Tales of Infamy (Viking)

3 - Thyra

For the first week, I stayed indoors, simply because Sefa and Vif took this time to make their trips to the marketplace a bit longer than usual. They were enjoying their time away from their children, which I could not blame them for after watching over them for a few days.

"If you do that again I will hang you from your feet until your father returns." I warned Sefa's eldest son. I had been braiding Eistla's hair, who also happened to be his favourite target. He kept creeping forward when my fingers were tangled up in her thick hair and poked her in her side or in her belly. The child truly made me wonder why women wish each other many sons.

I shot him another angry glance when I saw him crawl forward again. I was nearly done, but I knew that Kalda also still wanted her hair braided. They would not say it with their mothers in the room, but they really preferred it when I did it for them. I had been subject to both of their mother's braiding when I was a child, so I really understood why.

Vif returned not long after I had finished braiding Eistla's hair. She gave it her approval with a big smile on her face and glanced over to her daughter Kalda, who had her white-blond hair in a wild mane down her back.

"You go to the jarl's house." She sighed. "We have been abusing your presence here."

Kalda gave me a pleading look, but I ignored it. Her mother's braiding certainly boosted my pain tolerance, hopefully it will be the same for her. I could not wait to be away from these little monsters.

Vif gave me the basket with the little silver trinkets in it and I immediately set off before someone could change their mind. Vif made the most beautiful jewellery in town, everyone knew this. Her speciality was hair rings, little trinkets of silver which we could braid or clip into our hair. The jarl always wore several in his beard, so while he was away they had been sent back here for a cleaning.

My sister did not live near the jarl's house, which I did not mind whatsoever now that it could only extend my walk. Instead, she lived almost on the edge, near the water. At night I could hear the waves crashing onto the small beach, it was the one sound I missed since I married Ailmær and started to live in the mountains.

I took my time to walk by the water a bit, watching the fishermen in their boats and the children playing in the sand. Many were holding sticks or wooden toy swords and swinging it at each other. The girls also carried stray pieces of wood, holding it up as though they were shields. We did not have many shieldmaidens here, just one.

With her in mind, I turned around and headed into the town. Her name was Kolþerna and she was who I would be meeting in the jarl's house. During last year's raids she was gravely injured, many thought she would not live to see another year. She was stronger than anyone I had ever seen, so she lived to tell the tale, but she just had not recovered enough to fight this year.

The moment I saw her, I could see that she did not take that news well. She was sitting by the fire with a scowl on her face, her crutch laying beside her as a constant reminder that she could not walk without it. Her hair was fiercely red, and her arms were covered in several long scars. She was surrounded by several women, the wives of the jarl's friends. They were not the warriors she was used to dining with.

"Kolþerna," I greeted her. She rose to her feet, using her crutch as a support for her right leg. It was a long T shaped stick that she could plant underneath her armpit and lean on. She looked happy with the distraction. "I bring the jarl's rings back from Vif."

Her face fell. She plopped back down in her seat and waved her hand at one of the women surrounding her. They looked just as uncomfortable with her as she was with them. One of them, a young blonde girl covered in freckles, stood up and signed me to follow her. We walked by the fire and to the back, behind the curtain that separates the big room to the jarl's private rooms. I had never been here before, I don't think many have.

We eventually reached his bedroom, which featured a bed big enough for five people and an impressive wooden closet and dresser. We both stood next to the dresser and neatly unpacked the little rings Vif had carefully wrapped.

"Sorry about her." The girl finally broke the silence. "We thought that her mood would improve after they had been gone for a while, but it seems like it has only gotten worse."

"It is understandable," I answered placing the little rings in a wooden chest. It had golden details on it as I had never seen before, this must have been taken in one of the raids. "She wants to fight and earn her seat in Walhalla, not do the jarls bidding here."

She shrugged. "Kolþerna is quite like a man in that sense. The raiding is all my husband spoke about for weeks. I thought I would finally be rid of it, but alas it seems like the gods are making a joke of me."

We both laughed at the absurdity of the situation. I don't think either of us ever imagined ourselves to be in the jarl's bed chambers gossiping about our famous shieldmaiden.

Ailmær did not often speak about the raiding, but I am sure he would be very grumpy if he was not allowed to go. Before I knew it, I had invited the girl to seek refuge with my sisters and I every once in a while. She happily accepted.