The Midwife

Hilde sighed as she pulled on her boot, the baby in the cradle by her mother's loom wailing as though she were in mortal peril.

Liv, the child's mother, didn't look up from her weaving. "Ingrid, my love, if I don't finish this for Miss Hilde, she'll throw us out into the snow."

Hilde laughed. "Don't tempt me."

A fire roared in the pit, the crackling and snapping of wood pleasant as smoke billowed up through the hole in the roof. Hilde had grown rather fond of good-natured, hard-working Liv since she had come to stay. The young woman had said something about taking her little daughter back to her home by the sea in the spring, but Hilde was considering inviting them to join her household.

Hilde's daughter, Brigitta, rose from her seat by the fire; tall, fair, and willowy. She strode over to the cradle and scooped up Ingrid, twirling the babe's poof of coppery red hair around her finger with a smile. "You ask too much of your poor mother."

She stopped crying and smiled, reaching to touch Brigitta's face.

"You just want to be held all the time," said Brigitta, mock anger in her voice as she carried Ingrid to her seat by the fire. "You think we should just hold you and tell you how cute and smart you are all day?"

Liv smiled and Hilde laughed, reaching for her other boot as Brigitta sat, holding the babe so she could look around the room.

"Of course she does," said Hilde. "You were the same way. I delivered Wulga Eriksdottir's twins with you strapped to my chest."

Brigitta rolled her eyes. "Ingrid's only a few weeks old and she's already just as sick of that story as I am." She nodded at her mother's boots. "Where are you going?"

"Housecall," said Hilde. "The Jarl's daughter thinks she's in labor, but I'd bet Liv's warm wools she's not. Fortunately for her, I'm sympathetic to first time mothers. Sitting around all bloated and miserable while you fret about labor and motherhood is the worst."

Brigitta nodded at Liv. "I don't think I've heard you complain at all since you came. You even bore the birth pains like you'd done it a dozen times."

Liv smiled, her eyes never drifting from her work. "Ingrid made it easy on me. I'd be anxious too if I were Astrid. Hrolli is a big man, and if the size of her belly is any indication, his child will be big as well."

Hilde stood, stretching. "The last time I checked her over, the babe was in the correct position. I am confident both the mother and child will make it through alright."

Brigitta studied her, pale blue eyes narrowed as she let Ingrid suck her finger.

Hilde sighed as she wrapped herself in shawls. She'd never been able to keep secrets from her daughter. At least Brigitta was kind enough not to say anything in front of Liv.

She opened the door, a rush of wind and blowing snow chilling her to the bone. "If the weather gets too bad, I'll just stay at the Jarl's longhouse. The last thing I need is to fall down and crack my skull."

Brigitta smirked and Hilde flushed hot with embarrassment.

Liv looked over at her, the firelight bringing out the gold tones of her red-blonde hair. "Alright. I hope everything goes well."

Hilde stepped out into the frozen dimness. "I'm sure it will."

When the door clicked shut, she shivered despite the heat in between her legs. She preferred men, but if Liv had ever wanted to share her bed, Hilde would've been more than happy to find out if the beauty tasted as sweetly as she behaved.

Hilde wrapped herself up tight and hurried off, chuckling at her daughter's suspicions. If only her daughter knew she'd spent the morning preparing to take it up the ass that night. The Jarl's son Johan had stopped by their home that morning. Said he had a surprise for her.

She had eagerly accepted and planned a surprise for him as well. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she asked him to fuck her in the ass. Hilde trudged through the snow. The Jarl's longhouse was close. Thank the gods for small mercies.

Thinking of the gods, Hilde wished they'd leave her Brigitta alone. The girl was odd enough without them whispering secrets into her ear. Instead of seeking out adventure or companionship, Brigitta spent all of her time praying or visiting the seer's hut, telling him all about her visions.

Hilde had thought her daughter and the seer were having an affair, but Brigitta's shocked reaction to her mother's offer of herbs to get rid of any unwanted pregnancies was so sincere that Hilde believed her when she said she was still a virgin at twenty.

Brigitta was so odd.

By twenty, Hilde had already been a huge slut.

She approached the longhouse, cursing the wind as she pounded on the door. Snowflakes pelted her cheeks and eyes as she waited. The door swung open and the pale face of Maki the Mute peered out, the screams of a young woman in the throes of labor spilling out into the cold darkness.

