If Found Please Destroy | A Vinland Saga Fanfiction

4.

The focus was the nearby village. At least that was what it was supposed to be. With the men, it was drinking more of the wine we had taken from the Faroe Islands.

My focus was the boy. He hardly slept. He had the same menacing look on his face, only you can hardly see his eyeballs from all the crying and lack of rest. I was not focused because I was in fear of being attacked and killed. It was because I felt his pain. The pain of having a loved one killed. The pain of watching it happen while you are useless and cannot do anything about it.

I had nothing to do with the death of the Troll of Jom. However, I was there when it happened. My comrades were the real monsters. The archers, Master Askeladd... Bjorn, with whom I share blood with.

I know I had told Atli that I would not be shocked if he were the first to die. In reality, it may be me. Bjorn, possibly. Atli and the others are irrelevant because they are weak-minded fools. They had no plans or ideas as to how they could kill Thors, or any of his men on the boats.

If the boy is smart enough, he would immediately go for the people who could at least be closer in besting his father in battle. He would only have three foes.

Maybe I am also a monster for having a mindset like this. Should I be more like the others? Just focusing on the booze and the trail to "home"?

"Why are you worried about him?" Bjorn questioned.

I look over to the child. He was coughing hard and started shaking. It is very cold on this side of the sea. I wish I could help him. I really do.

I sighed, "I don't need to explain myself to you, Bjorn." I refrained from making any eye contact with my brother.

Bjorn sighed after my response. "You're not going to hold a grudge against me forever, are you? You're not the type of person.", he said.

I looked away from the child after watching him punch some of the random pieces of wood in the boat. I shook my head, "I am not carrying a grudge of any kind against you, brother. At least not any longer."

I walked over to the bow of the boat and Bjorn followed. "You are a big part of this too, ya' know? You can't just be mad at—

I lifted my hand to stop him, "I can handle this however I want to!". I didn't mean to say that so loudly. Now I have the attention of all of the men, including Askeladd.

I cleared my throat, giving the hint to Askeladd that I am now fine, and the warning to the rest of the men to leave me alone and not question me. They all looked away. I started to see land and a gave a small sigh of relief.

"I think I see our entry point," I tell my brother. I turn to him and finally look him in his eyes. "I am mad. I am mad at you, at the Master, and at myself. But what could I do to make this right, hmm? Nothing at all. I know... even though I did not kill the man myself, I am a part of the crew that did. That did it in front of his son. That is sickening. So please, Bjorn. I am allowed to think about this freely, am I not?"

Bjorn gave me a look of surprise, but quickly turned into annoyance and then rolled his eyes. "Fine," said Bjorn before walking away.

~

"Who's going to watch the ships?" Bjorn asked. We finally got to the land. We have to take a long walk into the forest to find the village we are going to raid for our temporary home.

"We won't be here for long," began Askeladd. "We are only stopping for a short rest."

My brother smiled. "Well okay then. Let's go before it gets dark again."

With that the men began moving towards the trees. I looked over to see the boy lying in his boat. "What about the kid, Master?" I questioned.

"What about him?" Askeladd asked. "If he is hungry and exhausted then he will find his way. Are you coming or what?"