Suu and her historical fiction.

[Suu]

I posted this on one of my fiction boards that I frequent, and even though it's pretty rough, choppy, and not finished yet, they're urging me to look into getting it to a finished product and packaging it as a novella. It's going to break 50 pages, easily.

Basically this started in the beginning of September on the urging of Oarstroker in that I had no story for my Byzantine persona, and he had no story for a time his persona could have spent in Constantinople or how he came to join the household. None. When I originally starting writing this, I had no intention to show it to anyone else but him, but he's encouraged me to share.

There are...quite a few anachronisms in this, mostly to include other friends and household members. And I've intentionally left the year and emperor vague, though it's definitely during the Komnenid Dynasty. I am NOT *THE* Anna Komnene, though I am married into the Imperial family. Anna was a very common name. There were probably 20 Anna Komnenes, but only one wrote The Alexiad.

Oh right, the title of princess I actually put in as a joke at first, because Oarstroker caught me having a girly moment in which I freaked out over something gross, and he called me a princess... but I stuck with it. I am not a princess in the SCA, and that would require someone to fight for me in crown, and that has not happened yet. I don't want my SCAdian friends reading this and freaking out. I had to make it historically plausible, and it's taken more research than I thought it would.

Yes, there's romance, but it's not graphic. (Though seeing Oarstroker behave this hopeless is sort of like comedy for us.)


So...uh...enjoy.  

[Suu]

The gate opened to allow the small caravan of goods and travelers into the glistening city of Constantinople one early August morning. The streets, just beginning their daily routine of commerce, paused to watch the latest arrival of nobility to the palace of the Empire. Dignitaries often came and went, but the presentation of this particular entourage displayed the pageantry usually associated with that of the Imperial Family: Slaves and servants carrying parcels and leading horses and mules with carriages full of more crates and packages surrounded a larger, more ornate enclosed carriage, the type who's cargo was typically human.

It was difficult to say who it was this time, but the lack of purple aside from the insignia worn by the guards that accompanied the arriving party proved it was no one born directly into the family, but someone of importance nonetheless.

The caravan snaked their way through the streets of the crowded city until they reached the Great Palace. The gates opened and swallowed them whole, leaving the commoners on the streets in wonderment on who this latest visitor was.

The emperor had died in the previous year, and the Empire found itself amidst turmoil as a controversial nephew took the throne. Relatives from the far reaches of the territories were expected to come and pay tribute to him, and his new empress as well. Although the visitors had slowed considerably, an entourage or two still came occasionally even almost a year later. However, the circumstances of this arrival were different.

Horns sounded as the main carriage pulled to the entrance of one of the larger chambers with the Great Palace complex, and a heavily decorated Imperial guard exited to greet the party.

"My Kuria, we welcome you home to Constantinople." He said, as he reached a hand to assist a robed woman out of the larger carriage. "I trust your journey from the harbor was without incident?"

"Yes." She responded quietly, and raised her eyes to the structure of the Imperial palaces before her.

"I understand that you must be weary from your voyage, my Kuria, but the emperor has requested your audience upon arrival. Porters will arrange to have your belongings brought and set up in your apartments." The guard put a hand on her arm, "I apologize for this inconvenience."

The lady nodded, "If it is what His Imperial Majesty demands, than we must comply." She made little eye contact with the guard as he led her indoors and into the massive, ornate hall where the Imperials awaited her arrival. They were stopped only once to allow her hooded cloak to be removed by a servant, revealing the woman's face, surrounded by a veil of pearled silk and silver ornaments. Her body was draped with a wrap of embroidered silk that covered her linen dresses that were embellished with nothing more than the traditional clavii, or vertical stripes over the shoulders, of the Imperial fashion.

Her eyes were tired and heavy, blue were their color, which contrasted sharply with her dark hair and tanned skin, and they primarily focused on the tiled floor, rather than the movement occurring around her.

A herald stepped in before the lady and the guard and led them both into the hall. "Now announcing the arrival of Anna of Syracuse, wife of Stephanos Komnenos, cousin to his Imperial Majesty and prince of Rome."

The lady found herself, pushed in front of the guard gently, and walked behind the herald hastily with her chin held high until she reached the dais where the Emperor of the Roman Empire sat in state besides his wife, and then kneeled almost immediately on the ornate carpets and cushions placed in front of the thrones. Her eyes fell away from the monarchs and immediately to the floor, demonstrating her subservience to the Purple.

"Kuria Anna." The Emperor stood from his throne, stepped down from the dais, and reached a hand out for the woman to take. "Welcome to my court."

Anna took his hand, and kissed the large ring he wore which bore the Imperial insignia. "My Emperor." She said softly, still not looking up to make eye contact. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"My heart goes out to you, dear wife of my deceased cousin. His loss has surely been felt throughout the family, and we welcome you as one of our own."

"Your generosity is most thanked, My Emperor." Anna let go of his hand, and looked up only briefly as she placed her hand across her chest. At first she thought that the empress had remained seated, but in fact she was standing as well but was considerably shorter than her husband. In fact, she was but a child, and the Emperor was at least forty years her senior. The thought sat uneasy with the lady, and she closed her eyes to hide disgust, and brought her gaze back to the floor.

"I hope that you find your days here in my capital comfortable, Kuria Anna." The Emperor spoke, "As your husband was my cousin, so shall you be my cousin. And as he was a prince of Rome, so you shall be from this day forth, a princess, bearing forth all the rights and privileges bestowed of the title. Your family in Sicily shall benefit from your late husband's pension, and you are free to live where you choose. Chambers have been arranged for you here in the palace, along the edge of the Marmara so that it may remind you of your island home as a child. Please stand."

Anna obliged the Emperor's wishes and stood slowly with his aid. "Yes." He said, touching a hand to her cheek, "I feel that you will find your life here back in the Great Palace most pleasurable."

Anna disliked his touch, but dare not pull away, and looked to the left of the Emperor, where his guards stood, and her eyes met that of one of theirs briefly. She saw only a flash of deep blue before he realized she was looking at him and turned away.

"Thank you, again, My Emperor, for your gracious hospitality and gifts in this time of mourning." She replied, and gave a deep bow to remove his touch from her face. "My husband's mysterious poisoning is a dark time for our family and Empire indeed, but I feel that I shall overcome this strongly."

"Good." The Emperor nodded. "Once you make yourself comfortable in your new home, you and I will discuss the option of a new marriage for you. A lady, if not princess of my court of your age is still a valuable asset."

"I understand, My Emperor."

"You may have your leave to your chambers. My guard, Michael, who escorted you in, will show you around."

"Thank you, My Emperor." Anna gave another bow, and turned her back slowly meeting the gaze of the guard before her, and walked toward him hastily.

The walk was in silence for the most part, until Michael said softly, once they turned a corner and headed toward the Boukoleon Palace on the water, "He doesn't trust you."
"For the duration of my marriage, there were three separate emperors, dear guard." Anna spoke, "They trust no one."

"He is an especially dangerous man, Kuria. He was in exile for many years..." Michael trailed off as he noticed Anna's eyes wander out toward the other side of a courtyard where several of the Emperor's guards were standing. Blue eyes met yet again, and her pace slowed.

"Variangoi." Anna spoke, pausing while she watched them for a moment, or more specifically him, the one who had looked at her in the court, and who once again looked away, "The only men any emperor could trust."

"Indeed." Michael replied, "Men of the north, hired for a price to protect the Purple, and only the Purple. Dangerous, if I do say so myself. I never found myself fond of mercenaries."

"There has never been a recorded breach of contract between the Varangians and their emperor in the century of their existence." Anna stated, "They are there to protect the crown and only the crown. I fear them not."

The guard with the blue eyes turned again to catch Anna's gaze, and this time held it for a bit longer. It felt like minutes had passed with them locked in a fixed stare, but it was merely seconds, and Michael took Anna's arm.

"Come." He said, "You need your rest, I'm sure."

Anna began to walk with her escort, and turned back to see the Varangian once more, and he continued to watch her until she turned the away from the courtyard.

"That woman." He spoke in his native tongue to one of his fellow guards, "She is not safe here. Princess or not."

"If you continue to look at her, the Emperor will have your eyes." The other guard replied.

"It is her eyes that intrigue me so." The darker haired Varangian turned away from the corridor once Anna was out of sight.

"We are here for the Emperor, and only to serve the Emperor. We do not question his motives. We are here for our pay, and when our contract is fulfilled, we can go home." His comrade said, "Do not find yourself attached to these weak and decorative peoples, Snorri. You can have any woman in Gotland when you return home with your fortune."

