Frowning, he asked, “But you are personally sacrificing a great deal. Surely there are other ways to protect Kallthom. You might employ a mercenary army, or increase the defenses of the village and the castle. I am sure there are a number of other things that could be done. It seems you are paying a very high price.”
“What are you trying to do, Northlander,” she said with a smile, “get out of earning your fee? Are you sorry you contracted with us and are stuck with me?” She continued more seriously, “Both Rathe and I were raised to believe we had a responsibility and duty to the people of our kingdom. This is my duty—to do what I can to make the kingdom safe for our people. No one asked me or forced me to undertake this. It is my idea.” She paused, leaning against her mare. “Yes, I do have some regrets. I am giving up marrying and raising children in my own land, and I will be a stranger in Carigo, never seeing those I love again. But I believe the benefits will be worth much more than my sacrifices.”
Björn shook his head. “I do not know if I can agree with you, but I certainly respect you for what you are doing. It is extremely brave of you.” He threw his reins over his horse’s head and mounted, then waited for Aleanna to follow suit.
When she was seated securely in her saddle, she said, “Enough about me. Tell me about your homeland, that place you call the Northland.”
They urged their horses into a gentle walk. Björn closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering up his memories of home. “We call it by a different name, but ‘Northland’ is what people who speak about it call it. It is far to the north and west of here. The mountains are high and cold, and the ice and snow never melt from their peaks. Spring and summer only last for a few months, so we have to grow a great deal during that time. It is a hard and unforgiving land for men, beasts and vegetation, but the land makes us what we are.”
“And what,” she asked, “is that?”
“Strong, lean and medium-sized,” he responded. “And very alert and quick. We became what was necessary to survive in our environment.”
Aleanna thought about his reply, then asked, “How old were you when you left the Northland?”
“Oh, I was in my twenties, I guess. Most children of the Northlanders leave home about that age,” he said.
“Tell me about your life. What was it like?”
Grinning, Björn said, “You ask too many questions, young lady. Be patient and I will attempt to answer all your questions in time. What about you, Princess? How do you spend your time?”
“I wish you would stop calling me princess. Please call me Aleanna. And what shall I call you, Mr. Bodyguard?”
“Call me Björn.”
“Is Björn your first or last name?”
“I guess it is both since it is my only name. I was taken from my parents at a very early age and my trainer named me. But tell me, since it appears you are being evasive, Aleanna, what do you do to fill your time?”
“Are you making fun of me again?”
“No. Knowing you, I am sure it is something important and useful, and I am sure it will be unusual for a girl.”
“I suppose you are right about that. I noticed, as I got older, there was little order in the land. The largest landowners did pretty much as they chose. But at least there was a form of peace in that the landowners rarely fought with each other. They knew my father would stop that,” she said, looking out over the countryside. “I convinced my father to let me organize and be in charge of a legal system. I think he thought it was only a girlish whim and I would tire of it quickly without doing too much harm.
“I selected twelve good, honest men and trained them to be judges. Their job was to travel the kingdom and settle disputes and punish miscreants. I divided the kingdom into twelve units with one judge for each unit, and convinced my father to pay them well so they could be professionals. They met with me in the castle for several days and we went over their jobs, how they would judge lawbreakers and how they would settle disputes.”
Her face was intent as she explained her tasks to Björn. “Initially, I sent soldiers with the judges and had them build jails in central locations, then I went from hamlet to hamlet explaining the legal system we were developing. I had to call out soldiers a few times at first, but it has been some time since I have had to do that. Everyone seems to have adapted to the system and accepted it. I travel a great deal meeting with the judges, checking to see what is happening in each village and overseeing the system. The only real problems I have are with the people in the hills. They are scattered and fiercely independent. We get along fine on a personal level but I have had to call out soldiers numerous times to enforce a judge’s decision. This is a full-time job for me.”
“That is how you know people by name in the village we just passed through. Is that the same throughout the kingdom?” Björn asked.
“Pretty much. I have made sure that I am highly visible. I want everyone to know me and know that I care about them. I try to present myself as the head of a fair and just legal system, and I think I can say I have done that.”
They entered another hamlet. Recognizing Aleanna, people enthusiastically stopped what they were doing and rushed out to greet them calling, “Princess Aleanna!” Aleanna seemed to know them all by name.
One woman insisted they dine with her for lunch, or dinner as she called it, and would not take no for an answer. The cottage they entered was small but well constructed, with a few bright rag rugs scattered about on a wooden floor. Colorful curtains covered the windows. It had one large room with a kitchen, a dining area containing a large wooden table and benches, a sleeping area for the parents in one corner piled with bear rugs for both warmth and comfort, and a large fireplace for cooking and heating. Bear rugs were also piled in front of the fireplace.
“The children sleep up there,” the woman said, pointing to a loft area.
They had mutton stew with slabs of bread and cold milk with vegetables from the woman’s garden. It was a fine meal, especially for Björn. The two children talked excitedly to Aleanna until their mother quieted them. She explained that she was particularly pleased to have company, as her husband and some of the other men were in the far pastures and would not return until evening. Then she and Aleanna talked about the livestock, the crops, the affairs of the village and the woman related the latest gossip. When they were finished eating, the children rose and without being asked, gathered the utensils from the table and took them outside. Björn had seen a spring as they approached the woman’s home, and he assumed the children were taking the dishes and utensils to wash them in the nearby water.
The woman who had hosted their dinner led the way out of the cottage to find villagers gathered. Björn noticed a number of young women gathered together looking at him and laughing.
“What is it about me that the girls find so funny?” he asked Aleanna.
“They are wondering if you are my boyfriend.”
“What will you tell them?” He grinned impishly.
“I will tell them you are my bodyguard hired by my father to protect me and I am showing you around the kingdom.” She glanced up at him coyly. “Or perhaps I will simply smile and tell them nothing. That will get their tongues wagging!”
The villagers started to gather around six people who began to play musical instruments. A man and a woman played flutes, one man played a drum, another woman was blowing into a long curved horn, and two men played rectangular wooden-box like instruments with heavy strings.
As soon as he saw Aleanna, an old man approached her, took her hands and led her into the middle of the street. The musicians started to play, and the music started slowly. The couple began to dance with their arms raised over their heads. The music grew faster and louder, and the old man and Aleanna danced