Viking shizzle yoyo

He was taken off guard by her confession. It was actually very funny, he was so easy with that, like he never expected anything. He cleared his throat and looked at her. Those eyes, she could not help herself thinking that again, how she loved those eyes. 'Well,' he said, slowly. She felt her heart speed up, what was she so damn nervous about? Maybe she had made a mistake, maybe this was all... 'Do you think you're father will kill me if I'd kiss you?' he asked her then. Relieve flowed through her body when he said that. At least it meant that she was not the only one feeling this way. She laughed and shook her head. “I really have no idea. Probably not, he seems to like you.” She said.
'Don't get me wrong, I'd risk it, I just like to know if I can do it a second time after that.' He said to her then, a faint smile on his face. This picture, now right in front of her could make her melt if she was some ordinary woman, thank god she was not and at this moment she was very happy with that.
Now it was her turn to get red again. She saw him leaning in on her and then felt his lips on hers.
She hold her breath there for a moment, looking at him and feeling extremely stupid. She ran her hand through her loose, wet hair and did not quite know what to do at that moment.
“I suppose we need to get to the hall? Sun is almost rising.” She said, not sounding as she normally did. She felt... she actually did not really knew what she felt, but it was different and it made her look like a fool.
Now she could only think about the voyage and it made her even more nervous than at first. Of course she was happy over the top but these new events made in allot harder. “The one who gets there last is not going to have a good voyage I think.” She said, daring him with her eyes. Then she spun around and started to run off to the hall.

The see wind was heavier than the wind they got on land. But she loved it. Most of the time she sat at back with her father or at the front of the boat on the dragonshead. She just loved it. Of course she helped where she could but the oars were not necessary until they got closer to land and into another wind.
In the mean time she just enjoyed. Playing games at deck with some of the men and enjoying this freedom as much as she could. Of course she had taken her own sword and shield. Both looked very much used at that was because they were, not that Hakan was always so pleased with that.
“LAND!” they then heard from up the mast.
Everything stopped at everyone looked in front of them, to the horizon. When they saw the land there was a lot of roaring going on and she took that chance to look at Agnar and smile. They had not been able to do anything on the both except act like friends, that was a little harder then she had thought at first because she always thought about that kiss when he got close enough to her.

In was almost midnight when the dragonboats got ashore. They were now finally in England. So the crews made fires, got their boats on land and some started telling stories. The ones drunk enough started singing. Sigrid herself was lying down near the forest, close to where her father boat was on land. She just stared up and took a swig of mead.

She looked as if she didn't really know what to do after he'd kissed her, which made him smile. 'I suppose we need to get back to the hall? Sun is almost rising,' she said. When hearing those words, Agnar looked at the sky again, noticing that it indeed was getting lighter with every minute passing by. 
'The one who gets there last is not going to have a good voyage I think,' she suddenly said, and when he looked in front of him again, she was already running. 'Hey!' he shouted, laughing. 'That's a false start!' he complained, after which he ran after her.

The whole week they had been on the boat, Agnar had spend all his spare time at the deck, looking over at the sea. He loved the water, and kept being fascinated by the power of the sea. He and Sigrid hadn't really got the time to do anything, but with the raiding coming closer with every second, he managed to live with it during their voyage. He was looking at the see again, leaning on the railing with his hands, as he heard someone yell. 'LAND!' 
He immediately reached out his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of it. When he noticed it, he smiled and quickly glanced at where he thought Sigrid was standing. She smiled back at him and he felt his own smile widen at the sight of it.
He didn't have much time to think about it, however, since immediately his father called him, saying his help was needed with preparing the ship for going ashore. He sighed, though he didn't really mind that much. He had found the past few days he liked the work on the ship, even though it was exhausting at some times. 

It was almost midnight when they finally set foot on the land, the sky already turned a dark blue. He could feel the excitement of everyone around him, and as they got their boats on land, the campfires started appearing. He walked past them, now and then catching fragments of stories that were being told. Someone pushed a cup of ale in his hand, and he gratefully took a sip. It didn't take too long before people started singing, and he laughed in himself about how out of tune it all sounded. No one minded, though, it was all part of the joy they felt. 
Agnar had been walking for a few minutes when he spotted Sigrid lying in the sand, near where the forest started. He looked around one more time, letting himself believe he looked for other people he could talk to, before he walked towards her. 
'It seems to me you're always lying down,' he said, with a smile. 'Are you really that lazy?' he asked her, teasing, as he sat down next to her.

