Chapter 10: Setting Sail

A deep throbbing pain came from the side of Astrid's face as she pushed herself up from the pallet on the floor after a long night of tossing and turning filled with unpleasant thoughts. She brought her stiff arm up to her face and began tracing her fingertips along her swollen eye and cheek. Pain surged through the nerves with each touch, causing her to wince in pain.

It was the day she would be setting sail with the Northmen to conquer new lands in northern France. Regret and discouragement filled Astrid's heart, leaving her with no will to fight; no will to do anything.

Jezebel came through the curtains that hung at the doorway of Erick's room. Her face held a gleam of happiness as she stretched he arms upward, letting out a sigh of relief while she stretched. Astrid grew angry at the sight of her happiness. Not long after Jezebel emerged, Erick followed after her, just as excited and pleased as she was. She turned to face the wall in disgust when she saw them come into a romantic embrace. Romance made Astrid sick at the sight of it.

"Go and take those weapons onto the boats, Astrid." Erick called out, planting a kiss onto Jezebel's head. "Make yourself useful."

Astrid glanced over her shoulder at him, revealing the good side of her face. She seen his arm make a quick jolt, motioning her to leave and quick.

"Yes, sire." She responded simply, turning on point to fetch the bundles of weapons wrapped in thick animal furs that she had wrapped the day before, which were stored by the door, remaining to keep her face hidden.

After taking all of the heavy bundles she could into her arms, she headed off back down the village path, just as she had the night before. People had now emerged, hugging and kissing their loved ones just as if it would be the last time they would. Men were drinking ale and mead, attempting to drunken themselves enough to make it through the day. Children played in the village center, the same place where the adults were learning how to fight, with miniature wooden swords and shields. Young, single women wore their best dresses, in hopes to catch the eye of a bachelor man before they went off to battle. Astrid fell in the midst of the crowd, fitting in for the most part.

It was around seven in the morning. The morning sky held colors of pink and orange glowing from the bright yellow-orange sun. A bright blue background held firmly behind the pink glowing casts. Steams of wispy clouds covered the morning sky, inheriting the illuminating colors. The world itself was still. No breeze blew. Everything stood calmly and serene around Astrid as she hiked the hill once again.

On the other side of he hill was the opposite. Men were shouting back and forth to each other. Objects were being tossed from one boat to the next. The longboats swayed from side to side as they were being loaded by the men in the ports walking across the plank boards connecting them from boat to boat and from the shore and docks. One after another people would come dashing from the walk, gathering more supplies up and carrying it onto a ship. Astrid stepped out onto the deck and began making her way to one of the plank bridges to board a boat. Soon a large group of men had taken the bundles from her, leaving her standing with nothing to do. She began surveying her surroundings, taking in every detail she possibly could before setting sail on a ship for who knew how long.

The ships were a simple design made from wood but with intricate details of carvings along the hull. The white cloth sails were made with woven wool, hovering right above the twenty rowing benches. Astrid assumed that thirty to forty men could fit onto the boats. The crew's shields adorned the gunwales, held in place by a shield rack outboard of the ship, keeping them out of the way and giving some protection against wind and waves.

Off in the distance, Astrid caught a glimpse of Bard and Knute walking down the bank conversing happily with each other. Solid hate burned in her heart towards Bard, she felt not much better toward Knute. She wove her way through the tight, noisy crowd of people hurriedly, attempting to make it out before the men found her.

Bard spotted Astrid rushing to get to the hill and pointed her out to Knute. They shared a slight chuckle to each other.

"Why are you leaving so quickly?" Bard shouted to Astrid, who had almost made it to the foot of the hill.

Astrid stopped cold as she remembered the consequences of disobeying her master. She reached up to her face trying to hide the swollen injury from Knute, who rushed to her side, followed shortly by Bard . Nothing was said between them. Silence fell before them, giving Astrid an uneasy feeling.

Knute stepped closer to Astrid and pulled her hand down away from her face.

"What happened to you?" Knute concernedly asked, running his fingertips along her swollen injury.

Astrid glanced at Bard, who raised his eyebrows, before dropping her face in shame. She knew that Bard had attacked her that night but she also knew that if she spoke of the incident he would be furious with her.

"Nothing." She answered simply, moving away from them.

Knute shook his head. "Something happened to you, Astrid and you better answer me."

"I do not have an answer for you. If you are so interested in my being ask your beloved friend Bard."

Astrid turned from them quickly, desperately hoping that they would not call for her to turn around again.

