[To be titled viking story]

SEVENTEEN

The future leader needed a wife and a family to inspire confidence in his people.

I doubted my ability to have children anymore.

Taf had seen to that. After the murder of my daughter I became unruly. Taf beat me to the grip of death. I begged for death as my wounds healed. I bled for a moon. After that, the steady bleeds I had became sporadic and irregular. I could go moons without bleeding. I doubted I would ever give birth again.

It felt familiar to be in a blacksmith again. It felt as though I was coming home again.

The dirty, sweaty blacksmith nodded at Leif when we walked in. He stopped what he was doing and came over to us.

The blacksmith either was a good friend to Leif or he was very familiar. He grabbed Leif by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a crushing hug. "Afternoon Leif," he greeted. "Is there something I can help you with?" He said once they had separated.

Leif smiled and nodded. "Yes actually. I am looking for the old journal."

The blacksmith's eyebrows furrowed as he ran a glancing eye over my body.

"What could you possibly want with his journal?" He actually sounded a mad that he had asked.

Leif motioned to me. "Here is Kadlin. His daughter."

"Who knows that? The girl was thought to be dead."

Leif nodded. "Hence the test."

The dirty blacksmith gave me one final glance before turning and going into his home.

"He didn't see too happy."

Leif nodded. "He's afraid you're going to take the journal from him. Others have tried to steal the journal from him to learn the secrets your father had, but he's kept it protected."

I nodded and looked over at the blacksmith as he came out again.

The man grabbed an ax near him and held it up. "Try to take this and I'll stick it in your back before you have a chance to get out of this blacksmith."

"Sounds fair," I conceded. I had zero desire to steal the journal from him. "I just want to get my life back." I confessed.

Leif put his hand on the hilt of his sword. I could tell that it was a quiet threat. If the man even lifted his arm to throw the ax at me, Leif would block it, I hoped. It was that or Leif would've stabbed me through the belly before I could get very far.

I was content to think the first, I liked Leif. He seemed to grow fond of me during the long voyage home.

I gripped the huge journal with a smile. I remembered looking through it with my father. I had no siblings and my mother was long dead. I was all my father had to pass down his knowledge. I knew that at the time he had been contemplating takings someone who could inherit his station when he passed.

Unfortunately that never happened.