Aric sat by my side in a seat that was much less ostentatious than my own. Wine and mead were served in pewter goblets on our table, and I watched as the tables began to fill with men, women, and children of all ages. Within an hour, the tables were full and beyond that were areas to stand and those quickly became just as crowded.
Big baskets of bread were put down at the center of every table. Ale was served to the masses in great quantity, along with mead and wine. In no time at all, the tables were laden in great trays of pork and turkey, as well as fruits and vegetables. Sides of rice and cheese were provided along with salted meats. I had spared no expense on this feast because Valgertha was about to engage with their most formidable foe in its recent history, so I had wanted to give them a full night of celebration before I asked them to pledge their fealty to me on the battlefield. Before I asked them to live or die for me.
After the cheers and songs began, I stood up, knowing it was time that I spoke to my people. I pressed my fingers to the table and waited, my gaze searching over the rampant joy of the crowd. Gradually, a hush fell over those before me, and when all was finally silent, I cleared my throat and all eyes turned to me.
“Valgertha, it brings me great honor to stand with you today as your queen,” I began. They roared with their approval and I waited until they quieted once more before I started again.
“Tonight, I have come to celebrate with you a great many things. First of all, you have made me exceedingly proud with all of our victories over the past several months in our raids and conquests. You’ve brought great wealth to our city and I thank you for that. I’m so proud of each and every one of you. You honor me.”
I waited again as they cheered with excitement.
“Second, I wish to bring you some news of my own. As some of you might have guessed, there is a stranger sitting at my royal table tonight.” I looked pointedly at Aric before turning back to my people. “I have decided to take a mate. He is bonded to me and I expect that you all will give him the same respect as you would me.”
Once again, the crowd went wild.
“Furthermore, I’ve decided to crown him as king by my side. With all that being said, let me introduce you to King Aric,” I continued.
The excited cheering echoed loudly all around me. At the same time, one of my advisors walked out with a crown similar to my own on a small beige pillow. He knelt next to me and I took it in my fingers, before placing it delicately on top of Aric’s head. My people began chanting his name over and over as I took his hand and guided him to his feet. Aric boldly pressed my fingers to his lips as he bowed his head to me in a public gesture of deference.
Aric may be king now, but I was still queen. He would rule, but it would be by my side.
“Long live Queen Freya,” Aric roared.
My people repeated
his words and the effect on me was visceral. Gooseflesh popped all over my skin and I smiled, more than pleased with their reception of him.
I cleared my throat once more. It took much longer this time, but the crowd eventually quieted down and I began to speak again.
“I have one other item to address tonight, my people of Valgertha. Not long ago, I suffered an attack from an outsider, a man sent here to secure an alliance with us but when I refused his offer, he tried to kill me instead,” I said, ensuring that the weight of my words fell heavy on them. Their excited faces turned more serious.
“This scar here was from him,” I explained, tracing my finger across the nearly healed wound on my chest. “He almost killed me, but he underestimated me. He underestimated Valgertha, didn’t he?”
They whooped in approval.
“Do you know who this man was?” I asked, pausing and watching as my people waited on the edges of their seats. They screamed for me to tell them. At the same time, they started clamoring for the honor and glory that would befall them if I granted them the right to avenge me.
“This man was King Thranar, ruler of Ravenrath,” I finally said.
They shrieked and chanted my name.
“As your queen, I ask that you defend my honor. I ask you, the mighty warriors of Valgertha, will you stand with me and protect our city walls? Will you help me to conquer Ravenrath as our own? Will you go to war with me?” I asked, my voice growing louder and louder as I poured every ounce of emotion into my words. I wanted them to come with me. I wanted them to fight with me.
The resulting commotion was so loud that the very stage I stood on trembled with it. They shrieked and shouted with their excitement. Every face in the crowd was laced with eager anticipation. Swords burst up into the air, waving back and forth as my people begged for the right to fight for me and I took Aric’s hand in mine.
“Together, Valgertha, we will achieve great things. We will fight for honor and glory. The gods will smile upon this day, knowing that soon our city will be even greater than it ever was before,” I yelled.
I raised my goblet and drained my cup of mead. I swallowed every last drop and slammed it down on the table.
“Tonight, we celebrate! Tomorrow, we go to war!” I shouted.
My people roared at the challenge. They were ready. I grinned back at them, extremely pleased.
I watched as they all chugged down the remains of their drinks. They started drumming the metal cups on the wooden tables, and then they started chanting my name.
This was going to be an evening to be remembered.
That night, we drained the stocks of alcohol that had been prepared for the feast. The food was eaten, and the celebrations lasted far into the night. There was music and dancing. There was singing. There were axe-throwing contests and sword-fighting competitions, and I even took part in a few drunken arrow-shooting matches. Aric and I took part in the festivities until we were both exhausted and after we left, it continued.