"I never said I wanted her. I was merely looking at her."

"What is this commotion?" Another, more senior member of the Varangians stepped out.

"Nothing, Thorfinnr." Snorri sneered.

"Your new man here thinks it's okay to stare at the Emperor's cousin."

Thorfinnr shrugged, "He can look, he just can't touch."

"Surely, touching can't be that bad." Snorri raised an eyebrow.

"Aha! So you were doing more than just looking then." The other guard stated, "I knew it. He's going to get us all in trouble, Thorfinnr. His behavior has already been a problem."

"I brought you down here so that you may find the glory you were speaking of back in the cold." Thorfinnr got in Snorri's face, "You complained of being bored, and wanting to find treasure. You were nothing more than a farmer in the bogs, and yet I offered you this opportunity of a lifetime, do NOT screw it up. You make me look bad, and you make all of us look bad. Ladies of the court, especially those in the Imperial Family are very much off limits. There are whores in town for that."

"I was only looking..."

"...And she was looking back." The other guard interjected. "Curious, I'm sure, as to why a lowly guard would even pay her the time of day."

Snorri sighed and looked down, "I get it. No more looking."


Weeks passed, and business was as usual in the capital. Anna was once accustomed to life at the palace, so after the months she spent away after the death of her husband, adjusted back into the life of a lady, and now princess, in the Imperial Court. What she didn't expect, however, was the Emperor to put her entirely on the spot when pilgrims passed through the city on their way back from the Holy Land.

"I have no patience for this." The emperor stood, frustrated with dealing with conversation in Latin and not Greek, as his knowledge of the language was failing him. Rubbing his eyes, he surveyed members of the court until his eyes fell on Anna.

"You."

Anna looked to her sides and said softly, "Me, my Emperor?"

"Yes, you. You were born in lands to the west. Surely you speak the language of the Pope better than that of the One True Church."

Tensions were high between the Latin Catholics and Orthodox Greeks since the official split just decades again, and the Emperor made his disdain unfortunately all too clear when dealing with these western pilgrims.

"I was raised by Greeks and have spoken mostly Greek my entire life..."

"But you are well educated in Latin as well. You had to have been, living near Rome."

I feel that his Imperial Majesty should also be well educated in the ways of the language of Christ." Anna growled, but not soft enough, and the Emperor's look upon her turned into that of a glare.

"I know the language of Christ!" He shouted and it echoed throughout the hall. "Now, come here and do what I demand of you, and I will deal with your insubordinate words later."

Anna put her eyes down from the Emperor, but didn't lower her chin as she stood from her chair, and stepped gracefully toward the Catholic visitors.

   They were armored and dirty, and Anna reached for her perfumed sudarium and brought it closer to her face to mask their odor, but maintained a calm disposition despite how she was just treated in front of him.

   "Good afternoon." She said softly in Latin, and the obvious leader of the group, wearing the clothing style of the Normans, stepped forward and bowed.

   "Resplendent lady, thank you for lending your voice to us so that his Imperial Majesty may hear us."

   "The pleasure, I'm afraid, is not entirely all mine." Anna nodded, and she watched as the group smiled at her words, "What brings you to Constantinople, and why are you seeking the audience of the Emperor of the Roman Empire?"

   "Ah, yes, my lady." The Norman spoke, "My men and I are returning from Jerusalem and Antioch. We ask for nothing more than the hospitality of our Christian brothers here. Room and board for no more than a week while we wait for our ship and continue our journey home to our freehold in Andalusia."

   "I will tell my Emperor." Anna turned and swallowed, looking back in the direction of the emperor and then down, once again, to his feet, and spoke to him, in Greek, "They await their ship home and ask for lodging and food, as they are fellow followers of Christ returning home from Jerusalem."

   "They come into my palace like simple beggars asking for handouts?"

   "They come in as great nobles of Andalusia and pilgrims of Christ, set out by your predecessor." Anna looked up and made eye contact. "You should grant them their request."

   "Do NOT advise me again, Prinkípissa Anna! Sit down, your work is done...no wait...tell them I shall grant their request, for no longer than a week's time. Apartments shall be prepared in one of the palaces for their disposal."

   "Yes, my Emperor." Anna turned back to the Norman and his men, "You may stay for no longer than a week. Chambers will be prepared."

   "Thank you, my princess." He kneeled this time, and his men followed. Once they stood, imperial guardsmen came and escorted them out of the great hall, and Anna slowly returned to her seat, but the Emperor caught her arm before she could and dragged her out in front of the court.

   "You dare speak out against me? In front of my people? In front of those visitors?"

   "You dare treat me as a servant or lowly translator?" Anna said, struggle in her voice before he let her go and she fell onto the steps on the dais.

   "Foolish woman. Just as foolish as my cousin whom you married..." The Emperor sneered.

   "You are also foolish to call upon a lady in the court to speak when you should know the language yourself." She rubbed the sore spot on her arm, "You should show strength and intelligence, not lethargy and ignorance, or for that matter, arrogance."

   "I should have you killed for your treachery!"

   "I mean no treachery! Treachery is done to usurp the throne, and I don't have a death wish."

   "Unlike your husband, you mean?"

   With those words, Anna rose to her feet suddenly, but before she could move any further, two Varangians had her by her arms, and held her back as she struggled. The entirety of the court stopped to watch as a princess of the empire was suddenly held captive by the emperor, but yet, out of their own fear, they remained silent and useless.

   "Hah, indeed I hit a bit of a sour note." The emperor moved toward her, and struck her in the face with an open palm. "For now on, you do as I command. You come when you are called, you will answer with nothing more than the word 'yes'. You are lucky that I will not kill you for your behavior." He lightly touched the red mark on her cheek that he left, "No, I will make an example of you in other ways."

Stepping away from her, he spoke to the Varangians, "You." He pointed to one of them, "With the axe. You will stay with her at all times. She is to only leave her apartments if I summon her, or for meals, or for church. She is never to be out of your sight until I see fit to release her from house arrest."

   Anna heard as one of the guards spoke to the other, obviously translating the emperor's words into Norse so that he could understand better.

   "Take her away, until I feel like looking at her again." The emperor returned to his throne, and the Norse guards took the princess out of the hall, and back toward her wing of the Boukoleon with no incident. She only looked up once to see which guards had her in custody, and, sure enough, it appeared that the blue-eyed one whom she had noticed on her arrival would indeed be the one assigned to her.

   "Kyrie Eleison." She swore to herself, and looked back down until they reached her doors. Servants, surprised to see her in the arms of the guards, quickly opened her chambers to allow them in.

   Instead of throwing her as the emperor did to make a show, they both let go of her gently, and the guard that was not assigned to her came forward and bowed to her, "I am sorry, my princess." He said, his Northern accent heavy, before leaving her quarters, and having the door shut behind her and the other Varangian, the one known as Snorri, in silence.

Anna put a good amount of distance between her and him quickly, and he stood there, staring down at her.

   "So." She said after several moments of total silence. "It looks like you and I will be spending a significant amount of time together, Barbarian."

   She walked over to one of the large sea-facing windows and pulled back the drapes, allowing the natural light to illuminate the entire large drawing room of her apartments. After more silence, she turned back to the guard, standing where he was, previously, and still staring at her.

   "You can speak to me, I will allow it." She said, pulling back more curtains, and then looking toward him again, "It's quite alright, you may be at ease with me."

   There was still no answer.

   "Oh, right. Do you not speak Greek?"

   Nothing.

   "Latinum? Tu Latine loqui?"

   Again, silence, and Anna showed her frustration. "Right, of course not. Barbarians speak like 'bar bar bar'!" She laughed a bit, but stopped, knowing that the joke, although a classic since ancient times, was inappropriate in his company.

   "He probably put you with me because you cannot speak to me. Naturally...leaving me in silence so that any words I speak out against him are lost." Anna sneered and walked into her dressing chamber where one servant awaited her to help take down her hair.

   The Varangian followed slowly and stood in the arch to the dressing room and watched, as Anna's hair was uncrowned, unnetted and unbraided carefully by the oriental-looking woman in her charge to do so.

   "My princess...the guardsman?" She asked, in a heavy Persian accent.
   "I have been placed under house arrest for speaking out to the emperor in court."

   The servant sighed, "Anna, my princess, you have always been strong, but at times there is more strength in your silence than your words."

