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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My eyes jolted open, the sharp pain in my chest now gone. Was it all a dream? It seemed that I was no longer on the battlefield. So, where was I? I sat up, looking around the room. It was unfamiliar to me. I'd been asleep in the corner, no one else around me. It was a huge hall, filled with people. No one of them had noticed me, they were just having fun.
"Finally." I heard a familiarly snarky voice. I turned my head in shock to see Sigurd sat beside me. "Took you long enough!"
"Sigurd!" I smiled, engulfing him in a hug rapidly. "You're alive?" I exclaimed.
He shook his head giving me a little sigh, "not exactly."
I looked at him, utterly shocked, my eyes widening with realization. "I'm dead?" I asked, shaking at the thought.
Sigurd seemed to notice my utter dismay and began trying to calm me down... But, it was Sigurd so I wasn't expecting anything too grand.
"Hey, it's not as bad as you think. There's great entertainment up here. I mean, I've been watching Ivar weep like a little girl over you for hours now! It great!" He grinned.
I only rolled my eyes at him. "You're so cruel, you know?"
"This coming from the genocidal murder queen?" He asked.
I chuckled slightly to cover up the fact I internally just wanted to punch him. "Have you been watching me, old friend?"
"No, I got that lone from you're sister." He answered honestly.
Suddenly, I remembered all that happened between Kari and I. How we'd both died, how she was likely here too... Wherever here was. I darted up, my eyes scanning the room thoroughly. In that moment, I didn't even think of how she had killed me. All my hate and resentment had gone. It was just like how it had always been. And all I cared about was her safety. "Where is she?" I questioned frantically.
"Calm down, she's fine. She's actually just talking to her mother. I told her that you probably wouldn't want to wake up to the girl who murdered you." He shrugged.
I cracked a small smile, "Why? You miss me?"
"Something like that." He answered.
We sat smiling for a while, just cracking jokes and catching up. Strangely, in my death, things felt more normal than the final few years of my life. I felt so at peace, so calm, so much like I had before everything had happened. According to Sigurd, we were in Folkvangr. He had told me that he was a little disappointed that he didn't get into Valhalla until he realised "all the women were here". I must admit, that made me laugh a little bit. Instantly we had both thought of Hvitserk and how he would likely feel far more at home somewhere such as this, surrounded by women.
"So, what did I miss while I was out." I asked finally.
Sigurd had answered rather casually as I recall, "Ivar won the war, but I doubt that's the end of things as Bjorn and Ubbe are still alive. At least you can say that if you'd lived you would've been queen."
"And my body?" I responded, my voice shaky and afraid.
"Burned on a longboat. Even Hvitserk teared up, it was great entertainment." He replied.
The thought of my funeral truly made me wonder. I imagined their pain, their faces when they realised I was gone. I wanted nothing more than to tell them I was okay, that I was still with them, that I was watching over them. But I couldn't. There was nothing I could do. I was eternally doomed to watch them live their lives, to move on and forget about me.
"There's someone I think you should see." Sigurd stood up suddenly.
I was confused for a moment but followed him anyway. I kept following him until we reached another man. He was far bigger than Sigurd and I. His hair was long and blonde. Slowly, he turned to face us. His face contorting a little when he looked at me. I was so very confused as I looked at him. He was armored up, a bow on his back. Somehow he still looked kind, although he seemed rather drunk in all honesty.
"So, you're my daughter?" He asked curiously, seeming a little stunned to see me.
My mouth hung agape at this sentence. The man I'd heard stories about my entire life, the man I'd always dreamt of meeting, the man who inspired me everyday, was stood before me. All my life I'd longed to meet him, to know my parents and where I came from. And here he was. Stood right in front of me.
"I have to admit, this is a little weird." He told me with such calm that it made me shock spiral even more.
"Y-Y-You're my father? You're Thorstein?" I asked in a daze.
"The one and only." He answered with a smile.
Without a word, I ran to hug him. My arms wrapped around the man, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. This was the day I'd dreamt of since I was a little girl. I parted slowly, wiling stray tears from my eye with a sniffle. My cheeks flushed red as I realised how forward I had been. It's not everyday you meet your dead father, though.
"I'm sorry... You just have no idea how much this means to me." I said shyly. "I know that you didn't exactly want me and my sister in the first place. I understand if you need space."
"I've had space for 20 years." Was all he said in response before hugging me once more.
Life was a luxury that I'd lost long ago. It was only in death that Signy Hellesdottir, as everyone once knew her, could live again. No pain, no suffering. And one day, I knew that I would see Ivar again.
