Read In Thrall for Free Online Page B

to touch the snow, amazed at the unfamiliar sensation as she ran her fingers through the wet powder. Before long, she was chasing pigtailed girls and young boys through the trees, laughing along with them.
    In the evening she watched women making butter in giant vats down in a barn. The young thrall women laughed and joked with each other. All of them were plump and rosy-cheeked. They didn't seem unhappy, even if they did work extremely hard.
    She had seen thrall men wandering in and out of the property as well, carrying lumber, game for butchering or other heavy loads. She saw them far off, bent double in the fields. She wondered if they were treated as well as these women in Leif's household.
    She asked Hilde about it.
    “ Leif Svensson is a fair chieftain.” She answered, using the Northman word. “His thralls are better treated than others. Many go free, if one day they pay their worth. Then they stay, work for him as freedmen.” Another strange word, but she thought she understood.
    “ So...” Zahira began, trying to sound casual, “I could go free, if I earned enough to balance my value.” She thought of the gold she still had in the earrings in her ears, her fine dress and the headdress, and wondered how much they would fetch her.
    The women smiled kindly. “Yes...” she drew out the word, hesitant. “But Za,” Hilde couldn't pronounce her name well, so she had taken to using just the first syllable. “Your value is high. And you do not make things. You know, to sell at market.”
    She ran through her meager list of talents, most of them utterly useless in this foreign land. She could embroider – if she got her hands on some silk, she might be able to sell some. The Northmen might have little use for fine decorated cloth, but the people they traded with would.
    Just how long would it take for her to embroider enough to pay for her own freedom? Just thinking about it, her heart sank.
    Hilde nudged her, and leaned forward conspiratorially. “There is something else you can do.”
    “ Yes?”
    “ Mmmhmm.” The old woman nodded, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled. “Make him fall in love with you.”
     
    ….
     
    Having not had much sleep, she was exhausted by the end of the day, when Hilde sent her off to rest, back to the small cell in which she'd spent her first night.
    Zahira curled up on her small straw bed and gratefully slept.
    Freja woke her, late at night. Leif was back from dining with the men, and he had called for her.
    She followed Freja down the stairs to his chambers, smoothing her rumpled clothing. She wished she'd had a chance to bathe, and hoped he wouldn't be angry that she was a little grimy. She tried to neaten her long hair, running her fingers through it.
    When they stopped in front of the door to Leif's room, Freja suddenly turned to face her.
    “ Good work today.” She said. Then she looked away, and turned to leave.
    It was good to receive something other than disapproval from the woman. Zahira felt disproportionately proud. She hadn't done much, but at least she had served a purpose other than “looking pretty.” A touch of a smile on her face, she pushed open the heavy carved door.
    Peeking her head in, she saw Leif was on his bed – he had collapsed onto the mattress and fallen asleep. His legs hung over the edge, and he still wore leather armor and boots. He was snoring softly. All of the lanterns were out but a new fire crackled in the hearth, and the light flickered across the walls and ceiling.
    She went in and closed the door. As she felt the warm air, she remembered his orders about wearing clothing in the room. Tiptoeing so as not to wake him, she pulled the shift over her head, and then the chemise, standing naked in front of the fire. She folded the clothing neatly and placed them on the bench. For a minute she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of heat on her skin as she stood by the fireplace.
    She wasn't sure what to do. Would he be angry if