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I awoke with a gasp, covered in sweat, my chest heaving and my eyes filled with tears as I looked frantically around the room, trying to remind myself of where I am. I still had the nightmare of that night all the time, most nights it was barely anything, just flashes of memories from that night here and there, but then there were nights like these, where everything was so vivid that I thought that I was four all over again with arrows stabbing into my body.
I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my hands in my hair as I took deep breaths, regulated my breathing and letting the shaking subside. Then I inhaled deeply, wrapped my fur blanket around me and I got out of the boat; I would say bed but it was an old wooden rowboat that Floki had made into a bed for me. He had taken out the benches to sit, and tied the boat to two hooks in the ceiling. I know most people would think it strange but that is what I liked about it, the fact that no one else had anything like it. My room was a small closet and I used the shelf in the wall to hold my personal items like the wooden carvings of the Gods that Floki had made for me, the small toy boats we made together, a wooden comb he had made for me, and a small pouch with wooden runes in it that I had made myself.
I knew I would not be getting anymore sleep tonight so I crept outside and watched the sky change colors as the sun began the rise in the sky, it changed from dark and gloomy to full of pinks and oranges. I loved it, and the color changes always fascinated me and I was never alone watching the sky change because Mead, the stray cat that I would feed, always sat beside me. I did not mind taking care of him, he was friendly and I knew that he would never leave for as long as I continued to feed him.
When the sun had risen and the sky was now the morning blue I went back inside with Mead following right on my heals. He jumped onto the furs as I finshied make my boat/bed, then I changed from my nightgown to my day clothes. A plain, stormy blue-gray dress, that I had made myself, then I fashioned my hair into a simple braid before I began my day.
I walked to the pit and started a fire to warm up the house as well as make breakfast, eggs, cheese, a slice of warm bread, and a cup of ale to wash it all down.
It didn't take long for Floki to wake up, as soon as he smelled the food cooking he waltzed out from behind the curtain blocking his bedroom.
"Breakfast. I am starving."
I gave him a look as I sat down after making myself a plate to eat with him. "What are you talking about, you are always hungry."He snickered and I snickered back, it was one of the many things I had picked up on from him.
After we had finished our food, only taking a short few minutes, I placed our plates and cups on top of each other and places them away for later because I like to do dishes and wash clothes at the same time, it was just easier. Vasara, a slave Floki had acquired from the Baltic sea during last summers raid, would come up from the boat house soon with two pails of water in tow, one for dishes and another for laundry so it wasn't like they would be left dirty for long.
