Chapter Thirteen

                                    

                                          
Chapter Thirteen
	Revenge. Revenge plays an important aspect in every Viking’s life. It shows that we have honor. It can stretch from the murder of a loved one to a stolen possession. The culpret must pay for their misdeeds one way or another. Now, not every Viking wants revenge and does not prove them any less honorable. Although, it does prove they have very little faith in the Gods. We draw our strenght from them and we always seek their guidance. We even draw our wisdom from the Gods when our rational thinking has been clouded by our pettiness.
	I wish Hvitserk would draw his strength and wisdom from the Gods right now. He has been very distant from the family. He stays in his tent all day and night. He denies food and company. I would hope that by Baldr asking to train with him would rouse his interest, but he even denied the company of one of his true loves. 
	Ubbe has kept me distracted from my worry for Hvitserk by discussing a settlement in the area they have settled in. Each day we travel further and further to seek ideas for a new settlement. It truly was exciting and distracting hearing about the ‘New World’ from Ubbe. The sounds of quicken rustling alerted Ubbe and I and we armed ourselves. Two figures dressed like deer stood in front of us. An elderly large man with a long white beard and white hair braided down his hack. And a woman- much younger then him- she had deep blonde hair that shimmered; one side is shaved to reveal a traditional Viking tattoo and her eyes were a piercing blue. Almost like ice, for a moment, I had thought Ivar was standing in front of me. 
	Ubbe’s defense lowered as his eyes brightened with excitement. A look I’ve probably-never-seen on him. I, however, kept my defense.
“It’s alright, mother, these are my loyal friends!” Ubbe said. Ubbe approached the man with open arms.
“Jarl Olaf, it is good to see you!” Ubbe said, gleefully. The old man welcomed Ubbe with a smile and a pat on the back.
“We knew you were here, the ground shook one night and I said to Helga, Ubbe Lothbrok is here!” 
I lowered my defense slowly as I was showed no aggression. 
	Ubbe went over to the young woman, “Queen Helga it is wonderful to see you!” 
She smiled, excitement rattled as she took a deep breath, “I heard the Queen of the Valkyries are in my woods-” she spoke with such a heavy a Northern Icelandic accent. 
Ubbe pridefully turned a side to me who was still in a semi-defense. She sighed a breath of aw at me. 
	They reminded me of the darves and elves that have said roamed the forests and doing work for the Gods. Yet Helga stood as tall as me, and Olaf was a grand old man. They posed no threat and I was able to lower my guard completely.
	They sat us down as Olaf made a fire. He roasted some meats and sprinkled some herbs on it. The smell made my belly grumble with hunger that has been a companion of mine since Kattegat’s destruction. I sat very quietly watching Olaf turning the meat as he talked with Ubbe. Ubbe was telling the story of the destruction of Kattegat and my pursuits. 
	Olaf kept a subtle face of humbleness as he concluded one aspect of my situation, “The contract now between Sigrun and Alfred is now void.” 
He leaned back into his seat, “Take comfort, Queen Sigrun, you are not the only one who has been displaced by Alfred’s destruction.” 
“Many Vikings from Iceland has been displaced as well-” Helga added, “Many are from the far North, where the sun never sets.” 
Helga broke my gaze from the sweating meat against the fire, “I’ve been searching for new places to rebuild my society. A new home for everyone.”