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Gry and Fjor think about the secret that they both share, they think about what they had and what they had both lost.
Gry’s POV
Gry looked out of the window of her apartment that she and her mother shared. They had moved from Edda three months ago immediately after her father had committed suicide. Her father’s death had devastated her mother, she no longer had a desire to live in Edda anymore, too many bad memories. Gry had agreed with her mother that it was best to leave Edda. She had wanted Fjor Jutul to come with them, but he decided to abandon her at the last minute. Gry had not expected Fjor to just walk out of her life and the life that they had planned together, but personal ambition got in the way of what they had planned.
After his father’s unexpected death, Fjor wrested control of Jutul Industries from his sister Saxa who had been forced to take over the day-to-day operations at Jutul after Vidar’s death. The details of Vidar’s death were few, it was said that he suffered a sudden Cardiac Arrest and died in his home, ironically enough he died that same day that her father committed suicide. Such an ironic tragedy thought Gry as she looked at the rain as it fell from the sky.
Gry’s mind went back to Fjor, she wondered how he was doing. The newspapers had said that Jutul was under close inspection from several environmental agencies, tax authorities and the city council of Edda wanted answers too. Facing so much pressure, Gry couldn’t help but wonder did Vidar commit suicide. Just a random thought that passed through her troubled mind. Gry and her mother had to settle in quickly into their new life, school for her would start next week, this year she would be going online, she felt that it was best considering the circumstances.
She planned to work at the local discount store during evening and go to school online during the day. Gry thought to herself, this is not what she planned to do with her life, she had wanted to go to college and teach primary school, she tried to remember her life before Fjor Jutul, she was just an ordinary girl going to high school until last fall when Fjor Jutul took an interest in her. He and his sister Saxa were the most popular kids in school. Their mother was the high school principal and their dad was the richest man in Edda. Fjor was always seated with some love-struck girl. One day Saxa invited her to sit at her table at lunchtime, Gry wondered if Fjor had told Saxa to invite her over there. Gry talked with Saxa and her friends, Fjor barely noticed her until just before Christmas. The Jutuls hosted a big Christmas party every year, Saxa invited her to the party, she declined and did not go.
This past spring, two new boys came to Edda, Magne and Laurits Seier. Magne had liked Gry, and she had liked Magne a little bit, but Magne was weird. She told Magne that she had only want to be his friend, he was disappointed, but he had understood. She was glad that Magne had come to town, he had opened her eyes to so many things that were wrong in Edda. Now that she looked back on it, she missed him and his friendship so much.
Fjor had taken a sudden interest in her and she fell head over heels in love with Fjor. He had made her feel so special, he let her know that she was the only girl that he cared for, that’s why she didn’t mind giving her virginity to him. Mistake on her part now that she thought back on that day.
She remembered that day, it was a cloudy Saturday afternoon, he had hiked up the mountain to talk with her, she had been feeling bad because she had just let Magne know that she did not like him as a boyfriend but as a friend and that she was in love with Fjor. Magne had been devasted, later that day he had killed the Jutul’s dog, no one knew the exact circumstances surrounding that event, but the police got involved and he had to have a mental health evaluation. Everyone realized later that Magne had not been crazy, and he had been right about everything that he had accused the Jutuls of.
Fjor came to her tent, she had not expected to see him, he had surprised her. He told her that he had wanted to talk to her and take her paragliding, he had brought a tandem glider with him in anticipation of her saying “yes” to going with him. She did make up her mind to go with him, he was surprised that she had said “yes”, he took her hand and walked with her up to the top of Ginnungagap Mountain and the took off in the tandem glider. Fjor had held on to her so tight, he explained the history of the mountain and showed her several places in Edda.
The world looked so small from where they were, Gry wished that she could make that moment last forever. Soon enough they landed at Jutulheim and she and Fjor walked into his house. He lived in an enormous house on top of a hill that overlooked Edda. He told her to take a seat. He turned on some music and told her to relax while he looked for something to drink. He looked around until he found some champagne, he told her that he wanted to celebrate their new relationship, Gry didn’t argue with him, she wasn’t sure that they were in a relationship.
The two of them talked for over two hours about all kinds of things, this was the most relaxed that she had felt in weeks, today she didn’t have to worry about her father’s health, the family’s bills or school. She was with someone that cared about her and what she thought and felt.
Gry looked outside, she realized that it was getting late, and they needed to be back at the campsite, she told Fjor that she had to back, he touched her arm and pleaded with his eyes for her not to leave him, he leaned over to kiss her, and she returned his kiss. She walked with him to his room on the first floor, he closed the door behind her, and they sat down on his bed. He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her to him, she felt dizzy when he kissed her. He got up to take his clothes off, Gry admired his body, he looked so skinny with clothes on, but he had a fairly muscular body underneath his clothes, Gry was nervous, she had never had sex before, she looked at Fjor as he came over to help her remove her clothes, he laid her clothes on chair beside the bed. He led her over to his bed and the both of them got in.