The burly man grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, warmth enveloping her.

Hilde brushed snow from her shoulders and knocked her boots against the door frame. "Take me to her."

Johan and the rest of his father's household crowded around the large fire pit in the center of the room, goats and chickens huddled together at the east end. When Astrid wailed, the animals voiced their concerns along with her.

Hilde sighed as she followed Maki to a back room, ready for a night of hard work instead of carnal pleasures. Johan shrugged apologetically from his seat by the fire. She couldn't help but smile. Life was funny like that.

###

It took twelve hours, but Hilde helped Astrid bring a hearty baby boy into the world. The poor girl lay ashen-faced and limp on her bed, Hrolli grinning like a fool at his newborn son by her side. The Jarl blathered on and on about how the babe should be named after him.

Hilde slipped back into the main room. Though she was tired, she hoped Johan might still be up for a quick romp, but since everything had finally quieted down, the man had laid down and fallen asleep. Maki watched her wrap up in her shawls and head for the door.

His pale eyes were too close together and his face was too long for him to be considered handsome, but he had broad shoulders and long, muscular arms. He'd shocked all of them when he brought a slender, dark-haired Gaul man back from raiding. Maki set his lover up in his own little hut and everything.

Hilde nodded to him. "If Astrid needs anything, come get me."

He grunted in reply, a strange heat in his gaze making her blush.

A burst of sunlight blinded her and she stood there for a moment, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the unblemished expanse of snow before her. She held her breath. Now that the wind and the blowing snow had stopped, Hilde could appreciate the stark beauty of a Nordic winter.

She smiled, a wave of nostalgia taking hold. As a girl, she'd hated to disturb the smooth perfection of freshly fallen snow. But at forty-two, getting out of the cold was worth making footprints.

The snow was much deeper than she initially thought, coming up past her ankle. Even worse, a layer of ice crunched beneath her weight as she trudged along. It was difficult to be mindful of black ice when she couldn't see it.

"Should've stayed," she muttered through gritted teeth, already out of breath.

Maybe Maki would've fucked her up the ass.

Smoke billowed out the roofs of the dozen huts that circled the Jarl's longhouse, snow and icicles sparkling in the light. Astrid had been the only pregnant woman in their humble village, and it was unlikely that any of the neighboring villages would send for her until a spring thaw. Unless there was some kind of strange circumstance or potential emergency, Hilde was likely in for a peaceful couple of weeks with Brigitta, Liv, and baby Ingrid.

Her heart twisted at the thought of Liv and her daughter heading back out to their seaside hut all alone. Hilde would have to think of a way to convince the woman to stay. Maybe she could offer to help fund the construction of a hut for Liv. If they couldn't be family, maybe they could be neighbors.

Hilde's foot twisted on something slick and her ankle rolled beneath her weight. Pain lanced up and down her leg as the joint popped. She wailed as she collapsed in a heap, snow cold against her face and hands. Fucking black ice.

Hilde clutched at her ankle as she crawled forward, cursing everything from Astrid's untimely labor to her own inattentiveness. Her home was on the outskirts of the village. Maybe she would ask the lovely Liv to massage her ankle later.

She chuckled as she struggled to her feet. Liv seemed to be one of those impossibly rigid heterosexual people. The odds of successfully seducing the young widow were as slim as convincing Brigitta the voices in her head were own imagination.

Hilde stumbled with a yelp. She deserved that one. The gods would not be mocked.

"Can I help you?"

She gasped, whipping her head around to stare up into the face of a lithe young man, thick, dark hair cascading over his shoulders. Hilde had never seen eyes as big and dark as his. Maki's Gaul was pretty with full lips and a delicate brow. A thick beard was the most masculine thing about him.

She smiled, reaching out. "If you don't mind."

He hurried forward, a shy smile of his own on his lips. "Of course not."

The Gaul knelt next to her and pulled her arm over his shoulder, heaving her up with a grunt. "My home is right there. Let me help you inside."

"Oh, please don't trouble yourself." Hilde pointed to her hut. "That's mine right there."

He led her toward his door. "It's no trouble at all. Let's have a look at your ankle."

Hilde tried to put weight on it and cringed, pain radiating from her injury. She allowed her rescuer to usher her into his home and set her down by his fire pit. Their eyes met and Hilde flushed hot when his gaze dropped to her lips. She wriggled out of her shawls when he stood to shut the door, offering him a better glimpse of her figure. Even with a painful injury, Hilde's slattern ways prevailed.

