Nordic Fairies (Novella series)

  Trym wasn’t her uncle, but until she reunited with Viggo he still decided what she was allowed to do.

  “But what if there is a party after?” Sarah asked. “Could we go?”

  “No.” Trym eased the rejection with a smile. “I need you to come straight back to the hotel.”

  “But what if we get to meet Viggo Storm in person?” Sarah insisted.

  Svala bit her tongue and evaded Trym’s worried gaze.

  “Then definitely no,” he said.

  Sarah’s smile grew stiff, as if she tried to pretend she wasn’t disappointed. Trym was usually more easygoing than the other parents; he didn’t give them a hard time for coming home late or going to parties. That was only because he didn’t think of Svala as a teenage girl and sometimes forgot her friends were.

  Svala glanced out over the New York skyline when the cab closed in. The city held so many memories, good and bad. This was where she and Viggo first arrived when they moved to the States during World War I, and where she’d lived most of her lives. If Viggo expected her to seek him out, he’d know this was where she’d come looking for him.

  ***

  They stayed at Park Hyatt in the balcony suite. Trym said it would make the pretense of a prize more credible if anyone was paying attention. Svala was unsure if by anyone he meant anyone from the High Council or the Döckálfar community but knew better than to ask if Trym didn’t provide the information on his own.

  When the other girls unpacked in their rooms, Trym took Svala aside. “Are you sure you can handle this?” he asked. ”You don’t seem focused.”

  Her mood shifted the moment they entered the city and she wasn’t very good at hiding it.

  “You need to find out what’s going on. And you don’t approach him unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  “I know what to do.” Her response came out more annoyed than she intended.

  Trym leaned closer and lowered his voice. “If he's only trying to meet you, you have to be stronger. You have to walk away. If the Döckálfar is using him as bait to have you break the rules you might never get to see him again. You understand that, don’t you?”

  “You don’t have to keep telling me. I know.”

  Trym stepped back, crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I know you do, but I don’t think you know what it actually means. If he’s been compromised by the Döckálfar, and if we don’t handle this right, we might not only lose him, we might lose him to them. I don’t think the balance would ever be restored.”

  “I know. Why do you think I’m so nervous? What if I’m not strong enough to resist him and we...” She closed her eyes.

  “Just try to remember what’s at stake. Never let that thought out of your head. Because you will lose him forever if you break the rules, there is no question about it. Especially not after what the two of you did.”

  Svala held her arms crossed over her chest, her lips in a tight line, her shoulders drawn up. A light tap on the door interrupted their conversation. It was Jen.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” Her gaze flickered between the two of them.

  Svala relaxed her shoulders and smiled at her friend, trying to prevent all of her fears from mirroring in her eyes. She had hundreds of years of practice trying to pretend she was a normal teenager. This should not be so difficult.

  Chapter 3

  With time to spare before the premiere, Svala and her friends headed out for a day in New York. After two hours of shopping, followed by a stroll down Broadway, they ended up at Dean & DeLuca. Svala ordered a tall Cappuccino and a chocolate-chip cookie, then took the seat next to Sarah by the window. Outside, people hurried past with their suit cases and Starbucks cups, missing the whole point of living. It always surprised her with how little time they had to live their lives.

  While she listened to her friends’ expectations on the upcoming evening, Svala watched a middle aged lady in a red coat rush down the street. The woman’s hair was short and blonde and the tight fitting coat with a matching belt and large black buttons made her stand out in the crowd. She thought of her. She could be one of the people walking by, and Svala wouldn’t even know it. Life could be so cruel.

  “I wonder how close we can get to him.” Jen pushed her long brown hair from her face.

  The lady outside answered her cell phone as she crossed the street, then disappeared down the stairs to the subway station.

  Sarah placed her blue cup on the black table and pursed her freshly glossed lips together. Her short bob hair cut framed her slender face and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement. “What if...” She bit her lip with a concentrated frown. “What if I tripped and fell on him. Then he’d have to catch me and fall desperately in love with me.” She met the others’ doubtful expressions. “That could happen.”

  “How could that happen?” Jen’s tone of voice indicated Sarah was in fact an idiot.

  Svala stayed silent through her friends conversation, and her thoughts drifted to the last time she had been with Viggo, two years ago. At the time, she appeared to be twenty years old, but in reality she was closer to nine hundred. Three weeks earlier they’d reunited after they'd finished a six year long assignment. Usually, their time apart was much shorter. At one time, it had taken only three months to get back together, though normally it took between one to three years. Six years was a long time to wait to be with the one you loved and three weeks not nearly enough to satisfy their need.

  This time, Svala moved to Viggo’s life. He lived in Los Angles during their six years apart, finishing his Masters Degree in Economics. Svala spent her six years working with environmental issues in the Antarctic, and didn’t mind moving from the cold to sunny Los Angeles to be with the man she loved.

  She remembered that last morning together when Viggo stepped out from the large tiled shower in their Hollywood mansion. Steam filled the room along with a fresh scent of shampoo and soap.

  Svala stood by the sink, finished brushing her teeth and met Viggo’s gaze in the foggy mirror in front of her. He held her gaze and reached for a white cotton towel, perfectly folded on a shelf beside the shower. He ran it swiftly over his face and hair before he wrapped it around his waist.

