Cursed Blessing

She woke with an ache in her neck and slowly opened her eyes. She turned to see if the men still slept where they had fallen.



Haursi woke up and pulled himself to his feet. He sniffed himself a little and decided that he could use that bath, without hesitation he started to undress and left a trail of clothing as he walked out of the door. The water springs was not far and the cool air would be welcomed.

She watched him walk by. "I am so not picking that up Haursi."



“Then don’t” was all he said before he walked out of the door.



"Men." She stood and kicked his clothes into a pile, then walked over to check on Christian.

Once seeing he was doing well, she began cleaning the house and doing other things that needed to be done. She swept Haursi clothes right out the door. He should have taken them with him to wash while he did so himself.



“I’LL KILL YOU!” Christian cursed out of nowhere when he came too.



She jumped at his voice. "Christian, calm yourself. Everything is alright." She carefully approached him.



He held his arm over his chest in pain, “Damn that hurt” he sat up in the bed.



"God bolts do that. Let me see." Her hands went to the bandages, carefully pulling them back.



He twitched when she did, pulling her hand away in reflex. “That tickles”



"I\'m sorry but I do need to see and what were you thinking attacking Freya like that?”



“She brought it on herself, even gods can be killed” he leaned back a little as he rested his weight on his arms behind him.



"They may be able to be killed but none have died, but those who have tired definitely have. She was going to let you drown." Seeing his wounds had healed greatly, she rewrapped them. "By tomorrow there should be no sign of the fight left."



“That is because I have never tried” he smiled, pushed her aside and stood up from the bed.



"We have a lot to discuss, Christian. I was wrong. She was finding a solution."



“And you believe her? By Thor she used you as a human shield!”



"She is my goddess. I would lie down my life for her as easily as I would for you."



“Then go and die for her” he marched out of the door and ran out in to the forest close by.



"CHRIS!" She ran after him. She stopped and looked around. He was fast and she wasn’t sure where he had gone. "Chris please. I have so much to tell you." She turned in a circle. "Freya was not alone that day when she blessed you. It happened in a dream so they could have you see and remember what they wanted. The other cursed you Christian."



Christian heard what she shouted, but he still didn’t believe it. Haursi came through the back door with clothing. “What is with all the shouting?”



"Christian woke and then ran. I don’t know why he is angry with me. I am trying to tell him that Freya found the person responsible and how to fix his curse but again he is not listening."



“Do you blame him? A man’s mind is pretty simple… ESPECIALY when there is a woman involved” he took a seat on the bed.



"What are you talking about? Christian has never said or done anything in that manner towards me. I mean he saw me without clothes last night and did nothing or even suggested."



“I heard a rumor back home. He never let his companions rape the women, he always respected those he conquered and allowed them to believe whatever gods they wanted. As long as they paid him a small fee of taxes every moon. A small price for your own life isn’t it? Why do you think Freya liked him so much? ” He smiled at her. “I see how he sees you, how he protected you from humiliation when I walked into your room… He is extremely defensive when it comes to you, has he not done things that would say the same thing? ”



She stood there and let his words sink in. "Oh." She looked down at her toes. She shook her head. "I\'ll deal with that when I need to. Right now, he needs to understand what happened when he was cursed and what he needs to do in order to reverse it."



“So what are you going to do?”



"I already told you. Tell him what happened."



“And how are you going to do that?”



"I don’t know. I will have to wait for him to return or just stand in the forest and yell it to him."



“It’s up to you, you can still enjoy me until he comes back” he winked at her.



"You are terrible. What about what you just said about him being protective? Shouldn’t you be worried if he finds you all over me? "



“Nah, why do you think I am asking all the time? He will accept it if you accept me. So how about it? ”



She blushed."I think I will pass again. I am not ready to lose my innocence, but I\'ll keep you in mind." She turned and headed for the door.



He smiled, she was warming up to him.



She went looking for Christian. "Christian? I know you can hear me." Picking her way around rocks and trees. "I finally have answers for you and you now don’t want to hear. Stop being stubborn. And I\'m sorry for whatever made you angry."



As a werewolf, he was sitting in the tree tops, looking out over the forest and a cloudless sky, the full moon shined its light over the trees and some of it found its way down to the forest floor. He could hear her below from some distance.



“Leave me alone” he said.



She heard him and looked up. "Fine, go ahead and pout. I\'ll go back and keep Haursi company." She turned heal and stomped back the way she came.

A howl of pain escaped him, flocks of birds took flight and animals scattered. He was torn between telling her what he felt and not. He didn’t want her to have his curse and he didn’t know what would spread it.



She stopped when she heard his howl. It caused her to shiver and the mournful sound broke her heart. "Christian please come and talk to me. I want to help but I will leave if you want." She watched the trees.



The wolf lowered his head; he didn’t know what to do. But he soon made the decision and came down to the ground. Dust and dirt took air for a moment as he hit the ground hard.



She shielded her eyes, and then looked at him. He was a large man but in the beasts form he was massive. She took a step towards him but stopped herself. "Freya\'s husband truly was there and did the curse. She found out that he’s had an affair. A child has been born from it. She cursed it. We need to find the child, kill it and because of the curse and the blood that flows through it, the spell will be lifted from you."



“I believe you” he said, he turned his back towards her. “But that doesn’t make me forgive her for using you as a shield to save her own worthless hide. One day I will make her pay for that. God or not”



"That is what you are upset about?” She walked toward him. "Christian, Chris. I would have done it had she not grabbed me. I wanted the fight to stop. She almost killed you. I begged her to have mercy on you. I did not want to lose or see you hurt."



“I would have killed you if you did”



She reached up and touched his shoulder. "Death is just another part of life. I know you would not harm me on purpose. But the fight did not have to happen, if only both of you would just have listened."



He changed back to his human form, letting the moon light shine on his naked body. “You are too wise for your own good”



She couldn’t help but let her eyes roam him. "I\'m a shaman, being wise is part of the job."



His eyes were looking at the ground before him, he said nothing and he let the gentle breeze tug gently at his hair.



"What is wrong? Be honest. I cannot help unless you tell me what you want of me? "



“I cannot tell you, I am afraid of what might happen if I do”



"Haursi says you have feelings for me. Is that what is bothering you? Because of the beast?"



“No” he said faster than usual, it was a lie of course. It would be better if she didn’t know.



"Oh. I\'m not afraid of you or the beast, Christian. I\'ll leave you to your thoughts." She kissed his cheek, looked at him and turned, heading back to the house.



He smiled at her, rubbing this cheek where she had just kissed with his hand. It gave him an inner calmness he had never experienced before, even before the curse. He would let her go, even if she could have some remote feelings for him, the risk was too great. He would never be able to kiss her or anything else for that matter.



Walking into the house, she saw Haursi was gone, probably of to visit the barmaid again. She gathered what she needed for supper and began preparing it, sitting at the table. Why couldn’t he just admit he liked her, she liked him, no, she was in love with him. She sighed; perhaps she should just tell him. She hung the pot and then just sat and stared into the fire. Life had gotten complicated.



Christian had decided to stay in the forest the remainder of the time they spent here. He had to lessen the time he spent with her.