When Viggo had left, Erna came back and prepared a bath for Saga with the help of a few maids. As the bath was ready, the other maids left while Erna stayed to help Saga with getting cleaned. Just like the notion that she would need help getting dressed had felt foreign to her, the notion that she needed help bathing did. But she reminded herself they assumed she was used to such treatment, and so she didn't say a word against it.

Once clean and dried and dressed in a fur robe, she opened up the boxes with Erna to look for something to wear.

The boxes contained a mix of a few dresses, some jewelry, and clips for her hair.

"Which one would you like to wear for dinner, Lady Saga?" Erna asked as three dresses hung for Saga to pick from.

The older woman wore a maternal smile, and her question stirred a memory in Saga.

"Which dress do you want to wear for tonight?" her mother had asked her the day of her sixth birthday.

"That one!" Saga had answered, pointing at a red dress.

The three dresses before her now were in three different colours. Red, green, and blue.

"The red one," Saga answered and swallowed back her tears.

The dress was rather simple, much more simple than the dress from her memory. The one she had worn as a child had been decorated with golden embroidery. The one before her now only had a golden belt and neckline as the only decoration. But it was as beautiful as the one from her memory.

Erna helped her dress and then sat her down by the desk in the room.

"You ought to consider buying yourself a dressing table, Lady Saga," Erna pointed out. "When the Lord buys you more jewelry and such, it will be inconvenient without one."

Saga smiled as Erna began combing through her hair. "I'll consider that."

"You have such smooth and beautiful hair, milady," Erna pointed out next. It was something she had complimented Saga on several times already while washing it. "The type any girl would be jealous of."

It's just hair. Nothing to be jealous of, Saga wanted to say, but she held the words back.

"Thank you," she said instead.

"What would you like for me to do with your hair? I could pull it up like this and make a braid along the edge, and then put some of the pearls into it. Or maybe something which stands upwards more in this way." As Erna talked, she moved Saga's hair around to illustrate the different hairdos, and though Saga didn't have a mirror to see it all in, she knew what Erna was suggesting was all far too extravagant.

"I think... something simpler," she said and felt a blush spreading over her cheeks as her hands wrinkled the fabric of her skirt.

"Simpler... Hm... Well, then, I think I know what," the other woman answered and Saga let go of her skirt as she heard no hint of disappointment in Erna's voice.

A bit later, she had two rather thin braids on each side which grew together to one at the back and was secured with a ribbon in a similar red as her dress.

"Would you want to wear any of the necklaces?" Erna asked next and brought forth the three necklaces Viggo had bought her.

She picked one up, which looked to be in silver though she doubted that was the case, which had a charm in the shape of a sword hanging from it.

"This one feels fitting," she smiled at the piece of jewelry.

"It does indeed," Erna agreed and promptly hung it around Saga's neck.

Fully dressed and ready for the dinner, Saga felt a wave of relief. When she had been dressed up for dinners at her father's, no one had ever asked for her opinion. A dress had been chosen. Her hair had been brushed, pulled on, and worked on until it followed whatever was the latest trend. The jewelry she had been forced to wear had all been in gold and heavy enough to make her neck feel the weight several days afterwards.

It had always made her feel like someone pretending, playing a role. Like a beast dressed up to be a beauty.

Everything about her appearance now was much simpler, but she felt comfortable.

"You look beautiful, Lady Saga. All the knights will drop their mouths as they see you," Erna complimented her, and Saga smiled and looked down, not in fear or anxiety but in shyness.

Maybe she even felt a bit beautiful.

"Tomorrow, could you show me around both inside and outside?" Saga asked, feeling a little ray inside of her. "I think I want to do something about the garden at least. And maybe something about the insides as well. But I need to see it all first."

"Of course, milady," Erna beamed at her. Then she glanced out the window before continuing. "There is still quite a bit of time until dinner. Do you want to spend the time resting, or would you like me to go over how the household has been run up until now?"

"Yes, please," Saga answered and they sat by the table as Erna explained.

It was all very straight forward. The steward was the one currently in charge of what needed to be bought, with Viggo approving the purchases. That was a task Saga knew now would be all on her. As for staff they were divided in three groups. One which took care of household chores. Another which stayed in the kitchen. And a third which mainly saw after the knights housing and cleaning of their armour and such. Though depending on what was needed most they would switch tasks. There wasn't anyone who had ever had responsibility over the garden, which Erna stated as the reason for its state.

