay, Princess. I sought old Regner Lodbrok, for he was called the
mightiest, but he died here in this land, and thus it is that I come to
be with those who are doubly mine enemies, seeing that they are Danes,
and those who ruined Lethra's kingdom--"
"So Wyborga told me that you would," Edgiva said. "She is wise and can
prophesy, and it was she who foresaw your coming, and that the Prince
should meet you in the forest. It was she who said that you should be
in the church to-night, and it was she who said that I might see you.
And, Wulnoth, if you have longed to see me, I also have longed for you,
and comforted my heart that we should meet again."
"But oh, my love," he answered, "thou art beautiful and a king's
daughter, and I am--"
"Of the Royal House of Cerdic--of the same stock as the King of the
West Saxons. Thou must do mighty deeds for me, Wulnoth, and earn me a
name, and then I shall be proud of thee."
"But how can I, Princess? I am of the Danes now. I must leave them and
come to my own people--"
"Nay, Wulnoth. Wyborga told me of this thing. She said that thou
shouldst not do that, for the parting with Hungwar and his brother
would come without seeking it in that fashion. Go back to the camp and
wait; and now know, Wulnoth, that I do love thee, and that I shall love
none other. Yet we cannot be more than friends until thou hast finished
thy quest--"
"And found Guthred?" he asked.
"Nay, but found the mightiest, and the bravest, and the grandest
amongst men," she answered.
"Dost thou know, Edgiva, that it hath been told to me that Hungwar
still remembers thee, and that he would fain find thee?" Wulnoth asked.
And she smiled.
"Ay, I know that, Wulnoth," she answered; "and indeed I should be
afraid, but that I know thou wilt be near me now, and while thou art
nigh, I fear not Hungwar."
Then they were silent, standing side by side, hand in hand, and love
in their hearts. And it was peace time in their souls, when all the
world seemed fair, and when all nature was singing, just as it had
done in the past when, as children, they wandered with Guthred in the
flower-laden fields, or the shady groves of Lethra. And Edgiva lifted
her face to him and smiled, and her eyes spoke words that her lips
uttered not; and Wulnoth bent and kissed her, and in that kiss their
souls seemed joined, so that none might come between them forever.
Then did Wyborga come and bid Wulnoth join his friend again, for the
way was long, and the hours were fleeing; and Wulnoth came and Edgiva
with him; and when Wahrmund saw the Princess, he stared open-mouthed,
and he cried--
"Thora, beloved of Regner, the son of Sigurd, was called the most
beautiful of women; but here is one more beautiful. Not Freya herself
is more fair than thou art, Princess."
"Thou art a flatterer, Dane," laughed Alfred the Atheling; but Wahrmund
answered--
"Not so, Prince. I speak what I think; and I counsel thee, if counsel
I may, to keep this pearl from the sight of Hungwar and his friends;
for surely they would burn this land into gray ash to secure such a
treasure."
"Methinks our royal sister looks far more gay than she has done for
many a day, brother," said the King with a smile. And Edgiva answered
steadily, and with never a blush--
"That is true, royal Ethelred, for I have found again my hero." And at
that the King laughed again.
Then did the Atheling turn to Wulnoth and ask him of his search after
the mightiest, and where he would now look, seeing that Regner Lodbrok
was dead; and Wulnoth answered that he knew not where to look now,
unless he went afar to Rome and sought the Emperor.
"Now, Wulnoth," the Atheling said, "let me be thy redesman in this.
Thou didst think that Regner Lodbrok was the mightiest warrior?"
"Then, by my beard, he was not far out," cried Wahrmund. And the Prince
smiled.
"So! Yet this Regner is dead, and there is no king but must die in the
end."
"That is true, Prince," Wulnoth said; and Wahrmund nodded.
"Then death is mightier than the mightiest," said Alfred. And Wulnoth
looked puzzled.
"Does that mean we should follow death, Prince?" he said. "By my word,
we soldiers do that all our lives, methinks."
"Nay, Wulnoth. 'T is true we follow death, for 't is our call; but there
is one mightier than death even."
"Mightier than death!" cried Wahrmund. "That is hard saying, Prince;
for what, or who, is mightier than death?" And to that the Prince
answered--
"Life is mightier than death. Do not thy own sagas tell thee that the
heroes live again in Walhalla, and that they perish no more?"
"Ay," answered Wahrmund. "Though whether it be true or not, I cannot
say."
"Wulnoth," the Prince went on, "thou didst see the image of Him Who
hung on the cross? He Whom thou didst once call nithing, I hear."
"I have seen, Prince," Wulnoth answered.
"Then know He is the Lord of Life; and to conquer death He died, and
He rose again. Death and He went holmgang, and He conquered. He is the
mightiest, and by Him shall we drive out our foes and conquer Thor and
his followers."
"Do not be too sure of that, Prince," growled Wahrmund, not liking to
hear his people spoken of so; but the Prince went on--
"Nay, I mean not to offend you, brave soldier. I only speak what I
feel. Have you not told me that you wondered to see how King Edmund
braved the worst torture and pain?"
"That is so," the Dane answered. And once more the Prince went on--
"And how did he do this? He was strengthened by the Lord; and He Who
had suffered succored him in his suffering. Now, it is to Him that
you must turn. But now," he added, "the morning draws near, and you
two must be back at the camp ere day breaks; so let us bid each other
farewell, and perchance we may meet again."
So they clasped each other's hands, the Saxons and the Dane; and
Edgiva smiled on Wulnoth, and whispered her love-parting; and then he
and Wahrmund set out, guided by him who had brought them, until they
reached the forest.
And when at last they were alone, the Dane stopped and stroked his
beard, and he said slowly--
"Comrade, we two have seen strange things to-night, and heard strange
things, too. But beware how you speak of them to me where other ears
may listen; for there are three things which Hungwar would be glad to
have."
"What are they, Wahrmund?" asked Wulnoth carelessly; for he was so
happy that he cared little for Hungwar and his wants.
"Wanderer, the son of Regner would like the gold from yon Christian
altar; and he would like to have that Atheling in his power; and he
would like to have the Lady Edgiva also."
"He shall have my axe ere he has one of the three," said Wulnoth; and
the Dane laughed grimly.
"Bold words! But the son of Regner is no nithing nor weakling; and he
has some warriors around him, Wanderer. Thou mayst be strong, but thou
art not strong enough for that; therefore, I warn thee be discreet and
hold thy tongue."
Now, this is how Wulnoth found his Princess, and how the love tale
was spoken, and this is how Alfred the Atheling told Wulnoth of the
Mightiest and the Bravest of Lords.