Vikings: Nordic women

Chapter 52: The Henpecked Sven Lord (Setting Sail)

Shivering through the winter cold, Margaret wrested her life back from the Valkyrie with new vigor.

She actively led the people in spring ploughing in preparation for the coming war.

Everyone knew that after the spring ploughing, the queen would launch a large-scale war.

With many precedents of Karls being conferred the title of Jarl, the road to nobility has been paved.

Everyone is full of anticipation, dreaming of the day when they will become a noble Jarl.

Outside the lord's hall in the village of Bergstadir, horns sounded and a group of Viking warriors gathered.

Lord Sven Jarl leaned grimly against the pillar, with several children standing beside him. The sound of shields banging could be heard outside.

"Where's Yael?" a voice came from outside. "It's almost time to board the ship. If we're late, we'll be punished by the Queen!"

"Yal hasn't come out yet!"

"Sven?"

"Sven?"

"Ah?" Lord Sven was tied to a pillar, with a bruised face and nose, and shouted outside the house.

His face was somewhat embarrassed, and he helplessly looked at his wife who was already wearing fish-scale armor and a helmet, and holding a shield: "Dear!"

"Shut up!" the woman scolded, staring at him angrily. She was his wife, a well-known shrew in the village, known for her toughness.

This was clearly a scene of domestic violence.

"When do we board the ship?" the voice outside urged again.

"Wait a minute..." Sven was silent for a while, as if looking for a suitable reason, "I'm wearing scale armor!"

"Hurry up!" The horn sounded more urgent.

"Okay!" Sven responded, his eyes anxious.

"Stop it, dear, let me go! I'm leaving!" Lord Sven looked helpless and looked at his wife in a flattering manner.

"Sven, you promised me in the winter that you would take me to participate in the Viking Operation this year. You can't leave me behind!" Mrs. Yar stared at him with a firm look in her eyes.

"But there is no precedent for a Viking bringing a woman!" Sven sighed and tried to explain.

"What about Queen Margaret? Isn't she a woman too? Why can she?" Madame Jarre retorted.

"It's different, she's Her Majesty the Queen!" Sven argued.

"But I am Madame Jarre!" Madame Jarre emphasized her identity.

"I will be laughed at by my colleagues!" Sven seemed helpless.

"Do you think I'm an eyesore?" Madame Yar asked with a hint of anger in her tone.

"Honey, stop it! I'm going to be late! If I'm late, Her Majesty the Queen won't let me go!" Sven stamped his feet in anxiety.

"This will be an unprecedented operation, and I cannot be absent! I swear to Woden that I will listen to you and take me with you! You can't deprive me of the opportunity to fight and gain the attention of the Valkyrie! You promised me that when you married me!" Madame Yar begged, her eyes flashing with desire for battle.

"What about our children? They are still young and need care!" Sven raised a practical question.

Hearing this, Madam Yaer looked at the little ones beside her and fell silent.

She is struggling between her responsibilities and her dreams.

After thinking for a long time, she said, "I can leave it to my sister to take care of!"

"Are you confident in letting her help take care of her? She's so careless, how dare you ask her to help take care of her? Be obedient and let me go!" Sven winked at the children frantically, hoping they could help persuade their mother.

"Mom?" The children's voices were filled with confusion and anxiety.

Listening to the intimate call, Madame Jarre hesitated and looked at the children's expectant eyes. Finally, she made a decision.

She drew her sword and cut the rope under Sven's frightened gaze. Then she dropped her sword, shield and helmet, walked back to the bedroom in disappointment and slammed the door shut.

He breathed a sigh of relief, took off the rope hanging on his body, patted his youngest son and daughter on the head, and kissed them on the cheek: "My little darlings, well done!"

As he spoke, he took the sword and shield from the wall like a thief, hung the shield on his body, put the scabbard into his belt, and left stealthily.

“Wow!” “Wow!”

"Ouch!"

Amid the awe-filled cheers and gazes of the crowd, Sven walked step by step into the crowd, mounted the majestic warhorse given to him by Margaret, and raised his right fist.

The sound of soldiers striking their shields stopped, but someone hesitated and uttered an extra "whoosh", causing the war cry to become untidy. The solemn atmosphere instantly became ridiculous, and the army that originally looked elite suddenly lost its dignity.

"Get ready to board the ship!" Sven shouted, "Today, we are heading to Viking!"

"ah!"

"ah!"

"Father!" a voice came from behind, and Sven's youngest son ran over holding a helmet, "Father, wait a minute, you forgot to bring your helmet!"

Sven turned his head helplessly, not wanting to pay attention. His son raised his hands and handed him the "skull (Germanic helmet)".

"Get ready to board the ship!" Sven tried to cover up.

"Sven?" The friend who called him before was wearing a nose helmet. He looked at the child holding the helmet in confusion, and then looked at him.

"what?"

"Aren't you wearing a helmet?" His friend looked at the helmet in the child's hand.

"No, wearing a helmet is uncomfortable and makes my scalp itchy!" Sven on the warhorse answered in a low voice, leaning sideways.

"But……"

"Oh, Yerma, I'm a cautious rider!" Sven argued, secretly kicking his helmet off with his foot and dropping it to the ground.

"No one denies this, but..." The friend wanted to persuade him again.

"So when I get there, do you want me to run around the Ross area wearing a stupid helmet?" Sven interrupted him and asked back, looking unhappy.

Yilma thought about it and smiled awkwardly: "Yes, in fact, you should do so!"

Sven sighed, lowered his head like a frost-bitten eggplant, and remained silent.

"Sven? What's wrong?" A voice came from the seashore. A group of people were weighing anchor at the boat, and one of them shouted towards the settlement.

Sven was about to answer, but Yilma answered first: "Sven doesn't want to wear a helmet. He said..." Yilma turned back to confirm, "He said that wearing a helmet would make...his scalp itchy!"

Sven sighed, feeling somewhat socially frustrated, and the Viking warriors around him were stunned.

"I can't hear clearly!" a voice came from the bottom of the mountain.

"I'm not the kind of person who likes to wear a helmet!" Sven shouted down the mountain to explain.

“But wearing a helmet is a good idea!” Yerma retorted.

Sven raised his hands beside his head as if grabbing his hair, and yelled in despair: "But it will ruin my carefully styled braids!" His face looked devastated.

"Sven?" The door of a house not far away opened, and Madame Yar, who was already feeling uncomfortable, walked towards this side with a fierce look, followed by her little daughter.

"Ah?" Sven showed a flattering smile, he was henpecked and afraid of losing face.

Lady Yar picked up the helmet from the ground and handed it to Lord Sven: "You can go plunder, but you must bring the helmet?"

Sven thought about it, nodded obediently, took the skull and knocked it on his head. His image instantly changed from a handsome lord to a fool wearing a helmet.

"Hahahaha..." An old Norse warrior nearby couldn't help but laugh.

Sven suddenly turned his head and glared at him fiercely. The old man quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at the lord.

He suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth: "Prepare to board the ship!"

The Viking warriors took action and headed down the mountain. Sven also rode his warhorse and slowly led the crowd down the mountain.

When passing by a crooked tree, he lowered his head and hit his helmet hard against the tree, but there was no reaction.

"Are you okay?" Yerma's voice came from behind.

(End of this chapter)