Being in the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took for Adelasia's whole life to turn upside down. After being captured by the heathens raiding her city and taken all the way to the cold North, the youngest Ragnarsson takes an interest in her...
Alasia was sitting on the throne next to Ivar, watching him with absentminded interest as he settled some minor dispute between two farmers who had travelled from the outskirts of Kattegat to the heart of the city in order to attend the wedding of which tales would be told long after it had happened. Apparently, the two farmers had both taken a part of their cattle along to trade in the days of the feast and now one farmer was claiming that the other had stolen two lambs, while the accused said that was bosh, and the lambs were his after all. It was all a rather tiresome business, and the look of dismay on Ivar's face said it all, especially since there were so many other things that had to be done for their wedding in two days' time.
"Do you not brand your sheep?" Ivar asked, interrupting the two bickering farmers mid-argument. He looked from one to the other, silencing both for a sweet moment.
She could already the fear in her body at the thought of having to rule alone if Ivar ever decided to go on a raid or visit his strongholds in England, leaving her alone to settle petty disputes like these.
"Yes, my King," the accuser replied, inclining his head. "But this foul man I have always regarded as my brother has cut through my marks."
"You fool," the accused spat. "That is my mark!"
Ivar looked rather bored by the whole ordeal, no doubt harbouring the same longings as the woman beside him to be somewhere else, anywhere else really. He gave the two farmers a dismissive wave of his hands, turning his attention to one of his guards. "Walk with these two men, Gorm, and let the accuser point the two stolen lambs. If they have the same mark as all the other sheep of the accused, then make him give all of his sheep to the accused. If the marks are indeed different, then the accused will give all his sheep willingly to the accuser," he decided, and watched with satisfaction as one of the farmers paled. "That will be the last of the petitions for today. In fact, I will settle no more disputes till after the wedding feasts."
Alasia watched as Gorm directed the farmers out of the Great Hall, while another guard member informed all the petitioners that they could return home. The fact that she felt relieved at the knowledge that she would hear no more petty arguments filled her with shame, knowing that this was one of the most important tasks as the queen she would be soon. As a little girl, she had listened with fascination to the stories her father told her about his endless war councils and the tedious task of drawing up battle plans, but never in a million years had she imagined that such electrifying tales led to the boring outcome of a monarch playing judge.
