72 Hrod's Offer

Macha fidgeted by the sudden appearance of Hrod in her room. The party reached the Valois estate after dinner, so Hrod did not receive them and the servants showed them to their rooms. Macha was in the same room as before, far away from the rest of the group. She wished she could be closer and felt it was unfair since even Krystof was allowed to stay in the family wing.

Hrod knocked on her door shortly after Macha finished taking a shower. She did not bother with pleasantries and stood by a settee. The fire illuminated her proud figure and made her seem larger than life. Tyr and Luna both got their good looks from their mother. While Tyr had a naturally cold aura, his mother's would be considered icy in comparison. Hrod gave Macha a look, which indicated she expected something.

Macha's mind raced through the book of manners that she studied. She blurted out, "Please, have a seat. I was not expecting you, please excuse my appearance." She remembered that it was not visiting hours, so her appearance could be excused.

Hrod nodded at Macha and calmly descended onto the cushion. A pair of beautiful green eyes glared at the small woman, there was no warmth in them. It had been a year since she last saw Macha, and her friends at the palace said Freyr had been unsuccessful. She sat patiently, waiting for Macha to sit down. She did not understand why her son liked the odd-looking woman so much. She thought Macha was too small to bear Tyr healthy children, too uncultured to show off, too young to be wise, and too weak to be of use for his guild. Everything about the woman seemed like a failure.

Instead of sitting down, Macha sifted through her bag and found the gifts she packed for Hrod. After grabbing them, she sat down on the cushion opposite of Hrod and held them out while lowering her head. "Thank you for inviting me to stay for Tyr and Luna's birthday. I bought you some Baku tea to help you sleep at night. I made sure to get S quality tea because it has the best flavor and effect. Please accept this humble gift." Macha's voice shook from the tension in the room. She was aware Hrod did not like her and was uncertain if she would receive the gift. The fireplace crackled and nothing happened. To fill the void of silence in the room, Macha added, "I also put in some of Tyr's favorite chocolates from Crotte de Chocolat."

The gift took Hrod by surprise, she did not expect Macha to bring her something. Her own children never brought gifts while they visited. "Thank you," she replied in a stiff voice as she took the bag. Hrod placed the wrapped present on the cushion next to her. Since her husband died, she had trouble sleeping at night. Hrod had been using Baku tea lately to help her sleep, so she thought Macha's gift was considerate. The chocolates were also an interesting choice and she wondered if Tyr's palette had changed since he was a child.

Tyr walked along the long dark hallway. It was inconvenient that he and Macha had been put so far apart and he thought about how he would have to spend most of his time outside of his room to be with her. Plans of how they would go for a stroll around the orchard before their training tonight filled his mind. The prospect of kissing in the orchard made a small grin touch Tyr's lips. As he drew near her room, he heard Macha's voice; she sounded as if she talked to someone. Tyr silenced his footsteps as he approached her door.

Macha adjusted her robe and straightened her back. Although her appearance was shabby, she wanted to put her best foot forward. She gave a small smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? I admit I did not expect to see you tonight." She tried to speak as formally as she could, not wanting to offend Hrod.

Hrod raised her chin a little more and looked down her nose at Macha. Her voice carried a pompous air to it, "Yes, well, there are matters that must be addressed. What do you want from my son?" She had asked the same thing of Fenrir once. Fenrir had replied that she wanted Tyr's wealth and name. Hrod could only guess that Macha's reply would be the same. She mused how Macha was like Fenrir in many ways. Both of them were poor, had no family backing, or etiquette.

The question stung like a slap across Macha's face and caused her to inhale sharply. She did not expect Hrod to ask something so cruel. Her brows came together, "Why would I want anything from Tyr? I just want him to be happy." Now she worried that other people perceived her as using Tyr as well.

Hrod's eyes narrowed. In a flat tone, she asked, "How much do you want? Name your price." She knew women like this liked money. Macha was pretending to be innocent.

A cold shiver ran through Macha's body and she shook her head. "I don't need money. I really do just want Tyr and Luna to be happy." She did not understand why Hrod believed friendship or love were things to be bought off. Pity entered her mind, and she felt Hrod's life must be cold and lonely to have that sort of mentality.

Hrod stood up. "Listen here, I asked the same thing of that Fenrir woman, at least she had the decency, to be honest. I will ask you again, what do you want from my son?" She was becoming angry, her voice now was sharp and the aura she gave off caused Macha to lean back. Hrod thought Fenrir was terrible, but at least that woman had been honest.

Macha stood up so she would not be so intimidated. It was obvious that Hrod now tried to bully her, and she refused to be treated that way. In a clear voice that held no fear, she articulated herself, "I will say it again since you did not hear me. I want nothing from Tyr. If you have a problem with that so be it, but I will not accept any bribery from you. He is my friend and will remain so, no matter what happens between us."

