The weather is extremely cold, and now in the far east, Princess Mary has her fantasy life and her belly that is already too big to be bigger.
She was forced to hobble, and even walking became a luxury in recent days. The severe contractions were as painful as a tsunami hitting the rocks, and her spirit was almost broken.
The maids who arrived in Novgorod on Rurik's orders took on the important task of taking care of the Mercian princess.
When things developed to this point, it was very obvious that the child in her belly was only one step away from being born.
Rurik was busy with his own major career and objectively alienated this wife and concubine. Considering his status, he really shouldn't pay too much attention to her. She was a prisoner of war, and the treatment she received today was purely a reward from the Prince of Rus.
.She is also a flag, including the child in her belly.
It was indeed his own flesh and blood, and Old Otto also knew that he was looking forward to this grandchild, hoping it would be a baby boy.
Since last night, the pain in her stomach has made Mary feel that something is very different. Those maids panicked and claimed that the Princess of Mercia was about to give birth to a prince!
When Rurik got the news in the early morning, he hurriedly ran into Mary's bedroom with complicated emotions.
In front of her, she was lying on a wooden bed, covered with a thick blanket.
Her face was covered with sweat, and her whole face always gave people a serious feeling of weakness.
"Sir..." The servant who was taking care of her immediately stood up and retreated when he saw the prince's arrival.
"It doesn't matter."
Rurik raised his hand to signal them to continue, and walked up.
A weak girl always gives people strong sympathy. Although she is a female prisoner and her bloodline is doubtful, she is indeed the princess of Mercia who once enjoyed British hegemony. A strong country fell into a weak country, and the princess moved to the country two thousand kilometers east.
Novgorod, the one she will give birth to will be the heir to the throne of Mercia.
Mary kept gritting her teeth. According to Europeans of this era, it was normal for a woman of her age to have children.
But in Rurik's opinion, she was still too young, and the possibility of dystocia for such a woman to be a mother was too great.
He pulled Mary's hand out of the blanket and put it against her face: "Are you okay? You are very weak..."
Mary slowly opened her eyes, forced a smile, and her eyes twitched as if she wanted to say something.
Rurik quickly put his ear to it.
Her eyes were filled with tears and her tone was soft: "I... have been in pain for a day. I have tried hard, but I... I am weak. I am an unclean woman, and this must be God's punishment for me."
"You..." Rurik suddenly stood up straight, his expression that was full of pity just now suddenly became serious, "That's ridiculous, I am the son of Odin, you will give birth to the child safely."
"But I... am not one of Odin's dependents. The Lord is punishing me and letting me suffer this kind of suffering. Everything is fate. I should have died two years ago! I... my life is a joke."
It became difficult for her to speak, and after speaking a long sentence in front of her, she became very angry.
Rurik hurriedly patted her face, trying to wake up the confused woman.
Mary opened her eyes again, and the situation was still the same.
Rurik began to glare at the maids, causing them to kneel on the ground one after another in fear.
"You all stand up! Get me some honey water. If she loses her strength, she won't be able to give birth to the baby at all!"
They got the order and hurried to prepare honey. Rurik became increasingly aware of the seriousness of the situation. Unexpectedly, Mary suddenly stretched out her hand and grabbed Rurik's arm. She clearly had something important to say.
"Rurik, I...this is my fate. If I really die, burn me...according to your etiquette. I am your woman after all, maybe Odin will accept my soul. But I
The children, both male and female, are the heirs of the royal family of Mercia. Just like you said, you will support this child to become the new king of Mercia."
"Yes, this is my decision. Whether you are really Wiglaf's daughter or not, it doesn't matter. Eynred in Northumbria, that guy knows you are here with me. There are also some Frank's
The nobles also know that the princess of Mercia is in my hands."
"Ah, that's good." A smile appeared on her chapped lips, and she breathed a sigh of relief: "It's time to give the child a name."
"What do you call him?"
"I've already decided. The boy's name will be Reglaf, and the girl's name will be Regrafnis."
What does such a name mean? Rurik figured it out easily.
He looked at Mary's trembling eyes: "You are indeed taking revenge on those two men."
She smiled with great relief: "I am an unclean woman, and my child is not. My child is also your child, let my child go and create another kingdom. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"Children must be baptized and canonized."
"Is this... really necessary? You can actually think of this level?" Rurik asked.
"It is very necessary!" Her eyes seemed to have suddenly grown two knives. "Any king who wants to gain a foothold in Britain must at least believe in the Supreme Lord. Even if those nobles are hypocritical and unclean, they must do this. If I really die
, please tell... tell the child. His mother loves him, and he is the only heir to the throne of Mercia. The new Mercia must... form an alliance with Ross. Isn't this what you want, and it is the reason why you have kept me until now.
"
These words were so deafening that Rurik could not believe that these words came from her mouth.