  “Do you want to get married this time?” he asked.

  Svala placed her electric toothbrush on the white marble sink, then met his reflection in the mirror again and smiled. His eyes shifted to a lighter shade of blue and his smile warmed her heart.

  “What?” he asked amused.

  Water dripped from his hair onto his shoulder. She admired the view, completely content just to have him there.

  “Nothing.”

  Viggo walked up and wrapped his strong arms around her small frame. The back of her thin silk robe, turquoise with a Japanese print, clung to his wet chest. Svala closed her eyes as his lips pressed against her neck and his hands slid in underneath her robe.

  “I love you,” he whispered and inhaled her scent in one sharp breath.

  She leaned her head against his shoulder and his unshaven cheek brushed against her smooth skin. He kissed the tip of her nose and placed a hand on her hip. She turned, tip toed, and circled his neck with both arms, locking her hands in place behind his head. The movement made her robe slide slightly ajar and Viggo glanced down with a shy smile. “I think I’m going to have to stay home today after all.”

  She chuckled and he pulled her closer. His body was firm, the hair in the back of his neck still wet, dripping onto her hands.

  “You’ve been away from work for almost three weeks. If you don’t go back soon, they might fire you.”

  He nodded and rested his forehead against hers. “I know, it’s just... Six years is a long time.” Clasping her face in both hands, he tilted her head back. “I’m terrified they’ll make us start over too soon.”

  She released her hands from behind his neck to caress his face. His bristles scraped against her hand. “I’m sure they’ll give us enough time to compensate. We
’ve learned our lesson.”

  He pulled her into a kiss. Soft yet determined, his tongue found hers. She kissed him back, and allowed him to push her against the sink. She didn’t want him to leave either, but they had to live their lives like normal people now. They had to be responsible.

  She placed a hand on his chest and broke the kiss. He eased back and tucked away a blonde string of hair from her face. In this life, she had cut her hair just above her shoulders.

  “Promise we’ll still be here in the end of the day.” he said.

  She stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “I promise.”

  He lingered on her lips, then pulled away and turned to the sink. Svala tied her robe, catching him watching her with a shy smile. She tip toed to give him a last kiss then walked toward the door that lead out to the master bedroom.

  “You never answered my question,” Viggo said

  She turned and met his gaze. “What question?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  She smiled and met his beautiful eyes. “Of course, honey. Always.”

  “Aren’t you going to eat that?”

  Svala snapped out of her day dreaming as Jen pointed at the chocolate chip cookie on her plate. Svala held her Cappuccino clutched in both hands on the table, the cup full, the content lukewarm. She released the cup and pushed the cookie toward Jen. “No, go ahead.”

  Jen shook her head. “Uh-uh. I need to look gorgeous in my new dress tonight. There is simply no room for dessert.”

  Svala consulted her watch. Four hours until the premiere. Her heart skipped a beat.

  “We should head back to the hotel, get some rest.” Sarah collected her shopping bags under the table.

  Jen glanced at the clock on the wall. “Yeah, we should get some sleep. There is only so much make-up can accomplish.”

  Out in the street a warm wind swept past her. Steam poured out from under the ground and dissolved in the sky. The humid air mixed with exhaust made it difficult to breathe.

  The sun had come out from behind the clouds so the girls took off their summer jackets and tucked them into their shopping bags. After a short debate whether or not they had time for more shopping they agreed it was better to go back to the hotel and relax.

  Svala lingered at the end of the group. With hours to spare, she had time to do something she’d been itching to do ever since they arrived in New York. The girls walked along Broadway Street and Svala followed behind for a few minutes before she made up her mind, and stopped.

  “Listen guys, you go ahead back to the hotel. I have something I need to do.”

  The girls stopped short in the middle of the crowded sidewalk. Sarah’s brows shot up, and the other two girls mirrored her expression. Svala wanted to kick herself for being so impatient. She should have waited and snuck out when they didn’t notice.

  “What?” Megan asked when Svala didn’t elaborate.

  Lying had never been her strong suit so she told them the truth, thinking they wouldn’t be interested in coming along anyway. “I found this shop on the internet. I wanted to check it out.”

  “What kind of shop?”

  “It’s a shop that sells gemstones. You don’t have to come with me. Go back. Get your beauty sleep. I don’t mind going on my own.”

  “Gemstones?” Sarah frowned as if Svala’d suggested they’d go and buy drugs.

  Svala hid her annoyance over the condescending tone in Sarah’s voice with a smile. “Yeah.” She shrugged, like she realized it was a stupid thing to take an interest in. “But seriously, you don’t have to come with me.”

  Jen consulted her wristwatch. “We still have a couple of hours. You shouldn’t have to go alone.” She looked at the others.

  “Of course. We’ll come with you.” Sarah agreed.

  The silver bell at the top of the door chimed when the four girls entered the small shop in Brooklyn. A comforting scent of incense met them inside. Svala’s friends inspected the place with forced smiles, their discomfort shining through.