She enjoyed this. Actually she had enjoyed everything since Yule had started. Calmly she tried to make up her mind about everything and found herself blushing when she thought about Agnar. She had known him for a long time, it had been for the last couple of months that she had started to think a little different about him then she had done at first.
She smiled when she thought about that kiss again, maybe she should not have though. She had no Idea what Hakan would think about the matter anyway.
How much as she had enjoyed her alone time, she now heard footsteps coming her way. 'It seems to me you're always lying down,' she heard Agnar say to her. 'Are you really that lazy?'
She laughed but did not try to get up because he already sat down next to her. “Maybe.” She answered at first, teasing as well. “I am not that lazy, it just seems that way.” She now said to him with a big smile on her face.

In the mean time her father was sitting near one of the bigger fires. With him were all his commanders and some warriors he held very close. They were talking about the plans for the day after. Once the plans were made, the commanders would tell their crew.
They had all decided that it was best to go into the land the following morning, at sunrise, or better... just before. They would go up the river to one of the first strongholds near the sea. There they would attack the fort of the English, strike them down and then they would make that their first post. After that they would try to make all the high lords of Northumbria come to one place and slaughter the whole lot of them.
It was not as easy as it looked, but they were Vikings, they did not care about the impossible. They had Odin on their side, as well as the other gods. If only they would make sacrifices after they had succeeded in getting that first fort.
From the corner of his eyes, Hakan could see his daughter talking to Agnar... again. They seemed very close lately and somehow he felt like he needed to keep an eye on the both of them, just in case.
Now that everything had been decided, the commanders left and told their crew. Hakan himself got up and disappeared into one of the boats, that now had now a big tent on the deck where he and Sigrid would sleep.
He knew that tomorrow she would come too. She hated to be left behind and so he had no choice. But he was not ready to get her into a real battle. He knew she could do it, of course she could she was his daughter, but he could not imagine how it would feel to lose her. He would not lose her. But he would make that a matter for the next morning.

Sigrid just looked at Agnar. “So, I hope you are ready for tomorrow.” She said after the both of them had been informed about the plans about tomorrow. “I cannot wait.” She said, perhaps a little to exited but that was normal. Vikings and their battles.. they just loved them really.

After a small amount of time talking to Agnar about the coming battle, she was called by her father and she left, giving him a fast kiss just before she did.
Once she was in the tent, she could barely get to sleep and when she finally did, she dreamt about what would come.

It was not that cold really. Actually the night had been pleasant and in the morning, the sun was shining. Five ships carrying 36 men each had gone into the broad river that led to the nearest fort.
For as long as possible the crew let the wind take them. But finally they had to use the oars. Sigrid was on the lookout with another man up in the mast, looking for enemies.
She was all ready. She was the only female in the company of the rest of the men and that made her standout already. But the way she looked made her stand out even more. She wore a leather pants that was tight around her legs so it would not stop her to move fast, as did she wear a leather top that covered her upper body except for her arms. She wore nothing that would slow her down, because her strength was how fast she could move during a battle.
She also did not wore one big sword, like the men did. Her swords, yes she carried two, came from a trader, a Moor. The man with the dark skin had told her the swords would be easy to handle if she would dare to let them do the work for her. So she had excepted the challenge, fought him and beaded him in a fare fight. So, she had deserved these words and she had already proven that over and over.

It did not take them long before the man next to her gave the sign. She ships went ashore and the men got out, all ready for a fight. The army against them was not big, it was rather small actually. From what she had seen it was nothing much. Most of the men were farmers, just some wore real armour.
Most of the men on the ships wore leather, this was half of the men. The other half did wore chainmail. Chainmail was expensive and most of the men were attached to the light weight of the leather around her body.
There were horse hooves coming their way. Her father turned around at looked at the six horses coming their way. He looked amazing, in her opinion anyway. he just looked like he had to, a Danish chieftan, ready for battle in chainmail, a helmet under his one arm and a big sword in his other. Many of the other Danes had axes, the others had swords as well, though none of them had swords like she did.
The English stopped and shouted at them. Not that it meant anything to them. They could not understand a word of that strange language, neither did the English understand them when some of the men shouted curses at the English’s heads.
The men on their horses came closer and closer, almost like they wanted to make a point. There was nobody that was in eyesight, not anymore. So her father grinned and looked behind. Two men with big axes came from the crowd of Danes and they grinned. It was definitely not a friendly one, it was an I-want-nothing-more-than-to-kill-you grin. The men on the horses came closer as those two Danes got closer, seeming to want to kill the Danes, trying to make it easy.
Sigrid looked her father in the eye, he nodded at her and she ran of. No Englishman had seen her yet, so she would have to make it a quick kill.
There was one man in a horse, just standing there while more riders came, not that many. It was now ten Danes against fifteen English, but the Danes were winning anyway. just before the man on the big grey horse could make a run for it, back to the fort, Sigrid jumped and him, got him out of the saddle and simple slit his throat open. The other English were already dead by then. She did not look at her father but knew what he wanted and with one swift movement of her sword, the head severed from the body.