   "I suppose I shall learn my lesson eventually." Anna smirked and looked up at the guard, who again, was fixated upon her, until their eyes met.

   "How long will he be here for?"

   "I don't care."

   "What?"

   "Huh?" Anna broke her gaze, "Oh, until the emperor says so."

   "Having one of those northern men in here makes me feel uneasy. He couldn't assign you a Greek guard?"

   "I think I'm safer with the Varangian." Anna looked up at the guard again, but this time he was deliberately avoiding eye contact.

   

[Suu]

Nearly a week passed like this. Anna was unable to leave her room and eventually just requested that all meals be brought to her instead of having to leave and face the courtiers in a dining room. The silence between her and the guard was full of tension, but still, his presence to her felt more comforting than the cold marble floors of sitting in state.

   On Sunday morning, Anna was sitting by a window in her parlor, wearing nothing more than a simple tunica reading the Psalms to pass the time when Michael opened the doors to her apartments.

   The Varangian moved forward but then stood down when he saw the imperial guard, and stepped aside to let him in.

   Anna continued to sit, and looked up at Michael when he entered her parlor.

   He looked away slightly, realizing she was underdressed, but spoke anyway, "The emperor calls upon you to attend church today. He expects to see you escorted to the Empress's loge of Hagia Sophia in one hour's time."

   "Very well." Anna closed her Psalter and set it on the table in front of her. "Leave me to get dressed and I will...gladly, attend the liturgy."   

   In the short amount of time it took Anna's servants to dress her, she managed to gain about thirty extra pounds in pearls, silver, gold, and silk. She sighed heavily in the heat of the Mediterranean summer, and then motioned for Snorri to open the door and lead the way to the church.

Hagia Sophia was connected to the Great Palace by a raised bridge that crossed the street. Dozens of onlookers would often wait to see the Imperials process to their weekly worship, dressed in the full, decadent splendor of Byzantium. Anna was permitted to lead the way herself, but her Varangian jailer was close behind, as well as the usual gaggle of attendants that follow the court ladies onto the balcony incase any of them dropped something or needed something, and so they also could partake in their Orthodox rite.

The Varangians, however, were allowed to maintain the religion of their homeland, but were still required to attend church liturgies and functions in service to the emperor and the Imperial family as a whole. As Anna took her seat in the loge to watch the proceedings below in the basilica, Snorri moved back a good distance to where he could still watch her, but not be driven to partake in the ceremonies. However, the traditional, heavily chanted Orthodox Liturgy takes hours, if not easily half the day, and it wasn't long for him to become terribly bored.

He paced back and forth for at least forty-five minutes, and after that became old and less exciting, despite the beautiful songs being sung by the congregation in the basilica, he found himself counting stones in nearby mosaics. When that lost it's allure, he pulled from his belt pouch a small file used to keep the nails trimmed, and scratched into a marble wall to see if it would leave a mark. After a time, and looking over his shoulders several times but seeing only the ladies completely fixated on the liturgy, he began to carve furiously into the marble, inscribing it with a random saying in the runic alphabet of the Norse.

Anna had been engrossed in the proceedings for quite sometime, but decided to turn her head slightly to see where the Varangian was. Catching him out of the corner of her eye, during the singing of Kyrie Eleison, she quickly snapped her head around to stare at him, mouth slightly agape as he defaced the sacred church carelessly. Fortunately no one seemed to notice her head turned, so she remained fixated on Snorri until he acknowledged her stare, and froze in place realizing he had been caught.

Anna raised an eyebrow, her countenance plainly saying, "What are you doing?!" and then shook her head slowly and lightly from side to side in a way to get him to stop.

Snorri smirked a bit, and quickly put his file away, then, as if nothing had happened, looked away from Anna and walked from the defaced wall; beginning his pacing yet again.

Anna couldn't help it, and cracked a smile, laughing very softly to herself before returning her focus to the basilica.


Very little words were exchanged with the ladies of the court and Anna as they exited the basilica after the liturgy and made their way back to the palaces. Ordered back to her chambers yet again, the Varangian made sure that Anna was back under her house arrest.

They arrived back in time for supper, and as they entered the foyer of her apartments, Anna began to remove the heavy ornaments from her hair without the aid of her attendant who was having her meal in the kitchens with the rest of the servants. So the area was quiet, and Anna began to undress herself without thinking twice. As she moved into her main chamber to place her elaborate headpiece down on a table and undo her braids, she sang a piece of the liturgy softly to herself.

"Does...your god answer you when you sing to him?" The Varangian asked suddenly as he followed and watched her.

Anna stumbled when he spoke and dropped a few strands of pearls on the floor at the sound of his voice. Her eyes snapped open at him, as she hastily leaned over to pick up her fallen jewelry.

"You!" She exclaimed, "You! You speak Greek!"

"Of course I do. I work here, do I not?" His accent was thick, and his words were slow, but this did not calm Anna's reaction.

"All this time...this past week I have sat in hours of silence, assuming you did not know the language, and you have been lying to me!"

"I did not know if I was permitted to speak with you."

"I asked you, and you did not reply! You have LIED to a member of the Imperial family, Barbarian, and for that I could have you executed!"

The Norseman remained calm, "Are you not in enough trouble with his Majesty? I doubt that he would believe you. That is, if you truly meant for my death."

Anna was silenced by his words, and just stood there in her own frustration for a few moments before speaking again.

"I do not mean for your death." She said it in Norse.

The Varangian's blue eyes opened wide, "And you speak the language of my people!" He responded in the tongue himself.

"Some. I know the language of the Northmen from their settlements on my homeland. Which is why the Emperor called upon me to speak, but I spoke Latin so that I would not be insulted by the court for knowing the language of barbarians!"
"That is because you are not Roman." The Varangian moved toward her.

Anna moved back as he came at her, "How dare you say such a thing? My family line in Syracuse goes back before Christ."

"Your eyes give you away."

"I tell no lies."

The Varangian was upon her then and backed her into a wall, taking her face in his hand. Anna immediately began to struggle, but he overpowered her greatly.

"Your eyes, they are blue as the ice of the North Sea, princess. Those are not the eyes of a true pureblooded Roman. They are the eyes of the Germans and other men of the North. Your line is not as ancient as you say."

"Let me go!" Anna tried to move, but the guard held her tight, "Or I will have your head for this!"

"I mean you no harm, and I will not hurt you, princess, just listen!" He held onto the sides of her face tightly, "Your eyes are blue as your mother was of the North, was she not? It is how you know the language!"

Anna closed her eyes and the Varangian let her go.

"Normandy." She said softly, "My mother's line is of Normandy...now let me go."

The Viking smiled and loosened his hold on her, "Brothers are we, the Swedes and the Normans. More distant now than we used to be, but we still share words." He took a few steps back to allow the woman to regain her composure, "I knew. I knew from the first day you stepped into the court that you had blood of the North."

"I was raised Roman, speaking Greek in a proper household of my father's before I was married and brought to Constantinople many years ago. I surprise myself that I remember the language...I have not seen my mother since I was but a girl. She passed on nearly a decade ago." Her words returned to Greek, out of ease for herself, and to put the barbarian in his place.

"When was the last time you returned home?" he easily followed suit.

"After my husband died, I spent a year with my father and kin on Sicily. While I was away is when the Emperor was raised to the Purple. My return was when you saw me in court. I was summoned back, as my place is in the courts of Romania, as the island now belongs to the Normans."

The guard raised a brow, "And this is bad?"

"I may be half Norman, Variangoi, but I was raised a Roman, in Roman cultures and of the Greek Liturgy, not the Latin. My place is here, now."

"You may call me by my name, instead of so plainly as your Greek word Variangoi."

"You must tell me your name before I can use it."

"Snorri." He said, "Snorri Drowson."

"Well, Snorri," she regained her posture, "I am Anna Dokeianina Komnene Syrakousina. Was that so hard?"

He laughed a bit, "Your name is very long."

"Well, it is my first name, my family name, my married name and where I am from. My name is Anna, my father's family is Dokeianos, my husband's name and the name of the Imperial family is Komnenos, and I am from Syracuse.  It is how we name ourselves."

"I am only named for my father, and my given name is that of a great character in the sagas of Iceland."

"Is that the name of your homeland?"

Snorri shook his head, "I am of Sweden. This is the farthest I have ever traveled from my home."

"Do you like it here in Constantinople?"

"Not terribly. No." He shook his head, "It is very different from my home. I did not want to come here."

