forgotten daughter.

welcome and goodbye

Ivar and Sigurd pulled their young cousin from the ice water. She was small and cold, but the dirt had washed from her pale face. Sigurd grumbled under his breath, as he wrapped her in furs on the ice before laying her next to his brother on his sled, his brother who wrapped an arm around the girl as Sigurd started pulling them both back to shore.

"Don't move, brother." Sigurd almost pleaded as the young boy struggled with the weight of both children.

"Just be careful where you step." Ivar grumbled his young voice high pitched, Sigurd knew it was risky to allow his brother to accompany him with Siggy, with the whites of Ivar's eyes already tinged a slight blue, but their mother was off drunk and with that stupid merchant. Not that Sigurd cared much for his mother or his youngest brother, but his mother would be angry if something happened to her precious Ivar.

"How is she, Ivar?" Sigurd finally asked as he yanked the sled over the edge of the water, finally pulling them to relative safety, at least from drowning.

"She's crying." Ivar responded in a strange voice, and Sigurd stopped pulling, and came around to them. Indeed, their young cousin was shivering violently, clutching the furs and Ivar's hand in his, her eyes screwed shut but tears still slipped from them.

"We should take her somewhere warmer." Sigurd responded before going back to the front, wrapping the rope around his waist again, as he started pulling. He had to be careful, if Ivar broke his leg, their mother would punish Sigurd and probably Siggy. But Sigurd couldn't let his cousin, the daughter of Bjorn Ironside, just die. Sigurd finally reached the Great Hall and peeked inside, his mother was still gone, so he pushed the doors open and dragged the two inside, sitting them by the fire.

"I don't know why you insisted on saving her." Ivar grumbled as he relaxed next to the warmth, watching his brother add another piece of wood to the flames. "No one would truly care if she died."

"I would. And the gods would." Sigurd snapped, he knew his brother wasn't wrong. The girl's mother had all but disappeared, her father off raiding with their father, and Sigurd's own mother, who was asked to look after her, barely cared for her own children, excluding Ivar. Even if Sigurd knew Ivar didn't like the smothering behavior his mother gave him.

"We saved her then, now what do we do?" Ivar asked and Sigurd knelt down, and was relieved to see his cousin had stopped shivering violently.

"We keep her alive." Sigurd shrugged his shoulders, and pulled the girl from the sled, keeping her wrapped up in furs, rested her near the flame but close enough to get warm and dry, just in time for his mother to stumble in, angry and obviously drunk. Sigurd loved his mother, he truly did, but sometimes he wondered why such a woman even bothered to bring four children into this world, when she was incapable of loving anyone but herself.

-10 years later-

Siggy stood off to the side, leaning against a rough tree, watching her cousin's train, she held her own dagger, flipping it experimentally, before throwing it, landing it in her target, right in the chest. Ubbe smiled fondly at her, before letting his arrow loose beside Ivar, who followed suit. She ignored the clanging of swords behind her, Sigurd and Hvitserk would go until someone stopped them, mostly her or Ivar. She grabbed a mug, and took a sip, smiling as Ivar, like predicted, sent an arrow between the two brothers. Hvitserk smiled darkly at his youngest brother, before lifting his sword in challenge, Ivar set his bow down and grabbed his sword, swinging it experimentally before his brother lunged with his own. The two brothers fought, Ivar with a straight face as Hvitserk smiled, until they were pulled to a draw. Ubbe went to hand a cup to Ivar, which was knocked from his hand by Sigurd's. Ivar turned to look at him dangerously, and launched his own, clipping his brother with the finest tip, causing blood to drip down Sigurd's forehead, and SIggy sighed, settling her drink down.