It always surprised her how hard it was to kill a man and to sever head from body. Her father had commanded her and three others to deliver the head back to the fort. Why? Simple, he wanted to spread fear amongst the English, so they would know he was coming for them.
Agnar was one of the three men who had to come with and so she got on one of the Englishmen’s horse and the four rode off, the head of the man dangling on his hair onto her saddle, blood still dripping out.

The next morning had been surprisingly pleasant, and Agnar had woken up early, watchting the world around them. If he tried to forget that they'd went oversea, it was almost as if they were still on their own lands. It didn't look all the different to him.
After a few hours, they had prepared five ships to go out on the broad river that led to the nearest fort. They came a far way letting the wind carry them, but they still had to use the oars at the end. Agnar's father had commanded him to help, and he'd tried as hard as he could to focus on the task and not to think about Sigrid. He found it was very, very hard to concentrate when she was looking like she did now. When the ships finally went ashore - it seemed to take ages until he could give his arms a rest - they all went on deck again, and left the ship. 
He looked at the path lying before them, where now six men came towards them. They stopped at what they had to think was a safe distance, and started shouting things. Agnar couldn't help but frown at the strange sounds coming out of their mouths. It sounded like thick mud.
The men came closer now, and Agnar saw Hakan looking behind them. Immediately two of their own men stepped forward, both carrying big axes. Agnar himself carried a sword. He preferred the way the weapon moved over an axe. Besides, he didn't have to think about which side to use when he fought with a sword. His father had always fought with axes, but Agnar would never understand that decision.
As more English men approached them, he saw Sigrid moving towards one of the men, so swift he almost hand't seen her. He felt just like his father as he couldn't help but worry just the tiniest bit, even though he knew Sigrid would never let herself get killed. He hadn't gotten the chance to throw himself in the fight yet, because there'd been only a few English men and by now they were already taken care of. 
After he'd seen how Sigrid severed the head of the body of one of the English men, Hakan commanded him and three others to go with Sigrid and deliver the head back to the fort. He nodded, trying to keep his face serious, but as soon as he turned around to take one of the horses the English men had taken with them, a wide grin spread out across his face. He picked a dark brown horse, and rode it towards Sigrid and the other men. He took a better hold of the reins as the horse started toddling in place, nervous and probably hella confused about what was happening. He brushed its neck as he looked at the head, dangling from Sigrid's saddle. 'Well, I'm sure he'd imagined his day going a bit different from this,' he noted, and frowned a bit as he studied the head. The guy looked like a thrall, with his hair cut short and no trace of a beard at all.

It was not that far to the fort. An hour max because she did not want to rush the horses. She looked at her side where Agnar rode his horse, a brown one. The grinned and shook her head. “No I don’t think so. At least I hope not.” She said laughing. The other men were talking as well, two of them were the ones that had killed the English horsemen and they were bragging on about it. “that was not a fight, that was a warming up.” She heard Egill say.
She turned in her saddle and looked back to the two men. “that is true. I thought it to be harder to sever a head from a man’s body… except this one was not really a man I think.” She said smiling.
Before they arrived they took on to a gallop. They stopped just out of bow range and the men started shouting. She got the head by its hear and threw it away, to the fort. It was both a warning and a daring, a daring mostly. Her father wanted fear? He had it. She could see the men on the wall walk nervously up and down.
The Danes shouted their curses, then turned around and rode back, now at full speed. She started to race the other men and she had a big advantage because she was light, did not carry heavy weapons and had a fresher horse.
Once back, she told her father the reaction and he laughed. “let’s go get ourselves some proper food.” He said and he divided the men. Two crews went north, two others west and two other east. They were to raid the town and move towards their target. The remaining crews were to get the ships ashore, out of the water.