Anna raised a brow and started to move away from the wall, "Then why have you come here?"

Snorri sighed, "Thorfinnr, the captain of the Varangian guard here, had returned from his first contract wearing the finest silks and velvets, and bore with him many treasures that he was paid with after the last emperor died.  I was but a simple farmer and had no desire to travel, but Thorfinnr came and promised the men a new life, a life of wealth and prestige in the service of the Empire.    

'Come with me, Snorri,' he said, 'Come with me and see the City of Gold you have heard of in the East. I will show you glory and treasures.'

"So I did, and I followed him here to Constantinople and trained to be a guard. Here I am been now for half the year."

"I have known Thorfinnr for many years. He is a good man and served my husband's uncle well." Anna moved toward a table where her meal had been spread out for her. "Will you join me for supper?"

"I am not permitted to sit with the Imperials for meals." He bowed and backed away.

"You eat what I cannot after my fill, anyway, Snorri. Please, sit with me. Who is here to say otherwise?"

"If my lady demands it, then I shall." He took a nearby chair and waited for Anna to sit before he did.

There were a few moments of silence while Anna placed food on her plate and poured her wine, and noticed that Snorri did nothing.

"Please." She said, "Eat. Please take your portion." She removed bread from a platter it was on and handed it to him, so that he would have his own plate. Then emptied a small bowl of fruit and filled it with wine for him. "Drink."

Snorri nodded silently and took the wine, "You are very much not like the rest of them. You have your mother's northern hospitality."

"A woman's place is to ensure that no man at her table goes hungry." Anna replied, between bites of the bread in her hand.

"But a princess's place is not at the table with her guard." Snorri objected.

"I am not a princess of the blood. I am just a lady simply born to privilege and married to the Purple. And yet, would you deny a princess offering you a hot meal?"

"I suppose not." Snorri sipped his wine, "And I am sorry...I should not have touched you as I did."

Anna nodded, "No, you should not have."

"But I stood down. I will always stand down. I will never hurt you."

"I know."

"No, Princess, please, listen." Snorri leaned forward slightly so that he could lower his voice, as if hiding slightly, "I will always stand down. The Emperor will not. You have but to ask me, and I will obey. Not only will his Majesty not obey your cries, but also I will have to watch and do nothing. Do not trust him."

Anna looked up as Snorri spoke, and the look on her face showed that she understood, perhaps too well.

"My Princess, you are safer here with me at your table, than you are with him in an open court."


   

[Suu]

A few days later, the princess was released from her house arrest as long as the Varangian stayed by her side, especially since she was expecting company.

   "So you have a son, then?" Snorri asked, walking slowly beside Anna through one of the massive garden courtyards.

   "Yes. He will be sixteen this year." Anna nodded, and looked away and distant for a moment, "He is practically a man now."

   "Why is he not already here with you?"

   "Well, he went away to school four years ago. I have seen him barely since. Not even when his father died was he able to take leave."

   "You seem young to have a son that age, my princess." Snorri said softly, watching out for others that could be passing through and disagree with him speaking to an Imperial.

   Anna smiled, "I am twenty-nine. I was married when I was twelve."

   "Then your beauty is truly exceptional." Was the Northman's reply.

   Anna couldn't respond, or rather, didn't know how to respond to the compliment, as he was a subordinate to her, so instead she simply looked away and blushed, deeply.

   "Mother!" Was heard from across the courtyard, and Anna snapped out of it and rushed forward toward her son.

   "Alexei!" She exclaimed and met her only child with tearful open arms. "Look at you...you've grown into a man now! Kyrie...Kyrie..."

   He was taller than his mother by nearly a head, and had the form of a lanky young man under a slightly oversized indigo and red embroidered tunic. The boy laughed at his mother's words and kissed her cheeks several times.

   "It has been painfully too long, my mother. I cannot thank you enough for your letters through the years. I have missed you and father terribly."

   Snorri looked on, his face blank, unsure of what emotion to show, if any, during this reunion.

   Alexei noticed the Varangian and stood taller in almost a protective, if not, competitive, manner, "So, mother, I hear your words have once again gotten you in trouble."

   "Nonsense. His majesty simply does not have a sense of humor." Anna smiled and looked over at Snorri. "This barbarian has been a fine companion this past month."

   Snorri winced at the word 'barbarian', but said nothing, not with the young prince present.

   "Very well, you always were good at making friends with foreigners." Alexei smiled at his mother, "Always the talker."

   "Stories of other lands fascinate me, young Alexei, as they should you as well. Becoming an ambassador to the Bulgarians, my son!" Anna reached up and played with her son's curly brown hair.

   They started walking toward the main court hall, and Alexei scoffed.

   "At the expense of my freedom."

   "Now now, son." Anna explained, "Marriage is a necessity. You are a prince of the blood, a porphyrogénnētos, no, but still as a member of the family you are needed to solidify important agreements between peoples."

   "Much like you and father, then?"

   "Yes." Anna nodded, "I was brought to Constantinople to marry your father to gain territory on Sicily. You will marry this Bulgarian princess to maintain the peace of our borders." She stopped walking and took her son's face in her hands, "And I expect you to make me, as well as your father, rest his soul, proud."

   Alexei nodded, "Yes, mother. Though would it be dishonorable to call upon your wisdom once I am in my place among the Bulgars?"

"You will write to me as often as you see fit, and I will respond in kind."  She leaned up and kissed him gently, "Now, to face the emperor."

Anna remained silent for the most part while the emperor spoke to her son about his duties abroad, and the marriage contract was brought out. Although the Bulgarian princess who was to wed Alexei was not present, her father was, and Anna witnessed him sign his daughter and her holdings over to her son as the head of his estate in the absence of his father. The ceremony would take place in Bulgaria when Alexei would arrive there at the end of the week. In addition to lands along the border that were gained for the Empire, a lasting peace was signed for, and Anna received a percentage of the bride's dowry, which was a significant collection of wealth.

A feast followed, and that lasted for several hours. During which, Anna was beckoned by the emperor, and introduced to a duke from France, who was a relative of the empress. He was a wealthy, attractive gentleman a few years older than her, age wise, and visiting from his court to see the empress. Snorri looked on from where he was stationed guarding one of the doors, and felt a slight twinge as Anna was forced to sit next to this foreign man, dine with him, and converse with him. He didn't understand a lot of the customs of the Empire, but what he did realize is that it was evident this was all for a probable marriage arrangement to be made.

As night befell the capital during the feast and the festivities began to break up late, Snorri escorted Anna back to her chamber.

"It must be difficult to sign your son's life away." He said softly.

"We do what is necessary. For the Empire." Anna replied, "Difficult, yes, but I also understand. He is a good man, like his father was, and he will do us all proud."

"What of that man you spoke with?" Snorri's question was forward, "Who was that?"

"A potential suitor." Anna replied, "A nobleman of France."

"Are you to marry him, then?"

"Would it upset you if I did?"

"Snorri was stumped by her words. The wrong answer could endanger his life, or worse, hers.

"No." He said, hesitantly.

Anna smiled, "You too, are a good man, Variangoi, but I feel that I have taken enough of your time, here. Your service should not have been marked by the imprisonment of a defiant princess. Men like you deserve more prestige, and battle."

"I serve where I am told to serve." He replied, "Nothing more."

"Again, a loyal and true man." Anna got to the doors of her chamber, which were opened by night watchmen. "The women in your land must be thankful for your virtues."

"If the women of the North were worth our virtues, I assure you, Princess, my kin and I would not be here."

"Are they that vile?"

"We often joke that us men started going Viking in the spring to escape our wives."

"Do you have a wife that you are escaping, then?" Anna asked jokingly.

Snorri's response was solemn, "My princess needs her rest." He pointed toward her bedroom.

"Right." She replied, looking over her shoulder toward the archway leading the way, "I shall..."

The Varangian guard was already across the foyer, heading toward the servant's quarters of the apartment, "Sleep well." He said, with his back turned toward her.

Anna watched him walk off, confused, but then made her way to bed.


The night was cool and still. The soft lapping of the moonlit Marmara Sea outside of the windows was the only sound heard throughout the palace.

A shadow crept along the outer façade, and slid quietly into the open, silk curtained window of Anna's foyer. Moving stealthly, it found it's way into her darkened, unguarded bedchamber, where she lay by herself in a large, extravagant, and plush bed.

