Viking, me.

Chapter 35- King Agnar

I don't remember much from my child hood. I'd blocked most of it out. My mother was the second wife to my father. Destin was my half brother and I'm glad of it, I look nothing like him and I'm nothing like my father.
My mother loved the both of us, likening Destin to me, as her own son. I despised him. And I still do.

The hatred I boil in my blood for my father is deep and unfathomable. I spent much of the good memories, my remaining memories with my mother. She is fair skinned and I share many similarities in appearance and temperament with her. I've seen my fair share of trouble much of it having been caused by myself.
I had always tried to win the affection of my father. Torturing myself over it.
When I look back on my childhood I was treated as an illegitimate son whilst being very much legitimate. Cast aside and forgotten.

I guess that's how I met Saoirse's father. He was very young at the time. As I am a good six years older than her she must have been about ten or eleven when I met her father for the last time. I can visualise it now, even after all theses years. The raid I was on. The mission I had discovered my father to be running underneath the facade of the raid.

My father killed Thorson.

I bet saoirse is at home now, mending her clothes or stoking the fire. Maybe she's asleep in my bed. I bet she has no idea that my entire life, my wealth and opportunities were all due to the fact that my father killed hers.

The man who was by far a more superior ruler, more just and equal in his judgements. They only way I know theses facts to be true if from the whispers I heard around town when I brought saoirse home with me and when people began to figure out who she was. The few short years that I did know him he seemed to trust my mother and so trust me as I was glued to her hip. There was a strong friendship between my mother and Thorson, and when I met him on that faithful day on a raid into Ireland I could feel my destiny changing.
~
Having convinced my father that if I had found the weak points of the town that we could over throw their leader I managed to get Bjørn and Floki to agree to come with me.  I slung my bow over my shoulder long with my quiver.
In the cover of the trees and the night we headed down from the forest into the meadow lands that surrounded the town.  The congregation of houses seemed to flicker in and out of the darkness, the glints of red and orange light showing the houses and streets.
The two men that walked behind me chatted under hushed tones. I focused on our task.

I can imagine that with a site as large as king Agnar's that there may be houses that will take us in as weary travellers. Hopefully we will pass, glancing over my shoulder I'm not entirely sure about my two companions. Reaching the long grasses of the fields we all hush, there are loud sounds of a gathering, from our position we could see a small house with smoke billowing from the chimney, and a fire lit out side the door way with the light from another inside casting it's warmth.

Standing just past the tree line I turn to my friends. "We need to come across as residents, with these men having been drinking for sometime- as far as I can tell, I think we might be able to do just that."
"How are we gonna do that?" Floki asks his tone indicating he hasn't much faith.
"I'll go first, you stay here and I'll go across and infiltrate the group"
There eyes narrow and reluctantly agree.
"Very well, but give us a sign if things don't go so well" Bjørn says gruffly. Not liking the senario one bit.

I nod and turn to face the commotion that then dissolved into laughter.
Okay I say to myself, as I take a deep breath. The nerves getting to me a little. Placing a hand on the hilt of my sword I take an unsure step out into the damp grasses. The further I got into the field the more I could feel the cool night air descending and the more my boots turned a deeper shade of brown than they were as they soaked up the moister from the blades of grass I trampled.