Sigrid was with the two crews that were going north. She was with the crew of Agnar and his father and with the one of Snorri. They got out of the forest, all had their full armor with them as they walked. It was not far before they could see an earthwall. Not a high one nor was it a firm one. There was a wooden gate as well. All of that did not promise a heavy resistance. “Let’s do this and get it over with!” shouted one of the Danes, a big man with darkblonde hair and rings in his beard. They went towards the town and heard the bells. To had heard of this weird new religion about a man who was fair. He was better known as the white Christ, a loving and caring god. Then why did those Christians fight in his name? shed blood in his name? it was a question none of the Danes could possibly answer. They had their gods, they knew everything about them. The Danes made sacrifices to their gods, to please them and to be sure of victory in battle.

“I am so excited.” She said to Agnar. There was a glow on her face and a smile in her eyes. “Bet we will earn an armring today.” She grinned and then stormed after the men that were running for the wooden gate. Inside there were already screams.

The fight was quickly done with. Even she thought it was easy... too easy.
After the fight she stood there, cleaning her blades with some cloth. She looked around and then started to think. Snorri came her way and she decided to tell him what she thought. “I think they knew.” She muttered to him. He just looked at her for a second and then nodded to tell her she could go on with why she thought that. “There is no young man here, nor are there any goodlooking girls. If you ask me, they knew. So they sent away their youngsters and decided to stay here themselves so we would be distracted and the youngsters would have time to go to their king or lord for protection.” She told him, thinking out loud. “I just think it is too much of a coincidence.” She said.
Her father’s friend was in front of her for a while, thinking himself and then he nodded. “I think you are right, this was not a real resistance, this was a distraction.” He said and then he lay a hand on her shoulder. “You fight well.” He said then with a grin and he left, trying to find her father.
She decided to find Agnar and went looking for him. But know there was something that got her attention more than the thought of finding Agnar. She looked around and then sneaked inside the small stone building. There was just one room and she walked around, searching the walls. Of there was nothing valuable, the people would have left all allot earlier. And so she found the hidden passage behind wood that was painted like stone. “Awesome.” She said to herself, having a broad smile on her face. So she got inside the passage and then followed it, she had a candle in her hand so she had a little light. In front of her, after a while walking, she saw the gold and silver... and the beautiful stones. So she turned around and run back outside, bumping onto Agnar when she got out of the building. “You, come with.” She told him, dragging him back into the building, towards the passage.

She recieved a kiss from him and stopped walking. “Why did you do that?” she asked him, blushing. Luckily it was dark in here, so he could not really see her face. “I mean... I .. uh..,.just come.” She said and then she started to run again. Harder now but soft enough so that the torch.
She ran until the end and there was the cold. She was a little out of breath but she felt happy and alive. Her heart beat fast and she looked behind her, to Agnar. “So, I was thinking. Why leave all the old people here while the young people go to the next village to warn them? It did not make any sense because why not take the elderly with them as well? So there had to be something to protect right? And that is when I saw this nice little stone building thingy. It seems that I was right.” She said exited to the bone. She laughed up at him, her eyes twinkling. “Do you want to share the glory or what?” she asked him, teasing again because she wanted him to, otherwise she had not taken him here to see this in the first place.
So they got out of the little stone building and she ran to her father. Explaining him what she had explained to Snorri and Agnar some time earlier.
Her father just looked at her and she looked back. It was like there was a contest going on between them. “So, you used your brain huh?” he asked her with a grin. “I think... there is something in you theory and now there is treasure to prove it too.” He said to her and then he looked at Agnar, he decided he would thank him tonight. “Show me the treasure, Sigi.” Her father told her, and so she lead him to the small chamber.
She got back when her father was in there and she wanted to take a walk. So she disappeared without looking back. Just wanting to find out where all the people had gone to.

He couldn't help himself from showing a broad smile at her reaction. 'Why did you do that?' she asked him. He narrowed his eyes a bit and leaned a little forward to look more closely at her face. 'Are you blushing?' he asked, surprised, just as she started to run again. He laughed and followed her. When she finally came to a halt, he leaned against the wall, thanking her in his mind she gave him a moment of rest. 'So, I was thinking,' she started, sounding more excited with every word. 'Why leave all the old people here while the young people go to the next village to warn them? It did not make any sense because why not take the elderly with them as well? So there had to be something to protect right? And that is when I saw this nice little ston building thingy,' she said, which made him laugh. 'Thingy?' he repeated her. 'Sorry,' he added and scraped his throat. 'Go on.'
'It seems that I was right,' she said. She looked up at him and he smiled again. 'You can be a genius sometimes, you know that?' he said to her. 
'Do you want to share the glory or what?' She asked him, teasing again. He acted as if he needed a moment to think about that. 'Hmm,' he said. 'Nah, think not.'