The shadow removed a black hood from his face, and pulled a thin long dagger from within the cloak. Anna stirred a bit in her sleep, and the assassin froze in place, but doing so failed to remain inconspicuous, and he knocked an ornament from the wall, which fell with a crash.

Anna sat up in her bed with a start, and immediately, seeing the figure in her room, began to scream. Unarmed and naked beneath her covers, she was trapped, and her screams did little to deter the assassin from coming at her.

"SNORRI! SNORRI HELP!" She continued to scream, and prayed that he would hear her.  Sliding from her bed and grabbing a sheet to cover her body, she ran to the corner of her room, and started throwing heavy marble and glass vases and vials in the direction of her killer.

One did manage to hit him in the head, but it didn't do much to bring him down, instead, the assassin moved faster, and was upon the princess with haste.

"Feisty little one..." He hissed at her, and brought the knife to her throat, but before he could strike, Snorri came up behind him and pulled him from the woman.

Anna sank to the floor as Snorri dragged the assassin into the foyer and struck him to the ground. The Persian handmaiden quickly rushed to Anna's side and helped her gather the bed sheet around her more tightly, but Anna crawled out of her room just in time to see Snorri take his ax down on the neck of the assassin, which resulted in her not only screaming again, but also wearing a few droplets of blood as it scattered from the severed head.

It was then that the night watchmen finally entered the chamber with their long pikes, but looked confused as to what happened so quickly. Hearing the cries himself, Thorfinnr ran in behind them, saw Snorri with the decapitated assassin, and then ran to Anna's side.

"My lady, are you hurt?" He asked, and when she didn't respond immediately, turned her face to look at him, "It's me, it's Thorfinnr, you know me, and you're safe."

Standing back up, he rushed out of the chamber to another Varangian he was patrolling with, "Awake the emperor! A member of the household has been under attack!" He yelled his command in Norse, and the guardsman ran off at once. Snorri remained standing over the body with his bloodied ax, catching his breath and glanced over at Anna, who had come out of her shock into tears, and was being held by her handmaiden tightly.

A few moments later, a partially clothed emperor stormed into the chamber, "What is the meaning of this?" He shouted, and then looked down at the lifeless head staring back up at him from a pool of dark, fresh blood.

"By the Lord! What happened?!"

"Princess Anna was attacked by an assassin in her sleep." Thorfinnr spoke, "Snorri took him down."

"Where is she?" The emperor asked, sternly.

"Here." Anna replied, standing slowly wearing nothing more than the bed sheet still wrapped around her body, and spots of blood on her face and arms where it has landed on her.

"Are you alright, child?"

"I owe my life to this man." She said, softly, looking at Snorri, who didn't break his gaze from her as he had previously. "Without this Varangian guarding me, I would be dead."
The emperor stared at the two looking at each other, and growled.  "Lucky for you, that he was able to come to your aid." He said, half sneering, "Otherwise, we would have lost you, my dear Syrakousina."

Thorfinnr listened carefully to the tone of the emperor's words, and his eyes narrowed, feeling that something was off.

"Guards, remove this body and have someone clean up this mess!" The emperor ordered, "I bet it was some Bulgar, trying to get at the mother of our new ambassador, indeed. Terrible people that they are...we will investigate this fully. No attack on a member of the Imperial Family goes unnoticed!"

"Come, my lady, let's clean you up..." The handmaiden guided Anna away from the bloodied scene, but Anna's eyes stayed on Snorri, but he looked away as soon as she was taken from his immediate sight. His eyes fell to the floor, as he watched drops of blood still coming off of his ax and into puddle below.

"Tread softly, Barbarian." The emperor chided, "For next time, you may not be as fortunate."

"There will not be a next time." Snorri replied in Greek, which startled the emperor.

"Of course not." The emperor turned to leave, "Of course not...Indeed."


Two days passed, and Anna was sitting in the sunlit corner of the large courtyard nearest to her apartment. The sun warmed her skin through her layers of silk like she hoped it would, but it didn't brighten the color on her sallow cheeks and darkened eyes.

"You haven't slept."  Michael said to her as he passed her.

"No." She replied softly.

Snorri was standing in the shade behind her, silent as he listened to the words of the Greek guard and the princess.

"The emperor said that they have determined that the assassin was sent by the Bulgars."

"The assassin was sent by the emperor." Anna looked up at the guard with exhausted eyes.

"Those words are treason, my princess." Michael looked from side to side, wondering if anyone else had heard her.

"I don't see you rushing to turn me in."

Michael sighed, and looked up at Snorri. "Keep an eye on her. As I have been told not to."  He flipped a gold coin toward the Varangian and it landed at his feet. "For your service." He said hastily, before walking away.

Snorri reached down and picked up the coin. After checking its authenticity, he put it into a pouch on his belt.

"I fear for my life." Anna turned slightly so Snorri would hear her.

"As you should." He replied.

"I need to get out of the capital." She said, standing slowly.

"And go where?" Snorri asked.

"France, I suppose. I'll take that marriage."

"I would not think that it is wise. The emperor is behind that set up."

Anna paused thoughtfully, "They would strike Sicily first if I simply disappear...my father would be killed for my stupidity."

"Or worse, your son." Snorri stepped forward.

"Or worse, my son." She nodded and her eyes fell to ground. "I...never thanked you, properly, for saving my life."

"I was doing no more than my job, princess." Snorri responded. "Nothing more than my duties already entail."

"Yet I feel my debt to you will never be paid." Anna said, and approached him. Reaching around her neck, she removed a long, gold chain with intervals of perfect saltwater pearls. As she retrieved the charm from within her dalmatica and handed it to him, Snorri's eyes lit up.

   Instead of the typical cross or Christian icon that the Imperials dripped with, this was a unique round piece of hammered gold engraved with intricate knot patterns. In the center of the pendant was a large set greenish cabochon of amber.

   Snorri immediately reached for the pendant and began to examine it, "Where did you get this from?"

   "It was my mother's, though as a child, she told me it was much older, and she remembered her grandmother wearing it as a brooch on her dress."
   "I cannot take this, Princess." He said softly, "This is meaningful to you."

   "So is my life." She whispered, and lifted the chain for it to go over his neck.

   Snorri bowed to accept it, and after Anna lowered the necklace along his chest, she leaned up and gently kissed him on the cheek.

   "Thank you." She whispered again, and slowly pulled back from him to head down the hall.

   The Varangian took her hand as she stepped away, and she turned back to face him. Their eyes met as they had prior, only now, her hand was in his. They stayed like this for a moment until a voice broke the silence.

   "Princeps mea!"  It was the visiting Norman lord. "My princess!"

   Snorri dropped her hand, and Anna felt her face burn at this sudden interruption.

   "My friend." She smiled, "A pleasure to see you, as always."

   "Indeed yes." The lord glanced toward Snorri, who looked away; he could not understand their Latin conversation. "I heard of the assassin, and I pray that you are unharmed."

   "Thank you." Anna nodded, "If it wasn't for this Varangian, I would most certainly be dead."

   "As I have heard it as well." The Norman lord smiled, "Just as I am sure that I bore witness to what I was assuming you paying him your gratitude just now."

   Anna felt her face grow hot again, and the lord smiled.

   Snorri looked confused.

   Anna replied in Norman, nearly whispering, "We both speak your language."

   The lord seemed startled by this, "Apparently." He laughed a bit, "From the Varangian I would expect it, but not a lady of Rome."

   "Her mother was Norman." Snorri entered the conversation now that he could; "This is why we she was asked to speak to you in court. Not for Latin. The Emperor meant to insult her."

   "Insult her for speaking a language of the North." The lord shook his head, "I would call that having an important asset, and not anything to be ashamed of."

Anna nodded a bit and looked around, the courtyard was silent, actually, almost too silent.

   "I feel as if we are being watched." She whispered.

"Oh no doubt." The lord replied, and then leaned in and spoke quietly, "But mark my words: your actions, and your affections, my children, are safe with me." He stepped back and cleared his throat then, "So." His words returned to Latin as an Imperial Guard passed through, "I was sent here to see if you would care to join me at the Hippodrome as a guest of his Imperial Majesty for this afternoon's races."

"Ah." Anna followed suit, and Snorri stood at attention, "I would be honored."

[Suu]

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was one of the largest of it's kind, and despite it's age, was still very much in use nearly 500 years after it was built. It was home to an astonishing amount of imperial history, and even though chariots were long out of fashion for regular racing, horse racing, various games and other ceremonies took place in the ancient structure still.

