The Viking Slave

Chapter 27: Strangers Upon the Tides

Oliefsborg
"You have failed me, father!" Bard yelled aggressively, beating his fist on the arm of the chair.

Erick stared at him with a blank expression on his face, answering with only a slight nod. Bard stood from the throne and stepped down facing Knute.

"I would have been sure of you to find her." Bard spoke smugly, moistening his lips. "I just want you to know that she does not love you, nor will she ever."

Knute hung his head in silence, refraining from an argument.

"Knute and I will continue the search in a few days." Erick sternly spoke, stepping closer to the throne. "Our men are tired. I am tired." He shook his head. "Why can you not just leave us alone? Astrid cannot be found. She is not even worth the search."

Bard's eyes grew wide. "I want Astrid, and only Astrid." He paused. "She is worth the search to me and if you cannot find her then I will simply unleash madness upon your beloved village."

Jezebel watched quietly from behind the curtain of their bedchamber. She held their newborn son tightly in her arms, rocking him back and forth with tears in her eyes. Her heart broke at the thought of Astrid, wondering where she had went.

"Ich liebe dich." Jezebel whispered, placing a kiss upon the sleeping child's head . "Ich werde dich mit meinem Körper und Seele zu schützen." She paused, stroking his tender cheeks. "Egal was."

Jezebel sat down easily onto the edge of the bed and began weeping irrationally while she listened to the argument between Erick and Bard. There was nothing she could do, and knowing that ripped her heart out.

"I suggest you settle yourself down before a war breaks out between us." Erick threatened, spinning around on his heel. He paced steadily back and forth.

"I wonder what measures you would go if I was a threat to your beloved wife and newborn son?" Bard asked, stepping down from the throne. "Father? What do you say to that?"

Anger boiled in Erick's eyes as he bit his lip. "I swear if you lay a hand on them I will kill you myself. I do not care if you are my son or not."

"You would not kill me, for you are to weak-hearted." Bard sat back down smugly. He watched Knute in the corner pounding his clinched fist against the wood table. "Then do us both good and find my Astrid.

Erick stamped his foot aggressively before storming out of the longhouse. He rushed through the village, passing by villagers hastily down the beat down dirt path towards the Seer's shack at the end of the road. He entered the small, filthy place and sat down across from the grungy man.

"Erick." The Seer's husky voice grumbled, while her ran his fingers along the top of a smooth stone. "I felt you would be coming soon. What is it that you need from me?"

"Where is Astrid?" Erick quickly asked, leaning forward in hopes an exact answer would come.

The seer laughed coarsely, dropping the smooth stone into a wooden bowl. "Why do you care about her now? She has been gone for so long."

"Tell me where she is at!" Erick yelled, dropping to his knees. "Please oh gracious Seer. Oliefsborg is in danger if I cannot find her."

"You will never believe me when I say what she is doing." The seer whispered, spinning the rock around in the palm of his dirt-caked hand. "She is a powerful ruler now." He shook his head. "You will never get her back here. You are only wasting your time in trying to find her."