Chapter Text
The sky was gray. Anna found it to be just a bit too cliché for her taste as she stood in front of the simple wooden cross that was her husband’s grave.
It wasn’t a grave, per say, but a marker.
She had seen him get shot by the bandits that attacked the wagon train. She had seen the blossom of blood bloom across his chest. She had screamed for him as the bandits had dragged him away and he hadn’t answered her.
Everyone said that there was no way for him to survive that.
He was dead, without question.
She sat staring at the three little crosses. One of them marked the actual grave of the wagon train leader. He’d been shot right away. The other marked the grave a younger man who had tried to stop the bandits from taking everything of value. They had, of course, shot him, too.
Now everything Anna owned, save the clothes she’d been intending to change in the rucksack by her feet were gone. Her mother’s jewelry, and her father’s silver spoons, and her trunks of fancy clothes. All snatched up.
The rest of the people from the wagon train and those from the small nearby township that had gathered to help bury the two remaining bodies slowly filed away from the graves. One elderly lady gently patted her hand.
She couldn’t deny she was shocked, but now that it was wearing away, she felt guilty that one of the main things she felt was relief. She knew she had to be going to hell for that feeling, but still, she felt it.
Then there was dread. And fear. And confusion.
What was she going to do now?
“Mrs. Westergaard?” A voice interrupted her thoughts.
She turned to find a tall, broad shouldered man, with a wide brimmed hat. He looked a bit shabby, and his blond hair was rather long, but he was still clean.
“Yes?” She asked.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” He whispered.
“Thank you.” She nodded, unable to meet his eye.
“So,” He suddenly seemed very embarrassed, and at a loss for words. “I- I’ve looked around for a place for you to stay.”
“Oh, thank you.” She sighed.
“The… the trouble is. There isn’t- there isn’t any place for you to board.”
“Oh.” She whispered, that dread and fear washing over her again.
“You see, the township is still very small. There’s only one house for boarders, and that’s where the families from the wagon train that are now without any resources to continue traveling West have gone.”
“I see.” Anna nodded, and she bit her lip.
“Some of the younger men from the wagon train have decided to press on, but the rest of the people have found lodging on some of the nearby farms in exchange for work.” The farmer continued to stammer.
“Oh, well I guess I should see about finding a family to stay with until the next wagon train and I can go back East… When will that be?”
“The next wagon train won’t pass this way until spring.”
“Spring?” Anna echoed.
Of the few scraggly trees that littered the plains the leaves were only just beginning to change color. The grass was only just beginning to fade a die. Spring was a long time from now.
“Yes, and… well you see, all the families around here have taken on as many people as they can with the winter coming on.”
“Oh.” Anna said suddenly feeling very dizzy indeed.
“Except… well. There are some... well there’s me.”
Anna looked up at him sharply.
He was young. Maybe a few years older than her, but still young. She let her eyes dart down looking for a wedding ring, but his fingers were bare.
“And,” he continued taking his hat off and worrying the brim in his hands, “I actually could use some help on my farm. I have a little girl, she’s five, and she could really use a feminine influence.”
Anna nodded slowly, beginning to understand what he was about to ask.
“I tried to find a more convenient arrangement for you, I know you’re in shock, and grieving… but I can only comfortably take on one more person at my farm, and there were no other people who were…”
“Alone?” Anna finished for the man.
“Yes.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s alright…” Anna sighed. “What’s your name?”
“Kristoff. Kristoff Bjorgman.”
“Alright, Mr. Bjorgman. I’ll come live with you.”
“That’s… that’s the thing. I can’t just have a young woman come live on my farm. The people around here would talk, and I can’t do that to my little girl. She’s got it rough enough as it is.”
“But I thought…” Anna then trailed off, looking up into his face.
Mr. Bjorgman had a severe look about him. A strong jaw, wide nose, and what looked to be a permanent scowl. Yet, he also seemed like an honest man, so she couldn’t quite wrap her head around why he looked so embarrassed.
“I-I would like to offer you… my hand?” He said awkwardly, and she noted that his cheeks were pink. “I mean, for all practical purposes, we’d be unmarried, and when the wagon train comes back in the spring, we could get an annulment because… well… you know… we wouldn’t… I wouldn’t dream of… well…”
“My husband has only been dead for one day.” Anna said, blinking in surprise.
“I know,” Kristoff nodded his head, “trust me, I hate to do this to you. But this is a very harsh and unforgiving land… which is why I’m probably your best option.”
“My best option?” She repeated.
“There are two other men in this area who are about to ask you to marry them, too, without the opportunity of leaving when the wagon train comes back.”
Anna stared at him with her mouth open for a moment, then she shut it with a sharp snap.
“Listen,” he continued, a sympathetic frown on his face, “I’ll give you some time to think about it. There are no hard feelings if you’d rather not. I just felt that… it wouldn’t be right to leave you at the mercy of Otis and Thunberg as winter’s coming on… besides, we might be able to help each other out a bit.”
Anna bit her lip in thought.
“If you decide you’d like to take me up on my offer, I’ll be at the parson’s house in an hour.” He finished, putting his hat back on his head.
Anna merely nodded in reply, feeling tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.
She thought hard about some of the other families that had been on the wagon train. Would any of them be willing to take her on? Probably not, they were all destitute after being robbed by those bandits.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see two other men leering at her. She knew instantly those were the two other men that Mr. Bjorgman had been speaking of. Neither of them looked half as pleasant as he had.
She supposed she might be able to write to her sister, Elsa. To admit that she had failed utterly and spectacularly, and have Elsa send someone to collect her and bring her home… but she didn’t know how long that would take. What would she do in the meantime? Mr. Bjorgman had told her that there were absolutely no vacancies and everyone else in this township was already stretching themselves thin trying to shelter the other victims of the wagon train…
It seemed absolutely crazy to marry a man she had literally just met.
Though, truly she’d barely known Hans when she’d married him and look at where that had landed her…
“Mr. Bjorgman!” She called when she saw the greasier of the two men that had been watching her begin to make his way over.
She turned to see that blond farmer had only managed to make it a few yards away and he turned to look at her in surprise. She jogged up to him.
“Do I have your word, that when the opportunity presents itself, you’ll allow me to return home?”
“Absolutely.” He nodded.
“Well,” Anna shifted her weight foot to foot for a moment, “then I’ll take you up on your offer.”
*****