Fjor knew that she was still a virgin, and he was gentle with her as he made love to her for the first time, Gry was surprised to find that she actually enjoyed her first time. She fell asleep in Fjor’s arms. Later she got up and got dressed while Fjor slept, she decided to walk around the house, she was curious. She had explored a few rooms when she stopped at Vidar’s office, and she decided to go in. Vidar’s office was a peculiar place, it was more like a museum than an office, the office had photo albums, old paintings and some rather macabre items that looked like shrunken heads. She looked at the photo albums and old oil paintings, it seemed the Jutuls were possession of some very good genes, every generation from the Middle Ages forward looked just alike. The previous ancestors looked like the current generation of the Jutul family. She grabbed a photo out of one of the books intending to ask Fjor about this before he chased her out of the office.
A few weeks later, Fjor had left his family after a bitter disagreement with his father Vidar, it was around this time that she had found out that she was pregnant with Fjor’s child. She had told him the day of the protest; they had intended to tell her parents after the protest at Jutul. That was the day that the entire world went black, her father had taken an overdose of sleeping pills and morphine and had committed suicide, a few hours later, Fjor found out this his father had died suddenly, cardiac arrest. The two young people had been forced to carry on with their lives as best as they could.
After Vidar’s funeral, Fjor had come to her house to tell her that he could not leave, he had to take over as the new head of Jutul, the company’s bylaw had stated that duty rested squarely on his shoulders, she was crushed, she had begged and pleaded with Fjor to come to Trondheim and help her raise their child together, he had refused and had threatened her, she left the house in tears, that was the last day that she had seen or heard from Fjor.
Gry had decided to tell her mother about the child a week after they had gotten to Trondheim, her mother was upset with her about what had happened, but she had encouraged her to keep the child and the two of them would raise the child together. Fjor had been surprised and quite happy about being a father, he had explained to Gry that he had once had children, but he had lost his children at Ragnarök. He had told her that he had wanted the child to be named Henrik Jan Vidar if it was a boy, he told her that she could name the baby if it was a girl. Gry smiled at the memories of her and Fjor.
Gry got up and left her spot by the window, she had decided not to give her relationship with Fjor anymore of her time, at least not today, her mother would be home soon, and she would want dinner. Gry had thought that she and Fjor would last forever, she had always wanted to fall in love and have a love so real that she could touch and hold onto it forever, Fjor had once wanted this too, but he had walked away, just like her father had walked away from her and her mother. Gry felt betrayed by both of the men that she had once loved.
Fjor’s POV
Fjor sat in Vidar’s office and went over several emails, budget plans and was viewing two computer monitors and his laptop. He had been working twelve- and fifteen-hour days since Vidar’s death. Vidar had left a mess behind after his death. Vidar had kept two sets of financial documents, the company owed millions in back taxes and penalties, plus he still had to answer to the environmental agencies about the pollution in Edda.
Fjor wanted to put all of this out of his mind at least for today, there were more problems closer to home that he had to deal with. Ran was already looking for a new husband to replace Vidar and Saxa had ran off to live with Magne Seier and his crazy-assed family, who would have thought fumed Fjor as he shook his head. Fjor thought back on the past few months, he sat back and wished that he could turn the clock back to the time that Vidar was still alive, so many unfortunate things had happened since his death.
Fjor slammed his laptop shut and turned off the computer monitors, he pushed the reports aside and decided that he was finished for the day. He had so much on his mind he thought as he looked around Vidar’s office. He really missed Vidar, despite his despicable ways had been a wise man, he had taken Vidar’s wisdom for granted. He needed to talk to Vidar right now because there was so much that he was confused about, but he was gone forever. He deeply regretted that the last time he and Vidar had spoken they had argued violently, and he had left Jutulheim. Fjor had walked away from the only life that he had known for centuries to be with the girl that he had loved. Had loved? Still loved. Fjor assured himself that he still loved Gry, but he had chosen sacred duty over love. He had taken the coward’s way out he chided himself.
Fjor looked out of the window into the garden below. He looked over the neglected vegetables Ran had not harvested because going into the garden made her think of Vidar. Fjor looked past the garden into the small area near the fence. He saw Saxa’s miniature roses that she had planted years ago. She loved miniature roses, Gry did too. He remembered that he had made her a tiara of pink roses one day last spring. She had always liked anything that smelled like roses, she used this one perfume spray that smiled like roses too. Sometimes when he was alone in Vidar’s office, he swore that he could still smell Gry’s perfume.
