Margit Sandemo - The Ice People 29 - Lucifer´s Love

Lennart tried desperately to save what remained of his marriage, horrified at what the divorce might mean for his political career.

Saga couldn’t care less. All she wanted was to have no more to do with him: she could no longer bear the thought of being married to that man for perhaps another year. She asked her lawyer to arrange everything as quickly as possible.

Saga was paralysed in her soul as she walked around her old home, trying to recover from all the evil and tragedy that had happened. Right now, she could have done with a sympathetic husband by her side, but the thought of Lennart disgusted her. She realized how little he had actually meant to her. She had an idealized view of marriage, which she had regarded as a deeply emotional friendship. She admitted that was not how it had turned out, for which she was very much to blame. She just hadn’t been ready for marriage. Obviously, she had not known the essence of love, merely accepting unresistingly and following suit when everyone said what an ideal couple she and Lennart would make. She had let him down just as much as he had betrayed her confidence in him.

But Lennart was a pathetic chapter of her life, to which she was indifferent. The loss of her parents was a thousand times worse. She didn’t know how she would recover from her immense grief. But of course, it pales once the soul has had time to accept that the worst is over.

One spring morning shortly after Anna Maria’s funeral, Saga woke and sat up in bed. Her heart was pounding and she hardly dared to breathe. For a long time, all she did was stare into the darkness.

“Someone is calling,” she whispered to herself. “They’ve waited ... waited with consideration while my parents were alive. Now they’re calling. Now my time has come!”

By “they”, she meant her ancestors among the Ice People. The good guardians.

This was the first time that her instinct had told her that she was truly chosen. Was this how it felt? She had always wondered what it would be like. Saga listened to the low call in her soul. Long, searching, until it turned into an unshakable conviction. That was exactly what it was: a conviction that wouldn’t be shaken by criticism. This was how simple everything had suddenly turned out to be for her! Now there was no longer any doubt. “I’ll go to Graastensholm Parish,” she said aloud. “To Linden Avenue. Yes, I’ll go to Norway. That is where I’m needed. That is my calling.”

The year was 1860. Twelve years had passed since Viljar of the Ice People had been forced to give up Graastensholm and move to Linden Avenue. Saga didn’t know very much about what had happened in recent years. She was in regular touch with Malin, Christer’s daughter, who was six years younger than her. Just as Anna Maria’s family followed the Oxenstiernas and now were close to Axel Oxenstierna, who was equerry to the crown prince, Christer’s family were loyal to the Posses. Arvid Mauritz Posse’s daughter had married Adam Reuterskiöld, equerry to the crown princess, who was now queen of Sweden. In this way, Anna Maria’s and Christer’s families had grown close and saw a lot of each other. However, they knew very little about the third branch of the family – the Norwegian side. They had heard that Viljar and Belinda had a son, who was ten years old. His name was Henning, after the legendary Heike. Both Solveig and Eskil had died quite recently, so Viljar’s family now lived on their own at Linden Avenue.

That was all that Saga knew.

Now she must be on her way to them. It was absolutely necessary. They needed her. But she didn’t know why.

When she thought about it, she found that she didn’t mind leaving her childhood home because it had become so unbearably empty. She considered it for a day or two and then decided to sell the house. That was easy. She would move all her furniture over to Christer’s: they could keep it, or do as they wanted with it. They accepted that she had to leave, because everybody had known for a long time now that she was one of the chosen. Of course, Christer was extremely curious to know what was going to happen. He asked her to write them long letters. Nevertheless, he was slightly puzzled: it didn’t seem as if she was planning to return to Sweden. Well, anyway, she probably had her plans and just wanted to get away from all the painful memories.

Saga travelled up to Värnberg to say goodbye to the old and young Countesses Oxenstierna, who had sided with her in her divorce. “Do you really have to leave us?” they asked her. “It means breaking a very long tradition! You will come back, won’t you?”

They looked with concern at the tall young woman with the cool, green eyes. She possessed an indescribable and indefinable beauty, as if she came from distant skies or somewhere quite other. She seemed so remote. So coolly reserved, as if the world wasn’t something that concerned her. Although she resembled both the gentle Anna Maria and the dark Kol, she had none of their impulsive warmth. Saga was quite out of the ordinary, and they felt they didn’t know her.

“I won’t be coming back,” said Saga emphatically. The thought didn’t seem to worry her. “However, if I have children one day, I’ll tell them about our long friendship and how my family has served the Oxenstiernas. If it seems relevant, I’ll ask them to get in touch with you.” Both the young and the old countess appreciated this thought, and they wished Saga good luck and a safe journey to Norway. As she left the house, Saga felt sure that she would undoubtedly need this blessing.

Saga wrote to Viljar and Belinda to tell them that she had been summoned to carry out her task and was on her way. Since her branch of the family had always been the wealthiest, she could afford to make it a pleasant journey. It was true that the first railway had already opened in Sweden, but it did not go in the direction she would have to travel. For some time she considered buying a good coach and hiring a reliable driver, but there was the problem of getting horse and carriage and driver back to Sweden again. It would be a completely unnecessary expense. She was shocked when it dawned on her just how definitely her mind was made up: this was a journey without the possibility of return, and she felt satisfied with that. Surely one could also live in Norway? However, the big enigma that occupied her mind constantly was, of course, the task she was faced with. What was she actually supposed to do? What would happen to her? She would probably get to know, in time.

So she decided to use what was still the most common form of transport – the stagecoach – travelling from inn to inn. Such a journey could offer various surprises, but it was a fairly safe way to travel. You could let others take the responsibility.

One day in early summer, Saga was ready to begin her long journey to Norway ...

On the last night before her departure, she had a strange dream – the type you force yourself to wake up from, because it becomes too much of a strain. That was why she remembered it so vividly after she woke up. She lay for a long time, shaken and scared, trying to recall all the details, because she realized that this dream was important.

Her strongest impression was the wind. It was as if she stood in a huge mountain pass, filled with raging wind. She heard voices calling softly from far, far away, and when she strained her eyes, she could see a small group of people that the storm was tearing at. Although she couldn’t see their faces at that distance, she knew in her dream that they were her ancestors, the good guardians of the Ice People.

She was the one they were calling.

The soft voices sounded like an echo from far away: “Saga! Saga!” The strong wind blew between her and them. The wind formed a border, a wall.