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*Chapter 2*

Wikinger Mädchen

 
 

Where’s that kid got to? Dave mused after ascending the steps up to the museum’s entrance, I’ll hold off with asking her about tomorrow, a couple of hours won’t make any difference.

“Dad – dee!”

Yup it was definitely Gabs now.

“Hey, kiddo,” Dave allowed as his offspring joined him.

“So what was the call?”

“Just some BC stuff, you ready for a squint?”

“I guess,” came the sighed reply.

The building was constructed in the brutalist form, all sharp angles, rough concrete, a single high ceilinged space barely broken up by the contents. Dave had the museum guide and led the way around the balcony to the ‘cinema’, essentially a side room with an audiovisual presentation playing on a loop. It was all in Danish, so whilst Bond senior tried to make sense of that Drew mooched around the walls where at least the descriptions of the Thor Heyerdahl ship reconstructions were in German.

Although it wasn’t really his bag, Drew found the pictures and descriptions fascinating, you really had to be nuts to go to sea in a reed ship!

“Ready?” Dave enquired joining Drew at a model of ‘RA II’, Heyerdahl’s second reed ship.

“Only waiting for you.”

“Come on then, let’s go see the ships.”

“Kay, those guys were potty.”

“Who?”

“Heyer wotsit and his mates.”

“The Ra expeditions, yeah I suppose they were, I remember watching it on telly when I was a student.”

“Why would you do it like?” Drew asked as they made their way down to the landing looking out over the outer hall and its skeletal contents.

“Watch the programmes?”

“Dur, build those daft boats.”

“Research, they helped our understanding of population movements and proved that ancient ships could cross sizeable bodies of water.”

“Whatever.” Secretly Drew thought it was pretty cool but there was no way he’d let his Dad know that.

Dave had his camera out and started the shutter going. Whilst the size of the boat remains below were quite impressive they were a bit disappointing, there was at least as much missing as present. They descended to the floor and walked around the first three vessels – it wasn’t very exciting, the models explaining how they came to be sunk in Roskilde Fjord were at least a little livelier.

“Thought there’d at least be some sort of reconstruction.” Drew complained.

Dave was of a similar opinion, he hadn’t really known what to expect but this stark concrete shed wasn’t it.

 
 
“Frøken?” a woman addressed Bond junior.

“Sorry, ihnen?” I enquired in Germlish.

“Ah Deutsche,” the woman switched from I guess Danish to German, “I work for the Vikingskib Museet, I was wondering if you could help us with a short presentation we do for the kinder?”

“Er.”

“We’re not in a hurry, kiddo,” Dad put in.

Gee, thanks, Dad.

“It is perhaps fifteen minutes,” my assailant pressed.

Well I suppose it’s got to be more lively than the main monochrome exhibits.

“Er okay I guess.”

“Great! I’m Agnetha by the way.”

“Um Drew.”

“That’s pretty, come, Dad if you come into the hafenhalle in maybe ten minutes?”

“Sure, have fun, kiddo.”

 
 
Agnetha led the way past the last two skeletons, a small fishing boat and the impressively um long longboat, all thirty metres of it, and through a door where we joined the rest of the er cast.

“Yo everyone, this young lady is Drew from Germany who will help this show,” Agnetha advised the half dozen be-costumed men and women in the room.

Did she just say young lady?

“Hallo, Drew, I’m Freda, come through, let’s get you dressed.”

Dressed? Well I guess if it’s some sort of play that’s to be expected.

“See you soon, Drew,” Agnetha beamed.

“So um what do I have to do?” I queried as Freda shuffled a rail of costumes.

“You take the part of Aelda, ah here we are, this should fit,” she turned around proffering a dark blue dress, “daughter of Kong Asger, that’s Michael the big blonde guy.”

“Daughter?”

“Ja, the princess, you only have a couple of lines, we have a card for those, come let’s get you ready.”

Why me?

I followed in the wake of my ‘parents’ along the dock through the excitable young audience, my hair now in braids, my shorts and sandals hidden by the floor length dress.

“Where is my daughter, where is Aelda?” Kong Asger boomed after several minutes of dialog.

My turn to speak, “Here father,” I offered stepping forward.

“Ah, my beautiful barn, take care of your mother for me,” he pulled me into a hug, yow! That hurts.

“I will, father.” Great actor aren’t I?

“Come, my liege, we must depart to catch the tide.”

The ‘king’ climbed aboard the ‘longship’ and his family, that’s me and Freda, wave him off on another trip across the seas. The lights dimmed signalling the end of our little production and triggering clapping and cheering from our small audience.

 
 
“Thank you, Drew, you make a great Aelda,” Agnetha smiled.

“Um thanks.”

“So you are here on holiday?”

“Not exactly, we’re here for the cycling championships.”

“To watch ja, not my thing but it has been on the TV.”

“Er no, I’m riding, was riding – I crashed yesterday and did my shoulder.”

“Well I hope this has cheered you up a little, yes?”

“A little,” I agreed, it’s hardly the same as riding the worlds is it but it was sort of fun.

 
 
“Drew!” Dad called to me when we emerged from the ‘changing room’.

“Ah Dad, thank you for the loan of your daughter.”

“No problem,” he suggested, “you ready to find some food kiddo?”

A rumbling tum was enough reply to that question.

“You are wanting to eat?” Agnetha enquired.

“We’ve not had lunch yet,” Dad supplied.

“Come with me, the restaurant is still serving lunch, we can’t have the princess going hungry eh?”

Princess, grrr!

 
 
And so we found ourselves tucking into labskovs, which is a sort of beef hash thing, followed by jordbæris, strawberry ice cream to you. It was surprisingly filling; even my hollow legs were sufficiently filled. However time was now getting on and it was time to head back to the hotel, they walked back to the car park each lost in their own thoughts.

 
 
“Drew.” Dave started as they threaded their way back through Roskilde.

“Huh?” I popped an ear bud out to hear pops.

Dave paused, how to phrase this?

“What do you think your chances would be tomorrow?”

“Hardly matters does it, I can’t ride with this can I?”

“Humour me eh, if you had the all clear to ride?”

“As if, guess I’d be in with a shout, Mark’d probably beat me in a sprint but I reckon I’d be okay if I got in a break but it’s not gonna happen is it?”

Bond senior gave a deep sigh.

“That was Chris Toynbee earlier, at the museum, BC’s plan B has fallen through, they couldn’t get a flight for David to fill your slot.”

“What about Geth, he’s already here,” I pointed out.

“That’s plan D,” Dave noted.

“So what’s plan C?”

“Plan C is you ride, no pressure but management think your presence on the start line would give our guys a boost and disturb some of the others.”

“So you’re saying I can ride, shoulder an’ all?”

“It’d be a shame to waste all the preparation.”

“Straight up?”

“Straight up,” Dad agreed.

“What’re we waiting for, I need to get ready!”

Dave still had reservations, another fall on that shoulder wouldn’t be good, and for what? Filling the BC roster certainly, he looked over at the now hyper teen sat beside him, not just BC then, no this was dream fulfilment for Drew, a crack at the World road title. The turning for Hedehusene was upon them, the decision was made, tomorrow Bond junior will be lining up with the rest of the squad back in Roskilde, Dave hoped he’d made the right call.

Maddy Bell © 05.08.2014