The three were able to enter the Imperial box, the Kathisma, through a path directly from the palaces.
   
   "Ah, Anna." The emperor stood, "It is so wonderful to see you out and about after that dreadful night! Come, sit next to me, and bring our guest with you."

   Anna grimaced at the idea of having to sit next to the emperor, but complied with his orders, and the Norman lord sat beside her.

   "So the princess is called Anna." The Norman said, in Latin, "What would she prefer I call her?"

   "You may call me Anna. I am a princess by marriage only. What may I call you, then?"

   "I am known as Padraig."

   "Very well, then, Padraig." Anna smiled to the older gentleman.

   "What are you two chattering about over there?" The emperor butted in, "The games, they are about to begin!"

   As the racers took their places at the starting line, flags of blue and green came to life in the seats of the common people. The ancient factions of chariot racing were now only ceremonial in nature, with their power over the government long gone.

   "Chariots!" Padraig exclaimed, "Just as the great Roman emperors of old held in Rome! How remarkable!"

   As the races began, and the crowd became even more alive, the emperor leaned over to Anna, and pointed at Padraig, "You should tell him a great tale of the circuses of Constantinople!"
   
   Anna did not make eye contact, "And what tale would that be, my Emperor?"

   "Ah, yes, well, tell him of what the great emperor Justinian did five centuries ago in this very arena!"

   Anna fell silent.

   "Tell him! Tell him of our great imperial power."

   Swallowing, Anna leaned over to Padraig, and softly said, in Latin, "He wishes me of me to tell you of the Nika Riots."

   Padraig looked over at her, "Riots?"

   She nodded, "The Nika Riots were deadly. They say...tens of thousands were killed. The associations, the Blues and the Greens, collectively, were angry at the Emperor Justinian's new taxes, and his inability to pardon men for a murder that happened after a race. They began to chant 'Nika! Nika!' which is Greek for, 'victoria', and then stormed the palace. A dangerous and bloody riot broke out here, in the Hippodrome, and all over the capital, for a week. The Emperor Justinian hid in his palace and it was the Great Augusta Theodora that told him to face his people and not flee in weakness."

   "What have you said so far?" The emperor interrupted.

   "Just to the part of Theodora telling Justinian to face his people." Anna turned back.

   "Now now, tell him what the great emperor did!"

   Sighing, Anna turned back to Padraig, "The people choose a new emperor and he was being crowned here in this circus. Justinian sent a eunuch to the Blues, holding a bag of gold. That eunuch told them that the new emperor that they wished to have was a Green, and that Justinian always supported the blues. The gold was distributed, and then the Blues stormed out. This left the Greens, who were then slaughtered by imperial soldiers, and the riots soon after ended."

   "The Imperial Family have always been supporters of the Blues!" The emperor
took a blue colored flag out of his paludamentum. "But Anna's family, going back
generations, have always been supporters of the Greens!"

   "Ancient traditions." Anna muttered. "The factions have not mattered for
centuries!"

   "I'm sure if you dare reveal it, you have a green flag on your person!"

      "Rest assured, my Emperor, if I dare reveal anything to you, it will be far less than a flag."

   The emperor rose his hand to strike Anna, "Why you insubordinate little..."

   However, she was taken by her hand and pulled to her feet as the games started and rushed to the front of the balcony by the Norman lord.

   "He is going to kill you if you do not hold your tongue, Princess."

   "He means to kill me anyway, no matter how I keep my silence." She pointed toward a particularly skilled charioteer, one driving, remarkably, for the Greens. "Him! Oh him! Watch! He's remarkable!"

   Snorri's heart nearly leapt into his throat as he saw the emperor raise his hand, but he closed his eyes and grasped at his long axe.

   "I can end this." He thought, "In one swift move..." Then he remembered his oath, and his payment, and the reason why he was in Constantinople serving as a Varangian guardsman to begin with.

   Then his eyes went to Anna; his reason was changing.

   "No." He shook his head as he continued to think, "No." But the images remained. He could bring her back to Sweden. He would wrap her in the finest furs and keep a large hearth during the winter to warm her, and she would be safe. Safe from...the only life she ever knew, the life of a high-ranking lady in the richest courts of the world. He looked at her. Anna's headdress dripped with strands of perfect pearls. Her ears were pierced with earrings of pure gold and silver and beautiful stones of green. Her dress was composed of layers of the finest linens and silks of the Empire, embroidered by a hundred hands in the Imperial workshops. Her skin was olive and naturally darkened by the warm Mediterranean sun, which also kissed her dark hair with lightened streaks of gold.

Anna was the glowing summer, where Snorri was the dark winter. She was the South, and he was the North. She was rich and soft, and he was poor and rugged from his work as a farmer in the bogs, here only, in her presence, by the very grace of the gods. What could be a gift from Freyja was nothing more than a tease from Loki. He could not have her, and he would be forced to watch her die.

Anna continued to cheer on the charioteer with great excitement, which seemed to only anger the emperor further.

"Oh, him!" He huffed, "He always costs me money in the bets."

Anna paid him no mind and watched with glittering eyes as he completed the race, and cheered with the rest of his Green fans as he crossed the finish line. "I told you he was remarkable!" She exclaimed to Padraig.

Thorfinnr, who was standing behind the emperor, took a few steps closer to Snorri.

"It appears your love has a bit of an admiration for that rider."

"Piss off."

Thorfinnr laughed a bit, "You can't keep your eyes off of her anymore."

"I mean to save her." Snorri no longer denied his affection, "I will bring her to the North, and she will be safe there with me."

"Snorri." Thorfinnr sighed, "These women...they are like flowers. They live for the eternal sun and warmth. Their golden robes are their petals...Winter will cause them to wither. Let go of your attachment. She does not feel for you. See her as she cheers for a Greek? And keeps only the company of other nobles? She must love only her equals, and make only more decorative children that our children will be hired to serve. Also, she is old and worn. When you return home, you will have the money to find a young, virginal new bride."

"I don't want a new bride." Snorri snarled.

"What are you two barbarians going on about?!" The emperor turned and looked back at them, "You sound like...growling wolves when you speak. Utterly disgusting."

Thorfinnr took his steps back, "Let it go. Just...let it go."

   The crowd jumped to their feet when a fight broke out below in the arena over the results of the first race. Anna's hand went to her face.

   "No!" She screamed.

   The winner from the Green team was suddenly surrounded by a group of Blue charioteers who began to push and shove him forcefully. The man, plainly dressed in a yellow tunic, tried to avoid the blows and walk away, but they continued at him. Eventually, one of the Blues drew a sword, which he would learn would be a costly mistake.

   The Green charioteer drew his own blade and was fast to block as a chop came at him, and before you knew it, he was singlehandedly fighting off the opposition...four versus one.

   The emperor stood to watch the spectacle, and even the Varangians moved forward. Within seconds, one of the Blues lay dead.

   "By the gods!" Thorfinnr said, and Snorri just stood there in agreement with him. "Berserker!"

   "Who is this man?" Padraig asked Anna, who just shook her head.

   "I...really don't know. " She replied, "I just watch him in the races!"

   After the second Blue attack fell, the emperor shouted, "END THIS NONSENSE!" And the crowd suddenly came to a standstill. "Arrest those men! And bring that one, the Green, here!"

   The Imperial balcony erupted with the thought of a common prisoner being brought up to the Kathisma, but nonetheless, he was taken by guards and pulled along and upwards toward the emperor and his court. Anna returned to her seat and

   He was tall, well groomed, and wearing nothing more than a saffron dyed tunic and worn sandals. He gave the guards little struggle as he was forced to bow in front of the ruling class.

   "Who are you?" The emperor stood and attempted to look ominous, "Where are you from? And why do you find it necessary to disturb my games?!"

"My name is Barabbas." The man replied, "I am from Cilicia...and..."

"An Armenian!" The emperor huffed, "I should have known only a rebel would have behaved this way."

Padraig leaned forward and examined the man, "Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked, in Latin.

Anna went to translate, but Barabbas responded, "I have fought for many years with the people of my country, and served this Empire as well. I now make my living in the games, as my pension was cancelled due to my heritage."

"Anna!" The emperor yelled, "What did they say?!"

"The Norman lord asked him where he learned to fight, and this man stated that he once served in your armies, but his pension was cancelled due to the fact he is Armenian. So he makes his living in the games."

The emperor snarled, "One less mouth to feed then." He sat back down, "Take him to the prisons. I will determine his bail when I see fit."

