Prince Gyllen Ch. 23.1

"Wise woman..." He then addressed the elder in a faraway voice, almost a doleful whisper as he could not bring himself to look her directly in the eye. "Might I have some words with you? in private I mean. Away from the...ahem...'imp'."

"Watch it, you..." Min grumbled with a sour grimace upon her countenance as she caught the blond looking in her direction when he could not help himself but make that final remark, pointing an index finger right back in his direction as if she were threatening him with it. "An' what's with th' sudden secrecy from yours truly?"

"I believe I may have reached a decision, Min, but there's just some things I wish to clarify first with the foremost authority here. And I'd prefer to do so without any snide input from a third-party."

"Oh...so that's how it is then? Glad to know me opinions are so highly valued..." The redhead huffed as she resolutely crossed her arms over her chest, continuing on before the nonplussed prince had a chance to even defend himself. "Go on then, don' mind me. And take yer time. I'm sure an hour or three's difference ain't gonna matter that much when I'm 'splainin' t' th' Cap where we disappeared off t' while she's fetchin' her flog." Her tone was saturated with sarcasm as she made a shooing motion with her hand. Gyllen could not think of anything he could say that could have lightened the situation, so instead he just made his leave alongside the elder woman into a nearby tent where they discussed matters known only to them.

The discussion did not last as long as Min had feared, though the sun was slowly starting to set and the goblin girl still found herself rather bored waiting for her charge to return, sitting upon a bench carved from a log and drawing abstract shapes in the dirt with a long twig. The villagers were similarly restless during this interval, gossiping amongst themselves in hushed voices which the redhead would have gladly joined had she spoke even a single word of their native language while occasionally catching a small number of them gawping at her non-human form. The aborigines fell silent and stared in unison in a single direction, prompting Min to look over her shoulder the same way to see Gyllen and the elder just as they were emerging from their canvased conference, though both of them looked very much the same as when they had started so she was unable to garner a distinct read on how their dialogue had went.

When the wise woman had at last shuffled herself back into her previous position before the gathered villagers with Gyllen by her side, she threw up both her hands and broke the silence with roaring vocals something understood only in her own tongue, but whatever it was she has proclaimed, it seemed to have been the catalyst for much celebration, for the grim countenances of the indigenous folk suddenly lifted for the first time the foreigners had seen partway through the oration, giving way to excited chattering and some mild cheering by the time it had concluded.

With this, Min was left even more confused than she was before, and she hopped back onto her feet from her seat and made her way over to where Gyllen stood, tugging at the boy's shirt to get his attention.

"Uh, I think I've a right t' know jus' what's happenin' here, Goldie." She asked him.

"W-well...erm...to summarise things, I've chosen to aid these people..." Gyllen replied, his cheeks turned rosy as he turned his head to face Min as he spoke, but his eyes looked aside as he nervously twirled a finger in his long locks.

"Oh, come off it, Gyl! Yeah, I get it's sad an' all, but don' get their hopes up. I mean, what th' hell can you hope t' possibly accomplish by yer lonesome, eh?"

"Don't make me spell it out for you, Min..." Gyllen sighed, though was met only with a blank look. "They're a village comprised solely of women...they're facing a population emergency without any males...I'm a male..."

"...Yer kiddin'!" Min's jaw dropped after it finally clicked within her head just what it was which the prince was hinting at, going from naught to a hundred in an instant. "What? Doncha think yer takin' advantage a' their dire straits? Passin' yerself off as their god or whatever t' put a baby in 'em jes' so ya can steal a bit a' rumpy pumpy? I figured ya better than that, Prince." The last syllable she spat with extra venom in her voice.

"N-no! It's nothing of the sort!" Gyllen defended himself, but even still he could not help but to feel somewhat guilty from hearing Min's perspective on his proposal. "Believe me, I cannot in good conscience allow myself to resign these people to their fate when I'm the closest thing to hope they've had in two decades, whether I like it or not. I've made sure to explain things very carefully with the elder there, as well as made it especially explicit that I far from a divine being of any definition, and in turn she's relaying my words unto her kinswomen...at least, I hope she's keeping my words to the letter. Although, truth be told, I was not expecting such a universally...eager response from the others."

"Odin, Frigg an' Baldr...an' here I was thinkin' ya were jes' havin' a quick chat wi' granny...how the bloody Hel do ya plan on knockin' up an entire tribe anyway, eh?"

"Would you believe me if I said I have had some prior experience...?" Gyllen answered, accompanied by an unconfident smile and anxious eyebrows.

TO BE CONTINUED...