Fjor thought about Gry, she had been so good to him, and he had been so rotten to her. He remembered that she had been Saxa’s friend before Vidar told them to get rid of their friends. He remembered that Saxa had often brought Gry home to study with on several occasions before Vidar made his request. He had barely noticed her until late last year, he had started liking her because he thought that she was a pretty girl, she was reluctant to give him her attention because of all of the things that she had heard about him, some of it true, some of it not true, depending on who you asked.
Fjor’s interest in Gry became stronger when a new boy began showing interest in Gry. The young man’s name was Magne Seier, Laurits’s brother. Fjor quickly decided that the young man was not a threat to him. It was determined that Magne was dyslexic, half blind and had mental health issues too, but that did not deter Gry from becoming one of his best friends. Fjor laughed, it was not surprising that Saxa wound up with Magne, Saxa liked crazy guys. Every time that he had seen Saxa and Magne in the village, Magne looked like he wanted to break all of his bones and tear him limb from limb, he dared not approach Saxa or Magne. Ran cursed Saxa and Magne’s relationship, Fjor did when he first found out, maybe he had been wrong now that he thought about it. He secretly hoped that Saxa and Magne’s relationship would continue to grow, maybe that it was time for a change for everyone including him.
Fjor was so conflicted, he wanted to continue to operate as the leader of Jutul, he enjoyed the power and prestige that the position offered, he admitted that he had been jealous of Saxa when he saw that she could run the company as well if not better than him and one day, perhaps Vidar. Saxa was a born leader, he should not have doubted her ability as a future leader of Jutul Industries. Fjor decided to himself that he would need her in the upcoming weeks, he hoped that she could forgive him for the way that he had treated her.
Last spring the upperclassmen had taken a trip to the mountains, everyone was excited about the trip, even Vidar was excited, he was going to get to show off his culinary skills, he had planned to accompany Ran to the mountains. Fjor remembered being excited because he had the entire house to himself, he had wanted to hike up the mountain and take Gry paragliding. After the paragliding trip, he had wanted to invite her home with him and if something happened between them, it just did. He remembered the day well, she was sitting in her tent, upset about something that had happened earlier, he remembered talking to her about what was bothering her. She had asked him why he was up on the mountain. He told her that he had wanted to see her because he liked her, he explained how special that she was to him. Slightly suspicious, she smiled at his explanation, he was happy that he had made her smile, he had been sincere when he told why he had liked her, he had never felt the way he felt about Gry when he had dated other girls. He reached for her hand, and asked her to go paragliding with him, she had agreed. She had been so afraid when they took off across the mountains, he held her tight and reassured her that everything would be okay.
Fjor thought back to the time when the world was young, he thought about his young wife who had looked like Gry. He had been so in love with his wife, they had a son and daughter together. Whenever he thought about his young wife, he found himself quoting lines from Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee. Their world had been perfect until Ragnarök had come and taken everything from him. Fjor thought about it, was this why he had walked away from Gry and what they had because he had been afraid that he would lose her like he had lost his first wife and children?
After paragliding, the couple went to Fjor’s house to rest and talk. He found a bottle of champagne and the two of them drank the entire bottle, they talked until Gry said that it was time to go back to the mountain before people had figured out that she was gone. Fjor didn’t want Gry to leave, he turns to her and told her that he liked her a lot, he leaned over to kiss him, and she kissed him back. He got up and led her into his room, she had made up her mind to sleep with him. She told him that she was a virgin and that she had never had sex before. He undressed in front of Gry and then he slowly undressed her, she was so nervous, he pulled the covers back and they got into the bed together. He had been so careful with Gry, he had wanted her to enjoy their first time together. After they had sex, he told her that he loved her, and he had meant it. She kissed him like she wasn’t so sure about what he had told her. He held her until the both of them went to sleep.
A few hours later, Fjor woke up and Gry was missing, he went looking for her and he found her in Vidar’s office, he told her that she should not have gone into Vidar’s office and he escorted her back to his room. This day had been the last day this his life had been normal. A few weeks later, Vidar discovered that Gry had taken one of the family’s pictures, then it was the stuff going on with Magne, Ran and Vidar. One day, he had been caught taking the picture back into Vidar’s office, Vidar had caught him and told him to kill Gry because she knew too much, and he reluctantly agreed. Vidar decided that May 17th, Constitution Day was the day that Gry would be killed. Fjor remembers that he lured Gry into one of the old work sheds near Jutul Industries, he was preparing to kill her when Magne Seier showed up and stopped him. Vidar comes into the building and attacks Magne. He remembers the lightning strike and he tries to get Gry to go home where she would be safe, she refuses unless he comes with her, he takes her home and then goes to Jutulheim to confront Vidar, Ran and Saxa. This was the night that he had walked away from his family and Jutulheim. He had gone to live with Gry and her family.
