What? Asbj?rn is waving his hand and saying something, and I look at him again. He smiles and seems to find my shock entertaining.


    "You weren''t prepared for that. But it''s true. In all her caution, she wasn''t careful enough. Haera didn''t think she would get pregnant, partly because we had trouble having children, and partly because she''s not young." Haera is pregnant. "We should have guessed that Freya blessed you in that way too - and rewarded Haera for giving in to her lust - which only confirms how well your sejd to prevent children works, since none of your women have become pregnant. During the feast we learned about the powerful sejd you have created and are spreading among sejdwomen, and of course all the women here probably already have it, otherwise there would be many big bellies here." Haera is pregnant, and I am going to be a father. "It''s a really impressive sejd, and it will be really appreciated by many women and men, even if I still wish for more children. I don''t know whether to be happy or unhappy that it wasn''t Sefa, but then we would have a different discussion. And Haera was dumb to not use Unn''s services and get an IUD until far too late and just before we left." Haera is pregnant, and I am going to be a father. "Robert, you will be a father. Haera is with child and none of us dare go against Freya''s gift to Haera and you, so she will give birth near the autumnal equinox. If this were 20 years ago when I was younger, more hot-headed and violent, I probably would have killed Haera already, or forced her to do something about it and we would''ve had to live with the consequences. But those days are gone. Our time is over. Robert, will you acknowledge yourself as the father of the child?"


    "Yes, if you wish. But I have to get even more serious now. Really deadly serious, because there is a big issue. Genetic compatibility."


    I tell Asbj?rn the simplified variation of genetic compatibility, about the pros and cons, about the problem that the child might get and deformities or health problems. It is not certain, but the possibility is high. It is up to the gods to decide whether a human man can make an elf woman with a healthy child. However, it may be very clear that the child is mine, especially with the ears and hairiness, but it is most likely that the child takes most after the mother. I tell him that I have been worried that I might only have children with is Jane, and she with me. That''s actually one of the reasons Jane sought me out. But I have still been careful by creating and making my own IUDs for my women, and still limited the times I have ejaculated in them, especially certain times of the month, because a chance is a chance. I also tell him about the attempts that have been made in secret with Liv since last autumn, without results. The Gods have humour. There are also many indications that humans are more fertile than elves, and we are trying to find out why. Whether it is due to differences in the body, ageing, or something in the food etc, but that project will certainly take decades. We will collect copious amounts of information to try to find clues. Asbj?rn definitely seems to take it very seriously.


    "Asbj?rn, I find it hard to believe I even came in Haera - that I was so careless with an unknown sexual partner - But my brain wasn''t really calling the shots during that evening, and ''spice'' affects me much more than elvish men. I know Kari went out of her way to make sure all the women around me have IUDs, and while I didn''t take advantage of that, I was glad about it the day after the stag night. But there were several women there that I should have thought about not having any protection. I really messed that up."


    "It is what it is, and we are all pawns to the gods. Your information about ''genetics'' only makes it clearer. Of course, I no longer trust Haera; she says it was the only time, swears to the gods that it is so, but how can I truly trust her? Especially when her previous lady-in-waiting died of illness a few years ago. Did she silence a conspirator or witness who didn''t want to keep a secret? Whatever I believe, it is also about what others may believe and think. I suppose I have to take some of the blame myself; I haven''t really focused on pleasing Haera in recent years, but have tried to make Virun, Melka and Sylvi pregnant. They are younger and should be more fertile, but I may have to eat the rotten food and face reality. Accept that it was never Haera who was the issue, but me. Our marriage has been a good marriage and alliance, and we have enjoyed being together. Our marriage has worked better than expected, but has also played out most of its function as we have three adult children."


    "Do you still love Haera?"


    Asbj?rn nods while looking sad and sigh. "Yes, but more as a friend I can now never really trust, than a wife. It is no longer important whether I love her or not, or if I can forgive her. I have already made the only decision I could to protect myself, to protect the throne, to protect our children and property. After what you just told me about genetics, I''m glad I did, because it minimises the impact of Haera giving birth to a child that clearly isn''t mine. An unfaithful queen is really bad; it''s disrespectful to the Throne except for me as her husband. A man who has sex with a queen behind the king''s back can also have reputational and status problems, not least because it can be interpreted as disrespect to me and the Throne. You are not to blame, but things can easily go wrong when rumours and gossip spread, so we have a plan to minimise the impact. For you and me."


    Asbj?rn sits up and looks more serious.


