Viggo always woke up with the first stray lights of the day, if not even before that. There was so much which could be done that made laying around in bed not an option for him.

He wished Saga would stay sleeping longer, however. She always still was when he woke up, but him rustling to get dressed stirred her most days.

But right as he woke up, he had a moment to feel relief over the fact that she was resting. During the days she spent so much time caring about the estate. He heard from both the steward and chamberlain about all the things Saga was up to.

It filled him with a sense of pride. With how the girl had trembled in fear when they had first met, she had come a long way in quite a short time.

But he also wished she wouldn't busy herself so much. She still looked so fragile, and he could still see her lying sick on their bed. If he could have it his way, she'd spend her days doing nothing other than relaxing so as to not risk falling ill again.

After letting his eyes sweep over her sleeping form, Viggo readied himself to get up. But his eyes fell on a spot on the blanket she had over her. It was a bit twisted around her legs, but he saw a reddish-brown spot on the white sheet.

The colour of dried blood.

The peacefulness of the early morning hours shattered in him. It was unmistakably blood, Viggo had seen enough of it to know. But what did it mean? Was she hurt? Where was she bleeding from?

Viggo was frozen simply staring at her, torn between needing to find out what was wrong to ensure she would be alright, letting her continue sleeping, and respecting her privacy. What he wanted was to remove the sheet from her to see if he could find the wound before forcing her awake. But doing so would definitely invade on her privacy. Though they shared a bed, he made a conscious effort to not even by accident touch or see more of her naked skin than was absolutely necessary.

But she maybe was hurt. She could be bleeding out while he was sitting there completely useless.

Before he had time to make a decision, Saga moved in her sleep to lay on her side. As she did, the space on the bed she had occupied became visible for Viggo, and he could see a bigger spot of dried blood on the bed.

"Saga!" he exclaimed and grabbed her shoulders, flipped her back over to be able to shake her more easily if needed.

Saga's eyes fluttered open, her hands went up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. An action Viggo would have found adorable had his mind not been preoccupied by the thought of her bleeding from an unknown wound caused somehow while she had slept.

"Saga. How are you? Where are you hurt?" His questions came one after another while the panic in him increased. That she was well enough to wake up was a small comfort, but it didn't relax his body which was tense as if he was faced with a herd of wyverns.

"Hurt?" she echoed and yawned as she sat up in bed.

"You're bleeding. Where's the pain? Should I carry you to Hrafen?"

Her eyebrows lowered into a frown. "I'm not hurt."

"You are. Don't try to hide it from me, Saga. There's blood on the sheets!"

Her frown deepened for a moment before it eased. One of her hands landed on her stomach as she looked down to the blanket. Her mouth formed an oh.

"I'll take you to Hrafen," Viggo decided and moved to lift her up. But Saga scooted out of the way so she was as far away from him as the bed permitted.

"No!" she exclaimed. "That won't be necessary. I'm not hurt."

Viggo felt annoyance mix with his panic. She was clearly hurt, having moved the blood stain on the bed where she had slept was even more visible. That she was denying it was frustrating. He knew very well she didn't want to be of any trouble, but what she hoped to achieve when it was so glaringly obvious was beyond him.

"Don't lie to me," he said, his voice had darkened.

"I'm not!" Her cheeks looked to gain colour by the second and she drew the blanket closer to her body. "Women just bleed now and then, but it doesn't mean we're hurt. It's just natural."

"The hell are you on about?"

She met his gaze firmly, though her cheeks were as red as roses and her fingers twisted about the fabric of the blanket. Viggo's heart still pounded and his body itched to act. But her embarrassment and discomfort about the situation stilled some of his urgency. Could it be that it really was something natural? Something to not worry about?

"When girls become women we bleed from... from there now and then," Saga explained. Her hands pulled the blanket further up her body, as if she wanted to hide underneath it. "It's a way for our bodies to tell us we're ready to have children."

"That's preposterous!" It was utterly ridiculous. How could bleeding possibly be a sign of that? And, to Viggo, Saga was more a child than an adult herself. In what world was she ready to have children? But it was such an absurd thing that Viggo found himself believing her. Either she told the truth, or she had a much better imagination than he would have thought.

"It is just part of being a woman," Saga shrugged, or tried to. The action was too stiff to count as a shrug.

"So you are not hurt?"

"I'm not. And the bleeding will stop by itself in a couple of days."

Viggo combed back his hair with one hand. She looked genuine, but could he really trust her? When she had fallen ill before, she had downplayed her symptoms leading up to it. Was this the same? Was it really something else, something worse, but she just refused to say?

He knew he wouldn't get any more answers from her, however. He had learnt that time and time again. But he knew who he could ask for confirmation, and thinking about her, Viggo grew more certain Saga hid something from him. If Astrid inexplicably bled from time to time, then surely he would know about it.

