Hex: #de4f0c
When the woman requested Freya’s name, she didn’t answer at first. She didn’t see the point in giving her name. Especially when having her find out just who exactly she was would come soon enough. But, somewhere in the silence, she said, quietly. ”Freya.” Then, a little louder. ”My name is Freya.”
The rest of the walk was done in silence. At least, until the camp was in view. Then the woman had asked about her mother tongue. ”A Kett speaking my mother tongue is rare and often suspicious. The chief won’t have your head impaled on a stick for it, but I would be cautious about when you use it.” She wasn’t entirely sure why she decided to warn the woman. Although, the worst her father would really do to a young, Kett woman who randomly spoke their language was probably toss her in the interrogation tent and question her… Which is probably what he’s going to do anyway. She thought, tracing an engraved symbol with her thumb.
She looked more closely at the symbols and recognized all but one. They were symbols of the gods. They were etched in a circle with the unknown symbol in the center. Something tickled in the back of her mind telling her she had seen this symbol before. But, like the woman’s name, she just couldn’t place it.
They were walking through the outer rim of the camp, the hunters--seeing their princess with rabbits on her belt-- smiled and started to approach...when they saw a Kett woman behind her. Freya smiled stiffly at them and removed the rabbits from her belt. She wordlessly handed them over before continuing through camp to the center where her father was working on preparations for the celebration.
As the walked, her people saw her and smiled, but stopped and stared when they saw the woman. Freya began to feel a little guilty for the way her people openly gaped, but it’s rare that a Kett woman is seen in our camp. And even rarer that she’s escorted by the princess and not roped. There were two reasons for this. The first is that the woman was in no way a threat to Freya. The second is that Freya had only scraps of rope for the animals. She could tie the pieces together but it would waste what little rope she carried. Then we go back to the first reason being that she’s no threat.
She saw her father, a tall, dark haired tribal male with tattoos covering his chest, arms, and back. Each held meaning for him. Some were men lost in battle. One was for her mother who died from a sickness when Freya was only a child. One for the brother she lost in a battle against the Kerotoah tribe from far to the east who were trying to gain more land. Other tattoos were marks from his life. A tattoo for his first kill. One for his first battle. A marriage tattoo to her mother--the only woman he had ever loved. One when he became chief. And even one for when he became a father to her and her brother.
Now her father was turned to her, shirtless and powerful in the sun as he sweat through the preparations. He was helping raise bigger tents on the other side of camp--not in the center where she thought he was. More tribes would be coming to celebrate since they were celebrating their tribe’s birth from the sea of their people. Their people were going to come celebrate them as they had done for their fellow tribes.
She gave a small, mischievous smile to her father, telling him to play along as she said, in common, ”Chief Tonas.” She kneeled like a soldier before him, hoping the woman would do the same and potentially dirty her dress. Because mischief. Her father didn’t make her people bow to them. They could if they wanted to and while most of the soldiers did, he knew the others had just as much respect for him. When she rose, she said, ”This Kett woman was caught in the forest. I have brought her here to you.”
Her father smirked. ”Freya, he said in Tezarran, ”She is harmless. Why bring her?” In common, Freya replied, ”Because she had been carrying this.” She handed over the journal and pulled a few of the knives from her pouch. ”And these.” Then in Tezarran, ”Though I doubt she knows how to use them. They’re shiney presents from her noble father.”
The chief took the tome and looked over it. His shoulders tensing as he examined it. ”How is it you came by this?” He asked Ellya in common after seeing the symbols and his language written on the pages. ”Who are you?”