She always believed that after the flare in the sky disappeared, Nótt would soar down from the heavens and paint the sky in a color of ebony mist so that only the sun and moon would send their children down to keep the sky light for those to find their way in the dark of the night. She always admired the Gods and how they would watch over the loved ones of those sent to Valhalla who still yearned to see the visages of the loved ones she left behind.
"Tóra!" a kind voice called.
"Mother?" she called out, her eyes still fixated on the golden figure in the distance.
"Tóra, your Amma is here." The voice responded. Her heart leapt inside of her.
"Amma!" the young woman gasped. She sprinted from the window to pierce into the kind eyes of the aged woman.
"Tóra. Oh how beautiful you have become! Every time I look at you, your pretty face becomes more and more beautiful. Just like your mother, you benign girl." Oh how her grandmother's knowledgeable words made the young woman's cheeks become the color of the wild berries in the sylvan coppice.
"Amma," she breathed joyously and she embraced the sagacious woman before her.
"Mother, please sit. Shall I pour you some ale?" the alluring woman grinned kindly.
"Milk, Briseida. Ever since the day our men left, I have found no reason to consume ale." The ancient woman sat beside Tóra, lifting her hand as if it were the single feather of the robin.
A delectable aroma aroused Tóra from her thoughts.
"It smells wonderful." she grinned, only to realize her grin was forged. The smell reminded the girl of her father. It was only a day that her father and grandfather left for the south, but she missed them as if they had been gone for longer.
"How long do you think Papa and Seanathair will be gone for?"
"I do not know my love." Her mother kissed her hair.
"I have prayed all day for them, asking the Gods to send me a sign, but no sign leaves us with no answer. All we must do is wait."
Wait, Tóra thought, But for how long?
YOU ARE READING
The Abduction of the Northmen
RandomTóra is a bewitching young Shield-Maiden who's father and grandfather are on a voyage to Germania. When the men of Tóra's village return, they have with them the handsome captive Jordanes, but many of the warriors are missing, including her father a...