The tension in Tyr's shoulders relaxed. He did not know what Macha's response would be. When he heard his mother's question he recognized he should have entered, but his body froze waiting to discover Macha's response. Now that he knew, he could not leave Macha to face Hrod alone. Tyr swung open the door, "Mother, that is enough."

The sound of Tyr's angered voice caused Hrod to face him. Her son stood in the doorway and scowled at her. Her lips pursed, and she looked away. "I was just having a conversation with Macha. You do not have to be upset."

Tyr strode across the room and put his hand on Macha's shoulder. "If you have qualms with Macha, we can leave. I would not have even come, but Macha persuaded me to. I would rather continue on to Jimbaran than be here." Tyr stood straight and his feet were apart, ready to begin a lengthy argument with his mother on this issue.

Thinking about how to calm Tyr down, Hrod moved her head to see how Macha reacted. Times like this were when Fenrir gave her a smug smile or fanned the flames. The small woman looked distraught by her son's words. Hrod did not expect Tyr's visit to be because Macha wanted to come. She ventured on to say, "I have no qualms. You are being dramatic. How could you say such harsh words to your own mother? You act as if you had a terrible childhood."

Macha felt Tyr's hand tighten with anger. The look on his face grew stiff, and she worried he would start yelling at his mother. She placed her hand on his fingers, "Tyr, we were just talking. I was just telling your mother how much I value your friendship. Don't be angry." After saying those words she rubbed his hand a little to try to expel his tension.

Tyr looked at Macha and she shook her head. Tyr could tell Macha wanted him to leave it be. He clenched his jaw and looked his mother in her eyes. A thick silence hung in the air. "Fine. My apologies. I must have misunderstood. Macha means a lot to me, so forgive me. If anything were to happen to her, I do not know what I would do." Tyr wanted to warn his mother to stay away from Macha.

The warning rang clear as day and Hrod understood. She did not expect Tyr to come to Macha's room tonight. She would never have had that conversation if she thought he would be around. Hrod waved her hand, "Do not worry about me. I agree. Macha must take care of herself. I will hire someone to oversee her education." If Tyr refused to let the girl go, he should at least make sure she did not embarrass them. After making her proposition, she remembered Thor's first son was very handsome and the Rosenkrantz family owed her a favor.

"Why would she need that?" Tyr did not understand what his mother plotted. When he entered, Hrod was trying to buy Macha off. Now his mother wanted to hire someone to educate her. Tyr could not make sense of his mother's reasoning and that made him nervous. He knew his mother was manipulative and smart.

Hrod picked up the gift that Macha gave her and made her way to the door. "I refuse to let her drag our name through the mud. Have some insight. Also, I did not raise you to sneak into women's rooms at night." Hrod left it at that and closed the door.

Hrod did not like the outcome of her visit. Nothing went according to plan. Trying to bribe Macha had been her last resort, but Tyr had interrupted them. If that woman had to be a part of Tyr's life, then Hrod hoped she would be able to avoid the misery that Fenrir inflicted on her. Macha did not seem to be vindictive like Fenrir had been. Hrod thought about Ullr and a smile formed on her lips. He was such a good boy, Thor was lucky his son was born with a silver tongue.

Tyr turned to make sure Macha was all right. He understood his mother was not an agreeable woman, and he did not want her to scare Macha off. Moving across the room, Macha stopped by her dresser. Tyr followed her. "Macha, you should have let me stand up for you. Don't worry about what my mother says. I know you don't have any motives."

Macha took out one of the traveling dresses she packed. Thinking about what happened she sighed, "I don't want you to argue with your mother if it can be helped. She loves you, but just has an odd way of showing it. I'm not angry anymore." She understood why Hrod did what she did, she just felt the woman's method was poor. Hrod did not seem to care if Tyr misunderstood her.

The light of the moon shone down on Macha and Tyr held her elbows. He touched his lips to the top of her head, "Really, I don't mind leaving. We can leave right now if you want." The fact was, he did not even want to be at the estate. Every time he visited his mother, she found a way to upset him. Tyr considered their relationship better if he did not visit.

Macha sat down on the settee. She patted the cushion next to her, wanting Tyr to join her. The flames of the fire danced, and she watched them for a moment. In a distant voice, she explained, "I don't have family here. When I came to this world, I lost all of them. I wish I had a mother. You do, and I won't force you to love her, but you should still appreciate that someone cares for you and tries to think of your interests. Hrod might be rough around the edges and she might not know what is best for you, but she tries and has good intentions." Macha gripped the traveling dress tightly and her voice quavered.

Tyr reached out to hold Macha's hand. She rarely talked about her family or her past. He processed her words. "I understand. I will take that into consideration, thank you for being patient with her." Tyr had never viewed his mother that way. He always saw her as a thorn in his side that he could not escape. He needed time to try to see it from Macha's point of view.