Sigyn.

Sigyn woke to see the exposed beams of the servant's quarters. She glanced over to the small window. It was early, the sun had not yet risen and it must have been about 5:30. But it was time for her to get up and begin work. Awkwardly she rose, dragging herself out of the pile of old rags that acted as her bed.

She ached all over from the hard stone floor that was hardly softened by the tattered cloth that formed her mattress. But she was used to it. Sigyn ached every morning and it was no worse than any other day.

She changed quickly and walked over to her tiny wooden cupboard that was the only furniture in her small room. From it she took a stale half eaten loaf that she had saved from the scraps of lord's feast the night before. She ate quickly, there was so much to do before the Jotun lord woke.

Before she left the room she paused to kneel before a small drawing that graced the top of her cupboard. It was a child's drawing. Sigyn had drawn it herself when she was just 7 years old. It was the last drawing she had done of her mother before she died.

It wasn't a very good likeness but it was the only thing Sigyn had to remember her gentle mother by. As she knelt before it a solitary tear trickled down her cheek as it did every morning.

It was 5 years since her mothers death but the loss had not lessened in Sigyn's heart. She was all alone in the world. She never knew her mother's parents and the identity of the father had never been revealed to her.

With a sigh Sigyn stumbled to her feet, grabbed her scrubbing brush and headed for the kitchen where her day of work would begin. Each day she scrubbed a different set of rooms and over the course of a week she would clean the whole of the castle.

There were many servants in the house and all were better paid then little Sigyn. But still she was grateful to the Jotun lord. When her mother had died she would have been sent away from the hall. But the Jotun lady of the house had taken pity and agreed that Sigyn could stay so long as she worked for her keep.

They barely paid her anything. Since she was small they reason she could not work so hard as the other servants and so she was paid less. But she had no where else to go and no one to look after her. So Sigyn had to work hard and was always grateful for what small mercies she was given.

She had been scrubbing kitchen floor for several hours when an older servant approached her. All the other servants knew of her sad plight but they rarely spoke to her. All had their own families to worry about and hadn't the money or time to help her.

"Sigyn, you are wanted in the main hall. There is a king who wishes meet you." The servant was staring at Sigyn with a mixture of curiosity and envy. Sigyn stood up silently and dutifully headed for the main hall.

As she walked she passed a mirror and paused, wondering if she should tidy her self up before meeting this king. Her long black hair had a dishevelled scruffy look. Her grey dress was worn around the knees and far to big for her. She had to fold the dress around the waist to stop it trailing on the floor and tie it in place with a plain off-white apron.

Her eyes were a brilliant turquoise but their brightness had been dulled by a long hard life. Sigyn sighed, there was little she could do about the dress but she removed her hair tie gathered her hair and retied it neatly. It would have to be enough.