Yngvild and the Forest of Dreams

Ships in the Night

After dinner I followed Noren from the hall, we had unfinished business to attend to. I enjoyed watching him move, seeing the smooth strides. His woollen hose clung to his legs and showed his muscles rippling as he walked. He was V shaped, tapering down from his broad shoulders. He rolled across the landscape like a thundercloud towards our favourite outcrop overlooking the beach. I couldn't keep up with him when he moved with a purpose, but I knew where he was going. He stopped on the top of the smooth rock and stood looking out at the sunset across the fjord.
I took my time getting to him, he wasn't going anywhere else tonight and I thought about my dreams of living with Noren in the forest. All our work was done and the evening meal eaten. There was nothing else to do but enjoy the sun, and each other's company, before bed.
'Good weather again tomorrow I think.' Noren said as I arrived.
I climbed onto the rock and, tucking my dress behind my knees, sat at the edge, my feet dangling over the beach. 'Come, sit with me.' I patted the edge of the rock next to me.
Noren took the cue and sat beside me. I put my arm round his waist and leant into Noren, resting my head on the side of his chest. I thrilled at his scent, there was something about combination of salt, sea, wool and Noren that enticed me to be near him and, if I'm honest, melted my insides a little.
He hugged me with his left arm. 'It's a beautiful evening.' We sat in silence, watching the waves hit the beach and straggly pink clouds scudding on a horizon flecked with tiny islets and white foam where rocks broached the surface. Gulls swooped and heeled into the sea, emerging moments later with fish in their beaks glinting in the sun.

'You every wonder about going away from here?' I said.
'One day I'll have my own boat. Who knows where my haven will be.'
'I've been dreaming about us in a forest.'
'Boats aren't great in forests.'
'The seagulls took us to the forest, so the bear could find us.'
'Is this like the dreams you had about the raiders?'
'Maybe, although Old Bjorn says that sometimes dreams are just dreams. But I keep having this one.'
'How exactly does it go?'
'A giant seagull picks us up and carries us off. It drops us into a forest, and there's a bear looking for us. It can't find us, but it wants to help us.'
'How do you know the bear wants to help us?'
'I just know. There are ravens everywhere in the forest, but they're not friendly, and they're scared of the bear. I get flashes of them trying to peck out the bear's eyes.'
Noren stiffened. I stopped talking, angered that he wasn't listening properly.
Noren pointed. I couldn't see anything where he was pointing, even though I squinted into the setting sun.
A speck on the horizon broadened. 'Is that a ship?' Noren said.
'What?'
'Over there, between Portree and Brevik.' Noren indicated both places as he mentioned them.
'Oh. I see it now. Isn't it a bit late for being out?'
'Well it's not like it's getting dark soon, is it?'
Yngvild laughed. 'Not for a fortnight at least' she said. 'I wonder who it is and where they're going?'
'They're a bit far away, but it doesn't look like one of the fishing boats I know'
'How can you tell? It's so small'
'The sail is wrong, we've just got the one mast with a square rig.'

The ship approached, becoming clearer. Two masts were under sail, and a third furled. The fore mast had a huge triangular sheet. Above it a smaller rectangular sail bulged ahead of the ship. Both sails had the large blue circle of the King's ships painted on an otherwise plain sail. It seemed to be coming straight towards them.
'I think we ought to go tell the others about the King's ship' Noren said.
'Won't someone else have seen it?'
Noren looked back at the houses, two parallel tenements running inland from the jetty. 'I can't see anyone, if they'd seen the ship then someone would be getting ready to welcome it.'
'We've got a few more minutes.'
'We have. But others might have gone to bed, you know what Old Bjorn and Helga the Red are like.' Noren disentangled himself from Yngvild and rolled away, launching himself off the rock.
'Wait for me!' I scrambled after him with my skirts hiked above my knees so that I could crawl.
Noren didn't wait for me. He broke into a run towards the houses.
'Ships!' he yelled. 'Ships!'
I turned to look back out to sea, surely there was just one ship?
There, behind the first ship, and obscured by its sails, were two others. They were much further out, but following the same course. Neither had the blue pennant nor the blue circles on the sails. One had a red pennant with patched sails. The other a green pennant with green and white vertically striped sails.
'Gods above! Raiders!' I swore under my breath and hurried to the houses. I could see that Noren had already reached the decking ahead of me. He was shouting to wake up the households.
'Raiders! Raiders! To arms!' Noren shouted. He reached the horn hanging on the front of the building, next to the alley entrance.