Tyri was an orphan with no home. She never really knew her parents and barely managed to survive in the woods alone. She was fierce and strong, she had to be to survive, but people still scared her. All she wanted was to be left alone. After years o...
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The day was much like any other. It began with the obnoxious squawking of a familiar black feathered bird. I'd not bothered to name her, though she had become my only companion, usually I just referred to her as "screamy" or "rat". She was a beautiful raven, if not slightly demanding.
I got up and dressed myself, giving her the food that I knew she was whining about. This was my routine every morning. After I was dressed in my tunic and leather armour, the bird and I left our little home.
I'd made base many years before in a cave upon the mountainside. It was very much like home now with little carvings on the walls of things I'd seen and long pieces of fabric being used as a door to protect it from the wind.
The cave was surrounded by trees, instantly being engulfed in the forest. It blended in well with its environment and one could hardly even tell it was there. No one came this far into the woods anyway. Some were fearful of stories about malevolent faeries that roamed the woods. The closest to that was me though.
When I was a girl, I knew many people. I'd even met Ragnar Lothbrok once before when he had visited my father. I remember being terrified when I saw him because I thought he was a giant... But then I realised I was just small. He was a kind man, as far as I could tell, but that didn't stop me from being totally starstruck. My mother had told me stories of the King every night before I slept and I dreamed of fighting beside him. But that day never came.
The day I met him, he had told me to keep fighting and that one day maybe I would join him in a real raid. I listened to his words, trying my best every day to become a shieldmaiden worthy of fighting beside Ragnar Lothbrok. But after my parents died, so did that dream.
I'd thought of trying to find the king when I was little and telling him of my parents but I was too afraid to show myself in public. I'd heard talk in the town that their bodies had been found, that everyone assumed I was dead too. That just made me want to hide in the woods even more.
Perhaps it was cowardly to act as I was. Perhaps I was still just some scared little girl. But I liked it up here in solitude. I enjoyed being left alone. The concept of others repelled me. I never got lonely as I was constantly surrounded by life. And I believed that Freyja herself was watching over me. Besides, in the forest I had found freedom. I had found peace. I did not need to be exposed to the world. I did not need people or society. Everything I needed was here, and I was far better for it. Here I could be myself.
"I think we may have to settle for some berries and left over squirrel tonight, Rat." I announced dejectedly. She squawked in reciprocation, sounding like she squealed 'no'. I just smiled and shook my head, "I know, I know. Don't blame me."
"stupid bird." I grumbled under my breath. "It's not like you ever go hunting is it? It's all my fault if we go hungry!"
Again she squawked, this time sounding angrier.
"Don't you take that tone with me!"
Just as we began getting into the full swing of our neurotic argument, she froze. I noticed her body language, something was nearby. I silenced myself, hiding behind a tree. She followed. Both of us watched from behind the branches, waiting for whatever it was yo emerge. I pulled out my bow, loading it with an arrow, and aimed.
My hazel orbs followed the path of Screamy's beady Black eyes. We waited patiently, our breathing becoming one as we watched in anticipation. I was expecting to meet dinner at the other end of my bow. But life is never as one expects.
A boy emerged from behind the dense trees. He was around my age with long hair and sparkling eyes. His face was crumpled into a frown that looked unnatural to his usual state. As I looked at him, I could sense no danger. He gave off this aura of light that made me want to walk over and talk to him.
Suddenly, he stopped, making me terrified that he'd seen me. For a moment, I froze in pure fear, but then he just slumped down against a tree. I watched in a amazement. Besides Helga, he was the first person I'd seen in nearly ten years. Though he seemed kind, I was too afraid to approach him. Most people seemed kind until you got to know them. And the sight of men was particularly off putting to me as it had been men that caused the violence and heartbreak in my life. I knew it was irrational to blame all men for the deeds of the few, there were always men like my father after all. But that didn't stop the fear from seeping through my veins.
The boy sighed, bringing me back to this world. "So much fighting." He spoke dejectedly as though he was utterly exhausted. "And I can't even meet a woman without her falling in love with Ubbe or Bjorn."
I felt as though I was invading a rather private moment and decided it'd be best if I left the boy alone. As I turned to leave, however, a twig broke beneath me.
The boy jolted up, his eyes searching the woods. "Is someone there?"
In that moment, our eyes made contact. My face was like a startled animal, his seemed intrigued. He looked at me like he'd never seen someone like me before. And that scared me even more. Without another thought, I took off. I ran and ran as though my life depended upon it - perhaps it did. I fled as fast as I could, ignoring as he called after me in the background.