Looking back and thinking about it, she once lived as a man's toy, and all she could think about was revenge. She was indeed tolerant enough, so she was not a cowardly idiot. It was just that she was born weak. If she were a man,
He will definitely become a hard-line figure who is good at maneuvering. Rurik feels a little guilty because he clearly hurt her. If she had not been pregnant now, she would not have faced a life-or-death dilemma.
No! It's not that serious yet
"Don't say such depressing words. You are too weak. Drink some honey water in a while and everything will be fine. I want you to be the Queen of Mercia."
"I hope so. If I... Rurik." Mary squeezed out another word: "Do you know what Caesar has done?"
"Caesar? You?! No, it's not that extreme."
"No matter what, you must protect the child, it is your flesh and blood. You must know that, since you know, I hope you will do it then. You are... my only man."
After saying this, she became weak and fainted, leaving Rurik scratching his head.
Where does this mean "a whole day's work"? Rurik guessed that she didn't want to expose the fact that she was having a difficult labor, and had been keeping it to herself for two days or more.
Having endured extreme pain, no matter how strong a person is, he can die from exhaustion!
The honey water finally came, and Mary was forced to drink some, but the effect was really limited. At this moment, Rurik desperately hoped for a bottle and a hose to directly deliver glucose to her blood vessels.
After this incident, Mary's dystocia could no longer be hidden.
Rurik had no clue about this kind of thing, but fortunately there was a stable woman here in Novgorod, and my wife Niya also took action personally.
Mary has been working hard with the help of a group of so-called experienced old women, but it seems that everything is in vain.
Niya couldn't understand at all. This woman opened two fingers and there was no change, as if there was an invisible force blocking the window for new life to come into the world.
At this time, Niya thought that the female noble whose only son Rurik spared from the battlefield was originally unclean, but the child in her belly was sacred. Or the evil force was resisting, trying to separate the child from its mother.
Kill them together.
This was a decisive battle. Niya quickly called the concubines and maids under Rurik's command, hoping that through them they could chant the prayer incantation passed down by the Russians since ancient times, praying to Freya, the god of fertility, to drive away evil, and to pray for the safety of mother and child.
The girls watched the eldest sister they were all familiar with suffering here, and they all sang with tears. She was a good sister, naturally noble, knew Latin, and taught everyone how to please men (Rurik). Now
…
Mary still didn't give up, her face was sometimes red and sometimes pale. The more than twenty women gathered in the room had no clue, and the men waiting outside the door were even more helpless.
Rurik and Otto waited with livid faces. It was quite cold outside. A clay pot was placed in front of them and lit with wooden blocks to keep warm.
John Ingvar was ordered to pray for Mary. To be honest, he despised this unclean woman. Whether voluntarily or not, this woman had a very bad and improper relationship with her father and brother. According to the law, she should be sentenced to death.
Even the gentlest punishment is to be sent to a monastery to perform asceticism for the rest of his life.
Mary kept wailing, and the women kept encouraging.
Caesarean section is a caesarean section. In Mary's current condition, only such an operation can allow her to give birth to the child safely. But wait! Does this kind of medical technology exist in Europe? Even if the child can be cut out successfully, the mother will undoubtedly die.
Rurik thought back to what Mary said to him, and they were clearly his last words.
Another whole day of tossing, immersed in all kinds of pain, but the child still hasn't come out.
The situation is already very dangerous, and the child may be suffocated to death in the mother's belly.
At night, Rurik had no intention of sleeping peacefully. With bloodshot eyes, he stayed in the cubicle and huddled up to take a nap.
The night was already very late, and a burst of crazy noise woke him up.
A maid went crazy and broke into Rurik's bed and shouted: "Blood! A lot of blood! Mary..."
Disaster struck, and when Rurik finally broke into Princess Mary's room, she was already covered in blood. The oil lamps in the room made the room very bright, and also highlighted the horror of blood.
Dystocia causes massive bleeding? No!
Rurik rushed forward, half-knelt down beside her, and put his fingers against her nose, and she lost her breath.
He was startled suddenly, his right hand hurriedly reached into the bedclothes, and his big hand covered her heart directly, but there was no movement...
Niya was trembling with fear, and the maids who insisted on chanting the mantras were also cowered in fear.
"What happened?" Otto suddenly broke in.
Rurik quickly turned his head and tried to suppress his emotions: "She is dead."
"Ah?! No! Where is the child? Both mother and child are dead."
"The child is still alive for the time being, that must be the case. It's just..." Rurik gritted his teeth, "This is her fate. She is unclean, but the child is innocent. She anticipated all this and entrusted me to do it no matter what.
To save this child. Dad, you should understand what that is."
Otto was surprised by this sudden situation. He was heartbroken and at the same time had the bearing of an old leader. Otto ordered all the female relatives to evacuate in an old voice, and the wooden door was immediately closed.
Mary was as calm as if she had fallen asleep. She had tried her best, but she did not die of exhaustion, but died of the most terrifying hemorrhage during childbirth.
Amniotic fluid embolism? Dirty amniotic fluid enters the circulatory system and causes cardiac arrest in a very short time.
