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'Leave your condition, this position does no harm'
I was different to the others. I knew it, it was plain to see. My sister was beautiful, her hair was long and golden and even though her status was only that of a thrall, she seemed to have men falling at her feet. I would watch, watch her serving the Queen on Kattegat along with her sons. Margrethe had always been good to me, she took the life of a slave to give me the life of a free woman. During the day, she would complete her tasks and spend time with the young Princes, during the night, she either slept with myself in a bed or found time to sleep with a man of her choice. I was much different. My days were spent watching my sister or trying to entertain myself. Today was an entertain myself day.
During the morning, I had followed my older sister to the Ragnarsson's home. I snuck in behind her giving it a few seconds, my skills at being invisible seemed to getting better. Once I was inside, I looked around with wide eyes. I had never been inside before, I had watched Margrethe enter and often thought about following but today I decided to bit the bullet. Sneaking silently, I listened as I heard my sister in a different room, I went into the other room only to stop in my tracks when I saw two of the Ragnarsson's still asleep in bed.
I didn't need to work out who they were, one was the second youngest, Sigurd and the other was the youngest, Ivar. My sister's footsteps neared, I darted towards the closest bed, slipping onto the floor and rolling under it. I bit my lip to calm my breathing, being under a bed was hard enough but I was under the bed of Ivar Ragnarsson who was currently sleeping in it.
Watching, my sister entered the room, I could see her small feet shuffling. "Sigurd," she whispered as she neared the bed furthest away. "Sigurd."
"Shush," came a reply. "What are you doing here?" Sigurd's voice was even quieter than Margrethe's. "We must go somewhere else."
I put a hand over my mouth, I was aware that one wrong sound and they would know I was here. There was a strange sound before I saw the feet of Sigurd climb off the bed. I kept extremely still as I watched the two leave the room together. I tried to listen, there was no sound until I heard the main door of the hut shut. Remaining still for a few moments longer, my eyes darted around as I looked for a weapon, the whole reason I came here.
By my feet was something I had seen before, Ivar's war picks. I smirked as I rolled out from where I had been laying. Getting to a crouching position, my hands reached for the weapons. My fingers curled around the handles as I stared at them with a gleeful look in my eyes. Suddenly, my moment was shattered as a hand wrapped around my wrist. Jumping, I dropped both the picks as I whipped my head around to look at where the hand had come from.
When I looked into the eyes of Ivar, I felt a mixture of emotions. I tried to rip my hand away from his grip but I was not strong enough.
"Who are you?" He asked me as he held my wrist tighter than before.
My eyes scanned for his other hand, I was aware that he held no other weapons at this moment in time. Looking back at him, I wished I had stayed home today. "Saffy," I mumbled as I looked down at his hand on my wrist. "My name is Saffy."
"What are you doing here, Saffy?" His voice was soft, his accent was thick and the look in his eyes was one that confused me.
I wished I had a good answer for him. "I- I-" Stuttering, I looked back at his face hoping he would let me go. "Please, I'm sorry. I just want to go home."
Ivar looked down at the floor to the war picks before he looked back at me. "Who sent you here?" His gripped tightened even more, I could feel the pain as my fingers began to tingle. "Who sent you to kill me?"
Shaking my head, I tried to pull away from him but I struggled and stumbled before falling from my feet to my bum. "No one," my eyes began to water as I started to panic internally. I didn't want to die here when no one knew I was here. "I'm sorry, please..." My tears started to fall as I tried to pry his hand off me.
"Don't be afraid," he said as his grip loosened before he let me go. "I won't hurt you."
Rubbing my wrist, I wondered if he had even realised what he had just done. Scrambling to my feet, I started to walk towards the door.
"If you return," Ivar spoke getting my attention. I looked back at him as he sat up in his bed, his war picks in hands. "I won't hesitate to kill you. There will not be a second chance."
My hands were clammy and my heart was racing, yet I was quite to get out of there. I knew I had made a big mistake in going there. Once I was outside, I took a deep breath glad to be alive.
