Signy was an orphan raised by the renowned boat builder Floki and his wife Helga. Growing up, she was best friends with the sons of the great Ragnar Lothbrok. However, when her half sister is to be sent to get married and Signy steps in to swap plac...
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(yes, happy Signy is back and we're all here for it. I'm high-fiving myself as we speak. That's it. Stop reading this now. Go read my book. It's ten times more interesting. And yet you're still here. Are you waiting for me to make an announcement? Expecting me to say something. Not gonna happen. You can go now. Go on. Fine, I'll go then. Bye. Why are you still here?! I'm leaving. Leaving. Gone. You better not keep reading, go back to my book. Go read about Vikings! Signy is waiting for you. I'm watching -.- so stop listening to me and read my damn book!!!)
I sat in the camp, my hair loosely cascading down both cheeks. It was a sunny day, unusual for this time of year. The warm golden sun shone down on me in a welcoming smile. Even though I was alone, I felt comforted by its presence. I hadn't expected this reunion with the love of my life to be so lonely. However, I seemed to be utterly irrelevant in this place. Everyone I knew had moved on now, had their own lives. My sister, my friends, even Ivar had forgotten about me now. Or that's how it seemed at least.
I sat with a bowl of meat stew in my hand. I hadn't eaten much lately and this seemed the perfect opportunity to do just that. However, just as I was about to take a bite, a bird flew down from a nearby tree. It's beady black eyes looked deep into my soul. I turned my attention up to the branch that it had swooped down from. I smiled as a nest full of little black birds squawked at their mother.
I smiled at the mother bird, holding out my bowl to her. She looked at me curiously for a moment before reaching in to take one of the pieces if meat. She flew up to her nest, her babies all cheering happily as she fed them. Again, she flew back down and I gave her some of my food, and again she gave it to her young. Though my stomach was rumbling, I couldn't help but sit there and smile as each if her young chirped happily at the food.
"I see you haven't changed as much as people say you have." Ivar's familiar voice made me startle. I hid my bowl and blushed like a child who'd been caught doing something they shouldn't. He only smiled a little, sitting beside me. "Signy, I already know what you were doing. I've been watching you give your food to little animals since we were children."
I smiled gently, my cheeks still a rosy red. "A force of habit I suppose." I giggled nervously, putting the bowl back out for the bird.
"Are you not hungry?" He asked curiously.
I smiled again, "They need it more than I do."
It was silent for a moment and I wasn't really sure why. When I looked back at Ivar he was looking right back at me with narrowed eyes as though he was trying to figure something out. "What?" I laughed.
"Why are you here, Signy?" He questioned. "There's something you're not saying."
"You're being paranoid again." I chuckled back, "That's something I'll miss about you."
For a moment, I mentally slapped myself for letting those words slip from my tongue. Then I thought maybe he didn't notice, maybe he thought I was just being strange as per usual. And then he spoke, and I realised I was going to have to justify myself to someone who could see into the very depths of my soul and know exactly when I was lying.
"Miss? Why would you-" He paused for a moment. "Are you planning to leave again?"
"It's not like I can stay in Kattegat, Ivar. And I can't exactly do anything more for my people. My mission is over. The Gods have no more plans for me. I've succeeded." I explained glumly.
It was brief, so very brief, but I swear I saw the old Ivar again in his eyes. They filled with such emotion as he looked at me, turned such a vibrant shade of ocean blue. "I still need you."
I smiled, my hand resting gently on his cheek. "You don't need me anymore Ivar, we both know that. You've grown so much stronger than anyone ever expected to you, but I'm proud to say I always knew you'd be the man you are now. I always believed in you. Just make me proud when I'm gone."
"You're talking like you're going to die!" He returned, exasperated and confused by my actions. I only nodded in response. When the fear set on his face, the look of pure terror shot into his eyes, I wanted so badly to comfort him. But I couldn't, because I knew that we were nearing the end. One day he would have to live without me and my help. One day I'd have to leave him, to learn to accept that he must make his own decisions. But for as long as I could remember, my entire life had been centered around protecting him and caring for him whenever he needed me. And the idea of leaving him, of never being able to help him again, that was what terrified me the most. Death was nothing to fear, it was what I would leave behind that scared me.
"There are still things I wish I'd done but I fear it's too late for that now." I smiled through tears.
"If there's still things for you to do then the gods aren't done with you." He said, almost sounding desperate. "What? What haven't you done?"
"I never did the only things I ever wanted to do to begin with. When I was a girl, I never wanted to be a Queen. I never wanted Fame and glory. I wanted to be strong, I wanted to be a shieldmaiden, but I didn't want it so that I could wear some crown. I wanted to be a wife, a mother. I wanted to be strong so I could protect my family. I wanted to be your wife, Ivar." I answered.
All fell silent once more. I could see Ivar mulling over my words. He looked at me in utter disbelief, as though I was out of his grasp and all he could do was look. "You wanted to marry me?" He asked.
"Since you started watching me give food to little animals as a girl." I whispered softly, my words carrying on the gentle summer breeze.
He looked me in the eyes, an intense spark shooting through them as he schemed, "When I take back my father's throne, I will need someone strong to stand beside me. Kattegat could be a valuable ally for your people. All you have to do is sit in my mother's throne. Be my Queen."
"I'm already a Queen, Ivar." I laughed a little.
"Signy, you're not listening. I want you to marry me." He explained.
I looked back up at him, ice meeting water as our blue orbs met. A small smile began to creep onto my lips as I noticed the sincerity in his voice. Slowly, the smile grew, until I could no longer hear the happy chipping of birds in the trees or the gossiping of distant warriors. All I could hear were those simple six words that made my chest beat at an inhuman rate. I nodded quickly, pushing my lips up against his in a short but passionate kiss.
This was what I'd been waiting for. It wasn't just a reason to keep living. It was so much more important to me than that. It was the moment I'd been waiting for since I was a little girl. It was the thought that this someday could happen that got me through all those years of torture alone. And now it was finally happening. I was going to marry the man I loved. Finally.