They got out of the building and Sigrid ran in front of him, towards her father. When he finally reached her, too lazy to run, she'd just explained to Hakan what she had found. 'So, you used your brain huh?' he asked her after a short silence, and grinned. 'I think... there is something in your theory and now there is treasure to prove it too,' he said to Sigrid. 'Show me the treasure, Sigi.' He watched her take her father towards the room she'd just showed him and decided to stay outside for a while. He was sure they wouldn't get too much time to rest, so he'd better enjoy this small break. He walked towards a slightly calmer street and sat down at the stones, watching the small houses around him.

She had left the company of the others, to go into the forest in order to find the trail the villagers had left behind.
She had walked for a couple of minutes now, trying to follow the footsteps. It was not that hard to be honest. They left a trail that was obvious enough to be followed by a baby. She just looked around and walked, maybe paying too little attention to her environment in a certain way. It was when she heard a branch breaking that she stopped, that she knew she was followed by someone, or multiple someones.
There was an arrow, shot from behind her, right into the tree beside her. It missed her barely and she stopped. Voices rose from behind her. She could not understand what they were saying and so she shouted back. She shouted curses, calling them cowards for not coming out to fight her. It was quiet for a moment, nothing moved. It was like even nature held her breath at that very moment. Then, a man got out of the bushes. It was a giant man, well muscled and with a big sword in his hand. He growled something at her, something she was not able to understand. Then, she heard someone translate for her. “Go away foolish girl. You are not able to fight me.”
She reckoned that was what the giant had meant by his growling. “Who are you?” was another question fired at her. “Sigrid Hakandotter.” She growled back. “and what makes you think that I am unable to fight you.” She growled back, hearing her answer being translated. The man opposite her started laughing. “because you are fragile.” The answer was. She looked at him, her eyes narrowed and then he spook again. “let’s make a bet. You win, you leave. You lose, you’re mine.” He said. She looked at him, stunned by his words. She could not believe his words but she didn’t show anything to him. She would not give him that satisfaction.
“Fine.” She hissed at him.
He came at her, obviously not expecting much resistance of her. She could see the surprise in his eyes when she jumped over his head and drew her blades from her back.
It took a while, she figured almost an hour went by and they were still fighting. But she got tired, she felt it in her arms and her legs. She could not escape him and he could not escape her. He was gigantic and he was all over the place, he was always in her way and every time he hit her she felt nausea taking her over.
She bled out of several wounds, no deep cuts but still, it took its toll on her. She got another hit and lost her conscious there.
The man signed at someone and she was taken from the ground, taken from where she was now to wherever the man wanted her. She could not do anything, she just hung there, passed out. He took her swords though, decided that it would be nice to have those to rare swords in his place. He had been surprised by her fighting. She was good, well trained and she had almost beaten him a couple of times. It was that he was stronger than she was, otherwise he was sure it would be his death. “It is that you killed my brother, otherwise I might have let you leave.” He muttered. Taking her now up his horse and so the small party of man left.

Hakan had seen her leave but he did not really care about it. She was old enough and he knew she could take care of herself. He was just sitting there, drinking some ale they had found. It was good ale, he thought. He just drank a little more. Hearing the mumbling of his man. He looked at every one of them. There were some man who looked a little disturbed. Other seemed a little bored and so they sat down, doing nothing, acting foolishly and wrestling with each other.
Although he knew well enough that his daughter could fend for herself, he had his doubts and he kept looking out for her.
An hour went by, another and there was a meeting called. They had to talk about what they were about to do next. Then, a man stood in front of him, Agnar. 'Haken, sir-,' he started, trying to catch his breath. 'I can't find Sigrid. She's gone.'
He looked at the man, staring at him, not knowing what to do with this. “How can you be sure of that?” he asked him, unable to hide the growling in his voice. How could it be that she was gone? She could not be gone, she was one of the best trackers he knew. He raised her well, she could not be gone! He thought angrily. “If she is gone than go find her damn you! Agnar, take five men and follow her trail. Report to me at sundown.” He said to him, then Hakan got up and left. He had to get answers.