Death is so sudden that the unborn child who has lost the maternal supply can survive for a short period of time. If hesitates for a while, the child will really be hopeless.
A piece of linen covered Mary's face, and at the same time Rurik drew a sharp steel sword...
"Reglaf, the true king of Mercia. Your mother has done her best. Now, my father is here to save you!"
Rurik completed the Caesar cut without words, and a baby boy was held out by his father with trembling hands. For a moment, the closed room heard the continuous howling of the baby, the sound was heartbreaking.
…
Everything was over, Mary's young life was over.
Maybe this is fate!
As Hanukkah and the Slavic winter solstice festival approached, one of his wives and concubines died unexpectedly.
Mary's body was taken care of decently, and she was completely wrapped in a colorful linen cloth. Rurik decided to follow her last wishes and cremate her according to Viking customs, so that Paradis would not accept her as unclean.
Soul, perhaps Odin's Asgard would be willing to accept it.
Rurik washed his hands, feeling very dazed.
The newborn Reglaf was temporarily held by his grandmother Niya, and Medved immediately rushed to the sleeping house to find a wet nurse for the child.
Rurik wiped his face with snow, and the cold allowed him to barely calm down. He found John Ingvar who was waiting for orders and slapped the frightened young man on the face.
"Sir, she is the Princess of Mercia. You actually..."
"This is Caesar, you should know it very well. You see, your god punished the unclean soul, but spared Reglaf. This child is Reglaf, and heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Mercia. You are the one appointed by Mary.
Baptizer, tell me, is it allowed according to your rules and conditions?"
John Ingvar hesitated for a while.
"Give me something nice to say."
"Yes. I am a northern priest appointed by my teacher, and I am qualified to baptize."
"Then do it quickly! Do it tomorrow!"
"As commanded."
The Russians and Slavs do not pay attention to three-day funerals, and neither ethnic group cares about the funeral format.
The incident happened very suddenly, but the Russians and local Slavs who lived in Novgorod were not concerned about the death of a woman. In fact, many Vikings, including the Russians, felt that the death was just that of a captive.
The slave was originally a kind of toy of the Duke, and he died when he died.
This is indeed the case, so Mary kept a very low profile when she was alive.
The next day, Rurik struggled to stay awake after not sleeping all night.
A baptism ceremony was being held in the room with a simple cross. John Ingvar, a Dane whose religious membership belonged to the Frankish Hamburg diocese, personally baptized the newborn Reglaf. The earthenware urn served as the basin and the earthenware cup served as the Holy Grail.
When the well water was blessed, it became holy water, the water was heated to a warm temperature, and John Invall completed the ceremony with the child's screams.
The maids from Britain became temporary nuns, and some were kidnapped from the Kingdom of Mercia. They witnessed the birth of a little prince like Caesar in the legend. Perhaps this child will indeed become a Mercian because of his Viking ancestry.
A man of great influence in the future. The maids regretted his poor birth and hoped that everything would be fine.
For John Ingvar, this matter must be reported truthfully by him personally writing a letter to his teacher Eskil. Now this matter is not difficult. For the great cause, the teacher relies on building a monastery in the free Hedeby, and the Principality of Ross is just right.
There are shops there and letters will be delivered smoothly.
Finally, when Reglaf's identity was recognized by the Diocese of Hamburg, his religious status was granted. If this child had the opportunity to go to Rome to obtain official witnesses when he grew up, he would be the irrefutable King of Mercia, even without control.
He had a clear territory, and he was also the legal king of Mercia. As for matters after baptism, it was not within the authority of John Ingvar, a young priest.
Also on this afternoon, a small fire tower was erected on the shore of the frozen lake.
The cross pendant made of Mary's silver and the cut off brown hair are the holy relics left by Mary to her son. Rurik deliberately left these objects for his son Reglaf, so he can also use them as gifts.
I would like to remind my future heirs in kind: your eldest brother is Zhengshuo of the Mercian royal family and will not compete with you for the power of Rus.
More than 3,000 people gathered for the princess's funeral. Whether it was a funeral or a happy event, it was indeed a major event. The locals lacked entertainment and even regarded participating in the funeral as a kind of entertainment.
Neither the king nor the prince of Mercia had such a funeral after their death in battle.
Many people gossiped, saying that the Duke went too far in taking care of a slave girl in this way. Some people said that the girl was a noble and had given birth to a child for the Duke, so she should be given honor. The largest number of Slavs were simply watching the fun. They looked at it.
To be fresh, I thought that the funeral of a Varangian noble was no different from a Slavic funeral. A fire burns away the dust and returns to dust, and the soul goes to a beautiful place.
Rurik held a torch in front of everyone and looked at the man wrapped in cloth on the top of the tower.
"Mary, everything is over. I hope you will be reborn and live happily in a new world."
The torch was thrown into the firewood, and slowly the entire wooden tower began to burn.
People watched all this solemnly, and a baby's cry attracted everyone's attention.
The person who was crying was none other than the infant Reglaf. He was being held by his grandmother Niya, who also had tears on her face.