112 Invitation to a Lake House

Ullr extended his arm behind Macha. He made sure not to touch her because he wanted her to warm up to him. He noticed her face was stiff as she gazed out of the window. Calculating the proper touch of concern, he consoled, "Macha, what's wrong? I know I'm your tutor, but I also consider you a friend. Please, let me help you."

The feelings of betrayal stung in Macha's heart. She thought the moment Fenrir walked into the room and threw her coat on Macha, Tyr would have ordered his ex to leave.

She turned to face Ullr. "I assumed Tyr and I would be exclusive. I understand men can marry multiple women in this world, but I always assumed Tyr took me seriously." She closed her eyes, suppressing her pain, "Fenrir came into the office today and he didn't defend me or tell her to leave." Her face flinched with the memory and she turned away.

Ullr nodded. "Mmm... I understand. Some men date other women at the same time. I personally would never do that. I want to only marry one woman." He remembered Macha mentioned to him how she believed people should be exclusive with their relationships or there was no point in marrying. What he told her was not a lie. He would never want to marry more than one person. He grew up seeing how that complicated the family dynamics.

Macha was silent, so he continued, "If I remember correctly, Tyr was with Fenrir for many many years. It would be hard for him to forget her. Maybe you should move out. I don't want you to end up seeing them together if they get back together."

The vision of Fenrir in Tyr's apartment upset her. She realized Fenrir used to be in the guild, but like Krystof, the woman had her own apartment. Macha then realized Fenrir probably spent time in Tyr's apartment. That idea bothered her beyond anything else that happened today. This whole time she could have been sleeping in the same bed he had used with Fenrir. The notion made her feel dirty.

"You think they might get back together?" she asked weakly. The image of Fenrir clinging to Tyr flashed into her mind and caused her to bring her lips in and bite on them. That idea occurred to her, but she was trying to deny it.

"Possibly, did Fenrir want him back?" Ullr knew the answer to that already, but he needed to plant seeds of doubt. The pain that Macha felt would pass, but he needed to finish Hrod's request to free his family from the favor they owed.

He was willing to take care of Macha if she fell for him. Ullr found her personality pleasant and her looks were adequate. He did not care for love and thought it made people too emotional. Trusting someone other than yourself seemed like a bad idea so he never bothered with that emotion.

Macha's head gave a little nodded. The wheels of the carriage creaked as they moved through the streets. The creaking seemed like it was the sound of her heart breaking in half. "Yeah. She apologized for leaving him and kept clinging to him." After she said those words Macha realized she probably had no chance at that point and began to cry.

Ullr took Macha in his arms when she began crying. She did not look at him and he rolled his eyes. This was the reason he never fell in love. People who usually shone like a diamond ended up a wreck.

He cleared his throat and used his comforting voice, "Macha, don't let Tyr make you cry. You're beautiful, intelligent, fun, and caring. Many men would love to be with you." He then tilted her chin up, so she looked at him. "Don't worry." Once again, he stuck as close to the truth as possible. He believed she held all of those characteristics. It was also reasonable that many men would want her if Tyr did.

All the compliments Ullr gave made her cry harder. She was upset because if she possessed all of those characteristics, then Tyr should want her. She burrowed her head into Ullr's chest.

Knowing his words were working, Ullr stroked her hair to comfort her. He tried to think of what his next plan should be.

Based on reason, he understood it was too early to make any moves on her. He needed Macha to decide in her mind that Tyr already cheated on her. "What concerns me is that Tyr didn't follow you when you left. If I loved a woman, I would never put her in that situation. If by some miracle it happened, I would have chased after her immediately. You wouldn't have even been able to leave the room."

Everything Ullr mentioned made sense. Macha took deep breaths to calm herself. "He never said he loved me."

Her words echoed in her mind. After a few minutes, she calmed down and cleared her throat. She realized they were still dating. He could technically date other people and neither of them ever mentioned love. Due to these circumstances, she should not be so upset. "Thank you," she said as she wiped her tears away. "You made me realize I shouldn't be agitated. I don't know what got into me. We aren't in love, so why would we need to be exclusive?"

Ullr nodded. Things seemed to be progressing perfectly. Based on how Tyr acted, he loved her. The man's actions were full of nonsense, there was no other excuse other than love. He could not fathom how Tyr did not tell Macha about his feelings. It seemed as if the stars aligned to make his job easier.

Now he needed Tyr to be apart from her for a while. "Why don't you stay at my family's lake house for a few days? It will help you re-frame your mind and I can find out what went on with Tyr and Fenrir."

Ullr's offer was so kind. She thought about how he always knew what to say and probably would make a wonderful boyfriend. Macha shook her head at his offer, "That would be too much. I wouldn't want to impose on your family."