  Along one of the walls stood a long table with small wooden boxes filled to the brim with different gemstones. A large round table was placed in the middle of the room. It held similar boxes filled with silver ornaments. Necklaces and earrings hung from tiny wooden constructions that resembled miniature leafless trees.

  The middle-aged woman behind the register read from a thick leader bound book when the girls came inside. At the sight of costumers, she removed a pair of black-framed reading glasses, and closed her book. “Welcome. Please let me know if you need any help.”

  Svala nodded a silent thanks, willed herself to focus her attention elsewhere, and went over to the display by the window. The woman placed her book on the counter, and studied Svala.

  Fairies remembered everything from every life they lived, but the people in their lives didn’t always. To them, it was sometimes as if they’d never existed. And if they did remember them, they could never be recognized. Even so, the woman kept studying Svala, like she was trying to place her.

  Svala walked over to the gemstones by the window and focused on breathing calm. Her hands trembled. This had been a bad idea from the start.

  Her friends remained quiet. They walked over to the table with the silver necklaces, pretending to take an interest. Svala ignored their silent ridicule as they picked up a pair of earrings and exchanged looks of amusement. In a way, it was a good thing they came along. It prevented Svala from initiating contact.

  A bright amber necklace caught Svala’s eye. The sun outside the window reflected against the necklace’s heart and made it glimmer in a familiar way. Svala reached out and ran her finger over the smooth surface. As a child, she thought amber the prettiest thing in the world. Her mother had a necklace made of this particular gemstone, though much smaller.

  She removed the jewelry from the stand and let it weigh in her hand. “How much for this?”

  The woman walked out from behind the register. Her heels clicked against the wooden floor and the heavy set of necklaces around her neck clattered to the beat of her heals.

  “There is something special about amber, isn’t there?” The woman’s blue eyes lit up. She had been stunning in her younger days, and still had an elegant charm about her. The lines on her face and the streaks of grey in her blonde hair only emphasized her beauty.

  “It’s always been my favorite,” Svala said.

  Their eyes met, and the woman tilted her head to the side. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you aren’t one of those teen celebrities, are you?” Her smile grew hesitant.

  Svala bit her lower lip. Her friends caught the odd question and listened in.

  “No.” Svala shook her head.

  The woman kept observing her, obviously not convinced. “It’s so strange, I could have sworn I’d seen you somewhere. Are you from around here?”

  “No.”

  A moment of silence passed, their eyes met again. Svala examined the necklace mostly to focus on something other than the woman’s eyes and the urge to throw her arms around her. She wanted to tell her how much she missed her and how sorry she was for the life she had to live because of them.

  “I’ll take this.” She closed her hand around the amber stone.

  The woman studied her a while longer. “Good choice,” she said, then walked across the room toward the register.

  Svala’s friends eyed each other as she followed the woman, necklace in hand. The woman reached under the counter and retrieved a small paper box. She placed the box on the counter, paused again and shook her head. “Don’t you just hate it when you can’t place people? You’re the second one today.”

  A chill went through Svala.

  “The last one was a boy, a very handsome boy. Must have thought I was checking him out the way I stared at him, trying to place him. He bought an amber necklace too. Isn’t that funny?” She reached for Svala’s hand gripping the necklace.

  Svala couldn’t move.
>
  “The necklace, dear.”

  Svala reached out and handed her the gemstone.

  The woman let the necklace fall into a paper box. “That’s why I asked you if you were a celebrity. Turned out, he was some big movie star. I’d probably seen his face on TV. Now, what was his name again?” She gazed up at the ceiling trying to remember, but fell short, and turned toward a door in the back. “Emma, what was the name of the boy who came in before, the movie star?”

  A girl appeared in the doorway. “Is he back?” She scanned the shop, eyes large with expectation.

  The girl’s raven black hair contrasted her eyes, an unnatural shade of blue, like the sky on a clear summer day. Svala couldn’t tear her eyes off her.

  “No sweetie, he’s not back. What was his name?”

  “Mom!” Emma rolled her eyes. “I told you, it was Viggo Storm.”

  Chapter 4

  “Viggo Storm was here?” Sarah approached the register, the other two girls in tow.

  “Yeah, like an hour ago.” Emma beamed.

  Svala couldn’t breathe. She shouldn’t be this surprised to find out. After all, she was here too, wasn’t she?

  “How was he?” Megan inspected the shop like she hoped he was still hiding out in there.

  “Oh, he was ever so charming,” the woman said. “Kind hearted. Not at all like I would imagine a big movie star. He seemed almost modest. And he was very interested in the neighborhood and this shop. He knew a lot about gemstones too, about their origins. Did you know for instance that amber was once used in folk medicine and thought to have healing powers?”

  “He told me I was beautiful. That I reminded him of someone he knew.” Emma burst with pride. “Didn’t he mom?”

  The woman smiled at her daughter, and nodded.

  “Did he say anything else?” Svala asked, hoping he’d left some kind of message for her.

  “Well, he did say something strange. Before he left, he told me to take good care of my loved ones when they needed me and then...” She trailed out like she doubted her own memory. “Then he told me to trust my heart to do the right thing.” She frowned, then smiled. “I thought that a bit odd, don’t you?”