The next few weeks were wonderful, despite her father being so ill, Gry was happy, the two of them did everything together. One day Gry wasn’t feeling so well, and she had gone to the clinic, she had found out that she was pregnant. Fjor had wondered was she telling the truth. He had been with many women over the centuries, and he had never fathered a child. He knew that the child was his because he and Gry had spent every minute of the day with one another. Fjor had told her that he was happy and that he would take care of her and the child. The couple had planned to announce the good news to everyone tomorrow after the protest.
The next day, they had been at the protest, Gry had gotten a text from her mother to come to the hospital immediately because something had happened to her father. After they had arrived at the hospital, Gry had found out that her father had taken his life, he had been terminally ill, and he did not have much longer to live. Gry and her mother had been devastated, he stayed with them and took them home from the hospital. About six hours later, Saxa texted him and told him that Vidar had died. Fjor remembered how he had felt, he had been sad and angry all at once. He was sad because he never had the chance to speak to Vidar again, anger because Vidar had been killed by Magne Seier and there was nothing that anyone could do. He couldn’t kill Magne because all eyes were on the Jutul family, also because the vendetta was an old-world conflict and this was the new world, nothing would be solved by killing Magne Seier. He had reluctantly attended Vidar’s funeral, he did so because it was his duty as Vidar’s son. He had been conflicted, he loved Gry, but he also wanted to honor Vidar’s last wish and that was for him to take over Jutul one day. If he stayed, he would hurt Gry and he would be abandoning her. He had made his mind up and he knew what he would do.
After Vidar’s funeral, he went to Gry’s house and told her his plan to stay in Edda, she cried and screamed at him to change his mind. It broke his heart to turn his back on Gry and their child. Gry had been the only person that knew his true nature and form and she had accepted him despite all of this. She had tried to pull him to her, and he almost changed into his giant form, frightened, Gry turned around and ran out of the house. He had never seen her again. She stopped calling him and texting him. She had changed her telephone number too. He had tried to send her letters and several checks, but they had been returned to him. Gry hated him and he did not blame her, he had walked out on her when she had needed him the most. Gry’s mother probably hated him too.
Fjor hated the new life that he had chosen for himself, people were right, it is lonely at the top. He had all of the money, success and power that he could ever want, but it didn’t mean anything if you had no one to share any of it with. If Magne knew that he had hurt Gry, he would probably kill him and he couldn’t blame him, he felt like dying when he saw Gry turn around and walk out of the door.
He sat and thought about everything, tonight, he would have to tell Ran everything that was going on with him, he had to also tell her to find Saxa and have her take control of the company for a while, he would explain everything to Saxa and Odd Moland tomorrow. Tonight, he would type out a letter explaining that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence citing personal reasons, the letter would be emailed to the board of directors on Monday morning. Fjor got up and went to his room, he packed his bags and put them into his SUV, he had planned to leave for Trondheim early on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning arrived and Fjor drove the last few miles into Trondheim, he had had so much on his mind that he didn’t remember most of the trip there. He did not know how he would be received by Gry or her mother. He got out of his SUV and grabbed the gifts that he had bought earlier. He had bought a music box for Gry and a bouquet of flowers for Bjorg. Fjor walked up to apartment that Gry and her mother stayed in, he rang the doorbell and Gry answered the door, she immediately went to close the door and Fjor placed his foot in door, he told her that he had wanted to talk to her. She reluctantly invited him into the apartment, her mother invited him to sit down. Gry excused herself and had started to walk back to her room, her mother Bjorg told her to at least here what he had to say first. He sat down and began talking to Gry and her mother. Over the next four hours, he explained everything that had happened since he had taken over Jutul, he asked Gry and her mother to forgive him for walking out on them, he promised Gry that he would love her and stand by her and their child. He had decided to attend university studies at the local college and work so that he could support his new family.
Gry decided to give Fjor another chance, this time he swore on his life that he would live up to her every expectation. He smiled when he thought about his future with Gry, they were going to be young parents and they would face down many hardships, but like Vidar had once told him centuries ago that love was what made life’s journey worthwhile.
Fjor and Gry went walking, he was grateful for the second chance that he had been given, he had gotten a second chance for a love so real. He recited these lines in his mind as he held Gry’s hand:
“And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
She was a child, and I was a child.
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love
I and my Annabel Lee.”