Saga listened to it all and took care to commit it to memory. Though talking with Erna made her feel more and more at ease. There was no judgement from the other woman, and Saga felt certain she would happily repeat any of the information if Saga asked for it.

The time went by until a knock sounded on the door, and Viggo entered once more.

"Ready for dinner?" he asked, and Saga stood.

"I will see you tomorrow, Lady Saga," Erna excused herself.

"Has everything gone well for you?" Viggo asked as they started walking with their arms hooked.

"Yes. All has been well. Erna has been taking great care of me."

"That is good."

They walked a couple of steps in silence during which Saga felt her pulse increase with what she wanted to say next. As they reached the stairs, she took a deep breath.

"I asked her to show me around tomorrow, to see a bit what I maybe can change here. I was thinking particularly about maybe doing something with the garden if that... if that's okay." She chanced a glance at Viggo before turning her eyes down to watch where she placed her feet.

"You may do all the changes you want," Viggo reassured her. "This is your home now, and I want you to feel comfortable."

A tiny smile formed on her lips as she nodded to the floor.

"I've called on a seamstress, and they'll come tomorrow after lunch," Viggo informed her next.

Saga nodded again. That meant she would have the morning to see as much of the estate as possible.

At the bottom of the stairs, Saga assumed Viggo would turn toward the great hall, but he kept going forward. She frowned a bit and looked up at him, but before she even asked he answered what was on her mind.

"We rarely use the great hall, but have a dining area closer to the kitchen. Easier for everyone that way," he explained.

"Oh, alright," she answered, and pictured her father eating anywhere which wasn't the great hall for a moment. An image which in her mind almost looked funny at how out of place the man would look.

As they walked further down the corridor, voices of talking and laughing filled the air as well as the succulent scent of meat and beer. They reached a door that was a bit ajar, behind which the dining area was without a doubt. There Viggo stopped.

"If it becomes overwhelming, do let me know," he said, piercing her with a sterner gaze than she was used to. It made her shrink back a little as she gave her assent. "And they can be a lot, especially when they drink. But they are all good people."

She gave another nod of assent, then took a deep, steadying breath as Viggo pushed the door open.

The room fell silent the second she walked in.

On their journey there, about a dozen people had been with them. In the room, staring at her, was now about fifty men all seated at three long tables with wooden benches. The tables were overladen with food, mainly meat, and beer, and all the men were muscular and intimidating. She swallowed hard and fought against the urge to turn and run out of there.

"May I present Lady Saga to you all," Viggo said, breaking the silence. "And you all better listen to her. If I hear that any one of you hasn't, then training will start one hour earlier."

"You hear that men!" a knight with bushy red hair and a thick beard exclaimed. "That also means if she's happy we'll suffer less than now."

"Don't count on it, Kare. But if you drink less, then you'll certainly suffer less in the morning."

The other knights burst out laughing and they turned away from staring at Saga, the tension being forced out the door by their chatter. Viggo steered her to the middle of the middle table where space for the two of them had been left empty.

Viggo took a seat opposite Audun. Saga ended up opposite the knight who had spoken, and, to add to the tension in her body, with Hrafen on to her right. The one seated opposite Hrafen surprised Saga due to the sole reason that it was a woman. She looked as intimidating as the rest of the knights, but it was in the way the knights were. Not like how she was used to other women being intimidating. From Saga's experience, women hurt by sneers and leers, but this woman looked more likely to beat you bloody if you crossed her.

"This is Astrid," Viggo introduced her. "I've never seen anyone use a knife quite like her."

As if to prove his point, she stabbed a piece of meat on her plate with a knife and moved it to her mouth, taking the piece from there as if it was a fork, not a knife.

"And this here is Kare, who drinks and talks far better than he fights," Viggo introduced the man.

"Hey now, why does she get praise in her introduction while I get that?" the man complained instantly.

"Maybe the day you beat me in a fight, there'll be something to praise," Astrid pointed out as she ate another piece of meat off her knife.

"You always cheat," Kare huffed.

"Using your surroundings to your advantage isn't cheating, it's smart," she pointed out. Then turned her eyes on Saga. "So this is the famed Lady Saga. Feels like I already know you with how a certain someone hasn't stopped talking about you. For how long did he talk?" She once again looked back at Kare.

"All through the cleaning of the swords," Kare sighed. "Now if there is anyone who can talk, it is that boy."