"Alright. But promise to call on someone if it is something worse, or becomes something worse," Viggo implored.

"I will," Saga promised, though it sounded a bit like empty words to him. It would not surprise him if she would let herself bleed out before she bothered anyone else.

He got up and dressed while Saga sank down into the bed again. The blanket covered her completely as he left the room.

With a single track mind, Viggo went to the knight lodging and to Astrid's room. He knocked on the door with his whole fist, and when she took longer than a few seconds to open, he knocked again.

"Where's the fire this early in the morning?" Astrid yawned when she opened the door.

"I have some... private matters to ask you about," Viggo answered and scratched his neck. The thought of asking Astrid about such a thing felt much more intrusive and embarrassing now that he was before her.

She yawned some more. "Private matters?"

"It's regarding Saga."

Some of the sleep left the woman as her back straightened and she moved hair from out of her face. "Oh, well, come in."

Astrid seated herself on the bed while Viggo continued to stand. He looked at her, at the woman who had been a sworn brother in arms to him for many years. A woman who he rarely thought of as a woman. A woman he knew very well, but apparently was ignorant about certain things she suffered through.

"Spill it out. Your stare is making me nervous," Astrid said, and pulled her hair together into a bun on the top of her head before she reached for a dagger and a sharpening stone.

"Do women bleed from their private place?" The words came out in a rush. Heat travelled up Viggo's cheeks, which no doubt were turning as red as Saga's had been.

Astrid paused with the dagger resting toward the stone. Then she burst out laughing. A loud and unrelenting laugh which had her bending forward.

"It's not funny. Just answer the damn question," Viggo grumbled and looked away from her.

"I'm sorry, but it's hilarious. You looked so serious I thought someone had died or something at the very least," Astrid answered through her fits of laughter and dried at the corner of her eyes.

"So she's not hurt? It is normal?" Viggo pressed on.

"Completely normal. Please don't tell me you panicked?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know it's normal?!"

Astrid's laughter started anew, and Viggo's embarrassment had turned to indignation.

"Poor Saga," Astrid giggled. "Girl must have been mortified."

"Why have you never said anything about this?" Viggo grumbled. If Astrid had, then he would have escaped the current uncomfortable situation.

"And have all of you fuss over me more than you already do? No thank you. You've probably never realised it, but you all treat me much more delicately already. As soon as I'm hurt, I'm first in line to get healed even when others are worse off. I don't need to add more reasons for you to treat me differently."

The laughter had disappeared from Astrid as she spoke to be replaced by a solemn look. Viggo found it hard to meet her eyes, but for a very different reason compared to moments ago.

"Are you sure we are? You might just..."

"I'm certain, Viggo. You all always have. It's got better with the years, and I trust none of you do it consciously. But you all treat me as if I'm more delicate."

Her voice was hard, a bit how a mother's scolding tone might be. It made Viggo shuffle his feet.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's fine. And stop looking like a boy caught eating dessert before dinner. If any of the other knights saw you like that you wouldn't hear the end of it." She smiled and shook her head. But then a frown appeared. "This is the first time she's bled since coming here?"

"As far as I know," he answered, and though Saga was good at hiding her discomforts, he was certain he would have noticed such a thing.

"She's not particularly regular then," Astrid mumbled more to herself than to Viggo, but the deep frown she had pushed Viggo's panic forward again.

"What does that mean?"

"The normal is for women to bleed once every moon cycle. So she ought to have bled at least once before while here." Then Astrid shrugged and the frown eased. "But there can be a number of reasons why she hasn't. The stress of moving could be enough to change the rhythm of it. So nothing to be concerned about."

"Are you certain?"

Astrid nodded, though Viggo couldn't help the unease in his stomach. If she ought to have bled before but didn't, could that then mean something was wrong with her body? Maybe it would be good for Hrafen to look her over. Though that also felt impossible. There was no way the mage could give her a physical examination like that without making her thoroughly uncomfortable, so Viggo simply had to trust Astrid's words on this matter.

"Does she need anything? Even if it's natural, wouldn't it be painful or uncomfortable?" he asked instead.

"Can be. It's different for different women. Honestly, you'd do best by telling Erna about it and let her help Saga with it. Erna will know what to do."

Viggo nodded and thanked Astrid, then turned to leave. But before he did, he turned back around.

"I really don't consider you weaker than any of the men. In fact, I know your skills in fighting are second only to me."

She gave him a soft smile. "I know, Viggo. And I know you wouldn't entrust me with being in charge when you are away if that wasn't the case."

He gave her another nod, then left to tell Erna to make sure to give Saga whatever she might need to feel better.