It was already a year ago since they had landed on the English shores. They had been raiding, fighting. They had been losses and thing they had gained. Mostly land they gained and houses, food. The one loss that was still weighing hard on him was the loss of his daughter.
He had sent men looking for her but she was nowhere to be found, not even her body. He did not knew anything. But since there was no body, he had still some hope that she was still alive... somewhere.
“Agnar!” he called out, waiting for the man to come in. He had grown, Hakan now noticed that. He had grown a strong man, worthy of greatness. “Take some men and go back to the near village to get us some food and news. Maybe there is some news.” He said to him. With news he meant news of her. He still kept hoping. Since her disappearance he had grown introvert, he cared less about what happened but stil... he went on, he had too.



She had been taken to a big stone house, somewhere in the country. She had no idea where she was. For the first few weeks she had been recovering from her wounds. Some had been deep so she was unable to move. She had been taken over by a fever, giving her visions and a terrible pain. Sometimes she had screamed at night and when she woke she found a woman next to her, caring for her.
Now a month had passed. She was getting better again. She could not wait to find her way out of here, she had to get back to her father. Although she wanted to leave, she had no idea how to. There were guards everywhere. Some followed her around wherever she went.
The man who had taken her with him kept her locked, but not really as a prisoner. She did not know his intentions with her. He did not want her or anything like that. she had figured out soon though that he tried to teach her things. She now, after another month, had learned a great part of their language, understood them well enough to have a good conversation with them.
Another month past and she could have a flawless conversation in English with the people in the villa, that was what the house was called. She learned the history of the place, learned about the history of the land.
When another month had passed he decided to teach her some more and she was forced to try to ‘write’. She had not a clue what that was. She had known the weird markings one paper but she had never felt anything about them. Of course she knew her runes and she could draw them but these markings were not runes. These marking were graceful and not easy to make.
Since she booked good progress he came to her one day. If her father or anyone else could see her they would not even recognise her. She looked so different. She wore a beautiful blue dress that made her hair even more red and her eyes even more blue. It was tight around her body from her waist up, at the bottom the fabric fell down like water. “Can you ride?” he had asked her and when she had said yes he had shown her the new horse he had bought.

So now, another eight months later, she had accepted this new life. At least a little bit. She had accepted that she could not go anywhere without permission, as that she had somehow accepted the fact that she might not ever fight again. “We will go to the marked today.” She heard him say as his wife nodded and smiled at her. “We have to show ourselves to the people, to give them courage to fight on against the pagans.” His wife said. Sigrid her hands folded together in fist and she looked at Him. He had never told his wife that she WAS a pagan. Luckily for her, he did not know more. “Fine.” Sigrid just answered.
After an hour the three got on their horses, guarded by almost fifteen guards. They got on their way. The trip lasted over two hours, since his wife wanted to ‘rest her poor horse.’ The horse was fine, Sigrid knew that because she had trained him herself. Sigi was restless. It had been a year now since she had been missing. She had been following every single message about the raidings, about the progress of HER pagans. She missed them with all her heart, sometimes she just cried herself to sleep.
They rode into the village and got off their horses. Sigrid stretched her legs and took a deep breath. She could almost feel free, the only thing was that she was not. So they walked into the village and Sigrid could not help herself from searching for a familiar face.

He just kept on talking. Telling every person that wanted to hear him that he was not far from finding a way to get the Vikings out of their land. Since she had been with him and his family for a year now, she understood how they felt. She even felt a little pity for them, in some way… not that she wanted to do anything with that knowledge. She just wanted to go back home, to her family, to the man she loved.
It had been too long. She had already forgotten some faces or she could not recall the voices to the faces she remembered. She felt horribly alone and abandoned. She knew she was not really abandoned, she had disappeared.
She sighed and looked around her. Again more unfamiliar faces. Everywhere he took her when he left, it was some place knew, some place unknown to her. She let her eyes down, not wanting to see al those people staring at her. She had red hair, which did not mean anything, but her blue eyes and her face, even her arms where some of her scares visible, betrayed that she was a pagan. Or at least had been one. Now she was fluent in English, Irish and Latin. Why he had wanted her to learn that? She had no idea in the world. She only knew he had no children of his own, at least not around his own place, and that his wife was unable to give birth to another child.

