Page 18 of Viktor at Sea

“From you,Captain? No,thank you,” Astrid emphasised on the pleasantries she so graciously added. “Happy?” she asked, turning to her parents. Only one was amused.

“A little better, thank you, my dear daughter,” Daewon replied, unable to keep the grin from his face, even when he wiped a hand over his mouth.

“You can’t seriously accept that,” Katarina pursed her lips, lightly chastising her husband. I chuckled and helped myself to some more roasted turnips, taking advantage of the momentary distraction.

“How long were you at sea again?” Dustin asked me.

“Nearly three months. Just two days short, I believe,” I answered, my voice drawing the attention of the two older Skaus, pausing their playful argument over their daughter’s distaste for me.

“I have to admit, we were placing bets on how long it would take for The Serpent to dock once again at the shore,” Freja smiled warmly at me, reaching for a turkey leg. “I, personally, believed you would have finished a week early.”

“I’m grateful for your belief in me, Freja, and I’m sorry for any money you may have lost,” I chucked, returning her warm smile. “Next time I go away, I’ll try to overestimate by a week, so maybe you’ll be able to make your money back.”

“We’re very grateful for the inside information,” Dustin grinned, and I could practically see him mentally noting this little titbit of information.

“I hope you didn’t come across any pirates on your travels this time,” Daewon chuckled, though his tone was laced with concern.

“We didn’t have that pleasure, no. Thank God,” I chuckled. “It surely would have extended our journey if we had, and I’m sure that we would have lost the good people of Jorvik even more bounty.”

“If that were to have happened, we would have sent you back before The Serpent even got a chance to dock,” Daewon joked.

“Gustav’s mother, Grace, would never have allowed it,” Katarina said. “She’d been worried sick over him before he even left. She was counting down the days from the moment The Serpent left the shore. I remember feeling the same way every time Daewon would leave for a mission…” Katarina continued speaking, but I struggled to keep up.

My eyes caught Astrid’s, surprised that she was already watching me. While I was used to people hanging off my every word while I narrated stories from the deep, beautiful blue of the sea, I had never been able to capture Astrid’s attention. At least not in the way I wanted, deep down.

This was a first.

“What’s it like?” Astrid asked, holding my eyes. “The sea.”

“Beautiful,” I murmured lowly, describing her more than I was describing the sea. The sea was beautiful, but it had nothing on Astrid.

“Doesn’t the constant bobbing up and down of the ship make you feel sick?” She asked quietly, her eyes still not wavering from mine.

“You get used to it. Sea legs,” I answered. “I know this might surprise you, Astrid, but the sea can be rather calming.Especially when you’re on a ship as grand as The Serpent and have nothing but hundreds of miles of sea surrounding you from all around.”

“I’ll just have to take your word for it.” Her nose scrunched up at the bridge, never having been a big fan of the water.

Kis chose that moment to make her presence known by meowing loudly and brushing past Dustin and Freja, lingering when the latter reached out and stroked her magnificent, dark fur.

“Kis would make for a fine sea cat someday,” Daewon joked as the cat meowed again and rounded the table, looking for her owner.

“That’s not funny,” Astrid tutted. “Kis would rather drown than go to sea.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Dustin laughed.

“It’s all the same to Kis,” Astrid explained, and I watched as she casually reached for a piece of turkey off her plate and reached under the table. When Katarina realised what her daughter was doing, she patted Astrid’s hand in chastisement. It was a little counterintuitive as the piece of meat was knocked out of her hand and ended up in Kis’ clutches anyway. The cat quickly licked it up before it could be taken away from her.

“Astrid,” Katarina groaned. “What have I told you about feeding Kis under the table?”

“Not to,” Astrid grumbled, and despite her sullen tone, she tried to sneak another piece of meat off her plate. Katarina was much faster this time, and when she slapped the back of her daughter’s hand, the piece of turkey fell back onto her plate.

“Okay, that’s it,” Katarina announced with a grumble. “Kis is not allowed at the table when we’re eating. It’s unhygienic, and she has to leave. Right now.”

“But Mother,” Astrid began to whine, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut when her mother sent her a sharp look.This couldn’t be the first time Astrid had fed the creature scraps from her plate.

We all laughed at Kis’ meows of disapproval as Katarina shooed her away.

Astrid huffed and reached for some potatoes. I would have laughed if she didn’t look so annoyed at Kis being dismissed from the table. Instead, I came up with a plan to lift her spirits.

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