"If you would listen to your mater maybe things like that would not happen to you!" Bard responded quickly.

Astrid spun around angrily.

"If you were not the slime of the earth you would not beat an innocent woman!"

"Innocent?" Bard asked sarcastically.

Astrid's face turned a bright red, furious from the words Bard spoke. Knute looked at Astrid confused then at Bard. Bard stood tall, shoulders arched back, taking pride in himself and the words that were spoken.

"You are my slave, Astrid. I am your master. It is as simple as that; but I clearly see that you do not understand." Bard grumbled, stepping closer to Astrid. "Go back to the house and change your clothing. We shall leave soon and you cannot go in this attire, slave!"

Bard shoved Astrid away from him, causing her to stumble backwards. She covered her chest with her arms, embarrassed and angry, as she took off away from them. Bard and Knute continued to walk down to the ports. Knute looked back at her as she ran up the hill quickly as she could, feeling guilty for the event that taken place. He knew it all had hurt Astrid.

"Why did you beat her?" Knute piped up grabbing Bard's attention. "You know she does not do anything to deserve that."

Bard began laughing, feeling no remorse for her.

"I caught her coming in during the middle of the night claiming she was not doing anything. I had to punish her or she would do it again." Bard replied, erasing his smug expression. "I do not see why you care so much for that slave girl anyway. She is very difficult to deal with." Bard swept his long, dark cloak behind him. "What is your reason behind the care?"

"It is the same reason why you care for her." Knute answered sharply.

Bard stopped still and raised an eyebrow as a cocky smile crept onto his face.

"So you want her in bed to?" Bard asked ironically. "Well, I suppose I can share her. She is my slave and all. I do believe she shall be good in the chamber since she is so ornery outside of it."

"You said she could get her freedom for fighting with you." Knute responded. "Did you lie to her?"

Bard only smiled smugly with response as they continued walking.

Hate filled Astrid's heart. She hated Bard so much she only wished she had the nerve to kill him. She did not have the nerve to kill anyone since the time she killed the Northman at fifteen. Every time she held a sword or knife the scene returned over and over again. Having the thought she killed someone that a person loved dearly hurt her tremendously since she knew what if felt like to have the people she loved stripped from her while there was nothing she could do. Her fearless front hid her true anguish

In the village people had settled down. The streets were not as full as hey had been. People had now circled themselves in groups, talking and laughing. Most of the men were wearing their bright colored kirtle with a leather belt around the waist.

Astrid reached the longhouse and pushed the heavy doors open wide and strutted inside. Erick sat in his throne with Jezebel at his side. She wore a bright blue silken dress adorned with jewels around her neck. Her eyes were outlined with thick with kohl, giving her a wealthy look that she never had before. Erick had on a black woolen kirtle, covered with a thick leather vest over his chest. The sleeves were decorated with embroidered silver silk. His tight fitting trousers were black like his kirtle with strips of leather criss-crossed up to the knee. Erick lifted himself from the large throne and stepped down from the platform to meet Astrid. He put his hand on her chin and tilted her head to the side examining her injury. Once he released her face her looked down at her clothing.

"Ingrid!" Erick called to Ingrid, who sat off to the side weaving together a dress. "Fetch Astrid some clothing to join on us this raid!"

Ingrid jumped up from where she was and took off speed-walking with her head down towards Erick's chamber room. Astrid watched her for ages seconds before following after her.

Astrid stepped inside the room and looked around shocked to find that Jezebel had colorful dresses strewn across the floor. Precious jewels were scattered about with the fancy clothes. Ingrid handed Astrid a bright blue folded tunic with brown trousers.

"There are boots in the chest over there." Ingrid said softly, pointing to a large wooden box before veering away from Astrid.

Astrid caught Ingrid by the arm. "What is happening here?"

"Erick is going to marry Jezebel." Ingrid stated. "He is flattering her with all of these baubles since the proposal. She is no longer the same Jezebel we once knew. All of this has changed her."

Astrid shook her head puzzled. She knew Ingrid new as much as she did on the situation so she stopped asking questions.

"Thank you Ingrid." She said plastering a forged smile onto her face.

"You are welcome Astrid." Ingrid responded. "Good luck."

Ingrid left Astrid standing alone in the middle of Erick's bedchamber. She sat her new clothing down onto the bed and looked around. She slipped her soft leather ankle boots off. Next she pulled the dress over her head, then her white linen shift. She stood still, exposing her pale bare skin. Quickly, she tugged the tunic over her head and slipped on the dark brown, soft leather trousers onto her legs. She sat down onto the edge of the feather bed to pull on her shoes once again.

