The Viking Slave

Chapter 2: A New Land

Night had fallen on the river. The only light which shown was that of the lantern attached to the front of the ship. A vague amount shone from the half moon and the stars that hung softly in the sky.

Astrid sat perfectly still with her head hung low. She was heartbroken and scared of what was to come. The flashbacks of her dead family replayed over and over in her mind, leaving a numb sensation dulling her heart.

Jezebel glanced over at Astrid, nudging her lightly on shoulder. "Try to sleep child." She insisted with  a tender smile.

"I cannot sleep, I know, I have already tried." Astrid replied, glancing up at the stars. "The only thing I can think of is failing my family. They are dead because I was not there to protect them."

"You look just like your mother." Jezebel whispered, looking at the stars also. "You act much like her too."

Astrid had dark brown hair which fell midway down her back. He narrow eyes were a cognac brown, which melted in with the other light features of her round face. Her full lips were a healthy pink that showed the dry cracks around them.

"Do you know where they are taking us?" Jezebel asked, breaking the subject of Beatriz.

Astrid looked at Jezebel with a smile, exposing the dimple that caved in on her cheek.

"To their homeland. The earl there will decide what is to become of us upon our arrival." Astrid stated. "Where did they ever find you?"

Jezebel smiled softly. "I ran down soon after you left. I could not bear to watch and know that I am alone up here." Jezebel shrugged. "Anyway they would have found me at some point. They scavenged all the land clear to the top."

Astrid nodded in response but didn't speak. She had no words to say about anything and if she did she would rather keep quiet.

Astrid's eyes begin to grow heavy as her head bobbed around from fatigue. In no time she had dozed off into a light sleep with her head leaned against Jezebel's shoulder.

The morning sun had rose leaving the sky with a pinkish glow and hints of bright blue in them. Astrid woke to the sudden, frantic jerk of Jezebel's shoulder. She quickly opened her eyes and saw Knute and two other men inspecting the prisoners, seeing who was still alive or who had died throughout the cold, spring night. Only one of the elder priests had passed in the night, whom they threw over the siding of the boat. Some of the captives were heaving, on the verge of death, but remained alive.

Astrid glanced up at Knute, who returned the stare with a smile.

"When will be arriving to your homeland?" Astrid asked him.

"Soon." Knute answered plainly, nodding in assurance before turning his focus back onto his work.

Astrid watched as he walked away, returning to the bow of the ship where where he had been before. She focused down onto her lap. Her dark gray woolen dress was sporting holes along the bottom and at the end of the sleeves. The light blue linen apron, which covered over woolen part, had traces of dried blood splattered atop it. Her rough, calloused fingers traced over the bony, bruised knuckles of her hand.

Hours and days ticked by slowly as silence crept heavily along the deck of the boat. Astrid's mind was gone. Nothing but uneasy thoughts lingered in her mind, leaving her with a melancholy expression. Jezebel was resting on Astrid's shoulders, just as she had done previous nights before, giving her a small sense of security and love. But how long would it last? Astrid thought to herself.

Astrid looked up at the sky that was beginning to set, painting colors of dark orange, yellow, purple and blue with wisps of white clouds in the sky that reflected onto the river, which caused a peaceful glow. The sound of water pushing under the heavy ores movements was the only sounds that could be heard along the boat. Occasionally the Northmen you communicate with each other so the silence would depart, only to return quickly. Out in the distance was a haze of a dark green blob, which grew larger and larger, forming into a mass of land, as the longboats moved closer to the fog covered mountains.