The Viking Queen

Chapter 2: Kattegat

The morning had gone by so quickly that Ásbjǫrg had barely even had time to come to grips with what was happening, before she knew it the ships were leaving the docks and she was watching her homeland fade away slowly in the distance and she almost felt like she was leaving her heart behind with it, it was a dreadful feeling and one that her father would never understand, after all it wasn't him that would be abandoning all he'd ever known to live in a completely new place, surrounded by people she had never met before, people she didn't even know if she could trust. There was also the main thing that scared her, she was being forced to marry a man with a ruthless reputation, a man that had managed to get himself such a strong reputation at the age of twenty, she was only a year younger than him and she had barely even ventured far from the place of her birth.

Ásbjǫrg sat by herself on the boat as far away from her mother and father as she could possibly get, watching as Norway faded away into the distance until there was nothing left but clouds and endless waves. There was a thought somewhere in her brain, wondering if her brother knew what was happening to her, if he agreed with their parents decision, it was a tradition after all but it was also one of the sons of Ragnar that she was being arranged to marry.

The waves grew more ruthless as they crossed the sea, clouds blacker than the night shadowed them and the shade of the sea turned from blue to a murky black. Flashes of white could be seen within the black clouds, some of the men aboard were almost tumbling over as they struggled against the gale force winds. Beneath them the sea began to rise as great mountains, anger in the form of water, turbulent and unforgiving almost like the feelings brewing within Ásbjǫrg.

"Perhaps Thor does not agree with this arrangement either, you are doing the work of Loki after all Father." Ásbjǫrg called over the booming sounds of thunder, seemingly indifferent to the storm that was hitting them with all its might.

"For the love of Odin . . . enough of this daughter!" Torsten boomed back, his voice almost as commanding as the force of the storm. He had clearly had enough of her behaviour.

"I just wonder, if this is what the gods have in store for us today, what is to come of the next three days?" Ásbjǫrg responded, the hood of her cloak being the only protection she had against the battering of the sea and the rain.

However, the next three days seemed to be much easier. The sea's calmed as they grew closer to the Kattegat seas much to Ásbjǫrg's dismay and it didn't take long for their destination to come into view.

Kattegat.

The sound of horns could be heard from their place in the boats as they grew nearer, these horns were to notify the people of Kattegat of their approach, these same horns were often used to warn of an upcoming attack or as a form of communication during hunts and battle.

As they drew nearer Ásbjǫrg noticed that the docks already seemed to be filled with people and she originally felt a little intimidated, the welcome was nowhere near the same in Norway and once they reached the docks and anchored, her mother and father were first off being swarmed by the people and she slowly followed behind them.

Ásbjǫrg forced a smile onto her face as she greeted the people that rushed to swarm her, complimenting her beauty and almost treating her as though she was one of the gods herself. Her eyes were quickly drawn however to a man that was stood back leaning on one of the wooden beams of the docks, simply observing the arrival of her family. He was very tall and very handsome with hair pulled back into a singular braid. His eyes were a striking shade of blue, a shade that Ásbjǫrg couldn't really miss since he was staring directly at her and his clothes showed that he was not one of the common folk, however that didn't intimidate her to stop staring back at him.