Huntress - Vikings (Hvitserk)

Chapter 4

The following few days, I had nothing but whining from Screamy. She clearly didn't approve of my earlier interactions with Hvitserk but, since that day, I hadn't really been able to stop thinking about it. He had family, lived in a town full of people. I wondered what it must've been like, to be constantly surrounding with other humans. To be able to converse with others freely. Besides Helga, I knew no one. I spoke to no one.

I decided that day that I would venture closer to Kattegat. It had been a long time since I'd seen Helga anyway and I had to talk to her. In the previous eight years, Helga and I had grown rather close. She was the only person I had left. I knew that she was married to a boat builder named Floki and I knew that she once had a daughter who died. Perhaps I was her way of making up for that loss. Perhaps she was my way of making up for the loss of my parents.

It was quite a long walk to the woodlands near Kattegat from my home. By the time I reached my destination, it was already mid-day.

I stood behind the trees, peering out slightly. I watched as Helga walked along the beach to her home and then poked Rat to make her squawk. Helga turned to the noise, noticing me instantly with a smile and running over.

"Tyri!" She smiled before embracing me.

"Hello Helga." I greeted her happily.

Quickly, Helga's eyes darted back to her home and she began ushering me deeper into the woods. "We have company right now, the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok. It's better if we stay away from the house just in case you accidentally meet them."

I gulped, my face nervous, "Actually, that's why I'm here." Helga looked at me in mild confusion, not really sure what I meant so I continued. "I met someone in the woods. A boy. I saw him while I was hunting and then a few days later I saw him again. He was trying to find me."

"A boy?" Helga asked curiously, a look upon her face that I didn't deem particularly favorable. I knew what she was trying to say.

"Yes. He said his name was Hvitserk. He seemed nice but I'm worried. I don't want lots of people in my home! I don't want everyone to know I exist... Even if it was nice to talk to someone." I explained.

Her eyes moved between me and her home as though she was trying to figure out a puzzle. "He said his name was Hvitserk?" She asked. I only nodded in response. "Was he tall, long brown hair, a sweet smile?" again, I nodded.

"Helga?" I asked, mildly concerned. "Do you know him?"

"Tyri, my dear, he's in my house right now trying to convince his brothers and my husband that he saw a faerie in the woods. You wouldn't happen to be that faerie would you?" She replied.

I pouted, folding my arms in annoyance, "I told him, I'm not a faerie!"

"Oh dear Thor give me strength." She sighed. "Alright, I will talk to him. But I can't make any promises, you've been all the poor boy could talk about for days!"

Helga was about to turn and leave but I quickly grabbed her arm. She looked back at me, her kind gentle eyes searching my own for some form of explanation. "Who is he Helga?"

She laughed a little, placing her hand on mine. "He's Hvitserk Ragnarsson, Prince of Kattegat."

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed. She nodded and smiled before departing once more.

I waited outside her hut for her to come back outside to talk to Hvitserk. When I saw them, part of me wanted to run away. The other wanted to hear everything she was about to say. So, I listened, I waited, I watched. I noticed every little detail of their conversation.

"If hypothetically you had met a girl in the forest who told you to leave her alone, do you not think it would be a good idea to respect that?" Helga had asked.

However, Hvitserk seemed to disagree, "I don't think she wanted to be left alone. Who wants to be alone in the woods for the rest of their lives? What if she starves or freezes or wolves attack her? No one will even know!"

"But why is that your business, Hvitserk?" She asked gently. She didn't appear to be discouraging him, she merely wished to know.

He sighed, "She's different. I like that."

I didn't know why but listening to those words made a huge smile spread across my lips. I almost hoped that he would come back to the woods, that Helga's talk wouldn't put him off. But I knew that if he came back, that would be the end of my way of life. Sooner or later someone would question where he'd been. Sooner or later someone else would find me. I couldn't stay hidden forever.

I decided that I would return home. It was a long way back and I had to make it there before dark. Though it was sad to say, I knew that soon enough that home wouldn't be my sanctuary anymore. I would have to leave and go somewhere even more remote. I didn't wish to return to the world of humanity again. There was no place for me there anymore. I didn't belong. Out here, I was wild and free. I answered to no one. I was the queen. Down there, I was odd and unwanted. I was a misfit, an outcast. I could never be with people. I just wasn't like them.