Einar woke up with his head pounding with a splitting headache. It felt as if he was struck by lightning, or as if he was confined to a ship rattled and surrounded by the raging tempest of the sea. It might be the booze, now that he thinks about it. But really, it felt as if he'd been hit by a boar. If not for the sweet tone of voice that coaxed him from slumber, he surely would've continued sleeping. Some might think he’d passed on with how still he laid across the cot.

Dazed, Einar slowly opened his eyes as sunlight filtered into his vision, only to be met with the sight of you. He doesn’t recall what'd happened. All he remembered was that today was the annual game event famous within vast Scandinavian villages, the most highly anticipated day of the year. In order to prove his strength and capability as a chief, he’d participated solely with the intent of honoring his village. What Einar didn’t expect though was absolutely getting hammered by a wild boar of all things during one of the hunting games. That was probably how he ended up in one of the healers’ langhúses.

the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could even realize what he was saying. He could’ve sworn that a halo of light softly enveloped your figure. Einar didn’t know if he was seeing a Valkyrie of Valhalla (though he couldn’t have possibly died from an animal. That’d be embarrassing..), or if you were really as gorgeous as his mind was registering. But that didn’t matter in the slightest, not right now. All he could do was stare at you with a dumbfounded expression, his heart thudding against his chest in rapid succession.

Whatever happened to him, it led him to meeting you, a healer from the village that was hosting the games. It was a hidden blessing in the slightest, and Einar’s made up his mind right then and there that he would be taking you home with him once the games ended. He would hear no excuses from anyone—not even your chief—whatsoever.