    "I have already divorced Haera in front of witnesses because of her recent infidelity, but since she told me and admitted it in front of witnesses, the punishment is only outright divorce and the law lets her keep her morning gift, which is considerable and more than enough since I was young and stupid, and she has her own extensive properties, but divorce is not enough punishment since she was the queen. So I have banished her from the land because, as queen, she has also betrayed the kingdom. Haera has told the witnesses that in recent years she has become lustful and had sinful thoughts. Her marriage to me has served its purpose as we have several adult children, and although she says sex between us has been good, she has sinfully dreamed of being used by a man who did not know who she was. After we returned to Borgarsandr with her new IUD, she disguised herself and tricked a man into having sex with her to satisfy her own lust and dreams. Some suspect that she was a masked woman in ''The Blushing Maiden'', which is slightly ironic." Asbj?rn gives me a look, and we both know that I am the actual owner of that feast hall. "Haera has given in to her lust without thinking of the consequences, and she''s sorry for that, but she takes her responsibility."


    Asbj?rn makes a sad laugh before he continues talking:


    "It''s mostly true and it also protects you. Haera''s reputation is now as a sinful woman with no control over her lust. The Queen who betrayed the Throne to indulge her lust, though she is respected for her honesty and courage to admit it and live with the consequences. Our children and her family want nothing to do with her, and they have renounced their family ties or will do so - they have little choice. Harea is now a woman few want to associate with. No honest man will take her as his wife or concubine as it will tarnish his reputation that he have fallen for such a known treacherous, deceitful woman, or that he want to indulge in his own lust. Just socialising with her can be harmful to many, especially if they didn''t know or socialised closely with her before.


    Robert, I partially came here to ask you a huge favour, and it will also help protect you from Haera''s act. Haera, her lady-in-waiting Skirlaug and shieldmaiden Raneigh are all on the ship, with their luggage and most possessions. Our plan has been this; since I still care about Haera as the mother of my children and the mother of hopefully the future king, the years we had together, etc, I will let her be close. You, being a good man and friend to both of us, and being in the unique position of having your own nation within the borders of the kingdom, let Haera live here on your islands while Haera has a mansion built for her own silver, where she can live out the rest of her life. Close, accessible and protected, yet not in the kingdom, and it makes it easier for our children to visit their mother if they so wish. At least Ulfarna will - she''s on the boat and cries most all the time.Stolen novel; please report.


    As Asbj?rn Aeriksson, I give you Lysedal, a larger property close by on the mainland, as a thank you for letting Haera live in your Furstedom, and as King, I also extend the Furstedom agreement to include the smaller islands a few hundred fathoms north-east of Large Ackerek, so you can let her build her mansion there, and living secluded makes it easier to keep her pregnancy and the date of birth a secret. Haera will thank you for putting up with a woman like her, by giving you Svenlum, which is a collection of properties that is right next to the ones I''m giving you, and the south and east side of the lake. I gave them to Haera in the first place, and all of it are conveniently close by to here. Haera cannot set foot in the Kingdom in the next few years, until in the future when I can forgive her for the sake of our children, when I leave the throne to Hagthorn, or on my deathbed.


    A major problem with Haera''s pregnancy, is that you might clearly be the father. We had not expected that. But it can, with the help of your sejdwoman Unn, be timed so that the official story is that ''the child was born a little too early''. No one would be surprised if Haera, with her reputation for lust and deceit, had conceived a child with you while living here in Thrymheim - you don''t even have to admit to being the father, even though it''s obvious. You already have a well-deserved reputation for being really manly and able to satisfy women. It will be assumed that Haera has once again given in to her lust now that nothing is holding her back, and has been unable to control herself in your presence, used her deceptively charming manner, or sorcery. I will in future discreetly spread the rumour of this and regret that I did not consider of the danger when I asked you to let her live here, and Haera''s reputation as a deceitful woman giving in to sex and lust will be more firmly established.


    The child is her problem, and her reputation will only become more set in stone, but many will see the child as a gift from Freya; as an ironic gift for being honest about her womanhood and giving in to lust, and reward her action and how she bravely took her punishment. If you were to recognise the child as yours at some point in the future, you would be perceived as having acted as Freya''s hand, and as a good man who wants to give the child a good future and a better reputation than the child''s sinful mother can give it. Should it be a deformed child, many will interpret it as Freya punishing Haera with hope and then despair. It is entirely up to you whether you want to throw her out of Thrymheim or isolate her in one of the houses when the pregnancy is obvious, but you keep your word to me and her, and let her live here on the islands. Should you and your women show that you are socialising with Haera, it will be more of a sign that you are good enough friends to disregard and ignore her reputation. It proves your dedication to Freya and words, because it is already known that you see relationships, sex and love differently, and you have more than once said that children are born without guilt, and are innocent of what their parents have done or are doing."


    I stay silent while I quickly think about it. I would really want to have Kari here beside me right now. This is a hell of a story and huge complication, but I understand why Asbj?rn and probably Haera made those decisions, and it protects us too, but the story needs to be more detailed if the story is to hold up. As the saying goes: ''Tell the story right''. Asbj?rn still seems to love Haera considering how he''s still trying to give her a good life here. He''s not the vengeful partner, so this will be more difficult.