A large polished piece of metal stood in the corner of the room. Astrid looked at her reflection, disheartened by what she saw. Her face was thin, as was her body. The right side of her face was swollen red with black bruises, causing her eye to be swelled. Her dark hair was ruffled, poking out from her braid. She untied the leather band that kept her braid tied and began running her fingers through the thick waves before weaving it together once again. What have I got myself into? She thought to herself, still looking at her pitiful self.

"You are to beautiful to be a slave." Jezebel said, entering the room and straight to Astrid's side. "You will do well in battle I am sure."

Jezebel pushed Astrid's braid from her back down the front. Astrid left Jezebel getting into the chest to get her boots.

"What does it matter if I do well or not, you do not care about me! All you care about is yourself." Astrid rebuked Jezebel.

Jezebel scrunched her face up dismayed.

"I care greatly for you Astrid. You are like a daughter to me." Jezebel answered, patting Astrid on the back.

"Stop it Jezebel! Stop lying to yourself and to me. You stopped caring when I taught you how to talk to these people. You only liked me because I was all you had."

"That is a lie! I never quit caring for you. I still love you I always have."

Astrid shook her head with a laugh. "You still believe love exists!?"

Jezebel nodded her head vigorously. "Love exists if you find it. I found it. You are just jealous that I am happy, are you not?" She asked.

"I am jealous!" Astrid shouted. "It is not fair! I have to go out there and fight for some man that I do not even like, and probably still not win my freedom, while you sit here wearing your jewels and silks. You are free, Jezebel. Free of your cares. You do not have to worry for anything anymore. My worries have only began. Maybe I will just die in battle and be done with it! I have nothing more to live for anyway." She said, plopping down onto the bed.

Jezebel sat down beside her. "Pray for God to comfort you."

Astrid squinted her eyes as she shook her head. "What God? He is the reason why I am here in this situation."

Jezebel pulled Astrid into a hug, patting her on the back. "You will be just fine, Astrid. He will not forsake you."

"He already has, Jezebel." Astrid declared, jerking away from her. "He already has."

The sound of a ram's horn blew in the distance signifying it was time for the raid to begin. Astrid pulled on the knee-high brown leather boots before storming out of the chamber room into the throne room where Erick was. He was gathering together his sword, shield, and other supplies he needed for the upcoming adventure.

"Wait a moment, Astrid." Jezebel pleaded, chasing after her. "I have other things I want to tell you."

Jezebel caught Astrid by the wrist, jerking her backwards.

"I have nothing more to say to you." Astrid said, ripping her wrist out of Jezebel's grasp. "You have betrayed me just as everyone else has. Were you not going to tell me about your marriage to take place between you and him!?" Astrid tilted her head in the direction of Erick. "Why did you not come to me as I was being attacked by Bard last night!? Oh wait, you were too busy with Erick. Why did you do this to me?" She paused, letting out a sigh. "You were all I had. Now there is no one."

Astrid shook her head disappointedly at Jezebel once more before storming out of the house. Jezebel ran to the door where she stood stood hurt, watching Astrid stomp away from the house. Tears began to glaze her eyes as her heart broke. Erick took her by one hand while wiping the free flowing tears from her face.

"Astrid will return. I will see to it." Erick assured her. "I will return, I promise. My love will lead me home to you."

He kissed the top of her hand, then her lips. Jezebel forced a smile onto her saddened face.

"I know you will, dear." Jezebel softly replied. "And when you return I will be waiting right here."

Erick kissed her tenderly on her lips. "Goodbye Jezebel."

Erick released her and left the house running to catch up with Astrid who was in a dead walk to the boats. She made no effort to speak with others or wish them well, she remained serious and poised with each step she took. They walked in silence the entire way.

Shortly, they arrived at the docks of the boats. Crowds of people were still bidding their loved ones farewell while the men and women were loading onto the boats. On the shoreline a elderly man was sacrificing a sheep, praying to their gods for a safe travel.

Astrid stepped onto a longboat, resembling a snake at the bow, with Erick at her side. She surveyed who was on the ship with her, only recognizing Gustavo and Wald, her slave friend. She walked to the side of the boat where she placed her trembling hands on the detailed rail. It was finally happening--They were setting sail!

Hello everyone! Thanks for reading. Remember to vote & comment! I hope you all have a wonderful day. 😄😄 I can't wait for the chapters to come!!