“Sixteen.”
“You’re not very big for sixteen. Kles there is bigger than you and he’s only fourteen.”
“Where I live, we aren’t as well fed as you.”
Eirek sighed. “Here there’s nothing much to do except eat.”
The observation made Niall thoughtful.
Eirek clapped his hands. “All right, we’ll start with the flute game. Dona, you play the flute. The rest of you sit down.” They sat in rows on the floor, Dona a few yards away with her back turned. Niall, sitting at the end of the front row, was handed a smooth wooden stick about six inches long.
“We pass the tally from hand to hand while the flute is playing,” Eirek explained. “When the flute stops, whoever is holding it has to kiss the person next in line. And he’s out of the game.” Niall was sitting next to a blue-eyed little girl of ten, who gave him a demure sideways glance.
As Dona started to play, Eirek called: “Stop. Merlew, are you going to join in?” Niall’s heart skipped; the princess had entered from behind. She was wearing a single garment made of spotted fur which left her arms and her long legs bare.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said.
Eirek accepted her apology with a nod. “All right. Sit there on the front row.” Niall took care not to look at her as she sat beside him. He could feel the warmth radiating from her body against his bare arm.
Dona started to play again, and Niall was impressed by her skill; she played a merry dance tune that repeated itself over and over again. Everyone passed the tally at top speed. Periodically, Dona stopped; then there was much laughter as the person holding the tally had to kiss the next person along. Gaps left in their ranks by the children who dropped out of the game meant that boys often had to kiss boys, and this occasioned shouts of mirth and some embarrassed blushes. Niall laughed as loudly as the rest. After a few minutes, there were only a dozen left in the game, and Eirek ordered them to form a circle. Now the tally passed round at great speed, and Dona deliberately made her solos longer, to increase the tension. Every time it reached Merlew, Niall willed the music to stop. And after a few minutes, it happened; she was just about to put the tally into his hand when the flute ceased. Niall smiled broadly in an attempt to disguise the beating of his heart; Merlew leaned sideways, quite coolly took hold of Niall’s head in her hands, and planted a firm kiss on his lips; everyone laughed approvingly. For a moment, her eyes met his; they seemed calm and mocking. Then she stood up and joined the others. The next time round, Niall found himself holding the tally when the music stopped. The small girl held up her face to him, and her lips held his for a moment longer than necessary. There were mocking “Oohs”, and as Niall retreated from the game, the girl blushed rosily.
For Niall, the remainder of the morning passed far too quickly. It dawned on him, with delighted astonishment, that he was an object of curiosity, particularly to the female sex, and that the boys were disposed to admire rather than resent him. When the girls were told to choose partners for a three-legged race, four tried to seize Niall simultaneously; the winner was a rather heavily-built, dark-haired girl called Nyris, and the two of them won the race, just ahead of Merlew and her partner. After this, the younger children sat down to rest, and Eirek announced that the last game of the morning would be a wrestling contest for everyone over the age of thirteen. Niall was surprised but far from displeased to learn that the girls were expected to take part. Soft mattresses stuffed with grass were laid on the floor. The girls were again allowed to choose, and Niall found himself partnered with Nyris.
Each bout commenced with the two adversaries facing one another, arms raised with forearm resting against forearm and fingers interlocked. At a given signal, they braced their feet and began to push, each trying to drive the other backwards. When they slipped and lost contact, they interlocked arms and legs, each trying to wrestle the other to the ground. Then, on the ground, they struggled until one was able to sit astride the other and press the hands back against the mattress. There were points given by judges — the younger children — for each stage.
Nyris, being heavier than Niall, easily won the first stage of the contest. But when it came to wrestling, her weight was no match for his sinewy strength, and he was soon sitting astride her, pressing the backs of her hands against the floor. As he stood up, he observed to his relief that Merlew had beaten her opponent, a broad-shouldered but clumsy youth whom she immobilised by pinning him to the ground with her full weight. It was clear that she was a great deal stronger than she looked.
Niall’s next two opponents were male, and both were bigger and heavier than he was. But, like Nyris, they lacked agility, and Niall had no difficulty in beating them both.
Now, as he had hoped, he found that he and Merlew were the two finalists. Both were panting, and before they started, Eirek allowed them to recover their breath. Then they faced each other and locked forearms. Her hair, damp with sweat, was clinging to her forehead, and Niall found her enchanting.
Eirek gave the signal to start. Quite suddenly, Merlew braced herself and pushed with all her might; Niall reeled backward and everyone applauded. She was on him immediately, trying to fling him to the ground before he had a chance to recover. But Niall was not to be caught out a second time; their arms interlocked, their legs intertwined, and each tried to upset the other’s balance. Her face was pressed against his, and she was breathing heavily in his ear; the sensation was so pleasant that he stopped trying to unbalance her and simply allowed himself to enjoy the consciousness of feeling her in his arms. She tried to upset his equilibrium by relaxing, but he only took advantage of it to press her further backwards.
At that moment he realised there were two more spectators: Kazak had emerged from his dwelling, which opened onto the hall, and Ingeld was standing beside him. For a moment, Niall wondered if the king would be angry to see his daughter clasped in the arms of his guest, and relaxed his grip; with a fierce twist of her body, Merlew threw him to the ground and landed on top of him. They struggled, panting, for several minutes, until she forced one of his hands back against the floor. Now he tried the trick that she had used against him a moment ago; he suddenly allowed himself to relax, as if surrendering. Automatically, she relaxed too. With a violent twist of his hips, he threw her sideways, twisted her arm to the ground and lay across her. She hissed: “Cheat!” But his weight pinned her to the ground. Cautiously, he moved sideways, so their bodies were parallel and, holding down her head with his own, he tried to force back her wrists. Her breath was warm against his ear. They seemed to be locked in a position in which neither had the advantage, and although he could have subdued her by brute strength, he felt this would be a triumph of force rather than skill.
At that moment, he felt her lips against his ear, as if she were about to whisper; then they parted, and her teeth gently bit into the lobe of his ear. The sensation was at once erotic and disturbing, and he became still. Before he was aware of what was happening, she had twisted from under him and wrenched her hands free. A moment later, she was gripping his wrists and forcing them back.
He chuckled: “Cheat.”
She whispered: “That makes two of us.”
Still laughing, he allowed her to push the backs of his hands against the mattress. To underline her triumph, she struggled on top of him and sat astride his hips. The spectators burst into loud cheers. Ingeld, he noticed, wore a mocking smile.
Kazak came forward and patted his daughter lightly on the head. Merlew sprang lightly to her feet without giving Niall a second glance. Kazak turned to Ingeld. “You see why I made her mistress of the household?”
Ingeld’s smile was inscrutable. “She is indeed a remarkable young lady.”
Ingeld gave Niall a gentle kick in the ribs with her bare foot. “Come on, boy, get up.” The “boy” was at once patronising and affectionate.
Later, as Niall and Dona walked back towards her home, she said: “You shouldn’t have let her beat you.”