"This month is my turn to use it, so no one is there. I insist. I want you to have a place to think things over and calm yourself. Sometimes it's good to have some time alone." Ullr was positive he would convince Macha to stay at one of his family's vacation homes.

She trusted people too much and saw the best in people. Nobles would view this offer as a way to carry on an affair, but he realized she would not. Everything he told her, she always took at face value. A woman like her would be easy to control he mused.

The offer was tempting. "Are you sure it isn't a problem?" She had never been to a lake house and it would be nice if she had some time to herself.

Now that Tyr wanted to be with Fenrir, she refused to be with him. This situation differed from when she thought he rejected her affections. They both still cared about each other, but she would not allow herself to be in a three-way relationship. The cultural difference was too much for her to overcome and no matter what, she would remain stubborn on this point. Macha realized she needed to get over her feelings, which would be hard to do if she stayed at the apartment.

Ullr opened the window that allowed him to talk to the driver. He gave the driver new directions, and they changed their course. Ullr patted Macha's hand, "It's no problem at all. I haven't been up there this month, so I can't guarantee its cleanliness. If the place is dirty, I'll help you clean up."

****

Tyr rode to all the gelato shops in Marseille, but he did not find them. When he got back to the apartment, he hoped to find Macha waiting for him. Instead, he found Krystof sitting on the sofa polishing all of their glassware.

Krystof finished removing a watermark on the glass that he held. "Tyr," he closed his eyes, "I know you wouldn't take Fenrir back because you love Macha. What happened?" Luna had complained to him for the past two hours about Tyr. It had been worse than the Boreas's Day he envisioned originally.

The light from the fireplace flickered along the glasses which were lined in a neat row on the table. Tyr sat down and put his face in his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees. "Fenrir came in asking for forgiveness. She claimed she wanted me back."

A cynical snort came from Krystof. His body recoiled from the thought of Fenrir doing that. "You realize she said that because Jarnvid will probably be executed right?" To Krystof, Fenrir was the easiest person in the world to read. She only cared about money and her own wellbeing. She was selfish, materialistic, and had no loyalty.

Tyr nodded his head in shame, "Yeah. I know." He struggled to understand what went on through his head when Fenrir approached him. "When Fenrir came in and talked like how she used to, it surprised me. For a moment, I felt confused." He could not explain the turmoil he experienced whenever she was around. The years of her mind games still intimidated him. It left him confused at any judgment he made when it came to Fenrir.

Tyr leaned back and rested his head against the wall. "When I saw Macha, I remembered who I was and that I didn't deserve such abuse. Then I tried to tell Fenrir to back off, but she mentioned how she would join the guild and compete in the tournaments. That made me hesitate because she was a good fighter."

"So, you hesitated because you considered taking Fenrir back into the guild after what she did to all of us?" Krystof folded the cloth he used to polish the glasses and placed it on the table's corner.

There was something he needed to make very clear to Tyr. He looked his friend in the eye, "Do you think Luna would ever accept Fenrir back into the guild? She never told you, but when that woman left, she slapped Luna. She said Luna deserved to be raped, and that she hated pretending to be nice to her." This had been something Luna confided to him after they had became lovers. She explained that it had been water under the bridge because Fenrir would never be back. With the situation like it was now, he believed it was important to share.

Krystof continued, "We all put up with Fenrir because you cared for her so much, but that woman is poison. Now that I'm with Luna I would never let you bring such a terrible person back, even as a guildmate. She never embodied anything you expect from the members of the guild."

Tyr realized why Luna had been so angry after seeing Fenrir in his office. He never realized that she said something so hurtful to his sister. "Arrgh," Tyr cried out in frustration. "Look, I messed up. I won't take Fenrir back." He messed up his hair because of the stress. "I honestly don't give a damn about Fenrir. Right now I only want to find out where Macha is. I was about to check if there was any hair on her hairbrush, but I doubt there is."

Hearing that Fenrir would not be back allowed Krystof to relax. After his talk with Luna, he needed to make sure Tyr understood their stance on that topic. Now that things were sorted out, he returned to his easy-going nature, "Don't worry. Macha loves ya. You need any help?"

It relieved him he could report to Luna that his mission was a success. If Tyr needed help, he would be willing to assist, but he really hoped to get back to his, Boreas's Day.

The logs in the fireplace hissed. "You go back and enjoy your holiday. Sorry, I messed it up for you. I hope Luna calms down and tell her I'm sorry. I can search for Macha on my own." Tyr got up and went into the bathroom to search for Macha's hairbrush. Like he suspected, she cleaned it off this morning.

Tyr laid on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the box that contained the rings he ordered. Their reservation was set for an hour from now and he hoped she would meet him there. He changed his clothes and made his way to The White Rabbit.