"On what charge?" Anna asked.

"On murder and disrupting my games much have you have already, Syrakousina. Either you be quiet now or I will send you to share a cell with him!"

As Barabbas was taken away, Anna sat back in her chair in silence but looked over to Snorri briefly. He shook his head at her, and then looked away.

Padraig then looked at Anna, "How much is bail?"

"I dare not ask him now."

"I will take the prisoner to Andalusia with me. With skills like that he will be very well received among my men."

"He will probably make the bail unattainable for you on purpose." Anna whispered, "If you need assistance, I will give you additional funds to release him."

"My princess." Padraig bowed his head, "I appreciate your generosity, but your head is already highly priced for his majesty."

"He will not know. I can arrange for a withdrawal from my personal treasury. All you need to do is ask."

"Syrakousina Prinkípissa." The emperor stated loudly, "Remove yourself from my presence, since you continue to be obnoxiously social with my guest."

Anna stood silently and nodded toward Snorri. She nodded at the Norman, and then removed herself from the Kathisma.

Storming back to her apartments, Anna entered her foyer in tears. Snorri followed as always, but kept his distance as the princess wept.

"I want to go home." She sobbed. "I want...I want my husband here. I want our lives back. I want this evil imposter of an emperor to..."

"Shh..." Snorri hissed. "That's enough of that. You're stronger than this."

"I can't do it, anymore. I cannot..."
"You are on two days with no sleep. You need to rest. Your face is exhausted and your words are not becoming of you. Look at you!" Snorri put his axe against the wall and took Anna to her bedroom and put her in front of a large silver mirror. "That is the weakness of a woman, not the strength of a princess."

Anna looked at herself in the mirror...her face was reddened by the tears, but her darkened eyes gave her away.

"I can't sleep in here."

"Yes you can. You will not be attacked here again. That would be foolish."

"But how do I know for sure?"

"I am here. You are safe."

"You will stay in here as I sleep?"

"If that is what my princess desires, then it will be so."

The Persian servant girl came into the bedroom and Anna sat down to have her take down her hair and undress to rest.

Snorri watched, and the servant became uneasy, "My lady...This man..."

"He is to stay in here. I will rest in my tunica."

Anna's hair was long, but it was often disguised very differently, as soon as her hair fell and the servant brushed it, it was immediately put into a braid for sleeping. After standing from her hair, she turned to face her guard.

"You will stay here? As long as I rest?"

"You have my word." And took the chair she was seated on, and pulled it toward the wall for him to sit on.

"Samira." Anna spoke to her servant.

"Yes?"

"Make sure that my guard is refreshed. Bring him wine and fruits while I rest."

"As you wish."

Anna moved toward her bed and slid onto it gently. As soon as she did, she felt her exhaustion take hold almost immediately, and laid back with a soft sigh.

"Sleep well." Snorri said, as he watched her drift off.


Anna awoke when night had fallen on the Capital. Looking over at her guardsman, she found him as expected: sleeping deeply in his chair, with the empty cup of wine beside him. Smirking to herself, she slid out of bed, and began to put her plan in motion.

Dressing herself in as much as she could on her own, she wrapped herself in a dark cloak, and went to her doors. The night watchmen were at their posts, and jumped as she exited. Before they could say anything, bags of gold fell at their feet, and they remarkably stayed silent. Anna was now only a few steps away from her freedom.

She rushed through the Boukoleon Palace out onto a main thoroughfare on the palace grounds, and out onto the street to the south of the Hippodrome, which was eerily silent compared to what it was just hours earlier. There, she met a man, who, as arranged previously without anyone knowing, offered her passage on his carriage to the walls. There, she would wait until dawn, when she could bribe her way onto a caravan exciting the Silver Gate...and leave Constantinople forever.

A sense of deep relief washed over her as she watched the Great Palace grow distant from her with every step the horses took, and it took almost two hours for her to reach the great complex of walls surrounding Constantinople, which was the most advanced system of defense in the world, and amazingly beautiful with their layers of stone and brick. She paid the man for his passage and slid off the cart and began heading toward the embattlement where she would hide until daybreak, but someone stepped in her way.

She went to walk around the figure, but her wrist was grabbed.

"No!" She yelled, and looked up to see Snorri looking down at her. "No..." She shook her head, "Please no...don't take me back...Please."

"You drugged me."

"I had to..."

"You could have simply asked me to go with you."

She looked up at him, into those blue eyes, "I will not put you in any more danger. You have done enough for me, Variangoi."

"Snorri. The name, please, is Snorri."

Carts rushed past the couple to head toward the gate, and Anna was nearly clipped.

"We need to get out of here." Snorri said.

"Come." She said, "I know where we can go, and be safe."

She led him to a staircase that took them on top of the wall, in an embattlement lit only by a torch.

"Guards are only stationed near the gates. I learned that when I was young...I would often come here to escape. That is why I knew I would be safe here for a time." She whispered to him when they got up there.

Snorri turned and looked back at the Golden Horn, which still glittered at night with the light of hearths, torches and candles. In the distance, the Sea of Marmara reflected these lights, as well as the light of the crescent moon overhead.

"The City of Gold." He whispered. "I dreamed of it...as a child. To see this as it was described to me when men would return with their riches...either in trade or service to the emperor. And now I am here."

"And I dream of seeing something else." Anna replied.

"You were not a happy bride."

[Suu]

Anna shook her head, "No. Love grew in time, but not at first. I was a lonely girl, across the waters from my home. I missed my shells and my sand and my dolphins...but I was born to be in the courts someday. I was to bring my dowry to my husband, and give my father's land to the emperor."

"So the emperor, he practically owns your life."

"Almost." Anna laughed to herself, "Sicily has since been taken by the Normans, but my father is safe there."

"Where I come from, men are free." Snorri began, "And women. Our women farm with us, work with us, war with us, in fact, some of the women in my town were better fighters than the men!"

Anna smiled, "I would like to see that someday."

Snorri stepped forward to her and took her hands, "No..."He looked down, and brushed one of his fingers along her palms, "These hands are that of a lady, of a woman...unlike any woman in the north. They are soft, and untouched by labor or chapped by the cold. Women of the north would mock you for your softness."

"And what of the men?" Her voice became lower.

"Men long for the touch of soft hands..." He whispered back, and brought Anna's hands to his face. He closed his eyes and took in the scent of her perfume as it wafted up from her wrists.

Anna's breathing became stunted, but she didn't struggle. Instead, she moved in closer, close enough to where he could feel the warmth of her words against his neck.

"They will kill us if they catch us."

Snorri opened his eyes then, only enough to meet her own, "Then I will die a blissful man, knowing that on my last night, I held in my arms, a princess."

Their lips met. Gently at first, but with each passing moment, each kiss grew with passion, and before dawn, their embrace was brought back to the palace.


Samira entered her lady's chamber an hour after sunrise as was tradition, released a scream of shock on seeing Anna in bed with her guardsman, both resting peacefully, and started swearing in a mixture of Greek and Persian while making constant signs of the cross and turning away.

Anna shot awake and sat up, which pulled some of the covers from Snorri, who grabbed at them quickly to hide his form from the servant.

"The hells?" He groaned, half asleep.

"My princess...you did not commit that sin!"

"My sins are not for you to grant me salvation!" Anna shouted back at her servant, "You will speak of this to no one!"

"I..." Samira stammered and leaned against the archway, continuing to look away from the bed.

"You will swear it on your grave, which I will bring you to early if you so much as whisper of what you have seen."

Snorri shot up a salute from where he was laying on his back. "My lady!" he said, groggily and jokingly, and Anna batted down his arm.

"I swear it." Samira said softly.

"LOUDER."

"My lady I swear it!"

"Good, now bring us some bread. Treat him as you would a prince as long as he is beside me."

"Yes, my lady."

After Samira ran off to bring food, Anna flopped back on her bed, and sighed heavily. Snorri leaned over and kissed her on the shoulder gently before sitting up, and looking for his garments on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Anna sat back up.

"I shouldn't stay in here with you."

"You...would have been in here, anyway."

"Oh...right." Snorri relaxed a bit, but still reached for his tunic. "She still doesn't need to see me unclothed."

Anna almost protested that it was Samira's job to dress him as well, and realized that he wasn't used to that treatment, and remained silent as she grabbed for her own silk robe.
   