She felt a sting in her back, like she was being watched and she felt a cold spreading through her body there for a moment. She looked, her eyes catching every man’s eye while doing so. Then, al of a sudden, there was this face, these eyes. She stopped abruptly and that caused the guard behind her to almost trip over her. “I am so sorry.” She said in English while trying to find HIS eyes again, Agnar’s eyes.
She found them, after several seconds in which she thought she had lost him. Every time she had hoped for this, and now he was here, with some of the other men. Unfortunately there was no way she could ever escape here on her own. She looked around, a little bit panicked so it seemed. The man that had cared for her, stolen her from her father’s side, looked at her suspiciously and toughed the arm of one of the guards. He nodded, she saw the glare of Roche and she let her eyes down again. He had known, he had somehow known that her family and friends were here somewhere, why else would he had taken her.

Mostly she was not all reckless, but now she was. She felt this urge in her body to break free, to go back where she belonged. So she pushed a guard out of the way and made a run for it, knowing that she could not keep him off forever, hoping Agnar would now...

She was looking down at first, walking between men who seemed to know her. He felt a rush of confusion flowing through him. What was happening? Who were those men and why did she somehow look like them? Just as he felt a slight doubt tugging at his thoughts, thinking maybe, just maybe she wasn't Sigrid after all, when she looked up. Her eyes catched his and he breathed in hard. It was definitely Sigrid. He saw how she stopped walking, just as he did when he first noticed her, and someone bumped into her. He couldn't read her lips from here, but she seemed to apologise. For the secondth time, he wondered what had happened to her.
She looked at him again, and he noticed, very distantly, how all common sense or clear thoughts seemed to leave him. He just knew he wanted to stand next to her, to make sure it really was her. He started walking even before he thought about it, he didn't look back to see if the other men were following them.
Just as he started to push people aside to get closer to her, he saw how she pushed one of the men that seemed to guard her away. She made a run for it, and without thinking he did the same. He drew his sword without thinking, causing some people from the village to dart away, probably afraid he would randomly start stabbing people. He couldn't really blame them for it: he was, after all, a viking, and he had stabbed a reasonable amount of people before.
It seemed to last forever until they closed the distance between them, but at some point, she suddenly was way closer than he had estimated and he almost literally bumped into her.
His arm slit around her waist and he pressed her against him, not being able to believe he was really touching her. He held his other arm behind her back, warning everyone who dared to try and take her away from him with his sword. 'Sigrid,' he breathed her name, while he took in her scent, that was suddenly familiar to him again. 'You're really- you-,' he started, but didn't know how to end his sentence.

She ran as fast as she could. She just ran. She could hear the footsteps coming up behind her when the guard had both his feet on the ground again. She could her them scream her name, yelling at her to come back. Even the man yelled at her, telling she would not get away and when she was caught again that he would not be so friendly again.
She heard other footsteps as well but she did not turn around to look at what was happening. She could hear some screams but she just hoped they would not catch her. More than ever she wanted to break free. Now that she had seen Agnar, it was like she could not help herself, she had to get back.

Still, after running a while, there were footsteps following her. She breathed heavily. Her condition was not what it used to be, mostly because well... she just did not had the life she had with her family. The footsteps caught up to her and she turned around, ready to hit the man coming at her when she had to. Arms closed around her and then there was this voice... that voice. When her name came over his lips she stopped pushing him away. She did not know what to say but she felt the tears rolling over her cheeks and then she found herself standing against him, her arms around him and with a lump in her throat. She heard the other man coming but she had only eye for Agnar at that moment. “We need to get going, they will come.” Egils said. She looked at Agnar and then at Egils. “Yes, we do.” She said, having strength in her voice like before. Before she walked though, she gave Agnar a kiss. “I missed you.” She whispered in his ear and then she followed the others back to camp. She longed to see her father again, just as she longed to be herself again.

The minute she got into the camp, al movement stopped. There was no sound, which was weird because there were an awful lot if people here. She just walked on, hearing Agnar say that they should go to her father at once. She could only hope that the old man would be happy to see her again. She had not known anything about what had happened, only that the Vikings had gained ground and that Hakan was still alive and well.
She walked into her father’s house and her, also, it went quiet when she got in. she looked around, trying to find some familiar faces. There were allot of people she did not know, or recognised for that matter. It was her father that rose from his chair, staring at her like she was a ghost. She saw how his mouth opened but he could not find words and he closed it again. Then he came at her, his eyes wet with tears, his arms wide open to hug her. Now there was mumbling in the room, slowly the mumbling became talking and the talking became laughing and words of joy. A warm feeling got over her... she was home again.
Her father’s arms felt warm and save around her and she just let go of everything. All the pain, the sorrow of the last year, everything came out and she just stood there, hugging her father and crying her eyeballs out... as a matter of speaking. “My little girl.” She heard her father mumbling in her hair, and she know he felt just as she had.
“You have to tell me everything.” She heard him say after he let go of her, looked at her properly now. “But first you need to change. You look lovely but not like you, go change. There are some clothes in the back room.” He told her, and so she walked away, guided by another woman who she had known since she was a child.

