The Ice People 12 - Yearning. Margit Sandemo

on my feet.

      All these wise, sensible people who know so much about the Ice People’s evil legacy have managed to keep us apart.What do they know of feverish passion running in a person’s blood? A fever due to an intense yearning to be close to the one you love?

      Now Dominic has let go of my hand, something he should have done much sooner but we both hesitated. I must move away from him now. Turn around and say something mundane. Please, body, obey me! All senses: obey me!’

      A swift change of topic. “Oh, Lene, is this your fiancé over there?”

      Lene radiated like the sun. She was energetic, self-composed and very intelligent. Good to have as a friend, straightforward and reliable. Not an overpowering beauty, but certainly charming.

      “Yes, this is Örjan,” she smiled. “Do come and meet him, and here are his parents.”

      Örjan Stege was not at all like Villemo had imagined. He wasn’t particularly good looking, he was somewhat nondescript actually. But she knew that love had nothing to do with appearance. Love looks for something indefinable, something which Lene had clearly encountered with Örjan. Something that suited her specifically and which she found irresistibly attractive. It could be a small thing, an inner quality, a liking or attraction between just these two, which nobody else could see.

      Villemo had certainly learned a lot when at the age of seventeen she fell head over heels in love with Eldar Black Forest’s sensuous good looks.

      In spite of her first encounter with Lene’s future husband, she could see how you could come to like this man, even if he appeared slightly boring. He inspired confidence in people, somebody you could trust and feel safe with. Once again, Villemo marvelled at how often people who looked alike sought one another. As a matter of fact, Lene and Örjan resembled each other both in terms of appearance and personality. They seemed very happy together.Villemo felt a tug at her heart and she sought Dominic’s gaze, which was easy. While the others cackled and talked so that it was impossible to hear anything, Villemo and Dominic showed their feelings for each other unconditionally.

      The letters, which had become increasingly passionate, had only strengthened what should have died out quietly. A discreet cough from Irmelin made them wake up. But defiance arose once more in Villemo.

      ‘I must have him. Not now. I promised my parents just as he promised his parents. For the time being, the only thing I have to look forward to is the big hug I’ll give him when we say goodbye. In everybody’s presence I’ll embrace him and hold him close for a short second and give him all my love. That is all I have to look forward to. I can’t think further into the future.’

      Despite the omen of war, the wedding was lavish and lasted for three days. Three happy days at Gabrielshus where everybody put aside their worries and simply enjoyed being together with the rest of the clan.

      But there were four who couldn’t ignore their problems because they had to face them all the time. Although they tried to avoid each other, each of the four young people were painfully aware that the object of their hopeless dreams lived under the same roof as they themselves did, and that it was merely a question of time before one of them would give up the struggle to respect the ban.

      On the second day of the wedding, 1 June, the Danish and Swedish navy met at the Sound in a crushing battle at sea. Crushing for the Swedes, that is. They lost 11 ships, including the flagship “Stora Kronan,” with 130 cannons. 4,200 men perished. Very little was left of the proud Swedish fleet, so the decisive battle would have to be fought on land, that is to say, in Scania.

      However, it took a while before this news reached Denmark. The wedding celebrations at Gabrielshus continued because nobody wanted to leave now that the clan was finally gathered. The Ice People had always had a particularly deep sense of kinship, which meant that any member who got separated from the rest of the clan felt helpless and abandoned. Mikael was probably the one who had felt this the most.

      Only the Steges left and went back home to Scania with the young bride. Lene left her childhood home for good, heading towards the old Danish province, which had now become enemy territory.

      They had all noticed and feared a new despair in Irmelin. So they kept an eye on Niklas who seemed to be brewing over something in his mind. Most of all, Andreas and Eli wanted to return with the boy and Hilde was all worked up because it wasn’t possible to travel back with Irmelin at that point.

      This was why nobody took particular notice of Villemo and Dominic. One day the inevitable occurred. They met alone on the roof of Gabrielshus, inside the parapet, which was a relic from the time when the farm was forced to defend itself from attacking enemies.

      Their meeting wasn’t deliberate. In fact, they had been very careful to avoid each other. But now their flight had led them in the same direction. A light summer breeze whistled between the stones of the parapet. Otherwise not a sound could be heard.

      Chapter 2

      “You’re here?” Villemo asked breathlessly.

      “Yes. I wanted to get some fresh air. It often helps.”

      “That’s also what I thought. Maybe I’d better go downstairs again?”

      “No, wait. Surely we can talk like two civilised people without ...”

      “Without touching one another you mean?”

      “Yes, that was exactly what I was thinking.”

      She gazed at his long, beautiful hands that touched the parapet in a wonderfully sensuous way. Then again, this was how Dominic had always been; he was sensuous by nature, but it wasn’t something you noticed immediately because he was so masculine. Villemo had been both attracted and repulsed by his strong sensuality, fighting aggressively against it by throwing childish tantrums. His erotic charm made it far too difficult to be natural. She was trembling.

      “I’ve just talked to Niklas,” Dominic said slowly. “He’s worried about Irmelin. She’s prepared to give up everything.”

      ”What do you mean? Give up?”

      Dominic looked up and gazed at her with his golden eyes through thick, black eyelashes. “Commit suicide.”

      Villemo gave a start. “That would be a tragedy, but I can well understand her.”

      “Have you also considered doing that?”

      “Yes, many times. Only I think it’s a shame to deprive the world of such a remarkable person as me.”

      He smiled and she noticed that he was looking hollow-eyed. She realised that things hadn’t been so easy for him either.

      “What about yourself?” she blurted. She was so agitated that she couldn’t breathe.

      Dominic watched a little bird in its flight down towards the garden. “Of course, the thought has crossed my mind. However, I share your thoughts. You need to think of the people that are closest to you. Besides, you and I and Niklas have something strange that binds us to this life, which Irmelin doesn’t. That is why she’s in a much weaker position. We must take good care of her.”

      “Yes. I’ll talk to her.”

      The wind blew her hair in her face, and she pushed it back. Dominic stood apart from her and watched her every movement.

      “Have you ... found somebody else?” he said in a low voice.

      “No. My parents are beginning, bit by bit, to drop hints about some suitable young man or other. They’re so sweet and discreet and only want the best for us, but they’re powerless.”

      “Just as powerless as you and I.”

      “Have you found somebody?”

      It hurt to ask. The mere thought of him together with another woman. But she needed to know. She clenched her hands in anxiety.

      “No, how would I be able to? Once Villemo has left an indelible impression on you, you have eyes for nobody else.”