      She watched him dress, and, knowing that the line had been crossed, reflected on how difficult it would be for them now. How outside of the walls of this bedroom, they had to go back to prisoner and guard, to nobility and commoner, to Roman and barbarian...Samira was right. It was a sin. Not just fornication, but also one of social graces. If anyone did find out, anyone of importance who cared not for Anna, Snorri would be killed and Anna would surely be exiled or worse, killed herself.

      Snorri knew this too, he could tell by the expression of worry on Anna's face that she didn't trust her servant. By taking her to bed last night, he took a risk on her already-endangered life.

      Samira returned to the bedroom with a loaf of bread and a jug of diluted wine, and refused to make eye contact with Snorri as she set up the breakfast table by the window. Before she could leave the room in silence, Anna grabbed her arm.

      "Test." She demanded.
   
   Samira sighed, and poured herself a sample of wine, which she drank, and then consumed a piece of bread for them as well.

   "I will not kill you, or him, my lady." She poured them each their own glass of diluted wine.

   "You have yet to give me any reason to not trust you, Samira." Anna stated, as she broke herself off a piece of bread, "You have been my closest and most honest servant for many years now. I have cared for you and your family as if they were my own. I ask, only for your support and silence in this matter."

   "Your actions just startled me, my lady." Samira nodded, "I apologize for my outburst, "and for waking you too, my lord." She bowed toward Snorri.

   "I am no lord." Snorri shook his head, "Just yesterday you called me Snorri, and today I ask that you do the same."

      Samira nodded quietly and stepped out of the room in silence.

      Anna didn't even look up, she continued eating her bread and sipping her wine to break her fast.

      Snorri looked at her. He wasn't accustomed to the noble way of life. He had watched it now for several months, sure, but to be treated as one and to watch how those of the lower classes were treated at this perspective was entirely different.

      "It offends you not how you take your tone of voice with her?" He asked.

      "Huh?" Anna looked up, confused, "I don't understand."

      "You speak to her as if she is, well, lower."

      "And?"

      "Oh." Snorri realized what he had said; "Yet you said you cared for her as family."

      Anna laughed, "I never even thought about it. I do not mistreat my help. They are paid well, clothed well and sheltered well."

      "And do you care for them?"

      "Yes. They are in my service for a reason. Ask Samira or her daughters, or her husband who guards my door on day watch, they would work for no other."

      "But there may be a day they are gone." Snorri leaned back, "Could you live without them?"

      Anna paused, "I...don't know."

      
   
   A caller came at the doors, then, and Samira's husband entered.

   He announced, "A Varangian here to see the guardsman!"

   Snorri stood up and rushed out of the bedroom and made his way into the foyer and to the door where his messenger was waiting.

   "Halfdan, what is it?" He asked in Norse.

   "Thorfinnr is summoning you to the barracks, as soon as you...are ready." He looked down at Snorri's bare feet and unbelted tunic. "You smell of a lady's perfume."

   "I was assisting the princess in..."

   "I don't care, Snorri. Just don't keep the commander waiting."

   Halfdan turned and left with no further woods and Snorri returned to the bedroom where Anna was eavesdropping behind the arch into the foyer.

   "I'll get dressed." She said when he entered.

   "You...coming with me to the barracks?" Snorri looked at her as if she had six heads.

   "You can't leave my side, as ordered." She shrugged and rang a bell for Samira to come in and assist her to dress, "I guess that means I can't leave yours."

   Snorri smiled and grabbed her forcefully for a kiss just as the servant walked in, and walked right back out.


   
   They arrived at the barracks of the Varangian guard within an hour's time once Anna was dressed to leave. Snorri led the princess into a common area where most of the off-duty guard were resting and conversing, but the presence of an Imperial made them all jump to their feet and suddenly silence themselves.

   "At ease, good men, I am not here for ceremony." She said, but few men relaxed, realizing that the room was in no shape to entertain a lady, let alone an Imperial, and several rushed to pick up belongings and refuse that was strewn about.

   The place was a collective of artifacts and furnishings from the North that made the men less homesick. Ornately carved chairs and various other decorations spotted the room with more local décor including silk drapery and upholstery. Some men were working on projects right there, including sewing and embroidering their own tunics to better fit the style of their people, and lacing together their issued lamellar armor.
   
   Conversations that did continue to take place were from a variety of dialects of the Northern tongue that Anna was not familiar with, and she strained to listen, and did manage to pick up bits and pieces.

   "Thorfinnr." Snorri stepped toward the commander, "You called for me?"

   Thorfinnr turned around and saw Anna with Snorri, and blinked, "My lady, what are you doing here? This is no place for you."

   "Snorri cannot leave my side." She replied. "He is simply obeying orders by bringing me here."

   Thorfinnr rolled his eyes, "Sit." He said, standing from his own chair and giving it to her. "I will not have you standing when comfort is to be had." He took her hand and led her toward the chair, "Somebody bring our guest a fine drink!"

   "This is all highly unnecessary, Thorfinnr. You know this." She said, reluctantly sitting.

   "You know as well as I do that one of the Greeks can come in and see you in here, we may as well provide you with proper hospitality." A very blond guard brought him a ceramic cup, and Thorfinnr handed it to Anna, "Please, drink. Allow us to serve you."

   Anna took a sip of the beverage, anticipating wine, and pulled back quickly, "It's so sweet!" She winced, "What is this? You drink this regularly?"

   The men laughed.

   "We call that mead, my lady." Thorfinnr smiled, "It is our wine. From honey." He turned to the men that were resting around the hall, "Entertain our guest while I have words with Snorri. She knows some of our words, and will enjoy seeing your crafts."

   Various warriors stood up to visit the princess, bringing with them their projects or other goods they wish to show to her, as they were not used to an Imperial giving even the slightest interest in their culture. They showed her embroidery, carvings, and brought her more bottles of their brewed honey drink for her to taste, to see if they would like theirs more than the others.

   Thorfinnr took Snorri to the side and away from the earshot of Anna, and spoke softly, "I am leaving Constantinople."

   "What?" Snorri was surprised, "You're leaving? You can't leave, you're our commander!"

   Thorfinnr motioned for him to keep his voice down, and glanced back at Anna, who was still thoroughly distracted by the other Varangians giving her gifts, as she was now wearing several strands of glass beads around her neck and continuing to drink the mead.

   He turned back to Snorri, "The Norman lord, he has offered me a position with his keep in Andalusia. We have freed the Armenian from the Hippodrome as well and our ship leaves at dawn."

   Snorri was silenced. His best friend, the man who urged him to come and serve the emperor, was now leaving.

   "Snorri..." Thorfinnr put a hand on his shoulder and moved in closer, "I want you to take charge here." He looked back at Anna, "And take care of her. I have known her since she was no more than a young bride, she deserves to be safe, and..." He paused, "You smell of a perfume."

   Snorri's expression changed, and his eyes instinctively shot to Anna, who had paused for a moment to look up and give him a soft smile. Thorfinnr caught this.

   "Oh." His eyes widened, "Oh Snorri, that is a serious offense you commit."

   "I refuse to stay away from her now, even if it is both of our deaths." Snorri looked at her longingly for a moment, and then back at Thorfinnr, "No...No take her with you, Thorfinnr. Take her away from this place. She tried to escape last night and I caught her at the wall near the Silver Gate."

   "I don't think I can." Thorfinnr replied, "When one is born to privilege, Snorri, they must live their lives as such. It is as I told you before, she may be wealthy and beautiful, but her job is to be used as a marriage contract to gain more lands and more money, and to have children to do the same. Right now, this experience I have given her to allow the men to speak with her and give her things, is the farthest she will ever get from that life. She knows this, which is why she embraces this moment so.

   "I will ask you again, to let her go. She is more than a prisoner of the emperor in your care, Snorri, but she is also a prisoner of her own life."

   As Thorfinnr spoke, Snorri's eyes watched Anna as she spoke with the other Northmen, but how she so starkly contrasted against them. Was she truly excited to be waited on by foreigners? Or were the foreigners just elated to be in the casual presence of an Imperial? Perhaps it was both? It was difficult to say.

   "Snorri." Thorfinnr interrupted his thoughts, "I need you to stay here. These men need you."

   "I am not a leader." He replied, "But her..." He motioned toward Anna, "She, she is like an ambassador." And then it hit him, "That's it!" He threw his hands on Thorfinnr's shoulders.

   "What? What's it?"

   "Her chance to leave! We can get her out of here! She can be an ambassador!"

   Thorfinnr sighed, "Snorri...she's a woman. Woman here are not ambassadors. They're marriage bait."