"Forgive me, young man," she said, wincing when she tried to flex her ankle. "I do not remember your name."

He closed the door and turned toward her, the same shy smile on his face as he glanced at her chest. "Corius."

"Corius." Hilde smiled. "I've never met a 'Corius'. I like it."

He chuckled, moving to sit at her feet. "Have you met many Gauls?"

"No. You are the first."

"Well, I hope I am making a good first impression," he said.

When their eyes met, Hilde's mind went blank. The intense warmth in his dark gaze sent a jolt of desire directly to her clit. She couldn't help but wonder if he and Maki were exclusive.

She grinned, admiring the way his dark hair shined in the fire light. "If you want to really impress me, offer this old woman a drink to take the sting away from her ankle."

He laughed, the rich sound making Hilde glad she fell. "You are not so old."

Corius moved to a basket beneath a bench against the wall and pulled out a flask, taking a long pull as he watched her unlace her boot. His one-room home was very similar to hers: cozy and humble.

The heat from the fire had yet to seep into Hilde's bones. She fumbled with the laces for a moment before dropping them with frustration, massaging her fingers. "I'm old enough to stiffen up in the cold."

Corius lowered the flask and hurried back to her, brushing off her words with a wave of his hands. "This cold could freeze the hottest forge on the hottest summer day. I told Maki that I think you Nordic types are mad for choosing to live up here."

She snorted as he sat close, untying the laces with an ease that annoyed Hilde despite her attraction to the dark foreigner. "Why do you stay? Maki won't live in Gaul?"

"He won't. My old man is devoted to that Jarl of yours." Corius looked up, Hilde's irritation evaporating at the eagerness on his face. "May I help you get this off?"

He must've been like her. The men Hilde had loved over the years were typically turned on by her inclinations; excited to bring other women into their bed. She was usually happy to oblige, but after a while it became tiresome, especially when it became apparent that she was only a fetish to them. Her female lovers always became jealous and paranoid; quick to accuse her of infidelity. She had not met many who enjoyed both.

She smiled and leaned back on her hands. "Please."

Pain dulled her desire as Corius slowly worked the boot off her ankle, the joint already comically swollen. A breath hissed through her teeth when he reached beneath her skirt to grip her calf, gently lifting her leg for a closer look.

"I'm going to be laid up for the rest of the winter," she said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe," he said, sliding his hand down her leg to gingerly massage her ankle. "The trick is to keep it loose. You can't let it stiffen up."

She yelped, anger flaring in proportion to her pain. "You're crazy!"

He smiled, long fingers caressing her skin. "Just lay back and relax. You deserve it after delivering a baby and then getting injured."

When Corius pressed circles into the arch of her foot with his thumb, she sighed, submitting to the relief. She laid down, silently urging him to work his hands up to her loins. Desire flickered there all over again.

"How did you know Astrid had her baby?"

"The whole village heard her screaming over the wind. Poor girl sounds like she had a rough time of it," he said, her throbbing muscles relaxing under his magic touch.

Hilde laughed. "No more than usual for a first time mother. She actually did quite well. She and her little son are doing fine."

"That's all that matters."

She grunted her agreement and closed her eyes, focusing on the way his warm hands felt on her skin. Hilde had wailed as loud as any woman when she brought her own children into the world. Brigitta was her youngest and only the second to live to adulthood. Her two older sisters had died of childhood illnesses and her brother, Bjorn, had gotten it into his head that he was to be a raider despite his frail frame. He'd been gutted by a Danish spear only a few years ago.

Hilde pushed her sad feelings away. "Do you have any children?"

"I'm afraid not." His voice was tinged with emotion, but as to which, Hilde couldn't guess.

She opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow, studying his handsome face. "Do you want to?"

He smiled and slid his hand to the back of her knee. "When I was a younger man, I didn't care. I was more interested in trade and travel than family life. But now that I am older and wiser, I can see the benefits of having little ones to raise and send out into the world."

"How old are you?" She flinched when his fingers brushed her ankle.

Corius rubbed her swollen limb with a gentleness Hilde had never experienced. She couldn't help but think he would be a good lover. "This is my thirtieth winter."

