Tales of Infamy (Viking)

6 - Thyra

Hunting became my refuge. I needed it, for the town only got worse as time went on. Vif would not speak of it, but when her children asked about their father she burst out into tears that lasted well into the night. Sefa believed them to be dead, that her husband was dining with father in Walhalla. She did not seem very upset about it.

I did not know what to think. In my heart, I felt that Ailmær was alive, but my head seemed to disagree. I could not sleep at night, instead I found myself praying and carving more runes than I had ever carved before. It made me feel a bit better, but when morning came I was exhausted with bleeding fingers.

My arrow hit the tree next to the deer's head. It immediately ran off, so my second arrow did not strike true either. I sighed and brushed my hair out of my eyes. I haven't caught anything big in weeks. The animals that did dare to come down to the town were on high alert, so one wrong step and they sprinted off. That was why I decided to make a trip of it today. I needed to return with something. To prove to all of us that I wasn't losing my mind.

I had killed two bunnies, they were strung from my belt, but that would not feed us very long. I was sick and tired of fish and bread. The bunnies would make for a good stew, but they were not worth two days of hunting.

I couldn't help myself. I headed east, to the cliffside. I was wise enough to not sit on the edge, but I still positioned myself so that I could look out over the water. I did this every time I hunted, though I hadn't ventured this far yet. I could still see Hraun when I looked back, I hadn't gotten that far as it was still early in the day.

The river curled like a snake, like the Midgard serpent from the sagas. When I was a child I thought I could see the snake in our fjord, but then father took me to see the ocean one day, and I knew it wasn't true. There was so much more water out there, why would the snake bother with us?

I heard a sound. An odd sound. 

At first, I glanced back into the woods, maybe a bear snuck up on me? I crouched down and got the bow from my back, bears were hard to kill with archery, but my dagger was hardly an option either. I looked through the trees, my ears focussing on the sound as my eyes tried their best to find the source. The forest was empty, that was not where it was coming from.

I looked back to the river and found where it was coming from. A ship had poked out its nose and was just heading around the first bend. It was still far from sight for the people of the city, but I could see it clearly. White sails, men rowing and laughing. It was the sound of home that I could not identify.

The weight lifted off my shoulders, the restlessness disappeared from my stomach. I lowered my bow and let out a sigh which turned into a grand smile. My love was home, there was no need to worry. No need to cry.

I looked back at my fingers, what would he say of them? Most of them were bandaged up, I had cut into them during my nightly endeavours. I could already picture his face. A flash of disappointment followed by a funny comment to make me feel better about it.

I sunk down to my knees, my legs were no longer capable of supporting my weight. With my head to the sky, and the sun dancing over my skin, I mumbled a short prayer.

"Allfather, I thank you for this gift and with the luck you have given us, may I bear him many warriors." I did not choose the words, they simply spilt out of my lips. A thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I stayed there, I could not take my eyes off the ships. That was until all the ships were around the first bend, and there were only three of them.

Six had left, three had returned.

The worry returned as quickly as it had vanished. Was Ailmær on the ship? Were my brothers in law? I stepped closer to the edge of the cliff than I had ever dared to. I needed to see. I had to know.

Another bend came, and they slowly got closer to me. They were going very slow, much slower than I was used to. Our fjord was difficult to navigate if you hadn't sailed it before. There were many twists and turns in the snake. It wasn't a good sign, maybe the jarl died.

Then as they got closer, I did not recognise the shields, nor the men. I spotted several women, shieldmaidens. But it was not them that made my heart turn to ice. It was the men I spotted on the last ship.

A group of them were huddled together, they were bare-chested with a bearskin draping down their backs. They were laughing and smiling. A woman joined them, carrying a bowl. I could not see what was in it, not until the first man grabbed some and put it in his mouth. A white flower with a burgundy middle.

Berserkers.