"But his cheeks are much more pinchable than yours, so he's excused," Astrid said with a wink.

"How has the Lady settled in so far?" Hrafen asked at her side, pulling her attention away from the duo across from her. He watched her with a bored expression, but from the way his eyes remained fixed, Saga got the impression he was carefully studying her.

"All has been fine," she answered.

"So the dullness of the castle hasn't scared you off?"

Saga felt Viggo stiffen beside her, but her lips formed an easy smile.

"I quite like it," she answered truthfully. "It's simple, and doesn't try to be something it's not."

All the people closest to her fell silent for a moment.

"Oh, I like her!" Astrid then exclaimed. "Here, have some chicken!"

The meal went on. Astrid and Kare talked a lot and loudly. Hrafen muttered and grumbled until he was the first to excuse himself. Viggo gave warning looks whenever Astrid and Kare's conversations turned into something he found inappropriate, but Saga didn't mind. She enjoyed listening to their familial way of being, and though some comments were much rougher than she was used to, she found that they were just like the castle. They didn't try to be something they weren't.

The only part which made Saga feel uncomfortable was Audun's silence. From Kare's teasing remarks, Saga gathered Audun wasn't the talkative type normally, but that he was even more quiet than usual. It made the feeling she had had since their first interaction grow even more.

The man didn't like her.

She wondered what it was. What she had done and how she could fix it. From the words exchanged between him and Viggo, it was easy to understand the two of them were close friends. That in itself made Saga crave Audun's approval even more. If she was to be a good wife to Viggo, it would be best if those closest to him at least didn't dislike her.

When most had stopped eating and were instead only busy talking, the seat Hrafen had vacated earlier was filled again.

"Is everything alright, Lady Saga? The food is as good as I said, right?" Kai greeted her. His hair looked more dishevelled than normal and the rosy complexion of his cheeks made Saga wonder how much he had had to drink.

"It is," she answered and smiled, which caused Kai to straighten himself as his eyes glittered.

"I've really missed the food and wish I could eat more. But think I might be sick if I do," he confessed.

"Boy. What type of thing is that to say to a lady?" Kare scoffed with a teasing smirk.

"I tell sir Astrid stuff like that all the time," Kai pointed out.

"I said lady. Astrid isn't a lady."

"Saga," Viggo whispered next to her as Astrid gave a biting retort to Kare. "Will you be alright if I leave for a moment?"

"Yes," she nodded, though she wasn't entirely sure. All had gone smooth so far with the other knights, but he had been there, ready to serve as a buffer if needed.

"I won't be long," he promised and stood, and to Saga's dismain, Audun stood as well. A clump formed in her stomach as she watched them walk out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Lady Saga, if my words offended you," Kai said at her side, pulling her attention and stopping any negative thoughts from spiraling.

"You didn't," she answered, mainly because the boy looked devastated. A bit like a puppy with its tail hanging and she knew the tail would wag again with just a little bit of encouragement.

"You certain?"

"I am."

His tail was swishing from side to side.

"Do you like the rest of the castle?" he asked next.

"I do. Though, I haven't seen much. I will be seeing more tomorrow morning."

"Will you come by the training grounds? You should so you can see how good I am and how well I'll be able to protect you."

Opposite, Astrid snorted while Kare hit her in her side with an elbow.

"I don't know if I will," Saga answered honestly.

"Oh, okay," Kai answered, some of his excitement ebbing away.

"I'll... I'll try to though," she said, hating seeing him anything other than filled with his unrelenting happiness.

"That would be so exciting. And then..."

"Hey, boy, the Lady has much more important things to do than stare at us training all day," Kare pointed out.

"I know," Kai snapped. "I just thought..." His voice trailed off.

"Oh, hush, Kare, let the boy be enthusiastic if he wants to. As long as Lady Saga doesn't mind, then why should we?" Astrid defended.

"You've always been too lenient with him," Kare sighed.

"It's just because he's such a cutie. If I was younger, I'd definitely pursue him until he gave in."

"Hopefully, he got better taste than that."

Kai's cheeks had steadily become more and more red, and he turned pointedly around, so he still sat next to Saga, but had his back to the other two.

"They are always embarrassing," he muttered.

"What type of training will you be doing tomorrow?" Saga asked him to pull his thoughts away from what both Astrid and Kare had just said, and it worked like a charm as he smiled and went on a long tangent about different techniques. And as before when she had listened to him talk, she felt completely calm and at ease.