The Viking Slave

Chapter 8: The Völva

Astrid stared at Bard greatly puzzled by his offer, not knowing whether or not she should trust this unknown man. As she pondered on her response, she looked around the room fixating her eyes upon all of the settings around her. First at the square fire pit in the middle then the large, dirt-floored room, then at the many white waxed candles, which were scattered all along the room but were not lit. Her eyes wondered onto the dirt floor where she caught a glimpse of a tiny gray mouse scampering along ground until it found safety behind a bench. Finally, she drifted her eyes back to the blue, peering gaze of Bard, awaiting an answer. Many thoughts and questions filled her mind as she stared deeply at Bard.

"Well," Bard piped in, shattering the silence in Astrid's racked brain. "What is your answer?"

Astrid closed her eyes, causing her brows to furrow and her forehead to scrunch. She placed her hands over her face, hiding any expression that could escape onto her stiff profile. Shortly after she ran her hands down from her eyes, down her cheeks where she folded them just below her chin, resting her face down upon her created support, pressing her lips lightly against her folded fingers.

"If I agree, I will be free?" Astrid mumbled, behind her hands moving her eyes upward towards him.

Bard's face went long as he stared at Astrid intently. "You will be free as long as you complete your task to my satisfaction." He said. "Have you decided yet on what you will choose?"

"I accept your offer and if you lie to me, I will cut your throat while you sleep. Do you understand?"

Bard looked at Astrid once again with raised brows. "Will you now? I would not be too sure on that right now, for you still are a slave at the moment."

Astrid pursed her lips with anger as Bard smugly smiled, placing his index, middle finger and thumb onto Astrid's hot cheek.

"Father was right, you are a difficult one to have as a slave." Bard said, leaning forward and placing a kiss onto her lips, kissing her softly for several seconds before pulling away. "You will be trained on how to fight, my beauty."
Bard arose from the bench, leaving Astrid's side, and looked down at Astrid. "I have business with my father. I shall speak with you later." Bard said, before exiting the room to enter Erick's bedchamber.

Astrid sat still, leaning against the thick edge of the carved wooden table, contemplating on how things would go down. Death could come to her she thought, freeing her permanently from all of the pains that the world had to offer. Soon her silent thoughts were disturbed when the large door creaked open and in came Knut. Sweat was beaded around his forehead and dripping from the tip of his round nose. He stepped to the corner of the room where the water bucket hung from a rope that was attached to the wooden mud caked ceiling, dipping his dirt and calloused covered hands into the cool, clear water, rinsing the layer of grime from them before taking the dipper, carved from a piece of light colored wood, and filling it up, sipping the cool water between his dry and cracked lips. Once he gulped the water down, he plunged his hands once again into the bucket, drawing out water into the palms of his hands and bringing it to his face, cleaning off the dirt that had settled into his pores. Astrid sat off in the distance watching and studying each move that he made, longing for him to notice her just once before she left him for good.

Knut glanced over her shoulder at Astrid, who quickly looked away once she realized that she had been caught in the act of watching him. As she continued to watch him from the corner of her eye she saw a slight smile come to the corner of his closed, straight lips as he turned sharply around to face her, causing a slight giggle to slip from her mouth.

"Why are you just sitting there?" Knut asked, shuffling himself to her side as he leaped onto the table top where he sat calmly and poised.

Astrid tilted her head to look at him. "I am thinking about what shall become of me in the mere future." She stated plainly, wringing her hands in her lap.