March 28th 1075: County of Agder
The first year and three quarters of child-count Torstein of Agder's reign were largely peaceful and uneventful, save for the further advancement of farming techniques in February 1075 with the discovery of the wooden plough in Agder.
On March 28th, 1075, that all changed.
There rode up to the royal dwelling in Agder an aging knight. He stopped before the door, dismounted, and shouted up to the windows.
"I am Gudrod Galtung of the County Hdemark! I request asylum in your court and 26 in monies to be able to pay the debts I've left behind me!"
Behind a curtain, the women of the Agderese court peered out and debated over what to do about the man's request.
"It would be foolhardy to accept him! The sum he asks is well over half of our treasury! Lodin never would have admitted him!"
Snofrid's cheeks were a conflagration of crimson as she angrily argued against admittance of Gudrod Galtung. To her mind, acceptance of the stranger was far too risky and far too costly to even think of entertaining it, even if he was Norwegian as her dear and dead cousin would have approved of. Dowager Countess Cundo had other plans, however.
"Yes, you are right in that my husband would have never accepted him. However, each man that Lodin turned away only served to ruin my husband, your cousin's power a little more every time that it happened. The cost does not matter. We will take in this Gudrod. It is the Christian thing to do and we can ill afford to tarnish Torstein's reputation so early in life."
Though Snofrid would have argued more, she saw that Cundo would not brook disagreement in this matter and so she aceded, silently cursing the power the other woman had as the Dowager Countess.
And so Gudrod Galtung came to serve the Count of Agder and Mide as Court Marshal.
May 8th 1075: County of Agder
The banquet hall was filled with many tasty dishes to eat and the excellent acoustics provided for the songs played by the court musicians to carry throughout the entire area.
Count Torstein, five years old on this day, sat at the head of the table and happily chewed on a turkey leg, oblivious to the heated argument that was going on in another corner of the room.
"You *will* marry a man and leave this court, Snofrid. Torstein will be all the more acclaimed for it, and that is what Lodin would have wanted, for his son to become more famed and respected."
"I will *not*, Cundo. I have served this court faithfully in my duties for nigh on to nine years now, and I will not be turned out of doors so easily as that. Besides, the thought of marriage is a distasteful one to me, as you well know."
The quarrel was interrupted by spirited trumpeting from outside the hall doors. A herald in blue and gold entered and announced in a strong baritone, "Announcing Her Royal Majesty, Queen Thora of Sweden!"
A murmur rushed through the crowd as the former courtier now stepped across the treshold. Thora Bjelke had never looked more beautiful than she did in this moment. Flush with the ecstacy of intense happiness, she was stunning in a gown of royal blue and many a young man in attendance fell instantly in love with her.
Followed by her small retinue of bodyguards, she smiled to all she saw as she made her way to the banquet table, bending down to give Torstein a hug that he found quite pleasing.
"So this is Lodin's son. Quite the handsome boy you're turning out to be! I understand someone here has a birthday today as well." The last was spoken with a coy smile on the Queen's lips as she winked at the other newcomers.
"For the last time, Cundo, I will not marry!" Snofrid's exclamation boomed off the walls and broke the Thora watchers out of their reverie, much to their loudly grumbled resentment.
Thora raised an eyebrow and stood up, her bearing proud and authorative as she looked over in the direction of the two women.
"But Snofrid, my dear... Marriage is a wonderful thing! Why, I've never been happier since I married my dear Erik. We've had four children together, and three of them still live. Knut, our oldest is a handsome and talented boy just a year older than little Torstein here."
The Spy Master stared, eyes wide with her scandalized state, "You betraying wench! I don't care if you're the Queen of Sweden! To me you will always be the worthless courtier who hadn't a thought in her head and just happened to be lucky enough to catch a King in his moment of weakness!"
Stunned silence swept over the room, all eyes fixed on the spectacle. Some were amused, some were horrified. Still others were gleeful, hardly able to wait until the time they could rush out and spread gossip of the day's events.
"Don't be mean to my birthday!" Torstein's lustful cry shattered the tension in the room and drew eyes to him. Indignant, the little Count stood up on his chair and announced, "Snofrid will marry because she was mean to my birthday!"
This was Torstein's first edict, given at his fifth birthday party. Though many who heard it laughed, it was quickly accepted as the law it was according to the feudal contract.
Unfortunately, despite continuous efforts by Cundo to find Snofrid a husband, by the fall of 1075, she still remain unmarried as all proposals were rejected. Most of the would-be husbands cited her age of 26 as cause for concern, for they felt she would not be able to produce them heirs.
Also in that autumn, Torstein chose to receive training from Marshal Gudrod and served in the army. Perhaps it was a direct result of Gudrod's well-known cowardaice, but after three short months of training, Torstein became quite lazy.
This did not bode well for the future of the of Agder family.
Looks like I was wrong about the Kingdom of Sweden being in bad hands because of Thora