“You have grown Sigrid.” The woman said when they got in the room and she was sorting out all kinds of clothes that would fit Sigi. “A year is a long time.” The young woman answered as she sat down onto the bed. “You are a woman now.” The old lady said to her as she gave her some clothing, “This must fit.” The woman had told her and so Sigi changed quickely. In the mean time she was told everything she had missed and she could not wait to her everything from her father. She had seen his face lit up when he saw her and she just looked forward to what he had to say to her.

Sigrid got into the room again that was now full of people. It seemed like there was to be a welcome back party after al. There were men drinking, laughing, chatting. Women were walking around with food and with something to drink as well... it seemed like in that short moment everyone had gathered in the main hall.
She found her eyes looking for Agnar and soon she found him. Her eyes holding his and a smile formed around her lips. “Come on lass. You need something proper to drink.” The old woman said to her and so she was given a large horn filled with mede.

She had a horn of mead in her hand and she drank slowly. She enjoyed everything, even the fighting that started in the corner. It felt so good to be home again. She felt like she belonged here.
She walked around a little bit, talking to people in general. But she did not speak about what had happened to her, she did not want anyone to know what had happened. It was weird. She had spoken her language with one of the men in His court but that had been different, she had spoken with another accent there.
It did not take long before she got back her own and she was relieved to be able to speak her own tongue again.
After a while she just got outside again, wrapped in a bearskin. She took a sip of mead again and sighed. She swallowed the warm drank and closed her eyes, sniffing the smell of the wood that was burned. It felt so good to be back.

She turned around quickly when she heard a sound. She was relieved to see it was just Agnar. “Hi.” She said softly, not really knowing what to do. “Thank you... for what you did there earlier.” She said to him and she took a gulp of mead, more than she had intended to but... well... she did not really care, maybe she should get drunk. “Maybe you can tell me what I have missed? What happened while I was gone.” She asked, him, looking at him now. They were very close to each other but she did not dare to move, she could not... it felt like all her muscled made her stay at her place. “Would you walk with me? I think the party is nice but I just need a walk...” she told him.

He had only told her that more villages were raided, not that she really cared. Of course she had gotten to know some English and, to be honest, they were not horrible people, but still... she didn’t care and so she laughed. “I know that, I was not held in a dungeon or something.” She told him and then she fell still again, just looking ahead while she took a sip from her mead and walked along. She didn’t really want to talk about what happened but she had the feeling she had to tell someone someday, so she decided it was to Agnar on this very evening.
She walked on for a while in silence, enjoying the fresh air, the freedom of not being surrounded by guard while walking through a garden. “I have not even asked you how you have been doing the last year.” She said to him suddenly, not really knowing what else to say anyway.
She looked at him sideways from the corner of her eye and then looked in front of her again.

After almost half an hour they reached some sort of cliff and she sat down on a rock which she thought was good enough to be a chair for a short time. She looked at Agnar and sighed. “Do you mind listening to me for a while... I think just want to tell someone somethings about what happened... i just... I missed you.” She said, holding his gaze as she tried to figure out if he had missed her too.
She just decided to talk and she looked ahead, not to anything in particular. “Remember when I slipped away? I tried to find the other villagers that had left in order to try and find out where they were going. I had been walking for a while and somehow I bumped into some people. It was something like a challenge and I got to get away if I won.. well... I did not win so he took me with him.” She said to Agnar.
She had nothing to say for a moment, trying to find the right words. “He took me to a big place, huge houses and beautiful gardens. There was one other that spoke our language and the man that took me with wanted me to learn English. So I was thought their language, thought allot of other stuff i’d rather forget and sometimes he took me with him and his company when he went out to some party or so. I managed their language in no time, it’s not that different from ours as you think, and he just paraded me around... like i was proof that “those heretics” could be “tamed”.” She said to Agnar. She was shaking and she wasn’t really able to say anything for a while, so she leaned against him and just started crying softly. She only cried because she could finally let go from all the fear, stress and loneliness she had felt the last months.