Early morning of this day, by prearrangement of her half-brother Brand Ketilsson, the infant she now held was brought to her. Born a day or two before, Bere assumed it was one marked for death by exposure. The child was born, in all probability, to a family too large to feed yet another mouth, to a thrall (the owner demanding its death), the weaker of twins, or any number of reasons. This oft-practiced and lawful custom was the way of her people, the Norse. It simply was a part of the life all in the area were born to.
The babe, a boy, round eyes now wide open, eagerly took into his mouth Bere's little fingertip. She desired the child to suckle at her breast--the need great within her. Sitting now, she repositioned the boy in the shallow valley between her breasts and large, protruding belly.
In a few weeks' time, if not mere days, Bere would give birth for the first time. To this event, she thought little else. She was frightened and that beyond reason. Faithfully and without pause, she beseeched Freyja, the goddess of fertility, for her tender protection.
--------------------------------------------------------
(Exposing newborns was a custom of the Norse. Simply put out in the snow in winter and thrown into the sea the other seasons.)
thrall: a slave
(Happy reading. Check in on our website at www.christopherperryandlindanewtonperry.com
