Signy was an orphan raised by the renowned boat builder Floki and his wife Helga. Growing up, she was best friends with the sons of the great Ragnar Lothbrok. However, when her half sister is to be sent to get married and Signy steps in to swap plac...
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And so we raid. After all, is that not what Vikings do? The English sure think so. Filthy heathen savages, all of us. No good person among us. That's what happens when you're at war. You demonize the other side. You tell the world they have horns on their heads and bathe in the blood of their enemies just to make yourself feel better about killing them. The truth, however, is always far more complicated than that. There are no good guys or bad guys in this world. There are only different sides of a story, each just trying to stay alive.
Kari was ecstatic. In fact, she was almost as giddy and excitable as Ivar - who hadn't stopped grinning since we got here. Kari was excited to be fighting a real war and following in my footsteps, sweet things such as that. Ivar was mainly just excited to kill people. Hvitserk was also thrilled, the rush of the fight getting to him too. That exhilarating feeling seemed to be shooting through all three of them. That just left Ubbe and I.
Neither of us seemed to be feeling that rush. We trudged along behind the others, disheartened by the prospect of murdering all these innocent people. Ubbe was in love with my sister, and he was Ivar's brother, and this meant that he had no chance of getting out of such a fight. And I was in the same situation - In love with Ivar, and sister to Kari.
I stopped in the doorway of a church, wandering inside as chaos surrounded me. I couldn't react, do anything about it. Instead I watched as everyone around me brutally murdered and pillaged the land. Soon, I left the church and made my way through the city of York. In the distance I could hear the hushed crying of a baby. My legs travelled in the direction of the sound, not caring that my brain wasn't fully there. Soon enough, I reached a little old cottage. My hand pressed against the door, gently pushing it open. Just as the wooden door was about to creak open, a young slave caught my attention.
"Queen Signy," she spoke with a gentle voice. Her long blonde hair trailed down her back with a small number of neat braids. For a slave, she was certainly breathtaking. In this present moment, she looked far more ethereal and ladylike than I, a Queen, did. "Are you alright?"
My head darted up from the door, sending a dismissive shake, "I'm fine." I grinned, the kind of grin one uses when they are trying their hardest to hide something. However, it did not work. The baby soon began crying again. I heard a woman hushing her child from within, the slave probably did also. But she did not look at me as I expected she would. She did not appear ready to send men in to kill this woman and her child. Instead, she gave me a sympathetic and knowing look. How could we kill a mother and child? How?
"What is your name?" I asked.
She gave me a small smile, "Freydis, my Queen."
"Freydis, please help me get these people to safety. Even if it's just the two of them, please." I pleaded. I could've ordered her, forced her to comply with me. I could've threatened her. Instead, I chose to appeal to her better nature. And, without complaint, the young woman complied.
Freydis was the kind of woman that I'd never really gotten along with. To me, it always felt as though she was up to something. I wasn't sure why, perhaps it was because she seemed so sweet and gentle. I was always more cynical. I found people often preferred girls like Freydis to girls like me. Sweet over sour, gentle over fierce. Yet, in this present moment, as we rushed to a small opening in the stone walls, we were working together. And, for some reason, that made me feel more comfortable in her presence.
Sorry it's short but lots is going to happen soon, I promise! Love y'all. -Rhiannon