"You have plenty of time. It's different for you men." Hilde gritted her teeth, willing her ankle to loosen.

He lowered her leg to the floor and lifted the other, his hands moving under her skirt to massage her other leg. "I guess I better get started then."

"Maki won't mind?"

"Maki and I share a similar persuasion. I enjoy women more than he does, but I've never seen him turn one down," said Corius.

Hilde arched her eyebrows. "Truly?"

He nodded, his eyes falling to her chest. "Truly."

Her heart thudded against her ribs and her sex was slick with desire. "Can I tell you something naughty?"

He grinned. "Of course."

"When I was a girl, I once spent a night with two drunk Vikings after a homecoming feast. The more passive of the two got down on all fours and let his lover have his way with him while I looked on. When they were finished, I ate his lover's seed out of his ass and then they both took me," said Hilde.

Corius' jaw dropped, stopping his machinations to stare. "You enjoyed this?"

She smiled. "Oh, yes, very much."

He licked his lips, swallowing several times before sliding his hands up to her thigh. "I am impressed."

She laughed, sitting up to cup his cheek.

When he didn't turn away, she kissed him softly on the lips.

He inhaled deeply, breaking away. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

Hilde gripped his shoulders, pulling him down on top of her. "I'm always up for this. Are you?"

He chuckled and pressed his mouth against hers, sliding his tongue in between her lips with a moan. She ran her fingers through his hair as he rutted against her, delighted when she felt his hardness against her groin. Hilde didn't have to see his cock to know that it was big.

Corius broke away and helped her get undressed, running his hands up and down her heavy breasts and soft body. He pulled off his tunic and laid over top of her, his kiss long and hot.

Hilde stroked his wiry frame, marveling at the hard definition in his muscles. His skin was hot against hers.

He broke away, voice soft. "You're so sexy."

She gasped when he left a trail of light kisses over her jaw and down her neck, the tickling sensation making her shiver. Hilde ran her hands through his beautiful hair, bucking her hips against his groin.

He flexed into her as he nuzzled her breasts, suckling and licking her big nipples before kissing his way down to her hairy mound.

Hilde sighed, spreading her legs wide in anticipation. It had been so long since she'd been on the receiving end of oral pleasure. "Make me feel good."

He traced long, slow circles on the insides of her thighs. "Tell me how."

Her voice was breathless. "Eat my pussy and then fuck me with that big cock."

"It'll be my pleasure." Corius pressed his face against sex and inhaled deeply before sliding his hands to her hairy pussy lips and pressing them apart.

Hilde grunted when he sucked on her clit, thighs shaking as pleasure pulsed from her little bundle of nerves. She wouldn't last long. "Fuck."

Corius pulled away for an agonizing moment, kissing her clit before pressing his tongue against it. Hilde ground his head into her groin as she arched her back, moaning. He stroked her with his tongue, eliciting waves of euphoria from her hard bud.

Hilde moaned as she peaked, rutting against her younger lover's face. She rode out her pleasure, pushing him away when his attentions made her sore.

He grinned up at her. "I love the way you moan."

She laughed, struggling to catch her breath. "Well, you are welcome to make me anytime. In all my years, no man has ever made me cum from oral pleasure like that."

Corius pushed himself up to his knees and undid his rope belt, pushing his loose breeches down his legs, a thick erection jutting out of a thicket of black pubic hair. "Wait til I fuck your sopping wet cunt."

"Give it to me. I wanna feel you bust inside me."

He chuckled as he crawled over her, pressing his mouth against hers for a passionate kiss. Hilde tasted her own thick essence on his tongue. She spread her legs wide, wrapping them around Corius's hips as he lined up with her slick heat.

His eyes rolled back into his head when he slid into her, Hilde's moan mingling with his as her toes curled. Her cunt contracted around his hard length.

"Oh, Hilde." Corius pumped his cock in and out of her, pleasure blooming from her vaginal walls and spreading to her core. "You're so wet."

She stroked his arms, sliding her hands over his hard muscles and his face. A curtain of thick black hair fell over his shoulders, tickling her bouncing breasts. Hilde cupped his cheeks in her hands. "You're so beautiful."

Their voices trailed off, the only sound their rhythmic grunting and groaning. Just as Hilde submitted to the building pressure within her, the door burst open and Maki stepped inside. His jaw dropped open at the sight of his lover fucking the village midwife on the floor of their home.