With a shriek Catriona scrambled out of the loch. “We'll be late for the evening feast if we don’t hurry.” 

Grumbling and mumbling the seven men swam to the shore and scrambled out as well. They walked the short distance to where their horses had been tethered. The ride back to the castle had helped them dry off, but only just enough to avoid large pools of water to form at their feet as they were confronted at the entrance by Olaf’s parents. Jarl Asmund glared at the men and tsked while Lady Ádísa, with all her motherly concern, talked their ears off for risking a fever. And of course the seven men were spoken to at length about the impropriety of dragging a girl into their antics as well. 

While Lady Ádísa was distracted, Catriona snuck off to the safety of her room. “My Lady” Ella gasped as she saw Catriona. 

“How am I going to clean up this ... mess ... before the feast? Hurry… hurry my Lady, get out of those wet clothes!” 

She ran to the table and grabbed a towel and scurried back to Catriona. She dragged a stool with her and pointed at it indicating that she rest her wet behind on it. Then she began attacking the mess that was Catriona’s hair – all wet and wild from the swim and the ride. After she had reasonably dried out the red curls, she began to untangle and separate into several segments, each secured with a pin. When she was done, she grabbed Catriona by her hand and led her to the bed where she had laid out three of the fanciest dresses Olaf had bought her. 

Catriona closed her eyes and began chanting “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe ... That one”. She opened her eyes to find herself pointing to a rather lavish white dress. She scrunched her face at the choice. It’s an evening feast, not a wedding. And considering the richness of that dress, it could easily have been taken as a wedding gown. 

“Fine way to choose my Lady, but I think this one suits ye better.” Ella said as she lifted a dress. Catriona smiled, it certainly was a lovely dress. The entire gown was a soft shade of gold that got richer and took on hues of soft copper as it got closer to the hem line. Down the front and half-way through the sleeves, the dress was inlaid with intricate black lace. 

Catriona slipped out of her wet clothes, and with Ella’s help she got into her underclothes and the gown. She sat back on the stool slipping on her shoes. Ella rubbed Argan oil into Catriona’s curls, giving them an instant shine and bounce while settling the frizz. She combed each section thoroughly. She made tiny braids at Catriona’s temples, gathering more hair as she moved the braids towards the back of Catriona’s head. She adorned the braids with little pins mounted with tiny flowers. The rest of Catriona’s hair was left open, allowing the natural curls to fall gently over her shoulders and down to her waist. 

Ella then plucked a few stray strands of hair from Catriona’s eyebrows before lining her eyes with kohl. She applied a generous amount of lip color made from crushed red berries and beeswax. She dabbed a tiny amount of apple and cinnamon oil on Catriona’s neck and wrists before showing Catriona a stained reflecting glass. Catriona grinned and thanked Ella before leaving her chambers. 

As she made her way to the staircase, a rough hand slipped around her waist and pulled her into a dark corner. She turned around quickly intending to confront her attacker. Instead, she met Olaf’s beaming face. 

He gently pushed her against the wall before pressing into her. “Ye looked beautiful at breakfast.” He whispered in her ear. He inhaled the familiar apple and cinnamon scent she enjoyed wearing and then exhaled. 

His warm breath tickled her neck... gentle butterflies fluttering against her skin sending shivers down her back in a most pleasant way. Olaf took her by her hand, stepped back and then spun her around, looking appreciatively at her form in the gold dress. As she came full circle to face him, he whispered at the corner of her mouth “Ye looking absolutely ravishing tonight.” 

And then he kissed her. 

Softly first, just a gentle touch with his lips, breaths mixing, hearts fluttering. Noses rubbed and their heads danced ever so slowly as lips opened and closed but didn’t touch. Fingers intertwined and Catriona found herself leaning closer into him. Olaf growled and kissed her deeply. 

By the time he was done sucking and nibbling on her lips, the color Ella had smudged on earlier, had worn off completely and Catriona’s lips looked naturally swollen and red. “Ah prefer this shade on your lips” he said, slowly running his thumb over her lips. 

Catriona couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move, and she couldn’t open her eyes. She just stood there breathlessly, waiting for the magic to start all over again. A cough from the hall had Olaf and Catriona separating in a hurry. She smoothed down the front of her dress as Olaf ran his fingers through his hair. 

Smiling sheepishly, they left the privacy of the shadows. As they stepped back into the hall they began giggling like teenagers. Kieran locked arms with Catriona on her left, smiling, and pretending to not have caught them in their private moment. Olaf slid his arm in hers and the three walked towards the longhall chatting gleefully.  

As always, the hall had been beautifully decorated. Warm fires burned inside and outside in an array of displays, their soft glow adding an enchanting aura to the festivities. Strings of flowers hung from every doorway and window in a breathtaking jumble of colors and scents. Where the floor lay bare of furs, herbs had been laid – a warm spicy addition to the sweet scent of the flowers. 

Thralls walked around the room carrying trays of food and ale. They stopped frequently to feed and entertain guests present in the hall. The younger men could be seen patting bottoms as they sashayed past. Older men stood in groups of 3’s or 4’s discussing politics, religion and such. Women huddled together gossiping. The noise of their chatter and the booming laughter of men carried out the hall. 

As the trio stepped in, Klaufi jumped where he stood, waving his hand in the air trying to grab their attention. Kieran waved back in acknowledgement and guided Catriona and Olaf to Klaufi. Hugs, pats and compliments were passed around. Catriona blushed with all the attention she was getting tonight. Being a genteel lady certainly had its merits she thought. Aggi and Bjorn caught up with the group, each dressed in their finest. 

Purposely, Bjorn walked up behind Catriona. He threw his arms around her neck and rested his chin on her shoulder, giving the seething Olaf a wink. Everyone laughed as Olaf grunted. “Mine” he said with a low growl, pulling Catriona away from his teasing sibling. 

Just as Bjorn attempted to snatch Catriona from Olaf again, Klaufi jabbed the brothers in their ribs. Simultaneous “Ows” were let out before they looked at the offending fingers. Klaufi waggled his eyebrows and pointed to Kieran. All eyes turned towards the man.

He stood there quiet, jaw hanging open, eyes wide as if in a trance. Catriona, Olaf, Aggi, and Bjorn turned to see what had caught Kieran’s attention such. At the entrance of the hall stood a beautiful woman. She was tall and slender. Her eyes were the brightest blue they had ever seen. The reflection of the fire danced in gold and yellows flakes within her blue rises. She wore a white gown, overlaid with pastel blue satin which gathered at the front in frills and pulled up to her waist. Her soft copper-ish hair was pulled up revealing her slender long neck around which, rested a silver necklace from which dangled several sapphires. Long dangly hooped earrings hung from her ears, each sporting matching sapphires. 

“'n' that is ...” Catriona whispered. 

“Kára. She's our sister. Younger to ye by four winters.” 

“'n' this is the one Olaf had intended for Kieran?” 

Klaufi nodded grinning. “Doesn’t matter though. The boy is whipped and he’s not even met her yet.”