    "Asbj?rn, I hope you realise the problems it still causes me, not least because I will have to have sex with Haera in the next few days, just to make the date of when the child was created more uncertain, and so that enough people know that we had sex and when. It''s already been three weeks, and we need to make sure that enough of the staff know that we''ve had sex in case anyone is thinking or curious. I don''t know if it works if we just pretend to have sex while she spends a night sleeping at the other end of my bedroom. I don''t trust myself to be good enough to pretend that and give the right reactions in the future to surprise situations, and the same might apply to Haera since she did react when I confronted her with those words. And although I have soundproofed between rooms and floors and the doors are thick, it''s not perfect. Haera also needs to be the one who quickly and obviously starts lusting after me, and tries to seduce me. Maybe just due to emotions and seeking comfort or something. She needs to appear the lustful and sinful and the active part, to sell the cover story and partly to protect my reputation, so I behave the same as I''ve have behaved so far. She''s your ex-wife, and I don''t seduce women into my bed. I do not take trophies. And I''m newly wed. Haera needs to act the role she''s been painted as for the next few weeks until her pregnancy becomes clear and the official history can be followed, and she needs to do it well and not overdo it. Her guard and lady-in-waiting need to act their roles too, which is easier though, especially for me. At the same time, Haera must endeavour to make her belly and the growing baby less visible in the first two-three months, as far as possible, with clothes and other things."


    Asbj?rn just nods in agreement and replies: "I''ll talk to Haera and the others before we come ashore. Haera already knows what she needs to do and what the rest of her life will be like. Isolated from social events and most of her family. But she has only herself to blame."


    "We need to talk about this with Iselin because she doesn''t know anything. Honestly, a few more people in the household need to be informed so they can be sworn to secrecy, follow the official story and help fill in the gaps. They''re not stupid, and we don''t want them to accidentally reveal things. They are women, and in certain areas women tend to pay more attention than we men do, so they might notice that Haera is with child earlier than she should. It will also be my first child, so many will be extremely curious, attentive and interested in her pregnancy and future children."


    Asbj?rn just nods and agrees. Things he hadn''t thought of, but that makes the plan better. So I call in Iselin and Alith. We tell them what happened and how Haera tricked us, and they get serious when they realise all the complications. Iselin is so disappointed and feels betrayed by Haera as she has looked up to her, while at the same time she is excited by the news that I can make an elven woman with children and clearly looks forward to maybe being a mum herself in the future. Alith is shocked but doesn''t say much. Both understands and accept what needs to be done and agree to cover for Haera - for our sake. The official story is repeated and agreed, and it was once back in Borgarsandr that Haera gave in to her lust. Hearing and knowing about the Stag night orgy, and the women who talked about it afterwards, not least her lady-in-waiting who kept mentioning back in Borgarsandr, was the final straw, and she was also protected by her new IUD. Obviously the Gods aren''t stopped by an IUD, or it broke.


    Haera will be sad - she won''t need to pretend that - but she will find it hard to control herself around me and will try to seduce me now that she is no longer tied by marriage. That she has dreamed of having sex with me is the truth, just not that it has already happened. It might happen in the next couple of days while most of my women are away, and she might be ''slightly intoxicated''. Iselin and Alith also have roles to play, and need to act like Haera isn''t pregnant and such. I will have to talk to Unn later and she too have to know enough to cover it up, but keeping secrets is a part of being a sejdwoman.


    Shit. I just realised that Haera will need a guest room for at least a couple of months, and it''s just a question of which one. At least until her pregnancy is known, she needs to stay here, as she needs to spend time in my presence and she is a Storman guest. It sends certain signals if we have sex and Haera then moves to the guesthouse a few hundred meters away. Likewise if she lives there, and I visit her soon after she arrived, because ''no one'' will know that we actually had sex. Then she is ''a visiting Storman'' so a room in the wings attic is not good, and better that the islanders respect her high social position as a Storman. Potential surprise guests means that we may need the ground floor guest rooms with short notice, and it''s best if Haera''s accommodation is a bit out of the way so any unexpected guests don''t have to socialise with her. The vacant room on the second floor can send very wrong signals, so the least bad option is the vacant attic room here in Thrymheim''s main building. The room that is basically a mirrored copy of Caecilia''s, and meant for future use. It''s small, but at least it''s a room of its own with a good view, so the staff will have to dust it off and prepare.


    Then there is Haera''s lady-in-waiting Skirlaug and shieldmaiden Raneigh who will also live here for now, as they are all complicit and have betrayed the Throne, and of course people will know that Haera must have had help and conspirators. She was The Queen, always protected and with a lady-in-waiting, also known as her personal servant. But they are not exiled, just very unwanted. We could send them to the village, but better they stay here as a group and those two can live in the wing. Asbj?rn will leave and inform them, before returning with them and their personal belongings. We''ll store their stuff in the basement or attic for now, depending on the contents, and they''ll return in an hour or so. Just walking along the road takes about 10 minutes each way. There is quite a few trunks, and some horses, so we''ll send Hrappr to help with the horses and bring a cart.


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